The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 302

Chapter 302

The world shifted as I rode the currents of aether to arrive just within the open doorway of the ancient hut, and I immediately stepped into a defensive stance .

But it wasn’t necessary .

Lying on the floor of the hut was a very, very old Four Fists, undoubtedly the source of the powerful aetheric presence .

Its massive muscles had atrophied, shrinking in on themselves like an empty waterskin, its wiry pelt had faded to a snowy white, and its pale skin had wrinkled and shriveled . Two tiny purple eyes turned toward me and the aged aether beast crooned, low and gentle .

It attempted to lift its head, but after straining unsuccessfully for a few seconds, it settled back down into the deep indentation its body had made in the bed of dried twigs and plants .

One shaking arm lifted up and pointed toward the far wall . My gaze followed to the spot it indicated: on a shelf in the wall sat a long, thin slab of white stone .

Three quick steps later and the portal piece was in my hand, cold and silky to the touch . I ran my fingers along the intricate carvings, a sense of accomplishment building within me .

I turned back to the elderly Four Fists, lying defenselessly on the ground . The thought of killing him grew in my mind; this ape beast was such a large well of aether that I knew I’d be able to grow stronger if I absorbed its power, just as I had done to the chimera when first grappling with my aetheric abilities .

Cladding my fist in aether, I raised it over the old Four Fists’ head, but I couldn’t bring myself to strike . Powerful and aether-abundant as this creature was, it wasn’t a mere construct of the Relictombs like the chimera had been . Killing it purely to consume its aether felt deeply wrong...like I was eating another person .

Unclenching my fist, I walked out of the hut and God-Stepped back to the ground where Regis and Caera were waiting for me .

“I got it,” I said, holding up the portal piece in my hand for the two to see .

“Good job, Grey,” Caera said with a soft smile as she looked down at the smooth slab of stone .

‘Birdy incoming,’ Regis pointed out just as Swiftsure landed softly next to me .

His javelin-shaped beak dipped down so he could inspect the portal piece, and it was then that I noticed the last few inches of his beak were red with blood .

He hadn’t fought with us on the battlefield, and I couldn’t see any sign of a fight on the rest of his clean-feathered body .

I grabbed his black beak, startling him . He flapped his wings and tried to dance away from me, but I held tight, twisting his head so I was looking him in the eye . “Whose blood is this?” I asked, my voice calm but frigid .

I released him so he could answer . The skittish bird took several hopping steps away and examined me with wide, confused eyes . “Four Fists . Enemy . ”

My gaze locked with his as I tried to study our guide’s intent .

Caera’s warm hand touched my arm . “Now’s not the time for this . We got what we came here for, and we’re not exactly honored guests in this tribe,” she said softly .

***

From the Four Fists’ hidden vale, Swiftsure led us back up the mountainside and farther away from the Spear Beak village .

Regis was back inside my body, replenishing his aether supplies, while Caera and I followed closely behind our guide . Despite being able to finally make some progress in leaving this zone, neither of us were in the mood to converse as the weight of our actions back at the Four Fists tribe’s village settled over us like a dark shroud .

Even after finding out that the Four Fists were not only intelligent but actually sapient, I realized that had it not been for the giant gray Four Fists challenging me to a duel, we would’ve committed genocide .

Despite the brewing emotions that I kept suppressed, I made sure to keep constant tabs on Swiftsure . While I was still wary of our guide, Caera and I were reluctantly dependent on him to show us the location of the other tribes .

In the end, whatever Swiftsure had done, it was only what he’d been taught to do by the harsh world in which he lived . It was barbaric, but these warring tribes of aether beasts hadn’t evolved their cultures beyond the level of barbarism yet .

The Four Fists, I was sure, would have done just as bad to the Spear Beaks given the chance .

Pushing aside my needless thoughts, I focused on our next leg of the journey . The path we were on took us higher up the edge of the seemingly endless mountain ranges that surrounded the caldera where we’d first appeared . The skies stayed bright and cloudless, the temperature hovering just below freezing .

“How are you holding up?” I asked Caera, who was walking beside me with a blanket wrapped over her shoulders and arms .

“I was able to replenish my mana earlier during your duel with the large Four Fists, so I’m okay,” she answered with a faint smile .

Swiftsure, who spent most of his time flying above us, landed ahead of us, his feet never breaking the crusty surface of the snow .

He turned to look at me, his beak snapping twice . “Shadow Claws . ” He then held up his wings, holding them close together .

I nodded in understanding just as a flicker of purple flashed right below Swiftsure, and the snow in front of us burst upward, showering Caera and I with a cloud of powdery white .

Caera instantly clad herself in a shroud of black fire, blanket tossed aside and her sword already in her hand .

Swiftsure let out a surprised cry and tried to take to the sky, but his terrified shriek was cut short as a set of violently purple claws ripped through his graceful neck, spraying blood across the ground at my feet .

Swiftsure’s warning cry was cut off in a honking gurgle . The Spear Beak’s wings flapped wildly, sending up a flurry of white feathers . Our guide rose a few feet in the air, shockingly red blood raining down into the bright white snow, then his strength gave out and he crashed to the ground, twitched, and was still .

~

I was already moving well before Swiftsure took his last piteous breaths . My aether-clad fist hissed through the frigid air, but just before it should have connected with our attacker’s cat-like face, the creature vanished in another flash of aetheric energy .

God Step! I thought in shock, quickly looking around for the attacker . Behind me, Caera had her flame-bathed blade ready to block, but before she could do anything else the cat-like beast was behind her, its claws raking down between her shoulder blades .

Caera was protected by the shroud of soul fire, but the aether claws were able to tear through the mana barrier and slice cleanly through the chain links covering her back .

She rolled forward, most likely saving herself from any serious injuries, but a score of long cuts ran down her back .

I burst forward, my hand blurring in the air as I launched myself at the aether beast—a Shadow Claw, I assumed—but it vanished before I could reach it .

Caera came up covered in snow and blood, her expression deadly calm, like when we had first met in the Relictombs .

“Do you know where it is?” she asked, positioning herself so we were back to back .

“There,” I said, pointing some sixty feet to our right where the Shadow Claw crouched atop a jutting shard of black rock twenty feet high .

The Shadow Claw had the head and spotted white fur of a snow leopard, but its torso and limbs were humanoid . Its hands and feet were feline, and a long, muscular tail swished behind it . Though it was some distance away, it looked small, perhaps five feet tall at most .

‘Arthur!’ Regis thought in warning as aether flared behind me and to my left . I spun, pushing Caera out of the way and throwing a kick directly at the blurry source of aether .

My counterattack failed to connect as my attacker had already managed to duck out of the way . It slashed at the leg planted still on the ground with its aetheric claws before vanishing again .

Even though I had concentrated more aether around my body in defense, the claws still managed to tear through the flesh above my knee, causing me to buckle .

Catching myself, I let the aether clinging tightly around my body burst out in a palpable force that stunned my attacker before it could follow up on the opening .

It was able to teleport away, but this gave me the time I needed to heal my wounds .

“G-Grey,” Caera stammered, wincing in pain as she slowly got up to her feet . “This...”

“Sorry,” I said, retracting my aetheric force .

The Alacryan noble sucked in a deep breath as her eyes continued to scan our surroundings .

My eyes, however, went straight for the two aetheric presences on the dark rocks . Now both Shadow Claws crouched above us, their gleaming eyes carefully tracking our movements .

I held back the urge to God Step onto the rocks to confront the two Shadow Claws, choosing to remain beside Caera instead .

When the aether warped on my right, my hand flashed out and grabbed a third cat-like aether beast around its throat, squeezing hard enough to choke it but not to kill it instantly . The creature’s eyes went wide in alarm, then its impossibly sharp aether claws ripped through the flesh of my forearm .

I squeezed, intending to break its thin neck, but it flashed away like the others . At the same moment, Caera’s blade hissed through the air just below my arm .

Turning to the point of rock, I found all three Shadow Claws glaring down at us, one rubbing gingerly at its throat where I had grabbed it, a trail of blood running down its furry leg .

Caera began to speak but I waved her words away . I watched the three attackers carefully: they were absorbing aether from the atmosphere .

“They have to charge up before they can use that teleportation ability again,” I said quietly .

“Perfect,” Caera said as she stepped in front of me, her expression calm and icy as the black flames dancing on the blade of her scarlet sword .

The three Shadow Claws tensed as the flames completely engulfed her sword . She widened her stance and thrust the sword forward, releasing a violent jet of flame toward the shard of black rock .

The Shadow Claws burst out with a series of terrified howls as two of them vanished in a flash of aetheric energy .

The third—the creature I had caught in my grasp when it attacked us—wasn’t so lucky . It hadn’t had enough time to gather the aether required to use its teleportation ability again, and so it was engulfed by Caera’s spell . _{freёweɓnovel.com}