Chương 121: Gale

Congratulations competitors. Currently, only 1, 200 of you remain after the first day's events. The fourth set of tokens will begin to appear at random places around the continent. Remember, only ten of you can enter the inner area, which will be marked for all to see. So find those tokens fast, or steal them from someone else. Good Luck. Joe sat at the cave's edge, staring at his map. A single dot pulsed half a mile south, unmoving. Waiting.

"We should split up," Corel said.

"Meet after we have the final token." He glanced at her. She wasn't wrong. With hunters constantly tailing him, he was dead weight, and if Kilch appeared again, there'd be no chance of claiming the last token together.

"You sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure." Corel leaned in, bumped her head against his, and smiled.

"You go chase off our guest. I'll let you know when I find the token." With a wink, she vanished west through the underbrush. Joe watched her go, then turned south. A dozen scenarios played through his head as he neared the dot. Kilch, lying in wait. A system trap. Maybe someone had marked him on their own map. Whatever it was, he braced himself. He pushed through the thick bush into a clearing and paused. Gale lay sprawled at its centre, snoring so loud she could've woken the dead. Joe frowned.

Even asleep, the massive Corthegian radiated a tension, as if she could snap awake at any second. Testing the waters, he picked up a rock and lobbed it at her. It bounced harmlessly off. She didn't move. Maybe she really was just asleep. Cautiously, he approached. When he reached her side, he crouched and pinched her cheek. The snoring cut off. She stirred, sluggishly. Joe was about to try again when, in a blur, he was slammed onto his back, pinned, as a giant tongue lashed out… … and licked his face.

"God dammit, Gale! Stop doing that!" Joe sputtered, wiping at his face as drool dripped down his cheeks. He tried to shove her off, only to realize, shockingly, that she overpowered him with ease. He began to reassess this strange bird woman who insisted on calling him brother.

"I missed you, brother. How are you? Did you miss me?" Gale asked warmly as she released him and sat cross-legged on the ground. Joe took a moment to clean himself up before sitting opposite her.

"I don't even know who you are. And how the hell are you that strong?"

"My bloodline," she said with a casual shrug, and what he thought might've been a smile. Can beaks even smile? He wondered.

"You have a bloodline?" he pressed, understanding her absurd strength. Was her strength over seven thousand? Eight? Higher?

"We all have bloodlines," she replied simply.

"You, me, and our other brothers and sister."

"I think you've got the wrong guy. We aren't even the same species," Joe said. The word sister grated in his ears, and for a fleeting second, an old memory flashed, a room lined with cots, babies crying in the dark. He shook it off.

"Ah. So you lost your memory," Gale said, her tone softening with something close to sorrow. When Joe looked at her again, he thought he saw genuine sadness in her eyes. [Everything okay? I found a clue,] - Corel. [Already? Yeah, I'm fine. It's just Gale. We are having a chat, then I'll catch up.] - Joe. [Gale?] - Corel. [Long story. I'll explain later.] - Joe.

"Who are you talking to?" Gale asked.

"My bond," Joe answered before he could stop himself. Shit. How had this giant Corthegian made him drop his guard so easily? He locked eyes with Gale, and he saw something unreadable pass across her gaze before she looked away.

"So," Joe said into the awkward silence, "aren't you hunting tokens? How many do you have?"

"There's no need to collect tokens," Gale replied flatly.

"He will claim the Star Shard anyway."

"He?" Joe asked.

"Who is he?" A notification flashed before him. The first competitor has entered the inner section.

"Him." What? Already? Who the hell was this guy?

"Friend of yours?" Joe asked.

"Something like that," Gale replied, her voice dipping into sadness again. The sudden shift in atmosphere threw Joe completely off balance, leaving him unsure how to respond.

"Wanna team up with Corel and me? Maybe we can work around this guy. I distract him while you two grab the shard?" Joe offered. The words had barely left his mouth when Gale turned a look on him, feral, almost starving. Her eyes stripped him bare, like she'd flayed the skin from his body with nothing but her gaze. Instinct screamed, and Joe vanished, reappearing at the edge of the clearing. He didn't even have time for a single thought. Gale was already there, wings half-spread, hunger gleaming in her eyes.

"Wha… what happened?" Joe stammered.

"Do you know what my bloodline is called?" Gale asked softly.

"No. How the hell could I?" he shot back, taking another step back.

"Let me show you." Her words slammed into his mind like a drumbeat as she pulled him into her embrace. Her massive wings folded around them, sealing them away, and before he could protest, a wet tongue forced its way into his mouth. Joe gagged, trying to yell.

'It's okay. Accept her bloodline's touch. She means you no harm,' Uriel whispered, just as Joe's vision went white. Joe was pulled into something similar to his own bloodline visions. Here, he had no body, only sight. Before him stretched a scene filled with children, seven in total. Most were blurred, but four stood out clearly: a brown-skinned human boy, a grey turtle boy, a Corthegian girl, and a lion cub/boy with a mane of white hair.

They couldn't have been more than two or three, yet they ran and played with boundless energy. As they tumbled through a strange game of hide and seek, Joe noticed marks etched into their shoulders. Each mark was a fragment of something larger, a design that only made sense if they stood still together. They were laughing, running, never stopping, while four robed figures watched in silence from the edge of the vision. Eventually, the game slowed, and the lion boy stood tall and proud, declaring himself the victor.

"I am the &%^*^$%$&," he proclaimed. The words fractured in Joe's mind, meaningless, yet he knew they carried weight, that they mattered to the boy more than anything. He watched as the young girl with small wings stepped forward to help the brown-skinned boy who had fallen. A cut on his leg bled freely, yet none of the robed figures watching lifted a finger to aid him. Instead, the bird girl crouched and opened her mouth, drooling onto the wound.

Joe flinched at the sight, then froze as the boy's leg mended instantly, the flesh knitting together beneath the shining saliva.

"Thank you, sister," the boy said, his voice achingly familiar.

"You're welcome," the girl replied, smiling.

"It's my job to help the runt." Joe's mind reeled. No. That couldn't be his voice. That couldn't be him. He tried to shout in disbelief as panic clawed through him. None of this made sense. He wasn't some alien child surrounded by strange species and beings he'd never seen before! The vision fractured under the weight of his denial. Cracks spider-webbed through the scene until it all shattered, dragging him back to his body. Joe's aura erupted, burning crimson as Gale released him and stepped back.

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"Lies!" he shouted.

"That wasn't me! I've never been there! You're showing me lies!"

"Why would I lie to you?" Gale's calm cut through his fury, her eyes steady and sad.

"I only showed you what was." Joe shook his head violently. No. He had a mother, a human mother who had raised him, cared for him, loved him. He remembered her face, her voice, his sister beside him, their home, their school. All human. All real. But a question whispered through his thoughts, quiet and sharp. Where were you born? His breath collapsed. He remembered asking that once, when he was a teenager. His mother had avoided the question, smiling too tightly, changing the subject.

Just like every time he'd asked about his father. Memories flooded him, her evasions, her silences, the warmth in her eyes when she refused to answer.

"No, no, no, no, no," Joe repeated, clutching his head as the denial unravelled.

"Who am I?" Joe pulled himself to his feet and walked away. Gale took a step after him but stopped. She wanted to follow, to explain, yet she knew better. He needed time to process what he'd seen, time to come to terms with a truth that had shattered the foundations of his identity. Pushing him now would only drive him further away. So instead, she turned and headed toward the hunter whose presence threatened to make the precarious situation explode.

As Joe walked, the distant clash of two immense auras echoed through the air, shaking the ground beneath him. He felt them, but didn't care. His thoughts were a storm of denial and disbelief. He needed space… distance from the truth that clawed at the edges of his mind. He vanished. Joe found himself at the continent's centre, standing before the massive stone dais that marked the entrance to the inner section, the resting place of the Star Shard.

A lone figure approached, placing four tokens against the runic surface before disappearing inside. A notification flashed. Nine had entered. One spot remained. [Hey. Are you okay now? I found the fourth token. I'm on my way.] - Corel. Joe stared blankly at the message, uncertain how long it had been since he'd left Gale. Minutes? Hours? The competition was nearly over. [Sorry. I'm waiting at the entryway. I'll make sure no one else goes in before you.] - Joe. And he did.

One by one, three competitors arrived, desperate to claim the final slot. One by one, their stars shattered beneath the strikes of his staff, sending them home in bursts of light. His movements were precise, mechanical, devoid of emotion. At some point, Esha and Gao appeared, their clothes torn, exhaustion etched across their faces. They carried only three tokens. There was no time to find a fourth, and only the one spot was left.

"Corel is on her way," Joe said quietly.

"She will be here soon." He resumed his silent watch. When Corel appeared, five competitors were hot on her trail. They never reached her. Joe stepped forward, staff flashing once more, and five stars vanished in quick succession. When the light faded, only he and Corel remained before the dais.

"What happened to you?" she asked softly, eyes filled with worry.

"Don't worry about it now," Joe said, his tone empty, his eyes hollow.

"Just go before more get here. It's up to you now. You got this." She lingered for a heartbeat longer, studying his expression. Then she reached out, resting a hand briefly against his chest.

"We'll talk when I get back," she said firmly.

"You will explain." He gave a faint nod as she stepped forward and pressed her tokens to the dais. Light enveloped her form, and then she was gone, claimed by the inner section, leaving Joe alone in the silence. Another notification flashed, announcing that all remaining competitors outside the inner section had failed and were being returned to their worlds. All except Joe. He remained seated before the dais, staring into the sky, unmoving. Why was he still here?

A small rabbit bounced up beside him, landing softly on the stone. Its whiskers twitched in disapproval as it peered up at him.

"You failed the quest. The final target is inside, beyond your reach. Do you know what that means?" Joe didn't answer. He didn't even look at the rabbit. His gaze drifted instead toward a strange cloud to his right, one that pulsed faintly in the air like mist caught between worlds. The rabbit kept speaking, its words a blur of noise that barely registered. Joe's mind was elsewhere, drawn full to the cloud. Has it always been there? He wondered. It had been. Ever since his arrival.

He had simply ignored it, assuming it was unimportant. But now, as he studied the faint shimmer within, something about it felt familiar. Space particles. He recognized them instantly. He had seen that same glimmer every time he used Space Jump. How had he not noticed sooner? The rabbit's voice faded completely from his awareness as he rose to his feet and stepped closer. The cloud hung motionless, silent, its surface rippling like liquid glass. He reached out, and his hand passed straight through. Of course.

Space particles couldn't be touched, not directly. The last time he had tried to manipulate them, it had gone… badly. He remembered the tearing sensation in his arm, the distortion that had followed, the thing he had seen within. He'd always believed that was how space skills worked: you tore a rift and stepped through. That was what every space story had taught him. That was what Space Mages did. Tear space. He mused on the word tear. Was that a mistake?

Slowly, he extended his hand again and placed it within the cloud. Then he activated Space Jump, but he didn't move. His body shimmered faintly, vibrating in place. Something within the cloud pulsed back at him, responding. As he felt that resonance, understanding bloomed. A truth so simple, yet so profound, it left him breathless.

"You don't tear space…" he whispered, eyes wide.

"You open it." He swept his hand through the air, mana flowing like silk through the shimmering veil. And just like that, Joe created his first Space skill. __ Ark felt a tug the moment someone forcibly opened his Space Gate. His head snapped east, and Gaston mirrored his motion. Both brothers stood frozen, staring at the disturbance with disbelief.

"Is that…?" Gaston began.

"Another Space Mage," Ark finished grimly. A breath later, both vanished into the fold of space, reappearing beside the gate. What they saw left them stunned. Someone was stepping through their gate, calmly, as if he belonged there. __ Joe emerged from the swirling cloud of space particles and came face-to-face with the two cloaked figures he'd first encountered at the Empire Meeting, the mysterious duo no one else could see. A new notification flickered before his eyes.

Spatial Traversal: You have used your growing knowledge and skill to learn how to move through space via a space gate. Though you do not know how to create your own space gate, you are now adept enough to hijack someone else's gate and use it for yourself. Beware what lurks on the other side. Joe almost laughed. Of course. He'd just crashed into the living embodiment of 'what lurks on the other side.' He studied the pair before him. So that was what they were, Space Mages. Which meant they now knew he was one too.

Which was not ideal.

"Gents… I can explain," Joe began carefully. One of them raised a hand.

"No need. Just don't do that again." He turned away.

"Ark, let's go. Before someone else claims the Star Shard." Ark gave a curt nod, and both vanished in a shimmer of blue light. Joe blinked. Staring at the aftermath of their vanishing. At the sparkle of Space Particles. He smiled and activated Spatial Traversal.

"I told you not to do that again!" the Space Mage roared, face inches from Joe's, the moment he reappeared. Ark stood off to the side, silent, holding a glowing metallic orb and watching the exchange like a spectator at a brawl.

"Hey, I tried to resist," Joe said quickly, backing up with his hands raised.

"But you just left all those space particles floating there. How was I supposed not to follow?"

"Space particles?" the Space Mage repeated, appalled.

"Gaston. Stop. If you tell him too much, there will be consequences," Ark warned. So his name was Gaston, huh, Joe thought.

"I know, I'm not stupid," Gaston snapped back.

"But this guy's a moron." He turned to glare at Joe.

"That's a little rude," Joe said, frowning. Gaston took a slow breath, visibly reining in his temper.

"Whatever. Just go back, leave or something. Stay out of the way." As Gaston barked orders, Joe took in his surroundings. They were standing in a vast, circular courtyard paved with black stone. Around them, the other ten competitors who had entered using tokens were scattered across the arena. His eyes quickly found Corel, standing at the edge of the formation and shaking her head in dismay. When Joe waved, she blushed but returned the gesture.

Then he spotted the faint glow of his final system highlighted target across the way, and beyond that, him. A towering lion man stood with his arms crossed, his white mane gleaming under the pale light. His eyes were cold, glacial orbs that seemed to see through everything. Thick claws tipped his fingers, and a long, furred tail swayed lazily behind him as if caught in an unseen breeze. He exuded no aura, yet Joe could feel the power thrumming beneath the surface, raw, restrained, and terrifying.

The familiarity struck him like a hammer. That face, that mane… he was the same lion boy from Gale's vision. The 'him' she had spoken of.

"Oi! Are you even listening?" Gaston barked again. Joe blinked and quickly bowed.

"Not at all." He wasted no more time and hurried over to Corel, resting a hand on her arm. [Change of plan. We need to leave. There is no way we can get the shard now.] - Joe. [Why? Who are they? Are they strong?] - Corel. [Yes. Very strong. But the lion man… he's stronger. As soon as we can, we leave and let them fight it out.] - Joe. He had barely finished sending the message when the air rippled.

A pulse of power swept across the arena, and the seedling's avatar appeared in the centre of the stone circle, an ethereal, floating eye that radiated smugness and unimaginable power.

"Welcome. Welcome. Glad you could all make it. Now that everyone has gathered. It's time to release the shard!"

"Wait," the marked alien blurted.

"Why are there thirteen of us? You said only ten could enter!"

"A… unavoidable last-minute adjustment," the avatar replied breezily.

"Now. Let's begin!" It clapped, despite having no hands, and the air trembled. A brilliant flash tore through the sky as the Star Shard materialized above the hovering eye, encased within a glass container. Joe's pulse quickened. That container… it looked eerily similar to the ones he had in his storage, housing the flower he'd picked up during the Askari quest.

The air shimmered once more, heavy with tension, before the avatar gave one final, languid blink and vanished, leaving only the floating shard, spinning lazily in the charged silence.