The Gate Traveler

Half a day past the fashion-mad city, the flying ships appeared in the sky again in greater numbers. From the direction they came, it looked like they had flown around the scary forest and, along the way, bypassed the clueless bunch. That explained the pristine condition of oblivious central.

We continued down the river at breakneck speed as much as the other river traffic allowed. We all wanted to be out of this world. Fast.

On the evening of the second day past the city, we ran into a traffic jam—river-style. A large mix of ships had dropped anchor and were clogging most of the waterway. Armed vessels, bulky merchant ships, and small boats were all jumbled together, floating with no clear order. The river narrowed sharply here, slicing through towering cliffs that rose in tall walls on both sides. It looked as if a giant sword had split the mountain clean in half, and the river had taken the opportunity to flow through the gap. The ships were all bunched up at the entrance to that narrow passage between the cliffs, stuck without a way forward.

I felt the boat jolt to a stop and made my way to the helm, where Mahya was gripping the wheel, eyes narrowed ahead.

"What's happening?" I asked, stepping up beside her.

"No clue," she said, tightening her grip on the wheel. Her eyes didn't leave the horizon. "I was just about to ask you to fly over and check."

A sudden explosion tore through the air. The shockwave hit us a moment later, lifting the boat clean off the water. We slammed back down with a spray of foam. Al and Rue burst out of the saloon, both wide-eyed and alert, and joined us on deck.

I shot into the air and flew past the anchored ships, heading toward the narrow gap between the cliffs. Two large military vessels blocked our side of the passage, their decks lined with massive cannons. On the far end of the gap was an even larger warship, bristling with thicker armor and cannons twice the size. The flags and uniforms marked them as belonging to the other half of the empire.

The water between them was a mess of floating wreckage—chunks of wood and twisted metal scattered across the surface. Judging by the variety in shape, size, and coloring, the debris came from more than one ship.

Our side fired. Several cannons went off at once, but these weren't like the previous ones we saw that launched glowing balls of light. These fired orange beams that cut across the gap in a clean line. The enemy ship shimmered as a shield absorbed the hit, spreading the impact across its surface in rippling waves. The backlash sent another surge of energy through the water, causing the boats to rock violently from the force.

I landed on our boat and reported my findings.

"I recommend we store the boat and fly over the fighting," Al said.

None of us argued. We all took to the air, and Mahya stored the boat.

The people on the surrounding ships and boats froze mid-motion, mouths hanging open in pure shock. I was half-expecting a swarm of local flies to fly over and start exploring those gaping faces.

Rue didn't lift off using his usual windy magic. Instead, he launched with his new flying zoom, looking like a giant, overjoyed puppy on a hoverboard. His tail wagged so fast I honestly thought he might launch himself right off from sheer excitement.

Through our bond, waves of joy hit me like a flood. It was dizzying. I felt half drunk and completely submerged in it, like happiness itself had wrapped around my chest and refused to let go. I had never felt anything so strong from him before.

Just in case, we didn't fly directly over the fighting. Instead, we circled around the mountain and kept going for a while before dropping the boat back into the water.

Another five days passed in relative peace. We did see some flying ships overhead, and I stopped here and there to help the injured, but most of my time I spent trying to fix the Aggressive Clean spell. I had no intention to give it up; it had its uses, but I still tried to create a regular Clean spell for Mahya in marble form. Sadly, I didn't make much progress. Truth be told, I didn't progress at all.

On the sixth day after the river battle, I woke up with a start, heart pounding, and looked around, trying to figure out what had pulled me out of sleep. It felt like I had only slept for an hour, maybe less. Something was off. My body felt strange, heavier than usual, like my skin didn't quite fit right. Even the air around me felt wrong.

A deep whomp rolled through me, low and pulsing, like a drumbeat inside my chest. My body tensed, and the unease grew worse. The air itself seemed to shiver. No—that wasn't it. It wasn't the air. It was the mana.

Instead of swirling and flowing gently around me in those peaceful, colorful eddies I had grown used to, the mana now thrashed and jolted in wild, erratic currents. It smashed into various elemental aspects, colliding in bursts of unstable energy. They weren't exactly explosions, but they were close. When opposing or even just different enough aspects collided, they sparked in a way that made the whole area feel volatile and wrong.

Another whomp. It tore through my bones this time, and I doubled over, clutching my stomach. My insides twisted and churned like something was trying to crawl its way out.

I closed my eyes and focused, pushing my awareness into my mana system. What I found made me shiver. Instead of mana circling steadily within my orbs, flowing up and down my channels like a quiet pulse, it was surging in unpredictable bursts. It jerked and spasmed through my system like a storm in a pipe, slamming against the walls of my channels, reversing direction without reason, and skipping pathways altogether. It looked like a river in flood, overflowing its banks and tearing up everything in its path.

I focused and tried to grab hold of my mana the same way I had once grabbed blood with the Control Blood spell. The first attempt slipped right through my mental grip, wild and unruly. On the second try, I managed to latch onto a small section of it. It was like grabbing a handful of water in a raging river, but I held on. Slowly, steadily, I pulled more of it under control, forcing it to flow the way it was supposed to.

Another deep whomp pulsed through the air. My grip slipped, and some of the mana broke free again, lashing out inside me. But not all of it escaped. I kept going, teeth clenched and focus narrowed to a single point. Bit by bit, I regained control. One orb settled, then another, the flow between them calming as I pushed the chaos back.

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I was working on the third orb when another whomp hit. This time, I held firm. No backlash. Just a tremor through my bones and then quiet. The pain in my body eased, not gone but less overwhelming.

The boat suddenly tilted sideways with a groan of shifting wood, and I rolled off the bed, landing hard on the floor.

I jumped to my feet, split my mind in two, and rushed out of the room. One part stayed focused on regulating the mana inside me, keeping the flow steady and contained. The other handled everything else—movement, awareness, thinking. I was beyond relieved that I had learned to split not just my mind, but also my vision, back when we sailed from China to the US. That training was paying off now.

I hovered just a few centimeters above the floor, trying to stay level as the boat tilted hard to one side. The angle was bad enough that anything not nailed down had already slid across the room. Through the open saloon door, I spotted Rue and Al sprawled on the floor like rag dolls, limbs limp, their eyes closed. A quick glance out the nearest window showed Mahya slumped over the helm, her body draped awkwardly against the controls.

Then the boat suddenly lurched upright with a sharp jolt, knocking everything loose. I was still hovering, but that didn't help. The wall slammed into me like a battering ram and sent me flying across the room into the opposite wall. The impact rattled my ribs. Before I had time to recover, another whomp pulsed through the air, deep and resonant like the beat of a war drum.

This time, it didn't affect me. I felt it, sure, but I also sensed where it came from. Spinning mid-air, I flew out of the saloon and shot toward the back deck.

A massive creature was on the boat, dragging its oozing body across the deck and heading straight for the interior. It didn't walk so much as melt forward. It was gelatinous and translucent, like a giant drop of water that refused to settle on a shape. Its surface rippled constantly, shifting between tendrils, bulges, and sloshing limbs.

Another whomp. Stronger this time. The mana in the air became more chaotic.

The creature turned toward me, and the moment it noticed I was awake, it focused its pulse. Instead of sending out a wave in all directions, it narrowed the force and launched it straight at me. I barely had a moment to brace.

I countered with a blast of lightning. The bolt cracked across the deck, struck the creature's surface, and made it ripple violently. It shuddered, twisted, and retaliated with an even stronger whomp. This one hit like a punch to the gut. My entire mana system wobbled under the pressure, and I almost fell out of the air. Only the split in my mind kept me aloft, one half still gripping the swirling chaos inside me, the other focused on survival.

That pissed me off.

I rose higher, circled in a tight arc, then dove straight at it. Speed gathered fast. At the last second, I snapped my leg forward and kicked the creature square in the center of its quivering mass. It exploded on impact.

A wet splash coated me in sizzling fluid. I hissed. The acid wasn't deadly, not like the flying murder balls in that dungeon back in Zindor, but it still burned. I dove off the deck and plunged into the river. I surfaced with a gasp, mana already surging through my hands as I cast Clean over and over. The sting faded.

Back on the boat, the others hadn't moved. Al, Mahya, and Rue were still out cold.

I flew up and landed gently, rushing over to them. The pulses were gone now, but their mana was still in chaos. Without the constant whomping, it had begun to settle, but I could tell it wouldn't regulate properly without help.

I started with Al. His mana fought me. My first few attempts to guide it failed completely—it slipped through my grip like a live wire. Then I tried something different. I channeled my mana into him and used it as a bridge. With that, I finally managed to get hold of his. Bit by bit, I untangled the wild currents until his mana began to flow the way it should.

Once it was steady, I cast Healing Touch to ease whatever damage the pulses had done, and then added Fortify Life Force just to be safe.

I rushed to Rue next. That was easier. We were connected, so slipping into his system felt almost like adjusting my own. His mana settled quickly under my guidance.

By the time I reached Mahya, Al was already sitting up, groaning softly, and Rue had started to twitch. I worked quickly. Mahya's system had resisted at first, but once I found the rhythm, she followed the others.

When I was finally done, I let myself drop onto the deck with a heavy thud. My legs stretched out in front of me, arms falling limp to my sides. I exhaled hard, the breath leaving me in a shaky rush of relief.

The river curved. I felt it before I saw it—the shift in current, the angle of the boat changing just enough to set off alarm bells. I scrambled to my feet, stumbled toward the helm, and nudged Mahya aside, not exactly gently.

She groaned, stirred, and blinked at me with bleary eyes. "What happened? What are you doing?"

"A creature attacked us," I said, adjusting the wheel just in time to steer us away from the creeping shoreline. "It messed with the mana in our bodies."

I hesitated. "Actually, not just our bodies. The mana around us, too. I fixed it. Don't worry. But I had to take the helm."

She sat up straighter, squinting toward the back of the boat. "Where is it?"

"Back deck. It's dead."

Mahya started to rise.

"Careful," I said, holding out a hand. "It's acidic. Not the worst kind, but still highly unpleasant."

She made a face and sank back down onto the bench with a wince.

I glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "You alright?"

She waved me off. "I'm good. I told the core to absorb everything. I hope it works without the magic circle. Give it a couple of minutes, then go check. I'll take over from here."

I stepped aside and let her grab the helm.

Al appeared from the saloon a moment later, still a little pale. I ran through what had happened again, keeping it short.

"I will check," he said, and walked toward the back deck.

A few minutes passed before he returned, brushing his hands off with a cloth. "There is a clear gelatinous substance all over the deck. Are those the remains?"

I nodded. "That's it."

"I will collect some for myself and clean the rest with a spell."

"Thanks," I said, giving him a tired smile.

Rue ambled over and flopped down beside me. He rested his massive head on my lap with a soft huff.

"Rue hate monsters," he said into my mind, his tone somewhere between sulky and offended.

I scratched behind his ears, letting my fingers run through his thick fur. "I know, buddy. I know. But we're fine."

I was too tense to go back to sleep, so I stayed with Mahya by the helm. I took out the music gizmo Lis made for me and scrolled through until I found a playlist that felt right. Something calm. Instrumentals with no words. I pressed play and let it fill the quiet space between us. We didn't talk. Each of us drifted into our own thoughts, staring out at the river ahead.

A while later, Al stepped out onto the deck. His hair was still a mess, and he looked like he had scrubbed his face with cold water to wake up. He walked over and gave us a small nod.

"The substance is mostly useless," he said, tone thoughtful but clipped. "It is a concentrated form of digestive acid. I assume the creature uses it to cover its prey and break it down gradually, dissolving it as a method of absorption."

He paused, gaze drifting toward the back of the boat before returning to us.

"From an alchemical perspective, it offers little value. It lacks elemental stability and has no reactive synergy with binding agents or transmutation catalysts. At best, it might serve as a base solvent in the processing of organic waste. More likely, it will corrode the container long before any productive use can be found. I do not believe it warrants further effort."

I gave him a thumbs up. Mahya nodded in silent agreement, and Al joined us at the front of the deck.

The rest of the day passed in quiet, broken only by the soft music drifting from the gizmo. No one spoke. That thing had shaken all of us. I could feel it coming off them in waves, see it in the way Mahya gripped the helm a little tighter, in Al's stillness, and in the way Rue leaned against my leg heavier than usual.

We could have died. All of us. And the worst part? It would've happened without us ever knowing why.