Mirage sliced through the air like an arrow. The wind whipped against her, furious that she dared interrupt its flow. But still she flew, following the mountain peak in its quest ever upwards.

She passed over the forest, with the way back to Mother. She passed over rocky crags, covered in craters and claw marks. And she passed over ice-cold stone, covered in the faintest layer of snow and ice.

She broke the clouds. They felt like a light mist, soaking into her feathers and condensing on her beak. It was as if she had plummeted into an ocean held within the sky. The clouds were tall, and choked the sky, but she reached the top.

It was beautiful. The clouds seemed even more like an ocean, rolling and breaking against each other. A set of mountain peaks broke through like islands rising from the sea. And above, there was only blue. Clear, serene, endless blue.

Her eyes had sharpened even more with the levels she had gained, but still she saw no end. No end to the blanket of clouds, no end to the dome of blue overhead. Only the sun broke through its grasp, lording overhead and proving its mastery of the sky.

It was reassuring and terrifying at the same time. Reassuring, as she could see it all. Nothing was above the sea of white but her, and she would see any attacks coming from literal miles away.

Terrifying, for it was endless. Beneath this blank world, there was the real one. Both were endless, as far as Mirage could see. But one, one cursed world, was dangerous. The real world, the true world, was full of those that would do her, Mother, Brother, and Greedy Thing harm.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

And she would have to be enough. Be strong enough, smart enough, fast enough. Enough to keep all those she loved alive. Enough to do the same for herself. Enough to avoid, evade, or eviscerate any threat under or above the sky.

This blank world was comforting, but it was just that. Blank. False. A mere imitation. She could not hide forever.

Finally, Mirage's momentum began to run out. For just one moment, she hung in the sky like she belonged there her whole life. Like she was a star, carefully arranged in the night until she shone just right.

But all good things must end. Mirage began to fall. She dropped through this world, rapidly approaching the false sea of clouds. She broke the surface, tumbling into the freezing mist that made up the ocean of white, back to the real world.

No.

She stopped. Right in the middle of the endless mist. Right in the middle of a field of nothingness. Gravity, that strange, greedy pull, wanted her back in the real world. It wanted to ground her, literally.

But she refused. And slowly, the air around her began to heat up. Her bank was full, and the energy had nowhere else to go. This continued for several minutes, Mirage steadfast in her refusal of the pull. The clouds around her shimmered as they got hotter and hotter.

And then all at once, she pulled it back in. Every dreg of heat, everything within her bank, every shred of warmth that had been there even before she arrived. Mirage recalled the thoughts that drifted over her connection to Mother. Of storms. Of hurricanes. And she pushed.

[MINOR AEROMANCY] HAS UPGRADED TO [MAJOR AEROMANCY].]

The clouds seemed to burst as wind blasted out in every direction, seeming to tear a hole in the sky. Mirage's eyes brightened. She would face trial and danger, she knew it. But she would be ready. And even if she wasn't, even if all her speed and strength failed, Mirage would be going out with one hell of a bang.