Blackness congealed inside my mind, fighting desperately against white-hot pain that boiled in my ribs with each breath. I couldn’t quite feel the pain, but I knew it was there, waiting for genuine consciousness to return.

  Voices however managed to break that barrier of consciousness long before pain did. They were gentle, familiar on an instinctual level, yet I couldn’t put a face to them.

  There was the gentlest sound of crying, muffled like it was blocked by rooms upon rooms of foliage to block the details of the noise. Familiarity however filled in the gaps left by the void.

  The creaking of wood against wood, gentle shifting back and forth overlapped with the muffled cries. Then, words finally reached my ears, words blessed by the tongue of someone so familiar to me.

  “Hush now, little one,” A feminine voice whispered. I felt the gentle breaths brushing against my ear, tickling it when she spoke. “Your father will be back soon… they'll help you get better.” The presence of the voice receded slowly, fading away into a series of heavy coughs.

  The coughs continued, rising into desperate gasps of breaths that were deafening when compared to the pitiful cries. Each wheezing inhalation of air grew more grievous than the previous, then the slam of wood howled through the building.

  “Hibiscus!” A masculine voice called out—But, all turned to silence. The coughs, the steps, the voices… they all began fading.

  “Alexander…” The feminine voice was weak, fading with each breath. “Treat… her first… she’s weaker…”

  “But—” The masculine voice began, just to be cut off.

  “No ‘buts,’ I…” The feminine voice paused, desperately gasping for breaths. “I’ll survive another week… she won’t… It’s already a miracle… that she’s lived…”

  A heavy silence hung in the air, weighted like a mountain ready to drop upon the invisible voices. No answers, no sounds, no actions came. It was all utter silence, waiting for an answer that wouldn’t arrive.

  The black silence gradually began to recede, overtaken by brilliant lights that encroached from the edges of perception. Pressure built in my chest, rising to an uncomfortable pain while my ears rang out in defiance against their tasks.

  As my eyes crawled open I was greeted with a familiar sight. Tan walls sat around me while a blue curtain sat at the foot of the bed… I was back in the hospital?

  “What… happened?…” I asked while casting my gaze around the room—But the only answers to greet me were the echoing returns of my own words. Even after several moments of waiting, no sounds reached my ears.

  “Is anyone there?...” I asked softly, my tone only just raised enough to be heard in the room.

  “Yes, yes! I’ll be right there!” A surprised, tired voice called out—Followed by a furious series of rapid footsteps approaching. The steps pounded across the floor with the heavy thumps of thick boots, the pace was honestly impressive, bringing them to yank the curtains apart and meet my gaze.

  “You’re awake?!” A woman not much taller than me asked in bewilderment. She was… utterly unfamiliar to me, her dark green hair and matching eyes sitting messily across her white overcoat. Her eyes looked to almost bulge out of her head thanks to the thick glasses sitting on the ridge of her nose, her face on the other hand looked torn between shock and curiosity.

  “I think I am,” I sighed out, wincing from the tension in my chest. “My chest hurts, but I feel fine otherwise.” It wasn’t the type of pain I would have expected, it was far less than the broken ribs I had suffered from the hands of Tyrosa. It was more like a stiffened, sore muscle than a broken bone.

  “That’s…” The green haired woman began, but soon she let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry that you had to wake up right now, but, as the rules Daedrik imposed state… You are required at the trial grounds.”

  “That’s today?!” I sat up as soon as the words left my mouth—Albeit I immediately began to regret the action as I felt a crunch from my chest.

  “Please, please rest for just a moment longer!” The woman pleaded as she rushed forwards, pressing her arms against my shoulders to stabilize me. “Your ribcage was crushed, please let me at least exam—What?...” The woman cut herself off once her arms began to travel down, her hands pressed lightly against my sides.

  “What’s wrong?” I blurted out when the woman stopped moving.

  “There’s… nothing wrong—Your ribs have healed somehow!” She exclaimed while stepping back. “My magic isn’t that powerful… your body—Somehow your body has healed itself while you were asleep.” She looked genuinely stunned, her emerald eyes settling on my own gaze.

  I opened my mouth a few times, but each attempt to formulate words ended just as quickly as they began to form. My mind wandered for a few moments, remembering the voices I heard, yet it felt absurd to try and think upon.

  “I… have to go and fight the Golem then?” I asked with a heavy tone on my lips. I felt the anxiety rise in my chest when the woman gave a solemn nod.

  “Yes, you do—The other students are already gathering,” She let out a heavy sigh, stepping back away from me. “I wish you luck, Kirin.” She offered while bringing a forced smile upon her lips.

  “Thank you… uhm… I didn’t get your name?” I asked with a timid tone while swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Jinsei, Jinsei Fulgigora,” Jinsei gave a soft bow while offering her name. “I’m the head nurse here, though I do hope I don’t have to see you as often.”

  “Thank you, Jinsei—And, I’ll do my best.” I took a deep breath once I stood up. Without any further words interchanged Jinsei left my bedside, meanwhile I was forced to start jogging through the halls when I heard the deafening toll of the bells in the halls.

  I made a quick stop into my room, finding it completely empty while I changed into my full uniform. I hadn’t even finished buttoning the top together before I was running out of the room, making my way to the hidden tunnel Carmine had shown me.

  Voices soon reached my ears long before the sight of any students did.

  “Welcome, welcome all of you great contenders! I welcome one and all to the first trial of the Skyliner Festival!” Deadrik’s commanding voice reached me as I turned the last corner, revealing the open field behind the school.

  “Now, many of you are probably wonder; ‘What is this trial?’—But the answer is simple! My dearest trio of representatives already are aware of this, but underneath this very school is a secret! That secret you must be wondering? It’s an Elemental Stone.”

  “Your first trial to ascend to the heights of a Skyliner is simple. You must defeat an Elemental in single combat!.” A deadly silence filled the air once Daedrik finished speaking. Only soft mutterings could be heard, traded between the students.

  During that oppressively quiet atmosphere I was able to sneak out of the hall. I was even able to spot Carmine and the other teachers, Lushia and Nenema. Kendrick and Silva both stood next to the mages they were chosen to represent during the trial.

  When I began forwards I could feel all eyes falling upon me, students and teachers alike didn’t feign to hide their glares—Many of which were so venomous that I was surprised when I didn’t drop dead on the spot.

  Yet, the worst of all of the glares originated from directly before me. Lushia Armester let her golden gaze bore into me, she made no effort to hide her hatred, she only barely hid the momentary look of surprise on her face when I appeared from behind the crowds.

  “Ohohoho!” Daedrik boomed out into a haughty laugh when he saw the scene. “Here I was beginning to worry our little wonder child wouldn’t wake up in time—But here she is. Quickly now Kirin, take your spot.”

  I gave a quick nod to Daedrik’s words, speeding my pace up into a jog in order to take my position at Carmine’s side. She made little effort to hide the look of concern on her face, her lips narrowed into a soft frown as she looked at me.

  “Are you sure you can handle this, Kirin?” Carmine asked in an exceptionally soft tone.

  “I’m not going to give up that easily,” I stated, making sure to raise my voice just enough for Lushia and Kendrick to hear me. “Besides… the nurse said I healed, somehow.” I added after a few heartbeats of silence.

  Before Carmine could try to reply, Daedrik’s booming voice came out once again.

  “May the first Skyline Trial begin!”

  Gerald sat before a campfire, alone and apart from the other inferior soldiers around him. It was one of three fires the group of men had going, with two dozen of them in total it was effectively a requirement in order to keep them all warm.

  And of course, it only made sense that they would give the most important man on the mission his own fire! Even O’Neill shared a fire with the other soldiers, but not Gerald Ulrich! He was far too important for that.

  However… he did have to admit that it made things a little harder on him every night when he didn’t receive updates for the mission. And while Gerald was incredible at many things, tracking, was not one of them—It was a peasant's job to track things down, not the job of someone with such noble blood!

  So, while Gerald sat alone, sipping away at his freshly cooked rations, he listened in to the conversations not too far away.

  “Sir, the footprints can’t be right—We’re the first unit sent out here in over a year, we’re the only unit in pursuit of this beast, and yet there are tracks of at least three dozen men following in the wake of the Unspeakable.” A lesser soldier offered to O’Neill in a low tone.

  “Hmm…” O’Neill grumbled, stroking a hand through his beard in a rhythmic motion. “It’s possible that another nation spotted the beast and took interest—It certainly would be in the playbook for those damned knife ears…”

  “You think the Elves are driving the Unspeakable this way?” The soldier asked immediately.

  “It’s a possibility. The only one that I can personally think of,” O’Neill paused, taking in a deep breath before releasing it as a heavy sigh. “But we don’t know enough yet. We’re still on it’s tail, but with it heading directly for the Ferilian farmlands… it worries me.”

  “How bad could this become?” Another soldier asked in a grim tone.

  “If it’s just one Unspeakable, then it’s no worse than any other Quake Class beast. But, that’s enough of this, you two get some rest. Can’t have my best men running themselves thin.” O’Neill gave the order to the duo of men sitting at the fire with him. Silence ensued, leaving Gerald to grumble at his own discontent.

  “Those are your best men?… How absurd! I could easily out perform either of them.” While Gerald was utterly confident in backing up his words—He did make sure to keep his tone down, after all, someone had to be the bigger man here.

  “Gerald! Sitting on your own again?” Hank asked as he strolled over with a bowl in hand.

  “Hank! The others simply don’t know how valuable I am!—As such… they keep secluding me.” Gerald’s words began happily, but soon faded away into a diluted sigh.

  “Ah… hmm…” Hank began, his face contorted with clear understanding over Gerald’s plights. “Perhaps be a little less… boisterous of yourself, Gerald?—After all, we’re all the same rank here and you keep putting yourself on a pedestal above everyone.” Hank spoke slowly, extenuating every word that he could.

  “How could I be less boisterous? If anything I am far too modest of my own capabilities! Frankly, I would have been offended if anyone less than O’Neill was leading this mission over me!” Gerald declared, this time his voice was a little too loud and cast its way over to the other campfires.

  “It’s Commander O’Neill, Gerald,” Hank stated aggressively. “Remember that next time.” Without another word, Hank turned on his heels and walked away from Gerald.

  Gerald for his own part felt hurt! How could his best friend, his only near rival, stand so opposed to him! Let alone when the other dozen soldiers began to glare at him.

  “Why are you all glaring at me, I’m right!”

  Patreon

  Discord

  LoneStar,