The Beast That was Promised ✔

EIGHT: On The Horizon

Isiah's practice with the strength stone was slow. There wasn't much he could do with it except rip trees from their rightful place in the forest. Instead, he carried boulders with him as he walked, which felt like pebbles in his hands. Being able to hold something so big without much effort was strange, but somewhat useful. If only it had been good enough to hold the bridge up back at the Sanctum.

He and Rina were still heading east along a road so covered in snow that he was sure they'd wandered off it without knowing. The only way they would know was when they eventually reached the coast and did or didn't find Liman. For the most part, the best they could do was follow the road south and hope for the best.

They'd stopped once since meeting the group of people with the injured woman on the road and they'd slept under a tree for three hours, barely enough to keep them moving, but he no longer felt tired. He was so exhausted that he no longer felt it, somehow able to keep going for as long as he wanted.

"Gods," he muttered as he put the boulder down next to the trunk of a tree. The silence that followed made him frown. All he could think of was the one time he'd said it at the Sanctum and the way it had made him feel.

Then Askarune had died and Jonin had attacked them and everything had changed. He hadn't said it again but in the silence of the forest, it didn't make him feel the same way it had last time. Maybe it was the company he had been with, the way they had reacted to him, the laughter and the teasing. It felt normal, like there had been nothing wrong. But everything was wrong, it had been a brief moment of peace in a world of war that he couldn't get back.

The strength stone was in his bag with the flame stone, as far from him as he could get without being scared of losing them. He needed to get stronger with them so that he could recreate what he had done at Belganine's Sanctum. He'd used both stones at the same time, pulling on the separate powers.

As a result, he'd been able to hold the bridge up and launch his flames at their attackers at the same time. He hadn't been thinking when he'd done it, all he'd known was that he and Emrick were in danger and he needed to keep them safe. He hadn't even realised he'd done it until long after it had happened.

He hadn't been able to recreate at all since then, no matter how hard he tried. If he couldn't use multiple powers at once, how was he supposed to be the Beast? Using one power at a time wouldn't work and would only get him killed. It wasn't something he'd realised he needed to learn until he got down from the Sanctum. Except it wasn't working. He could hold one power but not the other, even though he could feel them both swirling around him.

He hadn't said anything about it to Rina, even though they were supposed to be working together. There wasn't much point until he could do what he wanted to do. All she knew was that he was training himself and she seemed more than happy enough with that. At least he was doing something with his powers. There had been a time where he hadn't even wanted to touch the flame stone.

Things had changed so much since then. Even though he was trying to be as peaceful as possible, he knew he had to learn how to use the deadly stones. If he mastered them, then he would know how to wield them without hurting people. He was running out of time to master his abilities. The army had to be nearing Ziya and if they took the city, then there was no chance of Isiah fulfilling his duty as the Beast.

The army's exact whereabouts were unknown to him. He didn't know whether or not they were ahead of them, but he had to hope they were. That way, they would have enough time to get to Teremtys' Sanctum and Ziya without having to worry too much. He would worry anyway, that was what he did.

If he was lucky, he would also get some time to think everything through. If Askarune was to be believed, and Isiah was sure he was, then he would have to face Ishin soon enough. Some of Emrick's first words to him swam to the forefront of his mind. Maybe he did trust too easily, even when it came to his Gods.