The Gate Traveler

When we walked out of the guild, my stomach flipped a couple of times, my heart skipped a beat, my mouth went dry, and I shuddered. A wave of cold passed over my skin, despite the warmth in the air. Looking around, I didn't see anything that would justify such a reaction. It was late afternoon, with the sun still shining above and a lot of excited people around us. Laughter, chatter, and the clink of armor filled the space in front of the guild. Everything looked normal. While I tried to figure out what was going on, Mahya and Rue continued walking and didn't notice that I had stopped.

"Mahya," I called, but with all the noisy people around us, she didn't hear me. I connected to her mentally. "Mahya, wait."

She looked back, her brows pulling together, and asked, also via telepathy, "What?" sounding annoyed.

I walked closer to them, weaving through the press of people, my eyes scanning the crowd. "I don't know, but something is wrong."

Mahya frowned. "What?"

"Like I said, I don't know, but I have a strong feeling of unease that's coming from my Luck. Something is very wrong."

She and Rue both turned their heads, scanning the street with sharp eyes. Rue's ears twitched. Mahya shifted her weight from foot to foot, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the bustling square, but everything looked normal, if noisy and crowded. Nothing jumped out. Just noise, people, and sun.

"Let's go home fast," Mahya said, her tone clipped. "We should walk, we won't be able to catch a taxi here. Too crowded."

We cut through a few streets and reached the river, then crossed over the bridge to get to our side of the city. The sun glinted off the water, turning it gold where the current moved slowly. Marble towers loomed on both banks, their domes gleaming and their spires crowned with fluttering flags. There were still no taxis available, and my unease was growing with every passing minute. A prickling sensation crawled up the back of my neck like something was just about to happen.

While walking on the bridge, Mahya pointed up. "Look."

Two ships floated in the air. They looked like ordinary ships, the kind meant to sail on water, not the sky. The only difference was that instead of sails, they had a canopy like a parachute, though it was too small to account for the lift. And unlike a parachute, they didn't drift downward; they glided steadily through the air. I stared for a moment, surprised and awed, then pulled out my camera. That was definitely something for the scrapbook.

We continued walking on the bridge and looked at the ships. More and more appeared in the sky, now there were more than a dozen, and with each one, my heart beat faster. Something was wrong with the ships. When the first ship reached above the buildings on the riverfront, small gleaming things fell from it like drops of water. They sparkled in the sunlight, catching my eye for just a second before vanishing behind the rooftops. I held my breath. A few seconds later, the first explosion happened. A blinding flash, then a deafening crack that split the sky. The sound echoed off the stone walls, and a sharp pressure slammed into my chest. Birds screamed into the air. People froze mid-step, then panic broke loose, with shouts, running, the scrape of boots on stone. My gut twisted hard. This was an attack.

"Mana bombs," people shouted all around us. The panic spread like fire, voices rising in terror.

We picked up the pace and ran. One ship reached above the bridge we were on and released the bombs directly over it. Tiny glowing orbs dropped in a slow, deliberate fall.

"Up," I shouted.

Mahya was ahead of me and already on her sword, rising into the air. Rue barked once and leapt. His massive form surged upward with mine as I kicked off the ground, flying up and away as fast as possible.

The explosion of the bridge hurled stones into the air like shrapnel. Heat and light burst beneath us in a wave of force.

I cast Protective Shield just in time. The barrier shimmered in front of us, catching flying debris with a dull thud. Mahya and Rue tucked behind me, hovering close, their eyes locked on the chaos below.

Smoke curled into the sky. Part of the bridge was gone.

We flew fast, weaving between rooftops and domes. The wind stung my face, smoke already thick in the air and clinging to my throat. Mahya angled her flight downward to duck behind a clock tower, then shot out the other side like a streak of steel. Rue stayed close to my side, his ears flat, eyes flicking between the sky and the ground. A shockwave from a nearby blast slammed into us. My shield cracked under the pressure, and I was flung sideways, almost hitting the building. I had to recast on the fly, flaring another chunk of mana just to keep us from getting shredded. I gritted my teeth, pulse racing, and forced myself to stay focused as we banked hard to avoid a falling roof tile the size of a wagon.

A bomb hit a nearby plaza with a blinding flash. The shockwave rippled outward, shattering windows and sending people scrambling for cover. A chunk of stone whipped past my shoulder. Too close. I ducked instinctively, breath catching in my throat. Loose stones fell in my direction. I winced and pulled higher, heart thudding like a drum. Another wave of gleaming spheres dropped from above, scattering over the street just ahead.

"Left," I sent mentally, already banking hard.

We zipped around a minaret crowned with a tall spire, barely missing the tip. Heat licked at my back as another blast lit the air behind us. Mahya shot ahead, zigzagging through a cluster of domes. I followed her path, twisting sideways to avoid a falling statue toppling from a roof.

Another wave of bombs rained down over the canals. Water erupted in tall pillars, spraying stone walkways and running people. Somewhere below, someone screamed. I caught a glimpse of people diving into the river, smoke and mist swallowing them up.

Mahya pointed ahead, her braid whipping behind her. "Over there. Open space."

We sped toward the park just beyond the row of tall buildings, smoke curling through the sky behind us. The wind carried the sharp scent of burning wood and cooked meat. I kept my fingers crossed that the smell was from food and not people.

Two ships flew over the park, but didn't drop anything. I exhaled in relief and dropped toward the open green. My boots hit the grass with a thud, knees bending slightly on impact. The quiet here felt unnatural, like the calm eye of a storm.

Mahya landed hard a second later, sliding a few steps before straightening with a scowl. "What are you doing?" she snapped, eyes scanning the sky.

"We should wait here. It's too dangerous in the built area," I said.

She turned to face me fully. "It's not better here." Her eyes were still tracking the sky, jaw tight.

"Yes, it is." I pointed up at the two ships as they glided over the treetops, ignoring us completely. "Look, they're not dropping anything here. I think their aim is to destroy buildings, not grass and trees."

She hesitated, glancing around at the empty park, then back at the skyline now half-obscured by smoke. I pressed the point, stepping closer. "This isn't a random bombing run. It's targeted. They're going after infrastructure, homes, bridges, maybe guild halls. But out here, in the open, we're not what they're looking for. At least not yet."

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She nodded, and her eyes swept the park. "We should hide under the trees to be less visible, but in a spot where we can see the sky."

Another ship came gliding toward the park. A group of people flew up to meet it. Some had wings. I spotted two with blazing fire wings, their flames rippling behind them like banners. One had wings made of radiant white light that glittered like frost in sunlight. Another pair of wings looked like black fog, swirling and pulsing as if alive. One person rose with tangled vines and roots growing from their back, each beat of their wings sending leaves fluttering into the air.

Three others flew on boards that resembled a combination of skateboards and surfboards. They darted and wove between the other fliers. The rest flew by less obvious means. It was immediately obvious that it wasn't an affinity or a spell, but a device, though I couldn't figure out which.

As they closed in on the ship, figures aboard it opened fire. Arrows and crossbow bolts whistled through the air. The defenders didn't scatter. Two of the board-riders took point, flying side by side. One raised a massive metal shield, catching bolt after bolt with dull metallic thunks. The other cast a shield spell that shimmered like a curved wall of glass and stretched over three meters wide, anchoring the front line.

The defenders launched their first attack. The ones with fire wings hurled fireballs that streaked across the sky, slamming into the ship's canopy and rigging. The flame spread quickly, licking across the ropes and wooden beams. The ship tilted slightly, trying to adjust, but the canopy buckled, and it began to drift off balance.

The ship answered with a second volley. A blast of bolts took out the white-winged defender mid-flight. The spell-caster with the shield spell tried to angle it to cover them, but didn't make it in time. The winged figure spiraled downward, light flickering out as they fell behind the buildings.

The vine-winged flier looped wide and flung a cluster of thorned roots that struck the ship's side and clung there, tearing into the hull. The ship shuddered, its pace slowing, but it wasn't enough.

A second defender with fire wings got too close. A bolt pierced one wing at the base. They faltered, twisted sideways, and dropped. I lost sight of them in the smoke. The black-winged one veered in right after and unleashed a blast of smoke or shadow that cloaked one side of the ship. Screams echoed out from inside it.

Then came the lightning. One flier without wings raised both hands. Bright arcs of energy snapped from their fingertips and struck the mast dead-on. The crack was sharp, loud enough to echo. The ship jerked in the air. Fire flared brighter. It began to tip.

A third board-rider fell when a bolt hit their board directly. It didn't explode. It just lost power. The rider dropped like a stone. The one with the shield spell tried to reach them, stretching the barrier beneath them like a slide, but it wasn't enough. The defender hit a roof and rolled.

The mast snapped with a sharp crack. The hull began to split apart. More fire spread across the deck. A few of the crew jumped. Two of them managed to slow themselves mid-fall with glowing belts or harnesses. The rest dropped too fast.

The ship groaned once more, tilted left, and began to fall.

It crashed into a tall building at the edge of the park with a thunderous impact. The stone shattered. A section of the upper floors crumbled inward, disappearing into a massive cloud of dust and debris. Glass rained down in long, glittering shards.

I waited until the last pieces of debris and glass stopped falling, the air thick with dust and the sharp sting of smoke. Then I ran.

"Where are you going?" Mahya shouted behind me.

"To help."

I felt her hand clamp down on my arm, hard. "Don't. Stop. It's not our business."

I twisted free, wrenching my shoulder from her grip. "I'm not going to fight on either side," I said, my voice tight. "Only help the wounded."

The crash area was total chaos—fire, ship debris, and screams. I commanded the Fire to wink out. I didn't ask. I commanded it without leaving any opening for its usual teenage shenanigans, and just in case, I pulled moisture from the air and directed it toward the burning parts. Steam hissed up from scorched wood and shattered stone as flames curled and sputtered into nothing.

The moment the worst of the fire was out, I sprinted toward the wreckage. Mahya followed, muttering something under her breath, but I didn't catch it. Rue ran ahead, nose low, ears up, weaving through rubble.

The ship had broken into three major chunks, with wreckage scattered across the grass and sidewalk. People lay twisted and groaning on the ground, some half-buried under planks or metal.

"There," Rue said into my mind, urgent.

I rushed to the first survivor. A young man in padded armor, one arm bent the wrong way, and a nasty gash across his temple. I dropped to my knees and cast Healing Touch. Warm light flowed into him. His body jerked, then stilled, and his breathing evened out.

Mahya knelt beside another, already pulling out a health potion. She poured it gently between the lips of an unconscious woman, then dragged her clear of the debris.

Rue kept circling. "One here. Two under wood. One hiding."

We moved from one to the next, clearing the wood and stabilizing the worst injuries. Mahya worked quickly, carrying survivors out of the immediate wreck zone. I kept healing.

Near the back section of the wreckage, I found a defender. The fire-winged flier, now grounded. His armor was cracked across the chest, but he was alive and conscious. Fire Knight, Level 59. I knelt beside him and cast a quick diagnostic. Internal bleeding in multiple places. I placed both hands on him and began casting Healing Touch. It took three full rounds before his breathing finally eased, his chest rising more steadily.

Mahya jogged up, her boots crunching over shattered wood and broken stone. She crouched and reached for him, looping an arm around his shoulders to lift him.

He slapped her hand away with a wince. "I'm not an invalid. I can walk."

Mahya straightened, gave him a once-over, then shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said, already turning to jog toward another cluster of bodies.

A minute later, I found the one who had flown on the glittering white wings. Radiant Sentinel, Level 68. Her right leg and several ribs were fractured, the entire side of her body bruised and partially caved in from the impact. But she was already trying to sit up, teeth clenched, eyes locked on the sky like she expected another wave at any moment. I knelt beside her, placed a hand gently on her shoulder, and began healing the fractures.

Each of the flying defenders was still alive. Battered, bruised, but breathing. The vine-winged one had a dislocated shoulder and burns down half their body. The one who had summoned lightning had a bad head wound.

The ship's crew didn't fare as well. Most of them were lower-level, in the twenties or thirties, with light armor. Most were dead, but we found a few alive. Mostly, they had a lot of broken limbs. One had a jagged plank through his side. I stabilized him, then moved on.

Rue's voice rang sharp in my head. "Another. Two more. One crying under metal."

I nodded and moved toward the next pile of debris, kneeling beside a woman whose leg was bent in a way no leg should be.

Footsteps scuffed behind me, fast,

I turned just in time to see a short sword aimed at my ribs. The guy holding it was limping and bleeding. The second one came at me from the side, face twisted in rage, a jagged chunk of metal raised like a club. He was alive thanks to me, but it didn't stop him.

Idiots.

I pivoted on one knee, ducked the blade, and drove a fist into the sword guy's gut. He doubled over with a wheeze, and I followed up with a punch to the side of his head that dropped him like a sack of bricks. The other one managed a swing. I caught it on my arm, hissed, then clocked him under the jaw with an uppercut that lifted him off his feet. He hit the wreckage with a heavy thud and didn't get back up.

"You try to stab me while I'm healing someone, you can bleed to death," I told his still form.

Minutes later, one of them stirred with a groan and tried to sit up, mouth already opening.

Mahya didn't say a word. She walked over and kicked him square in the side of the head. He flopped back to the ground, limbs twitching once before going still again.

We continued our work. Mahya handed potions, helped lift the unconscious, and carried the more stable survivors toward a shaded corner of the park. Rue stood guard over anyone he found until I reached them.

By the time we finished, the smoke had thinned, and the last of the coals stopped burning. The scent of scorched wood lingered in the air, mixed with blood, dust, and scorched meat. We had over thirty people laid out in neat rows beneath the trees, breathing and alive. At least fifty more hadn't made it. The wreckage still held bodies, some burned, some crushed, and the two unconscious idiots I had knocked out earlier.

As I worked on a woman with a cracked pelvis, one survivor limped over, scowling. "You're just going to leave them there?" he asked, nodding toward the two I hadn't healed. "That's not right."

Mahya stepped between us without a word. She slowly raised one foot, just enough to make her intent clear.

The guy backed off fast, hands up, mouth snapping shut.

I didn't heal the attackers completely—just enough to keep them alive. The defenders, I healed fully. Or rather, I fixed the serious injuries and left the minor stuff to save mana. Most of them gave me a nod or mumbled a tired "thanks" before moving on.

"Not taking sides? Are you sure?" Mahya asked, her tone sly.

I shrugged. "I healed everyone. Well, except the idiots. But I didn't forget they bombed innocent civilians."

The defenders came over, still singed and bruised but steady on their feet. Each one grabbed two of the attackers and hauled them to their feet. The last one took three. One defender looked at me, then jerked his chin toward the street.

"We'll take it from here," he said.

I shrugged and didn't ask where. Probably prison or something.

Once they were gone, I dropped onto the grass with a grunt, legs giving out under me. My mana was low, my arms ached, and everything smelled like smoke and sweat. I sat there for a while, not thinking. Just breathing.