The Wastes: Part 2

The mood was once more dour as the five women made their way up north, the air growing noticeably colder, the roads getting noticeably less traveled, and the atmosphere getting noticeably more sullen. Aisha noted, that distantly in the skyline, the clouds were completely ashen black, and even further in the distance, there was an eerie, reddish glow. Trees lay fallen on the ground, and cracks littered the ground, although Aisha couldn't tell where they came from.

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Beyond that, she couldn't see, but even from this distance, she could feel chills. It wasn't entirely mental, either - she could feel the air grow dense with mana, sending small sparks of mana through the air. It wasn't enough to be remarkable, but Aisha could see the little singes that they left occasionally on her clothes.

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It was a bad time to be wearing short shorts.

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(Can you hear that?) Aiyu whispered inside of her head.

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Aisha raised an eyebrow discreetly. She tried to prevent her conversations with her mind-friend from showing on her face, as she didn't want the others to think she was crazy.

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(Hear what?) Aisha asked back.

(The screams.) Aiyu mumbled. (The whispers.)

(Huh?)

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(They're calling to me…)

(Stop being so overdramatic.)

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Aisha just chuffed, prompting Kaya to walk over and start a conversation with her.

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"E-everyone's so tense." She whispered, walking over and tugging on Aisha's hand, seeking a bit of comfort. In response the fey girl's heart skipped a beat, sending fluffy little feelings into her heart that she hadn't felt in a long time.

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"Ah…" Aisha mumbled, wrapping the girl close and nuzzling the top of her head. "Don't worry, I'll protect you!"

"You know… I came because I wanted to protect YOU."

"We can protect each other." Aisha smiled.

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The two girls shared an affectionate smile, but it was one that quickly faded once they got even further north, and the sky darkened.

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(Fe… I… ha… resolve…)

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Aisha visibly jolted. The voice in her head was definitely not Aiyu's.

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"Can you hear that?" She asked Kaya.

"Hear what?"

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"...I thought I heard something."

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Kaya looked at her curiously, but paid it no mind, looking grimly instead into the black sky. Surprisingly, the air was completely clear, and the visibility was fine. It was as if something was just sucking the light out of the atmosphere, turning everything muddy, despite nothing physical being in the air.

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Overall, it was just… eerie.

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The atmosphere appeared to affect Rennala the most, the woman looking intensely uncomfortable. Strangely, though, the same singes that pocked the rest of the girls' clothes weren't present on hers.

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"Are you okay?" Aisha asked softly, walking up to the tall woman and placing a hand on her back.

"You can hear it too, right?" Rennala mumbled.

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Aisha's hair stood on end. Was she talking about the whispers? Why could she also hear them?

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"You-"

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Aisha's line of question was interrupted by an enormous flash of light. Out of nowhere, the entire dark sky, all at once, turned completely, blinding white, plunging everything into whiteness.

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"What the hell!" Liberta cried, squeezing her eyes shut, arms held out in protection.

"What's going on?" Aisha asked, her voice even, but her face grimacing intensely, trying desperately to shut the light out.

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"Plug your ears!" Rennala shouted.

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"Wh-"

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Aisha felt the next calamity before she heard it - the wind rushing past her in a powerful gust, as if even the air wanted to escape what was coming.

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The first sound to come was an ear piercing, inhuman screech, it echoed, frayed in the air, like it was attempting to tear the sky apart. It assaulted the ears, and a scream was cast out into the air. Aisha couldn't hear it though - she couldn't hear anything but that scream.

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It was chillingly similar to a scream she had heard before. One that had come out of herself, pretending to be a monster. But she was nothing, compared to that… thing.

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Next, the ground began to shake. Disoriented by the flash of light, and the deafening sound, Aisha reeled as her head rang, but she was just cognizant enough to hold Kaya close as a tree began to topple, the massive, building sized plant falling right on top of Aisha's back.

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Her knees buckled a bit, but she nonetheless stayed on her feet as the heavy object rolled off her back, landing on the ground with an enormous thud, following it's brethren as others began to topple over as well.

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Combined with the ringing in her ears, the pain in her eyes, and the dull pain in her back and knees, Aisha was forced to fall to the ground, gasping for breath on top of Kaya. The sensory overload was like torture to her enhanced senses, and instinctively, she curled up into Kaya's collarbone, whimpering as she sought out the soft sensation of gentle caresses to help dull the ringing and pain.

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After a few minutes of agony, Aisha felt her body finally healing itself, and a pleasant sensation flowing down her ears. The stroking calmed her down, slowing her breathing, and before long, she could hear again.

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"Aisha?" Kaya whispered, so soft she could barely even hear. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." The fey girl muttered, embarrassed at her weakness, but unwilling to let go of Kaya. 

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"What the hell was that?" Liberta whispered, having to reorient herself as well. "It was like - it was like a gigaflare."

"That was an elder demon." Rennala mumbled, looking much more collected than the rest of the group, but still steadying her feet slightly. "I highly recommend turning around."

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"W-What's an elder demon?" Aisha asked.

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"...That was it." Rennala said grimly. "I don't know of a better way to describe it."

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Aisha suddenly felt a wave of fear wash across her body, sending shivers down her limbs. If that was what she could feel, literal miles away from the thing…

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What was she getting into?

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She clutched Kaya for comfort, who held her loosely in her arms.

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"We have to keep moving." Akane urged, looking a little worse for wear herself. She had clearly taken at least a brief fall, judging from the dirt marring her pants. Any further damage, she was keeping hidden.

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Rennala sidled up to Aisha, head still ringing from the bombardment of senses.

"Having second thoughts?" Rennala whispered. "I hate to say I told you so, but…"

"I…" Aisha hesitated.

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To be honest, running away seemed like a great option. Sakura city be damned, criminal status be damned, it probably wasn't worth dying in such a desolate place. On top of that, the girls - her friends - were clearly following her lead in this matter. If she were to charge in without thinking, she would be risking their lives as well.

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She looked at Akane's retreating back, practically inviting a blade in.

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But no. Aisha needed to see this through, despite how terrifying it seemed. It was her fault the girls had been roped into this. It was her duty to see it through.

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"N-no." Aisha muttered, standing up and holding out a hand for Kaya to grab. "I'll… I'll see this through."

"I will too." Kaya whispered.

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"Me too!" Liberta cried.

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Rennala sighed once again.

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When the party reached the nearest sign of civilization, at first, Aisha thought they had taken a wrong turn and accidentally stepped foot into a factory.

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The buildings could, well, barely be called buildings, instead being flat, dome-shaped mounds in the earth, layered with what looked to be almost a foot of pure metal. The mounds lay in endless rows across the landscape, each about 20 meters wide, all identical.

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Aisha watched as someone exit one of the domes, a hatch opening near the edge of the lid and revealing a ladder.. The man that stepped out looked gaunt and thin, and the dark circles under his eyes, combined with the grim expression, made him look like a walking corpse, as he shambled his way over to another dome.

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Aisha felt a curiosity well up inside of her about the location, but held her tongue. She was supposed to have visit here before.

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Over in the distance, a squad of what looked to be no more than forty men stood grimly, each hoisting a bag at least a small man in size, along with a few gadgets on their waists. Each looked more dead than the last, eyes shaded by the darkness of the sky above.

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And yet, as the group got closer to the battalion, Aisha saw a grim determination in each of their eyes.

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Women and men ready to die.

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"Expedition leader." Akane called out to a man, similarly dressed to the others, but with a small, barely-noticable badge on his chest. It looked like no effort had been put into it at all, barely even a scrap of cloth hastily sewn onto a jerkin, and yet, the others looked to him with complete deference.

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"Who are you?" The leader snarled. "Your business, now!"

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"My name is Akane. Captain of-"

"Forward march!" The man interrupted, his voice barely above speaking volume, but still, every member of the unit followed instantly.

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"Wait!" Akane protested, jogging up to the captain as he turned away from the cyan-haired woman. "I'm here-"

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"We are about to set out on a death mission." The leader whispered coolly. "I have no interest in anything you have to say, if you are going to spend it with meaningless words."

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"We're the party that was sent to aid the expeditionary forces." Akane explained hurriedly, her expression annoyed, but also desperate.

"You're late." The captain muttered disdainfully.

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"...Yes." Akane mumbled, casting a sidewards glance at Aisha and the girls. "My deepest apologies, we-"

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"I don't have time to brief you." The captain muttered back, keeping even pace. "Stay behind the line. Do not speak a single word. Do not attempt to slow or stop the line. If you at any point, burden the expedition, you will be left behind, or killed. That is all."

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"...Understood." Akane mumbled.

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Akane fell behind the marching matrix of soldiers, followed quickly by the rest of the women. The expeditionary force marched with no particular discipline or rhythm, but each man held a sullen, determined look on his face, hard and emotionless.

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"We're allowed to talk right now, right?" Aisha whispered.

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She didn't hear any yelling from the expedition leader, so she assumed she was in the clear.

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"...Who are these people?" Aisha asked Akane.

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"They're called nameless." The cyan-haired woman mumbled quietly. "They're riffraff. Nobodies. Scrounged up from the worst corners of the world, Arcadian, Sakuran, hell, Cryinthan - That's why they're called nameless. They discard their names when they join. Not that they should have any pride in it. They're trained to go into the wastes, though."

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"I thought there was only a 9% return rate, or something." Aisha muttered.

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"Better hope you hit those one out of ten odds." Rennala whispered.

"Why do you have to be such a downer all the time?"

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One of the nameless laughed, a harsh, sarcastic laugh, as he walked briskly along in the formation. Aisha raised an eyebrow.

"It's good that you're still in good spirits." He said softly. "Everyone else here has accepted death. In my opinion, hopeless men make poor soldiers."

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"You lot are no soldiers." Akane muttered. "There is no order, no discipline."

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"There's no point." The nameless mumbled. "Out there, you know what matters most?"

"What?" Aisha asked.

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"Luck."

"Then what's the point of training to go in?" Kaya asked.

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"There is still a bit of skill to it." The nameless smirked. "But if you're not lucky, you're not coming back."

"Have you come back?" Aisha asked.

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"Once." He muttered, his good mood faltering. "I was one of three. We all came back separately. We don't have good healers out here, so I had to get this."

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He pulled up his left sleeve and revealed a metal hand, and to everyone's shock, the limb moved, slow, and with a strained sound, but mobile nonetheless.

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"MAchina!" Akane shouted, startled. "What- are you mad!?"

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"There are no gods." The nameless laughed a low laugh. "I choose to take any advantage I can get."

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Kaya, Liberta and Rennala recoiled from the man at once, all of a sudden repelled from him like he had a forcefield. He just rolled his eyes and returned to the group, his head once more hung, blended into the rest of the company. Aisha furrowed her eyebrows. Even she still recoiled slightly at the mechanical sight - she still respected the old gods, despite the curse they had placed on her.

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"Benevolent Serith, please grant us absolution." Liberta mumbled, placing a hand over her chest.

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"I didn't take you for the superstitious type." Aisha remarked. "Scared?"

"Even bandits do not trifle with the old laws!" Liberta hissed. "You should know best! Aren't you a Fey of the Pharos?"

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"I don't think it's that bad."

"All that crap about luck, and he's using a blasphemed object." Liberta scowled. "It just keeps getting worse and worse…"

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Aisha just frowned, slightly confused. It seemed that nerves had all of a sudden turned her entire party into a group of coven nuns. She couldn't exactly blame them, though, even though she disagreed. The purge of machina was, out of all of the folktales, the only thing that anybody was sure any of the old gods had actually said.

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Aisha kind of wished she could have a little bit of divine protection herself. But she had long been abandoned by any god, and even worse, she had killed one.

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The memory made her frown, thinking about the sole Arcadian god. She hadn't felt the power that she had felt at that moment, in a long time. It made sense, it was a stolen power, resulting from the diversion of energy from belief to fear.

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She still felt vestiges of that power in her fingertips, but she doubted she would ever be able to pull it off ever again. Rather, she would have to obtain that power herself. A part of her desired that power badly. To protect her friends, and to crush her enemies without any effort - who wouldn't desire such a thing?

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And another part of her was worried about what would happen to her if she did. Or rather, when she did, she had felt a strong desire to… consume.

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Suddenly, Aisha balked, bringing a trembling hand to the center of her chest, where a sinister-looking mouth sat, dormant. Nobody knew it was there. Aisha herself didn't touch it.

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But ever since she had entered the wastes, it had tingled.

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Slowly, the earth underfoot began to blacken, tiny little specks of… something, littering the ground. It grew noticeably softer, and darker in hue, properties that only intensified as they continued to walk north.

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Rushing ahead of the party for a second, Aisha crouched quickly to scoop up a handful of the dirt. Most of it was just regular, dirty dirt, but noticeably, there was something else mixed in with the brown.

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It was ash. Matter stripped of its memories, of its power. There was no way of telling what it had once been.

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It was a material that Aisha was intensely familiar with. Completely inert, in almost every single way. Compared to the air, which sparked and singed constantly, it was almost like an anchor, something safe to touch.

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Or maybe, the air sparked so dangerously because there was nowhere for the mana to go.

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Regardless…

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"Stations." The expedition leader called out, again, his voice barely above speaking volume, but carrying an authority that was unmatched. Without a single word of affirmation, the entire squadron split, spreading across the makeshift outpost that they had walked to.

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Aisha frowned at the state of the line.

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"This is what separates the wastes from the rest of civilization?" She mumbled.

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"I wish." A nameless mumbled as they passed Aisha. "This line is nothing more than a marker of how far the untrained are willing to go. It means nothing to the monsters out there."

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Aisha's brows furrowed, walking closer to the edge. There was a clear string of something demarcating the junction between wilderness and civilization, glowing a luminescent green, but the aura it gave off felt… strange.

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"More machina!?" Akane's eyes widened. "No… the entire line is -"

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As Aisha got closer, she could confirm the captain's words herself. Indeed, the line consisted of nothing but a thick cable, easily a foot long, with the structure broken up every few yards by a massive, glowing green crystal.

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Walking closer to one of the crystals, Aisha began to feel a pulse. It wasn't like the heartbeat that she felt from Sui and the angel - it was more like a steady hum, like the pulsing warmth that radiated from a sunflower.

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"Ow!" Aisha shrieked as she got a little too close, and the crystal discharged, a torrent of lightning erupting from the thing and lancing through Aisha's body, sending her flying backwards in a heap.

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"I guess you adventurers are the real deal." The nameless chortled. "That would have killed a human."

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"I'm surprised it hasn't killed all of us!" Akane hissed. "Are you telling me that the entire barrier is comprised of machina?"

"Yeah?" The nameless retorted. "So what? It works. Are you saying that the gods disapprove? Try using some of your godly magic here, see how that turns out!"

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Akane threw a fist out into the air, and although a streak of lightning flew out of her palm, it didn't go far, and on top of that, it jerked in the air, twisting at an unnatural angle and going sideways, like the air itself had violently wrenched the spell sideways. Her eyes widened.

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"Yeah." The nameless snorted. "See how long that dogma lasts here. Gods have already abandoned this place, kid."

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Aisha, grunting as she rose to her feet, saw fear once more flash behind Akane's eyes, but like always, the disciplined warrior hid it extremely well, her posture barely faltering for a millisecond.

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"I'm not stepping a single step further." Rennala mumbled, already looking quite uncomfortable. "I'll wait here for… a day, I guess. I-if nobody comes back…"

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Rennala went silent, her gaze all of a sudden shifting towards her boots.

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"We'll be back." Liberta said softly. "Don't worry."

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"I shouldn't be the one worrying." Rennala bit her lip. "You all… I can't believe you guys are so set on doing something so- so stupid!"

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"I believe in Aisha's judgment." Kaya said simply.

"Me too."

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The fey in question felt an intense guilt wash over her. They should not have had nearly the amount of faith in her that they did. She had tricked them.

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She needed to come clean. She should-

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"Forward."

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All of a sudden, the sound of bootfalls started again, and once more, Aisha felt her legs moving before her mouth.

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(Coward.)

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(Coward.) Aiyu agreed.

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Why was she like this? Was she so terrified of having her friends hate her that she was willing to get them killed?

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"I…"

"Aisha." Kaya said softly.

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Aisha turned to her short friend, hesitation visible in her face. Meeting Kaya's gaze was difficult. Out of all of them, she was definitely the one Aisha felt closest to, most attached to. Maybe a little too attached. But at any rate, looking into those soft, hazel eyes was difficult.

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"We can take care of ourselves." Kaya smiled softly, clasping one of Aisha's hands in her own. "You don't have to protect us."

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Kaya's words stung a bit. After talking herself up, after acting so confident, she was the one being reassured, by the weaker member in her party. She wanted to reassure Kaya back, reaffirm her confidence, her will to protect.

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But she couldn't muster it up.

"Thanks." She whispered.

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"Casters."

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Aisha, hearing the command, watched as a few nameless near the center of the formation clasped their hands together, building up incredible energy. Aisha frowned, worried for a second, but when the casters released their hands, no destructive energy burst out from their palms, no fireballs rained from the sky.

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"What was that?" Aisha whispered to Kaya.

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Kaya just frowned, mouthing something, but Aisha couldn't hear anything. She repeated her sentence, but this time -

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It was a silence spell! One she had seen before - were they really going to keep it up the entire expedition!? And moreover, over the entire formation?

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Aisha saw visible strain come over the mages as they crossed the green cable barrier, the crystals dimming as they passed through. But they remained steadfast, and moreover, the pace of the march didn't waver a single step.

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Aisha took one last passing glance back at Rennala, who, with a hesitant look, gave a small wave back to Aisha, a remorseful look on her face. Aisha waved back.

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Kaya also waved back, a surprising coolness in her expression as she smiled at the tall mage.

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Liberta blew a raspberry, but Rennala couldn't even muster up the mood for a roll of the eyes, instead gazing softly back, that worry ever present in her expression.

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The landscape of the desolate wastes passed by like a blur, adrenaline rushing through Aisha's body. Mounds of ash were broken up only by the odd dead tree, or sometimes, a particularly suspicious-looking rock, but for the most part, there was nothing for miles, the distance foggy and unclear. Far to the east, Aisha saw a mass of jagged rock faces, looking to be hundreds of meters tall, pocked with caves and defiles, standing ominous and tall. Every once in a while, Aisha swore she could see movement from one of the holes, but she was too far to see anything..

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She clutched Kaya's hand close, squeezing tight and preparing for the worst. Her eyes stayed alert and tense, and she made sure to be ready to cast a spell.

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It seemed like at any moment, everything would collapse, go to shit. Everything was quiet. Far too quiet, especially with the silence spell surrounding the expedition. There was no ambience, no clatter of equipment. It just made the anticipation worse.

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Aisha stayed on guard, eyes carefully scanning the horizon. She kept Liberta and Kaya close to her, holding Kaya's hand, and making sure to walk close enough to the tall elf to bump sides with her every so often.

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And despite her stated hatred for Aisha, Akane stayed close as well, knowing that those watchful eyes were keeping watch for them.

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First, for a few minutes.

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Then, for an hour.

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Then, a few hours passed, and soon, it was the middle of the night.

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Although Aisha's eyes were tired, she found no restfulness in the monotony. Without any sound, all that was left were her own thoughts.

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And the whispers.

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(I'm glad you have found… res… of… but now… I ha… m… …al)

(Is there… …nothing… …change?)

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Aisha was going insane. It wouldn't be nearly as maddening if she didn't recognize some of those voices - or rather, she felt like she did. It tugged on the edges of her consciousness - drawing her attention away from watching. But she hadn't seen anything in hours, and her ability to focus began to dwindle.

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Aisha's eyes grew tired, and her alertness began to fade away. The constant tenseness and movement took a toll on her far greater than regular, relaxed walking would have, even with her enhanced biology, and it seemed like the same effect was showing on the party as well.

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Kaya's hand laid loosely in her own, and Liberta let out a visible, yet inaudible groan, mouth opening in a complaint that was left completely unheard.

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The fatigue was also clearly getting to Akane. Though her gait remained steady, her eyes were sunken, and her arms dragged.

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The expedition force… surprisingly, looked even worse. Aisha knew it was reasonable to think so, but she had kind of expected that they would have some secret trick to get them through the wilderness quicker, and with less strain.

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Apparently not. Each member of the force looked miserable, especially the mages, who were sweating heavily, their legs shaking slightly with every step.

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And yet, the pace didn't slow. It wasn't a matter of strength or discipline, no, the driving force behind the hellish pace that was set was clearly more than simply a matter of belief.

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But for the life of her, Aisha couldn't figure out what the hell it was.

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A while passed before anything happened, but when it did, it was like an explosion erupted in the middle of the formation, every soldier jerking.

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Suddenly, there was sound again, and Aisha felt a body press against her side, and the hand held in her own squeeze.

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She was sure that they looked ridiculous, grown women holding hands, walking next to a platoon of soldiers, but Aisha was immensely grateful for the comfort.

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Her eyes went alert again, but saw nothing - other than a relieved look on the central mage's faces, who visibly, and audibly, sighed in relief. The ambience rushed in, all of a sudden the sound of the wind, the sound of jangling equipment, were all audible again.

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Aisha desperately wanted to talk to her friends, but wasn't sure that she even could - before the expedition leader spoke up, for the first time, addressing the adventurers properly.

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"Look up." He said, tilting his head up. The women followed his gaze, until their eyes met the sight of three shadows, flying far above their heads in a shapeless mass, barely visible against the night sky.

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"Birds?" Akane guessed, and the entire platoon of nameless laughed at her expense, prompting an indignant, furious expression from the guard woman.

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"Much larger than birds." The leader hissed, laughing as well. "Wyverns."

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"Three of them!?" Liberta recoiled. "We should back up!"

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"There's nowhere to back up to." One of the nameless shot. "We're out in the open! Nothing around for miles!"

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The nameless began to cackle again at the worried looks on the adventurers' faces. It wasn't that they didn't feel like they could take on the wyverns - it was, rather, the strange behavior.

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"I've…" Kaya whispered. "I've never seen them in a pack like that. They're like… vultures."

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"That's right, girly." The expedition leader cackled. "Here, that's all that they are. Lowest in the food chain."

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(Wyverns are the lowest thing on the food chain here?)

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"Then what the hell are we doing here!?" Akane demanded. "Why'd you lift the silence? Where are we going!?"

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Akane's face was red and flushed - not with exhaustion, as Aisha could tell the woman wasn't that tired - but from anger, and more pressingly, panic. Aisha's feelings on the matter were conflicted, seeing the woman in such a state, the most emotional she had seen her. On one hand, she didn't exactly like the guard, but on the other, she could understand the fear that she felt.

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Alone. Tired. On edge. Aisha would have been in the same situation, but she had the support of her friends, while Akane had nobody.

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The expedition leader shrugged. "No point in tiring out the men. The entire wastes knows we're here now. Either we're dead, or we're not."

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The nameless laughed maniacally, and this time, Aisha understood fully what was driving the men to surpass their physical limits, as she saw the crazed, bloodshot looks on their faces. It wasn't dedication, or discipline, or strength, or anything like that.

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It was fear. Every single man feared for his life. The wild look in all of their eyes, the hurried steps - it was because they knew that at this point, following the expedition leader was their only chance at even a hope of living. There was no hope to lock onto in the distance, only fog and ash. The tattered piece of paper in the expedition leader's hands, and the man's navigating skills were all that they could possibly hope for, and in order to use that hope, they had to keep pace with him, no matter how tired their own legs got.

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"What the hell are you talking about!?" Akane demanded again, a tiny bit of panic entering her voice, making it shrill and unpleasant. "Did you just take us out here to get killed, bastard? You're just going to give up? I'll slay you myself, if-"

"Calm down." The leader hissed. "We are already headed to the nearest safe zone. If you want to live, then walk faster."

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Aisha's brows furrowed.

"Why don't we fight?" She asked.

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That prompted the loudest laugh of all. Not a single nameless was left out of the mad merriment, yellowing, rotting teeth bared wide in pure glee.

"You'll see!" The expedition leader howled, throwing his head back and cackling, every muscle fiber in his face bulging, straining against his skin like they wanted to break free.

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And just like that, he returned to his map, trudging steadily through the ash.

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"They're crazy." Liberta whispered. "W-we should leave!"

"Um."

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Aisha looked behind her, seeing nothing but fog and ashen dunes.

"I don't think we can do that anymore."

.

.

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The walk felt even more excruciating than it did before, partially because of the continued strain that the pace set on the battalion, but now also because of the very real, very constant presence of the creatures above them, marking out their location like a big, shining beacon to anybody paying even the smallest bit of attention.

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But on the plus side, it meant that they could talk now, seeing as everyone knew where they were anyways. Not that there was much talking - nerves were high, and paranoia was heavily saturated through the group.

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"How much longer?" Liberta whispered, eyes laser focused on the massive, high cliff face in front of her, all at once looming and also protective.

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"Another hour, at this pace." Aisha panted. "Just… one more."

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"We're close!" Kaya reassured. "And I don't see anything big for miles. I think we're good."

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"Nothing big means that all the small things are going to be around." Aisha mumbled. "And besides, there could be something big behind that."

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Aisha pointed to a small break in the rock formation, about twenty meters wide. It was eerie how empty it was.

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"Don't jinx it!" Akane hissed.

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"I didn't think you were superstitious." Aisha scoffed. "Hey, where are we supposed to find that chaos magicite shit anyway?"

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"You're here for that?" The expedition leader frowned. "Why? It's useless. By the way, you are all wrong."

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"I have no need to explain myself to the likes of you." Akane shot with hostility. "Dreg."

"How were you going to figure out where to get it if you never asked me?" The short man barked.

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Akane opened her mouth for a second, clearly fuming, nerves highly strung, but seemed to be unable to find the words to retort with. Humiliated, she settled for just glaring at the lead with a furious expression, one that the man easily ignored.

.

"You're lucky." The leader muttered. "The cave systems here are rife with the magicite."

"Why'd you tell her?" Liberta whined. "You're not going to make her humble herself?"

.

"I think she is plenty humbled." He sighed. "Besides, there's no point in keeping a grudge. Least of all now."

.

"I can think of a few reasons." Kaya chirped. "And we're close to safety now, right?"

"No."

.

"But then why are we walking this way?" Aisha frowned, kicking up her pace to stand side-by-side with the expedition leader.

.

"A fight is inevitable, at this point" He said grimly. "The walls are favorable terrain for us."

"Why's that?"

.

"You can't get surrounded."

.

Aisha's brows furrowed, thinking of what could possibly live in this desolate place, in high enough numbers to surround their sizable force of ~50 soldiers. Come to think of it, she had seen relatively little monsters, or anything, really.

.

Something she hadn't seen, were… the people she were familiar with. The demons. Hana, mistress, and her friend… Why hadn't she seen any?

.

(...H…e to… …out!... …c…. ng…. ve…. …selves…)

.

Aisha grimaced, ignoring the whispers. 

"By what?" Aisha asked. "Demons?"

.

"No. Far worse."

.

The fey woman frowned, opening her mouth to prompt the man for a better answer, but stopped as more whispers infiltrated her head.

.

But she paused at this one - it was much louder, much clearer, and, if Aisha focused… it seemed like the voice was addressing her.

.

(They're coming.)