Chapter 51: Ch49. RE - World Quest (7) - This time it’s different
The ruined city was silent, save for the distant echo of dripping water and the occasional crackling ember left in the wake of her battle. Whatever lurked in the shadows, was probably too afraid to go out in the pouring rain. Or, maybe it was too afraid of the recipient of the fierce battle that unfolded just a while ago in the outskirts.
Sarissa stood motionless in front of the portal, her arms crossed tightly, eyes locked on the shimmering tear in reality. The strange, crackling energy that framed it pulsed rhythmically, like the slow, steady beating of a heart. She had tried stepping through a few times after the violent rejection, but something in it kept pushing her back as if she was nothing but a rag doll, hurling her back against the crumbling ruins.
It had cost her a few cracked ribs, some blood loss, and quite a handful of healing potions that did not work nearly as well as the miraculous tea that Miles had given her back then. Which only left her more curious about the young man and the portal.
Who was he, really? Where did he come from? What were his skills? How was he stronger than her?
With these questions swirling in her mind, s stood there.
She didn’t move, didn’t leave.
Seconds became minutes, that then, became half an hour, an entire hour, two, three, but she waited.
Hours passed. The moon shifted in the sky, the storm had come and gone, and yet the portal remained open, untouched.
Whatever was on the other side, Miles had been there for far too long. The thought gnawed at her. She wasn’t sure if she was more impatient or wary, but she knew one thing. Whenever he would be back, she wanted answers.
She needed them.
Then, finally, the portal stirred.