Chapter 105 - To Where She was Sent

”Analyzing open rifts and portals to figure out the other end of them is something anyone can learn. Finding these rifts and portals when they are already closed is another level of mastery entirely.” ~Shallies Mythernal

Shallies knew where Thrush’ven Alir had taken Laika. It also verified to her what they were dealing with.

As soon as news spread out to the entire guild, Guildmaster Maxims called for a private meeting. Him, Yoshelle, and the seraphim were there. And since Valor’el insisted, Shallies had also been able to join. They all gathered in a large meeting tent, enclosed with a soundproofing veil.

“This has never happened in Thrush’ven Alir before,” the Guildmaster began. He was stressed. Having members die in the guild was never something he could take lightly. And now that someone was missing, frustration and hope were having an internal clash inside the man. He was struggling not to push the blame toward the seraphim. “Does this have anything to do with what you’re looking for?”

Shallies had already given the subtle signal to Valor’el before the meeting, so that he would answer any probing questions truthfully.

“It does,” he replied. “Someone’s manipulating Thrush’ven Alir.”

“Manipulating a raid?” Yoshelle asked, concerned. “Isn’t that something only gods can do?”

“Or a god’s First Avanity,” Phey’lan added. Shallies had also given her permission to share this information.

“First Avanity?” both father and daughter asked.

“It’s not an indicator of order,” Valor’el clarified. “It’s a title, given by a god to their most favored Avatar of Divinity. These extremely blessed people are able to shoulder a significant amount of Divine Authority. More than what a mortal could take, but less than what an Acting Deity can muster. Because of this, they gain a minimal amount of sway to the System. And one such influence they can have is creating minor changes in a raid.”

“Such as opening a rift in a split second while everyone’s busy defending against a lightning beam,” Shallies said, ending the explanation. She specifically didn’t mention that such an authority predated the existence of the System. It would be too much of an effort to explain, not to mention it would make them suspicious of her.

Maxims was clutching his head, trying to digest the information. Yoshelle was in utter disbelief that such a position of power could exist. Even Arun’dul, who was always the stoic person in the group, had his jaw dropped.

Shallies and the two veterans stayed silent for a while, allowing for the revelation to sink in.

“I take it you have an inkling as to where she was taken?” the Guildmaster asked.

This made both Valor’el and Shallies’ faces turn to Phey’lan.

“I traced the echoes of the rift,” said the female seraph, taking the attention of the rest of the attendees. Recently closed rifts that opened from both sides would leave echoes, allowing some gifted adventurers to analyze both destinations if they were quick enough. “She’s still in the same plane of existence, but she’s no longer in the raid.”

“Where, then?” Maxims asked, his fists clenched.

Phey’lan pointed upwards. “In space.”

Another shocked silence filled the room. This time, even Valor’el was in shock. The male seraph’s eyebrows contorted while his jaw dropped.

“How’s that possible?” he managed to ask.

“If she’s in space, then I’m pretty sure she won’t survive,” Yoshelle added, placing both hands on her eyes to cover her tears.

Various experiments and magical technological advancements had allowed people to reach the skies. Of course, it only made sense for some to go further. And while people had figured out breathing underwater, or teleporting long distances, or opening portals to summon other people, no one had successfully made any ground on surviving in space. Even Cross-Plane Rifts were preferable.

No one that people knew about, of course.

It was apparent by looking at both Maxims and Yoshelle that they were running out of hope. Even the seraphim didn’t know what to do.

Shallies scratched her head, realizing that this would be the first time in a long while that she would be sharing this little secret of hers. She meticulously chose the words to make sure she wasn’t accidentally slipping from her disguise. But she needed to give them that hope. Motivation and morale were extremely important in a raid, and she wouldn’t let those go lower that it already had if she could help it.

“Umm… Don’t tell anyone this, but Godkiller Bernadette actually has a base up there.” She quickly closed her eyes and flinched preemptively.

“A WHAT!?” everyone exclaimed. They shouted, they slammed the table, they leaned closer to her. Shallies thought the veil wouldn’t be enough to hide the echoes. She felt her hair blow backwards from the vibrating air.

“How come I didn’t know about this?” Valor’el asked.

“Because I’m the favorite student,” the Godkiller replied. She sent him a soft ping to not push any further. The information was true, but it was significant enough that it might have rippling effects that could cause inconsistencies with her disguise. She didn’t need another factor to join the mix.

“Anyway,” she resumed. “It’s not a place she often visits. It’s a place she goes to whenever she wants to be alone. She won’t even let lumilettes maintain that place. If Laika got teleported over there, or anywhere close to that place, then she would be able to breathe. If she’s inside the base, however, I’m afraid she won’t be able to see anything.”

Technically, Shallies could verify if the dog-ferim had indeed been thrown there by the rift. But that would involve using Stellar mana and her Divine Authority, which would surely blow her cover. It was a conundrum, for sure, and she didn’t think it would be worth the exchange just to see if Laika had ended up there.

It took a while for things to calm down. But eventually, Maxims found the next words he had to ask.

“Can we bring her back?”

“We can,” Shallies answered right away. “But we need to face whoever opened that rift, and tell them to bring her back.”

After the meeting, Shallies was able to convince the others to take a rest. The guild had taken a big beating. That evening, she noticed Phey’lan tossing and turning. The seraph couldn’t really stand losing people, even those she had just met. They shared a tent together, which, out of habit, was also veiled.

“Shallies,” she stared in a whisper. “You awake?”

“Mmm?”

“Do you really have a base in space?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“It’s my secret base.”

“Oh… Why share now, then?”

“They needed something to hold on to.”

“Ah… Can’t you just go and check if Laika’s there?”

“Not without risking my identity.”

“But—”

“I already asked Stachie to send her a message. Don’t worry.” Shallies turned so that Phey’lan could hear her better. “If Laika’s inside the base, we can give her some assurance of safety. I’m sure she has some rations for a few days, but I also have some preserved food there, if things go desperate.”

“I thought you didn’t like buying preservation containers?”

“I didn’t like bringing them with me.” Shallies shrugged. “Have to adapt, you know?”

Phey’lan sighed. “Alright. Thank you. I thought we wouldn’t be able to do anything, except risk your true identity.”

“Yeah. Now get some sleep. We need to work harder tomorrow.”

Laika slapped her face with both hands. She did so for three reasons. First, she needed to force herself to stay awake. Second, needed to pump herself up and regather her resolve. Third, because she was punishing herself for being stupid.

After the fear and terror had subsided, after spending hours in the darkness, bumping onto walls or falling off flights of stairs, the dog-ferim finally remembered that she had ways to make light. The relief took most of the tension out of her body, forcing her to lean on a wall she couldn’t see and slide down on the floor that she assumed was there.

She made a desperate prayer to Syakumishi before trying to open her Class Inventory. And when the thin line of the opening showed up, glowing a faint blue, she made a long sigh of relief.

Laika pulled out a mana-lamp.

Once more, she made a prayer, fed the item her mana, and hoped that it would work. A few seconds passed, and she desperately held on to her crumbling hope.

Nothing.

Laika closed her eyes, wishing to wake up from the nightmare. She wasn’t dreaming; that much she had already determined. She repeatedly told herself to calm down, which was repeatedly denied by her own rising grief. Her mind frantically went back-and-forth, from rational contingencies and survival logic to fantasy and wishful thinking.

Darkness ate at her sanity, and she had long since gone beyond her limit. So when she was about to smash the mana-lamp out of frustration, it took her a few seconds to realize that it had emitted a soft, yellow glow. In a mixture of joy and panic, the dog-ferim desperately held on to the lamp, hugging it tightly as her teary face dropped all over it.

She cried from both despair and happiness, clinging on to that fragile hope that she could still find a way out of this mess. Laika took all the time she needed to calm down. And when she opened her eyes again, still finding that soft light, she realized she had been ignoring something in front of her face.

[Laika, I can’t contact you with audio because you’re too far away. If you can read this, please reply through your System Console.]

“H-hello?” she said weakly, her throat coarse from crying too much. She reached out to her System Console, letting it type out her words. “Am I connected? Can you read my reply?”

[I see it. My name is Stachie. I’m here to help you. Do you have any sources of light with you?]

“I do.”

[Are you inside a building?]

Laika focused the mana-lamp on the floor. It was made of marble. Each section was wide enough to fit about six of her, and all of them had a convoluted, repeating pattern. She couldn’t distinguish the color because of the low light, but that, including the wall, made her conclude that she was in a building.

“Yes. I can barely see the floor with a complex pattern. Marble. The wall is too, but without any patterns.”

[I need you to find a door or a staircase. I need you to look for a crest.]

“Okay. Give me a minute.”

[Take all the time you need, Laika.]

“Please don’t leave?”

[I’ll be here. You can talk to me, if that makes you more comfortable.]

Laika took deep breaths until she found the courage to stand again. She fed her mana-lamp some more mana. It didn’t increase the intensity, but she just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t go out and leave her in the darkness. She remembered vaguely where she last fell down a flight of stairs and headed towards that direction.

“Can you tell me who you are, Stachie?” she asked while walking slowly. The light could only reach so far, and her mind was playing tricks on her, making her see things that shouldn’t be there. She wanted something her eyes could focus on while she let her peripheral view do the searching.

[I’m afraid I can’t share, Laika. It’s for your own good. Not even Guildmaster Maxims knows of my existence.]

“Are you the one who pulled me here? Was it an accident?”

[Unfortunately, the force behind your misfortune was someone else. Someone who’s currently unknown, but they’re manipulating the Thrush’ven Alir Raid for some reason. Your guild knows that they must track down this perpetrator in order to bring you back, but we need to confirm first if you ended up where we think you did.]

“And the crest will help you with that?”

[Yes.]

“Okay. I think I’m on the stairs.”

[You’d find the crest on the post of the handle.]

Laika pointed the mana-lamp to the post. She saw the crest almost immediately. A ship’s helm, but with only the four cardinal directions for handles. Two swords crossed behind it, filling for the missing handles in the intermediate directions.

“I don’t recognize this crest,” the dog-ferim said as she relayed her observations. “Some kind of ancient pirate?”

[It’s from a friend who helped build the place. We’re now sure where you are. It might be dark, but you’re in a safe place, Laika. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to bring you back. You’ll have to wait for your guild. For now, just find a bedroom and sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll direct you to where you can find some food, but you may want to use your rations first. It’s up to you.]

“How long should I expect to stay here?”

[If your raid progress is any indication, I’d say about a week or two. I’ll give you constant updates, but it’ll be only during this time of day. You’ll have to survive on your own, when I’m not around.]

“Can you at least tell me where I am, then?”

The response took a while. Laika’s weakened mind even entertained the thought that she was just hallucinating Stachie. But her System Console flashed again.

[Promise you won’t panic.]

“I promise.”

[You’re on the moon.]