Testing out the myth of the town where not only could you get rid of nightmares, but you could have a really good dream here every night, I rested my head on the paper-like hotel pillow.
The opposite actually happened. The dream slowed as each step and swim was more grueling as the dream made its way to the climatic conclusion. I might have had the dream multiple times that night.
I couldn't stand well when I woke up. I crawled to the inn's toilet and vomited. The circulation around my hands truly felt cut off as they were completely numb.
I finished vomiting up the food from last night and showered. My clothes looked like the ones I wore in the dream, I just couldn't bring myself to wear them. I laid under the sheets of the inn's bed. I slept a little later than normal, but I didn't want to leave the bed.
…
Rex's point of view
"You have to be kidding me!" I threw the papers on the desk in front of me.
"It's true. Another city was attacked by that ash this morning." Spoke, the President.
"There was nothing like this in your visions! I can't even find that- that super boom dude again!"
"Did you just call him 'Super Boom?'" Yeal gave a chuckle.
"Ugh. I don't like to think that man has a presence like that." I shook my head across from the president. "You know…"
"What?" She asked
"I talked to that guy about a week ago. One of those people who are just so kind they stumble over complimenting you. After a service at a church in East Fayha he came up to me. He said I love how you form your words."
"Form your words?" She gave another low laugh.
"Weird, I know. The man just wanted to give a compliment and was so excited to meet me. His words just.. came out like that." I laughed too.
"Then a few weeks later he's 'Super Boom' and can level a whole city." Her voice went monotone.
"How'd he even get that bell?" Flamé asked, raising her hand out.
"I have no idea. We had the bell in a little town named Marine a couple decades ago. The population dropped and we moved it to the capital of East Mila. The same one the man was from."
"You think he's working alone?" Yeal asked.
"I have no idea." I shook my head.
"After Fayha's incident I'd like to stick to our original plans now that Paukena is in the Stone Masks but-"
"OH! Am I late?" Paukena panted, arriving in our meeting room.
She wore her normal pumpkin dress but had on a stone pumpkin mask hanging on the side of her head.
"No, you can take a seat wherever." Yeal responded.
Flamé came over and pulled a seat next to Yeal out for her. She then gestured for her to sit. Turning around she pulled two more seats out on the other side of Yeal.
"Oh, thank you love." Paukena hopped down smiling.
"Ok, we can discuss 'Super Boom' after everyone leaves. It's more of a Mila problem-"
"Wow, I guess I'm late." A man gave a hardy laugh with his wife next to him.
…
Heo Estellé's point of view
I had managed to turn the maríft wool I had in my backpack into wrapping around my chest. It looked like how Primé had his. It had gotten to twelve PM and I hadn't even left the inn.
I needed to make up time. I walked out of my room and down the steps made out of the ulnarah tree wood. The stairs creaked as I walked down them. Must be old for this material to creak. I want to hunt as much as I can today before it's too dark to see any marífts.
When I walked back down to the counter the man was sleeping. His suit on him looks too big at an angle over him. His chest rising and falling softly. I quietly slipped out and into the darker streets. I released my horns into flames and charged them with more magic to brighten the area.
Thankfully my horns were fine and I could easily manipulate them. There was nothing I could find looking on my phone about not being able to manipulate magic you were once able to. All I found were videos of people using fire magic, all of their fire seemingly more calm than mine is.
The wool around my chest was really soft and strong. I have to find a giant maríft to skin and give it to Stella. I smiled and continued on. The way I had it wrapped around my chest revealed the majority of the scar. I never cared for hiding it, in fact, I could reveal my abs because Stella wasn't with me to stop me.
Thinking about a bed for Stella I thought of Fayha, of Āpala. Feeling a clip from him I continued on to find marífts.
I paused and looked up at the sound of tree's leaves fighting each other for the light of the day. In the same direction the wind went a different direction as a hoard of marífts ran up the hill on the entrance road. This time their number was in the hundreds for sure.
Why the hell is there so damn many. No way they went unchecked for this long? I sighed. I thought it would be quicker. I don't know why I'm complaining. I love fighting recklessly and these guys don't know how to fight at all.
I smiled devilishly and ran at them. I used Universal Destruction, and in a wide radius, pulled them all to me. The ones that didn't teleport away got sucked towards me. I used the Segmented Sea to slice them all.
I used water and gravity mixed to carry the horde with me out of town to my pile. I found more on the way. I pushed the entire area down with a heavy crushing amount of gravity. I was able to shatter bones and immobilize them if not immediately kill them.
I added them to my water and reached my pile outside the city. The pile was decently high when I was last here, but it seems like something came and took some of the marífts. I threw the new ones into the pile and headed back into town.
Once I was back on the entrance road I headed off left towards the residential district. On the hill before the houses were falling streams of spiraling water. The mini streams of water were purposefully shaped into the ground. At the end of each stream it fell close to the road then down towards the intersection.
Marífts did conjugate at the water source. Drinking it as if they truly needed it. I crept up behind the hoard and silently casted a giant crushing net of Universal Destruction empowered gravity. Less got away this time, and the forest was filled with distorted sheep noises.
Once they all quieted and I kneed the weight on them more I dropped the spell. Spinning the Segmented Sea in my hand, more confident wielding it, I collected the marífts into a giant water. My head softly hurt once I started the second trip.
A maríft was laying near the road. I must have hit it on accident not realizing it was behind me. But when I swiped my sword over the body to allow for the water to grab it, the maríft twisted back to life.
It screeched and charged at me. I didn't block in time and was sent backwards onto my feet. I had regained balance, but my leg fell into one of the streams of water.
The maríft wasn't in front of me. It's horns slammed into my back, throwing me onto the ground, and dropping all the bodies to the ground. I pushed up, not wielding the heavy and giant sword.
The maríft was gone again. I turned around, and around again. Getting kicked in the head by a falling maríft sent me onto the ground. I barely dodged the maríft's body, crushing my skull as I rolled over.
I collected a giant amount of fire magic to shoot out. Right as I released it the maríft disappeared and my fire faltered. A headache wreaked my body as I struggled to stand.
"How am I being jumped by a single maríft?"
It went for my head again, but it messed up its timing as I heard it before. I turned punching the maríft as I dodged. The body instantly vanished into nothing.
My eyes stretched wider with Universal Being activated. The maríft didn't mess up the timing the next time, but I stabbed Paukena's sword through it.
A sliver of water magic I attached to it slowly faded. I released Universal Destruction, only using it to sense the distance between us.
"Gods, you are annoying."
I walked upon the body again. Charging a fire to shoot at it. It twitched back to life but was quickly shut down by fire magic. I was spent on magic and still had a hoard to move.
I sighed and sprawled across the forest. More rustling came from above me. I shot up and pulled Paukena's sword back to me. Staying on my toes I listened as intensely as I could. The silent forest only offered the sounds of leaves high above me and my feet crushing the grassless dirt.
I hit a puddle. The puddle was out of the dark purple blood of the marífts. I had scattered its blood all around the area including the water. Blood filled the forest like a massacre the Hero of Chaos would have left. Since I was in West Mila it was more like the America's Ruin type of massacre. Nothing had attacked me and I hadn't heard anything move since the first rustling.
I swayed the blade away. Pushing the headache down I collected the marífts and headed back to my pile of them.