VISION ✔️ || The Keepers of Astraela #1

38.0 || Of Transport and Sanctity

EMRYS

THE WORLD ERUPTED in light. It burned through Emrys' eyelids as he held onto Eva, waiting for lightning to strike.

It never came.

Soon, the glare was replaced by a sharp ringing in his ears. He opened his eyes to see the storm raging around them—yet, somehow, the slowing wind and dying thunder made it feel subdued. Almost as if the storm itself was afraid.

Footsteps squelched in the mud, moving away from his and Eva's crumpled forms, before an eerily familiar voice made his entire body tense.

"You think you can slip away from me." The feminine tone was commanding enough to make the rain cease. "But I've had centuries to prepare a new cell for you."

Emrys craned his neck in the voice's direction. A white-haired woman stood between them and Kali. Though he couldn't see her face with her back to him, he could only imagine her cunning grin—one that displayed knowledge of being in complete control.

One that rarely left Amaya's lips in all the years he'd known her.

Amaya lifted a slender arm with grace, and the barrier fell from Kali's body, plunging to the ground in a deluge of electrically-charged moisture. With the flick of her wrist, a second flash surrounded the blue-haired woman.

By the time it dimmed, the storm had ceased, and every cloud had fled from the webbed sky... along with their mistress. The muck where Kali had once stood was bare, save for the ring of water and charred ground where her shield had fallen.

The Corrupted howled in protest, their cries echoing in the barren landscape.

Amaya turned over her shoulder with brilliantly white eyes. "Stay put."

She flicked her wrist a second time. A soft, silver hue spread from the ground in a perfect circle around Emrys and Eva. Once she faced the approaching horde, a shimmering barrier rose to cover them.

Eyes trained on the impending line of beasts, Amaya lifted a hand to the sky. A long, thin blade materialized in her grasp, glinting off what little moonlight remained. Every beam from the mire was absorbed by her katana until it exuded the moon's radiance.

As she pointed her blade at the first beast, moonlight shot from its tip to obliterate the creature, leaving nothing but bubbling goo in its place. Amaya sliced through the Corrupted monstrosities with otherworldly precision. The world lit in frantic bursts of moonlight, filling the air with the unnatural screeching of her foes until the final beast had been silenced.

Though it was no longer than a minute before she had demolished the horde, it felt like hours had passed by the time she faced Emrys and Eva again. Amaya's eternally stern glare penetrated Emrys' soul as she approached, dematerializing her weapon in a shower of glittering dust. She knelt beside them and blew at the white hair that had fluttered free of her ponytail.

Eva tensed against Emrys' side when the woman reached for his hand. Amaya felt at his ashy skin for a brief moment before placing a finger under his chin. Her brow twitched as she inspected his eyes, followed by his graying hair.

"You should have stayed on Earth."

When Amaya moved her finger, Emrys let his chin fall. She was right, like always.

Finally, she placed her hands on their shoulders and swiveled her head for a quick survey of their surroundings. "More will be on the way. Close your eyes."

Emrys did as he was told.

As searing light blinded him, he began to wonder how many more flashes he could stand before the effects on his vision would be permanent. His body went weightless in warm light until he once again felt solid ground beneath him—this time plush with dry grass. While the intense brightness faded, it didn't disappear completely. A muted glow filtered through his eyelids instead, and he opened them hesitantly.