I led my group back to the castle and one of the court attendants brought us right to the queen's personal chamber, where she spent her private time with her daughter. We could hear the loud laughter in the hallway before the man knocked on the door.
“Come in.” The queen's voice said.
The man opened the door and peeked in. “Your expected visitors are here, your majesty.”
“Thank you, Gavell.” The queen said, and the man ushered us into the room. I saw several dolls, pieces of clothing, and various other items were strewn across the room and two young girls were currently tucked into a corner. They talked in loud whispers as if they were sharing deep secrets and didn't care who else heard them. The man bowed to the queen and closed the door behind us.
“As you can see, the two of them have been inseparable.” The queen motioned to Milly and Afyne.
“I'm a little surprised you didn't say 'insufferable'.” I joked, and the queen let out a rare chuckle.
“I admit they have been a bit of a handful... for Gavell.” The queen said with a smile.
I grinned at her, completely understanding that when they did get out of hand, he took them out of her sight. “It's good for him that it's time for me to lessen his burden.”
“He will be glad to hear that.” The queen said. “How did the talks with the emissaries go?”
“We didn't try to kill each other this time, so it went better than last time.” I said. “I managed to convince Jessica to listen to me and I told her my life story. Both of them.” I chuckled. “Actually, I guess three of them, since I pretty much had to die before being sent here.”
“Is that how all adventurers come here when summoned?” The queen asked, curious.
“I doubt it. The goddess... I don't know how long she took to recruit the others, if they all just happened to die at the same time, or if she plucked them from different times and just kept them while she gathered the others.” I said. “I do know that time ran differently from my first life to my second. Jessica said only two years had passed for her and it was seventeen for me.”
“How is that possible?” The queen asked. “Time is supposed to be constant. It wouldn't lengthen or shorted arbitrarily, would it?”
“I suppose it would depend on the size of the planet, the size of the star it orbited, and the mass of those objects. The pull of gravity could affect the speed of time, since it's relative to wherever you are...” I said, and the queen just stared at me, as did Allirynn and the others. “I've been going over it in my head to try and figure it out.”
“I'm... sure you will.” The queen said hesitantly. “In the meantime, we should tell the children that...”
A loud rumbling shook the castle and rattled the glass in the windows.
“What in the seven hells was that?” Evus asked and rushed over to the window. “By Black Laura's...”
“What is it?” I asked and interrupted his curse.
“If I didn't know better, and I thought I did... it looks like a crack in the world.” Evus said.
“Wait, what?” I walked over to look, and sure enough, it was. Only it wasn't like the others. There was no gaping maw illusion to hide it. “It is... and it isn't.” I said and explained the difference.
“You're right.” Allirynn said and looked as well. “It's not trying to conceal itself like the others.”
“Evus, stay here and guard Afyne.” I said and walked over to the door of the room. “Your majesty, if you will excuse us.”
“Of course.” The queen said, and I led the rest of my party out of the room. We ran down several hallways to the stairs, then down another hallway and out of the castle.
“That thing is huge.” Imiryl said, now that she had a better look at it.
“It's also high up in the air.” I said as we ran down the side road towards the docks. “It's not the same as the others at all.”
“I think I know why.” Allirynn said and pointed at several black things that exited the portal. “Flyers.”
“Goddammit.” I said and saw the things unfurl and flap their wings. “Diofra, please tell me you have a flight spell.”
“I do; but, it's only limited. There's no way it can let you fight in mid-air or go that high.” Diofra said.
“What about a teleport spell?” I asked. “If we can get above it...”
“You'll fall and die.” Diofra said. “I won't do that to you.”
“I need to at least get up to that portal.” I said and we came to a stop on the closest dock. “I'll have to levitate up there.” I could see that it was just a little higher than what god had made me jump before, so asking him for help would be pointless at the moment. “The portal has to be closed before more of the things come through.”
“Too late.” Allirynn said and I looked up to see several dozen more things come out.
I held in my curse. “Does anyone know what they are?”
“They...” Maylia stared at one for several moments. “Oh, no.”
“What is it?” I asked and looked at her.
“If the wing patterns are the same, and the four legs...” Maylia sighed. “They are garglemacers.”
“Son of a bitch!” I nearly yelled. “Someone give me some good news! Where they are going?”
“They hunt first and then find somewhere to roost.” A woman's voice said from behind us.
I turned around and saw the monster expert run towards us. “I said good news.”
“They're only half the size.” She said. “Barely teenagers, really.”
I opened my mouth to say that sucked for good news, then thought about it. If they were only half the size, that meant they should only be half as tough. At least, I hoped that's what it meant.
“Okay, we can work with that.” I said and turned to the others just as people's screams started. The townspeople had started to notice them. “Gather around.” I said and Maylia, Diofra, Allirynn, and Imiryl all came close and joined hands. I activated Mana Presence Run and shared the energy with all of them. “They have soft underbellies, so target there as much as you can. Fireballs aren't effective, since they can shoot their own. Imiryl, I want a snowstorm with heavy icy winds to cover the city. If you need mana to do that, I'll give you all that you need.”
“I will need some to maintain it after the initial burst.” Imiryl said.
“Diofra, any ice magic spells or powerful wind spells would help.”
“We don't have the crystals attuned for mana use yet.” Diofra said.
“Dammit.” I said. “Okay, we'll have to do that first. Allirynn, you're our ground force. When a creature lands, get over to it as soon as you can and flip it over onto its back to expose it.”
“No problem.” Allirynn said. “Then what?”
“I can help.” The monster expert said and stepped forward as a harpoon materialized in her hand. “If he exposes the belly, I can kill it.”
I let Maylia's hand go and held it out to the monster expert. “What's your name?”
“Sam.” She said, and I felt the Presence waver a small fraction.
“Sam, huh?” I said as she took my hand. I used Presence to make a connection to her and my energy flowed over her. I smiled when she gasped. “Hi, Sam. Stay with Allirynn. He won't have to flip them over now. He'll just hold them up for you.”
“O-o-okay.” Sam said, her voice shaky.
“I'm sharing my fast running technique with everyone, so don't be surprised. Stick beside Allirynn and he'll guide you.”
Sam nodded several times and I held in my laugh.
“Maylia, you're with me. You have to defend me while I close that crack.”
Maylia nodded and saw one of the creatures descend towards the buildings. “Allirynn.” She said and pointed over his shoulder.
“Let's go.” Allirynn said and let Imiryl's hand go, grabbed Sam by the arm, and ran. She let out a startled scream as he pretty much dragged her behind him and I did laugh at that.
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“I'll get started, too.” Imiryl said and let my hand go as she closed her eyes and started to chant to help her focus her mana.
Diofra took out her uncharged mana crystal as the local temperature quickly dropped. “This is going to take a few minutes.”
“No, it won't.” I said and took her hand. I knew exactly what it took to attune a crystal to your own personal energy, since I had done it several times with the focusing crystals for Light swords, which were a lot more dangerous to deal with. “Allow me.”
I took her hand and placed it on top of the mana crystal, then intertwined my fingers with hers. I recalled what the other mana crystal felt like during all the times I had shared my mana with Diofra and charged it, so it was simple to allow that same energy mixture to touch the new crystal through her. It pulsed several times and then both my mana and Diofra's flowed into it. It was completely charged a few seconds later and it felt like it was her old crystal.
“I... I'm not even going to ask how you did that.” Diofra said and hugged the crystal to her chest.
“I'll explain it later. Get your wind and ice spells ready.” I said.
Diofra nodded and pulled out her scrolls and took the one that said Ice Storm on the side. She quickly memorized it and put it away, then gripped the mana crystal and started to chant.
I unhooked my mother's Light sword from my belt and held it in my hand, then held my other hand out to Maylia. “Hop on.”
“I'll control the Levitate technique and you power me.” Maylia said and climbed onto my back and wrapped her legs around my waist and put her arms around my neck.
“You can't watch my back with your eyes closed.” I joked, and she laughed as we activated the Levitate technique together. In the next moment, a six inch thick blanket of snow fell over the entire city and the garglemacers started to yell at the drop in temperature.
“It's not as thick... much bigger area.” Imiryl said between breaths.
I reached out with a hand and took hers and I charged her up as if she was a mana crystal. I felt her mana reserve fill up instantly and the excess made her glow fairly brightly. The snow increased in depth several inches and the icy winds started to blow.
“M-more.” Imiryl whispered as she emptied her mana reserve to make the storm swirl fiercely. “Let the garglemacers feel what my home is like.”
I grinned and dumped more mana into her to fill her mana up again and she used about half to make the sleet and cold bite into the skin, the Diofra's Ice Storm spell finished and it really started to blow. I filled Imiryl's mana again and she nodded, so I let her go and touched Diofra's mana crystal to fill it again.
“Ready, Maylia?” I asked as I looked up at the huge crack and she kissed my cheek. She closed her eyes and I poured my mana in a steady stream into her and she used that boost to levitate us up into the air. It was slow at first, since it was her first time lifting the two of us at once; but, once we got above the edge of the nearby houses, we started to accelerate as we went higher.
“Good. Good.” I said in encouragement. “Let the energy flow. Don't try to fight it. Ease it into the technique. The energy wants to help us. Let it do the work.”
Maylia nodded and a moment later our speed doubled.
“I'm so proud of you.” I praised her and activated my mother's Light sword. “Guide us to the right about thirty feet.”
We floated over in that direction as we kept going higher and I readied to strike the closest garglemacer. Since the storm gave us all cover, the creature didn't see or hear us coming. I sliced the Light sword up under its neck and into its brain, flicked the tip of it around, and withdrew it before the creature knew it was dead. The carcass dropped to the ground below and we moved on.
“We're almost there.” I said and added a slight push to the left to avoid one of the creatures as they came out of the bottom of the crack. When we passed the bottom edge, what I saw through the crack stunned me.
It wasn't a dead world like the others.
The creatures on the other side weren't poised to attack or had lifeless eyes until they crossed over. It looked like a large breeding pit and a bright green sky was on the other side, instead of the dark red haze of every other crack I had been through.
“Good god, what is going on?” I asked out loud and I felt god's Presence as it descended upon me. I hadn't intended to do that, since I wasn't in a position to have him seal the massive crack yet. Maylia cried out in pain as god's power flowed over her and we glowed as the Levitate technique was overcharged. We shot right up to the middle of the crack and stopped there. I closed off sharing energy with Maylia and she sighed in relief. Several garglemacers noticed the very close prey and they scrambled over each other to try and get what they thought were tasty morsels.
I held a hand out and started to form Mana Presence Lightning, then surrendered my arm to god without a word. I felt his happiness as the lightning had his power added to it, and then only ten bolts shot out instead of the hundred I had expected, because that was how many that had come out the last time. I was going to ask what he was doing, then I saw the bolts skewer ten of the garglemacers like they were on a spit. Even through the crack, since we hadn't crossed into it, I could smell the cooking meat.
The creatures around the skewered ones had jumped back startled at first, then all of their attention was drawn to the smell. A few of them that had passed out of the crack already, turned around and went back in when they caught the smell, too.
“Okay, that was a good idea.” I said.
“Thanks for giving me a hand.” My mouth said with god's voice. “Let's get the rest back inside.”
We turned around and formed a dozen giant Mana Presence Hands and grabbed the closest creatures in the air and pulled them back to the crack. They fought at first and tried to break free, then the smell hit them and they flapped their wings to help. I almost laughed at that and let them go, and they scrambled back through the portal to join in on the feast.
I felt four people enter my expanded perception and turned to look. I saw Jessica, Kara, Steven, Josh and Evangeline as they stood just inside my detection range. I assumed they stopped because they could feel I could detect them. A second later, Kara and Steven took off running towards a garglemacer that was tearing into a building nearby. Jessica waved her staff and chanted something, then her, Josh, and his wife were caught up in a gust of wind and to my surprise, flew right up to me.
“I heard you might need a hand.” Jessica said.
“Diofra needs that flight spell.” I said, matter-of-factly, and Jessica chuckled.
“I'll write out a copy when we're done.” Jessica said. “You two look like you're managing without it.”
“It's just a Levitate technique that Maylia is handling, and there's barely any manoeuvrability.” I said and motioned to the creatures through the giant crack. “I thought you were terrified of these things.”
“I'm completely petrified.” Jessica said with a smile. “The Goddess is keeping me from screaming my head off because of what I'm seeing.”
I turned back to the crack. “So, she's good for something, then.”
The cooked garglemacers were almost gone, so god and I cooked up ten more.
“That's a neat idea.” Josh said.
“Thank god.” I said.
Josh didn't say anything, probably because he wasn't sure if I said it to thank god, or if I was telling him to thank god for the idea. Either way, it shut him up, so I was happy.
“Hunter, you can't keep saying bad things about the Goddess.” Jessica said. “One of these times, she's going to take it personally, and then...”
“Yeah, she's going to smite her chosen hero.” I said and looked around at the city. Allirynn and Sam had already killed six of the ones that had come out first. “What would her followers think of her then?” I grabbed a garglemacer with a giant Mana Presence Hand and lifted it up to toss it back through the crack. “Or better yet, what would you think?”
Jessica sighed. “Hunter...”
“I haven't said anything directly against her, so don't worry.” I said. “I hate the things her followers have done in her name, especially The Order that she established, and that hate transfers to her because she honestly doesn't care what her followers do as long as she gets famous for it and they give her more followers; but, that doesn't mean I hate her personally.”
“Actually, I think it does.” Jessica said with a smile, and I laughed.
“My secret has been discovered!” I said and grabbed two more garglemacers that tried to come through the crack and put them back inside, then I had to cook ten more creatures to keep the feeding frenzy going. They were like dogs at the moment, where you could keep putting food in front of them and they would keep eating as long as there was more food. It was a great distraction.
“Hunter.” Maylia opened her eyes and spoke in a serious tone as I felt the Levitation technique start to waver, so I fed her a very tiny amount of mine and god's combined energy. She gasped as the energy was more than enough to recharge her mana reserve and she closed her eyes again to stabilize us.
“We need to close this crack.” I said.
“We know.” Jessica said and motioned to it. “The Goddess told us about this.”
Josh and Evangeline joined hands and started to chant.
“She told you it was a crack?” I asked. “When?”
Jessica opened her mouth to say, when the goddess' Presence spread out from Evangeline. Josh fell unconscious and his now brightly glowing wife held onto him for only a moment, then passed him to Jessica.
“Hello, Aaron.” The Goddess Chaiya said as she looked at me with gold glowing eyes.
“You have no right to call me that.” I said and held in my anger.
“It's your name.” Chaiya said and looked at the crack. “It's so big.”
“Go ahead and close it, then.” I said.
Chaiya chuckled and I felt a wave of her Presence cover me. “If I could close it by myself, I would have done it already.”
I was really glad that I had inadvertently already called god, because Chaiya's Presence hadn't engulfed me and swallowed me whole like I felt it was trying to do. I saw the reaction on her face when I didn't immediately fall under her spell, and that made me smile.
“Yeah, that little trick didn't work on me.” I said and glanced at Jessica, who only had eyes for the goddess in front of her. I reached out and shared a bit of energy with her. She took in a big breath of air, because she had apparently forgotten to breathe. “You shouldn't overwhelm your own people like that.”
Chaiya frowned a little at me, then she smiled. “Go ahead and summon your god. We need to talk and then we can close this thing together.”
“Why wait? Let's just close it.” I said and Maylia floated us over to the right side and god gripped the edge of the crack with my right hand.
Chaiya blinked her eyes at me for a moment, then she floated over to the other side of the huge crack and gripped that side. We floated over to each other and our hands met to hold the crack closed, then her energy and god's flowed out and over the huge crack to sew it closed. She stared at me as she felt the foreign energy and understood what I had done. She didn't mention it, though.
The thing was, her energy felt familiar to me. It took me until the crack was sealed and healed over before I figured out why. I didn't say anything to her about it, either.
“There.” Chaiya said with a satisfied smile. “I hope this has enlightened you to what it means to be a part of a team that was designed to work together.”
“It has.” I said. “Even more than you think it has.”
Chaiya beamed a smile at me and nodded, then she floated to Jessica and gave up using Evangeline as an avatar. Jessica caught her and the weight of two people was a bit too much for her. I held a hand out to her and she nodded, so Maylia and I floated next to her so I could take her hand to share energy. She felt the difference and the strength of it, then we gently floated down to the snow covered ground. I formed a large solid Presence box and Jessica sat on it with Josh and Evangeline.
“We have... the rest of the... garglemacers grounded.” Diofra panted.
“Even with... your help... this was a lot... to keep going.” Imiryl panted as well.
“You both are doing great.” I said and put a hand on each of theirs. I gave them only a touch of mine and god's combined energy and they both recovered completely.
“Thank you.” Imiryl and Diofra said together.
“Give Allirynn and the others a few more minutes to finish off the rest of the creatures, then you can stop.” I said and they nodded. I used Presence to push the words I spoke next, down and away from everyone. “Dear god, thank you for your help.”
“You know I came early for a reason.” He said with my mouth.
“Yes, I know. I figured it out.” I responded. “Thanks for that.”
“Are you going to tell the emissaries?”
“They wouldn't believe me.” I said. “Even after what I told her today, Jessica won't believe me, either.”
“I know.” He said with my mouth. “I have to go. She's coming.”
“Amen.” I said, then god's Presence and consciousness faded from my perception.