Chapter Eight - Into the Depths

Chapter Eight

My eyes opened to the sound of chirping small bird beasts outside my window. I was drenched in sweat. Last night's dream did not sit well with me. I knew it was a nightmare, but it felt like so much more. I sat up and peered out the small window. The sun was just beginning to rise, painting the sky with streaks of red. Green treetops peeked through the darkness as they were illuminated just past the town walls.

It made me ache for home, the smell of pancakes my dad had burned, the way my sister had always hogged the bathroom and shouted for “just five more minutes.” I gripped the edge of the window, holding onto hope that she was still out there somewhere, alive and searching for me too.

I jumped off the bed and put on one of my two pairs of clothes. I cracked open my door, exited the tavern, and stepped onto the hard cobblestone of the street. At this hour, Veridiem was peaceful. There were no peddlers, merchants, or shopkeepers up. Just me and the bird beasts. I did a light stretch and broke out into a jog. When I was home, I would never even dream of going for runs, but life was different here. I couldn’t rely on people like Oliver to save me at their expense.

My footsteps echoed through empty cobblestone alleys, each step ringing softly in the crisp morning air. The scent of yesterday’s bread lingered near the bakery, and cool shadows stretched from tall stone buildings, giving the town an almost ghostly quietness at this early hour.

It’s incredible how no matter where you go, the world turns the same. I felt like I was running through some medieval mall. There were all sorts of shops littering the streets and alleyways, Potion, Armor, Weapon, Monster exchange, familiar, food, valuables…Everything was here. Life here was no different than back home, except for the monsters.

I was just starting to sweat when something caught my eye ahead of me. I slowed my jogging, eyes locked on the alleyway.

A figure stood at the edge of the shadows. Hooded. Watching. The moment my gaze met theirs, they stepped back, vanishing into the alleyway without a sound.

The air shifted. Aether stirred around me, not my own, but something foreign, heavy. My skin prickled as an unnatural breeze curled through the narrow street, carrying a faint trace of something sweet, like flowers.

My pace slowed again. I got the same feeling I felt when looking at the throne in my dream, an overpowering Aether. I slowly approached the crossroads where the alleyway and street met and leaned to look down at the dark narrow walkway.

There was no one there.

Well, that was creepy as heck.

I was starting to think I was hallucinating. I walked down towards the dead end, passing back doors and garbage, when I felt a slight wind brush through my clothes and hair. It picked up some of the trash and flung it toward the dead end, revealing a torn piece of paper. The hair on my arm stood at attention, screaming at me to turn and leave. I felt like I was drowning in a foreign Aether presence. I picked it up and examined the paper. It was like Nym's writing style and format, except it was just a single spell...

Weapon Aether Infusion: Divine Magic.

I stared around trying to figure out how this spell got here. Wasting no time, I folded the piece of paper and continued jogging. I was too anxious to practice the new spell I acquired, so I turned back in the direction of the tavern. Once I got back, Drew still wasn't up so I grabbed his sword and ran towards the field where we practiced magic.

I stood out in the clearing, hoping that no one would come by while I practiced. I had the piece of paper in my hand...

This is another way to amplify one's magic, for those who use weapons during battle. Depending on the mage's Aether Soul, one can tell how long the spell can last.

Channel Aether to the tip of your fingers, do not rush it all at once. Allow the Aether to wrap itself around the weapon like protective gear, then maintain the said flow. Be careful of the spell, as it sometimes leads to an explosion.

"Now that's something you should have said on the top page," I muttered, gripping the blade in my hand. The instructions were clear.

Don’t force Aether into the weapon. Let it flow into the steel, like filling a cup without spilling over.

I visualized the current, the invisible wind threading through my veins, down my arm, into my fingertips. The hilt pulsed, like the sword itself was taking a breath.

The moment I tried to push harder, the balance collapsed. Aether surged forward in a single burst, too much, too fast.

The blade shook violently, glowing with a faint shimmer of silver before, shattering apart in my hands, crumbling into dust.

I barely had time to curse before the backlash shot up my arm, sending a jolt of white-hot pain through my shoulder. I stumbled, gripping my wrist, gasping through clenched teeth.

“Shit,” I hissed. “That’s…not ideal.”

Drew is going to be pissed about his sword.

I raced back to the tavern and rested my head on the pillow in my room.

I shot up at the loud banging on my door, and someone yelling on the other side, "Get up Leo, it's time to go," My eyes snapped open. I wasn't asleep, but I didn't want either of them to realize it.

Grace yelled next door. “Hurry up! Time to go! Get up, Drew!" She banged on his door loudly. I could hear a fumble and a mass of groans coming from his room. Training with Grace continued for two weeks. The day started with me forcing myself out of a terrifying slumber. The dream happened every single night. To make things worse, they were getting more and more disturbing with each passing night.

After getting up, I would force myself into what Hen called a "shower." Which was me grabbing two pails of cold water from the well and dumping them into a large wooden tub. Drew would meet me for breakfast, and together we would head off to meet Grace at our usual training spot. I had recently coined a name for it...

The Field of Pain.

Then, after training, I would head back to the room and focus on sending Aether into my Aether Soul.

Drew's attitude had improved, for which I was very grateful. It felt good to have him back. Grace was surprised at how fruitful our training proved to be. With my daily training and extracurricular activity of studying Nym's magic book, my Aether soul had increased to twice the size of what it was before. Grace said it was unprecedented that Drew and I could increase our Aether Souls at such a rate. I could now effortlessly fire three to four wind arrows before I would be mauled by a monster in the wilderness.

On the other hand, Drew had increased his Soul even more than I had. With this increase in his capabilities, the size of his fireballs increased as well. While still not even close to the size of Grace's, it was respectable. All the spare time I had in my day was filled with me trying to build up my strength and stamina. Every day I ended up doing two hundred push-ups, followed by abdominal exercises, and lastly, a long run. Would old me do this? Absolutely not, I was definitely missing the days of sitting, eating chips, and battling monsters inside of video games.

I much prefer the comfort of my old bed and how easy life used to be compared to now, but Purgatory was exciting. A knock on my door snapped me out of my thoughts. Grace's soft voice called from the other side.

"Umm, Leo. Drew and I are ready, so umm, whenever you are, we can go."

"Okay. Be out in a sec," I called in return. Grace had been kind enough to get Drew and me some basic leather armor. I heard that Captain Willow had been taking care of us since we got here, and I hadn't seen him to thank him. I still hadn't found any clothing that I liked, so I washed my usual green shirt I had worn under my school uniform and blue jeans every day.

Opening the door, Drew had dark sullen circles under his eyes, and his blonde hair was a mess as usual, "You look great," I jested, poking at his face. He countered with a swift slap to my face. I ducked and smiled at Drew who just walked away.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Yeah that's right, keep walking boy," I said while rubbing the back of my head. I couldn't help but smile at Grace's giggles beside us.

“You two might not feel it yet,” she said, smiling softly, “but you’ve both officially reached the Bright Vein progression of Dormant Veil.”

I thought back to earlier in the week, when I had cast multiple Wind Arrows without collapsing in exhaustion. Maybe that’s what she meant.

Grace caught my expression and nodded. “Exactly. Your bodies are adapting. With a little more refinement, you’ll reach Radiant Light—and trust me, that’s when things get really interesting.”

Drew pumped his fist into the air, his enthusiasm contagious. “Radiant Light, here we come!”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Just don’t shoot any more fireballs at me face.” He shrugged.

"Today, we are doing something a bit different for training. We are going to practice your skills against some low-level monsters in the woods. The Guild Hall needs me to drop off a letter to a runaway guild that’s been seen there."

"Monsters?" I shuddered. I had been spending every hour in the day training, but I still felt weak, Insignificant even. The mention of monsters seemed to raise Drew's spirits because he cracked his fingers and held out his fist in an attempt to get me to fist-bump him. I immediately obliged, smiling from ear to ear. Our small trio grabbed our gear, ate a small breakfast from Hen, and headed into the

woods.

The cobblestone path slowly faded into muddled dirt, and the wind whistled through our ears as we walked. Drew was sharing a childhood story with Grace. Which was good to hear; he rarely opened up, and when he did, it meant that he trusted the person. After they were done, I thought it was a good chance to chat with Grace a little. I walked closer to her in an effort to make conversation.

“What’s a runaway guild?” I asked. She hid her face when I got close.

“Oh them? A runaway guild is just a guild that was contracted to join a raiding party and didn’t show up. I am not sure if you remember, but I mentioned we were supposed to have a healer at the Orc raid…” She quieted for a second, obviously, she didn’t want me to think about Oliver. She took a breath before continuing.

“These raids are set beforehand so that we can decide whether we are strong enough to take the

monster or group of monsters that we want to clear. There was a strong guild that was contracted to join us, but they never showed. Because of this, they lose standing with the guild and face penalties. Sometimes as harsh as being thrown into the dungeon or losing their guild license altogether, which prohibits them from selling monster drops or trading with some of the large merchants across the kingdom.”

“Why wouldn’t a guild show up?” I asked. Grace shrugged.

“Sometimes it's nerves, sometimes they are passed out in a bar, or even dead. Whatever the reason, it puts a lot of stress on the raiding party without all the contracted members there.” That seemed like a logical thought process to me.

“So, who’s the letter too?" Drew piped in. Grace rummaged around in her satchel and pulled out an old-looking parchment folded into a letter.

“The Traveling Hearth Guild.” She said in return.

“They are a small guild, but they have two really strong members, one being quite the established healer,” Drew grunted. He was probably thinking the exact same thing as me. If they had been there Oliver would still be alive. We pushed further into the forest.

The trees slowly grew as we walked past, and I noticed the woods had gotten thicker by the minute.

"So Grace, where are these low-level monsters we are supposed to be training against?"

As the words left my mouth, I noticed a lightning streak zap past me so quickly and struck Drew who was behind Grace and I. Drew was suddenly convulsing on the ground, cursing in between his chattering teeth.

"Argggghhhh..." He managed. I whipped my head in an attempt to see what had caught him off guard, and right in front of me was something that had the face of a warthog, but it was bigger.

"A Hodag," Grace squealed, dragging Drew behind a nearby tree. "How the hell did that get here?"

It charged, snarling viciously, electricity snapping between its horns. Panic surged through me, heart hammering so loudly I could barely think. I rolled sideways, feeling a static crackle through the air as the bolt zipped past my shoulder, leaving a scorching heat against my skin. I pushed myself up and began running in the opposite direction. Then I turned to see Grace keeping Drew away from the monster, I ran back.

Now that you are all caught up, I think it's worth mentioning words cannot accurately describe the fear this monster had struck into my innocent mind.

The green monster was on all fours; it resembled a huge lizard, except it had glowing red eyes and a bone spike protruding from its body. Between its two front horns, I could see a small ball of

electricity begin to form. It was getting ready to attack again.

I didn't have time to think, but I needed to act. Grace was still busy trying to keep Drew safe. So, I extended my right index finger in the direction of the beast.

"Spirits of the Wind, grant me your bow. Wind Arrow," A condensed air shot from my fingertip, and pierced the leathery skin of the Hodag. It screeched, and I closed my ears stepping away from the monster before it turned its attention to me. I was hoping that my spell would leave it down for the count, but all it seemed to do was make it incredibly angry. It reared back and charged full speed towards me.

“Well, that's not good,” I mumbled to myself before sprinting into the woods, careful not to pull a “Grace” and trip on an exposed tree root. This was indeed the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced. Outside of Purgatory, the scariest thing that had ever happened to me was when I fell into a frozen pond during the winter. Thankfully, my father saved me with a smile and helped me warm up with fresh hot chocolate. Nevertheless, that memory stung; it reminded me of home.

Focus Leo.

I heard the bolt coming and dived behind a tree. The tree took the full force of an angry Hodag, and its bark was looking rather unwell. I glanced at where the bolt had hit. A hole the size of my fist had penetrated the bark and even made a hole in the tree. Smoke and embers sizzled in the wood.

"You can stop chasing me now, please." I joked to the beast. In response, he roared so loud I needed to cover my ears. Once again, he charged towards me. I stood against the tree, waiting for a moment to attack, I had an idea. With the tree to my back, at the last moment when the Hodag ducked its head to lead with its horns, I leaped as high as I could. Thankfully I had been working out, so my jumping skills had increased. I leaped up and pushed myself forward away from the tree as the hodag ran head first for the tree.

The Hodag hit the tree so hard. I could've sworn the crack from its skull could be heard throughout the entire forest. The beast stumbled, obviously concussed and dazed. This was my chance. I extended my arm and pulled as much Aether as possible out of my souls and towards my hand.

"Spirits of the Wind, cut my enemies. Wind Slice," This was the second spell I had learned from the book Grace had lent me. I hadn't had the chance to practice with Grace or Drew, but I knew I could pull it off one time if I really needed to.

I didn't realize how powerful the spell was until the beast plopped to the ground. No longer

moving or making a sound. The wind slice had cut its top half clean through, and I was dazed and relieved. A mixture of shock and joy swept over me.

Slowly, the Hodag's skin started to dissolve into a purple mist. I watched for minutes as it slowly evaporated. Amid the dissolving purple mist and bone fragments, a gleaming yellow stone appeared, crackling gently with contained electricity. My skin tingled faintly as I picked it up, sensing potent, raw Aether contained inside. I pocketed it quickly, already wondering what kind of weapon or armor Grace might help me create from something like this.

"Leo!" I could hear Grace and Drew calling my name. Their voices full of worry. When they saw me, they both started at a full-speed run towards me. Leaning against a tree, I propped my body to look as cool as I could. My legs couldn't support themselves and I could feel my Aether Soul was dangerously low.

"Hey," I said casually. Grace's face was red with worry, and she was frantically switching between a worried gaze and a happy smile. Drew hobbled next to her; he was obviously still a bit hurt from the Hodag attack.

"Where did that bastard go?" He grunted.

I ran my hand through my hair and chuckled at him, "I sliced him in half!"

"You... what?" Grace's mouth wide open full of shock.

"You look stupid," Drew added.

"Hey!" I walked over and gave him a slight kick in the leg.

After a string of curses and Grace's interrogation about the fight, we continued into the forest. It became a labyrinth of towering trees, their branches weaving a thick canopy above, while the air hung heavy with the scent of damp earth and moss.

The leaves blocked out so much light that it felt like it was night.

"Leo, we should turn back. I'm not familiar with this area at all. If a Hodag was out that close to Veridiem, we should be careful. We don't want to run into any others."

“What about the letter you have to deliver?”

“I can find the group another day. Monsters breed quite heavily in these dark parts of the forest. I had planned for us to stay on the path, and as soon as we find it, we are going back. I can’t get you numb skulls killed,” Her face was stern, she knew better than us anyway, and there was no protest from Drew or me.

"Look. Light!" Drew was staring off between the trees, where a small streak of light could be seen. Before anyone said anything, Drew ran towards the light.

"I hate it when he does this," I muttered and followed behind him.

We started to jog and ran closer and closer to the light. I burst through the tree line into the

warmth of the sun. In front of me was a large clearing and a steep hill full of jagged rocks and loose gravel stretched towards the sky, and on top stood a single tree.

I couldn't make out the exact details, but it seemed to be glowing. It looked as though it held a single fruit on its branches, "Let's check it out," I said to the group feeling so confident after defeating the Hodag. I felt like I could handle whatever comes next.

With my newfound confidence, I walked higher up the hill of rocks. Grace called from the bottom.

"Leo, come back! The rocks here aren't stable. Stop being reckless." Grace shouted, her voice tight with the same authoritative worry she’d adopted since our training began. Drew rolled his eyes but shot me a warning glance that clearly said, ‘You better listen or she’ll make us run laps until sundown again’.

I turned back towards them in time to notice Drew mumble something and shrug his shoulders. He must have instilled a bit of courage in Grace because she reluctantly followed him up towards

where I was on the tall hill, carefully avoiding twisting an ankle on the loose rocks. I trudged on towards the top of the hill. Finally, I reached the top.

"Wait up," Drew yelled. The tree was beautiful, with glowing veins enveloping the bark and

stuck like cobwebs to the leaves. Whatever this fruit was, I could sense Aether from it. My training has helped me understand and sense more efficiently, almost like I can see it. I reached my hand towards the fruit, my eyes not daring to blink just in case it somehow would disappear. As soon as I plucked the fruit from the tree, the ground started to rumble.

"Eek!" I turned just in time to see Grace's head disappear as the ground beneath her feet gave away. “Grace!" Drew yelled, diving to grab her hand.

"Drew, be careful!” I screamed, lunging from the top of the hill towards them. Drew had grabbed Grace's hand and was seconds away from being dragged into the chasm below as well.

I dove for his foot, barely catching it in time with my right hand. I wildly searched for something to grab hold of with my opposite hand.

Please, Leo.

No luck.

For a heartbeat, time froze. Grace’s eyes widened in panic, Drew cursed sharply, and the golden fruit slipped from my fingers, tumbling into the darkness. Then gravity took hold, dragging us downward. My stomach lurched as we plunged, shadows swallowing us whole, and all I could do was hold my breath and brace for impact.