Chapter 132: Vortex

“So what can we do about this fusion? What’s the best way to stop it?” Oliver asked.

Bracha walked closer towards the large crystalline masses and began to inspect them. She lifted her hand and outstretched her fingertips, allowing magical energy to flow into the Systema mark there. Soon a magical circle appeared and expanded, spinning as if to gather data at Bracha’s behest.

After a few silent moments the construct disappeared and Bracha offered up her answer.

“It’s too far gone. These two shards have almost completely melded into one. Their overlap is more than 89%. For the most part this is almost a rank two shard.”

*I’m not even going to ask how you know a spell to analyze something like that…* Vivian thought. She cast a glance over towards Oliver at the same time. His eyes had taken on a purplish tint, his pupils were now replaced with an inverted triangle nestled within a magic circle. This quickly faded away and Oliver shook his head as if to say, “No use.”

“Hmm.” Vivian whispered to herself.

“Then we have no choice but to venture inside. Any idea on what we can expect?” Vivian asked as she placed her hand on the hilt of her katana.

“No. There’s no telling what you will find. The only way to know for sure is to enter, there is one guarantee though — that monsters will be much stronger than we expected. Nothing the four of us can’t handle though.” Bracha remarked with a confident smile.

Just then Dealla saw a shadow out of the corner of her eye. She shifted her glance in a direction to her left, but after a few moments she saw nothing. She craned her neck, doubling her efforts to hear or see anything but to no avail.

“Is something wrong?” Gates asked after a moment. The entire conversation set the Spirit Mage on edge. He’d had many bad experiences inside shards, ones he’d rather forget all too soon. He couldn’t help but grip his staff to relieve some of the anxiety.

“No…” Dealla said after a few moments. “Nothing. Maybe I imagined it.” The dragon kin cast another glance in that general direction before pulling the edge of her cloak further down and directing her attention towards the conversation at hand.

“Everyone, one last check before we step inside.” Vivian ordered.

“Shard fusion? Bracha you never told us about that.” Katrin commented as Bracha returned to the rear guard.

“Really? I suppose it never came up, no?” the Runemaster offered with a smile. Agni was beginning to think Bracha’s cheery disposition was a front based on deniability.

Vivian created an alliance between the two teams, allowing everyone to share the ability to communicate telepathically.

*From this point on, cut all chatter and use telepathy to communicate. Just focus on who you want to receive the message before you transmit a thought. You can even use it to direct your thoughts to all members of a specific team or a single person. Otherwise everyone will hear a thought you intend to share.* Vivian briefly explained.

After one final check (and a moment for mental preparation) they began to walk towards the pair of shards.

*Enter through the space between the shards.* Bracha transmitted.

Those up front nodded and proceeded to enter.

* I hate this part.* Katrin transmitted as their turn to enter the shard drew closer. Agni wholeheartedly agreed. The sensation of coldness which penetrated into one’s body was difficult to get used to. It felt like death. Even with the protection of Mana Aura, the best one could hope for was the sense of pressure from all angles. It was like being submerged in water and the more dense or powerful the miasma surrounding, the more intense the pressure became.

Soon all adventurers completed their passage into the grew world of the blood shard. The inside looked like a grew world raining perpetual ash. Everything seemed devoid of color and life, that is, save for the brave few who made their way inside.

*Everyone be on your guard. Use the formations discussed. Rescue Team, trail no further than two meters behind at any given time.* Vivian transmitted her directions, even as she started to move forward. For everyone else, this meant to activate their Mana Reading techniques and stand roughly one meter apart. The goal was to create a small circle of adventurers with Bracha bringing up the rear. Three feet was deemed the least taxing sphere of influence that the group of rescuers could maintain for long periods.

The dim light which barely pushed through the thick veil of smoke made it seem as if they were walking through a sea of mist. Everything was deathly quiet, not because this dark world lacked sound, but because everyone did their utmost to be silent. After hearing tales of Dealla’s daring escape from the very same shard, everyone’s mind was on one thing and one thing alone — survival.

It played out differently for each of them. For Gigi, she ‘talked’ a lot to diffuse her tension. This meant commenting on any and everything which caught her eye. Shula remained quiet, as did Agni, Katrin and Gates. All of them felt that it was pivotal to maintain vigilance. Dealla was perhaps the most quiet of all, she was currently struggling to maintain her composure.

Though her mind ran vivid memories of her mad dash through the forest as she attempted to evade capture from an unknown enemy that seemed invincible. If not for her borderline obsessive need to find her Dragon’s Longing, Dealla would never have willingly entered another blood shard for as long as she lived. The dragon kin struggled with thoughts like these even as she moved along.

*Oliver.* Vivian transmitted as the two groups came to a halt. The Archmage stepped forward just a few steps to the advance position and lifted a single hand. Purple energy began to flow forward, it was visible to the eyes and resembled ever expanding circles which echoed outwards from Oliver’s position. He performed this mysterious action for nearly a minute, every so often he would shift the position of his hand or change his direction by degrees before finally his scan of the area was complete.

*This place is huge. Well, it’s to be expected since this is effectively two shard worlds combined.* Oliver explained his findings.

*So big in fact that I can’t find the confines of this place — in any direction. I also didn’t find any traces of life.* Oliver’s thoughts trailed off for the briefest of moments. He cast a glance towards Dealla before continuing.

*But, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I couldn’t project my magic particles as far as I would have liked to. I did notice something strange though. It’s difficult to describe. A storm perhaps?* Oliver explained.

*It’s like a vortex of…energy? Maybe it’s some sort of natural event or occurrence, but it’s directly due east of us by about 6,400 meters (about 4 miles).*

*Lead the way.* Vivian transmitted.

*Everyone else, keep your eyes peeled for tents or potential hiding spots as we move.*

Rescue work required meticulous observation in the best of conditions. With such poor visibility conditions, the stress of maintaining Mana Reading and the pressure of impending enemy attack — the rescue team was beginning to mentally build fatigue.

Due to their slowed pace, it took them almost two hours to reach the ‘occurrence’ that Oliver Pagnal mentioned. During that time he took charge, using his sensory magic to lead the others through the fog of miasma. They stopped occasionally when they found large rocks, downed logs or other places which might function as a hiding spot in the woodland area. None of them yielded a clue as to what happened to the adventurers which came before them.

Finally the alliance of adventurers were faced with something strange indeed. It could only be described as a vortex of miasma. The suction force of the vortex was so powerful that all of the lingering miasma in the area was drawn to it. By the time they came within viewing distance their visibility had improved significantly.

The vortex seemed to defy the laws of physics. Billowing grey mist folded in upon itself, flowing into a core which seemed to be powered by magic. The magical mass , to Agni, reminded her of a living hurricane. It’s shape resembled nothing of the sort, for it was spherical in nature yet there was a distinct “eye” filled with magical energy that freely churned and manipulated the mass of miasma. The longer she stared into this mass the more she was able to discern the “arms” of the storm which helped to furiously power the swirling mass of mist-like gas.

*What is that?* Dealla transmitted as she gripped the hilt of her blade.

*Oliver?* Vivian thought.

*It’s… I honestly have no idea.* He thought as he held up his hand, signaling everyone to halt. The elf slowly, surely stepped forward as he took in the sight of the vortex before him. The mass itself was easily six meters (18 ft) in diameter. The closer he moved towards the vortex, the thinner the air became until Oliver could easily see everything in the nearby surroundings.

At first Oliver believed that the alliance had stumbled into a clearing, but that wasn’t the case. Everywhere he looked were the broken bases of thin trees and scattered tree trunks. From the looks of things the trees were easily snapped in two. Furthermore the bark covering the downed trunks looked as if they’d been smashed with something blunt, like a sledgehammer. It was clear to him that these trees had been downed with sheer force.

Seeing such a sight caused Oliver to pause, not out of fear, for he was exceedingly confident in his own skills. No, it was out of instinct. He paused for a moment and sharpened his senses, almost as if he was reading the atmosphere intuitively. His long, elven ears searched for anything that might lend his prudent actions credence. The sound numerous air currents, it was the sound of suction and billowing grey mist folding in on itself. He could hear something else mingled in with the nose. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. More than one, several almost simultaneously.

Oliver closed his eyes, struggling to search for the realization that he felt was so near. And just like that, his eyes popped open.

*Shit! Enemy, we’ve–* Oliver’s transmission was cut off completely as the mass of mist began to behave ominously. One moment he was standing before the group and the next he was gone, swiped away like an insect to be swatted. All of them gathered struggled to comprehend what they’d just seen as the vortex began to shift in shape and seven appendages made of mist extended from the mass of miasma.