It started with a crack.
Then, darkness.
Memories of that day had become foggy after so long, melted away in those flames. Those glowing red eyes, the debris pelting the windows, the howl, a roar like savage winds robbing the atmosphere of precious oxygen and bringing the quaking home crashing down.
This all seemed like a dream.
A wonderful dream where it all vanished like magic.
A place where "tomorrow" will never come.
Please… don't let this be a dream.
Noel's chest swelled with pride. Not even the best Olympic athlete could imitate the supernatural gymnastic feat she just executed. Curious regarding her enhanced physical state after awakening her Drive, Noel performed a triple somersault off a streetlamp, to a store awning, onto a roof, then back down. "I fumped fo figh!" Noel exclaimed, retaining her dorky smile while Ragna pulled her cheeks.
"Test that shit some other time!" he reprimanded, tugging harder.
Rachel rolled her eyes from her front-row view of their foolishness. "Keep your legs moving while you perform your circus tricks, yes?"
"Man, you guys are a bunch of weirdos," Kyo commented. He didn't know much about them aside from their ability to manifest Drives like him. They didn't appear villainous and he had no desire to pry. Still, the fact remained he'd never seen them around before, so he was suspicious.
Rachel cringed. "Do not associate me with these two morons."
"Whatever you say, lady." A sharp glare shut the boy up quickly and propelled him into a different topic before lightning zapped him. Out of the three of them, Rachel appeared the most enigmatic. "These Nightmares like to pop out in specific areas around town, but I found a place even weirder. The area is thick with that purple stuff. It's called Seithr, right?"
"Yes."
"What's this place like, anyway?" Ragna asked.
"You'll see soon. We're almost there," he replied.
"That's pretty vague," Noel muttered. They would arrive shortly so she didn't feel any incentive to press the issue. Coming to an area under heavy construction, the lack of citizens wandering about told them more than enough.
"Here, eh?" Ragna's hairs stood on end. Something definitely laid beyond the caution tape and cones. Kyo leading, they stepped past the barrier. As if a switch flipped, their surroundings changed from a cloudy midday to an ominous crimson hue. Seithr levels became thick enough to be visible to the naked eye.
"This place is as freaky as ever," Kyo commented, although Noel would personally opt for a stronger word. "I gotta say, it looks a bit different than… What?!" He turned, gaping, finding the way they had come replaced by several layers of brick. "This wasn't here!"
"Is this because of the Observer?" Noel wondered.
"Indeed it is. Where we find ourselves is a Bounded Field, a kind of barrier employed to trap its victims in an enclosed space. In concept, it is not too different from the boy's home, where the Observer cannot see or interfere. However, here is the opposite." Rachel was the first to exit the alleyway and examine the vastly different environment. Unlike the bustling streets dotted with pedestrians, it was completely desolate. Isolated but not alone; the Observer's influence was stronger here than the first time Nightmares appeared and attacked them in the city.
"This really reminds me of the first time…" Noel spoke in a reminiscent tone.
"Ah, what wonderful memories those were," Ragna groaned.
"You said it wasn't like this before, correct?" Rachel directed her query at the reeling Kyo, who nodded once he realized she was talking to him. "That makes sense. It would seem the Observer has drawn their attention closer to this particular area, due to your prior exploration here."
"You mentioned this Observer thing before. Are they responsible for what's going on around here?" Kyo asked.
She nodded. "Entirely. Besting them will see our mission complete. First thing's first, however. We must find a way out of this field. Unlike back there, the Observer is far less restricted in how much they can interfere."
"So you're sayin' we might end up fighting them?" Ragna asked.
"Perhaps. I doubt it will come to blows unless they are confident they can best us. While you can probably detect a stronger presence, their full attention is not yet onto us."
"So, um, how do we get out of here?" Noel figured that to be the most important matter at hand.
"We eliminate the 'core'," Rachel answered, making her way out of the deserted alleyway to study their surroundings. Seemingly satisfied with whatever assertion she reached, she glanced back at her allies. The clear confusion on their expressions meant an explanation was in order. "Every Bounded Field has a center, something that keeps it together, be it elaborate or simple. With luck, we might be able to break free by brute force."
"What does the core of a Bounded Field look like?" Noel wondered.
"A special type of Nightmare is often tasked with the support of a Bounded Field. It expends less overall energy to assign a designated guardian, though the strength of the Nightmare and manner of a Bounded Field's construction is a good enough signifier of the Observer's prowess. Which is fairly weak." Rachel eyed Kyo. "How did you break free beforehand?"
"How? Um…" For a moment he looked thoughtful, then hesitant to reply. Seeing Rachel's growing impatience, he answered, "I just, uh, kind of kept running away until I found myself out of here."
Ragna raised an eyebrow at Rachel. "So is the headless chicken approach a viable strategy?"
"In this circumstance, perhaps he accidentally found a crack within the field." She ignored the obvious sarcasm and remained on subject, though Ragna could've sworn her expression changed for a second. "This Bounded Field is rather basic. The Nightmare should come to us… Ah, there it is." She pointed to a cluster of seithr forming. Her nonchalance belied the hellish fiend that emerged from the fierce torrent of seithr. The towering creature roared and swung its two massive zweihanders down onto the group. Evading, just the resulting shockwave was enough to send them flying off.
"This was not here last time!" Kyo panicked.
"I think we've established that!" Ragna summoned his weapon, and the others followed suit. "He might be big…" But that was all it had going for it. The beast he and Noel fought had actually exuded an aura of death whereas this creature's power was laughable. Whether that was a positive or negative development was something to dwell on later.
Rachel readied herself. "Noel, remember what we spoke of before?"
"Y-yes! I'll try!"
Ragna made a face at them. "The hell're they– oh shit!"
The monster rushed at them, surprisingly light on its feet despite its bulk, and the four scattered in every direction. Pausing in consideration of who to pursue first, Noel took the opportunity to blow out its knees. Kyo zipped into action, quite literally; it was the first time he'd displayed his abilities since they met and his speed was phenomenal. Erupting from underneath the behemoth as a blue streak, his strike resounded like a boom of thunder that knocked the creature backward. It endured the blow and recovered quickly enough to parry Ragna's attack, following up as he was thrown off balance.
Ragna was spared by a greater threat earning its attention. A torrent of wind smashed against the beast's heavy arms. It managed to stand its ground but Rachel's attack gave Kyo time to zip back around. Noel circled for a pincer attack, forcing the Nightmare to fend off both persons which gave Ragna time to close in. Surrounding his blade in seithr, he slashed straight down the monster's body, purple liquid gushing from the gash. One bolt of lightning followed directly into the wound, frying the beast from the inside out. It cried and wailed as Rachel increased the voltage until it blew like an overcharged circuit.
"...She was planning on hitting me," Kyo realized while watching the beast's painful last moments, cold sweat rolling down his back. Just like Rachel said, its defeat spelled the end of the Bounded Field. What was once bathed in scarlet returned to a foggy gray and the group found themselves outside the construction zone, the noise of normal life resuming. Once the abnormal presence of the Observer dissipated they put away their weapons. "That could've turned out worse, but I guess I just overestimated its size."
"Yes. Excellent work," Rachel congratulated.
"If we move like this, that Observer guy's not gonna stand a chance against us!" Kyo cheered.
"Noel, did you detect anything?" Rachel's inquiry roused the boys' attention.
She nodded. "For a moment after we beat the Nightmare, the presence of the Observer… intensified? No, maybe intensified isn't correct, but focused?" Noel wore a conflicted expression, trying to find the best way to articulate her thoughts.
"Uh, what's going on?" Ragna questioned.
"Testing a hypothesis," Rachel replied. "Noel's ability to detect various phenomena was high, but it appears far more potent than I imagined. I won't bore you with the intricacies—"
"Techno-babble, but go on."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Suffice it to say her ability to sense outside intervention ranges close to my own. With practice, she may well exceed me and prove a vital asset."
Noel beamed. "Really?!"
She nodded. "Tell me, were you able to trace where the Observer is?"
"Not really, sorry. It scattered and I lost it. I could probably tell if I'm near them, though I'm not one hundred percent sure on that. But I think I understand what you mean now, about how 'big' the area of Observation is."
"That is a step in the right direction."
Ragna scratched the back of his head. "Damn, feels like I'm kinda useless."
"You're not useless!" Noel refuted. "You're like our… um, tank? Yeah! You're good at dealing and taking hits!"
"So I'm a brainless meathead?" Ragna swore he heard a muted "yes", and it didn't take a rocket scientist to discern which smartass said it.
"I don't have a clue what they're talking about either, so that means we're in the same boat!" Kyo's attempt to make him feel more included only made it worse; something about being on the same level of a twelve year-old really didn't sit well with him. Ragna was ready to move on. What he understood was that, in time, Noel would develop the ability to weed out the Observer. All that mattered in the grand scheme of things.
"If we go to more of these fields, would it help any?" Ragna asked.
Rachel nodded. "It would, but I do not advise seeking them out zealously. You're asking to be taken advantage of."
"True enough… So, what's the play here?"
"Take our time. Force the Observer out into the open but on our terms."
Kyo folded his arms. "How do we do that?"
"I don't know why we just don't cause a big-ass ruckus. We've kinda been doing that anyway. You say the Observer is weak, too. Shouldn't we all be more than capable of kicking their ass?" Ragna reasoned that if disrupting the order of this world would bring their target from their hiding place, they should just go wild. He acknowledged the risk but figured they could take advantage of the Observer since, as Rachel has mentioned, they were on the weaker side.
"Recall what I said in the beginning? This is their world. Their rules. Why rush when we can get them in a more opportune scenario?" Rachel returned her attention to Kyo. "To answer you, there are several ways we can accomplish this. Let us return this conversation to your home, though."
"Oh, right. Observer guy. Are they watching us right now?" Kyo decided to whisper.
"While not entirely focused on us, it would be ignorant to take our faceless enemy lightly. Besides, don't you have an appointment?"
His face scrunched. "An appointment?"
A pause.
A longer pause.
Ding.
"Crap!"
"Thanks, big brother!" Emy wore the brightest smile on her face. In each hand was a cone of double-scooped vanilla ice cream. She swung her feet giddily, licking each cone.
"Being the older brother is one hell of a job, eh?" Ragna smirked as Kyo slumped next to him. He used his Drive to zip through the city and find an ice cream parlor, and had crashed on the couch like a ton of bricks.
"Dude, you have no idea…"
More than you know. Ragna kept that to himself. A personal joke at his expense. "Doing an alright job, all things considered."
"Eh. I try," Kyo said with a slight smile.
"If you two have finished, we can proceed, yes?" Rachel interjected.
"Can't really sound authoritarian while lickin' an ice cream cone with sprinkles, Rabbit." Conveniently enough, currency in their world worked here, so everyone chose a cone for themselves. Noel once again displayed her ability to consume faster than the eye could see. Even Rachel was slightly taken aback by it.
"I've been wondering…" Kyo glanced between Ragna and Rachel. "Why do you call her a bunny? It's probably nothing but I've been curious for a while now."
"It is his cute little nickname for me," Rachel answered before Ragna could get a word in. "Personally, I would prefer something more elegant, but it came from the heart, so I allow it."
His face reddened. "Oh, you're in that kind of relationship? So open about it, too…"
"No! And in case you didn't catch that the first time, lemme repeat it– HELL no!" Ragna exclaimed.
Kyo cast dubious eyes on him. "I dunno… Isn't it, like, when a guy or girl denies this kinda stuff, it's actually the opposite?"
"Shit on television doesn't actually…" Ragna wanted to finish that statement but couldn't. Here they were, in another world, using powers and fighting monsters straight out of fiction. "Y'know what, fuck it. Let's just get to it, yeah?" He steeled himself. "How do we find the Observer? You said there are multiple ways."
"Indeed." Rachel finished the remainder of her cone and dabbed at her mouth. "The nature of a world is tailored to the Observer. As I'm sure you have come to notice, visually, the area does not appear out of the ordinary, yes?" Receiving nods, she proceeded. "A lot can be deduced from the naturality of it. In a situation like a Bounded Field, an Observer with decent skill could have tipped the battle more in the Nightmare's favor. Perhaps by separating us, shifting space, applying special conditions, so on."
"It sounds more and more like they don't know what they're doing." Noel was beginning to favor Ragna's previous suggestion of just scouring the area for places of intense observation to bait out the Observer.
"As aggravating as it is, this is still their world. In a way, it makes them more dangerous. A simple shift in psyche might bring uncontrollable results."
"Um, why does their psyche matter?"
"Hm. I suppose I have yet to mention the ins and outs of observation. It is all about mental strength. Be it shaped by good or evil, one improves their ability to observe with practice. Anyone can do it, but not everyone can."
Ragna doubted it but asked the burning question regardless. "Can Noel and I do it?"
"You can try," was an answer he wasn't expecting.
"Seriously?"
She shrugged. "As you look completely lost, I highly doubt anything will come of it if you can't even grasp the concept. It also takes a certain mindset. One unafraid of fixing events to your liking, regardless of the consequences."
That didn't sound good. "Does observing something have downsides? You said it's mental, right? Does that mean it can cause, like, headaches and stuff?" Kyo wondered.
"To keep it simple, yes. Observation takes energy, and depending on the range and intensity, that can vary. Overuse and misuse can lead to a variety of complications. You may even die."
"Die?!" he gasped.
Ragna grimaced as several gory images flashed through his mind. "That turned super grim quick…"
"If there are risks that dangerous, who would do it?" Noel questioned.
"Yeah. The Observer must be out of their fucking mind."
Rachel made a face. "This Observer is probably unaware of the risks. Then again, I doubt they are fully sane."
"But I think we've learned a couple things!" Noel winced when everyone focused on her. "W-well, we know the Observer hasn't gotten used to their powers, the range of their observation is pretty small, and the intensity of interference, even when focused, is manageable. At least, that's what I believe Rachel was getting at."
"Precisely. Well done, Noel," came genuine praise from Rachel.
Blushing, she bowed. "T-thank you!"
Ragna's head tilted. "We got all that from walking around? I wish I could sense this crap like you can."
"Oh, um, it wasn't all from that. I was mostly just listening to the explanations Rachel's given."
"I-I see." Ragna felt like more of a dumbass by the second. Here he thought they were in a similar boat but Noel was picking up on this faster than he expected, and clearly Rachel thought the same.
"Good girl. See what happens when you pay attention? Perhaps apply a modicum of critical thinking?" Rachel wore a smug grin.
"Piss off," Ragna spat.
"I'm done!" Emy cheerfully emerged from the kitchen into the living room where they all convened. "I think I like this place more."
Kyo sported a soft smile. "I'm glad you do."
"You won't be going out again, right?"
He exchanged glances with his newfound allies. "Not for right now. We'll probably be getting ready soon, though."
Emy looked dismayed. "I see. Can we play a little before then?"
"You have time." Rachel cut in before Kyo could turn her down. "I have something I wish to verify, and it may take some time."
"Cool." Kyo rose to his feet, following his hyper sister out of the living room.
"Want us to tag along?" Ragna offered, but she rejected him and left the residence with the promise to return soon. "I can never read her… What does she want to verify?"
"Maybe Rachel noticed something we didn't?" Noel assumed.
"Possibly. By the way, everything okay?" Noel made a face, clearly confused about what he was getting at. "You've been oddly tense since we stepped in."
"M-me?" Noel pointed to herself.
"Who else?"
"I don't feel tense, though." Noel didn't notice until Ragna pointed out her apparent nervousness, but her palms were rather sweaty. Wiping them off on her skirt helped none. "I-I think I'll go use the bathroom." Asking Kyo for directions, she thanked him and hurried down the hall.
"I suppose it shouldn't be too odd she's anxious," Ragna muttered to himself. With nothing for him to do but kill time, he stretched out on the couch and shut his eyes. A peculiar but familiar sound opened them back up. Strings being strung and tested, the creaks of tightening and adjustment. Kyo sat beside his sister while fine-tuning a rather nice acoustic guitar.
"This is standard tuning, right?" Emy questioned.
"That's right." Kyo felt a presence and looked over his shoulder at Ragna closing in.
"You play?"
The query widened his eyes. "Do you?"
"Used to. Not acoustic, though. I've got an electric guitar back home but it's been collecting dust for a while now. How many years?"
"Have I been playing? Maybe… one? Actually, scratch that. A little over nine months. I got it because, you know, girls like a guy who can play an instrument. Sucked at it, put it down, but Emy wanted to learn, so I picked it back up."
"I guess you got what you wanted," Ragna smirked.
"Yep! I love my big brother!" Emy smiled big.
Kyo scratched his red cheek. "Hey, c'mon, that's embarrassing. Let's get to your lesson for today. Ready for bar chords?"
"Yeah!"
"Do you know what bar chords are?" Kyo pressed.
"Nope!"
Both of them sweatdropped. "At least she's enthusiastic," Ragna commented.
"Haha… Lemme show you." Kyo demonstrated how one properly held a guitar, where the thumb went behind the neck, and showed why, when asked, wrapping it around the neck wasn't effective. Emy nodded, and he went on to lay his index finger across the first fret. "Performing a bar chord, you wanna press down hard, then strum." Kyo dragged his fingers along the strings, performing a simple melody. "If you don't, well…" He demonstrated, and the basic melody performed previously was stunted.
"You wanna use the edge of your index finger, by the way." Ragna's sudden interjection made his head tilt.
"The edge?" Kyo echoed.
"It's easier. A lot of learning guitarists get stumped when trying bar chords because the positioning of their index finger is completely wrong. Of course bar chords take some getting used to, but I've seen people not use the edge of the fingers, like you, and instead, the flat. Which makes sense, it feels natural, right?"
"Are you not supposed to?" Emy wondered.
"You can do whatever you want. Just, look. You mind?" Ragna held out his hands and Kyo surrendered the guitar. Explaining would only get him so far and he had enough of that today. Doing, to him, was the most effective teaching method. "If you don't apply proper pressure when trying bar chords for the first time, strings can get caught in the joints. See your finger grooves? Really effs it up."
A big question mark appeared above Emy's head. "Effs?"
"Er, not important." Ragna kept in mind to lessen his swears around a kid. "The edge of your finger is way bonier. Meaning you won't have to apply as much pressure when holding the chord, unlike using the flat where it's softer." He performed the difference, strumming several chords in succession. A good two years passed since the last time he picked up his guitar but the basics and a few chords he liked stuck with him over the period. Once Ragna finished his display, he handed Kyo back the instrument and watched him quickly pick up and perform how he instructed. "See? Easier, yeah?"
"A little weird, but yeah, way easier! A lot of the videos I watch use the flat of the index."
"Keep in mind those guys have been playing for a long-ass time. Their calluses have had time to develop. This is just a true rule for learning anything, but don't try to simply imitate what someone else does just because they're a pro. It works for them because they've spent a ton of time doing it. Try to adjust their teachings to how you wanna play and your current skill level."
"I see… You're cooler than I thought! Can you help me with this one song?" Kyo took out his phone and searched the song up along with its notes. Ragna motioned him to hand the phone so he could read it. "I've been trying to learn it but I can't get past the first couple notes."
"Have you tried number notation?" Ragna took his dumbfounded expression as a no. "Honestly, it's a lot easier. Tells you where to put your fingers." He quickly searched up a number notation tab on the song and showed it to Kyo. "See how it says 'two' here on the G chord? It indicates where you place your finger on the second fret of that chord. Now, for the rest of it…"
Ragna began instructing both siblings on the tab's chord progression. It brought back the love he used to have for playing guitar in his room, just vibing to music. Distracted by tutoring the kids, he'd forgotten about Noel who stood just outside the room with a hand over her heart and a troubled look in her eyes.
Life got in the way but here it is! Another busy month ahead but I want to get the next chapter out by the end of the month. It will definitely be on the longer side, so stay tuned for the next one. Once again, plugging in I stream on YouTube!
Beta-reader Wild Blue Sonder is in charge of assisting in thus chapter. She's great!
See you guys next chapter.