The Wind's Encounter

Kano and Anemone walked through the forest. Trees towering above them averaged a height of 30m. Their trunks had a shocking width of 2m. Their branches overlapped, forming a never ending canopy.  

    Having walked for a while, they noticed something strange. Even though they had been walking for roughly an hour now, they encountered no prey. No animal to hunt. In fact, the further they got from the village, the less life there seemed to be. They could no longer hear even the crickets chirping. The silence was alluring that it even made the forest seem lifeless. 

     Anemone sighed before she said, "This is getting us nowhere. We have been walking for a really long time and we still haven't encountered anything."

     "How about we split up?" He said as they were walking, "If something goes wrong or if we find a catch,  we can signal each other. This way, we can cover more ground."

      But if we do that, "Are you sure that you will be okay," she asked as she stopped.

      He smiled before saying, "I will be fine."

"If you said so then…..I won't force the issue." She said as she continued walking. 

He covered his head using his hoodie before he took a right heading northwest.

     She took a left and began heading southwest. After walking for a while, she ran into a wall of massive trees. They were almost linear in arrangement. The trees averaged a height of 50m with the shortest being 48m tall. Their trunk width was roughly 13m average. The trees had aerial roots that coiled to make a layer that was 4m tall. The trees were spaced by only ten meters between each other.

       She climbed over the coiled roots as she tried to enter deeper into the forest.  She walked until she arrived at the edge of the roots. There, she was blessed by a beautiful sight.

        A grassy plain bathed in sunlight as the sun was rising.  A few trees were scattered across the plain with a river running at the very center. Amazing, she thought before she jumped to the ground. 

     When she looked around,  she saw that the trees formed a linear wall around the plain. It was like a rectangular region that existed in the forest. At a sight like that one, she was certain. She was bound to find something. 

      After walking through the grassy plain and making it to the river, something was weighing heavily on her mind. In a utopia such as this, why wasn't there even a single animal? 

      She gazed at the rocky layer that ran across the belt when something came rushing past the grass beyond the river. It was a little boy dressed in a black and white striped shirt and black shorts. He then fell into the river before he began crawling. 

      She rushed there to pick him up as she carried him to the banks. Looks like he is six…no…I think five. He was hyperventilating as she could feel him trembling as he was in her arms. Though not of cold but of fear.

     "Please help me," he muttered, "he is coming for me." He then shouted, "I don't want to go back there!" He got back to his feet as he continued running.

      As he was about to start running,  she grabbed his arm as she said, "It's okay now." She was trying her best to sound reassuring.

      "I don't want to go back there. I felt like I was burning.  I thought I was going to die," he added as tears ran down his face. 

      "You don't have to worry,  I will help you." 

     As soon as he heard those words, he fell to the ground. He covered his mouth with his other hand as he added, "You are one of them." He got up as he bit her hand shouting, "Let go of me!"

     She released him before he stumbled and fell. He began forcing himself back to his feet as he was about to start running again. When he took the first step, she caught him in a tight embrace.

    In her mind, the only thought,  memory, that came to mind were simple words.

"Anemone, no matter what happens,  be kind, brave and never turn your back on others who need to be saved. I want you to promise that okay_ promise to do it just like your father."

My only response was, "I promise mom."

     Her embrace tightened as she said, "Tell me what's wrong so that I can help you!"

"He's coming…..he will be here soon so let me go!!"

     "Who's after you? Tell me clearly so that I can understand. If you don't,  I can't help you."

     "You don't know him?"

"Of course I don't…..I wouldn't be asking if I did. So please tell me where he is."

He stopped struggling as he said, "I don't know…I remember him chasing me_ so I ran, and ran and kept on running. I fell multiple times. I got up and kept getting up even though it hurt."

     She let go of him before turning him to face her. She held his shoulders as she said, "You don't have to worry, I will protect you. I just need you to do one thing for me."

     She turned around to offer him a piggyback, "I want you to get on and stay quiet for me, okay." Still, she was trying her best to sound reassuring. 

    "Okay," he said before he fell on her back. He felt all the fatigue come rushing down as he had finally relaxed for the first time in a long time. His breath ran short as he fell asleep.

     "Good boy," she said as she smiled. She carried him as she went to the next line of trees past the river. She simply walked through the river as it was shallow.

     As soon as she reached the wall of trees, she had to climb over more coiled roots. He is still asleep, she thought  before she began releasing a green aura. One piece broke from her bracelet as it placed itself on his back. She then jumped to the top of the coil of roots. The piece then returned to complete her bracelet. 

     As she walked, she began smelling smoke. It was as though something was burning close by. As soon as she arrived at the edge of the coiled roots, she was surprised by what she saw.

    A barren land covered in ash. There were heaps of branches as well as ash all throughout the surrounding area. Much like the grassy plan before, it too was surrounded by walls of trees.

     She jumped to the ground before she continued walking. Her shoes, being consumed by the hot ash. After walking for a while, the boy was startled awake as he began shouting, "He's here_ he's here….he has found me." She felt him trembling as she looked around. 

     She was sensing fire magic all over the area so she didn't know what exactly he was talking about. In fact, all the ash had magic woven into them. So did the trees and the very soil they stood on. 

    She heard a clamor of crows as she saw an entire murder scatter from the tall trees. What the hell? She thought as she realized that they too possessed fire magic. They were bystier, low level magic beasts.

     She began releasing a green aura as she saw them clear from the site. When she looked back from where they came, she saw the burnt branches being pushed up. Ash was scattering as something was emerging from underneath them.

   Damn it, I got careless, she thought as her bracelet broke to pieces.  They all transformed to blades, forming a total of twenty blades scattered behind her.

    She saw an orange flamed mane from the scattering branches. Blue glowing eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that it was a bystier. A lion bystier, specifically,  a Panthera Leo Krugeri bystier. According to its spiritual vibration,  she was certain.  That was the one they had encountered the previous day.

     It roared as the wind that surrounded her howled on account of her magic. 

"Wind Art: Rampaging Blades; Remnant Chaos and Wind Art: Rampaging Blades; Independent Zephyr."

    The blades rushed it at once as they collided against its body. They could only produce small cuts which healed two seconds later. The lion roared as magic gathered in front of its maw. 

    Seeing this, she called back her blades. No sooner had she called them back when it shot a fire ball at her. She removed the boy from her back and carried him in her arms before she jumped. She began stepping on her blades as she saw the fireball crush into the ash covered ground. 

   She jumped back to the ground before she put him down. "I need you to do something for me. Do you see those trees behind me, I need you to run towards them. But don't go too far, otherwise I won't be able to protect you." This is just a stroke of bad luck. That thing is covering our way back.

    He stared at her as he asked, "What will happen to you?" He asked, still trembling with fear.

"Don't worry, it will be okay…..I won't be long. I will catch up soon," she said as her aura intensified. 

     Following her directive, he began running towards the trees. She smiled as she said, "Good boy."

     Her blades scattered through the battlefield as she thought, Unlike last time, its fireballs are a lot stronger.  I can't just scatter them with a single blade, not like last time.  She saw it walking towards her.

    Ash rose as its pedes met the ground. Flames began gathering at its maw. She closed her eyes as her blades scattered. Second attack, she thought, this one bigger than the last. She held her palms together. 

      The lion shot a fire ball at her. "Wind Art: Rampaging Blades; Volley Of Zephyr,  half." Ten if blades rushed and surrounded the fireball in its path of descent. They were all releasing gusts of wind, containing it. The flames grew the more wind they took but they still couldn't escape. When it got close to her, she moved her hands apart as she said, "Scatter." The flames were scattered by a gust of wind. 

     That fireball was significantly stronger than the last. If this fight drags on for a long time, I will be disadvantaged. After all, my spiritual vibrations are weaker than those it has. I need to finish it before it stabilizes.

     She glanced at the boy when she realized that he had gotten sufficient distance between him and her. A good hundred meters.

"Wind Art: Rampaging Blades; Spiraling Zephyr, Concrete Target." She said as her blades gathered in the sky. They formed two circular rotating masses of blades. Each of which contained a total of ten blades. 

     The lion roared as flames began gathering at its maw, its pedes barreling into the ashen soil. The flames that comprised its mane began blowing violently as a crackling sound could be heard from it.

    Wait,  but what if my attack doesn't succeed.  There's a chance it will get back up and heal. I have to end it in a single blow. She thought as she took an athlete's position before sprinting. A set position as she locked her eyes on it.

     By pushing myself into a temporal state of overdrive,  I can access more magic than what I am permitted to but it makes me vulnerable to attacks.

     The two rotating masses of blades descended and began rotating beside her. One was on her left, the other, her right. Her blades howled as they produced a lot of wind.

     The further my blades are from me, the more magic I require to direct them or the less power they get from me. So by bringing them close, I can use the extra magic I use to direct them over a distance.  That is why I have a max range. This is due to the fact that if they go past that point, they become nothing more than bracelet pieces. If I use that rule too, I can raise their speed even further.

       The howling of the blades increased as the lion roared once more. If I take that and add the overdrive state boost in power, my blade speed will increase even further. From there, I will myself as the core to ensure that the distance between me and the blades is minimized as much as possible.

       The lion released a stream of flames aimed straight at her. "Now, Wind Art: Rampaging Blades;" she exclaimed as the two rotating masses interlinked at the front. Each blade, passing between the gaps between the other blades.

      She propelled herself forward as her blades sliced through the stream of flames. The rotating masses of blades met the lion's skull.

      When I was young,  there was this tool my mom liked using which I absolutely adored. She used it to cut meat when cooking. When she added her magic to it, it would start rotating. It was so fast and dangerous that she wouldn't let me use it. So I watched her use it every time to understand how it worked.

     The first time I saw it not rotating,  I wondered why the blade wasn't smooth but was roughed up. I wondered why it could cut through solid bone. I tried to recreate that. I created Spiraling Zephyr because of that. But it couldn't cut through solid bone, only joints. So I tried to find a way to get more force. An impractical way, with me as the core. An Art that can cut through solid bone, of my own creation. I called it….

     "Remnant Zephyr!" With her at its center,  the two interlinking masses of blades sliced open its skull as they moved along the spine. Three blades broke from the formation as they propelled themselves to the back of the lion. The rotating masses of blades emerged at the back of the lion.

     The three blades, which broke away from the other blades, produced a cushion of air to soften her fall. But even with all that, she crushed violently into the ground.

     The lion fell as it abdomen met the ground.  Its upperhalf was completely slit in two. Blood dripped from it as the flames of its mane were extinguished.

      Anemone was lying on the ground coughing as she said, "I succeeded." She then looked towards her blades. "It hurts way more than I remember." As she was looking at them, she noticed there was only one mass of blades rotating beside her. That meant that only thirteen blades were accounted for.

      She forced herself back to her feet as she could feel her body burning.  The flames had scorched her.

     Hardly had she made it back to her feet when she fell back to her knees. She was hyperventilating, trying to catch her breath. The intensity of her aura lessened as she continued coughing. "I can't lose them," she said, "After all, they are the only things that still link me to the both of you."

     She got back to her feet as she walked towards its corpse. "I can't lose them….they were the final gift you gave to me." After taking a few steps, she fell back to her knees. "I can't release my magic release state now," she panted, "If I do, all the fatigue will come rushing down at once. I won't be able to move for a while."

      She stood back up as she continued walking, "They link me to you even after you left me." She stumbled, falling back to her knee. She was still struggling to catch her breath. Here aura finally stabilized as she forced herself back to her feet. She walked until she she reached its head.

     When she got close, she noticed something strange.  A large amount of magic was still gathered in its eyes. Why isn't it scattering? She thought as she looked at them. The blue glow they had became dyed in crimson as she shouted,  "RUN! Straight for the forest." She too began forcing herself to run as she said, "Just run and don't look back!!"

     The lion's corpse was set ablaze as the upper halves begun pulling together. There is no way, there's no way. A wound like that can kill anything. I sliced its bone, cut through its spine. There's no way.

    As she was stumbling, trying to run away, she saw its pedes beside her. It struck her, sending her crashing violently into the ground. Its body continued healing as more of its muscles regenerated.

    When the ash cleared, she was down on one knee as she crossed her hands to guard. In front of them,  rotating mass of blades was rotating. If my blades hadn't taken the blunt of that blow, I don't know what would have happened to me.

     Blood and sweat ran down her face as she struggled to remain conscious. She stared at the beast as it gazed back at her. The flames of its mane grew in length as its red glowing eyes looked down on her.