Chapter 75.

Lifting her head, Enora realised with immeasurable fright that something was amiss. The plan ? He body ? Neither of those, unfortunately. Nick had disappeared from the Nexus of Minds. The link was still there, but not his thoughts. She wiped her face of the dirt that stuck to it, looking around desperately. Finally, she saw him, sprawled on the ground a few meters away. His body was partly scorched, lightly melting some of the mail rings into his flesh while his left shin was bent unnaturally.

Rose soon recovered from the explosion, the shock making her dizzy and lost. But she too realised their companion's state, and they both got up on shaking legs. Their bodies hurt in many ways, but, as much as they could gather, nothing major to report. Well, at least not the same kind of 'major' as Nick. They reached the man, turning him around to check on him more precisely. He was alive, but very much out of it, and the smell of his burnt flesh made them sick.

Only at that point did Enora think of looking back at the tunnel they came from, afraid of anything that might come from it. With trembling limbs, she trudged to the last turn, covering her face with a hand for minimum protection against the thick smoke their technique had produced. Just passing her head at the edge of the bend, she saw with horror in her eyes that, if the tunnel had effectively been weakened, it was nowhere near collapse. It could be described as 'half collapsed' at best, if one was generous.

The enemy troop were, however, in way worse shape than them : apart from the ones that had been utterly destroyed by the initial explosion, limbs and gore flung all around, many more were simply scattered everywhere. The few movements Enora could perceive from that cave came from the wailing and rolling of the wounded that were lucky enough not to have passed out on the spot. Unlucky ? Doesn't matter.

The sun-kissed warrior went back to her friends, trying really hard to pull herself together as Rose was calmly panicking, fumbling on Nick's body with bright light from her hands. There was definitely no time for that, even more so since the small blond's confused thoughts made it almost impossible to heal anything. Enora firmly grabbed the woman's arm, pulling her to her feet while making her take their two spears. Then she turned to the wounded man and lifted him. There was no other choice than carrying the dead weight to safety then.

Without a word, only a quick nod, Rose understood what was supposed to be done : she began running in the nearest tunnel towards Sephayis, Enora right behind. If she could reach the place first, then maybe some reinforcement would be deployed in a rescue mission. That was the objective, as there was still a chance for the enemy to resume the pursuit. Though they were still a few kilometres away from there, what could they do apart from that ? Try and hide ? How ?

Rose was running, running faster than she had ever run before, clutching the two weapons in her hands so hard blood began dripping between her dainty fingers. Her legs hurt, he back hurt, and she could distinguish the smell of something burnt : probably part of her hair. But the adrenaline was more potent than those petty matters, and the silent encouragement of Enora mind in hers was enough to make her move as swiftly as her small body could.

Time seemed all the while paralysed and accelerated, going on its independent course without a care in the worlds for the unimportant lives everywhere. Those thoughts encumbered the woman's mind as she began to slow down little by little. As much as she wished to sprint like a madwoman until her limbs tore from stress, her body still had some semblance of self-preservation.

Thankfully, she eventually entered the enormous cave housing Sephayis, the underground city of Syndos. There was a long way to the gates still, but this sight made the little blond feel warmth in her heart. Not because she loved the place or anything of course, but, at the moment, it represented salvation. She also realised she did not need to go directly to the city : the exit of the Trial was closer, and there was most likely someone guarding it. A member of the militia.

She entered the orange and grey forest to her right and, soon enough, got out of it in front of a stunned woman. She was not human but who cared ? Detecting through the mind link that Enora was at her body's limit, more than a kilometre inside the tunnels, Rose kept on panicking. She began with an incoherent speech that made not a single gram on sense to the guard, wearing a shocked expression all along. After a few seconds and a deep breathing session, Rose focused at last :

- We need help ! We were in the tunnels and got attacked. The others are still there and on their way, but the creatures are pursuing us ! Please send someone fast !

Understanding the urgency, the woman took off immediately towards the city, energising her legs for powerful strides while Rose followed behind as best she could. She would have liked to go back to the tunnel immediately, but how would the reinforcement know where to look without her ? After all, the Desert Road sported many side tunnels. She had not walked for half the distance to Sephayis that the guard came back, followed by five similarly equipped fighters.

- Please miss, tell us where your companions are., asked one.

- Follow me., she said without hesitation, immediately taking off.

However, everyone present could see how wholly exhausted she was, incapable of adopting a proper pace for urgent situations. The small woman realised it too but refused in her mind to hide in the city while her mind-half was in mortal danger. She did consider the other two members of the Nexus at the other half of her life and, as such, nothing would keep her from joining them wherever they went.

Syndos : the world through which Earth was added to the Conjunction.