023 Those Who Watch the Sky - 23
23 – Children Wandering
Under the Sky 7
Leaving the golden glow of the Dolmen behind Link and her
mermaid double returned to the artificial tunnels that reminded her of electrical
wiring. Confident as she was that her will would have led her to the Artificial
Gate Generator of the dam eventually Link was more than glad to have her
mermaid counterpart leading her on. Had she simply projected her will through the
Nectar to turn it on in reverse and then trace it back to an entrance as she
had planned the presence of the spirit would have been lost on her. She had
never expected to actually force her way into Ambrosia and was still not sure
how it happened. Regardless, she was enamored by the unusual world she found
herself in even with all of the monsters. At least that was true until the
narrow tunnels of manmade-like design suddenly opened up into a wild and expansive
cavern full of jagged shifting walls and swirling textures and patterns. At that
point her instincts told her to be very afraid and she took her bow of light
firmly in hand.
“We are here… and the white one
waits for us ~♪”
Following the gaze of the finger long mermaid to beyond a
series of structures, which while serving as pillars in the cavern likely were
representations of the water powered generators of the dam, Link’s gaze fell on
a closed ring of script far more elaborate than that in the heart of the Dolmen.
As before she could not read the script but it was unquestionably of a
drastically different language than the circle of script within the Dolmen.
Link did not dwell on those details for long though as her gaze fell off of the
circle of script and onto the massive white form below it. The level of threat
it posed to her was palpable yet Link could not stop herself from smiling
awkwardly.
“It’s a cat…”
“Much desire as we have to laugh
at the irony we must be ready for battle ~♪ The white one will rend our flesh
in an instant if we are not prepared to face it ~♪”
“You don’t have to tell me…”
Notching an arrow of light to her Nectar formed bow Link swallowed
loudly and took aim at the beast in the distance. Her intent to kill was not
masked in the slightest and the creature stirred in response rising up and
stretching with a mighty yawn. Turning its cat-like face onto Link the ram
horned giant that easily stood near twenty meters at the shoulder where twisted
branches grew out of its body unleashed an earth shaking roar. Accompanying the
beasts roar a torrent of electricity tore through the massive columned chamber that
served as its lair. Undaunted Link fired off her first arrow at the creature’s fierce
blue eye.
“Crap!”
Link knew that she missed before her arrow ever reached the
empty space that the beast known as the White One had occupied and willed her
bow of light into a sword. Having almost all of no time to act Link tossed the sword
to her right hand and twirled it into a reverse grip as she also twirled
herself off her feet and into the air. Curling into a tight ball as she rotated
Link met the massive swiping paw of the white one like a splinter as it
appeared behind her in an explosion of crackling electricity. Just like a
splinter all Link managed to do was stick to the pad of the beast’s paw but the
force of the impact and follow through of the swipe nearly caused her to black
out. Just holding onto consciousness Link barely noticed that the White One
withdrew its paw sharply leaving her drifting in the air. Fighting with all of
her will not to succumb to the pressure Link reformed her bow and as she took
it in both hands she fired off another arrow at her foe watching helplessly at the
bolt of lightning that stretched into the cavern heights above her.
Victory was not possible under the circumstances and Link knew
that she should have been all but dead as soon as the White One descended. Yet
she found herself smiling instead of giving into her fear. She was just a child
yet here she was facing a foe that by all rights she was barely as a splinter
to and it was everything she could have ever wanted. Her heart was on fire and
as she faced gravity, the White One, and certain death she felt more alive than
she ever had at any point in her life. But it was an incomplete feeling still
and she knew exactly why.
“Sorry kitty, but this isn’t the end of my adventure!”
Twisting around by sheer force of will Link again
transformed her bow into a sword, though she did not switch hands as she aimed
her weapon at the cat that descended at her from above instead aiming the sword
to meet it. With her other hand she reached out for the ring of glowing script
above where the White One had been slumbering, feasting on monsters, fish, and the
mermaids of Ambrosia indiscriminately.
“Little me, get that Dolmen on as soon as you can!”
Link did not get a chance to hear the answer of her
counterpart as her world became light the instant the White One again became
lightning. The transference of energy however was massive and beyond anything
that she was prepared for and she was blasted from the edge of the water and
well into the sky.
“LINK‼”
Elliot and Melody cried out in horrified surprise as Link emerged
from the pyre of black fire pulling it with her as she gained altitude. Turning
over in the air Link tried to direct her landing but it was impossible to do so
cleanly and though she returned to the ground as quickly as she had left it her
landing was horrible and she tumbled hundreds of feet uncontrollably across the
sandy ground extinguishing the last traces of the black fires that had raged
around her. Instantly Elliot and Melody were rushing to her side in response, though
Melody’s ability to fly gave her the unmatched advantage in reaching where Link
lay face down in the sand first.
“Link! Link!”
“Ugh…”
Groaning weakly Link pulled her bloody face from the sand
and looked up in the direction of the dam. Seeing it through blurred vision she
smiled with a grimace and forced herself to her knees.
“Link! Are you okay⁈ What happened⁈”
“Take to sky Melody and get ready for the fight of your
life…”
“Huh–?‼”
Melody had just landed yet could barely react to Link’s order
before a terrible roar shook the air and earth both causing the harpy to pale.
Link’s action confused her though as the icaran girl simply smiled broadly and
started running towards the dam.
“You better get moving Melody or you won’t live through the
experience!”
“HUH??‼”
Watching Link running at full sprint towards where the roar
came from Melody could only stare with confused terror. Elliot fared little
better as he had turned from his running to look back at the dam and the terrible
roar that had emerged from it. He was much quicker to recover however as Link
suddenly bolted past him.
“Link⁈”
“Hurry it up Elliot! I’m going to need your help getting a
Dolmen up and running!”
Desiring to know what it was that had Link acting the way
she was Elliot needed no prompting from her to fall into stride beside her.
“A Dolmen⁈ What is going on Link⁈ What happened⁈”
“No time to explain! If we stay out here we’re done for!”
Accelerating her pace beyond her limits Link practically
stopped breathing as she reached where she had been kneeling beside the water.
Not breaking pace at all she scooped her sword up off of the ground and
proceeded to sprint right across the surface of the raging fountain of a pool
that served as the head of the three rivers. Realizing that Elliot was not
following her she skidded to a stop and looked back at her bewildered friend.
“I told you Elliot, there’s no time to explain! Just follow
my lead and don’t think about it!”
“But…”
Elliot’s gaze held nothing but confusion and disbelief as
he looked out at Link. Over flowing with desperateness Link could feel the fury
of the Foreigner who infected her body seeping into her emotions but as she
told Elliot there was no time and she let it flow out of her as she yelled at
her childhood friend.
“STOP GAWKING ELLIOT AND RUN‼”
Not wasting another moment Link turned and resumed her run
across the water and rocky fountain that lead up to the dam. Elliot did not
follow her however as he found himself locked in place from the shock of tone
Link took with him. He had never seen her lash out like that before and could
not process it at all. He probably would have stayed still for some time if not
for Melody suddenly flying by and calling back to him.
“Elliot! I don’t know what’s going on but we can’t leave
Link to face it alone! Whatever it was that roared has left the wind trembling
and she’s running right towards it!”
“What⁈”
Shaken to his core by Melody’s words Elliot looked again in
the direction of the dam as yet another roar erupted forth and shook the water
from the earth. Staring ahead trembling in terror Elliot took a step back
before realizing what he was doing and suddenly clapped his hands against the sides
of his head.
“What are you doing Elliot⁈ Link
is charging headlong towards whatever that is and you’re standing here in fear…
…Get over yourself!”
Resting his left hand on the head of his scabbard Elliot
drew his sword and donned a steely expression of determination as he looked out
across the water. Taking a deep breath he sprinted forward and as Link said the
water strangely supported his footsteps. He had already decided not to think
about that however and it meant little to him as he sprinted ahead with his
sword pointed behind him as he chased after Link and Melody. Chasing after Link
and Melody also meant that he was charging the dam and was privy to quite the sight
as yet another terrifying roar ripped through the air.
Forced out by an explosion of electricity from the wall of
the dam, huge chunks of ancient concrete rained down upon the water. Emerging
from the hole of its making in the dam the White One let out yet another roar
full of rage and unleashed a lightning shower upon the water. The water was not
so docile to just receive the assault against it and the ones who were led to
save its Ambrosial counterpart from the White One and it churned into waves
that formed protective tunnels around Link, Elliot and Melody. Undeterred by
the water that stood in its way the White One leapt down from the hole it made
and destructively made its way through the temple grounds of the temple of Ocia
towards Link.
“Li-i-i-i-i-nk‼ What is that thing⁈”
“The monster my client asked me to slay!”
“Huh⁈ What client⁈”
“I’ll tell you after we’ve killed it!”
“And how are we going to do that⁈”
“Just follow me!”
Jumping off of the surface of the water Link tucked herself
into a ball and fell into the churning rapids. Melody stared in horror but was
afforded little opportunity to attempt to fish Link out as the water became
even more violent as it attempted to interfere with the monster that had
emerged from the dam.
Empowered by the electricity that crackled around the White
One the raging tri-river head fought back against the great beast. It seemed a
near futile effort however as against the twenty meter tall cat-like horror the
water in the river pool could barely push the White One off balance before it
arced out to a different location through the lightning that it commanded.
Useless as the water was as a weapon against the cat however it did serve as an
ample distraction as it swallowed up Link, Elliot and Melody.
Copyright © 2019 Joshua D Tarwarter
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