novelraw Chapter 809: May We Never Meet Again
Chapter 809: May We Never Meet Again
Everything happened in less than a blink. Suddenly, there were three where there had been two. The third figure seemed to appear from nowhere, and he went straight for the Skinwalker's face.
Noble gasped as air was finally allowed to enter her lungs once more. She pushed away from her captor, but the move wasn't needed. The newcomer had already crashed into the monster, sending them both hurtling towards the ground.
'Oh!' Noble tried to save her rescuer, but he was determined not to let go of the monster as they fell through the sky. In the end, she had to release him.
They hit the ground with an earth-shattering explosion.
'Sorry!' Noble knew that neither of them would be seriously hurt by the fall. They were both too powerful for that to have much impact on them. Still, it probably didn't feel great.
The clouds surrounded Noble as she dove after the mayhem. Even with her second sight, she could barely tell what was happening below. The two were physically fighting, but Noble could sense a strange incongruity in their emotions and their actions.
She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was like their bodies and souls were acting on two different planes. The confusion lasted barely a breath.
As she broke through to the grey sky, the Skinwalker and his opponent were fighting close to the canyon wall. The reverberation from their strikes loosened the rockface. Boulders tumbled to the ground, threatening to bury the two figures below.
'No!' Noble could not let her rescuer be crushed!
The rocks parted, moved by an invisible force as they landed against the ground with barely a whisper. Noble made it to the scene as the dust settled at the base of the canyon wall.
A lone figure walked from the chaos, adjusting his still pristine suit. Spotting the woman, the gentleman shook his head.
"You can open your eyes now."
Noble scanned the area with her second sight. "The Monster?"
"The vessel has been dealt with. A subpar specimen to add to my collection, but it is what it is." The handsome young man sighed.
Noble opened her eyes. Just like her second sight had told her, there was no sign of the skinwalker. The coast was clear.
Noble bowed her head. "Thank you, Mordret. I am glad you came. You said to call your name, but I wasn't sure that you meant it."
The plan had been had been more than a little crazy, but thankfully, it had paid off.
"Ah, yes, it's a nasty little habit I have picked up from an early age to pay attention when my name is called." Mordret flicked a fleck of dirt from his shoulder. "But I am afraid I am at a disadvantage. Who are you, again?"
Noble felt suddenly embarrassed.
"Oh, uh. I am Noble. We met on my first day in Ravenheart. Another one of those monsters infiltrated the Jade Palace. You and four of the Song Sisters disposed of it."
"Hm, doesn't ring a bell." The man shrugged. "But if I did say you could call on me, it was in protection of Ravenheart. Not to track down every vessel in the Dream Realm."
"But," Noble wanted to say that this creature was close enough to Ravenheart to be considered a problem.
However, one look at Mordret's cold, mirror-like eyes silenced her. His emotional signature lacked anything akin to joy or regret. It felt incomplete and highly volatile.
"Ah, I suppose I did not make my intention clear before. You have called, and I came. However, I do not recommend we meet again."
There was an edge behind the man's pleasant tone.
"I understand," Noble dipped her head.
Mordret smiled. "Do not take it personally. While I have business to settle with that abomination, I have other, more pressing engagements at present…"
He paused, wondering at his own chattiness. He hadn't told her anything out of kindness, simply because he wanted to. The question was, why did he want to?
This man was far more dangerous than the foe Noble had just faced. And far less predictable.
Bowing, Noble backed away.
"Thank you again, I owe you.
"Hm," the other Saint considered her for a moment. "Think nothing of it."
"One thing…How did you beat it?" Noble asked the question burning in her mind. She had witnessed it, but what she had seen did not make any sense.
"Ask me again, and you may find out." Mordret raised one eyebrow at her. His lip curled into a dangerous smile.
The man's emotions shifted, and suddenly Noble felt the need to flee. The urge was primal. Every instinct in her told her that his answer wasn't worth the price.
"Forgive me and thank you once again. Your time is valuable. I don't want to keep you any longer."
Mordret clicked his tongue. "May we never meet again."
Without a whisper, the Prince of Nothing left with only the hole from his landing as proof he had been there at all. Noble searched for any remnant of the Skinwalker. All she found was her Zenith, tossed aside like a discarded shoe. Noble dismissed her Memory.
There was no sign of the monster. The vessel seemed to have vanished into thin air, just like the one who had killed him.
At the very least, Noble had expected to see blood, but there was not a speck. She stretched her senses far, but the only body parts she found were the dissected pieces of the Queen's former pilgrim. What had happened?
'Did Mordret pull the creature into the Mirror Realm? Could he even do that?'
Noble doubted it, at least not right here. There were no reflective surfaces in the ashen sea. That was why Noble had to soar above the clouds with the Paradox Fang before making her desperate plea.
Yet, something had happened to the Skinwalker. And now there was nothing left behind of the vessel or its sinister powers.
Noble glanced at where she had last seen the Prince of Nothing. She frowned.
'May we never meet again indeed.'
The man hadn't needed to threaten her; Noble had no intention of invoking his name or powers ever again. It was more subtle last time, but now she was certain that something was fundamentally wrong with the man.
It made sense. He had an affinity with the Mirror Realm. Noble had seen many warped things come from that place, so why should she expect anything different from a Saint so closely tied to it?
Noble touched her throat and winced. Even though her neck hadn't broken, it hurt terribly. She would need to seek out a healer before heading home if she hoped to avoid some nasty finger-shaped bruises.
But that would have to wait. Noble had one last piece of business before leaving. While getting rid of the Skinwalker's vessel was good for Ravenheart, it wasn't the reason that she had come out into the wilderness.
And now that she had made it this far, Noble did not wish to return home empty-handed.
So in spite of the pain and her desire to head back and check on her wounds, Noble remained at the base of the cliffside on the edge of the Cinder Sea. She sighed and glanced over her shoulder.
"I know you are watching. Come out. We have a lot to discuss."