Chapter 6: Strange illusions.

Yusciel’s body soared into the abyss, twisting midair as she braced for impact against the back of the glowing, flying worm, Saillislight. Beneath her, the light grew brighter before everything suddenly changed into an array of bright flashing lights. Her feet touched the solid, skin-like ground, a trembling sensation echoing through her body as the blood drained from her face, leaving her momentarily paralyzed. She rolled uncontrollably across the rigid, protruding surface, losing her grip on Leo before coming to a full stop.

The surroundings seemed to throb in rhythm with her racing heart, images blurring and twisting as she gasped for air, her lungs burning. Gritting her teeth, Yusciel summoned her strength, pushing herself up from the ground. She took a deep breath, allowing her eyes to adjust. As her vision cleared, she realized her surroundings had completely transformed.

She had expected this to happen, but it never failed to disorient her. The ground beneath her feet had become a black stone floor, its surface rough but uniformly level. As she gazed ahead, unfamiliar tall buildings came into view, towering hundreds of meters into the sky—far taller than the trees on the islands or any structures from any countries. These edifices were simple in design, shaped like enormous boxes with walls of heavily tinted glass. The upper portions of the buildings reflected beams of light, creating an otherworldly atmosphere in this strange new environment.

Yusciel swallowed hard; the scene before her seemed utterly unrealistic. How could these buildings possibly exist? Not only that, but the skies had also changed—from immortal darkness to a bright white and blue expanse. Such bright skies were a rarity to her, so rare she could count the occurrences on her fingers.

Scanning her surroundings, Yusciel noticed humans walking the streets, seemingly undisturbed by her presence. Among them, she spotted a familiar figure approaching—Leo, trying to weave his way through the moving crowd.

“Miss!” Leo’s voice rang out as he caught sight of her. Without hesitation, he dashed forward mindlessly.

Leo’s body was about to collide with a tall man dressed in what appeared to be formal attire—but Leo instantly passed through the man like a ghost. Startled by this, Leo jolted backward, only to phase through another person.

“Whoa, what’s happening?” Leo’s voice panicked as his eyes darted around frantically.

“Light illusions,” Yusciel replied, drawing his attention.

She quickly pushed herself up from the ground, wincing. ‘That fall… if any of my equipment broke…’ She sighed internally. ‘I’ll prepare a coffin for my wallet. Or maybe not—those things cost a lot too.’

The sound of shuffling feet made her turn. Leo had just reached her side. Despite the dozens of humans walking around mindlessly, an eerie silence prevailed. Suddenly, something tugged at her right.

Glancing down, Yusciel noticed the strings of her grappling gear flailing wildly. Without hesitation, she unsheathed the dagger hidden behind her shoulder bag and swiftly cut the strings.

As she finished, Leo’s confused voice reached her ears again. “Light illusions?”

Yusciel glanced at Leo, slightly relieved to see he wasn’t injured as her mind assumed. “Yes,” she replied, “These illusions usually happen at the back of Saillight, but we don’t really know why. Try not to worry too much.”

Leo nodded hesitantly. “Uh-huh. So what do we do now?”

Yusciel’s eyes followed the strings as they were dragged away into the distance. She carefully sheathed her dagger as she replied, “We need to jump off the Saillight as quickly as possible.”

“Eh, why?” Leo’s voice pitched higher with alarm.

“I’ll explain later,” Yusciel said tersely, reaching into her shoulder bag to retrieve a glowing, metallic wand.

She inspected the engraved letters hurriedly, her eyes scanning the connecting character that read ‘Afa-pame’. Holding the wand by its end, she rotated the two cylinders with slow, deliberate movements, causing the dim glow to fade from the characters. Her fingers deftly manipulated the wand until two new characters, ‘igna-motes’, connected. The wand began to glow blue once more.

Satisfied, Yusciel pointed the wand’s tip forward and chanted, “Igna-motes, ekis 3.”

As if responding to her words, the tip of the metallic wand began emitting a bright violet glow. Though not as intense as a light bulb or the fake bright skies above, it was sufficient to reflect off the surrounding surfaces. The ground beneath them transformed, revealing the rough, bright white of the Saillislight’s bony shell.

Confirming the wand was working, Yusciel passed it to Leo. “Boy, lead the way—I’ll follow behind. Walk fast, but don’t run,” she instructed, her tone brooking no argument.

“Eh?” Leo’s voice quavered, but he didn’t refuse the wand—rather, he couldn’t with Yusciel’s pressuring hands. “Okay? But which way?”

“Any direction—just pick one and stick with it,” she said, scanning the surroundings. “We’ll eventually reach the edge.”

“But what if I fall?”

“You won’t,” Yusciel assured him firmly, her eyes meeting his.

With a reluctant gaze, Leo turned around and waved the wand experimentally. As he did, the surrounding illusions dissolved, revealing the original landscape. However, this clarity didn’t last long; areas further away quickly shimmered back into illusion. Yusciel heard a noise of awe escape from the boy’s mouth before he began moving, his steps tentative at first but soon growing into confident strides.

Yusciel followed close behind, sliding the tall bag to her front. Her fingers deftly reached into the external pockets, fishing out a head hook. Examining it, she realized it was designed for short distances. She retrieved another, finding the one she needed, and returned the smaller hook before securing the bag on her back.

Pulling her right hand close, Yusciel inspected her grappling gear—no visible dents or gashes, and little to no scrapes on the plating armor. Satisfied with its condition, Yusciel smiled. She unlocked the front plating, revealing ten glowing Gen crystals. One had dimmed and split in two, but it didn’t give Yusciel a sense of urgency for replacement. She inserted the head hook into the vacant socket with a click and closed the plate, feeling the gear tremble as it activated.

Yusciel turned her head to see Leo stopping before the tall, hairy features of the Saillislight; blue and glowing—it was even taller than the body she was currently using. She hurried over, calling out, “Boy, give me the wand. I’ll take the lead.”

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Leo pivoted, raising the wand to his head. “Here. So—what now?”

Yusciel smoothly took the wand as she passed. “Come,” she said, then suddenly paused and turned. Kneeling, she gestured with outstretched arms. “Come here—you’re too slow.”

Leo startled momentarily before nodding, obediently following her words. Yusciel pulled him into her arms and secured him tightly. “Are we good? I will start running.”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Leo confirmed.

With that, Yusciel began walking, quickly picking up speed. Her hand holding the wand stretched forward, its tip beaming with violet light. The touch of its light made the surrounding illusions quickly dissolve, revealing the surrounding areas’ true form.

Illusions of towering walls of brown wood rose around them, so refined and luxurious that they surpassed any material Yusciel had seen before. Even a simple furniture stand felt expensive. She wondered, ‘How much would it sell for? Thousands of Diros probably,’ With a snap of the wand, tinted glass panes transformed into air, allowing Yusciel to move further without worry. There, she found more illusory people scrambling about chairs and desks with unfamiliar devices under glass displays. Some seemed to be watching moving pictures; birds of various species sliding by at high speed.

Yusciel paid them no mind as she used the wand to illuminate what appeared to be a desk counter. Stepping through, she continued towards the far wall. They passed through a building of cubes and light-filled displays, eventually entering a somewhat dark space. Here, people danced beneath a colorful ball, the central floor composed of color-changing cubes, while the sides housed what looked like a bar area. Unlike the center, this area was dark. It was filled with people wearing formal attire, some skimpy dresses, drinking from glasses only royals would use.

‘Is this some kind of arena, or secret casino? No, don’t think about it, Yusciel,’ she reminded herself, quietly passing through the illusions. She came to an abrupt stop when their path was blocked by the tall patches of Saillislight’s hair. Yusciel shifted her heel, skirting around the hairy wall with hurried steps.

“Huh? Why?” Leo’s confused voice, muffled by his air mask, reached her ears.

“Why, you ask?” Yusciel tilted her head, barely able to see Leo’s face over her air chamber. His face bobbed in a nod, prompting her to continue. “Entering the hairy death fields of Saillight’s back means death. Once you’re in, escape is nearly impossible.”

Leo quietly muttered, “I see. But if they’re so dangerous, why did we jump here?”

“They aren’t that dangerous—whatever that means to you,” Yusciel clarified, “as long as you avoid the mouth, head, and those hairy death fields when landing. We’re safe here.”

“What if we get eaten?”

“We won’t,” Yusciel answered, then quickly added, “technically.”

“Technically? What does that mean?”

Yusciel explained, “As long as you don’t have any white lights on you, Saillight won’t be interested.”

“Hmmm,” Leo mused in awe. “I see. So that’s how it works.”

Suddenly, Yusciel’s eye was drawn to the ground. The pavement—neatly laid bricks side by side—reminded her of designs she’d seen back in Dhamos. She quickly stepped forward, wand in hand, watching as the terrain abruptly transitioned from raw Saillislight skin to bony white shells. ‘We must be near the edge—we’ve been walking for a good minute now,’ she thought.

As if responding to her thoughts, the skies instantly turned into abyssal darkness. The scenery abruptly changed back to that of the Saillislight’s back. Yusciel’s forward step slipped on the bony shell, but she reacted quickly—her fingers flicked to the side, deploying the grappling hook from the gear to the skin.

Yusciel’s body jerked to a stop as she leaned forward. Leo, seemingly slow to react, tightened his grip around her. She could hear his quiet murmurs as she planted her feet. Slowly pulling her body back, her eyes gazed upon the thin legs of the Saillislight, crawling into the abyss.

Further ahead, hundreds more Saillislight were visible, their thin legs moving erratically as they crawled into the void. Thin, wing-like skin stretched from their bodies to their legs, every part glowing. Yusciel was reminded of shark heads as she observed the Saillislight’s features: two glowing white orbs attached to protruding fibrous skin on their head

‘Two?’ Yusciel traced the horizon, finding nothing there—it was possible the Saillislight they rode was the leader of this pack.

She gulped, her body reacting contrary to the plan in her mind. She turned to Leo, “Take this wand, and hold onto me tightly! We’re jumping!”

“WHAT!?”

Familiar words, familiar cry. Yusciel ignored the outcry and leaped into the abyss—barely clearing the thin, erratically moving legs. As they plummeted into the void, the sight of hundreds of Saillislight entered her view. With surprising calm, she observed them.

Beneath them, a Saillislight blocked their descent into the abyss. Yusciel’s heart pounded as she scanned their surroundings, searching for a path through the living obstacles

“Hold on tight, boy!” she shouted over the rushing air.

Twisting her body, Yusciel fired her grappling hook at a Saillislight just ahead. The hook latched securely beneath its head, jerking them into a wild swing.

As they arced through the void, Yusciel caught sight of glowing tendrils sprawling from the Saillislight’s mouth. She gestured swiftly, causing the grapple to yank them forward in an instant. They whipped past the wriggling tendrils, missing them by mere inches. As they passed beneath the neck, the air vibrated with an otherworldly hum emanating from the Saillislight’s bodies.

With another gesture, Yusciel unlatched the hook. Their momentum carried them beneath the creature’s body, where strong wings buoyed them upward. Gritting her teeth, she timed her next move as they began to fall. Just as they exited the Saillislight’s underbelly, Yusciel’s latched on again, swinging and releasing at the peak to send them into a controlled free fall.

They plummeted past dozens of Saillislight, their luminous bodies creating a dizzying light show. As their descent quickened, Yusciel kept her eyes open, searching for their next anchor point. Spotting a gap in the swarm, she fired the grappling hook once more. They swung in a wide arc, the hook finding purchase on another creature.

This time, Yusciel felt the Saillislight shudder through the line. Its skin rippled with blue flares, oozing from its skin into a slow-moving bubble of light as it began moving towards them.

“Shit!” She cursed, quickly disengaging the hook.

Yusciel twisted her hand to retract the hook hurriedly, the impact jolting her gear with a loud thud and sending relentless tremors onto her skin. She caught sight of the aggravated Saillislight approaching at high speed, prompting her to turn towards another Saillislight nearby. She fired her hook, gesturing to pull their bodies at high speed, barely weaving and dodging the angry creature.

The air behind them vibrated as they zoomed past, Yusciel unlatching the hook simultaneously. They fell again, weaving between the massive creatures. Yusciel felt the air growing thicker, filled with spores or some strange Saillislight excretion. Her eyes watered, and she blinked rapidly to clear her vision.

“Tsk!” she hissed in frustration.

With one final, precisely aimed swing, Yusciel guided them towards the bottom of the pack, where the Saillislight were fewer and farther between. As they descended, the oppressive glow of the creatures began to fade, replaced by the true darkness of the abyss below.

Yusciel skillfully landed on the backside of a long Saillislight, positioning them at the edge where they wouldn’t be affected by the creatures’ illusion. She clung to its rough skin, catching her breath after the harrowing descent.

“We made it,” Leo whispered, his voice muffled, a mix of relief and awe.

His air chamber was whining similarly to Yusciel’s, even though he hadn’t exerted himself. Yusciel didn’t mind it. She nodded, her eyes shifting from Leo in her arms to their surroundings, scanning intently.

Crouching by the edge, she ignored the bony legs of the Saillislight just ahead. Yusciel flicked her wrist, sending her hook flying into the abyss, hoping it would latch onto something. But it failed, simply falling into the darkness. She tried again and again with focused determination, growing conscious of the beads of sweat forming beneath her mask.

“What are you doing?” Leo asked curiously.

“Trying to grab something—so we can use it to land,” Yusciel answered. As she spoke, the hook finally caught onto something. When the strings clicked tight, she seized the opportunity and quickly jumped. Leo’s muffled screams echoed in her ears as they plunged into the unknown depths below.