Chương 34: Into the Dark

Enzo stood there in silence while Kenzo and Sumi rattled off questions, which Signe answered to the best of her ability. He tuned them out. The evidence supporting the idea was there. Except for one thing. He'd tested the cultivation pose after the hospital, out of curiosity. Nothing had happened. And yet… On the day of the blood rain, several things had happened after that single drop of blood had struck the back of his neck.

He'd reacted fast, getting the umbrella opened and overhead while everything turned to chaos around him. The people panicking had seen that, taken it from him, and knocked him into the grass. Then one of them had stepped on Murph. Kicked her when she'd bitten back. He remembered rushing the guy. Pain spiking from his knee. The anger. Then shoving the man with a flash of purple light and sending him flying farther than should have been possible.

After carrying Murph home, soaked in blood, he passed out, striking his head against the basin on the way down. And when he'd woken up, he'd felt good. Great, actually. Except for the forehead. Which had healed so fast Sumi hadn't even offered to help with it. So fast he'd forgotten about it with everything else going on. The same sort of healing that Sumi's spell was based on. And his eyes. They'd glowed.

Just like Kenzo's had the night he'd woken to magic, though maybe that was something that happened to all mages. But the real convincing piece of evidence was his first use of magic itself. Instinctive. Emotional. External. He'd decided he was a wizard based on that single moment. And with the experience and knowledge he now had, there was obviously a huge flaw in the idea. Cultivators could use mana to cause external effects. They just couldn't manipulate the mana once it left their body.

"Holy shit." The others turned to him.

"I think she's right. I might have both somehow."

"Is that even possible?" Sumi asked.

"The Guide says that the genes are split…"

"But it also mentions avoiding Eaters that have both."

"Bro, I don't remember it saying anywhere that people couldn't have both either." Kenzo's eyes had the unfocused look that said he was interacting with the Guide. Enzo turned to Signe.

"What does my aura look like compared to theirs?" She looked him up and down again.

"Well, your overall aura is weaker than Kenzo's. But both parts of the aura are stronger than Sumi's. Your halo is a deeper purple. And your body aura is way more noticeable." She shrugged.

"I mean, she has one, too. But I'm pretty sure that's just because mana is in everything." If he really had both, it might change everything. Maybe it was even responsible for his inability to convert mana. Now wasn't the time to test it, though. As much as he wanted to sit down right there and try, and as easy as the excuses were coming to mind, it would mean taking more time. And the ambient mana was thin here. Which meant the process would be even slower.

Besides, without a technique, it wouldn't change anything. He'd still be relying on just his spells. Enzo took a breath.

"Okay. Let's set this aside for now. We're here for a reason."

"Are you sure?" Sumi asked.

"We could run a quick experiment to find out. It wouldn't take long." He shook his head.

"I'm really not, but it would take too long. We stick to the plan. Is everyone's reserve full?" They nodded.

"Alright. Kenzo has point. Sumi and I provide ranged cover and support. Signe brings up the rear. Any questions?" There were none. Sumi stepped up and placed a hand on Kenzo's back.

"Bolster."

"Alright. Let's do this." Kenzo interlaced his fingers and stretched them out, popping his joints. Then he rolled his shoulders and stepped toward the rift. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Enzo followed right behind, Sumi and Signe trailing after him. When Kenzo was roughly twenty meters from the rift, barely a foot in front of Enzo, he disappeared from sight. Then the sky went black.

The rift changed instantly, no longer looking like a small, thin crack snaking across the air. Instead, the rift split wide above them. Its edges peeled apart into something that looked like a maw, and it swallowed them whole. Reality stretched. One moment, Enzo was walking behind Kenzo on the open road under the sun, and the next, everything pulled apart like taffy. Colors bled into each other. Sound warped, then vanished entirely.

His skin prickled as if every hair was suddenly standing on end, and a pressure built behind his eyes. There was no sense of time. A second. A minute. An hour. It lost its grip somewhere between one step and the next, and all that was left was a sickening sensation of falling but somehow going nowhere. Then it all stopped. And everything snapped into focus once more. Enzo staggered, then caught himself with his cane. He blinked, and the world filled in around him. Trees.

Black-barked and enormous, stretching high overhead before curving inward, their branches tangling together like interlocked fingers. The canopy blocked out whatever passed for sky in here, leaving everything bathed in a dim, reddish hue that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. The air was thick and warm and tasted faintly of copper. The ground beneath his feet was soft.

Dark soil packed over roots that twisted in every direction, except for where a narrow trail of beaten earth wound away from them, disappearing around a bend. Everyone was there. Kenzo, directly ahead, feet planted and fists raised. Sumi at his side, breathing shallow and rapid. Signe shifted behind him. Before anyone could speak, something rustled in the bushes to their left. Then to their right. Then behind them. They backed into each other, facing outward. Watching. Waiting for an attack. Nothing happened.

The sounds stopped. Half a minute passed without a sound. Kenzo glanced over his shoulder.

"Think it's gone?" A low growl rolled out of the undergrowth from where Kenzo had been watching. Kenzo's gaze snapped back to the bushes. The growl stopped. Silence. Enzo could feel his pulse hammering in his ears. He scanned the treeline, left and right.

"Nobody move." Sumi glanced at him. A branch snapped. She turned back, hand raised. Ready to cast. Silence again.

"Signe," Enzo murmured.

"Close your eyes for a second."

"What? No."

"Trust me. Just a second." Signe didn't respond. But a rustle came from the direction she was facing. Her breath hitched. Her eyes flew open. And the sound stopped.

"They're only moving when we're not looking," Enzo said. Kenzo lowered his stance.

"What do you think they are?"

"Let's find out. Pulse." Mana burst outward in a sphere. He sensed the familiar information returning from his friends, and dismissed them. Then the rest flooded in. Information boxes over the trees. The undergrowth. All reading the same thing.

'??? //???'. The rift itself was unreadable. Its contents as alien to Pulse as the tear outside had been. But among the trees, behind the bushes, and within the shadows… nothing.

"Anything?" Signe asked.

"Just a bunch of question marks. Nothing useful other than…"

"What?" she demanded.

"There's nothing there."

"Sounds like your spell's broken, bro," Kenzo said from his left.

"Because whatever growled at me ain't nothing." Enzo scanned the bushes. The trees. It didn't make sense. They'd all heard the same thing.

"Kenzo," he said.

"I need you to close your eyes and keep them closed."

"Aw, bro. I was hoping you weren't going to ask." He groaned.

"Do I have to?"

"Sorry, brother. Sumi has the heal, and I'm hoping you can survive a hit if I'm wrong." Kenzo sighed, then dropped his stance lower, raising his arms to shield his throat and face. Then he closed his eyes. Immediately there was a hiss from the bushes.

"Nobody look," Enzo said. Seconds passed. Nothing launched itself from the darkness. No attack manifested. A few moments later, another rustle came from the same direction.

"Pulse." The information hadn't changed.

"I don't think there's anything there," Enzo said after a few moments.

"Bro, can I please open my eyes now?"

"Yeah. Sorry." Kenzo relaxed. Slightly.

"So the forest is just messing with us?"

"I don't know… The Guide said whoever or whatever is inside shapes the space. Maybe this is just what a rift feels like?" A branch cracked.

"This is going to get old fast," Signe muttered. Enzo agreed, but didn't respond. He scanned the surroundings again, ignoring the rustling. There was no tear. No crack in the air. No visible exit of any kind. He turned a full circle to be sure, but there was nothing but trees and bushes in every direction, and the canopy overhead.

"The entrance is gone," he said.

"And I don't see the kids or their parents anywhere," Signe added. Sumi swallowed.

"That means something claimed the core." They all shared a look.

"Then we gotta go find it," Kenzo said.

"It's our only way out now." Enzo examined the trail. It was the only feature that suggested direction. Everything else was dense undergrowth and tangled roots. It might be passable, but it would be slow. Especially for him.

"Same order. Keep close." Kenzo stepped onto the path without a word and the others followed him into the dark.