Destinations

Dune gripped Liora tightly, her broken hand dangling helplessly while his other arm locked around her waist like iron. 

With precise focus, he guided her remaining good hand toward the cage wall. Neba shimmered around his neck, his intention clear and burning.

Dune whispered inside her mind. "Tell the others to step away. Tell that blue-masked wolf to back off from our barrier… or I'll slit your throat. Translate my words exactly."

Liora's body stiffened. Her breath hitched, and she trembled against his hold.

"Why…" she whispered in his mind, voice barely audible. "Why are you doing this?"

Dune's chuckle was dry and cold. "Are you serious? You just told me you people would kill us. Did you think I'd just roll over and accept death? I'm going to survive, even if I have to slaughter every last one of you."

His weapon pressed harder against her throat. A thin trail of blood bloomed, red against the soft glow of her neck.

"Now stop talking," Dune growled. "Say what I told you."

With her hand pressed to the cage wall, Liora let her Neba glow faintly. The invisible waves carried her voice, rippling through the air like whispers only her people could hear.

Outside, the robed warriors stirred. Their eyes flickered toward one another, silent debate passing in tense glances. 

The blue-masked wolf stepped forward, anger rising, his Neba sparking with violent tension. 

But a taller figure, one cloaked in darker robes, with a black wolf mask, raised an arm. A single gesture.

They backed off slowly. 

Dune nodded. "Now," he said coldly, "tell them to deactivate our cage."

Liora was shaking from fear, her throat glowing again with the eerie shimmer of Neba transmission. 

For a moment, silence… then the blue wolf Nevron raised his hand and cage groaned. Metal shifted and disappeared. The faint hum that surrounded them sputtered out like a dying flame.

Syras cracked his neck with a grin. "Finally. I was starting to think we'd rot in here."

The moment the cage lowered, Dune shoved Liora down, pinning her to the ground. Dirt clung to her mask, and her golden hair splayed out like broken threads.

"Tell them," Dune said, eyes sharp and voice unflinching, "to keep moving toward their village. Tell them to walk for a full day. If I sense one of them anywhere close, even miles away, I'll kill you."

Liora trembled, "please… Stop this… I don't want to die." 

Dune pressed his weapon harder on her neck, drawing more blood, "then do as i say." 

She obeyed. Her throat glowed once more.

Outside the barrier, the blue wolf's feet tensed, his body leaning forward as if ready to pounce. 

But again, the black-masked one, Rehan raised a hand, this time slower, more deliberate. A warning.

The blue warrior froze. Then, without a word, he turned. The others followed.

They vanished into the distance, their silhouettes and a blue glow of barrier swallowed by mist and shadow.

Dune's eyes didn't blink, didn't soften.

And Liora, bleeding, shaken, and silent… finally understood, whispers would do anything to survive, they would always keep fighting to live.

Dune's grip on Liora finally loosened, though his weapon remained near her neck, stained with the thin trail of blood he'd drawn moments before.

He leaned in slightly and spoke again, "Touch the barrier core. And walk."

Liora trembled, her breath unsteady, but obeyed. She reached out with her unbroken hand and placed it on the faintly glowing Neba crystal embedded in the air beside them. 

At her touch, the barrier shimmered and began to shift, the threads of energy unraveling just enough to allow her to guide its motion. 

Without looking back, she stepped forward, heading in the direction opposite her team's departure, her cloak dragging faintly along the earth.

Dune finally exhaled.

He reached down and picked up the second scythe Liora had been carrying, examining it briefly before handing it to Syras, who stepped forward with a tired smirk.

"Good work, man," Syras said, his voice carrying both relief and a touch of admiration. 

"You saved my ass."

Dune nodded, brushing dust off his jacket with one hand. "Nothing much. Isn't this what we're here for? To have each other's backs."

"Damn right," Syras chuckled, weighing the scythe in his hand with curiosity. 

"So, what's our plan now?"

Dune looked around. The ocean still echoed from around them. The air was thick with the scent of salt and strange moss, and he knew that far ahead in the distance stood an enormous tree.

"We put as much distance between us and that group as possible," Dune said. "Then… we head toward that giant tree. I don't know why, but I have a feeling there's something there, something that can help us understand this place better."

He glanced at Liora, who walked ahead in silence, her shoulders trembling slightly beneath her cloak. 

"And we've got her. I'll talk to her more when the time's right. There's still a lot she hasn't told us."

Syras nodded, his grin returning. "Sounds good."

The three of them pressed onward into the darkness, two survivors, and their reluctant prisoner, ocean around them thick with unseen dangers and unanswered questions.

Dune stepped up beside Liora, whose pace had slowed. Her form was hunched slightly, fatigue weighing down her every movement. 

He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

The reaction was immediate.

Liora flinched with a sharp movement, her whole body recoiling in a reflex of fear. Her broken hand twitched at her side.

"Calm down," Dune said softly, his voice resonating through the invisible current of Neba that connected their minds. 

"I just want to talk."

Liora didn't look at him, but she stopped trembling as violently.

"Tell me everything you know about that tree."

For a few seconds, she was silent. Then, with a faint nod, her voice returned, low and hollow. 

"It's the portal of someone's residence called Ivory Nomad."

Dune's eyes narrowed. "Ivory Nomad?"

"Yes," she said, more clearly this time. "He's supposed to be the creator of the Trial of Truth. It's said that his domain lies at the top of that tree. 

We've never seen him… we don't even know if he's still there. The tree connects two lands together through ocean. It's the spine of this whole region."

She looked up slightly, following the tree's ascent into the darkened space. "At the top, beyond the clouds, there's said to be a castle resting on its crown… Memories Of The Future. But none of us have ever seen it."

Dune furrowed his brow and, without a word, brought up his Neba stats.

[ Survive Destruction and Reach Memories Of The Future ] 

His eyes widened slightly. So Memories Of The Future is a castle? That castle is real. And It's connected to the trial creator himself.

Another objective blinked in front of him.

[ Defeat the Dragonslayer ] 

Dune's expression darkened. "Do you know anything about the Dragonslayer?"

Liora hesitated, then shook her head slowly. 

"No… this is my first time hearing it." 

Dune stared at her for a second, then asked another question. "Is there any way to gather fragments besides killing monsters?"

Liora looked away, shame creeping into her voice. "Any type of killing gives fragments… the stronger the being, the more you get. Even if you kill us… or Whispers like you."

Dune gave a small nod, "Alright. Keep moving."

Liora obeyed, her pace resuming. But her steps were slow, shaky. Her legs trembled, and her breathing was shallow. Her body was nearing its limit. 

Dune noticed, but said nothing.

After walking for a few hours through the shifting terrain, the group finally came to a stop.

"It should be day in few hours," Dune said. 

"The ocean should go back to its place."

They sat down on a slope beside a large rock. Syras leaned against it. Dune remained close to Liora, who sat a short distance from him, her hand still aching from pain.

After a few moments of silence, Dune placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I have one more question," he said, looking at her. 

"What happens to the hollows here? How do beasts shield themselves from the ocean?"

Liora turned her head slightly toward him. "The beasts here have resistance," she replied. 

"They can survive both in the forest and in the ocean."

Dune thought for a second, then asked, "what about those terrors and calamities who live in the ocean? Why don't they stay in one place? Why do they follow the ocean whenever it falls? But land creatures don't follow this rule."

Liora paused. Her eyes lowered slightly, lost in thought. She hadn't expected that question. 

He's observant… too observant.

She answered calmly, "The ocean takes every single beast that is above Green Neba with it. It only leaves the Green ones, hollows outside."

Dune nodded. One last question lingered.

"What about the barriers? How long do they last?"

"In the ocean they last exactly twelve hours," Liora said. "So it's best to activate them the moment the rumbling starts."

"But during a day, they disappear in around 2 hours, and you can only use one each day." 

Dune leaned back slightly. "Alright. We'll rest and continue walking tomorrow."

He looked to Syras. "You sleep first. Two hours. I'll switch with you to watch her."

Syras nodded without a word, settling deeper into his cloak and turning away, already asleep before his head fully lowered. 

Liora pulled her knees to her chest, watching the shadow of Dune as he took a place nearby, eyes sharp and restless.

They awoke at daybreak. Pale light filtered through the high canopy, and the air was dry. Dune opened his eyes slowly, his body stiff from the ground. 

As he sat up, he glanced to the side and saw Syras slumped against a tree, lightly snoring.

Dune stood with a scowl, then slapped him on the side.

"Idiot," he muttered. "How did you fall asleep? What if she killed us both in our sleep?"

Syras jolted upright, blinking rapidly. "I wasn't sleepin Zzz I was just resting my eyes…"

Dune let out a long sigh and turned his gaze to Liora. She stood a few steps away, calm and still.

"Let's go," he said flatly.

They began walking. The forest was quiet, unnaturally so. The soil beneath their feet was firm and dry, as if the ocean had never passed through at all. Not a drop of water remained. The trees stood tall, their roots exposed but undamaged, and the birds had not yet returned.

Then, without warning, something tore out of the treeline.

A blur of blue and black came crashing through the underbrush, leaping with impossible speed toward Liora.

Dune's instincts flared. He moved without thinking, stepping in front of her just in time. 

The creature slammed into him, claws dragging across his forearm, but he held his ground, shielding her from a killing blow.

It landed heavily a few meters away and turned back toward them, snarling.

The beast stood on four powerful legs, each thick with muscle. Its fur was a deep mix of blue and black, blending with the shadows of the forest. It towered at nearly five meters tall, and its ears were long and thin, trailing behind its head like tails. Rows of sharp, jagged teeth lined its open mouth, three layers in total, grinding and dripping with saliva.

Dune narrowed his eyes.

Before he could ask, Liora stepped closer, placing her hand on his arm.

"That's a Kurogin," she said. "Its weakness is its ears. Damage those, and it'll lose balance."

Dune gave a quick nod.

Syras drew his weapon behind them, his expression sharpening as he stepped into place beside Dune.

The Kurogin crouched low, ready to pounce again.

The forest held its breath.

And the fight began.