Nerena Corvantis
Thanks to Sora's daring idea, we escaped the flying behemoth, but at a cost to me. My side burned with pain, as the wound from the dragonfly's talon leaked blood. The wound forced me to use one of my tentacles to apply pressure to it until we made it to the exoskeleton graveyard.
It didn't take long to reach the graveyard, but the moment we arrived, I knew something was wrong. The place was a barren wasteland. Not even a single bug crawled across the ground, and the behemoths seemed to avoid it entirely.
I understood why.
The remains of their kin were put on display like trophies, while the orange glow of the rift bathed the chitin plates embedded in their exoskeletons.
"Alright everyone, let's rest up here. Based on the coordinates the truth seekers gave us, we only have another couple of hours left until we get to the celestium mines." Stravos said, sitting on the remains of a behemoth.
Thank the pantheon.
I sat down and leaned against an exoskeleton, sending a mental message to Voen to help tend to my wound.
If it wasn't for Voen, I don't know how we would have survived this place. He became someone we could really rely on. If someone had asked me earlier in the year if I thought he was capable enough to be at this school… I would have rejected the idea.
Voen trotted over towards me; his ears twitched every few seconds. I could only imagine how much information flooded his brain at any given moment.
"Alright, let's see what type of trouble Sora got you into," Voen said, gently moving my tentacle aside.
He clicked his tongue as he examined the wound.
"Yeah, it got you good, but this shouldn't be anything we can't handle. Take this," he said, handing me a pellet.
"It should help speed the recovery process."
I nodded, took the pellet, and ate it.
"Is it ok if I place my hand here?" Voen asked, pointing at the wound.
"No problem."
Voen hummed a soft tune as he imbued his hand with cosmic energy. He placed his hand on my wound, and the wound slowly started to stitch itself back together.
The process was painful, and I had to fight the urge to wince.
But Voen's ears were too good.
"Sorry about that. If I could find a way to make it hurt less, I would, but the wound was fairly deep."
"Don't worry, you are doing more than enough. I'm sure we all are wishing we could do more." I said, glancing over my shoulder at Sora, who sat with her eyes closed, breathing slowly.
"Something's off with her. What happened?" Voen said, pulling his hand away from my wound, as his breath grew labored.
The wound wasn't fully closed, but it would make do.
"I'm not sure. Do you think she finally lost it? It took a lot to get her to snap out of whatever she was going through." I said.
"But I'm not sure I can get behind more decisions like that again. I understood it was the best plan she could've come up with in the spot. But I would have preferred one that didn't automatically risk my life."
Voen's face twisted.
"What's the matter? Do you not agree?"
"No, I do; it just reminded me of something when I was younger, that's all. But what do you think we should do in the meantime then?"
"We are just gonna have to keep an eye on her."
Voen nodded and went to tend to some of the other members of the group, while I kept circulating as much cosmic energy as I could spare to my wound.
"You don't believe you guys will make it, do you?" the annoying voice in my head asked.
"...I do believe, once we make it to the mines, we should have an easier time defeating the rift guardian…."
"Why do I sense hesitance in your thoughts?"
"Because this is stressful; our lives are at risk every waking moment."
"What if you had a way to reduce the risk and increase your chances of surviving? It wouldn't be a hundred percent, but I think you would be happy with the risk."
I paused and touched the wound on my side.
"Then I would do whatever it takes, if it meant survival."
"Even if it meant losing something important?"
"None of that matters if I can't leave this place alive."
"Then it's time to take my offer."
I bite the inside of my cheek.
"Fine."
"Perfect. You will have to abandon the group. They can't be privy to knowledge I am going to bestow upon you."
"Why not?"
"Because this knowledge can only be trusted with the likes of you. You understand the power of knowledge unlike any other. And they also have nothing to offer that is equal to my gift."
"Where exactly do I have to go?"
"A place you have already been, a specific place in the town where the central pyramid used to be. You were drawn to it before with no understanding as to why."
For a few moments, I sat and tried to retrace my steps from when I scouted the town.
"I suggest you hurry, while no one is focused on you. No need to use your instruments; I'll guide you."
"Extra assistance? Today is my lucky day, I guess."
"Oh, little one, what do you think the price of generosity is?