Sol’s legs carried her at breakneck speeds. As for a direction, Sol was forced to travel away from the river. Despite that, she maintained a route that trailed alongside it. She understood the river was still her best bet at finding civilization.
After nearly 8 hours of running full speed, a sense of tiredness gradually took hold of Sol. Her body was truly pushed to its limits. With quivering legs, she stopped running and braced her back against the trunk of a large tree.
Sol’s spiritual awareness expanded and searched her trail in detail for any signs of being followed. She soon let loose a sigh of relief and collapsed against the tree trunk. The day was far too exciting for her.
She didn’t have to observe herself to know she was covered in dirt and sweat. Her clothing was tattered and her skin was patterned with scratches. Exhaustion soon took over her relief and Sol’s mind slowed into a lull. The moment her mind withdrew, Sol’s spiritual awareness pulled back with it.
Having fallen asleep, Sol was unaware of the movements in the forest around her. Shrubs were pushed aside revealing a series of shadowy figures. Each exchanged glances between Sol’s sleeping form and the leader of their group.
Soon, the figure approached Sol and lifted her from the trunk’s base. Soon, the group disappeared from the spot with Sol in tow. While Sol was adventuring in the forest and escaping for her life, An and Dorothy were in the middle of a life threatening situation of their own.
Traveling back in time to just after Sol disappeared, the two were forced to their knees. Though invisible, the shattered ground below them and the blood pouring from their wounds was enough to determine the punishment inflicted upon them.
Sitting across from them with hands resting on his crossed legs was a young boy. The boy was caught up with the entire story after Dorothy and An filled him in. His gaze was locked onto the spatial fracture Sol left behind.
It wasn’t that the boy couldn’t chase Sol through it, it was that his incarnation was simply too weak for the world on the other side. Should he travel there, He wouldn’t be of much help to Sol. Thus, the boy was lost in thought about the situation.
Ruby red eyes paired with salt and pepper hair was carried atop an average 14 year old’s frame. From time to time, chains would fade into existence around the boy before shattering. Though the act seemed easy, An and Dorothy perspired each time they saw that.
They understood the realm and plane was working together to shackle their Master’s power. His incarnation was weak enough that it could be considered just above the peak of power the realm allowed. Typically, someone at his strength would be forced to ascend to the next plane or be destroyed.
Evenso, the youth remained calm and still. The only movements he showed was the flickering of his eyes and his thoughts ran their route and his tapping finger. Soon, his gaze returned to Dorothy and An.
“How certain are you that she was the one this God was looking for?” An and Dorothy both glanced at each other with a bit of helplessness. Dorothy spoke for their small group. “It’s almost certain. This servant can’t imagine such a coincidence otherwise.”
“Very good. This God will seal a few memories and travel to that plane. Clean up this place and take the girl’s family back with you.” The boy left those words before tearing a hole in space. “This portal will remain in space for the next week. Accomplish your tasks and return by then.”
“Master?! Are you going in that form?”, An couldn’t help but exclaim. Though weaker than his true strength as an incarnation, An and Dorothy could tell their Master put in a lot of work into his incarnation. The boy’s figure appeared exactly like their Master was thousands of years ago.
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They could even sense the aura of life housed inside the incarnation. It was practically alive in every descriptive sense. “This God was going to journey with that girl from the start. Only a body capable of growth would allow that… No matter, handle your matters.”
Saying so, the boy stepped towards the spatial tear. After appearing on the other side his body accelerated towards the direction he sensed civilization in. Sadly, Sol left in the exact opposite direction as if fate were playing a cruel trick.
Had she moved opposite to her route, she would have found civilization within 4 days of travel, and a major city at that. A day later, another figure appeared from the tear in space. After appearing, Victoria waved her hand and the spatial tear slowly recovered itself.
No longer limited to that lower plane’s degree of power, Victoria inhaled the rich magic surrounding her. As a prisoner, she would never have had the chance to escape that lower plane. Tears in space required a concentration of power she simply was incapable of providing.
Even if she could, Victoria feared the destination of the spatial rift would throw her out into an even worse plane. Such a thing would likely be the death of her. Perspiration appeared across her face as she struggled to mend the tear.
It was unknown how Sol managed to create it, but the spatial tear was more permanent than Victoria assumed. She felt her power draining and yet the rift was repairing itself at such a small pace. She soon abandoned the thought of closing it and allowed it to repair itself.
The young boy didn’t bother hiding his power after appearing in that world and so Victoria could tell what route he took with ease. She didn’t want to be involved after just escaping and thus, fled in the opposite direction.
The spatial rift she slightly mended was unstable and gradually twisted in on itself. The passage was no longer stable and the two entrances had long since disconnected. Despite the disconnect, the rift still was connected to the void between realms.
As if lured by fate, another figure reached their hand through the rift. Bloody and mangled, the hand showed more bone and muscle than skin. A withered skull and battered body soon followed the hand and the figure fell from the sky.
Appendages extruding from the figure’s back caught tree limbs as she fell through the canopy. After she slammed into the ground, the unstable rift finally closed. A six legged beast, drawn in by the smell of blood, approached the battered body.
The moment it neared to take a bite, strings of silver wrapped around its mandibles like a web. Rivulets of silver crawled from the woman’s body along the web-like material. The beast struggled to escape, and dragged the body along with it.
Despite running, it remained attached to the woman and the silver material crawling onto it started burrowing into its flesh. It soon stopped running and began thrashing against the surrounding trees while snarling. A moment later, it collapsed to the ground.
The beast’s body bulged and contracted as if something were inside it and it soon deflated as the silvery material left it. The mangled body of the woman soaked in the silvery substance and her skin gradually restored itself along with her bones and frame. Soon, that mangled body was restored to a pristine woman.
The woman’s eyelids flickered open revealing a pair of silver eyes that seemed to flow with mercury. Her silvery hair complemented her eyes and she took a moment to glance over her figure. Well proportioned and appearing around 26 years old, the woman nodded her head in delight.
Despite her delight, her face remained stoic as if the situation was as expected. She stretched her limbs and wandered to the nearby river to wash the blood from her skin. Though naked, the woman showed no humiliation or concern about it.
Once at the river, the woman spared no time and waddled into its depths. Her red stained skin soon washed out to a youthful and tender white. She took a moment to examine her cleaned body once and showed delight for the umpteenth time with a stoic face.
Just as she was about to leave the river, she felt a tendril wrap around her leg and drag her underwater into the river depths. Her face remained stoic as if the world could never phase her and a silvery substance oozed from her skin.
Unaware of its fate, the aquatic beast moved to swallow the woman. Its actions only lasted a moment when it realized something was wrong. It could feel something squirming inside it and felt as if ants were biting. The initially itchy feeling soon turned painful as its transparent skin was patterned with bruises.
The beast wailed underwater in pain, however it was unable to detach itself from the woman. Its skin soon degraded and blood poured from the beast into the river. Soon, its body remained still and its deflated carcass flowed with the river downstream.
The woman recovered her balance and made her way to shore. Her pristine body was on for show, yet there was noone around to witness it. Magic swirled around her and from major anchor points along her body, pieces of fabric materialized into existence.
“How rude…”, was the only whisper the woman’s graceful tone left in the forest as she disappeared into its depths.