ATREUS
I sense it before I even see it.
'So its death.' I shiver in pure terror at the immense mana signature of the Abyssal one. The monster is miles away from us of course however its mana signature is like a beacon for us all Zeke grinds his teeth beside me Subaru is just standing in place frozen like the statues of the forgotten city.
"F-forward." I say sounding small and pathetic to my own ears.
I breath in and out once more. I summoned the Ire in my heart and roared.
"I said forward goddammit!!!" Issei acted first as our fastest runner it was his job to carry the slowest among us in my group's case that was Rachel.
"Raven carry Ben Rufus carry Jin!!" I barked then I rushed forward behind Issei who was still faster than me even though he was carrying another person.
I see Zeke and Caera covering our backs in case of an attack from behind and smile.
'I didn't even have to say anything to those two.'
Then I see Issei begin to slow?
'Wait what's going on.' Then I realised it when blinding pain assaulted my bare bandaged feet. My shoes had rotted off without without me even realising it.
I looked down already knowing what I would see. What I saw bellow my now bleeding feet was sick like green slug.
"Its because of the miasma that the Abyssal one is emitting!!" I shouted in panic.
"Rufus black water!!." Zeke shouted as Rufus began gathering mana at the centre of his palm black water tinged with purple began trickling between Rufus's fingers and the that trickle slowly turned into a flood. The black water rushed beneath our feet slowing the the miasma slightly.
"Arcane magic sure is cool I wish I was arcane as well.'
"Rachel Divine light Caera its sailing time." I barked at the two girls as golden light began gathering around Rachel and Issei.
Then Caera and I began the sailing the wind around us whistled as the black water beneath our feet began to be tinged by golden crystals.
"Everyone make sure you're on the platform." Zeke said while grimacing Subaru helped Rufus and Jin onto the platform Caera and I raised our hands ready to summon the wind.
"Wait." Rufus said. I raise an eyebrow at him something we all learned to do even though we're covered with bandages.
But he merely shrugged.
"We should say something before we leave for good after all... this place has been our home for eight years." We're all fall silent not knowing what to say.
Then after a few moments Jin rasped.
"As a familiar desert fades, today ten shadows flee for a new land, their hearts having what they leave behind." My eyes felt hot slightly so I wiped them then I saw a wet stain on my bandaged hand.
'Ah....tears? I didn't know I could still shed them.'
My friends and I look at the place we've called home for eight years for one last time. Knowing that we're glad to be free of it.
"Let go." I say to Caera.
As Caera and I wave our hands forward the platform began to move at first it was moving at snails pace but as we strained our small bodies and pushed harder the wind around us whistled even louder as the platform began to move at a high speed.
Caera, Rufus and I continued to wave our hands controlling what Rachel's mother called the free elements. As I continued to wave my hands forward my thoughts wondered of to our magic lesson's with Mr World.
'Atreus and Arthur you're both what we call perfect balance mages, meaning that both of you were born with two elements that compliment each other.' He had said to Arthur and I once. I remember thinking how special I was despite being a coursed child and who could blame me born with the ability to control both fire and wind.
I laid down on the golden platform exhausted we decided to let the water Rufus had summoned do its course. Rufus's water magic devoured everything around it and continued to push us forward.
"Are you out of mana?" Caera asked me. I tried to nod but I found difficult so I simply gave her a thumbs up.
She sighed and sat next to me as Jin joined to rest beside me.
I turned my head to look at my black-haired friend.
"Was that a poem you were reciting?" I asked curious as to where Jin had learned to recite such beautiful words.
"My mother said it was something called a haiku from her....our homeland." Jin said with some apprehension after all none of us had ever stepped foot on the place our parents called home.
'That's why we named ourselves thecoursed children under heaven.'
Because we were cursed with no real home to speak of even the Forgotten City cant be called our home because according to my mother none of us were bon the.
I nodded at him and we soon fell silent enjoying the whistling of the far wind which I found to be the most calming thing in the known cosmos.
'If I could just hear the whistling of the far wind I could even face a god in battle.' I thought jokingly as I closed my eyes.
"Atr-eus, Atreus." Somebody was shaking me violently I'm seeing stars I struggle to my feet. I wiped my eyes and the first thing I saw was Zeke's grey eyes staring at me.
"What's happened?" I asked feeling well rested.
Zeke smiled at me a rare thing for him to do. I raised and eyebrow.
"He's awake." Zeke said in an excited voice.
"Wait Ben!" I glanced at the spot on the platform where Rufus had placed Ben and I am stunned because I see Jin kneeling at Ben's side.
Before I could move towards them however I heard a monstrous earth shattering roar that made me freeze in place.
"Holy Lord of Hope." I murmured not understanding what I was seeing because above us was a giant red.
'What did Rufus's mother call them again.'
"A dragon." Rufus murmured next to me I turned to look at him but his eyes were fixed on the giant red beast.
The beast was at least as big as the gods head which Mr World had said with confidence was as big as the western continent of our parents homeland with scales redder than the crimson desert, giant wings that cast a shadow over me and my friends even from where I stood I could tell that the beasts wings were as long as my mother was tall.
'And she was taller than Mr world.'
Me and my friends are stunned into silence and gawking at the monstrous size of the red beast.
It took at least two hours for the beast to fly past us. I could not shake the feeling that the beast did not belong here I could sense that the wind around the red dragon was some how unique as well.
'Focus.' I told myself I had no time to worry about the red dread or whatever the giant's name was.
"How long was I asleep." I asked to no one in particular.
"Six hours." Caera said while counting with her fingers.
"Has your mana recovered?" Jin asked while moving towards me. I glanced at him and saw Ben on his back grinding his teeth.
"Put me down Jin!" Ben said in tired angry voice. But Jin merely shook his head. "And then what?" Jin asked smugly. "Let our dear hero perish, because without me little cowboy you'd be for the grey warms."
"So what should I what prostrate before you?" Ben asked with a chuckle.
"Once you're able to walk." Jin answered.
'Finally we have Ben back he cant walk and all but his back and we could use his amazing vision.' I thought in joyous glee if it went for the fact that we were in this coursed land I would be jumping up and down.
"Wait a moment." Issei said interrupting the two boys conversation. "Am I the only one who cares that a freaking dragon just flew past us."
"Is that all I thought he would say something more important." Ben said sounding bored. Caera looked at me and smirked. "I agree with Ben." I sighed and ignored them all and looked at the sky and muttered. "Where is it?"
My friends continue to chat amongst each other happily accept for....me Zeke and Subaru we just continue staring at the sky in silence for our destination.
After nearly two hours of staring at the crimson sky of this cursed land.
"I can see it." Ben drawled. As I heard the sound of Issei, Jin, Rufus and Raven high five each other. I sighed and turned to look at Ben my friend looked tired his blond hair was a mass and it was covered in sweat his blue eyes looked to be drained of their previous brilliance.
"How long will it take us to get there." Subaru asked sternly.
Ben sighed and drawled. "Ten minutes, in ten minutes you should all be able to see our last stop in this coursed world." He paused as if considering something then he just set down on the golden moving platform without saying a word.
The far wind continued to whistle around us. Rufus's black water was now like what my mother had once described the sea to look like and as long the was miasma around us the black water would continue to expend.
"Hey Viole are you sure you cant control all of.....this?" Ben asked. I glanced him to see that he was gesturing to the ever expending black water.
Rufus ground his teeth like Zeke and spat. "No! and stop calling me by that stupid nickname it might stick."
I sighed and tuned out their stupid argument.
'I wonder what this Pangea place is like.' I wondered to myself. Although my mother had told me a lot about for example the fact that Pangea was created by gods and that every continent and their nations believed in different gods such the Lord of Hope for the nation my mom is from.
'But if these all powerful gods were real why aren't they here to save me and my friend.' I thought in pure anger.
Ten long minutes later I find myself staring at a giant black cross covered in miasma we could reach the cross within an hour at our current speed. I looked around its as Mr World said the are no monsters beyond the gods head.
'Other than that dragon that clearly didn't belong here.'
So I decided not to risk the lives of my friends.
"Caera its sailing time!" I barked all my friend regarded me for a moment before she nodded and the two of us began commanding the wind to push us forward even faster.
I furiously swung my hands forward causing Zeke's golden platform to shake Issei nearly falls over bored but Subaru caught him in time. Then long golden spikes began protruding from the platform. I smiled inwardly at Zeke's quick thinking.
"Hold on to these everyone if you don't wish to drown." He shouted the wind around me causing his voice to echo.
After thirty minutes or so of ruff sailing Caera and I decide to stop because it was no use I smiled for the first time in a long while.
'We've made it mom...we've made it Mr World.' I thought with relief.
Right in front of Caera and I lay what Mr World called a "shore".
We all stepped our bandaged feet on the mysterious white sand of the last shore.
"Its really white.... like the white bay of Britannia mom talked about." Caera said with a toothy grin.
My friends and I all moved forward together with smiles on our faces.
Then I hear a strange sound caried by the far wind. I try to ignore it but it doesn't go away then I flinch in realisation.
'Its not strange sounds its a name.' And I know that name.
"Tenma!!Tenma." I smiled ready to embrace my friend but for the love of god I cant seem to pinpoint he is coming from.
'And who the heck is shouting his name.'
"Jaeha?" Subaru murmured Lin's nickname in surprise. Issei looked around in confusion, Raven scratched the back of his head and the rest of my friends stared around in confusion like Issei.
I looked up at the sky.
'Nothing.'
I looked behind.
'Nothing.'
The I felt the ground bellow us tremble. Then I see something around the white sand a black and white energy then I looked at Caera and Rufus. Caera nodded and Rufus smiled as I began running like mad toward the giant black cross my friends following behind.
"INVICTUS!!" Rufus and I bellowed as we watched in both amazement and horror as an Abyssal monster emerged beneath the white sands of the last shore it four arms ready to grab and tare its sick grey, human like body covered in black white aura.
Then bellow the feet of that monster emerged a black and white dragon covered in gold and silver armour but that's no dragon.
"INVICTUS!!" I bellowed once more rushing toward freedom