Night had fallen and the once vicious erupting peak that Aron had fought on earlier had now become more calm and ceased to tremble violently.
As for the Pesia Jzir Vulture that he left alive, its body now laid near a stream of lava with no signs of life. It's once bright blue glowing eyes had now dimmed completely and even its ash covered skin looked extremely wrinkly.
*Kawwww!*
Soon the skies rumbled and several other Pesia Jzir Vultures of various sizes gathered above the scene. Each of them seemed to be looking at the now dead beast near the stream of lava before lifting their heads up to the sky.
They all let out cries as if mourning their fallen comrade. The skies rumbled in response to these cries as lightning rained down onto the peak.
"Vul Al Hui..." A thunderous voice echoed from deep within the clouds causing the Jzir Pesian Vultures to grow silent. As the clouds continued to rumble, a gigantic silhouette more than double the size of the largest Vulture present could be seen. If one had keen enough eyes, they would see that the silhouette was slowly but surely getting larger....
N0 v el Next. CoM
.....
Meanwhile much further away north on the other side of the Newman Highlands, Aron could be seen trekking through a valley with Esmeralda behind him.
"Can we take a break...?" Esmeralda asked in an exasperated tone but Aron continued to walk at what could be considered a normal pace while occasionally glancing up at the skies which were dark and cloudy from the eruptions in the Newman highlands.
"I carried you most of the way, you've barely walked at the moment and you're already tired?" Aron turned his head back and responded with a question of his own.
He had carried Esmeralda for much of the Journey earlier so he could cover as much distance away from the Newman highlands as he could. Only once he reached a suitable range did he decide to let her walk.
However given the poor state of her body this simple task proved to be challenge for her and she could barely walk a kilometer without feeling numbness in her feet.
"If it weren't for the condition I'm in I'd have no trouble wal-" Before she could voice her complaints, Aron crouched down suddenly. "Get on then." He instructed her in his usual cold tone.
She was somewhat taken aback by this, especially since he didn't even mention gold. Esmeralda approached him slowly and climbed up on his back without any complaint.
She was currently still draped in Aron's cloak to protect herself from the elements and hide the damaged parts of her clothes although they weren't so revealing in the first place.
"Thank you." She muttered in a low tone while wearing a frown. "I expect at least one artifact for this." Aron replied in response causing Esmeralda to frown even more, though deep down she felt better since this wasn't being done for free.
She said nothing more and gave a light nod in agreement as Aron stood up straight and got ready to move again. His large hands firmly gripped her thighs which were still trembling from the walking she had done so far. "Try to relax and get some rest, nothing will happen to you."
Although it was said coldly, the confidence in Aron's voice did make her feel somewhat safe so she pressed herself tighter against him and closed her eyes. Aron on the other hand looked back at the skies once more before continuing at a casual pace, he currently very sure that he was out of danger.
...
As for the condition back in the Newman Highlands, it had turned even more gruesome....
Many reinforcements from various organizations and noble families had gathered to help repel the threat. In truth, they each hoped to have large contributions so that they could reap the most benefits.
According to the report released by Emilia, Inquisitor Passil and Henry, it was revealed the ruin ran much deeper than where they reached and that it wasn't known what could be behind the large metallic gate.
This report was further agreed to be accurate by Lady Rose who wrote a letter stating she discovered an unfamiliar language which she was focusing on deciphering.
All inquiries after to hear of her progress or to ask if she needed help from other capable scholars were rejected. The same went for emissaries that invited her to tactical meetings over the coming days.
She remained isolated in a Galos Academy airship far back away from all the dealings of the creatures and ruins.
After numerous days of battle, the situation had seemingly fallen under control. Many beasts were either slain or captured by the many forces present.
They were currently considered a species from the old era which could perhaps shed light on many mysteries or even bring about a new age of advancement.
The first to make this move was of course Galos Academy, to be exact Lady Rose. She requested a few creatures alive to study and on the same day she revealed their weaknesses and strengths, along with how they could be utilized.
This shifted the battles from killing to capturing. Now every organization aimed to capture these now very exotic beasts and perhaps breed them.
....
"It seems everyone was so focused on what treasures could be inside the ruin that they forgot to think that these very beasts could be the treasure." Lady Uva's gentle voice resounded on the deck of the largest Galos Academy Airship present. Beside her stood Lady Belle who had her arms crossed with a frown.
"Master are you going to forgive Rose for betraying the academy just because of her discoveries and theories?" Belle inquired with clear resentment in her voice but Lady Uva only chuckled at the statement.
"And what would you have me do? Under Galos law it is a small offense to leave without permission. As for Grand Mages it is even less of an offense, infact this is Rose's first time. Compared to you when you were younger she's a saint." Lady Uva stated while still chuckling. As she was doing so a robed figure appeared on the deck before bowing before the two of them.
"My lady, I regret to inform you that Lady Rose is nowhere to be found..." the figure stated in a low tone which brought a frown to Belle's face.
"What do you mean? She dares leave again without a word? Argh!" Lady Belle angrily inquired whilst Lady Uva kept her gaze focused on the scene in front of her. 'Perhaps these old bones will get to see Pesia experience a new age.' She thought with a weak smile on her face.
N0 v el Next. CoM
....
A week now passed since those events took place and Aron was now approaching the northern coast. It was currently nighttime and he had decided to set up camp one final time before reaching the port city of Hazenloft, the second largest city in the north after Findel which had fallen making it the current largest in the north.
"I've gathered some wood for a fire and fruits, here..." Esmeralda appeared out of the dim woods, still sporting Aron's cloak as she placed the branches on the ground and brought some fruit to him.
Throughout the entire journey Aron had taken care of her. Food was scarce as many creatures died from the pollution the eruption caused while many others fled. The same could be said for water which was also mostly polluted now along with many kinds of vegetation.
However Aron always did manage to find smaller game which had hidden underground or birds. Each time he did so he gave the food and water he found to Esmeralda as his unique body didn't seem to need nutrition or hydration.
He didn't know wether they was a limit to this but if so he felt he was far from reaching it. But Esmeralda who didn't know this just thought Aron had been starving himself for her sake as she was extremely weak. Quite the laughable thought if Aron had known she was thinking this.
This feeling of being vulnerable and always taken care of churned strange emotions in her which she didn't like at all so she tried to be helpful so as not to feel in debt to him.
"Three of the fruits you're holding are poisonous. The other isn't but it isn't nutritious in any way either. I thought you already ate today, are you still hungry?" Aron explained indifferently before asking while carving runes into his axe, something he always did in his free time as they travelled.
"No, I'm fine. But you haven't eaten in days and barely drink water, if your condition goes bad we'll both be in danger is all..." Esmeralda tried to explain her reasoning but only received a blank look from Aron.
"We'll arrive in Hazenloft tomorrow and you'll be safe and able to contact your family. I can go another day without a meal, now get some rest. We'll set off as soon as the sun rises." Aron gestured her away and continued to focus on his own task but she only felt more uncomfortable on the inside once she heard this.
....
A/N: So far so good, I take awhile to plan chapters which adds to my slowness sometimes. I try to make every chapter have something significant happen that will affect the story and not just filler while also trying to keep to realism and unpredictability. After all the more unpredictable the story is the more fun it is to read. I'm trying to shift from cliches of things always going the MCs way and the world revolving around him while also trying to show that large actions have consequences on both people and the environment. It's a lot but you get the point hopefully. Quality over quantity.
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