Kalon

  Chapter Ninety: Ukar Ada

  Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant

  Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation

  Solar System: D-447

  Planet: Ora

  Location: The planet's surface

  ***

  Realm of Dreams

  ***

  My eyes look out upon the changing landscape of the Realm of Dreams. Krotha has shaped a mountain from the island, the raging seas crash against it to no avail as she pulls it higher into the skies, trying to breach the clouds. I have tried countless times to call Maka to resonate with my will and barely a flicker of movement is all I can manage after all this torment. I have tried in vain many times to call Leora and Amara. Krotha is somehow blocking them, making my Realm of Dreams bend to her will.

  “Why do you do this?” I ask her as she weaves threads of complex Maka that fold in on themselves and build towards new ones. She does not answer, having told me earlier that a blade does not speak unless spoken to.

  My head rolls to the side, and after taking a deep breath I manage to stand. Weariness does not describe the feeling adequately.

  “Your potential is limitless,” she says, whipping her hand in a fluid motion, “Soon you may even be strong enough to carry my Legacy,” a smile forms at the edge of her lip, exposing her sharp canines, “I have not had a good blade in more than a thousand years.”

  “Make a blade too sharp and risk cutting yourself,” I say defiantly.

  Her lip curls more.

  “Interesting,” she says, giving a glance at me, there is no malice for a brief moment, “A sentiment I once related to,” she turns, back toward her creation of spindling threads of Maka, it is like a tapestry in the skies above, “Sadly your will, shall never be sharp enough to cut me, blade.”

  “Ukar Ada,” I say in the old tongue.

  “We shall see, indeed,” she says, turning towards me, she places her hand on my face pushing me back just like Leora did, I feel the swell of intention pulling towards my physical body in the Realm of Reality. Finally, a reprieve.

  ***

  Realm of Reality

  ***

  “Stay with me,” Luna says rocking my body back and forth.

  I feel the pain seeping into my body, my muscles twitching and contracting, my nerves all firing at once. This time is different though, this time I have more resolve, something that can pull my focus from the despair of pain. Something that makes my mind embrace the pain instead, calling it to focus me. Looking down, I see that my body is covered in dark ichor throbbing and twisting across my frame, wrapping my entire body in a cocoon.

  Luna hums a tune into my ear as my flesh tears under my skin, darkness filling it back in. As she rocks me back with tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, she whispers to me between the breaks in the tune.

  “Do not die… hold on… please…”

  Barely hearing her words, the hum falling to the back of my thoughts as I focus past the pain. I need to speak, I need to ask Luna more about the boundaries, and I need to find a way to expel Krotha again. If it is like Luna and the Sage said, the Spiritual Realm, I need to retake it, I need the tools, what should I ask? Does she even know? My eyes trace over to the Cursed Edict, still glowing maliciously crimson.

  “How do I defeat her?” I ask, my voice is raspy and weak.

  Luna looks down, blinking quickly, just now realizing I am awake. Before she can answer, I feel something approaching, Luna’s head jerks towards the entrance to the cave, my eyes look up at the ceiling, the light of day barely dancing in the ice. My eyes fall back to the entrance again, I want to stand, but I am so weak right now. Even breathing is taxing. A voice hits the air as almost silent footsteps approach slowly.

  “The question should not be how to defeat her, but how to use her more effectively,” the voice says, the owner stepping into the fading light. A wide-brimmed hat hangs low, almost covering the striking amber eyes that have a glint in them. My eyes squint at the man I recognize from the night before, it is strange though, in the light of day, his skin appears to be blue. I could not tell before, the hue of the crimson moons had hidden this from me.

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  Looking over at Luna, I see her eyes are wide, fixed on the man. So, I am not imagining him then. But why is he returning now and not before? The man steps closer, and Luna’s hand reaches for the blade of light’s hilt on her belt, I can feel her unsteady breath. It calms when the man throws a bag towards us, skidding across the ice. On the bag in the Theocratic Standard tongue, I see words written on it, Emergency Survival Kit, it bears the same logo as the Talum Merchant Federation. The scorch marks on it tell me it was probably from the ship we crashed on.

  He turns now and sits upon a piece of ice that juts from the ground. Around his shoulders he wears a tattered cloak, from it he pulls a small metal cup. From his waist, he pulls a small pouch of a strange purple powder that he pours into the cup. He breaks a piece of ice from the wall and puts it into the cup. Within moments it steams.

  “The one who torments you is very old and very wise,” he says pensively, swirling the liquid in the cup, steam rising higher now, “One should always seek to learn from those who can teach.”

  He slides the cup across the ground towards Luna and me.

  “Drink, it will help,” he says.

  Luna looks at the cup and then back to me, she does not trust him. He has already helped us before though, if he wanted us dead he could have let the Shulka do it. My hand grasps the cup he offered, peering into the deep purple liquid, flecks of silver in it catch the light. The man gives me a simple nod, his eyes are fierce in contrast to his serene face.

  “Kalon, don’t drink…” she begins, but stops as I drink it in one go.

  It is almost tasteless, with an undertone of bitterness. The heat from it feels good as it rolls into my stomach.

  She lets out a worried groan, “It could be poisoned.”

  A weak chuckle falls from my lips.

  “If he wanted us dead, we would be,” I say, giving him a light bow, “Thank you.”

  He gives another light nod in response before making a cup for himself of the same liquid. My eyes blink faster as I feel a burning warmth spreading through me. Looking down, I see the black ichor beginning to recede rapidly. Luna peels my shirt back to inspect. She gives a wary glance towards the man who now sips from his steaming cup.

  “You spoke of the one who torments me,” I begin, feeling lighter now, less pain racking my body, “What else do you know of her?”

  The man’s eyes level with mine at the edge of the brim of his hat before he looks down and takes another sip of the strange liquid.

  “You ask again the wrong question,” he says, standing up now.

  “Who are you?” Luna asks, more cautious as he turns to look at us.

  “Tavjac, of the Mordow,” he says, my eyes trace his skin again, a deep blue.

  Luna's eyes widen as her brow furrows, “Tavjac… but then.” She turns behind us, then whips her head back. My eyes follow where hers were, the spot she had left the Cursed Edict, but there is nothing there now. My head turns to follow back to the man, in his hand is the Cursed Edict, silent in its black box form. How did he get it? He never came close to it… did he? Tavjac tucks it behind his cloak. My body tenses, I don’t care about the Edict, but Luna does. If she tries to fight this man for it, we will die.

  “The Sage…” she looks at me for a moment then back at him, “Does he live?”

  Tavjac looks at me instead, his eyes measuring me curiously as they first did.

  “When you learn what the right question is, perhaps we will meet again,” he says, moving towards the entrance.

  Luna lets me go, jumping to her feet to chase after him. With a groan, I find my footing and stagger after her.

  “Wait!” she yells outside the cave. My eyes adjust to the fading light. There is no one besides her outside, he has vanished, “Please, come back… does he live?”

  She falls to her knees, overwhelmed with what feels like grief mixed with other things. She turns to me, tears streaming down her face and crystalizing in the cold, becoming flakes of ice upon the howling winds.

  “We need to prepare for nightfall,” I say, my teeth chattering. The cold nips unpleasantly at the holes in what’s left of my garb. The chill will become much worse soon. The warmth from the drink is beginning to fade, “You can feel sorry for yourself later.”

  I too have questions for the strange man, why did he take the Cursed Edict? Why did Luna seem to know his name and not react negatively to him taking it? What is the right question? The way he spoke reminded me of the riddles the Sage would give Arrum and me as boys. Why has Krotha been silent? I find myself looking down at my hands, waiting to see the Edict finding its way into them, yet they are empty.

  “Luna,” I say louder this time. Leaning against the ice cave’s entrance. She does not move, her face filled with mixed emotions still. My teeth grit as I push off the wall and stumble towards her, managing to lean into the wind to hold me upright. My entire body shivering violently in its torrents, I kneel next to her, putting my forehead against hers, “We need to prepare, I do not plan to die here.”

  Her eyes trace into mine, steam coming from her shoulders and her breath, she closes her eyes and pulls me into her warm embrace before standing. With another groan I stand with her, reluctantly taking the arm she extends to balance me.

  “Collapse the entrance, with at least three paces of ice,” I say after we enter the cave, hoping it will be enough. Nekam taught us that if we are stuck in the ice and can't make it back before nightfall, the only prayer we have is to bury ourselves and hope that we can dig out the next day. With Luna’s strength, there is no doubt that we can. My eyes trace down to my hands again, still empty. Am I free? I do not feel Krotha on the edges of my perception either, what did he give me to drink? I need to focus.

  I sit with my back against the cave wall while she opens the bag he left us, “Luna, you need to collapse the entrance to the cave, I cannot fight like this.”

  “I will, after,” she says, sifting through the contents, her hand pulling some type of device out, “If I can launch this high enough, I can send a signal.” She nods to herself, “She will come, she always does.”

  “Who?” I ask, but she doesn’t answer as she heads for the entrance of the cave, turning before she leaves she says, “I saw a mountain, I can be there and back within an hour, hopefully, there are therm supplies in the bag and food with a water purifier, we may need to ration so don’t eat too much, I don’t know how long it will take her to get here.”

  Before I can speak she leaves the cave, Vek, she could have done it tomorrow. The suns have nearly set and she is a Shulka beacon. My hands tighten as my irritation flares. She is usually more rational. Part of me thinks she wants to climb the mountain to look for the man again, to sate her obsession with finding the Sage.

  Letting out deep breaths, I move towards the bag, about to reach my hand out toward it when I feel something dreadful coming from deep within me. My hand moves towards my sides, my ribs feeling like they are splitting. My other hand moves to my temple as I fall to my side, my vision blurring from white hot pain throbbing in my body… the drink… was it poisoned?

  Letting out a loud groan, I try to return to my knees, but cannot. My vision fades as darkness crawls across it.

  [ Important Notice ]

  If you want to read the full version of the next chapter, you will have to do it on Patreon.

  It is available now for free members. Chapter 91.

  I will post the redacted version of it here on Royal Road later this week.

  The reason it is redacted is because it has explicit sexual content.

  Royal Road removes stories with sexual content from a lot of Mobile viewer lists, therefore, I'm posting it to Patreon.

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