Standing atop the platform leading to the Gate, I crossed my arms and examined it thoroughly, putting on the act that I was merely checking the authenticity of my translations.
One of the few things that weren’t broadcasted about the Gates themselves was the fact that if you were fluent in reading runes, you could basically figure out everything about what lay beyond the energy barrier by simply reading the near living etchings printed on the Gate’s Metallic exterior.
It was by no means an easy feat, though, as even I struggled to do so, thanks to the fact that the runes were not only tiny but also constantly shifting and moving around, making it damn near impossible for a normal person to read them.
And that was the act I put on as I expanded my perception to see if anyone else was coming. Although not a sure means of doing recon, since there were plenty of talents and skills out there that could completely hide one’s presence, I had come up with a secondary means of watching my back, and that was to activate my Telepathy Skill. If anything walked into my range, so long as I left a channel open that anyone could access, I would know if someone was nearby, even if invisible.
After standing there and lazily reading the Gate for nearly an hour, I picked up on the mind of a familiar princess.
’I see you made it through things in one piece, Xilia.’ I said while hiding my smirk.
’WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON? I thought you said we were just going to deal with that school shooting incident; you never once mentioned that a fucking MOUNTAIN would appear out of thin air; do you know how many times I nearly died!’ Xilia screamed into my head upon hearing my voice entering hers.
Anyone spying on us would only see me standing there like a statue reading the Gate’s runes, but in reality, my little Slave had used her Stealth Skill to sneak up the Mountain.
Even without prior notice, she had been curious enough to see what was up with the new Mountain after barely escaping the Manifestation and Resource River.
When she saw the flowing Earth cease, she made a beeline for the Mountain and began her exploration, hoping to run into me…or so she says.
’Multiple people are heading up the Mountain, and if it weren’t for all that particle water you gave me, I doubt I could have made it here first. Here I was, thinking I could have a nice relaxing trip to the States after finally getting the call that I could move over. And what happened? THE FUCKING WORLD ENDS AROUND ME! HuFF, HuFF, HuFF.’
’Are you done…also why are you panting as if you actually shouted all that.’ Rolling my eyes, I glanced to the left of the platform, where Xilia had entered, and narrowed my eyes to search for any movement from below.
’Sigh, you don’t even care about the trouble I’ve been through, do you? I could have DIED Xipher, DIED!!!!’
’But did you? No, but good job staying alive. Now that you’ve calmed down give me a full status report about any returners or cultists you encountered.’
’HMPH, Fine….’ And so her story began. After getting my call and booking a one-way flight, she arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, before traveling the rest of the distance. Sure, it was an almost 400-mile trek, the majority of which she used a driver for, but upon entering Colorado, she did the rest on foot, arriving a day before me, Dad, and Brenden.
When I first made it to Columbine High School, I met up with her at a prearranged point before giving her a mission, watching everything from the shadows.
Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.
However, when things went south, right before we left the school, I told her to keep pace with the other Returners I had left behind, most of which were able to make it out of the area thanks to the efforts of someone who had a levitation talent.
Their group ended up several miles west of where Erik had set up basecamp…and when the Mountain began forming, their group of 7 heroes, three villains, and….a fucking pointy-eared Tree bitch…cough, Elven woman, were able to make a floating platform to stay safely above the flowing ground.
But, since Xilia was in stealth mode and didn’t want to blow her cover, she was stuck hanging from the bottom of the floating platform for hours until things settled down, and then…well, she took off at full speed toward the Mountain.
’Along the way, I encountered several military convoys heading in the direction of the mountain, and it wasn’t until I saw those guys from StillWater leaving that I was able to locate the Gate….by the way, what’s with that…why is there a gate here on the mountain.’
’Ah…that’s….well, say hello to one of if not the most important resource to ever reach Earth…apart from Arkadia, of course. This is the Undead Tower.’
’Tower? It’s kind of strange to call a mountain a tower, but what do I know? I can’t read runes for shit; I assume Erik Colt had a bird’s eye view of the inscription, and you were able to decipher it.’
’Yep, so here’s the details…’ and with that, I began explaining every little detail I had learned about the tower, including several only my family was privy to, leaving Xilia dumbfounded by how much I could surmise from a Runic Inscription.
tut tut tut tuT tUT TUT TUT.
As I neared the end of my narration of events, a faint sound in the distance steadily grew louder, drawing my attention and causing me to turn around only to find a squadron of Army UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters and a group of Marine Corps V-22 Osprey heading our direction.
’Damn, they sent the Corps and the Army, not a bad response; they should have been keeping the craft on standby in either Kansas or New Mexico since they are coming from the south.’ I said as I noted their direction and charted a mental map of their flight pattern.
In total, there were over 20 helicopters, and 10 of the Osprey, which are kind of like a plane and a helicopter, had a baby; I didn’t doubt that all of the craft were packed full of Infantry troops, or maybe special ops, there’s no telling.
’So what are we going to do? Do you plan on greeting them?’ Xilia asked.
’Eh, why not? It’s not like they pose any threat to me anyway.’