10. Chapter Ten #2
“It’s just a fucking hole. What’s so intimidating about that?” She threw out her hand—
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A smooth deep voice came from inside the temple, one of the Lords.
A cold chill snaked down my spine at the voice. I didn’t turn to see which Lord it was, my eyes were locked on the female. I wanted to see what she was planning to do. Our wielding didn’t work in Odes’s grave. Surely she knew that. Everyone did.
The female gave a mocking smirk just as fire streamed out of her palm and into the chasm.
She began to scream as her body started to twitch, the black mists crawled up the fire she was conjuring.
She couldn’t let go; she couldn’t even move .
The mist reached up and surrounded her before it yanked her body into the chasm, her screams echoing off the cliffs.
No one said a word, not even the Lord who spoke before. It happened so fast, it would have been unbelievable if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes as I stared in abject horror.
I guess she wasn’t strong enough either.
No one was certain what happened to the wielded elements that went in there.
Our ability to manipulate the elements, funneled by the Spirits, was energy manifested in different forms. The wielder did just that, they wielded the energy in the way that their abilities allowed them to influence it.
But none of that mattered at that moment.
From what I knew, magic wouldn’t have helped me to survive the fall into the chasm.
And it certainly wouldn’t have helped me in Woltawa Forest.
“So what, we just…jump in?” A male with curly red hair down to his chin on one side and half a shaved head called over the gusts of wind. I followed his line of sight to the Sages who ignored him and walked back into the temple.
As if in answer, all our marks glowed again, burning the skin to a sharp stinging sensation. A push from the Spirits. Looking down at the chasm, my breathing came faster, and my heart raced.
The dark-haired male with dreadlocks down the line, a few paces to my right, spoke up, “Let’s see if the Fallen God can kill from the grave.” He stepped off the ledge falling into the black mists.
Another male, shirtless and covered in tattoos, stepped forward, his toes stopped just over the edge briefly, and didn’t say a word as he followed.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath through my nose to center myself while sending a silent prayer to the Gods. Clearing my mind of any thoughts, any fears.
I will not die .
I opened my eyes, and without thinking I stepped out into nothing, falling into the abyss of the Rip.
The rocky cliffs quickly disappeared from sight as I fell farther and farther into the deep mists, everything around me growing darker.
At first, the air was rushing past so quickly that it stung my eyes.
My stomach lurched into my throat at the sensation, not knowing when it would end.
Then, there was nothing but blackness all around me for a long while.
Either my body had turned numb or I had gotten used to the stinging air.
I wasn’t sure if minutes or hours passed as I continued to fall. At least, I thought I was still falling. I couldn’t see or hear anything. I wondered if the Gods would let me fall to my death after I’d trusted them with my life.
Am I still alive?
I blinked several times to make sure my eyes were actually open.
Then I bit my cheek and the metallic taste of blood pooled in my mouth.
I was still alive. But I couldn’t feel the air on my face, and my hair was still, almost like I was floating.
My head spun, disoriented. It was as if I were suspended in time.
Blinding light suddenly filled the space below me, and I slammed my eyes shut.
Wincing at the brightness, I put my arm over my eyes to shield them from the agonizing luminosity.
Then, I slowly blinked my eyes open and removed my arm after a few moments of adjustment.
Underneath my floating body was a large island, covered in trees of every shade of green and of all sizes—some so large they had to be taller than Morah.
The Woltawa Forest .
My breath caught and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sight.
I had never seen land from above like this before, like I was in the clouds.
It was magnificent. Birds that I had never seen were gliding around the island.
In the treetops, creatures lurked that were unknown to my world.
On the west side of the island, a single extraordinary mountain protruded from the land, its peak not coming to a point but a crater.
I got lost in the view when a celestial blend of voices spoke. The voices were all around me. A shiver crept across my body at the otherworldly sound, goosebumps prickling along my skin.
The Gods .
“You have trusted us with your life to see you through the Rip. We have seen your soul and your intentions. Your loyalty is true. We shall allow you passage into the Woltawa Forest until the third dawn.”
I passed the first test .
I quietly breathed a sigh of relief as the voices continued.
“Your task is this: Where the land reaches the sky, you shall find what light brings to life, yet dies in darkness. Only its death will bring forth the path, guided by what has a river that does not flow.” The voice was gone.
What?
My mind couldn’t focus, so I repeated the riddle to myself over and over and over. The Woltawa Forest began to disappear as the darkness enveloped me once again.