Chapter 94:Thread Cutter: Beneath the Reaper's Veil
Taking Stephen's words to heart, I concentrated on the task at hand: finding Moraine and Catalina. Opening my eyes, I noticed June's perplexed look, prompting me to ask, "What?"
"Nothing, it's just that you were glowing. Uhm, are you done? Can we begin moving now?" June spoke in a hurry, suggesting we split up, but I raised my hand for her to stop.
"Never mind all of that; I need you to shoot out two aetheric blasts in that direction, and I will do the same in the opposite two." I spoke, already preparing my blasts.
June looked at me for a short while before doing what I asked. We shot raw aetheric energy blasts in the two opposite directions, causing four huge explosions to ring out almost simultaneously. Quickly reacting, I closed my eyes and poured aether from my mutated elemental soul into my ears. The results were amazing; it was like a whole new ability, far superior to the one I used back home. There, I would use sound waves to track my enemies. This one allowed me to use sound as my secondary vision.
Finn once told me about magical beasts that were blind but could still see because of their sound-based abilities. By producing sound waves, I can now interpret the returning echoes to create a mental map of the environment. This can grant me a form of echolocation, allowing me to navigate, detect objects, and even sense movement around me. The effectiveness of what I have decided to call sonar scanning abilities could be influenced by factors such as the frequency of emitted waves, their power, and my skill in interpreting the received information. There is no one that has had enough practice of interpreting sound waves. This was part of how-to-become-a-konqueror training. Funny how I got abilities related to that. Honestly, at first, I thought that I would awaken a destructive element, but look at me now. But I can feel that there is more to this power, and I will dig out its potential.
The echoes from the two explosions allowed me to create a perfect map of the surroundings. Within the echoes of the explosions, a sound wave—a faint black and red sound wave—was entangled. It was represented by deep red sound waves (representing sound made by human activity). This meant that the faint black and red sound waves indicated the location where Moraine, Catalina, and possibly all the hollows of Reaper's Nest were.
The desolate land stretched beyond the small hill, a barren expanse reminiscent of the land of death itself. June's blast had left an eerie silence, broken only by the distant whispers of the wind. As I stepped through the tear, the darkness enveloped us, revealing a haunting scene. Skeletal remains, remnants of those who dared challenge the Reaper's Nest, littered the desolate hill like grim monuments to their fate. The air carried a heavy sense of foreboding, and the desolation echoed the merciless nature of the Reaper's Nest. But there was still no sight of the hollows or Moraine and Catalina. I checked the mental map once again, and it showed that this was the place where those two sound waves originated, but looking around, there was nothing in sight.
June broke the silence, "You should stop dragging me without warning. Anyways, what are we doing here? There's nothing in sight."
"I'm sorry; I will warn you next time. I believe this is where Moraine is," I assured her, though doubt lingered in her eyes.
"But, Steph, there's nothing here—just bones and skulls. We shouldn't be wasting time." June voiced her rational thoughts, but I was confident that this is where Moraine was.
"What if they are below us? I suggest you try listening to what's below," Stephen suggested as he too had been listening to our conversation. Acting upon his advice, I unleashed a compact burst of aether directly at the hill's foundation. Remarkably, as the echoes reverberated, I honed in on the sound wave generated by my modest blast. To my surprise, the auditory pulse not only extended downward, penetrating the hill's surface but also persisted, delving into the depths below. The map of the underground structure below the hill was quickly being crafted into my mind; the small hill was like a small entrance to the tunnel system right underground. The echoes stopped, but not before I had completed my map, and I had also found the people we were searching for, but sadly I could not use broken steps to get into the underground tunnels.
I broke the silence. "I found them; they are right below us. This hill we are standing on is the entrance to an underground tunnel system that spreads wide and far; let's get going." June looked at me perplexed before asking, "Have you developed a form of echolocation? I mean that would explain why you wanted us to cause so much noise." I nodded with a gentle acknowledgment and set off towards the hill's base, June trailing behind me and murmuring something about my lack of gentlemanly behavior. Arriving at the foot of the hill, we began delicately sifting through the scattered bones and rugged rocks, meticulously clearing the entrance. As the dust settled, a concealed opening emerged, revealing a narrow tunnel ahead. The passage was just spacious enough for two individuals to walk side by side, beckoning us into the unknown depths beyond.
"Let's go." June's voice echoed through the tunnel as she entered ahead of me. My senses were heightened to their maximum extent, and my aetheric vision was already in full effect as we ventured into the mysterious depths of the tunnel. The path ahead remained shrouded in darkness, concealing the unknown challenges that awaited us. Yet, driven by the imperative to rescue Moraine and Catalina, we pressed forward. Besides, there was an unspoken anticipation for the overdue reunion and catching up with Catalina, adding a personal touch to our journey into the shadows.
Gathered in Lenard's library, the group all sat down with Timothy placed on the lectus, Finn and the rest were trying to come up with ways to prevent the worst possible future Lenard had experienced in Timothy's mind from happening.
Finn broke the silence, "You said that knight used shadow-based abilities right?" Finn glanced towards Lenard with a raised brow.
"Yes, that is correct." Lenard answered, his face failing to mask his confusion.
"The shadow element, one of the many unknown elements and the most bizarre element of them all. I believe you have been taught a thing or two about this particular unknown element, my friend?" Finn asked Lenard, who was now looking at his mug of wine.
"Umbral Manipulation, Shadow Weaving, Eclipse Form, Shadow Travel; these were the abilities that my ancestors were able to record. No one was able to defeat that person, but do you think this is the same person from back then?" Lenard asked.
Finn shook his head, "No, but I believe he might be a descendant of that person. Here is my take: if those shadows work the same as the ones used by him, then we might devise a way to deal with him, I think." Finn spoke, uncertainty about his own words.
Lenard gulped down his wine and chuckled a bit, "Not only him, King Amadeus is going to die, and I suspect that Romano and Baichun are the ones that will be responsible for the deaths of him and the rest of the citizens. I think I know something we can do...but Amadeus is going to get mad about it. Ayayayaya, I'm in so much trouble." The rest of the group shook their heads at Lenard's behavior.
"Are you not going to share the plan?" Elaine asked.
"No, I'm not. Finn, let's go; there is no time to waste. As for the rest of you, I need you to look after my student and do not disturb him. If you want wine, you can go and buy yours." With that, Lenard grabbed Finn, and they exited the room, leaving everyone else perplexed.
"Where the hell are you taking us?" Finn asked.
"How fast can your mount go?" Lenard asked back.
Finn raised his brow, "Why? Where are we going, Lenard?"
"To get help, Finn, we need to stop the wedding before it can even start. We can't possibly devise a way to defeat all three of our possible enemies in such a short amount of time, but we can change our destiny. After your supposed death, I lost my will to live; I lost everything. I could not even reciprocate my feelings for the woman I loved for years. I did not mind dying, Finn. I have no family left. I felt dead inside, but when I saw you at my doorstep, even though I was drunk, I felt alive again. And now that I have my student and my brother is back, I do not want to die anymore. I finally have found a reason to live again." These words evoked a mixture of emotions in Finn, ranging from surprise and gratitude to a profound sense of responsibility and connection. Learning about Lenard's struggles, the impact of his presence, and the newfound reason to live made Finn feel a deep sense of purpose and importance in their shared journey.
"I hear you, brother. Let us go and get help." Finn and Lenard quickly made their way to the landing platform where mounts are kept in hopes of saving the day in time.