novelraw Chapter 139 - 138 - Gift of Aether
Chapter 139 - 138 - Gift of Aether
Cimmeria was bustling when the entirety of the city began to shake. Plumes of smoke shortly followed but not even the great powers had time to send scouts when a solid beam of emerald light exploded upward.
Many feared it would damage the floating structures but it did no harm. A few Sky Realms even thought the formations were strengthened. For the first time in millions of years, silence descended on Cimmeria.
It did not last long. Gold and Diamond Tier blue colored guards were swiftly using communication jades as gates were slammed shut and personnel given orders. High priority guests were protected and Sky Realms began to descend on the city.
The Divine Sword Sect moved to encircle the area the beam came from but none were as fast as the Heavenly Maiden Sect. Their white robes filled the sky as all were stunned by the sheer number of tier 1 Sky Realms sent out.
Information brokers were found screaming into jades or at helpers to find any shred of data. What had happened in the heart of the Stardust Emporium's power? All were screaming to find out but none were getting any answers.
The chaos of the city was a stark reflection to the somber calm near where the folded space had been. It was gone. Emerald energy danced randomly as it was still dispersing. Shoti noticed nothing as she felt hollow.
She knew that light. She loved seeing that light. Any other time she would have proudly declared who owned it but she knew that kind of power had a price. No one stopped her as she slowly made her way down the stone ramp.
She entered hell.
There were shriveled and dried up husks of aether children in cages but most were empty. She knew who had set them free if not how. She also saw something horrifying.
Blue uniforms were barely covering some kind of darkened husks. The color was black but not black. She had no other way to describe it, but the horror on their faces was easy to discern. They had not died easily.
She felt no pity for them at all. She then saw movement and went to reach for her whip, but it was gone. It had been destroyed by the fire. She summoned a short sword as her back up. She was only moderately good at using it, yet she felt better as she moved inside and then saw a uniform she recognized.
Drake's dead body was in better condition than the others but it was still a husk. His face was twisted in rage rather than horror but she only glanced at it as she saw sunlight finally coming down from where a wall used to be. The entire back wall had been part of that folded space.
She saw 6 aether children around another body. This one was not a husk but it was ravaged. It was the result of pushing a body far beyond its limits of Qi capacity for an extended period of time.
"LIND!" She ran to him and let her sword fall. The clang of it was far too loud. The 6 people moved away as the pain in her voice was clear. She saw he was face up as blood pooled around his body. Stunningly, he was still alive!
His chest was moving and breath came from him in a raspy gasp. She took his hand and did not care how fleshy it felt as the meridians had shredded the flesh as they failed.
"Don't go, Lind, please spirits, no." Lind smiled suddenly and his hand flexed. He heard her. His eyes were burnt out but he knew she was here. She kissed his blood soaked cheek and wished she had a Heaven Realm healer. They might be able to save his life, but he would still be a cripple.
It was not going to happen. The cold warrior inside her knew the truth but the woman that felt love for this man refused that reality. She could not accept it.
"He saved us. We would have died but he chose to save us over himself." A female water aether child spoke and Shoti could only nod. She looked up and saw tears in the womans' faces while the men were misty eyed.
"I thought he was like the others, but he sacrificed for us. Why?" That golden aether child was hoarse but Shoti had no time as she focused on Lind, yet she knew they needed an answer.
"He loves people. He had a rough life and saw people used like things. He hated it and never wanted it to happen. Damned idiot! I was right here!" Tears were flowing out of her eyes and breath was becoming difficult. His chest was barely moving and the blood was not flowing anymore. It was any time now.
Shoti lost all strength so when firm arms grasped her she was caught off guard. The tanned aether child moved her as if she was a child and motioned for her to stay put.
She looked on as all 6 aether children suddenly came into her vision. They were all mono-elementals, one of each element! What were the odds? She was about to scream at them when the Qi began to vibrate around them all.
All 6 began to glow and she wanted to know what they were doing when the air changed. She recognized it. By all the spirits she recognized it and felt hope bloom.
In the air over Lind a faint emerald flame began to form as 6 flows of Qi came together. The quality was far above what Lind could summon, yet the flame was his. It was Lind's harmony! How were they doing that?!
"Mother and Father, we were rescued from darkness by a human of your blessing. He walks the path of Dao but does not abandon the heart. Hear our prayer and let us join our fate to his." Shoti suddenly felt the air still.
She had never wondered about it before. It was just a fact of life that beasts could manifest at the Soul Realm and so could these beings. They were always called aether children but the beasts were all lumped together once they had an element, but she had never wondered why they were called children.
Why not aether man or aether woman, but children?
A Gold Tier Maiden joined her but stared in awe as the 6 aether children seemed to become more profound as the emerald flame became brighter and brighter.
It was only when she glanced down that Shoti felt shock flood her body. Lind's body was healing! The blood remained where it was, but his body breathed and it began to be restored! What was this technique?!
The pressure lifted as all 6 aether children nearly fell down exhausted. The emerald flame floated for a moment before it sank back into Lind and his color became far healthier but still pale.
"Blood pills, now!" Shoti shouted and felt the Gold Tier Maiden fly across the room to put the pills in Lind's mouth. Blood loss was a common issue and alchemists had long ago made a pill that was standard to carry. It rejuvenated the blood quickly and Lind needed them badly or he would die again!
Shoti helped guide the pill in Lind's body and smiled as his trained instincts took over easily to do it. How much time had he spent working on it to make it work when he was even near death?!
She checked him over and was surprised. He was somehow still in tier 8 foundation but his cores were definitely at the peak of tier 9. He could finally break through to tier 9 when he wanted to.
"How? How is this possible?" Shoti wanted to thank them but the words they spoke were ominous to cultivators. Tying their fate to Lind? What would happen if they died?
"Gift of Aether. It is what we call our inherent skills. It is not limited to an individual, however, we can also work together." The dark aether child spoke as the other 5 nodded. "He washed us over with his harmony and we can share of ourselves to heal each other in this way."
Shoti had never heard of such a thing. Her confusion showed as the crimson woman smiled.
"I felt so safe surrounded by his harmony. It sang to us. We understood we are all one. We could not do this for any other human, only this one." Shoti looked at the unconscious Lind and wondered how many close calls with death her heart could take.
"Thank you, thank you forever. I owe you all." She saw them shake their heads before they pointed at Lind.
"We owed him our lives, now we are even." They spoke in unison and for a moment, Shoti thought she saw something profound in their eyes. Something that made the young men and women feel far older than usual but it was gone the next moment.
She nodded but still etched their faces into her heart. More Maidens came down and some wretched as it was not a pleasant sight for anyone to see.
The questions could wait as the 6 aether children were carefully picked up and taken back to the sect as Shoti refused to leave Lind's side. She held his hand as one of her sister's side as they carried him out.
They came back into the sunlight to a massive crowd of blue colored guards and various sects powers coming together. Sky Realms filled the air yet none approached as the massive hole in the street was known to all.
Had the folded space collapsed or was there something else going on?
The question was clear on all their faces but none stopped the Maidens from leaving as they were clearly treating the injured and their own Sky Realms outnumbered all the others combined.
Anyone that doubted the depth of their foundation trembled to see such a naked display of their power.
"SHOTI! LIND!" Annabelle came sprinting out of a flying artifact and used water to soften her fall before colliding with them. Shoti hugged her and gave reassuring sounds. Lind's strong pulse was like music to their ears.
Shoti looked up and saw all the chaos but only smirked at the blue sky. Lind was alive. That fact was the only important one right at that moment for her. She vowed to get stronger, strong enough that Lind would stop putting himself in such dangerous situations.
He was too damn stubborn!
Annabelle was crying but she could hear Lind's heartbeat and feel his vitality like she could. They were about to leave the ring of onlookers when the sound of thunder filled the air.
"BRING LIND FREY TO ME NOW!" Both Shoti and Annabelle jumped as they recognized that voice. The pressure of that voice could be felt by all and made all the Sky Realms sweat.
Looking at her fellow sister, Shoti pointed to a street and all the people on that street parted like her finger was from a god. None stopped them as they rushed deeper into Cimmeria and no one dared to follow.