Skyborne Raider

Tremendous power is pressing me down and I don’t need to hold myself so tightly anymore.

The wind around me is so strong that my hair and all the loose clothes are waving like I’m standing under an industrial blower.

The blurred background is all I can see, besides the massive horn I’m gripping for dear life. The buzzing—it’s overwhelming, a loud, constant hum that makes my ears ache.

It's all I can hear, pounding inside my head, irritatingly monotonous.

"Just keep holding on," I remind myself, already fully aware of what’s happening here.

The beast is flying straight up.

All kinds of scenarios are playing out in my mind. Is this thing going to fly me miles away from the crew? Or is it just going to shake me off, letting gravity finish me off? I can't even figure out what I should do right now beside waiting it out.

As I hold onto the horn, a wild thought crosses my mind: Should I try to rip it off or bend it? It might steer or stop the beast.

But as much power as I’m pumping into my arms, I know it's useless. It’s not just about raw strength here. It’s about the material. The horn is practically indestructible.

My arms would get torn to pieces before I could even budge it. The hardened yet flexible exoskeleton of the giant beetle—it feels almost strong as carbon fiber or steel.

As the beast flies upward at incredible speed, the pressure on my head and hair is unbearable, and even my butt aches from being pressed against the saddle.

With my Focus active, I channel more power into my right arm, gripping the hammer tighter while holding onto the horn with my left.

An idea sparks—I could use the hammer to divert the airflow and get some relief.

It’s time to lift it.

The atmospheric pressure is making it difficult, and the enchantment is working against me. The hammer is unnecessary heavy, tailored to my strength, which I have to use even more because of the speed.

I remember when the Exiled One boss pinned me down with his gravity manipulation.

This doesn’t feel that different. My bicep swells, my veins bulge, but my skin feels tighter. Maybe it’s placebo, but it feels like I can handle the inner pressure better than before due to endurance.

*Fwoosh*

My arm is finally straight up, though my head is still forced down. Doesn't work. The pressure is too intense to even look up.

The bug isn’t slowing at all—it’s still flying upward like a rocket, shooting through the sky.

I lean back a little, settling against the flexible, bendy small horn behind my lower back. I’ve got to get my bearings.

Now that we’re high enough, I can start seeing the bigger picture.

The area’s shrinking below me, and the blurred background behind the horn starts to crystallize into something clearer. A thick fog starts to roll in around us.

We’re so high up that clouds are forming all around me and I can feel the moisture on my skin, cool droplets clinging to my face.

It’s weird, but refreshing—like I’m more alive up here.

"Damn!" If this moment were caught on camera, I’d have the perfect footage. Something I could throw on Instagram—except I have no friends.

Riding a giant beetle with a hammer raised in the air—I mean, this is the stuff of legends. I almost feel like a superhero. But I quickly snap out of it.

Stop it, brain! Focus.

If I’m going to survive this, I need to know where I am.

I peek to the right, glancing around the horn.

The hills, forests, and even a few settlements are visible in the distance. Smoke rises from chimneys, which means there might be life down there. Maybe a place where we all can finally rest without everything trying to kill us.

Tilting my head left, something else catches my eye.

A castle—it’s thin and tall, sitting on a distant hill. The towers are sharp and pointy, kind of like Hogwarts, but this one’s pitch black. The material looks like the same dark metal from that tower I once wanted to settle in.

I focus on the castle, measuring it against the height of the nearby trees, memorizing its location. The size is so enormous I blame it on perspective. There’s no way we didn’t see it from the ground or the watchtower.

I’ll need to remember this spot when I’m back on the ground, it might be an illusion.

As the bug keeps climbing, my attention drifts downward. I glance beneath me.

The sinkhole—it’s directly below now. From this height, it’s even more terrifying, just a perfect circle of blackness.

The sight gives me chills. What kind of hellhole could be lurking in that void?

The bug finally starts slowing down.

No hesitation, but my mind already wonders if it’s time to attack. My eyes drift to the wings.

They seem like the easiest target, but if I destroy them, gravity will take us both down—and, God forbid, we end up in that sinkhole. A shiver runs down my back.

I need a smarter plan—something that weakens the bug enough to force it to land without killing us.

I focus on its head, searching for any kind of weakness. The armor covering its eyes looks like thick, tempered glass—maybe I can crack it.

The glassy surface is slick with water droplets from the clouds.

Suddenly, a chill crawls down my spine, and goosebumps spread across my arms. Something feels off.

I focus on the eyes again, and what I see makes my stomach turn. Beneath the glassy surface are these massive white, jelly-like orbs.

Black dots shift and move around inside them, like they’re swimming in goo.

“Fuck!”

My stomach churns as the reality of it hits me—those are its eyes. The thing is looking at me, right through those gross, slimy sacks.

Panic hits like a hammer, and I act without thinking.

The black dots keep moving under the jelly-like surface, focusing on me. Watching.

With a scream, I bring the hammer down with all my strength. The air rushes past, droplets of water flinging off the hammer as I smash it into the center of the glass.

*Crack*

A deep crack spiders out from the impact point.

One more hit and I can shatter it.

The bug freaks out, thrashing wildly in midair, trying to shake me off. I hold on tighter, letting the power flow through both arms. My muscles strain under the pressure, but I’m not letting go.

*Bang* following a *Crack*

The second strike does it—the glass shatters. Shards fly in all directions, and what’s underneath makes me gag. The bug’s eye, a doughy white mass with black spots, rolls around in the socket, exposed.

It’s disgusting. I almost puke.

I’ve never seen anything so gross in my life. Even that longneck creature with its dead eyes didn’t make me feel this way. This is pure nightmare fuel.

The thing’s eye twitches, trying to suck up the shards of broken glass.

The bug thrashes and flails, but it’s still not descending. We’re still moving through the air, but I can’t tell where.

All I know is I’m holding on for dear life, because if I fall, it will be into the sinkhole.

"Was that not enough for you?!" I shout, rage bubbling up inside me.

The thing calms down and my right fist swells with energy as I prepare for another hit. I shift my sight to the second eye, which is further away, harder to reach.

I tilt myself to the right, stretching as far as I can without losing my grip.

My sweaty palm slips on the horn, but I clench my grip tightly.

Should I go for the wings instead? I wonder for a moment.

No.

Too risky.

The space between the two horns is the only safe spot right now.

I stretch again, ignoring the vertigo that hits me when I look down at the open sky beneath me. But then, a thought crosses my mind. It’s disgusting, but it might work.

I take a deep breath.

*Inhale*

Exhale*

With a powerful stomp, I drive my right sneaker into the bug’s eye socket. It feels like stepping into a half-deflated balloon, squishy and gross. The eye wraps around my foot like some kind of doughy mess.

The bug screeches in pain, twisting violently as I barely hold.

I clench my jaw, focusing all my power for the final strike. My foot sinks deeper into the gross, slimy mess, but I push the feeling aside.

I’ve got to finish this.

*Bang*

*Crack*

The second eye shield shatters. This time, the hammer gets stuck deep inside the squishy mess, lodged in there.

A loud bang echoes from somewhere off in the distance, but I can barely process it.

Both of the bug’s eyes are destroyed, but it’s still thrashing, still flying.

I grip the horn even tighter, knowing the battle’s not over yet.