I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

The mountains stretched endlessly beyond what Raiden could fathom. They moved through the frozen landscape, hands brushing against each other for warmth as they fought to steady their breathing in the hostile atmosphere.

Raiden warmed his palms again and again, cupping them against his cheeks as his thoughts wandered. They'd been trudging through the cold for almost an hour now, with no trace of the Reader anywhere.

But as he forced himself onward, a sudden jolt of sensation struck his chest. He pressed his hand against it, feeling the irregular thrum of his heartbeat.

The realization hit him immediately—beyond his confusion and desperation, he wasn't scared enough to justify this frantic rhythm.

He struck his own cheek, snapping himself back to focus. There were deeper layers to this realm, and he had to remain agile. Maybe everything they were experiencing was a test from the Reader.

He maintained his steady pace, balancing each step on the treacherous ground while his eyes searched the mountain landscape for any sign worth pursuing.

It wasn't long before the chest pain hit again, that familiar tightening. But something far worse demanded his attention: silence where there should have been footsteps. His comrades were gone. He was alone.

Turning back, he spotted them far behind him, gathered in a circle. Raiden stared at them, puzzled. Despite feeling slighted that none of them had asked him to wait, he found himself drawn back toward the group.

When he got close enough, he found Speed collapsed on the ground, Aeris kneeling beside him as she worked to heal the massive bruise that painted his torso crimson. Speed's breathing was labored, each cough echoing harshly in the thin air.

"What happened to him?" Raiden asked, moving between his companions to get closer to Speed before dropping to his knees beside him. At this proximity, Raiden's expression turned dark as the true extent of the bruising became clear.

It appeared tender and grotesquely swollen. From the rapid, shallow rhythm of Speed's breathing and the movement of his abdomen, it looked as though the injury could burst open at any second.

"Were you attacked?" Raiden asked.

While Speed's situation appeared far worse than any ordinary bruise. Raiden couldn't remember any incident that could have caused such damage, making him suspect an attack had occurred while his attention was elsewhere.

"No… he won't speak though," Aeris whispered, her hands working frantically over Speed's injuries. With perspiration covering her face in the frigid air and weariness written across her expression, she didn't need to explain what was going wrong.

"You can't save him, can you?"

She inhaled deeply through her mouth, one hand pressed over her nose. "This air is making everything worse."

Raiden looked back at Speed, observing how he fought for breath through his mask, though the toxic air seemed to be forcing its way into his lungs like a hostile invader.

He kept blinking, trying to think of some way to save Speed. When he looked left, he found Soul standing nearby, her hands quivering against her mouth as she shook from cold or fear. The image alone caused Raiden's heart to plummet, forcing him upright.

Finding the Reader was their only option. If this truly was a game of some sort, he would have the power to make the air breathable again when they found him.

He snapped his fingers over and over, desperately thinking of ways to transport Speed on their journey. Suddenly, the answer came to him: Leo. He spun in his direction at once.

"Can you nullify his weight and carry him?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he extended his hands toward Leo's luggage, not bothering to wait for a response.

"I can, but wouldn't moving him make the pain worse?" Leo responded with a puzzled expression.

"I can make something cushioned for him," MK interjected sharply. "If he's weightless, it shouldn't cause any issues."

Leo nodded decisively and knelt beside Speed, touching him gently. Speed's form gradually lifted into the air, and MK stretched out her arm in his direction. Her golden aura surged forward and crystallized into a cube with soft, cushioned walls visible within.

When they completed the makeshift stretcher, Raiden's attention shifted to Soul, noticing her dark aura rippling with emotion in the dim light. He offered a wordless pat on her head before turning toward their route to take the lead.

On his third step, though, everything vanished into another empty void. Within seconds, the pavement from their initial encounter with the Reader reformed around them.

The sun's rays pierced Raiden's eyes, and he stretched out his hand to block the light. But the moment he saw his white sleeve, sudden confusion overcame him.

His hands were both stained crimson. Fear shot through him as he hurriedly pulled his sleeves upward, his expression fracturing with even greater bewilderment.

Countless cuts scored both forearms, and from their crude appearance and the ashen flesh surrounding them, he recognized what had happened immediately.

"I didn't know air could be this deadly," Noelle remarked, and Raiden's chest squeezed painfully as he spun around without hesitation.

It was both unsettling and reassuring to see Noelle's arms mirror his own condition perfectly. Yet he couldn't help but feel relieved that, at least in this moment, the cuts were limited to just him and her.

"We have to hurry." The instant he muttered the words, his hand flew to his throat as the taste of blood filled his mouth.

He put on a tight, uncomfortable smile as his eyes searched their expressions. With their surroundings turning more toxic each second, speed was essential.

"Stop talking—all of you," Raiden rasped, immediately followed by a fit of bloody coughing as he clutched at his throat desperately. Each word sent searing pain through his neck, as if someone were cutting him open with every syllable.

He spun around and began moving forward, his steps growing faster as thoughts churned through his head. Leadership and emotional control no longer mattered; now he just needed to stay alive.

He quickly glanced over his shoulder, determined not to lose track of the others again. Despite them walking behind him, the gap separating them was just as wide as it had been earlier.

Nevertheless, he refused to slow down. He had objectives that took precedence over his comrades' lives, though he bore them no ill will.

He pressed his hand to his chest as he moved forward, that previous feeling washing over him again. But this time his chest compressed painfully, his pulse racing out of control. He couldn't make sense of it—his level of fear didn't warrant such a violent physical response.

But before he could process what was happening to him, Ash's quiet voice drifted through his thoughts, breaking her silence for the first time since their arrival.

[Look to your right, Papa.] Without hesitation, Raiden's gaze shifted right. [There's a mansion.]

Raiden's eyes went wide as relief flooded through him, drowning out the tightness in his chest. He spun around to face Ash, giving her an enthusiastic grin and thumbs-up that she returned with a soft smile.

You're amazing, Ash—Raiden thought back to her as he waved the others forward toward the mansion.

At last, a clue to the Reader's location.