There were many canyons in Rianra, like the Blood Canyons in the southern part of the Ost province, and the Mound of the Serpent in Rian, but of them all, Night Canyons were the greatest, and the grandest canyons. Even the smallest of their canyons were comparable to some of the core cities of Rianra, and there were thousands, if not more, of such canyons, all joining together into even greater canyons.
Even those greater canyons though, were nothing more than some mere branches in the outskirts of the Night Canyons, a small part of the vast network of the canyons that the Night Canyons were. And it was after countless such branches would come together, that the inner veins of the canyons would form. Even beyond the inner veins though, at the very core of the canyons, was the Labyrinth of Night. The true heart of the Night Canyons.
But whether it was the heart of the canyons, or even their inner veins, they were very far from Alnea. At the moment, he was in just one of the smaller branches lying at the edge of the outer reaches of the canyons. Still, with nearly twenty five kilometres in width, it was one of the largest canyon of its kind. Be it the length of the canyon, or even the length of its walls, they were far too big for him to estimate accurately.
At the very least, the walls big enough for him to not even see the small crack at the top of the canyon. Only the miniscule amount of light, barely allowing him to see up to a couple of metres with clarity with naked eyes, was telling him that the canyons still had a top. Or else, he might have thought otherwise.
In any case, the visibility within the canyon was much lower than the canyons he had been in before. And they had been busy dealing advanced phase Oren Beast for a long time. Coupled with the Fortune Spring that they had come across soon after entering the canyon, they had not paid much attention its walls. After all, they had come to the Night Canyons to train, and hone their fighting skills, not to tour its depths.
When he looked at the wall though, Alnea could not help but stare at in awe. If not for Cecilia’s reminder, he would not even have bothered to check the wall with the senses of his Spirit. And he would have missed the dazzling sight of the small crevices forming the strange pattern on the wall. It was unlike anything Alnea had ever seen, and even looked like a Glyph.
What was the symbol? If it truly was a Glyph… then what kind of Glyph was it? And why was it carved on the canyon’s wall? Did it form naturally? Or was it manmade? If so, then who carve it? And what was their purpose? More importantly, was this the only place with such a symbol? Or were there other canyons with similar symbols? Were the other places in the canyon with similar symbols?
There were so many things that Alnea wished he knew the answer of. Especially the last question. If only they had paid attention, then they might have discovered the canyon’s secret even earlier… Considering how well the wolf was hiding in the small crevice within the wall though, it was for the best that they had stayed away from it. Who knew how many beasts the walls were hiding?
Still, since they had already decided on the wolf to test their progress, and cooperation, none of them hesitated with their actions. While Alnea urged his Aspects, glowing in their lights, the girls also began to glow in the lights of their respective Aspects. And though all of them had a bias, a colour which glowed the brightest on their bodies—golden for Alnea, green for Cecilia, and bluish white for Yuri— after months of Wanderings, they had diversified their repertoire of Aspects enough for the glow on their bodies to not be as singular as it used to be.
Consequently, with a greater array of Aspects at their disposal, their abilities also increased. And against a peak phase Oren Beast, they did not dare to hold back. Glowing in an array of white, green, blue, silver, golden, and black lights, Alnea gathered his strength in his left leg, and pushed it against the ground with all of his strength, even as he assumed the ‘Sky Streaming Style’, rushing towards the wolf with his fastest speed.
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Claiming to grant its users the ability to cross the skies with just one leap, the Sky Streaming Style stood at the peak of all Intermediate Grade Style when it came to specialising in Speed. Great as the Martial Style was though, it was similarly hard to control. So much so, that after Alnea had become a proper Wanderer, and begun taming Aspects, he had never dared to use the Sky Streaming Style.
After all, he may have mastered the basics of the streaming across the skies long ago, and even used it against some of the Oren Beasts specialising in speed, like Lightning Armoured Rabbits, but that was when he did not have any Aspects. When the Sky Streaming Style was used with Aspects, his speed increased to such an extent, that everything around him seemed like a blur.
If not for using three of his Aspects to enhance his senses, he would not even have been to look where he was going. And if not for the using five Aspects to enhance to enhance his physique, then even with his increased strength, his body might not have been able to bear the extreme speed with which he was running towards the wolf.
However, dangerous as the Sky Streaming Style was, it had its own advantages. Like how by the time that he reached the wolf, it had not even reacted to his presence. It was only when he unsheathed his sword, and swung it from below the wolf’s body, like ‘Sundering the Skies’, to slash off its head, the beast’s instinct kicked in, and it hurriedly flashed away from where it was hiding.
Even then, his blade had been fast enough to sunder the beast’s fur, and leave a light gash around its ears. The gash was so light, that it would not even have been enough to leave a permanent scar on the wolf. Still, just the fact that it had been ambushed in its own lair, by a creature so weak that it did not even see at its prey, was enough for Alnea to earn the beast’s ire.
Howling to express its anger, and declaring the death of its prey, the wolf concentrated darkness around its fur to melt into the darkness of the canyon, and disappear from the senses of its prey. But Alnea had already expected as much from the wolf. It was a Dark Wind Wolf after all. Only after it mastered one of its two elements could it reach the peak phase of its Adolescent Stage. And he preferred the wolf to master darkness, rather than the wind. Because Darkness was his domain.
“Lurking in the void between Day and Night…”
Still, he had to live long enough to deploy his domain. And that was where high fighting skills came into play. The most important part of honing fighting skills was to learn when, and how to change his tactics. At the moment, since he was already next to the wolf, there was no need for him to continue with the Sky Streaming Style. Especially since the wolf had hidden itself with its mastery over darkness. What he needed at the moment was a Martial Style that could help him detect the wolf, and dodge its attack. Something like the Night Dancing Style.
“The shadow that comes from the absence of light…”
Specialising in raising his agility, and his perception of the world around him, the Night Dancing Style was also one of the peak Intermediate Grade Martial Style, just a step away from a High Grade Martial Style. At the same time, it was also exceptionally compatible with him. Apparently, it was created by a Mystic Warrior, whose Roots were also based on the lineages of Day, and Night.
Just like with the Sky Streaming Style though, the Night Dancing Style was too hard to control. Especially for him, since it resonated with his Roots. There were quite a few times he had found himself being mesmerised by the concept of the Martial Style, dancing among the trees of the Bright Light Forest long after he had taken care of his enemies, almost failing to keep his Oaths. And that was when he did not even have any Aspects, and was not in an environment of complete darkness.
“I beseech the Lady of Night to grace me with her light…”
Since he did not have the protection of his master, and could not guarantee to control himself, he had not dared to use the Night Dancing Style in the Night Canyons for a long time. But just as it was with the Sky Streaming Style, with time, he had gained enough confidence to control himself. And so, as he saw the wolf melt into the darkness of the canyon, he shifted from the Sky Streaming Style to the Night Dancing Style, while changing the grip of his sword to induce the ‘Falling Mountains’, blocking the wolf’s teeth just as it was about to rip into his throat from his left.
“And grant unto me, the Domain of Night.”