Rynth: Four Beats

| 6th of Teryusin — Year 362 of the Cycle of Synthesis, Grand Cycle ??? |

The both of them stood muted and still on the train rooftop, watching. Remains of Merlin’s clone were slowly swept up and away into the wind, reminding Raoul that no matter how much pain and rapture in equal measure his mother had caused him, the antagonist of their little tête-à-tête was entirely a replica of the original. No doubt she had been observing every single development from the beginning, starting from when she had taken his arm.

Adrenaline was still present in his veins. He quickly retrieved the unmoving Kranstor and gestured for Avil to follow as they slid back down into the interior. Their descent caught the attention of Idri, who had been impatiently drumming her fingers on a nearby metal bar. Clocking the familiarity in their steps and scent, she eagerly gravitated over, finding Raoul’s cheek and drawing a hesitant palm across it.

“You’re okay, right?” muttered Idri.

“Very much so,” Raoul replied, returning Kranstor into her hands. “I made sure to narrow my eyes so I could only focus on Merlin the entire time and ignore the visions.”

“Which was risky, admittedly.” Avil added, playfully smacking his back. “But it worked out in the end.”

That next moment, the doors to the next cabin opened, and Calliope walked through. Unlike Idri, there was not much worry to be found on her face. A mixture of trust in her master and friend and their abilities. “I am glad you are well, Master Avil. I am quite curious in regards to the plan you kept secret from us.”

Idri nodded in agreement. “True! I don’t know why it had to be whispered, but I’m glad it went off without a hitch. So…?”

Raoul nudged past Idri and slumped down on the nearest seat, heaving hundreds of worries’ worth of breath in one exhale.“Two words: Time Stop. Aside from Kranstor, it’s been the only consistent method of breaking through the clone’s defenses. Despite being a replica of the original Merlin, it still contained the decades worth of both practical and theoretical knowledge she’d accumulated over her life. Her Jati efficiency was so perfect that she barely expended any with each spell cast. That’s how she could keep spamming Shield again and again, and why Idri could never get a good hit on no matter how many times she broke through.”

“Which made it that much more annoying.” Avil emphasized. “Plus, those contingency wards of hers.”

Raoul nodded and continued, kicking his feet up to the side, only to set both back down as Idri made herself comfortable beside him. “Yeah. If we allowed her to keep defending, she was bound to find a loophole in our offense and take advantage of it. Avil judged the best way to counteract as such was using Time Stop. With her being unable to defend—save for the wards that still functioned in stopped time, we were able to find a way to break through both by directly casting Avil’s spell on my prosthetic. It was risky, given he was on his last legs and I wasn’t even positive that the arm could absorb Tier 6 spells. But I’m glad it worked.”

“I see…” acknowledged Cali. “I was wondering why Time Stop did not function. Master Avil was casting it on your prosthetic.”

A smirk fell on Avil’s lips. “Even if it did, you wouldn’t have noticed, would you?”

“No, I suppose I would not.”

“Either way, once we had Time Stop loaded into one of my vials, all we had to do was create a situation where we could cast both Avil’s and mine in quick succession. Merlin gave us that opportunity when she defeated me in swordsmanship and attempted to charge Avil. All I had to do was buy enough time for him to get the chant and hand signs off. Once that was done and Avil unleashed the first, I knew we had won. All I had to do was break through the second ward after he broke through the first with Kranstor.”

“A magnificent plan, indeed.” Cali agreed, moving to set Avil down on the free seat left of Raoul. “What of you, Master Avil? Has casting your bound spell rendered you in pain? I am more than willing to heal any wounds you may have sustained.”

He shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. The heartburn should go away within a few minutes. It’s only gotten like this ‘cause I kept abusing Time Stop. Next time we get in a fight as intense as this, maybe we shouldn’t place all our hopes on winning on a spell as fickle as this.”

They all chuckled.

“You’re right. But there’s plenty of time to train while we’re on the road.” reassured Raoul.

Idri hummed along, tapping her feet against the floor with increasing excitement. “Next stop, Vonas!”

“Ah, right.” Avil retrieved his phone, already canceling the waypoint the GPS had laid out along the Highspeed Train’s trail. “We’re not heading to the hospital anymore, so let’s get off on the next station. The city’s southern gate is close by, so we can start on the road to Vonas.”

Southern. The word struck a chord, bringing to memory a little stunt Raoul and Idri had performed. “Oh. We… might want to make our exit quick.”

Noticing the look of unease on his face, Cali tilted her head. “Is there something wrong, Raoul?”

“No… well, kind of? Before we visited you two today, Idri and I visited Tel Midasia. We didn’t exactly go the conventional way by passing through the checkpointed gates. We instead scaled the wall and knocked out a guard and snuck out the opposite side. Something to think about. I’m just hoping the guards don’t recognize us.”

“Oh… oh!” Idri let slip. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. We can always just run.”

“Right, but the entire reason we even climbed it was because I wouldn’t be able to outrun the guards. I’m sure we’ll figure something out, though.”

“We’re not famous enough to be recognized as a pioneering party, even if we’re official.” noted Avil. “I’m all for running as long as we don’t have to destroy more public property. No more blowing up trains with fireballs.”

Raoul fired back. “Okay, but that wasn’t our fault, was it?”

The four of them continued to bicker along, simply content with enjoying the lingering feeling of victory that still remained. Within minutes, they reached the next station, and just as always, the prerecorded voice of the intercom announcer echoed through the cabin, almost drawing away from the fact that the last train cabin had been blown up and the recent fight that had just unfolded.

We are approaching South Merius-Mala Street. The doors will open on the left. Please be mindful of your steps.

They left the train the instant the announcement rang, not wanting to draw any more attention than they already had. Avoiding the wide stairs that were beginning to fill up with panicked bystanders, they took a side exit and scaled down the building onto the road below. With Idri and Cali’s help, they managed to avoid the swarm of police officers that were starting to rush onto the platform, searching for them.

Under the cover of the night and parade of cars, they made their way to the south gate and followed the line that was being checked one-by-one by the guards set up at the checkpoint. Off to the side, a smaller gate was laid out beside the larger car-designated one, manned by two sets of three guards dressed in uniform. They approached confidently, making it to the front of the line within minutes.

Raoul led the Batan forward, and his three friends crowded around behind him once the guard called him over.

“Good evening,” the bearded guard indifferently echoed, just as he had done to the countless others that had arrived before him. “This is the South Gate of Cias Buril. May I ask what your reasons are for leaving the city?”

“Hi.” Raoul raised a hand, slightly shaken from the prospect of being caught. “We’re a new pioneering party. Futyris Batan. We’re heading out for a journey.”

The mention of pioneering snapped the guard out of his apathy, and he raised an eyebrow in response. “Is that so? And where are you heading?”

“Vonas. It’s a three day walk, if I recall.”

He peered Raoul up and down, and then shifted to inspect the rest of his friends. “That’s right. You four look young. You sure you’re not just kids sneaking out of curfew?”

“Excuse me,” Cali raised a finger before approaching. She reached into a pocket on her dress and retrieved a clean ID card. “I am an adult. So are the rest of us.”

The guard grunted, but took the card and ran his sleepy eyes through it. After a few seconds, he grunted again and returned it. “Seems legit. Go on. Have a goo—”

Just then, another guard pointed a finger toward Idri accusingly, pulled out a handgun, and shouted irritated,

“Hey…! That’s the kid who knocked me out! My neck still hurts like hell! You four are under arrest for assaulting an officer!”

Oh, shoot. Raoul cursed. He reached into his pocket to brandish his dagger, but Cali acted quicker. She was in front of the guard the next moment, sending a powerful palm strike to his solar plexus that sent him reeling. Without wasting energy, she sent another to the wall. Idri picked up on her movements and did the same, swinging for the fences (and the guards’ faces) with Kranstor’s pommel.

“Come,” Cali ran ahead and gestured for the rest of them to follow. “Our cover has been blown.”

Avil followed along, pushing as fast as his legs could take him. “Yeah, I thought that was obvious when the guy pulled out a gun on us!”

Idri chuckled, sending the last guard flying. She made a mock salute to the one that had drawn his gun and paced off. “Hehe! Sorry for that.”

Amidst it all, Raoul couldn’t help but sigh. Their scuffle had alerted the rest of the ones at the checkpoint, and more were rushing toward their location. He made no effort to run, instead strolling past the arched exit. As he passed the twenty-foot explosion radius, he held his prosthetic arm out and directed the palm toward the arch, willing the last Fireball still in the vial to shoot out.

Whoosh! The flame slipped forth, connecting with the ceiling and detonating a fiery blast that brought down the wall on the exit, completely sealing the gate from the world outside.

“My bad.”

Ahead of Raoul, his friends raced on, quickly making for the open fields of swaying grass. Just like it had done a day prior, the winds picked up, carrying a strange calmness that coaxed them all forward. Brown-feathered sparrows sung their exit in chirps, while entire packs of coyotes snuck out of the tall green, racing alongside them. A herd of antelopes ran past, bleating unintelligible bellows as they did.

He turned back. Cias Buril hung not far back, lights shining off the city and illuminating the night sky above. Entire skyscrapers stood tall and resolute, allowing him one last feel of the metropolitan bustle before he continued on.

Cias Buril. It was his birthplace. It was where he had found his friends, subsequently lost them, and then found them again. It was where a mysterious suited man had picked him out from among a busy afternoon Destagt crowd. It was where he learned to wield Driving. It was where Futyris Batan was formed. And it was where he battled and defeated his mother.

The White City. He would see it again, for sure. But for now, he was content to give it one last look of goodbye.

“Farewell, Cias Buril.”