Chapter 386: Reuniting-2
Grains of sand began to rise, forming into a spiral sphere that glowed with an eerie luster, as a rapid torrent of spatial flow began to undulate.
Uriel silently watched the sand portal whir to life, his will reaching out to establish a connection with Dorian and Lucas, relaying to them the crux of the situation.
Sure enough, the duo arrived pretty quickly after bringing a swift end to their battles, their expressions grim as they landed beside Uriel.
"Are you sure a shackled realm skill would be able to handle our passage?" Lucas couldn’t help but ask while he observed the old man chanting ominously as the Dune Rift slowly took full form.
To him, it would have been better if Uriel went ahead while they led the soldiers behind, though they’d inevitably be slower in catching up, at least Seth’s safety would be secured.
Dorian also had the same thought, after all both sides did respect Seth and saw him as humanity’s ultimate warrior, the strongest evolver they had ever encountered.
Uriel kept his voice level as he gave his response, "I understand your worries, but this old man seems to be a variant, which gives me some confidence that the gate will be able to handle our passage."
Pausing for a bit, he added, "And besides, we have to verify this old man’s ability, if not, how else are we meant to escape this place?"
The captains mulled in silence, finding his words well reasoned, and they couldn’t object.
Just as this conversation ended, a violent ripple swept through space, the fabric of reality folding within the dense, spiraling mass of sand, the sand particles grinding against each other, tearing through space and slowly losing their physical state, diffusing into a dense haze of spiraling primordial gas.
Uriel felt it the moment the connection across space was complete... "How long did that take? A minute and thirty-six seconds... Efficient, indeed," he muttered under his breath.
Not only that, the fact that the elder’s energy never seemed to wane for a bit didn’t escape Uriel’s observation, though he wasn’t surprised by this.
Variants had absurd essence unit pools, but they also had the ability to siphon energy from the atmosphere to fuel their abilities, it didn’t matter what, and apparently even abyssal energy wasn’t exempt.
It was a concerning feat, but an impressive one nonetheless...
"It’s done," the elder croaked weakly, taking a few steps backwards...
The soldiers weren’t gathered and were still actively fending off the converging mass of defiled, after all the corrupted were not ones to honor courtesy.
From the distance, Uriel and the other two captains could feel the looming mass of energy drawing closer, the second charmed beast!
Extremely strong ones at that...
Uriel’s will covered the area, linking to the minds of all human soldiers, "Alright, I’m about to go in! It’s successful, you all must follow, and beware, danger never sleeps, enemies will still be very much present and rampant on the other side."
Having said his piece, he spurred his steed, bursting into a blur as he rushed right into the spiralling energy mass.
For a moment even Uriel’s doubt seemed to rise, but he barely had time to worry before his frame sank seamlessly into the whirling mass of energy.
"..."
Everyone remained silent, some halfway expecting something to go awry suddenly, anticipating the portal to erupt at any moment.
Yet a second passed, then two... then ten... the portal remained stable and Uriel was never ejected.
It was safe to use!
"What are you all waiting for?" Lucas roared.
The humans didn’t hesitate, abandoning their battle and rushing towards the gate, while Elder Lenny and the nine others from Zoan’s crew hurried in first.
The two captains decided to stay behind until last, fending off the relentless forces of the defiled...
...
Elaine stared over the horizon, a deep frown cutting between her brows, the fine hairs on her arms rising for no reason she could name, something was wrong.
Her senses seemed to pick up on an ethereal force swelling in the distance, in the direction of what she perceived to be the main core, probably where the vile seed of the abyss and its guardian resided.
The force she sensed made her mouth go dry in a way she never imagined, she could only feel the ominous haze of death swelling like a stormy wave ready to crash down on them.
She couldn’t sense the reason behind this impending doom, but her instincts branded within her heart the certainty that death would come for them all if they dared tarry.
"What the hell is this zone? What triggered the changes that forced it to evolve into an abyssal zone?" she wondered in grim silence.
Just then a spark of light bloomed right behind her, a few feet away from the guarded area where Seth and the others lay unconscious.
Her head turned towards the direction of the sudden commotion, going on guard against the foreign presence leaking into the atmosphere.
A blue crystalline mage staff materialized in her grasp, she instantly conjured shards of black ice to spiral around her back like an ominous halo of death.
Her breath caught as the spark grew bigger and bigger, developing into a massive spiral mass of pure clashing energy.
Elaine had been exposed to enough to deduce what this was, a possible space gate...
But the fact was she wasn’t aware of anyone among the seven divisions who had such an ability.
Still, she didn’t rule out the possibility, after all this was an abyssal zone, filled with corrupted creatures, killing them could yield potential gene crystal drops, though the odds were low, it still remained possible.
So even as she stood on guard, she was prepared to instantly bombard whatever would come out of the space gate.
Manipulating the ice platforms she had formed under the unconscious, she relocated them to a distance she perceived to be safe.
The undulating space gate cast shifting light across her face, its rhythm seeming to match her drumming heartbeat.
Something or someone was coming...
The portal bled with a pristine, blinding glow of white as a frame burst right out of the energy mass, the sound of hooves beating against the soil ringing out.
The commotion settled, and Elaine finally caught a clear glimpse of who had come, Uriel...
"Well, that was quick..."