Chapter 48: At the Foot of the Great Tree
A Disorienting Fall
The sensation of weightlessness was stark. Wenger and Vick remained calm, while Viyi showed signs of panic. There seemed to be no good countermeasures for this situation. She reached for Viyi but couldn’t grasp her—“distance” itself seemed to vanish. After losing spatial awareness, she instinctively summoned a fierce wind. The elements stirred, but the next moment, they fell silent. Her perception vanished.
Wenger realized it wasn’t the mana fading but a problem with the space itself. The mana she’d controlled was now in another realm. They kept falling, plummeting toward an unseen end. The dizziness of spatial displacement hit all three simultaneously. A drowning-like suffocation nearly made her faint, her vision blurring, her body growing cold. Vaguely, she saw something fall. She tried to grab it, but something pulled her close. Warmth pressed against her back. No—something fell into her hand… She could no longer feel it… Despite struggling, her consciousness sank. A bit unwilling… Wenger had no strength to speak. Only a mechanical voice echoed in the silent space, unanswered. [Picked up “The Arbiter’s Scale”]
Year 4052, Ember Era. White Sand Coast.
The cold woke the girl. Waves lapped repeatedly at her skirt, and at the man shielding her in his arms. Vick’s face was pale, coughing uncontrollably even in her presence. Wenger propped herself up, scanning their surroundings. They’d landed somewhere unknown, dim but not entirely dark. More precisely, the darkness came from the backdrop. This wasn’t an outdoor place but an underground world. Her eyes judged the “sky” as not night but a rocky barrier. A massive cavern?
Her vision was clear enough, suggesting an exit or light source nearby. Behind her, the sea stretched endlessly. The blurred black horizon was indistinguishable. She nudged Vick, but he didn’t wake. She carried him to the shore to avoid the waves. Viyi was nowhere to be seen. She’d worried about her, but the child was gone. Those unfamiliar spells Viyi knew were some reassurance.
Panic was pointless—she needed to stay composed. Wenger didn’t notice her seawater-soaked hand trembling as it touched Vick. Checking his condition, she found him in a dire state. Was it because he shielded her? Not quite—if so, Viyi’s situation would be unimaginable. Falling from a height, water or ground made no difference. Why, why… was it this bad?
His body, devoid of mana, was like a crumbling ruin still standing. The shell cracked and parched, every part yearning for vitality. Even if she didn’t understand, she knew Vick couldn’t hold on long. Last time was similar, but when he woke, she assumed he was fine. She’d asked about his health at the lakeside cabin, and he’d said he was okay…
As she probed his body with magic, she felt her mana being pulled, as if his body craved it. Normally, one’s mana and ambient mana were distinct. Using her own to replenish another’s was impractical. She’d never heard of such a method. Yet, a small portion of her mana did sink into him, vanishing. She couldn’t figure out why.
Releasing her mental energy, a ripple spread outward, reaching the unseen distance. Far from the coast, she sensed pillar-like structures standing tall. Giant mushrooms? No trace of Viyi on the sea or along the endless shoreline. Leaving was the best option—every second delayed worsened his condition. But leaving didn’t guarantee a way to heal Vick. Though unsure if she caused his state, she didn’t want anyone suffering because of her. Staying didn’t mean finding Viyi either.
Both choices were irrational. If she hadn’t come, would none of this have happened? She couldn’t sort it out. The dilemma forced her to mentally abandon one of them. Shouting Viyi’s name yielded no response. She plunged her mental energy into the sea, probing as deep as possible. The water held nothing—pitch black, no hint of life.
A thought struck her. She activated her fourth blessing, but it didn’t bind until she touched Vick. [Shared Bond: Grants the same status to a unit as yourself, while gaining a portion of each designated unit’s attributes. Current selectable units: 2, attribute gain: 1%] [Bound unit 1, attribute boost—Strength 84, Intelligence 52, Agility 71…] [Sacredness activated] [Affinity activated] [Harvest activated] [Shared Bond activated]
A series of feedback confirmed a significant boost to her current state. As her blessings took effect on Vick, she sensed stagnant mana around them flowing into him. Probing again, he seemed slightly better, but it was a drop in the bucket. At least, it was good news.
She lit a bonfire on the shore, drawing an arrow pointing to her intended direction. Manipulating mana in this air was difficult. Vick’s frame was much larger than hers, so she continuously poured mana to create a favorable casting field. A heavy wind lifted his body. Glancing back at the dark sea, she flew swiftly toward the light.
A vast mushroom forest sprawled below, its colonies daunting. A faint glow flickered in the distance. It was farther than expected. Her mental energy never retracted, constantly searching for Viyi. Pulling out her still-working pocket watch, it read 3:07. They’d entered the magic-sealing forest at dusk, the sun not yet set. At least nine hours had passed. Something was off. She felt she’d overlooked something… She couldn’t recall.
Her honed mana was near inexhaustible, but progressless travel was tiring. The surroundings barely changed. She flew for an unknown time, too weary to check her watch. Suddenly, the faint light vanished. Her vision held only silent depths. Unconvinced, she extended her mental energy and mana, piecing together the scene. On an endless cliff, a massive tangle of dry, gray roots climbed upward, filling the entire wall.