“Those artifacts sure are something.” Io commented as Cira withdrew the Six Pillars. “Even I’m impressed.”

“Of course you are. They were my father’s finest staves that took a lifetime of treasure hunting and artificing to produce.”

“I guess I don’t need to ask why I hadn’t seen that formation before.” She used two of them regularly, but putting all six together was more than Cira could handle.

“Indeed. They are far beyond my level. I can only be thankful that my body and soul stayed intact.” Cira started with a light chuckle, but noticed awkward glances from not just the witch and the villagers, but Io as well. “What?”

“About that… Your essence was pretty much done for. Had you not been so obstinate, I suspect you would have returned to the cycle. I had to perform a sort of rudimentary resurrection. You might have turned into some kind of wraith if I left you alone for another minute or so, but thanks to that, the wisps of your soul were still somewhat connected.”

“Hang on…” Cira couldn’t just gloss over that, “I died?!”

Rudimentary resurrection…? So, there are better ones too? I don’t feel like a lich, or whatever Kuja became.

“Relax. You aren’t undead.” It’s not every day I die. Aren’t I allowed a moment to process this? “I merely returned you to your base state of a day prior”

“That doesn’t really make me feel better.” She was certainly glad to be alive, though, and not bereft of aura.

“Look out!” a man shouted, sending the villagers into a panic. Cira followed his gaze and saw another stone falling from the sky.

“You’re kidding…” It wasn’t anywhere near the size of the last. Hardly as large as a house. I can take this one. Easy.

The orichalcum appeared in Cira’s hand and she reeled it back like a spear. “Hyah!” She threw it at blistering speeds and the air cracked before it lodged into the falling rock. With a glittering puff, it turned into a cloud of sand and gently floated down to the earth like a stream.

The staff fell from the sky and landed before Cira again, to the oohs and ahhs of the villagers.

“That’s going to be a problem.” She looked up and didn’t see any more, but apparently it was a consistent issue.

“This has been happening for months… sometimes twice a day,” The Witch supplied.

“Y-yeah, but what do you care?” An older woman spat, “You’re just here to package it up and take it away. That doesn’t help anyone.”

“I-I…” They didn’t even give her a chance to speak.

“Give it up, Witch!” A larger gruff man spoke up. The others seemed out of their depth when he spoke, including Mile and her dad who she met. Even the witch shrunk down. “We all know why you’re here.”

“Oh?” Cira stepped forward, “And who might you be?”

He gave the impression of their leader and approached Cira with a smile, holding out his hand, “I’m the chief of this village, Raum. And it’s true. Earth Vein responded to our plea for help by sending her to gather stone day and night for a ship to come take each morning. How is that supposed to help?!”

Cira crossed her arms, bluntly rejected the gesture to shake hands, “And you think this girl here is calling the shots? Is it not obvious that Earth Vein never intended to help by the fact that they sent someone down here, and not up there.”

Somewhere far above was the source of the problem. Obviously, nothing could be done from down here.

“You would all be dead if it weren’t for her.” Cira continued with little patience in her tone, “Remember that.”

“Y-yes, you’re absolutely right, Madam Witch! I was mistaken.” He changed his tune quickly enough. “Th-thank you Lady Mudrock.”

“Uh—no it’s okay, really… I’m just glad I could finally do something to help.” She clenched her fists in determination and regret.

“You’re not so bad, Little Mudrock.” Cira laughed, gently rising from the ground with a wave. “Well, don’t let those hags up in the clouds hold you down. ‘Til next time.”

She floated away with a twirl, leaving the witch scampering behind her, “Wait! Where are you going?!”

“Hm?” Cira turned back with a curious look, descending slightly with her finger pointed to the sky, “The problems up there. I’m going to go see what I can do about it. Rocks are much easier to stop before they fall, rather than after.”

“J-just like that…?” Cira turned around again to the witch’s pleas, “W-wait! Take me with you! I want to help!”

Cira turned into sand and then reassembled from the earth before the witch, “Is that right?”

It was actually an illusion of light that none but Io could likely see through, but this was definitely a technique she wanted to develop one day. The first step was visualization, and it delivered the intended effect. The villagers were in awe, and it surprised the witch.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I don’t like it.” Io’s opinion could have been guessed. “It’s no secret how weak she is. These Earth Vein people I keep hearing about clearly sent someone expendable so as not to lose any valuable personnel in the eventuality that an event like this morning occurred.”

“Wh-what…” The witch was floored, “That can’t be right—”

“You know it is.” Io stated bluntly, “So I ask, what could you accomplish if you go with her?”

I have to admit… He has a point. Cira couldn’t think of a way to interject that made any sense. So, the both of them stared expectantly at the girl, hanging on her next words.

She looked like she wanted to cry, but there was a spark of determination in her eyes.

“I… I was sent here to help these people.” She spoke resolutely, keeping her eyes directly on Cira’s. “I’m weak, and I’ll probably just hold you back, but how can I ever be a self-respecting witch if I don’t do everything I can to see this job through to the end? I want to learn how a witch is supposed to be—with my very eyes!”

I really would hate to get another witch in trouble… but it’s not like I’m reshaping one of their mining outposts. This is simply stopping a natural disaster—no one’s going to look bad after this is all said and done, and Earth Vein won’t lose any money.

“If hopes and dreams are all you can offer,” Io spat, “then you may as well scurry off to wherever you came from.”

The witch deflated in an instant, falling back to the verge of tears.

“Whoa there, Io.” Cira put a hand up to stop him, “The impression I get is that hopes and dreams are in scarce supply where she comes from. Do you expect me to be the one responsible for finally crushing them? The hard part is already out of the way so long as we hurry.”

“Are you making a joke right now? The only culprit for the crushing of this child’s dreams will be her own weakness.” He was in serious disbelief, and this conversation had evolved far beyond the realm of the villagers who watched on like it was some kind of spectacle into a life they could never reach. “You intend to drag her along like an awestruck schoolgirl merely so she can witness how to be a real witch?”

The only real witch present didn’t know how to feel, glancing between the two with bated breath and wearing a conflicted frown.

“Don’t be so daft. I’m taking her along because those hags in the sky would never give her a chance.” Cira shot the witch a thumbs up, which made her significantly more nervous. “And I think more witches like her can only be a good thing for these skies.”

He let out a long sigh, “As she said herself. She will only hold you back.”

“Nobody holds me back,” Cira smirked, “Not even you, Dear Uncle.”

“Unbelievable… I literally brought you back from the dead mere hours ago. Can you not stand to act with common sense for a single day?” Shaking his head, Io walked away to grumble. “Do whatever you want then. I’m through arguing with you, just try not to die. I will be resting.”

Like space collapsed on itself, Io was gone in the blink of an eye. The villagers looked at each other blankly, and the witch could only stare at Cira in disbelief.

“That takes care of that.” Cira dusted off her hands. “Can you fly?”

“Me…?” The earth witch went pale, “N-no… I cannot… but I have a dropship.”

“Much too slow… No matter.” Cira made a short gesture, and a circle of light formed around the witch before she rose from the ground on a disc of stone.

“W-wahhh!!” She shrieked, almost falling off immediately. “H-Hang on a minute!”

They continued rising without delay.

“Make sure not to fall off.” Cira stated, “Time is potentially of the essence.”

Cira was just floating on her own, because it was more comfortable than standing. Their speed increased, but the only way to tell was watching the clouds go by as Cira actively reduced the drag and inertia on their bodies. They ascended within something like an arrow of space and wind.

“I think I’m gonna be sick…” The witch held her stomach. She couldn’t figure out whether staring at her feet as the sky fell away was better than looking up or not.

At this speed it still took longer to return to the Dead Belt than when she was stuck on the bottom of a plummeting island.

“Hey… That’s Fount Salt, isn’t it?” It was very far away, but she was sure of it. Technically the first stop on the Dead Belt.”

“From here…” The witch spoke with a breath of awe, “It almost looks like a pearl on the horizon.”

“It sure does, doesn’t it?” Cira couldn’t withhold a bright smile. That was all she wanted to hear. Yeah, maybe she’s alright—

“Hey.” The witch turned to Cira, “Why did you make it an egg?”

Cira was defeated. She just wanted to help this bright young witch follow her hopes and dreams, only to have her own crushed in return.

“D-do you know how many damn tunnels and rivers there are in there?! I could only smush it so much!” Cira desperately defended the design she ended up with, “I mean, people live there. I only had so much wiggle room to move them around.”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it. I think… It’s a very beautiful island. I stopped by there on my way down and stayed in Silver Lake.”

Fount Salt was huge, and it was barely visible from here, so even an island chunk as massive as the one Cira stopped would be hard to spot as it fell from the storm. Cira let her chat about her brief stay in Fount Salt a little longer until they approached the edge of the storm.

Breeze Haven sat off in the distance where she left it, but it was disguised as an ordinary cloud for now. And here I thought I was done with this storm.

“This could get dangerous…” Spatial Sight was something to consider, but travelling at such high speeds made it incredibly difficult to maintain any meaningful range. Her eyes, or even light would help in this situation.

Luckily, this storm originated from one of two spatial anchors which belonged to her. That meant the storm belonged to her. As far as the obfuscation array was concerned, she was the epitome of someone who should find what they’re looking for within the storm.

The clouds above them parted in a column until eventually a ray of light broke through.

“Incredible…” The witch was amazed, “But not even Bagrah the Storm Witch can control this storm.”

“Bupkis.” Cira exclaimed, “Bagrah couldn’t rub two clouds together if an elemental asked her nicely. More importantly, don’t take your eyes off the objective.”

The orichalcum staff appeared again and Cira sent it straight upward. More sand blew away on the wind and her staff returned.

“We’re almost there.” Cira didn’t see an island within the storm, but there was one just above it. She started slowing down as they approached, and the storm closed in behind them, as it was no longer obstructing her.

By the time they reached the top, a crumbling island was revealed, resting atop a sea of black clouds. A weathered lighthouse sat on one end by the shore, but it had fallen into disrepair. Deep cracks ran through the island, whereas it had thinned out from apparent erosion and rampant weathering. Some chunks of the island were hanging on by glorified pillars of stone. Practically by a thread.

“This looks bad… But how did it get like this?” Cira had seen an island break into pieces before. She honestly kind of blamed the dragon, but it seemed the dragon blamed her too. It was a mystery. That island fell apart all at once, though. “It’s made of primarily hard stone and even has veins of metallic ore running throughout the bedrock. I don’t get it…”

“You can already tell all that much?” The witch blinked in astonishment.

“As any geomancer or earth witch should, but it take’s practice.” Cira responded, “More concerningly, it appears some of your friends are here.”