The man’s deathly screams rolled along the cliff as the collapsed earth smacked the ocean, and Morinfair replied with a mighty splash.
“I got you, don’t worry,” Ewan said, grabbing Norton with his Ryvia and pulling him. “Give me your hand.” He dragged him up by his hand and his hair and his collar, whatever he could grip, the armor scraping against the rocks, and collapsed back.
Norton was on all his fours, hyperventilating, wiping his sweat with trembling hands and gasping for air. While Ewan sat on his butt, also catching his breath but with a faint smirk on his face.
Because he used Ryvia to save Norton, the Bonemetal ore recorded the instance and glowed with an ashen gloss—it realized its purpose and was inert now. With an indebted Norton to fill in the details of the rescue, Ewan's next move would go under the radar.
Enthrall!
Norton was at his weakest right now; his mind had no defense. The spell dove in within moments and led Ewan to his deepest subconscious. He tweaked some minor details about their conversation in Norton’s head, facts that could hint at Ewan’s deliberate provocation and evoke suspicion about this accident; amplified his role in saving Norton, loudened his gratitude; and left a seed that would conceal all details regarding the cave. Under its influence, Norton wouldn’t even see the cave, or anything related to it, if he stood in front of it.
It took a few minutes to strengthen the seed and finalize the changes, and as Ewan stopped the spell, Norton also recovered with the last gulp of breath.
“Thank you,” Norton said and bowed almost parallel to the ground before Ewan. “I owe you my life.”
“Don’t fret it, it wasn’t much effort,” Ewan said, patting the mud off his clothes and his hands as he got up.
“Doesn’t matter, I’ll never forget this,” Norton said, staring at Ewan.
“Well, at least you stopped saying ‘Sir’,” he said, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
Norton’s eyes widened for a moment. “I apologize, sir. I didn’t mean to do it,” he said, bowing again.
“It’s fine, I was just joking,” Ewan said, chuckling, and walked past him, patting his shoulder.
The controlled became the controller, the leash was in Ewan’s hands now. So, the next destination was the cave. Ewan only hoped the time he wasted with Norton didn’t cost him his ‘appointment’ with Rain.
…...
Instead of beelining for the cave, Ewan used it as the focal point and spread his steps around it, brushing the clearing from time to time. There was no sign of Rain there, and neither anyone else visited the crack, or at least left no obvious trace that he could find—the haunted silence oozing from the cave supported the former fact.
If there was someone who could conceal even the hint of his trail and was powerful enough to suppress the traps without a noise though, Ewan could only give up with a sigh and lament the missed opportunity. But it was only a possibility; and given the details surrounding the cave and the raid on Drarith that reeked of distraction with each passing dawn, a possibility that was unlikely to happen.
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Morning turned into afternoon, and the afternoon slipped towards the evening, yet the area around the cave remained still—Rain didn’t come today. Either he changed his plans, or he was still licking his wounds; Ewan guessed the latter. Even though he failed to kill the man, his spells battered him good. Those wounds carried his Anima, brimming with hostility, they wouldn’t heal in a matter of hours—it might even take over a day or two if Rain didn’t have a high-leveled healing spell or potion.
And so, while checking the potency of the seed he left in Norton’s mind, confirming he couldn’t register anything related to the cave, Ewan ended the ‘patrol’ and made his way back to the foot of the mountain.
……
The men returned in the aftermath of the bloodshed. Some lugged the dead with them while some dragged their own mutilated bodies. They left a trail of blood that recited the tale of the abyss they climbed out of. Their meeting with their families triggered the flames, and it ignited the hushed emotions. Cries of grief, anguish, and despair echoed in the city. The children bawled at the corpses of their dead fathers, the widows collapsed with dead eyes, the old broke down in front of their lifeless sons, and the mothers lost their voice. Even the families of the survivors couldn’t rejoice, for tomorrow, it could be their turn.
Ewan exited the mountain and witnessed the outburst, Norton standing behind him with tears streaming down his cheeks. Death carried its impact, no matter the place or time, especially when he could resonate with it. His Pa died seven years ago, and he could still remember his last breath as if it was yesterday. That moment when reality ripped his childish heart apart. Yet, he had moved on and was chasing his dream now. These people would have to do the same. Today, they might break down in sorrow, but tomorrow, they would have to move on and find ways for their survival. Life was cruel that way, it would leave you behind if you stopped.
Ewan took a deep breath, the blood in the air tingling his nose, and wasted a minute to relax. Kiev wasn’t here to greet him warmly like yesterday. So, he sent the emotional Norton away and wandered around, assisting and healing those he could.
He had already confirmed this—high efficiency called for actions that hurt his conscience while helping others soothed it. They were two sides of a scale, and if he could keep them balanced, he could get away with ‘immoral’ actions without his inner conflict hindering him.
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Status: Healthy
Step-0 [9th Awakening]
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 2.0
Spirit: 19.9
Anima: [Fire – 19.9 | Ice – 19.9 | Blood – 19.9]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [9th Awakening]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-S]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter]; Moonkeeper [Crystal-Ball].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals [Novas Coins]; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 65,145
Crelith: 3,887