Chương 124: Chapter 123- The Arrival

" Eli."" You saw the crest too? My eyes were not deceiving me?" A wave of relief coursed down the tether from Astra slamming into Elias, the infectious smile that bloomed on her face washing away some of the lingering remnants of despair that had weathered the swell of emotion. Elias tore his eyes away from the swirling snow above as he smiled down at her, she gaped towards the sky, her eyes glued to a spectacle that had already disappeared, " Yeah I sure did."

By unspoken agreement they began scanning the sky, the crackling of the ritual in background slowly building in a loud hum until with a sharp shattering sound another fracture pane cracked and appeared in the sky, the change in the backdrop behind the proto fracture was subtle enough that it took a moment for Eli to notice the change. The sullen grey of the clouds above slowly deepened, from the light grey of an overcast sky to the deeper darker grey of an impending storm.

The clouds took on a faint silvery hue and thunder rumbled through the air as lightning flashed across the sky. The air currents slowed slightly as the temperature began to drop and a pressure rapidly built, as the air began to feel heavy and leaden. Soon, Eli felt as if he had dove deep underwater, a weight settled across his shoulders and Elias let out a long slow breath, the air fogging in front of him as the temperature dropped precipitously.

Lightning rippled across the sky once more in a wave and, as the thunder rumbled across the valley, Eli looked to the sky only to see an enormous tunnel punched through the clouds far above like a boulder dropped in a lake. However; no boulder could be seen, only the tiniest speck of movement in the distance, barely perceptible as it pierced through the stormy sky, an outsized ripple of displaced air causing the clouds to shift and flow outwards.

The hackles on the back of Eli's neck rose as the object moved, eerie in its speed and silence across the vast distance, as upon breaching the cloud layer it changed course rocketing towards the proto fracture forming in the sky, heading directly for the crater below. In the blink of an eye the object rocketed across the distance and slammed into the ground with a resounding crash. BOOM.

The ground rumbled and shook as stones and loose earth fell into the new smaller depression that had been smashed into the floor of the crater from above, and a pressure wave surged forth as the speeding object touched down, a compression wave washing up and out of the crater as a sonic boom followed the preceding crash. BOOM.

Eli and Astra braced against the force of the arctic blast that roared over the valley, gasping for breath as the temperature plummeted further, frost riming the ground as air rushed back inwards filling the vacuum left behind by the collapsing sonic wake. Their eyes fixed on the new crater no more than 50 feet away, and their songs awoke coiling in their chests in trepidation as they stared at the darkness of the new pit in the ground. Despite knowing who it likely was, Eli swallowed hard.

The frosty air crackled, suddenly dry with the rapid temperature change, and while he felt the pressure change when Mira had unleashed her power before, Eli suspected he had only previously had a taste of what exactly that had meant. The pressure was not only heavier than before, but it also had a cold weight to it, a deadly wariness that felt like a blade pressed to your throat.

The bestial instincts of the song warned him that an apex predator had arrived and, whatever landed into the shadows below, when it stepped forth only death would follow. A silvery gauntlet etched with runic markings gripped the edge of the pit and, in a single swift movement a familiar dark haired and white eyed form launched itself upwards out of the pit made by her landing as Mira hopped upwards, landing silently on the floor of the larger crater.

Her eyes were glued to the proto fracture above as she emerged, but with a noticeable force of effort she turned from the spectacle in the sky towards the awaiting trio. Astra, Eli and Tia stood from where they had been bracing, and Eli caught her visibly recoiling slightly at the sight of them, some of the pressure easing from the air as she froze, their presence clearly requiring a few moments to process in her mind." … Astra?"

Her face grew grim, as she took in their bloody and disheveled appearances and she grimaced as she strode over to the trio, fixing them with a stern glare." My Lady, what in the depths of the Abyss are you doing here?" The frost in the air crackled at the angry whipcrack of emotion in her question as she strode across the crater." Did I not, tell you to stay in Emerald Grove?"" Did I not, tell you to leave this investigation to me?" Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon."

Did I not, tell you to go absolutely nowhere without your guards?" The disappointment built in her glare in with every statement, and as she took the final step to stand before them Mira swept her gaze across the massive bloody ritual, the battered and dismembered corpses of the dead cultists, and the enormous crater in the ground before drifting upwards as the crumbling remains of the castle wall behind them as another smattering of stones collapsed, pattering down with a series of sharp cracks.

Mira's eyes blazed for a moment in frustration, the white glow of her irises flaring slightly before she sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand as she squeezed her eyes shut." … It has not even been a week…"

"... I left you alone for four days…" She dropped her hand and pinned them with a fierce gaze as she clenched her jaw, gritting her teeth as she ground out the final statement, a low growl punctuating each word." …just…"

"... FOUR …"

"... DAYS." Mira's gaze roamed over their forms, her frown growing with every nick in their armor, every pit in their blades, only to halt completely as her eyes fixed on Elias's missing hand." And just where exactly is your arm Mr Mercer??" Mira's eyes snapped downwards at a chittering noise from below as Tia held up the missing part of the offending appendage clutched between her forepaws, clearly proud to be of use in the moment. Right here auntie-Mira!

She let out a low laugh of disbelief as she stared at Tia, pausing for a moment, before marshalling her emotions. Her normal calm, cool, and measured expression dropped across her face like an avalanche as she re-evaluated the situation. She cleared her throat nodding regally at the young wyvern, " Thank you little Tiamat, please hold onto that for me."

Mira reached down to touch the limb and a ripple of frost crossed it as it was frozen solid in a flash of dull icy white light, the flesh clinking softly against Tia's scales as she bobbled the limb back and forth as the sudden temperature change chilled her paws. She took a deep breath, her gaze softening as she looked back up at Astra and Eli, and she cleared her throat before speaking again." You will have to forgive me my Lady, my reaction may not have been entirely fair to you.

The three of you seem to have had quite the adventure since we last spoke, it seems I will require a report of recent events." Mira's eyes flickered upwards to the fracture slowly forming the sky above, " Although, maybe your report should be kept to the salient points as we seem to be pressed for time." Astra gave Mira a warm smile, a relieved laugh slipping from her lips as she saluted Mira, " Aye, you have missed quite a bit, and there is no forgiveness needed.

I can hardly say I would have reacted better if situations were reversed." She took a deep breath and began." It all started no more than a few hours after you left. Given your order to remain secure, we had retired to the Hostler's inn for dinner, along with two guards, but before the meal could even be served we were ambushed. We later suspected some emergency plan had been triggered, if rushed, as 32 assailants descended on our party despite being guarded and in a public place.""

Privates Craft and Hastert were laid low with the opening strike…" Mira cleared her throat and broke into her monologue with a droll tone, " The abbreviated version, if you please." Astra grimaced, blushing slightly in embarrassment, " Viscount Andrew Whitten was orchestrating the attacks, and when we assaulted the estate we faced heavy resistance. Ultimately we found them in caverns below the grounds, but we arrived too late to halt the ritual. We were able to cause them to start prematurely to an unknown effect."

Mira nodded sharply, " Very well." She turned briskly towards the pulsing formation, studying it for a moment, her brow wrinkling more and more by the moment as she took in the unusual lines and unfamiliar runes. The trio followed her over as Astra took up position at Mira's side. Mira spoke quietly, almost conversationally to Astra as she studied the drawing, " How long?"" A little under six hours since initiation."" Power source?"" Blood sacrifice."

Mira sighed her eyes tracing the crimson lines below, " I assume that takes care of the medium as well. Do we know how many?" Astra's face grew stony as he expression hardened, " No. Far too many." Mira's eyes flickered towards Astra's for a moment, " Aye, but there will be no more." Astra glanced up her gaze softening, " As you say Mira." They began pacing around the perimeter, as Mira began launching rapid fire questions. Mira asked, " What have you tried?" Astra spoke first, " Fire, both magical and mundane."

Tia next, Explosions and a lot of two-legs stuff. Elias spoke last, " Spatial severance." Mira arched her brow at the last one, " Did it work?" Eli held up his missing hand. Mira winced and nodded, before turning back towards the ritual, eyes fixed the lines as she stood, hands clasped before her back in contemplation." Very well." Mira studied the ritual for another moment." Stand back."