Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Astral Rift

Noah and Aurelia wandered through the city, leisurely making their way to the castle. It was Noah who took his time, darting around whenever something new or interesting caught his eye, while Aurelia had to shepherd him back on track like a mother corralling her overly energetic child.

“Come on, we could’ve stayed a while longer to watch the show,” Noah grumbled as Aurelia pulled him along, firmly holding his hand and refusing to let go.

“No, we couldn’t. The bards perform there all day, and you just wanted to keep flirting with that woman. Then you wanted to try out the Derilon pie before somehow being talked into paying for an air-craft tour ride. I’m not letting you wander off anymore or you’ll get lost, and then it’ll be my responsibility to find you and bring you back,” Aurelia said, tightening her grip.

Noah had tried to see if he could force his hand free, but the smaller woman had a deceptively strong grip. He could escape, but it would take effort, and he didn’t think it was worth angering Aurelia.

“Okay, fine, but we really could’ve stayed until the end of the song, at least? And I wasn’t flirting—”

Aurelia gave Noah a pointed look.

“Okay, fine, but she was hot. And I never knew there was an entire job dedicated to collecting magical herbs,” Noah said.

“That woman wasn’t interested in you, Noah. She’s an herbalist, and in these parts, that means she’s a thief. They target tourists primarily, offering to take them out for drinks before showing them their ‘special herb’ with extra kicks. Then you’d be knocked out, robbed blind, and left naked in some alley.”

“Alcohol doesn’t affect me,” Noah said.

Aurelia let go of Noah’s hand, stopping in her tracks as she turned to face him. “Why are you acting like this?” she asked, folding her arms.

“Like what?”

“Like a child. You’ve been drawn to everything you see and ignoring me when I tell you to do something or go somewhere,” Aurelia said.

“I just want to explore. I’m in an entirely new place with so many things to see. There’s no harm in wanting to explore, is there?” Noah asked. “In fact, why are you so tense? You look like you’re permanently clenching your jaw.”

Aurelia paused for a moment, touching her chin. “No, I’m not. And I just don’t want to lose track. Exploring a little is fine, that’s why I’m taking you to the castle. I understand this is all new for you, but we also have a Quest, and I want to visit the library at the castle and start making preparations for it instead of wasting my time wandering around the city.”

“You could always leave me to explore and go do what you want,” Noah said with a shrug.

“I could, but I don’t trust you not to get yourself into trouble. You’re very clearly not from here, and that makes you an easy target for any unsavory characters. Cities like these always have them. But if you think you can handle yourself and really want to explore, I’ll leave you be,” Aurelia replied.

It would be enjoyable to wander around by himself and sightsee, but he was also quite curious about the Astral Rift. Both Blink and Astral Resistance had advanced to intermediate levels, granting him new abilities. A rift might help Noah understand his abilities better.

“I’ll go with you,” Noah said.

“Great, let’s not waste any more time,” Aurelia responded.

They crossed several overhanging bridges, and Noah found himself standing in front of the castle at the highest point in Windrest.

“Does a prince live there?” Noah asked, looking at the marble structure adorned with intricate magical runes carved into the walls. A spiraling staircase led them around the castle toward a secondary building next to it.

“No, that’s the governor’s house. The elected governor resides there during his term. Though I believe the current one has been in power for nearly four decades now,” Aurelia explained.

“Corruption?” Noah inquired.

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything about the governor here. He seems to do a good job managing the Wyvern Riders and maintaining their hive, as well as ensuring the City of Windrest remains functional. I think most people like him,” Aurelia replied.

“What’s that one?” Noah asked, pointing to the building Aurelia was leading him toward. It was nearly as pristine as the castle itself, albeit smaller in size.

“That’s the Church of Avera, the goddess of Wind and Knowledge. She’s the local deity of Windrest, and I believe she’s the one who opened this Astral Rift,” Aurelia responded.

“Really? Can gods just open those like that?”

“She did, so they probably can. Though most happen naturally and in the wild—a sort of crazy magical phenomenon that quite literally scars reality,” Aurelia said.

“Interesting. And what do you mean by ‘local goddess’? Is she only found here?” Noah inquired.

“Basically, yes. Not all gods are equal, of course. There are many smaller deities, local to certain places and people. Avera is one such deity.”

“Does she reside in this church, then?” Noah asked.

“Sort of? I don’t really know what deities do, but she appears quite often. It’s not rare to meet her, so if we’re lucky, we may see her,” Aurelia explained, then paused. “Be respectful if she appears, okay? No stupid jokes.”

“What do you think I am, four?”

“I’m willing to believe a four-year-old would be better behaved,” Aurelia said with a snort.

Noah clutched his heart in mock hurt as they entered the church. The interior was quite similar to the church’s exterior, but Noah noticed a faint green hue within the marble. Eventually, he realized it came from the wind mana embedded in the walls themselves.

A gust of wind passed through Noah, and he turned to see a strange little child made of green light, almost like an odd ghost, circling around his head.

“What… is that?” Noah asked, uncertain of what to do, when the small creature giggled and flew away.

“That’s a wind elemental. You’ll see a lot of those here,” Aurelia said.

True to her word, the farther Noah went, the more elementals he saw. Most were little balls of magic that could barely create a gust of wind, while a few were encased in mini tornadoes, boasting a much more defined shape and humanoid appearance. Noah used Identify, but for some reason, the skill refused to work on the elemental.

The creature seemed to sense Noah’s attempt and glanced back at him before giving him a smile, revealing sharp fangs.

“Do these guys just roam around this place?” Noah asked.

“It’s the temple of the goddess of wind, so yes. They roam freely here,” Aurelia replied. One little elemental decided to use her head as a resting place.

Noah reached out with a finger, trying to pet the little elemental’s translucent hair, when the creature turned and bit him instead.

“Ouch,” Noah said, clutching his finger. A single red drop welled up. “Why do they hate me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe ask them?” Aurelia suggested.

Noah grumbled. He did have the [Universal Language Comprehension] Perk, didn’t he?

Turning to face the elemental, Noah asked, “Why do you dislike me?”

The elemental jumped, turning around once before its eyes settled on Noah, turning beady.

“You can understand me, can’t you?” Noah asked.

The elemental continued to stare at him in confusion. A moment later, it gave him a nod.

“Great. So, why do you guys hate me?”

“Stinks!” the elemental replied, pointing at Noah.

“I… stink?” Now he was just confused.

“Stinks! Void! It stinks!” the elemental said, giggling happily as it flew away.

“What… did you just do?” Aurelia asked.

“I asked the elemental why it didn’t like me,” Noah replied. “Apparently, it’s because I stink.”

Aurelia stared at him blankly then burst out laughing.

“That’s not funny, okay?” Noah said, though he found himself joining in her laughter as well.

“Oh, mother’s mercy, a wind elemental told you that you stink. By god, you really must. I wonder if my nose has gone numb from being near you too much since I can’t tell anymore,” Aurelia said, sniffing at her clothes once. “I hope I don’t stink.”

Noah shook his head.

A few moments later, he found himself standing in what looked to be the central chamber of the church, with a giant statue of a woman holding a harp in one hand and a book in another, sitting atop a giant peacock. A glowing cut in reality was placed beneath the statue, with barriers around it to prevent people from walking right up to it.

“That’s Avera. And her divine familiar, Vari,” Aurelia explained.

“A peacock, huh? I didn’t know they existed here,” Noah replied.

“They don’t. She got it from a different realm. Is that animal found in your homeland?” Aurelia asked.

“In some parts of it, yeah. Not where I lived, though,” Noah said, before his attention was captured by the Astral Rift.

“That’s the rift, I take it?” Noah asked.

“Indeed. This one leads to the Astral Plane of Wind. You can probably feel the torrent of wind mana flooding outward from it,” Aurelia said.

“I can definitely feel something,” Noah replied.

Walking closer, he kept his eye on the cut in reality, finding something oddly captivating within it. There were swirls of mana and magic within that held his attention in place, but also… something more. Like he could see a layer of something on top, a fabric that had been cut through and then pierced with a needle to go into the cut itself. The shape didn’t feel three dimensional, and Noah had a hard time perceiving it.

Astral Resistance has reached level 11.

His system seemed to agree with him. Noah walked right to the edge of the barriers, eyes rooted to the Astral Rift. There was a hole in there, a path that led to… somewhere. Somewhere inside the rift itself.

“What happens if I go inside there?” Noah asked, turning to Aurelia.

“You get ripped apart into little pieces before dissipating into mana,” Aurelia replied. “It’d be a silly way to die, but you also can’t really go in. The entire thing is magically locked. They wouldn’t keep the rift open to the public if it wasn’t,” Aurelia replied.

Noah hummed. A moment later, he saw the wind elemental from before come back, twirling around his head.

“Stink man!”

“I’m not stinky, damn you!” Noah shouted, and the elemental laughed.

“Want to see home?”

“Home?” Noah asked.

“Yes! Mother will like stink man!”the elemental exclaimed, bobbing up and down. “Follow!”

Then, the little ball of wind dived into the rift, disappearing entirely. The hole Noah saw in the rift, the tunnel, it widened for a moment, reaching out to him.

“That elemental just invited me in,” Noah said, glancing at Aurelia.

“What?” Aurelia said.

“Yeah, in fact, the gate’s open now, I can see into the rift. Hold my hand,” Noah said.

“Noah, what are you trying to do?” Aurelia said, looking at him hesitantly.

“I don’t know, but something tells me I should go in. And I’m the type who listens to his guts,” Noah said.

“Noah that is not a good idea—” Aurelia said grabbing his shoulders but it was too late.

Blink flared to life, burning brightly around the both of them, and with a blue flicker, they vanished. Space dilated around Noah as he felt himself being swept in currents of something beyond his perception. It took him a moment to understand that it was reality itself warping around him, bending him in ways that should not be possible in three dimensional space.

“Here!”the elemental chimed.

There was no air in the dark gap between realities. This space between realms was what he used to transport himself. Every point here was connected to every other, motion was merely a result of where to and where from on the layers tied to this space. It was as if reality was a fold of napkin, two dimensional, and this gap was the in between, connecting those layers together in a three dimensional structure.

Noah found himself drifting. He did not have a body, not outside the boundaries of the spell that protected him from this place and kept him intact. He could feel his soul contorting, and reality itself blending around him.

But there was a path. Someone had carved it. The strength required to do so was so unfathomable Noah could barely imagine it, just walking upon the path was difficult for him, and every moment that passed, he considered jumping back out to Erandir. Focusing his mana, he concentrated.

He closed his eyes, not finding any benefit from watching twisted space which gave him a pounding headache. All that mattered was the hole through the Astral, connecting the two realms together. Noah let himself be pulled along by the passageway that had been cut into the Astral itself, as reality enveloped him much like it had when he’d been reborn from the Void, before letting him out with a pop.

Warning. Low Mana.

Level notification: 3

Ability notification: 12

Noah stumbled, breathing heavily. He ignored the notification, trying to gather his bearings as he stood in a brand new reality.

“What have you done!” Aurelia screamed.

Her words didn’t transmit, Noah’s eyes occupied by the other person standing in the room. No. Not a person. A goddess.

“Welcome,” the goddess of Wind and Knowledge said, smiling. “It has been a long time since I’ve had such interesting visitors.”