Chapter 30: A Civilization!
The scent thickened the deeper they walked, curling through the twisted branches of Vaingall like a lure braided from smoke and soul. Kivas took in a long breath, the savory tang of cooked substance and roasted spice making her knees weaken.
"It smells like dinner. Like, real dinner. Will there be a gentle lady that offers me actual food? A lady who's kind to strangers with a warm family to bode?" Kivas voice came in quick succession. "Do people even have cities here? Is it a marketplace? Is it underground? A floating town? A hive built into a living cliff? What if it's a dome grown from fungus? Or—oh—what if they milk Voidlings for essence and sell it fried?"
Samael exhaled in amusement, eyes half-lidded as she watched her companion's verbal sprint.
"You'll see."
Kivas didn't slow. "Do they have taverns? Inns? Smithies? Guns exist, so I want to see a vending machine that trades in forgotten memories. Maybe a place that sells clothes that change when you lie. Or a cafe that brews anxiety into tea~"
Samael stepped forward, soles brushing the moss-carpeted path. "This is the first time I see you this filled with excitement."
Before Kivas could conjure another hundred images of what might lie ahead, a subtle ripple moved through her senses.
Her skin tingled, and something spiritual shifted around her, a barely audible hum running along her spine. It felt like walking through silk strung with static.
She turned her head. "What was that?"
"A barrier," Samael said. "We just passed through the field projected by a Crystal of Covenant."
Kivas glanced backward, seeing nothing but fading mist and warped tree silhouettes. At this point, her expectation of Fathomi's bizarreness had gone through the roof. "Crystal of what now?"