The Grand Weave

I inwardly groaned while he stared at me. I didn't know if I was supposed to feel the call to some grand quest, but I would prefer if I could hide in a remote corner until the rift ended.

The silence stretched on, and Ventus kept his unblinking and stoic stare. It made my eye twitch.

"Listen... I'm not really sur-"

A low thrum sounded out, thankfully saving me from answering. It wasn't that I wanted to say no; I didn't like the heavy responsibility that came if I said yes.

Ventus turned his head upwards, and I joined him in watching the barrier flicker. There was only a single spot where it pulsed, but it was noticeable and to the right.

Ventus looked beyond the city buildings and pointed his trident towards the right street. "Over there, something impacted the barrier,"

I frowned. "That makes no sense,"

"What do you mean?"

"The monsters and cultists all hide in a dimensional space during the day. At night, they become active and rampage through the city, or at least they did. I, uh, might have messed things up on that front."

More severe staring ensued, and I rubbed the back of my head.

"Zharia, can you go check it out? Be careful."

"Yes, Master," Zharia chirped.

She flew off, and we waited. Áine landed on my shoulder, and I lifted Magnus up. The poor guy was better now that the mana had settled.

Strangely enough, I noticed the energy inside him had condensed. I had to double-check, but it looked like the mana condensed itself to make more room when settling into the proper spot. It was intuitive, and I was surprised I hadn't noticed before.

"Feeling okay?"

Magnus mewed and continued napping. I shook my head and left him alone. There was always a chance we would need the mana he used for an attack, so I was content to let him rest.

"Master! Sereza!"

My eyes widened, and I turned and took off. I let Zharia's memories briefly play in my head, and I wanted to turn around and find somewhere far away.

After opening my eyes and continuing my running, I noticed Ventus running behind me like a machine, keeping pace in a stiff run as he stared me down.

"There are people I know at the barrier's edge."

He nodded and picked up the pace, his movements becoming smoother as he started to gain the lead.

This guy was slowing himself down for me! Aaaargh.

We quickly ran through the city, having to take a left across a wide building. He'd ask for directions, and we'd move in an unseen path only he seemed to know. Before long, we neared where Zharia was hovering. She had her back turned and was talking to Sereza through the barrier.

Sereza sported a couple of new holes in her jacket but was relatively okay. When she spotted us coming closer, her smile widened, and she waved excitedly.

I came to a stop and grinned. "Looks like you made it out. Good."

Her smile dimmed slightly, and she crossed her arms. "And you did as well. What happened? I felt the portal separate us before transporting me back to the room. Where have you been for the past few days?"

I couldn't keep the sneer from affecting my mask. I felt it change, considering how she reacted along with the crowd of people from behind her. The reminder of the eldritch asshole that tried to whack me to death was enough to get my blood boiling.

"The dimensional space we were in was just some large monster's body. For whatever reason, it singled me out and tried to kill me. I can't explain what happened, but my familiar managed to help me escape and finish the teleport. Apparently, I lost a few days in transit."

I noticed Ventus watching me from the corner of my vision, but that was fine. There wasn't any reason to hide the details from him.

Sereza's arms uncrossed, and she grinned. "At least you're safe. It would have been pretty bad for me if the first new felkin I met was killed before I even had the chance to tell my father."

I chuckled and pointed my finger at the horde of people behind her. In the background, I saw Groxl's towering form, looking after some kids. He waved hello before turning his attention back to the kids tugging on his hand.

Sereza sighed, and her smile disappeared. "It's been a long couple of nights, Cyrus." She pointed to the left, where I could see a row of demolished and destroyed houses. "Whatever we did to disrupt their plans caused the monsters to go crazy. The time they stay active is shortening, but they destroyed the hideout where we kept most of the people for a few days. Next was the cellar, and that finally gave way last night."

"So now you guys are here hoping to cross the barrier?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Failing that, we make our way to the left and see if that part of the city has a place we can hide. I doubt it, but there seems to be more buildings still intact over there."

I turned to Ventus, who was watching the crowd. His eyes focused on the children the most as he observed the group of people standing there, scared and worried.

"Hey," I asked, and he turned towards me. "Is there a way to take down the barrier? At least temporarily?"

"No, the barrier was designed to be activated and last until it's either shut off completely, which would require at least a day to reactivate, or destroyed. And only the Captain Commander can turn it off."

I frowned and looked at the crowd of people looking at us with hopeful looks. "Was the barrier meant to serve as an emergency shelter where all the civilians would evacuate to?"

"Indeed." He picked up a rock and casually tossed it into the wall of raging water. The rock was crushed to bits before it even sunk through. "That was the plan, but as you could see, something went wrong, and the barrier came online faster than we expected."

I really don't want to do this, but I can't just sit back and let everyone potentially die because I want to relax.

"Fine. You may ask me for aid, whatever it is."

This time, Ventus smiled. "Good, we must make our way to the Grand Hall. The Captain Commander would be the one responsible for activating the barrier early. Whatever went wrong, we can find our answers there."

"Well, I guess I can sit tight till you guys come back," Sereza sighed.

I didn't want to leave; if anything, her help could prove useful, Groxl's group as well, but there wasn't much we could do.

Unless we try to brute force our way through.

"Hey Sereza? Can you get everyone but you to back away? And call Groxl over?"

She raised an eyebrow but shrugged and started moving people to the side.

Ventus came closer. "What is it you plan on doing?"

"I need to get rid of the mana inside my familiar, Can't try to break any more curses if we don't; might as well see if I can stop the barrier long enough to get my friend through."

He didn't say anything, but there was an air of disapproval. I shrugged it off and waited till Sereza approached with the trio.

"What's the plan?" Groxl asked, his voice as serious as Ventus looked.

I motioned to the barrier. "Going to try and create an opening for you guys to hop over. We could use your help. Don't know what's going to be waiting for us when we get there."

He shook his head and pointed to the crowd behind him. "Can't. Need to stay in case we have to run."

Behind him, Yurlox and Velisanna looked annoyed, but they didn't speak up.

At least they follow their leader.

I turned to Sereza.

She snorted. "Of course, I'm joining in on the fun. What do you need me to do?"

"Just stand to the side, and if it works, be prepared to run in. I doubt whatever I can do will stop the barrier for long. If it even does."

I said farewell to the trio in case I didn't see them before the night started. In reality, they were only willing to stick around for another hour before they would start heading to the otherside of the city.

With everybody, hopefully, safely out of the way, I held Magnus ready. By now, he was awake and ready to fire. If I had to guess, the energy would come out breath-style and not through his claws. The data set was too small to accurately guess what kind of energy went where when it was absorbed.

So far, the running theory was that energy-type attacks discharged through the mouth while physical attacks went to the claws.

"Are you ready, Magnus?" I asked softly.

"Yes. But I want to nap in Master's arms after," he demanded.

I laughed, drawing some looks from the crowd. "Fine, fine. Begin at will."

I closed my eyes and watched Magnus' actions through his memories sent through the link. I could feel the slow, static energy inside his chest. As I suspected, it began to move up and towards the throat. It was a lot of energy, and I could feel it take its toll on his pathways, the condensed nature having a stronger pressure despite its nature of stillness.

Magnus opened his jaws, and the energy started to build more and more till it strained his throat. He discharged the mana, and I opened my eyes in time to see the attack form into a tidal wave of dark grey; it was more like air than water, but it flowed like one big wave.

When it impacted the barrier, there was a flash, and I watched as the section of water stuttered and rippled. The water lit up with a subtle glow, and the direction of the flow twisted inward.

The rest of the wave hit the water wall, the two mana types clashing together. The water raged and chipped at the wave, trying to disrupt the energy, but there was too much power behind the curse, and it pushed against it, halting the flow of the stream.

The barrier paused, and the curse held, creating a small opening ever so slightly. The hole was small, and there wasn't enough room for Sereza's slim body to fit through.

However, she didn't waste time and dived into the hole. Her body poofed into a cloud of green smoke and sailed through the gap. As the last of her smoke cleared the wall, there was a flash of pressure, and the barrier thrummed. When the water touching the wave of liquid stone pulsed, the rock shattered, and the barrier tore the stone away under a deluge of a raging current.

Sereza reappeared, and she chuckled. "That felt more dangerous than it looked. Was afraid I wasn't going to make it."

"I'm glad you did."

"I am as well. That is a useful skill, Sereza. Are you vulnerable in that form?" Ventus interjected.

"Yes, actually." Sereza pointed to the water wall. "I can get injured if I lose too much of my cloud. Hopefully, when I get to tier two, the skill will lose some of that danger, but for now, I have to be careful about when I use it. I could die if somebody blew my form apart."

He nodded. "You are probably correct. I have a friend who has a similar skill but with water. When she evolved, she was able to split apart as long as she maintained thirty-five percent integrity."

"Awesome," Sereza said with a smile. "So, are we ready to head out? We should probably hurry."

"Indeed we are. Let us make haste. Our Lady is putting her life on the line to fight the evil cretin of a god. The sooner we can find the Captain Commander, the sooner we can help her."

Somehow, I don't think it'll be that simple.

I kept my thoughts to myself, and we set off. With a final glance at the crowd staring at our retreating forms, I pressed my lips thin. Next to Groxl, standing with one arm attached to Tilly's hand and the other holding on to her mother's hand, was Mayuma, standing there with a big smile as she tried to wave.

Smiling, I waved back and turned my attention forward, keeping my head down.

I guess some things are worth fighting for.