Chapter 88: Chapter 087

The process, or the ritual as Nadea would call it, was not as complicated as Henry had imagined. It merely involved throwing the fragments of the slate in front of the ripples and uttering an incantation. The difficult parts were the Sand Drake lurking around the area and the Murux required to sustain the rift’s opening.

The threat of the Sand Drake was already neutralised. After it realised Henry was a true Dragon, it had immediately cast aside any hostility it bore and even pledged its eternal servitude should they manage to return to Ulrum.

“And here I thought I would finally have the opportunity to fight a Titan,” Vishara grumbled. A Titan was often considered the strongest monster in the region and defeating one was an achievement and a statement of one’s strength and prowess. Not to mention, their blood would greatly invigorate and rejuvenate the likes of Vishara.

“A pleasure to be your acquaintance,” Iluna greeted after Henry explained to her the abrupt circumstances that somehow came to be. Being the gracious person that she was, she had no qualms in accepting the Sand Drake as an ally in an unforeseen manner.

However, the same couldn’t be said for the Sand Drake. The only one he respected was Henry. Iluna and Vishara were secondary in their eyes. But due to Henry’s command, it was forced to play nice with the two and suppressed its animosity.

“Alright, Nadea. What now?” Henry asked after he laid the slate fragments before the rippling space in front of him.

“Not bad, Henry. You got your first servant.”

“He’s not my servant. Just a temporary ally. And can we skip the pleasantries?”

“Straight to business? I never took you for such a drab and solemn individual.”

“Only when I’m trapped in another world without a way home. Forgive me for not wanting to entertain you and just wanting to get back home.”

Nadea chuckled. “Sure sure sure. We’ll skip the pleasantries. Now, this part is easy, relatively speaking. You will be uttering an incantation. All you have to do is to repeat after me.”

“Relatively speaking?”

“It depends on how well you can articulate.”

Henry sighed. “Fine. Let’s do this.”

Nadea began to chant a string of words that were completely alien and exotic to Henry. He could barely hear the words but he kept his silence and followed Nadea’s chant as closely as he could. The chant lasted for a long time. Roughly a full minute went by when the chant finally came to an end.

The slate fragments came together as they basked in a dazzling radiance. The cracks between the pieces slowly faded as they gradually became one. After the fragments had truly become one, they floated off the ground and drifted to the centre of the ripples. There, the ripples swallowed the slate as if it had submerged into a deep puddle of water.

Then, the ripples intensified and the whole island shook. The flying creatures took off into the skies in a hurry, screeching as they did so. Those that didn't have wings could only run as far away as they could from the epicentre of the tremor that was reverberating throughout the entire island.

As the ripples grew stronger, a slit eventually appeared in the middle. The slit grew wide, forming a rift in-between space. A glance within the rift was a patch of darkness and it stretched out endlessly.

“There, the rift’s open,” Nadea said. “But it’s not gonna stay open for long. Hop in quick.”

“Get inside the rift now!” Henry shouted.

Vishara nodded and scooped Iluna into her arms. Kicking off the ground, she streaked right into the rift. The Sand Drake followed behind. Its hurried step left a series of tremors in its wake that shook the island even further, frightening the entire fauna.

After everyone had entered the rift, Henry hopped in last. As soon as he was inside, the rift closed up behind him and darkness enveloped them all.

“We are in another strange place…” the Sand Drake mused as it looked around restlessly in the darkness. Its eyes spelt dubiety and certainty. “Is this truly the way home, my lord?”

“Fret not. This is the way home.” Henry assured. “What’s next, Nadea?”

“Just follow the string.”

“What path? Damn it, I see no path.”

Suddenly, a snow-white string appeared from where he was standing and stretched far into the darkness beyond, beckoning him to follow.

“Oh, that path.”

“Oi, Dragon,” Vishara called out curtly. “What do we do now?”

The Sand Drake growled and stomped its foot, catching Vishara’s attention.

She spun around quickly and brandished her claws.

“W-what’s happening between you two?” Iluna exclaimed.

“Impudent creature!” the Sand Drake. “You dared to show your insolence to the Dragon Lord?”

Vishara smirked. “I don’t know your tongue, stupid lizard, but I know what caused your wrath. My impertinence towards your progenitor. What an obedient thrall you have gotten yourself, Henry.”

“This insolent female ape knew no bounds of her insolence. My lord, may I do you the favour of getting rid of this foul-smelling ape?”

“Foul smelling?” Henry sniffed. “She doesn’t smell so bad.”

“She reeks of blood, my lord. She feasts on not the flesh of her foes but their blood.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m already aware of that. Be at ease. She’s no threat to us. She’s just… having a bad day. The people she led and governed had betrayed her. So, just ignore her discourtesy. She doesn’t mean any of us real harm.”

“As you say, my lord.” The Sand Drake complied and backed down, turning away from Vishara.

“Huh, you’re turning your back on me? What gives? And why do I feel pity from you?” Vishara shifted her gaze to Henry. “You said something, didn’t you?”

Henry smiled. “Only the truth,” he said. He turned on his heels and walked down in a specific direction. “This way. Don’t stray from where I trod.”

Vishara glowered. “I don’t need anyone’s pity, especially not from a beast.”

“Lady Vishara, please.” Iluna grabbed her by the arm and pulled on her softly. “Now’s not the time for us to be fighting amongst ourselves, not when we’re so close to the end of our quest.”

“Fine,” Vishara huffed. “We’ll have plenty of time anyway after we return to Ulrum and finish my vengeance.”

To that, Iluna could only smile wryly. Any words that she spoke onward, consolation or not, would only fuel the flames of fury in Vishara’s heart.

And thus, the group trod through the darkness in silence with Henry as the sole guidance in this abyss. They took great care in following each of Henry’s footsteps, straying not an inch from where he had stepped. As the Sand Drake bore a massive size, Henry had to lead the way in his Dragon form to show it the places that could be trod.

“Henry.”

“What is it, Nadea?” Henry frowned at the sombre tone in her voice. “Please don’t tell me there’s trouble ahead.”

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“It’s trouble but not pertaining to your return.”

“...Just tell me.”

“My initial assessment of the cause of the rift was wrong.”

“You mean the rift that ended up swallowing Iluna and I isn’t a natural cause?”

“Yes, it isn’t. Someone deliberately made it seem like it was a natural cause but after an extensive investigation, I’m utterly confident that the rift is artificial.”

“But who would do such a thing?”

“That would be the billion-dollar question but I have no suspect. Or rather, I have too many suspects. There’s no end to those who wish to covet the power of interdimensional traversal. Gods have many enemies. This might even be the work of other gods. It’s a mess but it’s nothing new. There’s always someone who’s trying to attain the power of the gods. It’s an endless conundrum but this one’s immediate.”

“You mean my safety’s in jeopardy?”

“Not yet.”

Henry sighed. “I really hate those words. This might happen again in the future, won’t it?”

“I’m afraid it will.”

“Then I better get stronger fast.”

****

“We’re back…” Iluna gasped. She lumbered through the thick sand as she spread her arms to bask in the extreme heat of home. “We’re finally back…”

Sand spread out as far as the eye could see in all directions. In addition, the heatwave was immense. However, Iluna was too absorbed in the fact that she was home to give the weather any thought. She was just grateful that she had returned. She knew that fact from the link she had with Luvier, the goddess of the moon.

“By the fucking gods…” Vishara muttered, panting. “Where the fuck are we? This place is like a furnace.”

“This is the Scorching Sands, I believe,” Iluna answered. “The furthest south of Ulrum.”

“My lord!” the Sand Drake exclaimed loudly as it knelt before Henry. “You have upheld your words, my lord, and I shall uphold mine. From today onwards, I shall be your servant until death. Your wishes shall be my command. Your honour shall be my well-being. Your life shall be my fate. I am yours for eternity, my lord.”

“Umm… thanks?”

“Your gratitude is needless, my lord. It is my honour and pleasure to serve the progenitor of my kind.”

“I can’t take this any longer,” Vishara grumbled and stormed off.

“Lady Vishara, wait! I—”

Vishara did not linger any further to hear what Iluna had to say and simply flew off with blood-moulded wings.

“That pale ape is quite rude, my lord.”

“She is… but she’s no longer a concern of ours for the time being. Iluna, shall we get going?”

“H-huh? O-oh, right. Let us be on our way.”

“You’re leaving, my lord?”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I am. Is there a problem?”

“If you leave, then how would I be able to serve you, my lord?”

“Hmm? I suppose you can serve me by making sure none of the creatures here leaves the Scorching Sands. There’s a tribe of Augrus in this desert. I consider them my friends, of sorts. Recently, a monster from the Scorching Sands had cost them a great deal of trouble. I don’t want that to happen again. Can you make sure it never does?”

“Absolutely, my lord. It shall be done. But…”

“But?”

“What about the ones that have already left the Scorching Sands?”

“Ones? You mean there’s more than one that has left the Scorching Sands?”

“Yes, my lord, that’s what my words meant.”

“Did you know where they went?”

“One of them headed north. The other two were southbound.”

Hearing that, Henry heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t know what was in the south other than the desert but he didn’t care, as long as they weren’t heading north where the Augru tribe was. He also gave the Sand Drake another order, and that was to save any Augrus it came across. The Augrus were no idiots. If they saw the sudden change in the Sand Drake’s behaviour, they would definitely attribute the change to Henry and he was counting on that. This would show the ability and strength he possessed and discourage anyone who dared to even think of doing him harm.

“Well then, I’ll be going now,” Henry said as he gently placed Iluna on his back.

“Safe journeys, my lord. Worry not a thing here, I will make sure no beasts shall leave this land and the impudent Augrus who are dumb enough to stray into these lands would be carried to safety.” Though the Sand Drake heeded Henry’s words, it did not try to hide its displeasure towards the Augrus.

Henry simply nodded back with a wry smile and finally took off into the sky.

“Thank you, Lord Henry…” Iluna said as she lay down on her belly. “Thank you so much for bringing us back.”

“You’re welcome, Iluna, but you don’t need to exalt me. I only did what was necessary. I surely didn’t do it out of the kindness of my heart. I implore you to not think of me as a saint just because I saved you from an ordeal.”

“...Do you despise being revered so much, Lord Henry?”

“Reverence comes with expectations; expectations that I would most likely find it a chore to meet. In simpler terms, I’m a lazy sob. I just want to live the life I want, not the life that others expect of me. As the Lavans’ priestess, I’m sure you can understand where I’m coming from.”

“...I do, Lord Henry,” Iluna admitted. “Unfortunately… I do.”

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