Chapter 4

I woke up who knows how many hours later, and immediately inspected my body. The blood I was drenched in has dried and stuck to me like a second layer of skin. My stomach looked okay, there were a few marks on the seams where the xin recreated my cells, but it looked fine otherwise. Same with my legs, a few small scars, but fully usable.

In one battle I managed to get two skills, one to regenerate my cells, one to create heat. Intrigued by this revelation I started testing my new abilities. I cut my finger with my knife and healed it at once. I winced and confirmed that it hurt ten times more to heal this way than the injury itself. But if I can recover such injuries, it was a fair tradeoff.

I moved my tired joints a bit and looked out of my hideout. It was nighttime, and quiet raindrops sparkled in the moonlight. I went out to do my usual chores, checking my numerous traps, and filling my flask with fresh water. I took off my ragged clothes and quickly washed up. The water was freezing, and although the air started to warm up somewhat, it was still cold.

I didn't gather wood as everything was moist from the rain, but I still had a few logs stored away at home. I also looked for a few edible plants, I tested some before, and since I can heal myself, I wasn't really afraid.

Arriving home, I quickly made a fire using my heating skill and set up a fired clay pot I made a few days ago. I put in a fatty part of an animal I caught and continued skinning it while it sizzled, letting out the grease. I put in some plants resembling onions, they were smaller than I was used to but packed quite a punch.

After the onion substitute browned and let out a sweet smell, I put in the cubed-up meat of the small squirrel-looking animal I caught. I added some spices from my very limited supply and fried the meat. The smell was fantastic, and I could feel my mouth watering. I added some water and bones to the mix and waited for my soup to boil.

I took the simmering pot away from the fire and waited for it to cool down for a bit. I took my spoon I carved from a piece of wood off the improvised shelf and started eating. I was expecting too much. It was bland and flat. I let out a sigh. I missed the food I had before the apocalypse.

Back then, I learned how to cook since my father wasn't the best, and I loved tinkering with stuff, and cooking is basically building with flavor. After the communications network and all other infrastructure fell, we couldn't be picky about what we ate, but you know, you only need a small number of spices for a dish. We had enough of that, and I could always make something nice with the scarce resources we had.

But now I had to start from scratch. I had a few pots and tools, but if I wanted to make a comfortable living, I'd need a garden, at least a small millstone I can use for flour, and making things out of metal would be nice too. Instead of that, I should probably find Tara's group and go back to where they came from. They never mentioned it, but they had clothes and weapons, so there must be some kind of civilization left. I don't know why I never asked.

The darkness and hopelessness seeped into me with each sip of the nothing-tasting soup. I felt so alone. I had no one to talk to for about a month now. I was in a world totally strange to me with magic powers and monsters waiting around every corner. I was scared.

Should I look for the others? We spent not even a day together, but they were the only people in this world I knew. The problem was I had no idea where they were, and what direction I flew in from.

Is it better if I wait a bit and train more? I had to face it: If after a month they couldn't find me, they either didn't look for me, or I was too far off. I should heal up, pack my things and prepare for a journey. If I can find them or maybe a town, that would be perfect.

That sounds like a nice plan for now. I finished up my meal, drank a bit of water, cleaned the plate, and put away the pot with the remaining soup. After putting out the fire, with only the smoldering coal left in the pit, I prepared to go to bed. I was a bit afraid of what tomorrow would bring, but I felt ready.

~

As soon as the sun came up, I packed my things and got ready for departure. I started heading the way I guessed I came from. I carefully took one step after the other on the sharp rocks.

Leaving behind the forest and the small clearing, I marched toward the unknown terrain. Mountains and valleys crawled slowly on the horizon, revealing more of this strange new world. I tried to avoid any attention of the beasts living here, I was trespassing and didn't want any trouble. There weren't that many of them that I saw, and they were all small animals I hunted before.

And so, I continued my long journey to explore the world. It changed so much… It reverted itself to the stone age, never have I seen so much nature. I had mixed feelings about it; on one hand, it was beautiful, so much greenery with no machines or factories, but humanity had to sacrifice so much for it. All that hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, during the industrial revolution and after, hundreds of years of scientific progress were lost. I still had the knowledge, but now because of the meteors, the laws of physics themselves have changed.

Or at least widened enough for me not to understand them. This was probably how the scientists of ancient times felt, wanting to know more about this beautiful world they found themselves in, but not knowing where to even start to discover its laws. I had one advantage, however, I held most of the knowledge that my ancestors collected.

After almost a day of walking the sun started to set, and it painted the sky in all sorts of beautiful colors, I saw it: the sea. It was breathtaking. My first time seeing the sea, and at a gorgeous sunset with it. I sat down for a while and just took it in, admiring the view. That's when I was certain, I was going in the totally wrong direction.

Then, a massive fish swam up from the sea, into the sky. It swam. In the air.

A few followed it, massive golden bodies glistening in what sunlight left before it set completely, swimming toward me at least twenty meters above the ground.

Suddenly, all the chirping and other sounds that birds make subsided, and I fell into silence as the creatures swam calmly. For some reason, all the birds disappeared. Were they afraid of the giant goldfish?

Admiring the out-of-place creatures for a few seconds, I heard a loud screech that sent chills down my spine. I knew it all too well and the memory was a bit too fresh. One of those bastard griffon-looking beasts was here, heading straight for one of the koi fish. It was a strong beast I barely could beat. I watched eagerly as it approached.

When it got too close, it looked like the griffon hit a solid wall, and got stuck in the air. It tried to flap its wings to get away, but it was no use. As if it were submerged in honey, it looked like the air resistance that kept it in the air before now held it in place. The griffon started panicking as a fish got closer and closer, and in a single, terrifying motion it just opened its massive mouth and ate the griffon. It didn't fit in one gulp, so the body was torn in half in midair. Feathers and blood spew in every direction.

This was the reason no birds were in sight. It was terrifying. After this quick fight – wasn't even a fight, just a murder – a few more sea creatures came up from the water. A few sea turtles, smaller, colorful fish, and a few glowing jellyfish. It was like a dream, watching these creatures majestically gliding in the cold night air, drops of water shining on their bodies like glitter.

After seeing the horrific way one of those fishes eat a beast that almost killed me, I decided to find some shelter for the night and retreat. Slowly and quietly walked down to a small area with a few trees and hoped to find shelter there. It wasn't so big that there would be large predators, so I deemed it a suitable place to rest for the night.

I gathered some fallen leaves and twigs and threw up a small shelter. I covered it with more leaves and closed it off from the outside as well as I could. It was as big as a sleeping bag, but it felt better sleeping there than under the stars. After calming down and hiding in my cozy bed, I started drifting into sleep. A few hours later, however, I was shaken up by the sound of an explosion nearby, the light from the fireball pierced through the leaves covering me.

~

TARA

I was gathering fire, condensing it into a dense and powerful fireball. I aimed at the eagle carrying Eli. Milo woke up to the sounds and shouting, and climbed out his tent.

"That bird took Eli!" I shouted to him over the roaring of my flames.

"Don't shoot! You'll kill them both!" He shouted back. I had to agree. I slowly released the flames and let them dissipate in the air. I heated up the air around us by several degrees.

"I'll go after him. When Patrik wakes up, head to the city. If I find him, we'll go after you as soon as we can." He looked concerned but over the few years while working with me, he learned that if I decide on something, it's almost impossible to change my mind.

"Fine. But please take care of yourself, and don't kill yourself for him."

"We'll be back before you know it."

That was what I said, but it was about a month ago since I left. I marched in the direction I saw him taken away, and I was searching vigorously. The chances of him being alive decreased by the day. However, if he was alive, he was surely stronger now than when he first awoke. I was concerned, he was a strange combination of looking like a stray gust of wind could snap him in half, with a crystal so dense it would be impossible for anyone to get to his level.

After countless battles and close calls, surviving in these harsh conditions for weeks, I finally found a clue. It was a small cave that had some sticks and logs built in to resemble a door. This must have been him.

The inside was furnished somewhat, and there were a few clay pots and cups, with wooden carved utensils. He's been busy. Also, there was a noticeable amount of blood on the floor, which was concerning.

I spent the night at the hideout, and waited for a few hours, but when it was apparent, he wasn't returning, I set out on my journey again. Now that I had a fresh clue, I could see the very faint xin trace he left behind and started following it. I lost it two times, but somehow found it again. I was walking all day. It was slow, because I needed to use my astral state to find his trail. It was exhausting, but I made progress slowly. I had to continue if I didn't want to lose him again.

I walked into the nighttime, and the "scent" got stronger. If I was correct, I was getting closer to the sea. Why in the world did he come here? I could now smell the faint scent of saltwater and seaweed. Suddenly the trail I followed got all fuzzy and mushed together. He probably stopped here for a while, maybe even changed directions. It will be hard to determine where he is.

While I was contemplating, I sat down and rested for a while. I was tired and all my muscles ached. The moon illuminated the hilly area I was in, and I could see the sea from here. It was beautiful, the water glittering, the wind carrying the sounds of soft waves and the scent of the sea. Peaceful. I don't even know when I felt this relaxed, probably years. However, all good things must come to an end.

Somehow, I forgot that they come out at night. I don't know why, it must have been a while since I've been to the sea. I looked around me and noticed just in time, I put all my xin into the muscles of my legs and jumped sideways as fast as I could.

When I looked back, a massive snapping turtle looked back at me. It was at least five meters wide, massive spikes on his thick shell, and a menacing beak ready to attack. I summoned a fireball and shot it at him. As soon as it reached the barrier around him, it slowed down and sizzled out. Shit. It uses magic to turn the air into a water-like substance to swim around freely in the air. But it looks like that also means it has pretty good defenses against fire.

Since that was all I had, and was exhausted to use more advanced spells, I prepared a massive explosion and condensed it into a small orb. I pumped more and more fire in, as much as I could. Maybe it's good against fire, but this much of an explosion will surely do some damage at least. I could feel my core emptying. When it was only a few centimeters in diameter, I sent it toward the turtle with all my strength.

It quickly put his head behind a latch of some sort in its shell and hid from the explosion. When it reached the watery air, it slowed down a bit, but nothing could stop one of my most powerful attacks. The explosion sent me flying, and after a few seconds in the air I crashed into some stone. I Broke at least two of my ribs, but I was alive.

The giant turtle shook itself, the scales on its body were charred, some were broken, and blood was dripping from its right eye, but like under water, it diffused into small red clouds. It was alive and well. All I managed to do was anger it and take out an eye. This is bad. It let out a shriek and was coming toward me quickly.

I held out my hand and pumped all the remaining xin from my exhausted crystal into a beam of scorching flames. I could feel my strength leaving me with my xin. I stopped my body enhancements and diverted all the xin I used for that to fuel the flame as well. For a while it worked, and the turtle turned away from the heat. But it wasn't enough. I'm going to die.

I started preparing internally for that, and the hassle that would follow… I really would prefer not to die here. But I was weak unfortunately. The last of my xin depleted and left my body, but I left the absolute bare minimum to not lose consciousness. I still had my right arm completely extended, and when all the fire subsided, it was a perfect target for the snapping turtle. I wasn't fast enough retracting it.

It swooped in, head cocked back like a gun, and so fast my eyes couldn't even follow, it took my arm. The whole thing, ripped out from its socket. It flew over me and swallowed it, slowly, knowing fully well that I was dead. I heard a blood curdling scream, not realizing it was my own, and desperately fought to stay awake.

The turtle turned around and charged me again.

~

ELI

I started running. I knew it was bad as soon as I heard that horrible scream. A few twigs and some of the shrubbery were on fire, combined with the soft moonlight, I could sort of take out what was happening. A girl lay in the rubble a few meters to my right, a massive snapping turtle above us, circling down, targeting the girl slowly. I didn't have time to think, so I just used the body enhancement techniques I practiced for a month, strengthening my whole body, muscles, bones, veins. Recently I found a way to make even my mind faster a bit, and when I poured a bit of xin into my brain and nerves, time seemed to slow down a bit.

I put another handful of xin into my legs and jumped with all my force toward the turtle. I strengthened my fist, gathering xin even around it to make it even stronger. It wasn't a solid metal wall yet, but I would not want to be hit by one of these. I watched in slow motion as I flew up about 8 meters in the air, reached the turtle, it didn't even see me coming. My fist was like a meteor, and I put all my strength behind it.

Its head cocked to the left so hard it hit its own shell. Double hit. I was slowed down by the air waterification spell it used, but it wasn't that bad using this much xin to make me stronger and faster. I grabbed the shell behind its neck with both of my hands and sat on top of the giant spikes on its shell. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but it couldn't reach me here. I thought about using the heat method again for this encounter but judging by its shell, it was probably thick enough to protect it from extreme heat for long enough to kill me.

All I had was my strength. And to be fair, I became quite strong. So strong in fact, that I constantly had to supply my bones with xin to support them, and even like this at the very quick movements I could feel them creaking and groaning from the pressure.

I hugged as much of the shell as I could, but it was almost three meters wide, so just the top of it, and started applying pressure. It wailed, trying to shake me off, but I held on to the spikes firmly. I heard crackling, and one of the spikes shattered above its spine. The spike itself was grown on top of the shell, so I didn't break the shell itself, but I was making progress.

Seeing how it couldn't do anything against me, the turtle changed strategies and charged toward the girl instead.

"No, you don't! I'm your opponent!" I shouted to it as I bashed its head again with my reinforced fist. It was like a wrecking ball, but the turtle only wailed and shrieked in pain. it didn't die. So, I put all my force and then some into hitting the back of its shell. I had to push so much xin into my fist and arm muscles, it started to burn. This high intensity was a bit too much, I had to work on moving xin around in my body more efficiently.

I was a bit distracted and almost fell off, but grabbed on the last second, and with a final massive blow to its spine, and a loud crack, the shell finally gave. I punched again and again until I was elbow deep in turtle insides. It was disgusting but finally the shriek of the monster subsided and the dense atmosphere around us started to change back into normal air. We started falling faster and faster.

I knew I was enhanced, but a 10-meter fall was a 10-meter fall. I used the turtle's dead body as weight, and I jumped off at the last minute. This lessened the impact noticeably, but I still felt it. Me with a thud, the turtle with a loud bang and dust cloud, we landed.

I made sure it was dead then rushed over to the girl. She's lost a lot of blood. A large pool of crimson liquid gathered below her and grew by the second. Her right arm was completely torn off. Wait… Tara?

I didn't have any time to waste and focused on her injuries. I quickly used some concentrated, precise heat to burn off the vessels in her torn off arm and stop the bleeding. I was focusing heavily not to do more damage than good. After I stopped the bleeding, I used the technique to gather xin, but in the opposite direction, and tried giving her some of my xin. What I had to do was highly experimental, but I had no choice. She will die if I don't help her. So, I got to work.