Aimless Ascension

Xiaolin told Maya about the most relevant part of her story, well, mostly related to the impairment in her constitution and how her master helped them. As she went deeper, she didn't leave out topics about the inheritance she got after going through what her master called the first calamity. "First Calamity," Maya said. "It has been so long since I heard that term in others' mouths. After we're done with this, maybe I can help you understand your inheritance better." "Thank you," Xiaolin said, bowing her head, somehow being still on top of Vale. They have been travelling for a few minutes now. The storm had calmed down by that point, only clamouring high up somewhere they couldn't see in the darkness. Abruptly, Maya halted in her path, eyes peering into the darkness. Immediately an arch appeared on her brows. "Something wrong?" Maya didn't need to answer, as countless screeches told her what she wanted to know. "Stay near me," Maya instructed her as she came before her. The ball of illumination providing enough light for them to notice the disturbance ahead of them. More than a dozen wild animals were clamouring about them. "Savage Apes," Maya muttered as the wild animals shot at her. Maya burst into overwhelming pressure towards the incoming animals, sending a couple of them flying, while leaving most of them stranded on their track. Well, most of the monkeys were iron ranked, with a couple in the silver rank, but still they were two ranks below, rendering it easy for her to scare them off. The chances in the surrounding and mana density aggravated the wild animals, leading them to act this way. However, the worst was yet to come. With the change in the natural atmosphere and energy density, spirit beasts would evolve at a tremendous rate, which would also unstable them to create chaos in this land. Not to mention, she barely had any idea what this realm had to offer. After moving around for a quarter of an hour, they came across a pack like those a couple of times, but none of them caused a problem after Maya showed them a portion of her power. "I think I found a place for us to stay," Maya said. "It's likely something Gale is building, from what I am noticing." She led the other two and rounded a cliff to come before a waterfall. "Here?" Xiaolin asked. "Yes," Maya answered as she shot towards the waterfall. Vale followed, speeding over the steam in front of the waterfall. Well, they were already soaking with the heavy rain, so they didn't have an issue getting wet. "There is defensive formation here," Maya said, her eyes glowing in a brilliant hue of gold. "It will take me a couple of seconds to break it apart, and half an hour to open without making a wreckage. . ." She paused and turned her head to look at the hound. "Unless Vale has access to this place." Vale clearly didn't know the location of this place, as Gale put her to keep Xiaolin safe most of the time he spent building this place. However, the intricate bond between the practitioner and the spirit beast might give free access to the beast. Vale crept forward, jumping from one boulder into the waterfall, understanding what he had to do. He barked a couple of times feeling the obstruction in the path, but then an opening emerged before him. Vale shot inside, carrying Xiaolin on his face. Maya shot forward, getting the chance as well. In one moment she was outside, in the latter, she was beside them. Xiaolin found the light of the formation collapsed from where they entered. "Oops, I broke a part of it," She said with a laugh. "Junior brother, certainly became better at making these." Well, all she had to do was spend some time to mend the problem. With her expertise in spirit art, it wouldn't be a problem. However, what interested them more was the cavern they were in. For starters, it didn't appear to be a cavern at all. Stone all intricately curved in a square shape with dim light constructs embedded in them at a short distance of a couple of metres, leading the way into the secret lair. Maya could easily see, the place was incomplete. Although she found many signs of trouble which would put most common rankers out of approaching this place. Throughout the cavern, there are hidden compartments and secret passages. The cavern was also outfitted with a complex system of traps and alarms to keep unwanted visitors at bay. Maya had to destroy a few of them, as they were only attacking her. The cavern was divided into several chambers connected by narrow passageways. They found the first chamber is a workshop filled with tools and materials for building and crafting. There were signs of work scattered all over the chamber, as Gale probably spent most time here, building every script he needed for this place. The next chamber was a training area for practising combat and honing skills. The walls are lined with weapons of all kinds, and were also adorned with paintings and murals depicting fantastical landscapes and creatures. A large open space was in the centre of the room for sparring and training exercises. Finally, they came across a cosy living space, complete with a fire pit, comfortable seating, and a small kitchen area. The walls were adorned with nothing. Perhaps a few tapestries and lanterns would give the space a warm and inviting feel. Next to the space were over a few sleeping quarters, only filled with comfortable beds and blankets. Maya rested Gale on one of the beds. Xiaolin was still approaching her, getting down from Vale, but she restricted her path again, telling her the same thing she said again. "I'll need a couple of hours to suppress this," Maya told her. "You should rest in that time, although your wounds healed, you're not in the right state." Xiaolin bit her lips. "Would it be alright if I watch?" she asked after a thought. Finding the gorgeous angel considering her, she said again, "From far away?" Her eyes literally pleading. "Okay," she said, "I'll put on a translucent barrier anyway." With that, Maya got to work. *** Shi Fan stumbled out of the entrance to his residual cave, gasping for breath. His heart pounded in his chest as he looked back at the mountain, which was now shrouded in a dense storm cloud. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the distance, making the ground shake beneath his feet. And there was more, he didn't understand. But one thing he was clear of, he had to leave this mountain immediately. ' "Holy hell," Shi Fan cursed, "Why this happens to me all the time?" He looked around, frantically, searching for a way out of the mountain range, but alas! all of it was encompassed by the swirling storm as if the god of storm cursed this mountain himself. Shi Fan chose a direction and rushed, his eyes darting from one rocky outcropping to the next, trying to find a safe path through the thick forest. Well, he had a general direction of the way out. However, with the darkness blinding his sight, he was having trouble making sure he was on the right path. As he ran, the wind whipped through his hair and tore at his clothing. The rain pounded down relentlessly, turning the dirt path into a slick, muddy mess. He probably had run for half an hour, only then the storm calmed down. He sighed in relief, even though he hadn't made it out of the mountain. He saw a break in the clouds up in the sky. Weirdly, it was gathering together, instead of dissolving after the heavy fall. Meaning, it would Shi Fan was at his wit's end, stumbling around, not finding a way out of the mountain, no matter how much distance he covered. It made him feel like he was running in circles. With no bright idea in mind, Shi only walked around with his shoulder slumped, when a familiar voice rang in his ears. "Shi Fan," a feminine voice said, "is that you?" Shi Fan blinked, looking around and finally noticing an eerie figure coming to his rescue. "Twilight," Shi Fan cried, running towards her. He almost closed the distance and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her, only to find that the gothic figure disappeared from his sight to spear a couple of paces away. "Sorry, I was . . ." Shi Fan tried to explain. "You don't have to explain," Twilight said, keeping the healthy distance she liked. "I'll make sure it won't happen again," Shi Fan said. He swallowed, finding her dangerous purple eyes staring at him. "What are you doing here?" Shi Fan asked. he wanted to know if she came to save him, but there was nothing but friendship, and trust between them, not to mention the storm was abrupt. "Commission," Twilight answered in one word, as she liked it. "From the foreigner?" Shi Fan raised an eyebrow. The gothic woman shook her head. "His friend." "So what is your commission about, if you don't mind telling?" "Finding the reason behind the storm and the spatial displacement," Twilight answered. "Also, to find Gale." "Gale?" Shi Fan was a bit surprised to hear her utter someone's first name. But then his mind reeled back to what she said before that. "Wait, Spatial displacement, what the hell are you talking about?" Twilight didn't answer the question, but said something he wanted to hear. "Come with me, or you won't survive alone." ______

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