Chapter 52

William wondered if those defensive lines were all over the Federation, or if those he watched were enough for the Federation over the horizon. Soon, he got the answers. The lines aimed at the south and west of the Federation, aiming at the North and South America. Each line went for miles, and they weren't wide enough to loop around the whole Federation, whose history was peculiar.

It was a simple island at one time, but now? It was a much larger and held status as a bastion of humanity. It was a collaborative alliance made up of many failed nations and cultures, with Walkers being its rulers. Therefore, the name had no bastion of the past, hence the name.

As William recalled his memory, the helicopter passed the first defense line. There, he saw it clearly.

Darks. Some Rifts were open, breaching Fogs forth, and hitting the bridge and some towers.

“Is that normal?” he asked.

“Yes,” Luke answered without looking, knowing that Darks had been harassing this place since its creation. There was no helping it, yet what prevented the large-scale wars or deep conflicts from complete destruction?

That was something William couldn't fathom, so he watched the battle instead.

There were many Walkers. Dozens of them. Some were flying on weird constructs like Luke with his Arcalyst. Some were that, but most were just Molds; the creation made of Arcana or Vectors. William wasn't sure if they were comparable to proper Arcalysts, as they looked quite different, yet flying, gliding, or using space were all special in their own ways.

Some Walkers were standing and floating on flames, or clouds, with most using weapons or long-range Skills and standing on the bridges. Due to the nature of the Rifts and this land, long-range options were great, and there were fewer Walkers in Dark's faces. They were killing Darks flying or jumping to the bridges or roads, growling restless and unleashing their bodies or attacks.

William bet there was nothing beyond Rank 5 around, though there were dozens, if not hundreds of Darks all over the place.

Many Rifts were open and it was hard to see and notice them in this ongoing colorful battle. William counted at least eight of them, and there was even military involved in the towers. Guns, machine guns, and even cannons and missiles were there, aiming for low-ranked Darks and helping Walkers out.

“This looks crazy,” William couldn't help but shiver. “I thought the Federation was safe.”

“It is. What makes you think it isn't?”

“Those Rifts?!” William shouted and pointed his finger around.

“Oh, I get it. Surprised, aren't you? Don't worry. Most Rifts are Hindered. You will learn why eventually. There is no need for it right now. The ones that aren't are either fading either way or are Locked. From those, Darks could come and knock on our door with some time or attention. Walkers can sense it and protect us, but new ones can always connect. It is a work of Endless.”

“Named, eh?” William mumbled, barely saying anything.

“Can you see the Walkers?” Luke pointed.

“Yes,” William nodded and accepted his explanations; he didn't know enough, so he wanted to know more.

Walkers fought as Luke did. They clashed and fought with large or medium-sized Darks of all kinds. A large portion of them had wings, with fewer of them being massive due to the lack of earth below their feet, or lacking Rifts to send them through.

'Is it because of the water? Darks do have strategies, but I don't see anything crazy. It is a probing attack, or just a knock as Luke said? William thought and watched how the helicopter got closer and closer, so many Rifts were clearer for William to see.

The open ones were like a starry sky, but denser, wider, or weirdly circular and open at unnatural centers, churning dense Fog, or nothing. Some held clear sky, but most were one with the darkness, littering all kinds of Fogs beyond the cracked space. There were also bits of light around most of them, giving them a vista of the Dawn.

William couldn't pinpoint the effective difference between them, or how to distinguish closed Rift and open ones besides active Darks.

And the ones active were still far away because Zep circled around them, lest there be some variable. But with Melia, it was unlikely for some issue to arise.

“What do you think?”

“That nothing is safe.”

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“Correct,” Luke said and eyed the group a bit away. “I hope not just you will understand it.”

Marcus scoffed at him and didn't speak. He was shaking internally at this reveal and couldn't even look from the window a second time.

The fights below appeared never-ending, with blasts, cuts, smashes, and death on the Dark side. Walkers didn't seem to lose anyone, which either spoke of their Rank, flawed Rifts, or Walker's strategies were working better than expected.

William knew Rifts were no small matter. Mild Rifts were the weakest, with widths and sizes up to twenty feet. Higher ones were simply too big and menacing, and William couldn't see every Rift around the sky.

“So, this is the Federation?” William mumbled while Luke got up and fully opened his eyes. Not like he slept at all; pretending to sleep was at least better than doing nothing.

He walked to William and glanced behind him. “Oh, eight of them this time around? Seems to me that quite a few of Walkers are below.”

“Do you know some of them?”

“Can't see shit.” Luke bluntly said. “Nor hear anything. With Melia, we don't worry about this sort of thing. We go to the Federation. Not seeing or taking part in these fights.”

Soon, a helicopter passed the fights happening around the seventeenth defense line.

William counted each line and reached a staggering number of thirty lines in total, and could see they stretched like a half circle around this part of Federation. He couldn't know if there were other forms of defenses besides this.

At least it added variable and footing for people and Walkers alike, even if it meant the same for some Darks. But people had their hands and bodies at a lower scale, so this sort of defense was more than optimal.

Most roads and bridges weren't big. They were up to twenty feet wide. That was quite a tight space if one saw the length of roads and massive towers, or huge Darks.

It was necessary to think broadly. Ever since the creation of the Federation, William wondered if some place could weather down those storms.

It was possible.

He guessed those fights close to the middle of these lines meant that Darks breached this far. That wasn't correct. Some Rifts hovered above and around the towers or bridges, and some could open up, with some of them being within the single-digit line.

There were three kinds of Rifts, regardless of their Rank. Hindered Rifts were the Rifts that were unable to be fully closed either because of Darks or Walkers nor did they were open. Neither side was able to enter them. Space was either halted, or Darks were fully stopped. That meant the Rift could remain in space and could become active again after the hindrance had passed. Those were the majority of Rifts scattered around the sky.

Open Rifts were simple. They had active space for Darks to flood from, and Walkers could come inside and break them from within.

Closed Rifts were the ones destroyed by Walkers, which described damaged space and Rifts that would not open again. They would dissipate immediately or over time, leaving pretty or dangerous traces behind.

That was the knowledge William held since he was ten, so the degree of detail wasn't the greatest. Unfortunately, Luke didn't tell him much about these Rifts and remained impassive.

As they passed massive towers and many bridges, the helicopter started to descend and William was able to see the military and people. He noticed their sheer size and the bridges were big and full of weapons and buildings scattered around the bridges, close to the towers. They seemed important.

As a whole, William couldn't see what made those towers that great. They looked like fortresses in the middle of nowhere. Their massiveness was obvious, but so what could they do? Darks could crash them apart like they did to many other places.

They are significantly smaller than the wonders of the old world, William assessed, face glued to the window.

Soldiers were all over some bridges as well, making some training, or preparations, or hurrying towards where the battle was happening. Most had green uniforms. Those who wore better uniforms were high-ranking military officers who were in charge of others. William wondered if some of them were Walkers or young Walkers like him.

Some places and people were taking care of youths with Emblems and bodies with not enough growth, yet where, or how did that line of thought end, or start? William knew they existed. Offers were that. His stubbornness stopped it all. That was it.

At the point of passing multiple bridges, Melia made her appearance once again. This time, she didn't kick off the door and gently opened it without flaring her Shadows around the room. She jumped from the tight space under the floor and stormed Luke with her words.

“What's going on? Are we there yet? I sense nothing any longer.”

“Who said you can stop?” Luke berated her.

“I did. I can't Cycle like this and am new to this shit,” She flicked her hair and halted her Shadows completely, revealing her outfit that was sporadic, yet not revealing. It was far away from the military uniform, with a single purple coloration and tight fit.

In William's eyes, it looked like a custom uniform for Walker's unique needs or circumstances. He had seen some Walkers like that Outside. Elementalists, whose elements could be destructive to regular clothes, tended to have unique appearances or custom fits. Some needed it more than others, whereas Vector Type or Mutants were various. Maybe they needed some custom clothes all the time.

“Oh, you can't do it anymore?” Luke stepped towards Melia. “How long was it then?”

Melia shifted her gaze away and stepped back. She couldn't go against him when he was like that.

“Like... a long time? Dome of Chaos is like losing my footing and spirit. I already lasted for two hundred and sixty minutes?”

“That is your limit?” Luke chuckled. “Haven't you told me you could do three hundred? A bet, I reckon, was...”

“Shut up! I got bored, alright?”

“A bored soldier... uh. It seems you lost and don't care about your mission?”

“So what? And this is no mission! Just a wimpy private task. A kidnapping. Nothing more.” Melia was done with him and found a seat where she ignored Luke. “My Shadows have limits. It's not as if you would get it and....” She began to mumble and complain in her seat.

Luke couldn't bother with her any longer and he figured this might be good anyway. At this point, being secret was not feasible.

Concealment long disappeared and the helicopter might get targeted. Luke knew the dangers passed and different issues were ahead. Melia did her job, while the defensive lines below watched how the helicopter emerged out of nowhere, akin to dark clouds that were hard to distinguish from the regular ones.

Soldiers down below watched the helicopter with zealous eyes, discovering the logo of the Emblem Academy. It was rare to see, and they figured it must be returning from some high-class mission far above their standing.