Chương 56: Rift Lake

Two days had passed since we left the Lakjoh behind. The shrublands slowly surrendered to drier, sandier ground. Thorny thickets thinned until they vanished entirely, giving way to rolling golden-brown hills dotted with rocky outcrops. The air grew hotter, the wind sharper, carrying the faint scent of baked stone and distant dust. No villages. No caravans. Only the endless rhythm of our carriage wheels and the lonely silhouettes of jagged mountains on the horizon. Then, without warning, the world changed again.

A lush forest rose before us, bursting with sudden life. Trees heavy with green canopies replaced the barren hills. Birds sang overhead. Monkeys leaped between branches, chattering wildly. The air itself felt alive, thick with moisture and the rich smell of earth and leaves. At the heart of this unexpected paradise lay a lake. It was impossibly clear-like, near translucent as fine glass. Sunlight pierced straight through, revealing vibrant schools of fish darting far below.

The surface shimmered like a mirror made of liquid sapphire. For a moment, everything we had endured with the dead recently faded away. The blood, the sand burials, the heavy choices… all of it felt becoming distant. We made camp on the grassy shore. While Galer and Iskatot prepared a fire and skewered meat, I stripped down to my underclothes.

"I'm going under," I told them both.

"I want to see what's down there." Galer immediately covered his face with one hand, shoulders already shaking with suppressed laughter. Iskatot kept grilling, but the corner of his mouth twitched. I grinned, took a running start, and leaped into the air for a perfect jump to the glass like looking lake. THUD. My head slammed into something brutally hard-like solid stone. The impact rattled my skull and sent a jolt of pain down my spine.

I found myself standing upright, knee-deep in water that somehow felt completely solid beneath me, utterly confused and seeing stars. Galer burst out laughing so hard he nearly fell over. Iskatot joined in with deep, rumbling chuckles.

"Am I standing on water… or is this ground?" I asked, rubbing my throbbing head.

"You absolute idiot," Galer wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes.

"It's a Rift Lake. You can't just dive in like that." He then explained while stripping off his own clothes. Rift Lakes were deceptively beautiful and crystal clear with an extremely high concentration of salt floating on the surface like a thick, invisible barrier. To enter, you had to ease in slowly, letting your body adjust to it.

"Watch," he said. Galer stepped in toe-first, moving with deliberate care until the water rose around him. Once fully submerged, he moved freely. Still skeptical but trusting him, I returned to the grass, then slowly waded in. The surface layer felt strangely thick and resistant, almost oily, but once I pushed through, the water beneath was pure and refreshing. I dove. The world below was breathtaking. Schools of fish in every color imaginable swirled around me silver, turquoise, flashes of gold and crimson.

Plants swayed gently in unseen currents. Light pierced down more than a hundred meters before fading into deep, mysterious blue. For a thirteen-year-old boy (nearly fourteen, as my birthday was June 3rd, and today was May 27th, 1023), it felt like stepping into a dream. A curious fish nibbled my toe. Panic flared. I kicked upward only to slam face-first into the dense salty surface layer again. Heart hammering, I forced myself to calm down and push through slowly.

I emerged gasping, water streaming from my wild dark red hair. Galer splashed me playfully, laughing. Salty droplets hit my mouth. I spat, "Bah! It's so weird. The water below isn't salty at all, but the surface…" I cupped some in my hands and let it spill between my palms. Galer nodded.

"Think of it like olive oil floating on top of broth. The salt stays on the surface. Once you break through, it's normal sweet water underneath." I nodded, thankful for the clear explanation. We spent the next hour swimming and racing each other. The lake was only ninety-seven meters across... small enough to make it fun and easy, yet deep enough to feel endless beneath us. We floated for a while, the sun warming our shoulders. The laughter, the clear water, the vibrant life around us...

it felt like a blessing just made for us. Michaelanius had truly guided us along a good path. Yet my thoughts kept drifting back to the Lakjoh. Tomorrow was their meeting. The crossroads Bural had spoken of. Part of me still burned with frustration, if only my arms were fully healed like they are currently in a better shape thanks to all the helpful ingredients, but thats our state of things i can only laments choice not change them. Galer splashed me again, pulling me back to the present.

I grinned and splashed him harder back. After three joyful hours, we climbed out, refreshed. Iskatot had prepared a proper feast: grilled meat glazed with fermented honey and wild mushrooms from Aegyptus. The flavors were rich and layered with high level cooking that reminded me of the royal banquet I had only ever heard stories about. I felt a surge of gratitude toward Iskatot. He wasn't just a guide; he was quietly keeping us alive and well on the road to Jeruem.

As we ate, Galer licked honey from his fingers and asked, "How far do you reckon we are from Jeruem now?" Iskatot glanced at the position of the sun, then answered directly.

"Around two hundred kilometers. At our current pace, one to three days should suffice." Excitement surged through me. I nodded vigorously from my seat on a fallen log, my whole body moving with the motion. My arms, especially, felt noticeably better after soaking in the lake making even less stiff, the skin refreshed and the deeper ache dulled. The mineral-rich water had done more than I expected, truly a magical place.

Then, for the first time, Iskatot opened the small, hidden booklet he had been writing in constantly, never letting us peek. He turned the first few pages toward us. What we saw sent a chill down my spine. The drawings depicted sleek, menacing predators. Shadowy, legless silhouettes that drifted just above the ground, almost air-walking. Their long, sinuous torsos blended deep void-black with midnight-purple tones and subtle bioluminescent accents, giving them a ghostly, otherworldly presence.

Each arm ended in a massive, elegant scythe-blade long and sweeping like a farmer's harvesting tool, forged from a dark alloy of osmium and ironcoal. The metal carried a royal golden-silver sheen with faint iridescent highlights, making the blades look both ancient and impossibly luxurious. The longer I stared, the more unsettled I became. Galer's single eye widened as well; he had clearly never seen or heard of anything like them either. I whispered the name that came to mind." Nightmare …" Iskatot nodded gravely.

"As long as you follow my guidance, you shouldn't have to worry too much. They are powerful like very high in spirit level, their Animo is beyond normal reason. But they can be avoided… or handled, if necessary. They only roam alone," Iskatot continued, voice low and steady, "and they do not speak unless spoken to. So as long as we travel along the shadows at night, our chances of meeting one or having to fight one are very low."

He explained that the creatures were strangely fixated, usually staring upward toward the sky as if searching for something far above. Their attention rarely lingered on the ground. I blinked.

"They're that powerful… yet they're airheads?" Iskatot gave a single, solemn nod. I calmed down a little. Galer, however, remained skeptical.

"And if we do meet one? What exactly can that farmer-looking scythe do? It looks far too luxurious to be just decoration." Iskatot's expression darkened.

"From what I have heard… they can phase through objects and people if you do not engage them in combat. Their scythes have enormous reach. The creatures stand three-point-three-three meters tall and float constantly. If they cut you, they can cage your body for one minute… which feels like one hour inside. They can also temporarily block Vestuto activation. Once severed by the blade, you cannot transform again for a long while. Their beak-like mouths can silently steal sound from the area around you.

It is passive skill, you will see movements, but hear nothing. That is the extent of what I know." A cold sweat broke across my face. Galer and I exchanged shocked glances.

"That's… huge," I whispered.

"They're incredibly mighty. How can something like that even exist in the Ancient City of Jeruem? The place where the Nibelungen are supposed to be?" Iskatot shrugged.

"Good question. No one truly knows. They have been there for thousands of years. Whatever their origin or purpose… it has been lost to time." I gulped, a shudder running through me. Yet beneath the fear, my Heart Flame burned hotter, exhilarated by the promise of real challenge. We spoke long into the evening about Jeruem and the Nightmare monsters, but no true answers came. Eventually the night settled over us. We laid out our sheets in the cozy shelter of the trees while crickets sang their endless chorus.

Galer's breathing deepened first, then mine. The warmth of the fire and the gentle lapping of the lake lulled us into deep sleep. Only then, when he was certain we were both out... did Iskatot move. He sat up slowly, back against the tree, moonlight tracing the hard lines of his dark skin. With a calm, practiced motion he brought two fingers to his lips and let out a special whistle. It was completely silent to human ears. Not even a whisper reached us in our sleep. Yet high above, a shadow stirred.

A large vulture descended from the darkness on silent wings, landing lightly on a nearby branch. Its sharp eyes gleamed with intelligence. Iskatot tied a tightly rolled parchment to the bird's leg, his latest progress report for Herzog Isopetalom. He stroked the vulture's feathers once in quiet thanks, then flicked his wrist. The bird launched into the night without a sound, vanishing among the stars. Only after the messenger was gone did Iskatot finally allow himself to lean back fully and close his eyes.

But moments later, the lake's surface erupted. A colossal octopus, twenty-nine meters tall with deep orange-red tentacles, rose from the water. Its massive form blocked the moonlight. Iskatot's eyes flashed. He released a short, overwhelming burst of Animo. The pressure rolled across the camp like invisible thunder. The beast regarded him for a heartbeat, then slowly submerged again without a fight. The display left me stunned.

Iskatot had never shown even a fraction of that power before, not even when the three of us were in absolute danger. As he leaned against a tree and closed his eyes a second time to sleep, I lay awake, pretending to rest. My Heart Flame still pulsed from the residual pressure that was left behind. He was hiding far more than he let on. Even so… I was thankful. For his guidance. For his quiet protection. Even if he wasn't completely honest with us. Tomorrow we would set out again. Straight toward Jeruem's border.

The finish line of our current journey was finally in sight.