Chapter -105: Beyond the Sky
"And so, like the river rapids, time pressed onward, and Sarajin continued his battle for unity...Alone."
One day, in the middle of the afternoon, the sandy shores of Aquamoria found themselves under attack by a regiment of soldiers from Canofloe.
All entry has been barred off by a row of fishermen hoisting their spears as a fence to ward off the horses, while another row behind them douse the area with water to dull the flames of war at their doorstep.
This had led to a foggy battleground of which Sarajin finds himself running afoot in the middle. Sweaty and tired, he's had good luck so far knocking out most of the soldiers in his path.
But his eyes remain focused on the one whose blade has been soaked the most in flame..Valflame, their leader.
He takes a moment to catch his breath, Lulu's orders being muffled out by the thick fog in his way. He then grabbed hold of his blade and ran ahead past the horses running wild without their riders.
He took a blow to the shoulder from their charge but spun around and kept going, stumbling along the way.
Valflame's blade was the signal, and a deliberate one at that. He just had to keep pressing onward and meet him eye-to-eye and hopefully, with no blood spilled, force his retreat.
When the blade shone its brightest, Sarajin called out to him and then leaped through the air.
The leader of fire hesitated to swing his blade to meet Sarajin's, where the two proceeded to lock down in mid-air, their clash pushing the fog off the battlefield for now.
Valflame looked like he wasn't getting much sleep these days and his pale skin did little to help this impression.
But his blood still boiled like a warrior's and he held that blade tight and refused to yield his place atop his trusted steed.
Sarajin sprung off when the man was looking to win the exchange, narrowly avoiding a cut across the nose. He then held his katana in both hands and hunched down, staring him up in the eyes.
"It's not too late, Valflame! Call off your men, nobody has to die here!"
Valflame's hand trembled on the reins and he narrowed his gaze, "...I must secure this land before Colrez does. Get out of my way, Sarajin."
He wanted this to end with minimal bloodshed too, his politeness gave away his intent. But the way he wished to go about it still ended with a land conquered and the state of its people left to uncertainty.
Thus, Sarajin held his blade tighter and pointed it up, putting the man's face in it's reflection, "You know I can't do that...sir."
He still held a modicum of respect for the man, but it was straining by the day.
Valflame gulped tightly and swung his sword down, announcing with a dull and forced tone, "Very well then."
He whipped the reins of his horse and together they rode towards Sarajin, taking a mighty swing as they passed by that dragged Sarajin's heels back through the dirt.
Valflame then swung right back around and rushed him with his horse's mane ablaze. He kept passing by and swinging, kicking up soot with every slash.
Sarajin sensed him by the heat of his blade and kept deflecting every slash. But he noticed something was off, as the man leaned in and the tip of his blade was slicing the ground.
After Valflame had performed six failed slices in a row he stopped and pointed his sword skyward, igniting it into a pillar of fire.
Sarajin felt the ground heat up and leaped back right before magma spewed from the area within the cuts Valflame had carved.
He then ran around it and swung at Valflame quickly three times, the man expertly repelling his blade with precise strength.
No effort wasted, the leader of fire was able to easily put Sarajin on the defensive without moving his steed. And Sarajin saw that every second he wasted gave the other soldiers a chance to get into Aquamoria.
Suddenly, a bullet of pressurized water flew over Sarajin's head but was cut down by Valflame, who shared his opponent's look of surprise.
"You doin' ok, chum?!" Shouted Sarajin's friend Brine, who leaped into the fray beside him wielding his trusty golden trident.
Sarajin smiled and nodded, "Are you sure you can be here?"
"We're holdin' up just fine, thanks to yer assistance!" Brine flashed a thumbs up and then faced Valflame hunched over ready to fight.
"We just need to keep 'em outside the border a little longer, yeah?" He whispered, and Sarajin nodded.
"Great, I'll-"
Sarajin's eyes widened as he felt an incredibly hostile sting of power through his body, causing him to whisper with dread, "Oh no..."
He veered sharply to the right and saw a crimson light barreling across the shoreline and effortlessly devastating everything in its path.
It was a fireball. But with its sheer size, it almost felt fitting to call it a miniature sun. He turned towards the fishermen guarding the way and the slow emergence of fear on their faces said it all...
"If that hits them, then...!" Sarajin bolted away from his spot towards the fireball's path. But with all the soldiers and fighting still going on it was going to be impossible for him to make it on time.
Unless..
He reached into his pocket and tapped the Gaia Temporis, praying with all his hope that he'd be fine. The fireball was a mere few feet away from impact when time crawled to a stop and everything became monochromatic.
He took a deep breath and then threw himself through the air in front of the fireball, covering his body in layers upon layers of flame.
His head was throbbing in pain but with a defiant roar he allowed time to resume and collided with the fireball dead in the center.
A massive pillar of fire erupted all the way up to the sky on the spot and knocked over members from both sides. Sarajin went temporarily deaf as the blast blew across his body. But he held on to keep the flames at bay for just a while longer...
When it was done he fell out of the sky onto his back with ash all over his skin and clothes. The impact with the ground made him cough up black soot for a couple moments. The sand was now glass, while the ground was charred black...
As he tried to get back up a raspy, contemptible voice spoke down to him with a shrill, annoyed tone, "Where do you get off ruinin' my fun?"
Sarajin's rib cage cracked under the weight of a woman's foot pressed atop it. But this was no ordinary woman. It'd be fairer to call her a feral beast, perhaps even worse than the Rot Walkers.
Auris had described her to him once as Vermilion, the One-Eyed Scorpion. With dominion over Fire, she was a member of the Ten Sages and presently, acted as a one-person army "allied" with Canofloe.
But she was only in it to revel in the hunt, which Sarajin had dared to interrupt.
And now, her one eye flared with hate and disgust, looking down upon him with almost laughable pity. She growled with a subhuman guttural noise and told him, "You're so pathetic, 'Elemental Overlord'...You're all fucked up and I barely even tried with that!"
"So how will you repent for screwing with my hunt, mmm?" She sneered wide and her eye oozed with ecstasy, "Maybe I should crack your ribs open like a beetle shell and wiggle my toes through your innards."
Sarajin tried to reach for his sword only for three needles to fly from her sleeve and pin his own sleeve down, cutting him in the process.
"You're just an insect...And insects don't get to fight back!" She was hunching over, ready to strike with deadly, lethal precision...
But the air began to churn with unease, and the snarling sounds of approaching Rot Walkers forced Valflame to order a retreat.
Vermilion turned her head with a sneer and muttered, "Cowards..."
She forcefully pulled her foot off Sarajin's ribs and tucked her hands into her tattered sleeves. But nothing about her demeanor changed.
Sarajin's heart pounded tight and then skipped a few beats as she cocked her head back around and then chopped the air upward, sending a wall of fire through Aquamoria to the water's edge.
A few houses were destroyed and she boiled the water down for half a mile out, killing any creatures that may have been in the way...
She then held her right hand up limply towards the frightened guards and muttered, "I will gut your Titan like a trout another day! And there'll be NOTHING you worm bait can do about it!"
Bloody light flashed in her iris and made all the men and women of Aquamoria present squirm. She then turned away, throwing one last sneer at Sarajin before pouncing hundreds of feet through the air in a single jump.
Sarajin finally had a chance to breathe and thank the fact that he somehow survived this deadly encounter...
"Y-Ya alright, chum?" Brine said with his voice shaken and hand outstretched.
Sarajin took a while to take his hand and stand up, the pain in his chest making it difficult to breathe or speak, "Yeah...but the village..."
The two took a melancholic look out and saw that the sands had been glassed in a straight line and the remains of the houses in its path still burned.
But if there was any upside, no one was occupying them right now.
Sarajin spent the next few hours helping to rebuild their houses and give the people the proper healing ointments.
But all throughout he couldn't shake off what was bothering him the most, "I couldn't hold off Valflame...I definitely can't stop Vermilion. Will I be able to rely on the Rot Walkers to scare them off forever?"
He took a moment to look around and feel the general lack of enthusiasm coming from the usually lively Aquamorians, "Nobody died again, but..."
He turned around and once more met eyes with Mother Divine and her two guardian pastors. And once again, had to share Lulu's pain of betrayal at watching more of her people leave their lands for their own safety.
Sarajin steeled his grip onto his blade, his gaze a troubled mix of determination and melancholy as he walked up behind Lulu and told her sincerely, "I'm sorry I couldn't do anymore."
"..." She was gritting her teeth as she turned around and forced herself to stay positive, "You did what ya could, Sarajin."
Her voice was being strangled by her overall sense of melancholy. But it felt like she was being bothered by more than the usual engagement...
"Haaaa..." Lulu scrunched her expression up and pinched her forehead, grumbling out in a bitter tone, "While we were busy...fighting for our right to live! ...Those damned bolt-blasted cowards of Pulsa Minoria sent their metal men in to steal our pure water reserves!"
Sarajin's face lit up with surprise, "Why would they do that all of a sudden?"
"It happened ages ago, when I was a wee lass," Lulu then planted a hand on her hip and barked out, "Yer chums with those bastards, why don't you ask them yerself?!"
Sarajin felt a little heartbroken by her rage. She quickly clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and looked away in shame, "S-Sorry, Sarajin...I didn't mean ta snap at ya like that."
Sarajin slanted his brows and remarked, "Don't worry, I know it's been hard for you lately."
He then put a hand on her shoulder and looked her dead in the eyes, "I'll go visit them and see what's up. You need to be here for your people right now."
"Heh, ya gotta stop sounding so wise, boy..." Lulu smiled and brushed his hand off, crossing her arms under her chest, "In my eyes yer still the guppy who can barely pull up a decent trout."
Sarajin and Lulu exchanged smiles and farewells, and then Sarajin began his lonely journey across the wastelands.
He could've gone faster by flying but it was a funny feeling really. Walking just...felt right.
He walked with Justek at his side. Then Auris joined them. Then Justek was gone...and nowadays, Auris wasn't here either.
And when they were around the miserable nature of the wastelands felt like an afterthought.
But he kept focusing on the positive side of things, despite the pain in his rib cage and the soreness in his feet.
This world was still beautiful. It just needed to be saved, and he needed to be stronger to help save it. Just how far could he keep going though?
He made it to Pulsa Minoria close to nightfall and the city walls were buzzing with azure electric light. It was probably the most peaceful Tribe to be at during the night...If only Valic wasn't so insistent on dragging the war to their doorsteps.
He flew over the walls and made a beeline for Sector 3 where they developed the drones. The citizens were fast asleep in sector 4 and the only people toiling were the scientists.
Any time they felt the pull of insomnia, an electric jolt to the brain kept them going. It wasn't the healthiest of behavior, but they were really devoted to the pursuit of a better tomorrow.
But none of the scientists compared to the drive of Valic Ioncharger, Sarajin had experienced that first-hand through their many meetings...
Tonight though, he had holed himself up in his private laboratory in the eastern part of the sector. Impenetrable to most, but Sarajin didn't quantify the meaning of that word when all he had to do was drain the lock of electricity and head through the door.
He came just in time to find Valic standing over a wide table with the lights dim and a few drones parked in the back of the room. He had deposited the crystal clear water into a glass box and was carefully tinkering with metal gears and stuff within the water.
A dangerous proposition to be sure, but he had doubled up on the latex gloves just to be safe.
He paused momentarily at the sound of the door sliding open and then continued along with his word, making just a brief and snide comment of, "That lock's there for a reason."
Sarajin shut the door behind him and redid the lock, proceeding to approach Valic with no intent to make jokes or play around.
"Why are you trying to make an enemy of Aquamoria too?" He accused him of, more worried than angry.
Valic pulled his pincers and screwdriver from the water and set them aside, "Are we going to have this conversation again? If you insist, can't it wait until tomorrow?"
When he looked over his shoulder he saw Sarajin looking at him with unflinching will and nudged his brows up with a drab remark of, "I guess not."
Sarajin shook his head and tried to poke around a little with respect to his position, "What'll it take to convince you to let up this time?"
"I already acquiesce to your request to take it easy on those stoneheads and they still keep coming at us despite how effective the nets have been..." Valic chuckled and then smiled his way, "If you're worried about those waterbreathers attacking us too, then we'll treat them the same way."
"They're water attuned, even the lowest voltage in the nets would fry them." Sarajin pointed out.
"Again, I fail to see how it's my problem that they're picking a fight with us."
As Valic was prepared to turn away Sarajin let out a couple grunts in frustration and then gestured forcefully his way, "Come on Valic, this is ridiculous! I'm trying to bring the Tribes together, and it doesn't help when you keep prodding them to aggression!"
"Look, our interests align only as far as survival goes. You've been useful, Sarajin, but that does not mean I still trust you."
Sarajin grit his teeth and with a grunt of reluctance he extended his hand out quietly and asked, "Can you at least tell me WHY you keep doing all this...? I don't want to hate you, Valic I just...Don't understand you."
Valic had one hand on his tools and the other flat on the table. Slowly, with a curious hum, he curled his fingers inward and withdrew his body from the table.
With a piercing look over his shoulder he said, "This will not leave this facility, do you understand me?"
Sarajin gave a slow, quizzical nod and watched as Valic walked over to the opposite end of the building and pressed a button.
A steady whir filled the air as the ceiling parted open like the shell of a beetle as it prepared to take flight. There, a glass roof opened the way to a clear view of the sky above, and the moon floating almost directly overhead.
Valic craned his head back and sounded utterly serene, "Magnificent, isn't it?"
Sarajin looked up at the moon with admiration too. It looked particularly beautiful tonight, with a ring of light brighter than a sea of diamonds.
"When most people look up at the moon, they see it for its beauty," Valic commented, "But when I gaze upon it, I see salvation..."
He reached out to appear like he was attempting to grab hold of the moon in his hand, "My mind received it's first spark of inspiration when I laid eyes on it. It's so pure and clean, untouched by any of our hands...Or any of theirs."
There was a strong and inspiring tone in the way he pronounced that word that drew Sarajin's eyes towards him as he continued to spill his heart out.
"My dream...is to one day deliver our society to the moon, and free us from the grasp of the Rot forever," Valic lowered his head and gestured his hand out from his hip, "But in order to do that we need power. Much, much more power."
"We barely have the capacity to lift this city off the ground let alone escape the planet. Hence why I've been trying to explore alternative options to generate stronger outputs of electricity."
"And how does Aquamoria's water help?" Sarajin wondered.
"It's pure. The purest in all the land. Incapable of rusting metal, I theorize that we might be able to use it in coordination with gears and turbines to create a perpetually running generator without having to recycle electricity use."
But this explanation left Sarajin feeling more confused than he had starting out, "Why couldn't you have mentioned this dream sooner? If you told the people of Oreore and Aquamoria about this then-"
"What? They would trust us?" Valic laughed, "Don't be ridiculous. There's no trust shared among any of us, not even in this city."
There was a sense of unease in the air as Valic began spitting vile towards his fellow colleagues, "We're all seeking to be the next innovator. Thievery, betrayal, it's all encoded in our brains from birth. It's like a hunger, a disease...!"
"But this is MY dream! And it will remain mine until I die. I will not let some cocky upstart take it and misuse it out of some misguided desire for fame and nothing more! That's why I had Rai-"
"Rai?" When Sarajin spoke up, Valic froze up in silence.
A couple coughs later, Valic tucked his hands behind his back and shook his head, "If I must be the target of all this hate so be it. But I am the only person in this world who not only has the desire but the brains to free us from the plague of Rot."
Sarajin put himself at ease and looked Valic in the eyes with greater respect than he had ever shown him before, which the man misconstrued with a twisted comment of, "You must think I'm crazy."
Sarajin shook his head slowly and remarked, "Why would I? It's a great dream."
Valic flinched and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Sarajin then reached out and reminded him, "It's like I said. You can't avoid trusting people forever."
"So I can trust you then?" Valic said in a piercing tone.
"You can," Sarajin said without hesitation, "I don't care about fame, or respect. I just want to make this world one where everyone can make their dreams a reality."
"Hmmm..." Valic hummed with doubt.
"I can even help provide you with materials you need, so you don't have to resort to stealing from the other Tribes."
"...I doubt your power is on the level of a Titan still." Valic remarked.
"Would that...make a difference?" Sarajin was puzzled.
"The water I took from Aquamoria is pure because it was birthed directly from the Titan's system. Same as the metals we use. You might not consider imperfection a problem in everyday life, but when it comes to building electronics even the slightest flaw can lead to unforeseen consequences."
"Ghhh..." Once more, Sarajin's lack of strength got under his skin.
"But, the gesture shall be noted." Valic said with a minor smile that helped lift Sarajin's spirits somewhat.
Not long afterwards Sarajin left Pulsa Minoria and returned to wandering the wastelands. He took residence atop a rock and, despite feeling a little tired, was being kept awake by his troubling thoughts.
He stared up at the moon and stars in the sky and reached up towards them with a longing expression, "I've looked up at the stars so much...I never really considered that there might be stuff out there besides them."
Because the one thing that did descend from the stars...brought death and destruction on a scale that hasn't been seen since.
Yet...Valic's dream brought up a valid point: The Rot did NOT extend beyond the planet. Quite the opposite, as Magmankey's testimony could attest to, the Rot was forced to be here.
So if nothing on the planet could stop the Rot...maybe there was a solution to it somewhere out there among the stars.
Sarajin pulled his hand away quickly against his chest and shook his head, "No. W-Who knows what's out there."
The mere thought left his heart racing fast for a while after. But as it settled down he thought about it again, and was reminded of the troubles plaguing all the Tribes these days.
"People leaving their homes, resources dwindling, hatred, distrust and violence everywhere..." Sarajin sat up hunched over with his expression deep into contemplation, "No other way to look at it. The Rot's a big reason why all this keeps happening."
"I could go to space for a solution, but...Should I?" His body shook with doubts, "I'm still not strong enough to protect everyone. And even then, I'm the only one who is willing to stand up and defend all the Tribes. If I leave...what'll happen?"
He didn't have the ability to solve this conundrum on his own. He was humble enough to admit that. But there was one person he could trust to hear him out.
He stood up and looked out towards the west with the wind silently blowing across his body. He clutched his fists and remarked, "Hopefully they haven't gone to bed yet."
He flew off in the direction of Sancturia and only halfway there remembered about the barrier.
"Shoot, how am I going to get in without Auris' help?" As he asked this question, it felt like the Gaia Temporis was rattling around in his pocket.
Drawn by his curiosity, he pulled it out and looked at the clock insignia etched into it. He recalled what Auris told him about how the barrier worked and started to come up with an idea.
"That's right, the barrier's made up of a ton of particles moving at lightspeed. But if I stopped time, then..." He kept hold of the stone and began to descend towards the barrier.
The guards were being a little lax since it was so late, but Sarajin wasn't about to complain. Once he was close enough he activated the Gaia Temporis to freeze time and his hypothesis proved correct, as the way through the barrier was laid bare to him.
He felt obligated to tell the stone "Thank you" even if it couldn't hear him, and made his way inside of Sancturia.
When time resumed he felt a little dizzy but not enough to require a break.
He hadn't been in the city at night before. The lighting was more subdued and calming, perfect for lulling the tired to sleep.
Sarajin yawned and patted his mouth a couple times, "I'll go straight home after this and get some rest. It's been another long day..."
He knew exactly where to go and that was the city's library. Even though it's been months since he last saw his friend.
The library kept the lighting on and there were a few Aurians inside picking up books to read. They wore their stoic expressions frighteningly well and stared at Sarajin's presence.
But he had his gaze fixated on the upper tiers of the building, where he could make out the back of Justek's robe as he levitated around putting a few books back.
Justek suddenly paused and looked down at the bottom floor, where Sarajin waved up to signal his presence.
Justek gave him a brief, tiny smile and then slowly descended to the ground upon finishing his business. He was looking pretty tired himself, but the presence of his friend revigorated his energy enough to stay up a little while longer.
"You're here late, Sarajin." Justek noted.
"Sorry if I'm bothering you." Sarajin said, rubbing the back of his head and flashing his child-like smile.
"Nonsense, I always have time for a friend." Justek gestured towards the nearby table and the two of them sat down to continue their conversation.
Sarajin briefly glanced his way and asked, "How...how are the kids doing?"
"They're resting comfortably back at the palace," Justek smiled, "I was just returning their bedtime stories."
"Oh yeah?" It was still difficult for Sarajin to register that Justek was a father now, but...he seemed to be using his strengths to keep them happy.
Sarajin thus smiled back, only to be put on guard when Justek nudged his glasses and remarked, "Your voice is weak. Did something happen today?"
Sarajin unconsciously laid a hand on his chest and caused himself to wince in pain, which he forced a smile through, "I...had a bad encounter with one of the Ten Sages."
"Ah," Justek didn't seem the least bit surprised, before humoring him with a remark of, "But I doubt you came all the way here to gripe about losing, my friend."
After a momentary silence Sarajin pulled his knee up against his chest and held onto it, his eyes deep with contemplation, "I had a brief chat with Valic today and it got me thinking about the Rot again."
"Mmm?" Justek budged his way with intrigue subtly present in his eyes.
"Maybe the solution to our problems isn't on the planet...but among the stars," Sarajin glanced over at Justek and waved his hand out, "But...I'm scared to leave this place behind with only a vague hope of what I'm after. I'm still not very strong compared to a lot of people, but I'm the only person who is willing to step up and defend the other Tribes."
"So do I risk it all on a chance to find a solution to the Rot out in space? Or do I stay here and keep fighting and hope I'll figure something out sometime along the way?"
Justek closed his eyes and voiced his thoughts calmly, "It's a difficult prospect no matter how you look at it."
"I know," Sarajin groaned, "What if I run into other monsters like 'D.'? Or worse things?"
Justek pinched his glasses off his face and set them down on the table, looking his friend straight on with his foggy eyes, "Look at me, Sarajin."
When their gazes met Justek told him with the utmost sincerity, "You've faced worse odds and lived to tell the tale. Once, I chalked it up to exceedingly inhuman luck...But nowadays, I find there's something more human guiding your survival."
"Huh?"
Justek smiled lightly and whispered, "It's the kindness in your heart."
Sarajin felt a chill in his body.
"It's as though some force in the universe respects your selflessness and has repaid it in kind with their blessing of protection. Thus, I can say with the utmost confidence that no matter what path you choose to go down, it'll be the correct one, and you will return here alive and well."
"...When you put it that way, it sounds like I should go out to space," Sarajin said with a mild chuckle, then slowly rubbed the back of his head as he stood up and left the table, "I'll think about it over night. But thanks Justek, you've helped me sort some stuff out."
He turned aside and murmured, "I just wish I could get Auris' opinion too."
"Having a lover's spat?" Justek said with a mild teasing tone.
Sarajin blushed and turned around with his hands swinging around, "O-Our relationship isn't like that at all...She was just...Feeling off the last time we saw each other."
"Yes, she's been pent up in the palace since she returned," Justek said, sounding a little saddened, "I suppose if that black monster tried to possess me, I would be shaken too..."
"I don't think it had anything to do with them..." Sarajin crossed his arms and remarked, "But she asked for space, so...I'm going to respect her wishes."
Justek put his glasses back on and chuckled under his breath, "You still don't understand women..."
Sarajin gave a fond smile and then walked up and patted him on the shoulder, then they said their goodbyes for now.
Left to his own devices, Justek nudged his glasses up at the bridge and glared at his friend from behind, "I want to believe that my faith in the future is true...But to find the answers you seek, my friend..."
Through a foggy gaze into events yet to come, Justek was forced to see his friend weary and tired facing off against a pitch black figure who ignited a blade of red light at their side, and breathed in a heavy, slow and mechanical manner...
"You must survive those who have become more monster than man..."
Next Time: The Permission of the Gods