Emily instinctively covered her mouth, even though her matrix filtered out anything harmful. The winds above churned like a living thing, wild and unrelenting, but she quickly realized it was all an illusion.

The air currents were indeed in motion, but far slower than they appeared. What she had taken for a furious storm was, in truth, creeping forward at no more than a walking pace.

And yet, that didn't calm her.

If anything, it made her more uneasy.

The storm that had nearly killed her on the way here had been violent and chaotic. This one was quieter—calmer, even—but it radiated a sense of calculated malice that set her nerves alight.

She immediately abandoned any thought of heading back outside. Not unless she had no other choice.

That left only one way forward along the pipe.

Even as she treaded water, a resigned sigh escaped her. She didn't like it, but she accepted it.

Unwilling to waste time, Emily took a couple of deep breaths as her gown reinflated with fresh air.

She dove back down and propelled herself forward as fast as her abilities could carry her. The tunnel looked much the same, but she didn't have many options, so she pushed forward ever more.

This time, it was only three breaths before the next opening appeared. She refilled her air and kept going. As luck would have it, several cracks had appeared in the passage over time, and so she made good use of them.

Stopping only long enough to catch her breath and move on.

Because of how fast she was moving and the fact that she could move in a straight line, she covered a great deal of distance. She would need to look at her map to get her bearings, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Emily was surprised that so much water had survived underground, but what impressed her even more was how untouched it remained, free of infestation or anything dangerous.

Sadly, all good things had to come to an end.

Emily had just taken her first breath of air from her reserves when her new eyes noticed a blockage up ahead.

Sand filled the waterway, blocking her advance.

Luckily, with her new spell moving it out of the way was not a problem, but her limited time was.

Emily pulled blood from both her hands and swirled it through the water, building her ward for the second time today.

The blood condensed, and the source flowed in, beginning its function.

The sand ahead churned and moved towards her as one large mass. She forced it to condense against the walls of the tunnel, and it worked. However, as she moved deeper into the tunnel, more sand fell from above, which forced the waters around Emily to churn.

The silt from above kept coming until Emily was almost to her last breath. She had to rush back to one of the previous openings to get more air before returning.

When she restarted the ward, she managed to pull the remaining blockage down.

The sand fell free from the opening, and Emily found a large reflective pool staring back at her.

Or at least an exit to this underground passage. The problem was the space beyond.

She expected it to be dark like the rest of the tunnels, but they glowed with the familiar orange of the storm.

There wasn't much to do beyond taking a look. If this passage was blocked, she'd have to retrace her steps and try another direction.

Her head burst forth into the room as she took a look around.

What Emily found was simultaneously foreign yet familiar.

It was a collapsed sanctuary, eerily reminiscent of the butte she had left Alex and Tao in, though this place bore the marks of age and neglect. Sand filled every crevice, piling in drifts across the floor, and the stonework was worn smooth by time. The structure she had emerged from resembled a well, and in the center of the chamber stood a tree, gnarled, weathered, and nearly forgotten, but still alive.

Above, a massive crack split the ceiling, letting the storm bleed in. Orange light poured through the gap, flickering like firelight, barely held back by the tree's outstretched limbs. Its branches twisted toward the sky like fingers trying to seal the breach, and though they shimmered faintly with some lingering power, their bark was already blackened and charred from the effort.

She realized, with a slow knot forming in her gut, that she had arrived just in time. One more day—maybe two—and even this last remnant of sanctuary would have been lost to the storm.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

As good a sign as all this was, it quickly became apparent that she was trapped.

If the storm was already out there, then the only recourse was to open the doors and brave it.

Fortunately, she couldn't let that get to her right now.

She rummaged through her pack to find her Cardinex and affixed it to her wrist. Snacking on a ration at the same time. As she looked around the space. She searched the store room, but nothing there could be of use. Even the earthen clay pots had broken over time.

When she had searched the place for anything useful, she went to sit with her back against the tree.

Sending a small amount of source through the metal.

The Cardinex pointed her in a particular direction, and after some thought, she switched to the runes carved on the back.

The direction never changed, so she was either so far away that the city and Alex were almost indistinguishable. Or he'd headed back after she hadn't returned.

Emily got up, frowning, unsure which of those options she liked best.

On one hand, she would prefer he were safe in the city with this strange storm outside, but on the other hand, she wanted him to be the first one to greet her when she got to the sanctuary.

Humming to herself, she busied her thoughts with how to escape.

She had already found the door, and with some sufficient wiggling, she thought she could open it.

But what then?

The sight of the inferno on the ceiling was all too obvious, and even then, she wasn't sure if her matrix could block it completely.

Deciding she better test it, she drifted up to the ceiling and plunged her arm into the heat.

Right away, a searing heat burned her skin, but the shell of her power seemed to keep the majority away.

It was like receiving a consistent sunburn. Which meant in some manner that she couldn't determine the power out there was getting through.

Even when she pulled her arm away, the heat stuck to the outside of the matrix like tar.

It was exactly as she first anticipated.

Grunting, Emily lowered herself and gently rubbed the tender areas.

She had protection against whatever this storm was, but it was not complete.

That was until her eye fell on the tree.

Suddenly, a slow smile began to grow on her face.

From the looks of it, the tree seemed capable of warding off the heat, at least to some extent. A quality Emily could very much use right now.

Looking up at the old, dead-looking wood, she placed her hands on the trunk.

"Sorry, big guy. You understand, don't you?" she said wryly.

So far, these trees had been in almost every place the ashvali were. So it was safe to say that they could be sacred or something to the tribe.

But it didn't matter much to Emily. She wasn't about to leave a potentially life-saving resource.

Blood cut into the tree, shearing through the outer layer of the bark and removing it as one neat sheet.

The wood was so dry it almost crumbled in her hands. Not even sap came to the surface of the wound.

Emily cut a couple more layers deep to get more protection before layering the inside of the bark with blood.

Snapping and reshaping it, she moulded the bark around her body like an armour until only two eye holes remained.

It was a little claustrophobic, but if this was necessary to survive out there, then she wasn't going to complain.

The interlocking plates of wood moved with her blood, but she probably looked similar to Svent with all this wood on her.

Emused, Emily wondered how this would look to the Treefolk.

Stepping to the door, she opened the first and then, with a steadying breath, the second.

A wave of glowing embers surged into the space, parting around her matrix. The wood sizzled on contact, but quickly settled. Emily was relieved to find that the heat from her earlier test couldn't reach her skin.

Reassured, she stepped out into the whispering storm.

The world outside was a churning sea of rolling orange. Superheated winds flash-boiled the sand, and spontaneous arcs of lightning danced through the air. Radioactive dust clung to everything it touched. Her matrix held most of it at bay, but some still managed to stick to her.

She scanned the horizon and started toward home without hesitation.

Then, finally, good news. In the distance, she spotted a dull patch in the storm. It took her a moment, but she realized it had to be the storm's leading edge.

It was moving slowly.

If she kept a steady pace, she could be out within the hour.

Emboldened, she broke into a slow jog.

Half an hour later, she confirmed it: a thinning in the storm, like a pocket. Not enough to relax completely, but proof she was near the edge. Still, her armor had begun to blacken. The outer bark layer had charred, and now she left a trail of ash wherever she stepped.

The armor was holding—but just barely. Every arc of lightning left scorched scars in the wood. Worse, the closer she got to the storm's edge, the more frequent the strikes became. Soon, not a second passed without some fork of electricity lashing toward her.

Still, she pushed on. Turning back now would only bring her pain and waste what little time she had left.

The lightning reached the third and final layer of bark. Each strike now sent tingling jolts that raised the hairs on her arms.

Then Emily took to the air.

She could see the storm's edge. She knew her armor wouldn't last that far, but she had no choice.

She vaulted forward, and as if the lightning took notice.

Plasma spun around her in tangled arcs, grounding into the boiling sands. The bark shattered and crumbled away, but she wove her blood through the gaps, forcing some cohesion into the failing shield.

When the lightning finally struck her bare skin, she expected it to paralyze her.

It didn't.

Instead, the energy threaded through her tendons and ligaments, ricocheting along her nerves in luminous paths. It burned like wildfire, but the plasma coursed through her like it had somewhere to go, as if it recognized the channels.

Grinning to herself, she charged forward, letting the storm do its worst as she tore through its front, getting clear.

Blinding, blistering daylight, as the wind kicked up grit around her. Emily spun around, staring at the wall of storm still lumbering forward. It rose into the sky like a living, breathing colossus, consuming the land one slow step at a time.

A brisk walk. That's all it took to stay ahead of it. No wonder she'd made it out in a day.

She looked down. An orange haze clung to her skin and to her pack.

Her frown deepened.

The matrix hadn't completely covered her supplies. Worse, the faint radioactive glow clung stubbornly to the pouch where she kept the shards. Not willing to risk contamination, she drew them deeper into her matrix for protection.

Most of her rations and water were gone—either ruined or flash-evaporated. The book Ashe had given her crumbled in her hands, but she'd already memorized the spell.

Sighing, Emily checked her Cardinex. Still working—still pointing toward Alex. That was enough.

If she wanted to beat the storm to the sanctuary, she needed to keep moving—and fast. With a small draw on her life source, she boosted her body into a steady jog.

She was free. Free of that cursed place.

Now, all she had to do was find her way home.

One last glance back showed the storm continuing to expand, curling across the landscape.

How far would it grow? How long would it last?

Either way, she was only too glad that wasn't her problem anymore.

Blood points: 671

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.