Chapter 32 - Great Working

  At Corvus’s instruction, Alex and Hara jog through the trees rather than use the intent-movement. The crow had warned them that using it now may draw attention, and all had agreed that wouldn’t be in their best interest. Several more presences had passed by, each one causing a slightly different effect on the environment around them. Thankfully, none had turned in their direction.

  Alex had turned during the jog, angling to head more towards where his sense-of-direction still tugs. He couldn’t quite explain it, but something within him had stirred a sense of urgency. So far, those impulses had served him well. Alex sees no reason to start ignoring them now.

  Hara had been strangely quiet since entering the forest of crimson and white. The sand under her paws feels wrong, alien to her. She can’t quite understand why, but the discordant feeling lingers like a bad scent. Each time one of those scary presences washes over them, her hackles rise making the crystals in her back clink and glint. Alex doesn’t seem to understand them, but Hara does.

  She can ‘taste’ the anger, the hate, the aggression, and the resentment wafting off the powerful ones that pass by. Their presences stink of those acrid emotions. And they’re strong, all of them doing the equivalent of howling at the top of their lungs as they move. Corvus smells like power too, but he doesn’t need to howl. In some ways, that makes Hara much more scared of him than the ones feeling the need to show off. But Corvus is a friend, so she isn’t scared.

  To Hara senses, each time one of the waves of power reaches them, a similar power would reach out from Corvus and blunt the impact. And indeed, Corvus is shielding Alex and Hara from the force of power radiating off of the greater beings traversing nearby. Without the perceptive abilities of the others, Alex is unaware of the benevolent protection. The waves of power wouldn’t necessarily harm any of them, but harm wouldn’t have been the intent. The emanations are more like sonar, pulsing outwards to give their user feedback for what is around them. Alex may not be their intended target, but any undue attention from beings that powerful, and clearly agitated, would not be good.

  Alex’s legs burn from jogging in the sand, his calves are practically on fire. At the same time, there’s a lingering familiarity about the feeling. The give of the sand beneath his feet, the push to keep going. It tickles at the back of his mind. The memory is lost, but some part of his soul still carries an imprint.

  Eventually, Corvus calls a halt, the trio slowing to a stop. “I sense no more strong presences coming in our direction. We should be safe to return to a more direct path.” He announces.

  With the immediate danger past, Alex leans over, bracing his hands on his knees as he pants for breath. “OK, great. But what was all that about?” He asks between gasps. He lifts his head to look at where Corvus perches on one of the strange tree’s lower branches.

  The crow doesn’t answer immediately, taking time to consider his words. “More than an era ago, an individual among the Apex attempted to perform a feat that would have solidified them as one of the most powerful entities in all of Hell. Even making the attempt sent ripples through the fabric of reality here.”

  Corvus pauses for a breath, then continues his tale. “Fearing an existential threat, the Apex went to war. Some fought against the individual, some fought to protect them. Ultimately, one side gained a slight advantage, and that imbalance led to the end of the war. The inciting individual was stopped, their efforts lost. Such an undertaking being thwarted left them weakened beyond measure, even a Faded soul such as yourself could have fought them and won.” He pauses and chuckles at that.

  “In an effort to avoid capture and being subjected to near eternal imprisonment, the individual dispersed his Animus. Animus exceeding the fifteenth threshold suddenly entering the open environment was like a super-nova to all senses. Ally and enemy alike believed he had chosen to give up and end his existence.” Corvus lets that sentiment hang heavy in the air for a long moment.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Alex stands up again to look at the crow. “But he didn’t, obviously.” Alex says, using his thumb to point back over his shoulder. “Or else that wouldn’t have happened.”

  Corvus nods. “Quite so. While everyone was blinded, he retained one Animus and used the rapidly fading residual power to enact one final great working. He buried his name.” Corvus shifts on the branch, rustling his wings. “In effect, he removed himself from the minds of all who knew him. Hell forgot him.”

  The crow looks around, then fixes his gaze on Alex. “Lets move now, quickly. We have an opening of opportunity.” He says, and seeing Alex about to ask a question, he cuts the man off. “I will answer your questions later, for now, move.”

  Alex snaps his jaw shut and nods. “Alright then.” He says and aligns with the pull from his sense of direction. “Safe to use the Intent-movement?” Getting a nod from Corvus, Alex flexes his will. The further they’d moved into the forest, the denser the trees had become. After a handful of short leaps due to poor sight-lines, Alex pauses.

  “If we need to be quick, this isn’t working.” He grumbles, then looks up at the crimson canopy above. “Hey Corvus, I’ve done the intent jumps to places there was no way I could reach normally. Like from one surface of a cavern to the opposite one above. Could I move across the tops of the trees?” He asks, turning to the crow flapping next to him.

  “Yes, yes, it’s possible. Hard to get the hang of, but possible.” Corvus answers. “But there’s one minor issue.” He says, putting a damper on Alex’s enthusiasm as he uses his beak to point to Hara.

  Alex winces, recognizing the fault in his plan. “Hara couldn’t get up there. Unless you’re secretly a master tree-climber?” He chuckles, leaning down to rub the hound’s velvety neck.

  “Hara no good at climb.” She says, sulking some, even if her tail still wags at Alex’s touch. “Hara think Hara too heavy for Alex to carry.”

  That got a chortle out of the human. “Yeah, I don’t think I could even pick you up, much less carry you up a tree.” He says and pats the hound’s head. Then another idea comes to him. “Actually, I want to try something else…”

  White and red blur all around Alex as the group moves, the intent-movement seeming to curl and bend mid-step as Alex pushes his perception to the limit using the augmentation skill Corvus had taught him. His intuition had proven true. Using both skills in tandem gave him just enough perceptual awareness to use points not quite on his line of sight. The effect, curved paths of intent-movement. The heightened awareness also meant that Alex was now able to feel the ‘echos’ of the immense powers that had passed through the area while they’d sidetracked. Even the lingering residue of those presences is enough to make his skin crawl.

  Jump after jump, the forest seemed to stretch on forever. And even with the bolstering effect of the others, Alex’s spirit starts to feel the strain from maintaining both abilities together. Only when he slows the pace and staggers for a few steps without initiating another intent-movement does he notice the trees starting to thin out again. The immense scope of this region’s size dwarfs most of the others they had passed through before. Though it looks like they’re nearing the opposite side.

  Alex takes a moment or two to catch his breath, head pounding like a tiny blacksmith is using the inside of his head as an anvil. Apparently Hara senses something is wrong, as she moves in beside him to stand with her flank against his hip for him to lean against.

  Looking up at her friend, Hara is worried. Alex had been pushing too much. “Alex no do both again. Too much.” She says, a whine of concern leaking into even her telepathic speech.

  Corvus flaps over to land on Hara’s head, perching on one of her blade-like horns. “I agree. While the additional traversal speed has been a significant boon, you are burning through your remaining time at a concerning rate.” Corvus shifts his focus onto their surroundings, head turning this way and that. “I sense no more dangerous presences approaching us, we are safe to simply walk the remainder of the distance.”

  Alex nods, unable to speak for the moment. He bends over, bracing his hands on his knees with his head down. For the first time, Alex takes note of just how grey his pants have gotten. And his shirt too. And his skin… His eyes slowly widen as he takes it in. Up until now, the deterioration had been so slow that Alex hadn’t noticed the changes. “Oh shit…”