Chương 102: Cold Fury

River sat in a river. As a Triton, keeping both hydrated and moisturized is an important thing, as an amphibious race that primarily lives in bodies of water, land-dwelling Tritons are more prone to heat stroke or simply dehydration. Tritons don't have proper sweat glands like humans; some Triton people are capable of emitting water from a bladder, but unfortunately, River didn't have that adaptation.

His family was capable of sweating, but unlike humans, it wasn't a steady flow of water, so he had to take dives at least twice per day and constantly hydrate, or he would risk heat stroke or simply become dehydrated.

'Well, I don't need to worry about that here in the virtual realm.' He didn't need to worry about dying like that in the virtual realm, but River still kept the routine up as a way to calm his nerves and remind himself of home. His duties as Leonard's assistant were hectic, but manageable. But, as his replacement, he faced a constant barrage of tasks.

'For someone with both gills and lungs, how could I be drowned in work?' Not to mention, as the new council head, he had to constantly deal with the devil himself. As surprising as it was, Brighthaven's monster wasn't always a crazed maniac with blood around his mouth. He treated anyone within the faction like his own friends and often waived formal speech for even the lowest of the low in Brighthaven's order, unlike the Royal Faction.

The Lord of Light himself was often the first to get down and dirty for his people, and his cohort, who led Brighthaven spectacularly, were viewed as saints. However, in recent days, the Lord of Light's behaviour had changed enough for even those who don't often make contact with him to begin worrying, following River's sudden baptism by fire. With the help of Eren, Silvester, and Ann, who were the remaining members of his cohort, River was able to smooth out festering worries before things escalated.

'It's like he started sizing people up after killing the Wendigo.' After the hunt, under June's suggestion, the IMP-Class Nightmare was designated The Wendigo; as to what inspired the name, the Lord of Light didn't elaborate further. Other than the oddly fitting name, June had undergone a slight behavioural change after his battle; his concealed Dreamer aura began to leak, and those who were in his presence during those leaks all felt a drastic sense of disharmony.

According to the few who had experienced his aura before, it was supposed to be soothing, friendly, and almost unnoticeable, aside from a slight shift in the air that made it feel fresher, but now, for an unknown reason, many concerns have popped up about his exposed aura. Shared hysteria started popping up rampantly in June's wake. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

During his meetings after the Wendigo was slaughtered, River himself felt cold hands wrap around his neck and the straining breath of a reaper standing behind him in June's presence, but only for a few moments before it returned to how it usually was. Even the Dreamers of the Brighthaven faction have started avoiding him.

June's aura was a unique existence among Dreamers; unlike others of his stature, he was capable of fully hiding his will, with his only other tell being his eyes, but since trails of will had begun leaking out again when meeting people, it had started to overtake the will of other Dreamers.

A Dreamer's aura was an embodiment of their rawest power and self in the form of ambient Will, meaning that in the stronger Dreamer's presence, the weaker one would have their Will suppressed, and the potency of their Will would decrease in turn.

Unknowingly to the other Dreamers, June's suppressed aura came as a sign of friendliness, but now that it leaked out, and with the anomalous potency of his Will, it was the equivalent of being greeted with a lethal weapon slowly plunging into you before suddenly disappearing. Several mundanes, and even some Aspirants, have begun experiencing hysteria in his presence. River lunged from the riverbed and swam to the surface. The turn of the week was approaching, and then the next threat event would occur.

He swam to land, and with water dripping off his clothing, he collected it into a ball with magic. A meeting was scheduled shortly with the Lord of Light and his remaining retainers. And River hoped someone else would break the question before he had to.

Silvester looked to his left and right and saw Ann and Eren to his sides on the long bench. This was going to be an open-air meeting. The Origami caravan had been reserved for this meeting, and apart from the bartender and several distantly placed guards, no one else was going to be eavesdropping in on this private meeting. Silvester waved his hand in the air, and shortly, several mugs of alcohol were delivered onto the table, illuminated by a warm light from several paper lights hung with a string above.

Shortly, River appeared and sat down with a reserved head nod.

'June's running late.' This was the first time that Brighthaven was able to somewhat rest after the IMP attacks. So, the purpose of the meeting was to help the leaders of Brighthaven relax and wind down, especially to help the noticeably tense Lord of Light. After about 20 minutes of waiting, June walked up the side ramp leading up to the origami bar. Silvester looked at the Lord of Light oddly. His walking style was different; instead of a casual cartoonish gait, it seemed aggressive.

His shoulders seemed to dip with every step, and a slouch that looked more like a primed lunge controlled every step, which seemed like it would divot the plywood floor from the simple force of walking. Silvester and Eren had realized for a while, but Ann was the first to notice June's strange behaviour before it became problematic. His leaking will hold a person's neck in a guillotine for moments before disappearing.

This strange aggression from June even extended to the survivors of the cohort as they collectively realized that his eyes lingered on them individually with the accompanying feeling of his deathly will before fading. They looked at one another; the goosebumps on their bodies were enough signification that something was wrong with June. His face no longer had the ever-present goofy smile, but instead a peering scowl. June plopped himself down on a nearby table instead of sitting with the rest of the group.

He pressed his palms against his eyes and sighed as his scowl lessened into a neutral look. He lifted a stiff hand and waited for the bartender to arrive with his drink. The group was deathly silent; no one had seen June properly mad before, and so no one knew how to react. The bartender walked over and delivered the drink since no waiters were present for this meeting. June took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes scowling at the bartender.

Just as the bartender turned to walk away, June slammed his cup on the table and said with his voice dripping in commanding anger." YOU"