Book 3, chapter 27

Zee and Greg crept silently through the dense foliage of the ancient city. The spire loomed large overhead, casting an ominous shadow over the city. It pierced the yellow Smaug overhead, like an obsidian spear reaching for the stars.

The tranquil silence of the ancient city was shattered as screams echoed through the streets.

Crouching low in the shadows of an overgrown alley, the large Armenian gestured her forward. Moving without so much as a scuff of leather on stone, she crept to the mouth of the alley, peering out.

Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes landed on that giant bear from a few weeks ago. On all fours, the bear reached at least nine feet at the shoulder, dwarfing its dark-scaled attackers arrayed in a loose circle around it.

Even with twenty-to-one odds, the bear had a clear advantage in terms of size, strength, and overall power.

Despite being attacked from all sides, the ursine was ripping apart a war party of lizard-like humanoids. As she watched, the bear swiped at one of the diminutive creatures. That one swipe crushed its chest and sent it flying over two dozen meters through the air, crunching loudly, even splintering the stone wall.

It wasn't a fight, but a one-sided slaughter, each swipe of the bear's paw cutting its victims to ribbons, or crushing bone. The lizard people did their best to attack back but it was like toddlers trying to swarm an adult.

Arrows, spears, and even fireballs slammed into its crackling fur, not leaving more than a few flesh wounds, shallow scratches, and burns that just pissed it off.

Taking a fireball the size of a barrel to the face, the bear roared. With a surge, its fur released arcs of energy, as it shed the flames to reveal eyes, tinged with murderous intent.

The fireball had some real power behind it, infuse with some incite into fire, and yet it only scorched the skin and fur.

Zee swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, as the bear tore a lizard caster's head off with its teeth. At that moment, she felt incredibly lucky. When she saw the bear for the first time, she knew it was strong. But she had never expected it to be this powerful.

It was a true beast king, at the peak of E grade, the strongest monster she had ever seen. Heart thudding loudly in her chest she ducked back into the alley, whispering softly.

"Let's go before it finishes them off," Zee said, nervously.

Greg nodded in agreement, his face a bit pale, a mirror of her own as they retreated back down the alley as quietly as possible. Zee was all for fighting powerful monsters, but she wasn't suicidal.

That bear was far above what they could deal with. They could fight it sure, but even if they did win, there would surely be casualties.

It was not like they needed to kill it. According to Pikar, the bear had been around a long time, and it even avoided rift walker territory for the most part.

Given that this part of the inner city was Rift Walker territory, the bear shouldn't have been here. Unless you account for that squad of lizard men. Zee suspected it was only here because it was chasing those scaly meals on legs.

The thought made her smile. She felt some gratification that those little jerks got a taste of their own medicine. After some of those creatures nearly killed Yukna, she didn't really care if they got eaten by a bear.

With Greg in tow, she slipped through the silent streets, navigating the city by using the spire as a reference.

The tower was made of a mirror-smooth pitch-black metal, with no windows or doors. The spire had smooth sides, that tapered out to sharp points, giving some reference to where she was in relation to their team.

Over the two weeks, they had searched the opulent buildings around the base of the spire. As expected, the riches in the inner city were some good things, though Zee didn't get any of the best ones.

After taking the race-boosting concoction, she was firmly at the bottom of the list for a while. That was fine though, Zee was holding off on getting something until they found a concoction, or natural treasure that could help her repair the cracks in her splinter. Besides, the others growing stronger was definitely a good thing.

As they drew closer, the spire loomed ever larger above her. The structure was truly massive, with no sign of wear from the passage of time. Unlike the crumbling city around it, this spire looked like it was freshly built, without even a scratch on its smooth surfaces.

Even after two weeks of no success at entering the place, they circled its base, searching for a door or tunnel in. Having reconnected with the team, she pulled out the astrolabe that Petrie gave her.

"Any change?" Allison asked, reclining on a weather-worn stone wall, tucking a lock of white hair behind her left ear.

Zee shook her head." Nope, It still points right toward the tower."

Allison sighed. "Well, shit. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get inside? All this walking is getting tiresome," Allison said.

"We could try climbing the spire, it might have an entrance at the top," Bastion suggested.

"With what handholds? There are no seams or gaps to hold onto at all," Allison rejected.

"Dern and I could make an explosive that might be able to shatter a hole in the wall," Yukna said, thoughtfully.

Allison shook her head, "I love the enthusiasm dear, but let's hold off on blowing it up until we exhaust our other options," Allison said.

Yukna smiled. "Since we are done searching for an entrance, we will get started on the explosive anyways. Dern, come on, I have an idea on how we can focus the explosive yield to a small area for maximum penetrative power," Yukna said practically skipping away.

Allison watched Dern run after her fiancé with some helplessness. Zee placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry Allie, I'm sure nothing is going on between them," Zee said with an impish grin.

Allison laughed at the ridiculous statement, shaking her head.

"Dern knows good and well that I will turn him to molten slag if he places his grubby gauntlets on Yukna," Allison said.

Zee chuckled. "It's nice to see them bonding. Dern doesn't have many friends," Zee said.

Allison gave her a sideways glance.

"Ya, it is. Though, it does worry me that Yuky is spending so much time with a soul-sucking monster," Allison said.

Bastion butted in. "I thought she already did that. Spending time with nobles and the royal family has to be worse than spending time with a literal monster like Dern"

Allison laughed, much of the tension falling from her face.

"You are probably right." Allison's gaze locked on Zee. "How about you, can you slip in by passing through the outer walls," Allison asked.

Zee grimaced, "I dunno, that tower gives me the creeps," Zee said.

"Come on, it's been over a week of futile searching for a way in. Just give it a try, it's only a tower, it won't bite," Allison said.

"How do you know? With my luck it might," Zee muttered.

Zee didn't like the idea of entering through the wall in the slightest. Hesitant, she walked over and placed her hand on the smooth metal of the spire. Her hair stood on end, as her fingers brushed the warm metal.

It felt completely normal, though the hair-raising sense of danger she got from being so close said otherwise. With a deep breath, her body turned into mist, her vision turning mottled grey, overlaid with the spirit plane.

Moving slowly, her hand phased into the metal wall, up to her elbow. Something inside the tower stirred as if sensing her intrusion, and she felt its attention lock onto her.

Zee quickly pulled her hand back. Even in her mist form, that feeling of a powerful presence was enough to make her skin crawl. Phasing back into the physical plane, she collapsed to her knees next to the tower, gasping.

Allison and Bastion rushed over. "Are you all right?" Bastion asked, concern crossing his face.

Zee took in deep calming breaths, her hands shaking. "I, I am fine," Zee said.

"What just happened," Allison asked, one hand resting on the hilt of her sword, her eyes scanning the area for threats.

"I don't know, it's hard to explain. The tower, it felt like it is alive," Zee said, looking up at the colossal building.

The princess reached over and touched the tower, cocking her head in confusion.

"I don't sense it at all," Allison said.

Bastion copied her, touching the tower as well. "Me either, nothing," Bastion said.

"I don't know what to tell you. I felt what I felt," Zee said pushing herself to her feet. Still a bit off balance, she backed away from the tower, not wanting to experience that chilling sensation again.

Bastion smiled at her. "It's not that we don't believe you. You look pretty frazzled,"

Allison nodded. "Bastion's right, you look like you saw a ghost or something, "Allison said.

Zee let out a nervous laugh. "I don't know what it was, but something is in that tower, and it isn't friendly. I think we should strongly reconsider using an explosive to get in. If we piss that thing off, it might do something drastic," Zee said.

Bastion raised an eyebrow, saying, "But it's a tower, how will it fight back?"

"I have no idea, but I most certainly do not want to find out," Zee said.

Allison let out a weary sigh, groaning. "Well, isn't that just perfect? There is no door, and we can't blow open a hole in the wall."

"You are forgetting my idea to climb the outer wall to the top," Bastion chimed in.

Allison rolled her eyes, gesturing towards the sheer, seamless metal of the tower.

"Be my guest. If you can climb that thing I will eat my boot," Allison said.

Placing his hands on his narrow hips Bastion looked up at the spire, looming hundreds of meters above them.

"I will hold you to that. When I reach the top, I expect you to eat the entire boot," Bastion said, mischievously.

Allison laughed, gesturing towards the solid stone base beneath the tower.

"Again, be my guest," Allison said.

Bastion stroked his chin thoughtfully, his face lighting up. "Well, I am going to find Yukna and Dern, maybe they can help me reach the top," Bastion said, turning on his heel and jogging away.

Zee raised an eyebrow at the princess, noting the smile tugging at her full lips. "You know that turning his ideas down will only make him more determined to do them right?" Zee asked.

Allison nodded, "That is why I do it."

"Ohh, reverse psychology, that's clever," Zee said.

Allison smiled, at patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks, I better go curb their enthusiasm before they blow up something. Are you good here on your own?" Allison asked.

"I'm fine, now," Zee said.

The princess sauntered away, her stride graceful, her lustrous white hair blowing in the gentle breeze behind her.

She watched the woman go, waiting for her to disappear around the corner before she pull a gemlike splinter from her spatial storage. She still had quiet a bit of them after they killed that vixen hive a few weeks back.

Zee flooded the gem with enough energy to make it crack, before tossing it up into the air. The obsidian beast splinter glinted in the soft yellow light before it burst.

A small vortex formed, a hole in reality that consumed all light.

Zee watched on with a helpless expression as the tear, in reality, winked out, leaving spatial ripples behind.

Despite seeing the bizarre phenomenon hundreds of times, she still couldn't make heads or tails of it.

When the splinter burst, it was as if all the energy focused on one spot and forced the tear to open.

Next to her, Pikar appeared, its bald head bobbing in amusement. She had sensed the rift walker watching her before but didn't mention it to the others.

"If you have something to say, then say it," Zee said, annoyed.

"You will never learn to move through dimensions that way," Pikar said, its snake-like tongue darting out from its maw.

The gesture was creepy, Pikar's imitation of a soundless laugh.

"Do tell, if not this way, then how can I learn it?" Zee asked.

The young rift walker's head swiveled as if scanning the area before it leaned in. "You are not a member of the Nest, so I cannot teach you our methods," Pikar said.

Zee expected that, that was why she hadn't asked before.

Pikars verticals maw opened in what she knew was a smile.

"I am not allowed to teach outsiders our nests secrets, and I won't do that. I am simply going to practice my skills. If you were to watch me, I wouldn't get upset by that," Pikar said.

Zee brightened, a grin tugging at her lips.

Without any more preamble, the rift walker disappeared, space folding behind it.

It took a few seconds, but Pikar returned to the same spot, its arrival heralded by a ripple that tugged at her senses.

At her urging, Pikar repeated the same action five more times, each time taking far longer than the first.

With a groan Pikar reappeared, clutching at its head.

"Ugh, that is so draining," Pikar complained.

"How do you fold space like that?" Zee asked.

Pikar shrugged, "Nest secret."

"Would it be possible to take me with you," Zee asked thoughtfully.

Pikar looked dumbfounded. "Uh, that's not a good idea. The other side is not friendly, even for us," Pikar said.

"What do you mean? I thought you transition to a safe dimension when you disappear?" Zee asked.

Pikar's body shook with unbridled laughter.

"You thought that our home dimension was safe? That's absurd! It is not safe at all, even for us rift walkers," Pikar said.

"Is that why you make your nests in this dimension?" Zee asked curiously.

Pikar nodded gravely.

"Most of our hatchlings would not survive in the bitter cold, and deep snow of the tundra," Pikar said.

"So, it is cold and snowy there?" Zee asked curiously.

Pikar nodded. "If you stayed more than a few minutes over there, you would freeze your teeth off. We usually just grab our prey, pull them into the tundra, then let them freeze to death before eating them. Most are dead in under ten minutes," Pikar said.

That sounded like a horrible way to go. And no wonder the rift walkers had white hides. They would be nearly invisible in a snowy environment.

Despite the risks, she was curious. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And besides Dern was with Yukna, not around to talk her out of the risky idea.

"But a few seconds would be fine, right?" Zee insisted.

Pikar hesitated, fidgeting nervously as it glanced around.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. I have never actually brought someone back from the tundra. I usually eat my prey there," Pikar replied.

Zee raised an eyebrow. " You know, your casual mention of dragging people to freeze to death, makes me reconsider you as a monster," Zee replied.

Pikar bobbed its head amusedly. "How is that worse than stabbing your prey with swords, or burning them alive like that scary friend of yours," Pikar asked.

"You have a point." she cleared her throat, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves." So are we going to do this or what?" Zee asked.

"Alright, but don't blame me if I can't bring you back and you freeze to death," Pikar said, placing a claw-tipped hand on her shoulder.

Before she could respond her vision lurched, as space folded around her. One second she was on the street at the base of the spire, and the next she was knee-deep in snow, her breath misting.

The shock of being in the frigid environment of the tundra was like being hit over the head with a frying pan. Her breath misted, her skin numbing as the icy wind battered her face robbing her body heat in moments.

She glanced around at the endless white of the hilly tundra, snow stinging her face as she blew into her suddenly numb hands.

The sky was a dark gloomy grey. Even with her excellent night vision, it was a struggle to see the snowy hills around her.

"What do you think?" Pikar asked, still only a foot away.

She glanced over at the rift walker, which looked unaffected by the frigid temperature, its grey hide blending perfectly with the snow around them. "It is strangely beautiful, in a scary sort of way. Like a desert, but with snow, "Zee said.

Pikar's head bobbed in agreement. "It's a shame that all of our prey was wiped out," Pikar said sorrowfully.

"How did that happen?" Zee asked curiously, shivering at the biting cold, that pierced through her uniform like it wasn't there.

Pikar lowered its head in shame. "We hunted our prey until they were no more, forcing us to abandon our home dimension so we didn't starve to death," Pikar replied.

"That's horrible," Zee said.

"Yes. Now the tundra is nothing more than a desolate wasteland. My foolish elders and their rash choices doomed us to leave our home behind," Pikar said angrily.

The conversation lapped into silence, the only sound the chattering of her teeth, and the gusting wind numbing her skin.

"Why don't you bring more prey here, to replenish the population?" Zee asked, cocking her head.

"That's ridiculous, everything that we bring here, dies," Pikar replied.

"Are you sure about that? There are countless worlds out there in the universe. I'm sure there are places with a very similar environment to this," Zee said, shivering.

"Given how poorly the creatures in our new home deal with the cold, I hadn't even considered that," Pikar said thoughtfully.

"Well, it's an idea for you to run by Prima Veck. Now, as much as I love to admire the view, my hands feel like they are freezing off," Zee said.

Without any more prodding, Pikar took them back.

She blinked, at the sudden brightness. She let out a sigh of relief as she reappeared next to the tower, her skin tingling as the warm heat of the jungle washed over her.

"Ugh, I hate how warm it is here," Pikar grumbled.

Zee laughed softly. "It's much nicer than freezing to death," Zee replied, rubbing her hands together rapidly, and blowing on them to warm them up faster.

Pikar gave a noncommittal shrug.

"So, did you figure it out?" Pikar asked, changing the subject.

"I think so, gimme a sec," Zee said, focusing on the space around her, trying to twist it. After witnessing Pikar do it, she might be able to copy its actions.

Space hummed silently around, rippling like waves on the ocean, as she envisioned the crisp image of the desolate tundra. It was easy to picture, as she had just been there.

Her mental energy drained rapidly, and there was a violent lurch. Zee collapsed face first, head spinning as she sunk into the snow. Jubilant, she scrambled in the snow, rising to her feet. Much to her shock, she was back in the frozen wasteland.

Zee glanced around the dark, icy tundra, unable to stop grinning despite the cold. She took a step forwards, her feet sinking to her thighs in the soft powder.

She did it! She had finally got some use from her spatial affinity! Zee cheered loudly, her voice echoing across the silent snowbanks.

After a nearly half minute, her excitement gradually faded. Now, all she needed to do, was get back. A gust of wind and snow batter her face, tousling her hair, the biting cold already sapping away her heat again, as she tried to focus on the space around her.

Worry clawed at her mind as her efforts failed. Space was chaotic in the area like her unskilled transport here had disturbed the fabric of reality.

There was some hope. Space was slowly smoothing out, stabilizing after her reckless dimensional shift.

She tried, again and again, to reach out with her sensory skill, yet, the space around her refused to cooperate. It was as if once damaged, it wouldn't respond until it was stable once more.

Her worry turned to fear at that realization. By the time space was smooth again, she might have already frozen to death. Maybe she could find stable space if she cleared the area.

With that in mind, Zee trudged through the snow at a breakneck pace, using her wayward walk skill to get as much distance as she could from the place she entered. It was about twenty minutes before she stopped and turned back.

Space was just as bad here as it was before. She needed to get back and wait, just in case Pikar showed up. Shielding her eyes from the biting wind, Zee gritted her teeth, searching for her bootprints.

She could swear this was the direction she had come from. And yet, it looked identical to every other direction, just endless white snow. Heart racing, she glanced around, her breath fogging. By now, her feet were soo cold that she couldn't feel her toes.

Zee desperately wanted to return to her arrival spot, but she needed to stop and get warm before she got frostbite. She had no faith in finding her way back in this blasted snowy terrain.

She would need to bundle up and stay warm, maybe make a fire. A few minutes later, she sat, huddled in a ball, shivering uncontrollably. Despite being wrapped in layers of clothing taken from her spatial storage she was so cold.

Her hands shook, the small fire she had made, doing very little to warm up her numb skin.

She wasn't sure how long it had been, but she had never been this cold before.

A part of Zee was hoping that Pikar would come to rescue her, yet somehow knew, that he couldn't.

Her transport here had been too chaotic, no doubt making it impossible for the rift walker to follow. Not to mention her reckless attempts to flee into the tundra. What if Pikar already came looking and couldn't find her? And what if space was completely fine in the area, and she couldn't escape because she didn't know how?

Zee shook her head at the thoughts. She was only stuck here until space smoothed out, and fixed itself after the damage she caused. Hopefully, that didn't take too much longer.

Over the next few hours, her optimism, slowly faded as her attempts to return failed one after another. All she could do was huddle in her little hole in the snow to hide from the wind and try not to freeze to death.

Body numb, she tossed another pair of clothing onto the small fire and hovered over it. Staying warm was looking to be a pointless effort. Anything flammable in her spatial storage had already been tossed onto the fire, in a desperate attempt to keep her alive.

Everything from the spire hawk feathers to the carapace of the Clackson beetles went onto the fire, the worth of the items be damned.

Anything to stave off the biting cold.

Even still, if not for the heart of fire, she would have turned into a human-shaped icicle hours ago. The little flame beat with all of its might, and yet she knew it wouldn't be enough to keep her alive once the fire died out.

It was kind of funny, she was freezing to death, and she was the only person to blame for it.

She had been far too overconfident when messing with a notoriously difficult concept like spatial affinity.

She hadn't even considered she would get stuck here, and freeze to death.

Her breath misted in the frigid air, as she let out a bitter laugh.

Maybe this was Lady Luck, finally coming to get her due price for all the shit Zee had done and survived.

This was bound to happen eventually. Her luck had finally run out, now she would die, leaving her friends behind.

Their faces flashed through her mind.

Greg, Yukna, Allison, Dern, her thoughts lingering on Bastion. It was that she got up the courage to ask him out again.

Zee wrapped her hands tightly around her knees, shaking uncontrollably. She had never felt so alone, as she did now. Even Dern, who was always with her, felt so distant, his presence a whisper in her mind.

That might be her biggest regret. Her actions hadn't just doomed herself but Dern as well. She shook her head smacking herself across the face, the stinging pain enough to focus her mind. She would not let that happen.

Wallowing in self-pity was not accomplishing anything. She was not the same weakling she had been before she got her class. Zee had already survived far worse than some wind and cold. Was she really going to just sit here and freeze to death?

A risky, no, borderline suicidal idea came to mind. Zee pulled two large splinters from her spatial storage, clenching them in numb fingers. They were from the Clackson hive queen and the spire hawk.

Cracking them both at once should punch a hole into reality large enough for her to enter.

Zee had no idea what would happen if she entered that void, but it was better than freezing to death. She stood, the flickering fire sputtering in the wind.

The last of her gear lay at her feet slowly turning to ash.

Space was still to turbulent, and wouldn't obey her, with no sign of Pikar coming to her aide.

She wasn't sure why the rift walker hadn't come to save her, but it was apparent that she had to save herself. She might very well die, and yet, Zee was determined.

She gripped both splinters tightly infusing them with energy until they cracked.

The sound of breaking glass echoed across the wind-swept tundra. There was a loud tearing sound, as a hole in reality formed in the air, a vortex of darkness that could lead to the abyss for all she knew.

Knowing it wouldn't last she leaped forwards, jumping head-first into utter darkness.

Zee had thought that the tundra was dark, but that almost seemed like a bright summer's day compared to the place she was now.

She drifted through a formless nothing, an absence of everything.

The biting cold of the tundra was gone, but it was replaced by something arguably worse.

The cold was nothing compared to the nightmare-inducing scream that echoed through the Null realm. Dread filled her. Oh, No!

It was one of the Farahar, and it sounded furious.

Zee's heart leaped in her chest, as the screech came again, incredibly distant, yet closer than before. Zee focused on tightening her aura, desperately wanting to hide her energy signature.

She wasn't sure why that beasty was so pissed off, but she really didn't want to become a focus for its ire.

Her hopes of going unnoticed faded, as Its malice washed over her, making her weak in the knees. She needed to get out of here, and fast!