Meiyal Maelstrom

> “No one can help me.” ~Redacted

To Frein, it was beautiful. As for the rest, it looked like hell was about to break loose. Sometimes, he thought if he had a screw misplaced somewhere in his noggin, but at least he understood the situation itself wasn’t exactly to be admired. He just couldn’t help himself.

“We have to stop her,” Katherine said.

Frill wasn’t hard to find right after the quakes and lightning strikes came. The shine of the skies and the evident chaotic colors of meiyal ravaging above her combined were easily the biggest and most dangerous kind of firework display Frein had ever seen in his entire life.

The sheer intensity of the force was carving out the mountainside.

Here he was, still in the midst of mesmerizing the Vanguard and yet another otherworldly display came dragging his attention.

If it were only entertaining.

“What’s happening to her?” Frein asked. They kept their distance from Frill, trying to make sense of the phenomenon.

As the ground continued to quake in a violent rage, the scarlet-haired woman knelt in the eye of the storm, holding another person in her arms. The space around her was torn apart. It was difficult to grasp the concept of space tearing itself open, but there was no other possible way to explain the scattered cracks found in mirrors appearing in the air with a black void in the middle.

“That’s Liona,” Lor said as he forced himself through the surging force, vying for a better view.

Liona, Frill and Lor’s youngest sister. Frein made the connection as easy as tracing dots in a sketch book.

“How do you plan on stopping her?” he asked.

Katherine was in deep thought. “Her marks are unsealing at a dangerous rate.” The shine on Frill’s meiyal marks stood out despite the mixture of colors, electric sparks spewing out of her eye without rhythm. “That amount shouldn’t be harmful...unless...”

“Meiyal Fusion.” Kristel appeared while Flimeth landed beside her. “A permanent one at that.” Marks of sweat ran along their faces and trails of smoke sizzled from their meiyal systems, but they didn’t seem particularly out of breath.

The pressure coming from Frill’s firework show was no laughing matter. It was taking all of Frein’s concentration to merely stand, spending a steady amount of meiyal on his Siffera. He couldn’t imagine what it took running through the mountains underneath this pressure.

“What of Venry?” Katherine asked. Kristel gloomily shook her head.

Katherine nodded in understanding and turned her attention back to the radiant display of power, studying it further. “If this doesn’t stop, she’ll scar the whole land. Minaveil will disappear and she might break a portion of Mount Rindea. If that happens, the Void Region will spill over the entire continent.”

No one spoke. Everyone except Frein was in deep thought, trying to formulate a plan. He was struggling enough as it was.

The silence was broken by another of Frill’s screams, aggravating the maelstrom of meiyal even further. The cracks in the air branched out and some portions began to open to a view of darkness and light swirling from within. Shadows crept through the cracks, too indistinct to understand, but no one else aside from Frein was bothered by it.

“I can’t let this go on, everyone is in danger,” Katherine said, her voice struggling. The implications were too obvious for them not to understand. “There’s no other choice.”

Before she could even take one step forward, Kristel blocked her path, a blade firm in her hands.

“I won’t let both of them die today.” Her grip was shaking and her breathing unstable, but there was no hesitation in her eyes. Oddly enough, Frein didn’t see her action as a threat, but a plea. An angry plea of desperation and frustration that she couldn’t direct to anyone.

They stared at each other for a while. Katherine sighed and took a step back. “The most I can give you is one chance, Kristel. Forimeyn is the only remaining continent free of the Nightmare Lands. We can’t risk everyone’s lives over Frill.

“If the Nightmare spills out of control, even the High Palace won’t be out of its reach. If you haven’t heard from the Order of the Void for a long time, then we can assume the Nightmare Lands have become far worse than what it used to be. Even at my peak, I am not strong enough for that.”

The Seeker sat in meditation. She clasped her hands together and activated her meiyal system, the light of her floating hair ornament was but a dwarf compared to Frill’s destructive light show. From within her, an aura of light appeared and began to expand, enveloping the entire chaos inside its dome.

Without breaking concentration, Katherine began to speak. “Ten minutes, that’s all I can afford. Go, now.”

“Let me try,” Lor began without hesitation, “she might still be able to recognize me.”

Nobody agreed nor argued. They simply stared at him, paralyzed by indecision. Without anyone to contest, Lor approached the maelstrom in a slow, cautious manner. It struck a certain chord within Frein, and he found himself walking alongside him.

He saw Katherine’s concern, but she didn’t hold him back.

The two men inched closer to the center where the source of despair roared threats of death.

Lightning struck just a few meters beside Frein; its force combined with the maelstrom pushed him back through the air. He spun and regained his balance, sliding off a few inches from where he began. With doubled efforts, he retook his lost ground, catching up with Lor in under a few seconds.

Frein saw the raging meiyal trying to take form. It rushed towards them, and his instincts kicked in, pushing Lor away from harm. A barrage of meiyal waves followed. They barely managed to roll away.

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Lor urged himself to his feet and tried to breach through the madness by force, but he was struck by lightning. The waves followed in succession, barraging him without mercy. It flung him in the air and blasted him away at a dangerous speed. Frein barely got to his feet in time to catch him, utilizing Siffera to both cushion their fall and protect both of them from the impact.

Lor limped once then fell face first to the ground. Smoke sizzled and the smell of burnt flesh assaulted Frein’s senses.

Frein quickly turned him over to assess the damage, and what he saw reminded him not to underestimate the kind of power meiyal could provide. The half-orc half-elf was bruised and burned all over and blood spewed on every other inch of his body. His clothes, shredded with cuts and hissing with embers, barely resembled the attire he wore. Worst of all, he wasn’t breathing.

Kristel rushed over. “There’s a pulse,” she said, and immediately Drew Samesia. Her Meiyal Art was nothing compared to Katherine, but the Seeker was busy already as it was. “Damn it. We won’t get anywhere with this.”

Frein handed Lor to the Princess, and studied Frill’s condition once more. The maelstrom was affecting a certain area, like a poorly drawn circle struggling to maintain shape. Occasionally, bits and pieces of meiyal gushed out, causing the turmoil and lightning strikes.

They concentrated, oddly enough, around them.

“Five minutes, Frein!” Katherine yelled, her meiyal marks shined and fluttered overhead.

“Frein,” Kristel begged in a whisper, her tears flowing freely. “Please…I don’t know what to do.”

It was hopelessness. Desperation completely stripped her pride away. Frein couldn’t imagine what was going through her head, but he deduced enough. Everyone currently present—excluding himself—was a friend to her, and if they couldn’t stop Frill, lives would be lost and friendships would end.

He didn’t want that…for her or for Katherine. He held the Princess by the shoulders and gave her his assurance.

“You concentrate on keeping him alive, we can handle this.” Without waiting for a response, Frein approached Katherine.

“How do you plan on killing her?” he asked. Flimeth who had been crippled by awe, exhaustion, and indecision this entire time began to react. Frein lifted a hand to stop her. “Just in case.”

“I’ll strike from here, send a clean cut. It’ll be quick and painless,” Katherine answered.

Frein nodded in understanding.

“You’re coming up with a plan?” Flimeth asked.

“I need a few more clues,” Frein replied. He picked up a rock and threw it at the maelstrom of meiyal. As soon as it got close, it was turned to ash.

He picked up another pair and gave one to the felintine. “Draw a barrier Art around it, then throw it at the opposite side at the same time.”

With a countdown, the two of them threw their rocks. The same thing happened, but this time, lightning strikes followed Flimeth’s rock right after it was disintegrated and a surge of meiyal wave blasted towards the direction it came from.

Moving on, Frein quickly returned to Katherine, ignoring Flimeth’s confused questions.

“How feasible is it for you to go through that maelstrom?” he asked.

“I won’t.”

“Why not?”

Katherine sighed. She wore a complex expression. The kind one wore when they knew their words would be frowned upon, but they had to say it anyway.

“There’s no telling how much damage it would cause. I can’t take that risk. Samesia can’t heal all wounds. And if I’m permanently crippled, be it physically, mentally, or through my meiyal system, then I won’t be able to protect you. I can’t have that. I came back here with you, for you.”

Frein wasn’t sure if he liked the answer. “But you won’t stop me?”

“We made an agreement. I’m a woman of my word. I won’t stop you from doing anything risky or dangerous. I’ll only help.”

Frein nodded this time. “What happened to my five minutes?”

“I’m holding on because you have a plan. I’d appreciate it if you do it faster.” Smoke started sizzling from Katherine.

Another indiscriminate wave of meiyal blasted from Frill. It bounced off Katherine’s barrier, causing cracks to form on the white dome.

Frein took a deep breath before turning back to the maelstrom. “She seems to be fighting within herself,” he murmured.

Frein never had a sibling, but he knew what it felt like to lose family. His parent’s passing was too abrupt that he never had the chance to drown himself in rage. He knew it was there. It had been there; the desire to wreak havoc, let the others know the pain. But he had held perfect control over it.

He grew up knowing how to bury his thoughts and emotions deep within the very depths of his mind. Some had even argued that his perfected poker face had given him a huge advantage in the ring. Still, he remembered it too well. He remembered that one fraction of a second where he saw the choices. The choice to do what was right, and the choice to do what he wanted.

Right now, Frill stood before those choices.

Frein had doubts. He would completely understand if Frill wanted to end it all. He didn’t want to make the choice for her, but he knew the wrong choice might end all of their lives.

His decision was clear.

“Take these.” Frein passed a collection of rocks to Flimeth. “I need you to stay right there.” He pointed at a spot that was relatively safe, just a few meters in front of Katherine.

“I need you to envelop these rocks with meiyal like you did earlier and throw them one by one at the maelstrom. Keep a steady rhythm and only throw after the meiyal wave. I’ll approach from the other side. If you start running out of rocks, you need to multitask while maintaining the rhythm. Don’t stop until I reach Frill. You got it?”

“Alright…yes, I got it.” Flimeth positioned herself, controlling her panic at the same time by gathering more rocks.

“Don’t step any closer, okay?”

When Flimeth gave another nod, Frein turned her attention to Kristel.

“How is he?”

“Not dead, but not yet stable.”

“When you’re free, help her gather rocks. You don’t need to throw. There has to be a rhythm. It’s like I’m dealing with a thunderstorm with a tempo set to a raging song.”

“I see,” Kristel said with clarity, her voice no longer shaking from desperation. “Thank you, Frein. I’ll help as soon as I can.”

Frein positioned himself to the opposite end of the maelstrom and sent out a signal. Flimeth immediately threw a rock. It shattered, then the lightning struck followed by a blast of meiyal wave. She threw again.

Shatter, lightning, wave.

Frein made his approach on the third set, minimizing his Siffera just enough so that he could withstand the force and start walking.

Shatter, lightning, wave.

There was no retaliation on his end. His observations paid off. As long as the rhythm was maintained and he made his steps along its tempo, he was clear to approach.

Another throw, another step. Shatter, lightning, wave.

After more rocks and steps, he had reached farther than anyone else, but now he faced a conundrum. This was the limit. He could clearly see Frill, just a few meters within his reach, but this threshold was where everything disintegrated. The solid evidence was the crater centered around her with only a small piece of ground remaining exactly where she knelt and cried.

There was no other choice but to risk it.

He gathered his courage and readied himself on time with another thrown rock. He gathered all his meiyal into a single purpose and prepared to feed them to his Siffera just as the lightning struck again. And when the wave exhaled another surge of meiyal, he inhaled the deepest breath he had ever done yet.

Time slowed down…

Frein flexed with everything he got, fed his Siffera with all his meiyal and shot through the air just as Flimeth’s next rock hit the threshold. He felt the resistance shatter in an instant and as soon as he pierced through the barrier, time resumed itself.

Without any control to stop himself, Frein tackled Frill and Liona off their raised platform. The maelstrom immediately collapsed and residues of meiyal began to disperse.

Art fatigue slammed on Frein like a whale and the smoke around his body was enough to fill up steam.

Frill remained unconscious.

Until her body convulsed like a possessed victim and she screamed through coarse throat. Thunder roared from the dark clouds and rain fell in force.

Frein could feel the meiyal moving with anger, as if they could hear Frill’s rage. He didn’t know what it meant, only that it felt wrong. He forced himself up despite the fatigue and grabbed Frill by the shoulders, fending off her flailing arms.

He didn’t know what else to do.

So, he screamed as well and called out her name.

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