Chapter X
The wild rapture
This chapter was longer than I thought , so forget what I said about the previous one o.o. I posted it right away after I finished, but don't worry, will edit it later ^_^
As for this chapter, I also have a catchy song to play right away : Russian Red - No Past Land. Just keep it till it ends and play it again! It creates a nice atmosphere for reading the whole chapter! I also strongly recommend to read the lyrics after you finish reading it, as I consider them as a beautiful matching poem!
Enjoy and please review!
Yoh was lying on the grass, enjoying the fresh breeze, a savior from the heat of the ball of light. After 5 minutes of calmly listening the leaf spirit playing the recording, he got up, admiring the surrounding. With a smile he then proceeded to walk in a random direction.
This round seemed to be quite interesting and maybe the most difficult regarding the shaman himself. He realized it wasn't going to be an easy task, because after all, the Eden Garden was a semi-part of the spirit world, meant to strengthen the most important characteristic of a shaman: his bond with the nature. Although the spirits were making oversouls with their carbon residues, all the nature elements were present: water, earth, air, fire… He knew that those who would manage to come back will become stronger and increase their furyoku.
But Yoh enjoyed spending his time in the nature. All he needed to do was to find an escape before the normal human body would yield because of the lack of food. But of course, many shamans wouldn't notice their physiological needs because the spirit is trying to stay bonded with it through its own furyoku. Still, he wasn't hurrying. Actually, he somehow has wanted to seek this opportunity for a long time: a break from the hellish training he endured in the last weeks.
A rustle and then all his chances of relaxing were brutally destroyed by her presence.
"Anna!" he said in somehow a shock, because she wasn't supposed to be here.
"I suppose you don't have any clue about what's going on, do you?" Anna asked on a serious tone. "It seems like the new organizer didn't take into account the fact that there were people who didn't participate in the Tournament."
"It seems like we had bad luck, he-he…" Yoh ulessly tried to cheer her up, because she clearly seemed to be pissed and he knew that at any time she would go off on him with a deadly hit, with or without the shinigamis.
"But wait…if you are also here…then where is Manta?"
A leaf spirit which was passing by, transmitting the standard recording, was captured in a second in Anna's palm. She then combined it with a pearl from her necklace. Out of nowhere appeared something like a hologram, showing Akira in foreground with little Manta who just woke up from fainting.
"Who the hell is disturbing me at this hour? It is forbidden to give any information about-
Ah, it's you…" Akira said with a little frown upon her eyes.
"What's the meaning of all this?." Anna promptly said.
"Oh well, your furyoku level is indeed high if you managed to make a smaller additional oversoul. Perhaps that is also the reason why I thought you were also a participant. Luckily I've managed to save your friend in the last second, because he is really weak."
"Hey! I almost entered that labyrinth of death because of you!" Manta shouted from the back, being reduced to silence by a cloth which tied itself on his mouth.
"I don't have either furyoku or time to waste. Get me out of here." She plainly requested.
"Well, I could call off the entire Round for a small mistake or…if you also participate in this round and manage to get out of here, we'll be offering you free rooms in a four-star hotel and also free meals for the entire duration of the Shaman Fight." Akira said with her typical voice of making business. Anna was unimpressed.
"And a compensation of 10.000 yen." She said in defeat.
"I've heard enough" Anna said and broke her mini-oversoul. "Come on Yoh, let's go"
"Hai!" Yoh approved her with a smile noticing that she wasn't upset anymore and then went ahead.
"Wait! I'm sure there are plenty of rocks we can tie up to your wrists before we head off."
"But…Anna.." Yoh pleaded her with a tearfall under his eyes.
"*Sigh*, I was just joking. We can't risk loosing more energy than necessary, especially now that we only have three days to find a getaway."
"Thank you" Yoh mumbled to the divinity that from time to time it would save him from the hellish training. On rare occasions though, but still…
"Besides…" Anna went with her steps ahead "As you fiancée, there's a long time you haven't taken me out on a proper date." She showed a light mysterious smirk and then continued to move on.
After a short puzzled expression, Yoh warmly smiled looking at her back and followed the way.
"We are just heading nowhere! This is the same rock I sat on half an hour ago!" Rilury finally said breaking the silence that fell over them since they began walking.
"That's because you took the lead, didn't you?" Hao said calmly. "Also, your mind was full of thoughts so you probably weren't paying attention on the direction you were going."
"And judging by the fact that you haven't said anything, you were just pleased to listen to them, right?" she said irritated.
"They were quite funny. The most amusing part was the fact that you stood 15 minutes of questioning yourself before admitting that we're lost."
"At least I was making an effort. Why don't you give it a try, since you are acting so superior and stuff…"
"Actually, I don't know the way out either." Hao carelessly responded.
"Hah!" she said victorious.
"That's because it would take at least one month before arriving to the real exit. And you could do that only if you were in the spirit form. " he added, thing which annoyed Rilury again.
"Hmh, seems like you have experience traveling even here." She changed her expression with an enigmatic look. "Tell me…I which afterlife was it?" she said with a smirk.
"Well, I see you've finally done your research" he said adopting the same look, but only a bit darker.
"It is a matter-of-course…"
"Since you broke my trust from the beginning."
She couldn't stop that thought, thing which made Hao smirk. She instinctively avoided eye-contact, since she left herself exposed due to her weakness.
"I don't think relying on someone matters. What you call trust are only some prejudiced expectations that will obviously be broken, because the person doesn't know the other as well as he thought.
Anyway, what we are counting here on is mutual help. Just like in the nature, where some bacterias are helping other plants to extract some substances from the soil. It's humanly typical to expect more and take everything for granted."
Hao said all that with no trace of sadness and his eyes became cold, even if he was still smiling.
Rilury gave up in finding contra-arguments, as they wouldn't change his perception.
"All right then…So you needed me for something." She said on a serious tone.
"Not particularly. But as much as I love spending time here, we can't afford losing our chances. You see, each gate away portal can be used only once."
"So?"
"They are practically furyoku batteries using the same technique as your mother's."
"And I can detect them with less amount of energy. And all I need to do is?"
"Perspicacious, but naïve at the same time" Hao smiled.
"Just tell me already before I change my mind" Rlury started to get pissed again.
But she calmed down while hearing his explanations. She then plunged her hand in the ground and concentrated herself. She mentally followed a slight pattern of light, leading to…
"A hideout in the savana?"
"Just as I thought. They wouldn't have made this task so easy."
"Akira, it seems that we have a problem." One of the Patch member, Silva, approached her while she was having a chit-chat with Manta explaining him about this probe.
"I know." She said after she sighed.
"It isn't about the contestants. It is about the Philosopher Stone. Somebody got it somehow infiltrated in the Eden."
"I said that I already know." Akira said flatly. "What an unexpected surprise, to find something that was thought to be lost for thousands of years…and also during the Shaman Fight. So convenient…." She said a bit bothered by this fact.
"Goldva ordered this probe to be interrupted."
"I don't care what that old man said. It was part of the deal.
And after all, the spirits there are too simple. It's a good thing that I've blocked all the contacts with the external guardian spirits" She smirked.
It will just be a pity if someone would stumble upon it…"
"So, what are you saying is that the diurnal animals are only the predators?"
"You've noticed the strange silence. Animals have spirits too, and they can also end up in constant loops of their behavior in the nature. "
"Hm, so I suppose they've placed it right in the middle of them."
"Hmph. Be prepared to meet another side of the wildness you're used living in. "
"Stop talking like you're knowing me, Hao" Rilury seriously responded, and then walked to the source of the portal light.
*you can play the music now*
In the open field, the tall grass was a perfect environment for the fiercest creatures to hide and hunt their prey. Even if there was no herbivore around and they didn't need to eat, they were prisoners of their instincts. Calmly hiding, a prehistoric tiger was hardly enduring the waiting to tear with his tusks the flesh of the two human bodies that were walking in the open field.
But then, it came. The tiger ran away, as something else was declaring its property.
"Look! It's running!" Rilury said, although they both noticed the tiger before.
"Of course. It would have been too easy." Hao said with a grimace, enthusiastic for a challenge. "Look ahead."
And there it was. The pterodactyl monster was flying above them.
"Wasn't this supposed to be in another period?" she asked surprised.
"The species is at the border, and those spirits sometimes get lost" *
It suddenly plunged quickly for a direct attack.
Hao was even quicker and easily blocked it with a wooden stick from a teak. Rilury also had one, since its wood was known to be the toughest tree.
The pterodactyl was thrown back in the sky, just like a boomerang. Then it leaned for the weaker prey.
Rilury was waiting for it. She stood there unmoved, adopting a tai chi position. Then she redirected the attack in a simple wave movement, rotating her body and throwing the reptile out with the help of the centrifuge force, thing which made it collapse on the ground.
"Quite impressive" Hao said with a pleased expression.
"It's not defeated yet." Rilury said, waiting for its next move.
A deafening sound of an earthquake. What was happening?
The pterodactyl suddenly abandoned the fight, and it flew really high in the sky in a matter of seconds, to avoid the dangerous creature that was approaching.
"This is strange. I never felt such a high spirit pressure in this place." Hao said enigmatically.
Then it revealed itself. A monster as big as a tank. It was more exactly a chimera, with the furious expression of a grizzly bear with the mane of a lion. The body was huge, as it was all covered with harsh long fur and it had the terrifying claws that could smash the human body within seconds.
Rilury was astonished. The strange part that she noticed was that in the middle of the forehead, between the two horns, there was something blue glowing with intensity.
"The Philosopher Stone" Hao responded her thoughts. "Of course, that's the only explanation for such a powerful creature to exist here." He had a grimace and in his eyes was a strange sparkle.
The chimera, which was standing on its two feet, suddenly put its anterior members on the ground. The earth shook and made Rilury to fell down on the earth, as she wasn't prepared for that huge collision. That was the opportunity the monster was waiting for, as it was quickly heading for a fierce attack.
One unforgivable mistake. She can't avoid it fast enough.
The immense claws were stopped in the middle of the air, just one second before the hit.
Something blocked it. It was a teak stick that was starting to break under the immense pressure. It was Hao who protected her.
They both jumped aside before the stick would break in half, causing the creature to crash on the ground, which split in craters.
"That was close." Hao said with his expression unchanged, although his eyes caught a slight glimpse of worry."Too bad I'm now left unarmed." He added in a bored disappointment.
"Not really." Rilury said, quickly recovering from the shock.
She pulled out a dagger with tribal inscriptions on its handle.
"I found this accidentally when I was in an expedition in Africa with my father, although I was quite young and I vaguely remember it. I want you to have it in return for saving me."
Hao looked at her a bit unceirtain and then smiled.
"I'm flattered, but for the moment I'll just borrow it, thanks. Now all we need to do is reach that stone."
Rilury still looked at the pterodactyl which was still on the sky, waiting for the battle to finish and feast from the corpse remains.
"You can still form oversouls in here, right?" she asked with a grin.
"I already read the plan in your head. It could work, actually." He smiled pleased.
"All right, since you have more furyoku than I do, I'm going to distract that will-o'-the-wisp."
Without even waiting for his answer she headed for the monster by plunging herself with the help of the stick, landing with a hit on the monster's left foot.
It groaned and tried to hit her with its claw. She bend over and hit it on the right foot. Even the effects were only to annoy it, she still made the creature hurt its knee with its immense claw, thing which infuriated it even more.
Then it stood up in two legs again and wrapped itself over to squash the annoying human. Rilury managed to escape the grip just in time, by maintaining a brief saving gap with the stick, thing which made it break as well.
The creature rolled over and smashed the earth again. It laid for a second on its back, enough to notice Hao approaching. He was flying because he formed a temporary oversoul with the pterodatyl, using the dagger.
The monster stood up and wanted to brutally hit the flying pest. It raised its both claws to form a grip with no escape…
Then its whole body paralyzed in an electric shock. Rilury also froze on the same position with her arms stretched in an attempt to do something.
Hao was also surprised. But then he changed his expression with a frown. He disrupted the oversoul. He landed right on the monster forehead, with the dagger plunged near the blue glowing stone.
After a second, the whole creature exploded in lots of tiny spirits which were spreading freely in the air.
He walked out from the storm of dust that formed, but he had no expression.
"It seems like the spirits combined were even weaker than I thought." He said thoughtfully while manufacturing something in his hands, but it was too much dust to see what he was doing.
"Tell me, Rilury, do you still feel it?" he suddenly asked.
She then realized that there was no more portal in the surrounding. Somebody must have already used it while they were concentrating on the fight. And she was also in lack of furyoku, as that attack she made consumed fifty times more furyoku than it usually does in the real world.
She felt exhausted and also deceived.
"There is nothing we can do now. We must continue our searching." He said while giving the dagger back to Rilury.
But she didn't took it.
"I said it's a gift that you must accept" She categorically said being disrupted from the whole shock.
"Well, if you insist…I also have something for you." he smiled mysteriously.
He then went behind her and she remained surprised as she felt the blue stone touching the skin under her neck.
"Wait, I cannot accept that!" she said with her eyes shocked.
"You must." Hao said while finishing tying the necklace. "This stone is almost useless in the material world, but here it will maintain your level of furyoku. You shouldn't have wasted it in the first place."
"But you also did-"
"I'm left with 600.000. I think I can do with that." He said with a smirk.
"Ha-ha, let's act all superior about the one who saved you." she said a bit pissed.
"I would have escaped easily."
"Yeah right, and I am an extra-terrestrial being who came to conquer the whole world." She ironically said.
"Would you like to join forces, then?" he said with an evil look.
She laughed.
"Oh, cut it out!" she happily said. "It's already the sunset, this fight took the whole day!" she stretched. "Does it happen for you to also know a perfect place for camping?" she asked with a grin.
"As a matter a fact, I really do." He continued the game.
"Then, may you lead the path this time" she said with a playful smile and a mannered gesture with arms. Hao chuckled, because by this joke she made a strong discrepancy between her gesture and her direct nature of being.
The sun was descending behind a hill, forming the shape of a semi-closed purple eye, watching over the wildness. The time of the predators was over.
To be continued...
*Author Note: The Pterodatylus was in The Late Jurassic Period, and this period is known for the mid-sized dinosaurs and also the apparition of other species of animals, such as birds and fishes (ex:shark was also in that period, depending on the region). So near the very beginning of the mamals.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no way I will introduce a freaking T-Rex in this area, no matter how cool it sounds! Otherwise it wouldn't be called the Eeden Garden because there would be way too much chaos.
Maybe the others would fight another dino...just maybe...Pfft, I don't know why I introduced those reptiles in the first place, now my mind is going all crazy about the endless possibilities :s