Chapter 27: Starlight

Chapter 27: Starlight The sound of thunder filled the forest close to Castaway Valley, and the people watching gasped from their windows as powerful tremors shook the forest. Under the starlight, a lithe figure flickered between the Lyst trees. Lucen’s golden eyes flashed with malice. Korgath charged through the dust, slamming his fists into the ground and trees, angrily roaring at Lucen as he ran. The blows of the creature were like cannon blasts, shaking his skull. The beast was extremely powerful. But something was strange. It was slow to react and move, and each blow left it open. Like it wasn’t accustomed to such power. Other than the ruinous force of the Crunchers, it was strangely incompetent. "I guess stealing all that power doesn’t make you a master at using it," Lucen chided, "You’re like a stumbling lamb—a very disgusting one, at least." "Shut up!" Korgath roared and swept its fist at him. A great gust of wind rose, pushing trees back and raising mud. The rain was intensifying, Lucen couldn’t see out of his own eyes. But he could still see, and he wouldn’t lose his footing. Mana sense and [Traveller’s Aid] kept him in the battle despite the horrible conditions. Lucen stumbled, and Korgath chuckled, rushing towards him, his body becoming a long, thin blur. "Die!" The beast was slow to react, and it was stupid. Stealing power isn’t enough to create a threat. He could feel his spear thrum in his hand at that sentiment. One of its abilities? He wasn’t able to use all of the spear’s abilities because of his low Dominance stat, but now he could feel the spear accepting his mana, and he needed all the help he could get. His blonde hair stuck to his red face as the rain washed over him. He had been holding his breath for a long time, and now he finally let go of it. At the exact moment, the mud-brained beast moved. It raised its hands over its head for an axe blow, leaping high into the air. Stupid bastard, that strength is wasted on you. Lucen’s body shot forward violently, his silver spear rode the darkness like a shooting star. Before Korgath could even understand what was happening, his spear cut a wide arc and severed both of the Cruncher’s arms. Both of them landed on the muddy ground, and the roar of the rain surrounded them. There was a moment of silence for the mud-brained beast to figure out what was happening. A pair of arms plopped into the mud loudly, hands still locked together. "That can’t be possible," Korgath mumbled, "I’m the son of hunger, I worship the darkness. I can’t—" Korgath’s legs suddenly disappeared from under him, his face slammed into the cold mud, and then something kicked him over. The cosmos spread over them, past the chaos of the tree branches. Lucen’s blonde hair glowed under the starlight, his gaze was tired and disgusted. "You, who the hell are you?" Korgath roared, "How can I be defeated by a child?!" Lucen spat, panting, a frown dotted his face as he looked down at the fool. "Does it matter? But you can call me the True Heir to the Hungry Dark, if it pleases you." Korgath’s eyes, dark pits, widened. The bone-like liquid blasted from its body. Lucen sensed the mana spike, but his lungs felt like paper, so instead of attacking, he retreated. The bone white fluid formed arm-like appendages in seconds. They slammed into the ground, stirring up a powerful explosion. Lucen sensed the Korgath’s form streak across the sky, disappearing into the distance. Lucen fell to his knees, breathing hoarsely. His senses found the soldiers fighting the other four Crunchers, who were strong, but not as overwhelming as Korgath. He had been unable to fully activate the spear ability, but it did increase his speed. He needed a second to breathe and recover, activating [Breath of Mending]. He needed to find Lost Wind. A dark gaze ruined his handsome face, his hand tightened over the spear. There were too many questions he had for her, and he would no longer take no for an answer. ■——■ Lucen marched through the streets of Castaway Valley. His blond hair, pale face, black vest and trousers were covered in mud. The people of Castaway Valley had long known of the Lightcloak’s Half-blood child, but they merely took a look at his face, ran into their houses and locked their doors. His face was a mask of fury, the golden light that seemed usually suppressed in his eyes cut through the dark. It was like seeing a vengeful angel march through the streets. He didn’t care. He could no longer mind what others thought. He needed Lost Wind to answer his question now—or die. Her house was dark and empty. Her clothes and belongings were gone. She knew he was coming. A sharp crash made the civilians hide harder, quivering as they held onto the only weapons in their houses. The door lay in the middle of the street, kicked off by Lucen. He couldn’t end there, unfortunately, he made sure to destroy all the chairs and tables and put holes in the wall. It was dumb, but he didn’t care. Windy wasn’t here, she knew he would come. So he would break things because, unfortunately, he could. Once he was done, he sat at the front of her house, mumbling curses on the Sage’s life. What now? She would just pop up when he found Peter cross. Or she might already be gone, her one-month grace for finding Peter Cross was almost over. Only two weeks left. Maybe she had decided that he wasn’t the destined one and went off to chase another prophecy. Lucen never believed he could be the one anyway. The Devourer system had chosen the wrong person. He would never find Peter in time, and whatever their planning would end his entire family. He’d best find Selene and leave this place before it went down, find a way past the mountains to one of the countries outside. If anyone tried to stop him, he would kill them. Just as he was about to stand, the sound of footsteps caught his attention. It was Liam. His brown hair was matted against his skin, and his blue eyes seemed frantic and impatient. "Oh, thank god I found you," Liam said, kneeling over and breathing loudly. "We need to go to Aya’s house now." "That’s where you’ve been all day?" Lucen rasped, "Forget it, I give up on finding—" "I know it’s hard, we’ve been running round in circles with an axe hanging over our heads," Liam cried, "I heard about Jon, I know, we might be fucked. But if there’s a single way—one last shot in the dark—will you fight? I still live here, my family too. I don’t believe in prophecies, but I believe we need you." Lucen’s gaze was tired and distant. He shrugged, "Just tonight—and I can’t fight anymore, we’ll just die." "Don’t worry." Liam grinned. "We only need to win a game of Highcraft."