Xukali felt her stomach drop as the ground shattered beneath her. Ice shards glittering as they fell with her. World turning a-blur. Feeling something grab her. Her right foot hitting the stone wall as she fell. The spot exploding in pain.

  Then everything stopped in a thump, the person beneath her letting out a groan. He relaxed, arm around her unwrapping as she rolled off. Seeing Karu’s eyes fuzz, but jolt when some of the still-falling ice shards and snow fell onto his face.

  “What in the Blazing Storms happened?” she asked.

  Karu took a second to reply, trying to catch his breath, “I think the ground fell.”

  “Amazing observation skills there,” she said rolling her eyes

  “My services are always open to those with inadequate mental processes.”

  Xukali glared at Karu, staying silent. Mainly because she didn’t know what inadequate meant so she thought it was probably best not to respond.

  “Wait, where's Mei,” she said, perking up. Looking around, trying to stand but her foot reminding her of its injury. She grimaced, sitting back down.

  “I’m guessing he fell down a different section of the canyon,” Karu said standing, gesturing up.

  Looking up and around. Seeing the rock of the canyon above wavering, wildly changing in width, creating sections cut off from each other.

  “We have to find him, the Sacred Beast is still around.”

  “Good observations, but my superior skills in that area is asking me how are we going to do that.”

  “You could make hand-holds out of your ice and climb up.”

  “I can but you got a busted foot.”

  “I could find a way. Plus it doesn’t hurt that much, I could climb”

  “That’s the shock, it’s dampening the pain. It’s good for making it so you can run away when a bear’s chasing you. But it doesn’t last long.”

  “Got any other idea,” she crossed her arms and tried to look down at the standing seven-foot tall man while sitting.

  “I could get the others and throw a rope down to you and pull you up.”

  “Like you’re going to come back for me. Plus that would leave me and Mei alone for who knows how long with that Beast around.”

  “Piggyback ride?”

  “No.”

  A few minutes later Xukali was considering strangling Karu while she hung over a drop. The only thing keeping her from death was her grip around his neck.

  “Can you go any faster?” she said in a slightly higher pitch of voice than regular.

  “No,” he sighed.

  “Couldn’t you have just I-I don’t know. Sprayed ice out and climbed from there?”

  “I’m low on mana from the fight. And since someone impressed the importance of speed onto me I couldn’t exactly regain enough mana to do so.”

  A few moments later they stopped. Karu cursing.

  “What! What is it?” she demanded.

  “I’m out of mana. Guess we’ll have to do the thing I said I would have to do from the beginning, Hmm such a surprise” he said looking back at her with a glare.

  “No, we can’t Mei could-” she let out a breath, “Isn't there another way?”

  Karu’s glare softened, “Fine, I think I got an idea.”

  “What is it?”

  Xukali proceeded to do something impossible. Deepen the grooves of hatred in her soul for Karu. As she swung back and forth, held by both arms in Karu’s hand.

  Like a pendulum, reaching higher and higher. Xukali trying not to scream.

  “Remember when I let go, curl into a ball. Pay special attention to that injured foot!” Karu yelled

  Then he let go of her just below the peak of the swing, jumping a little. Pushing as much power into the throw as he could. Sending her flying.

  The world blurred around her as she spun, swaths of color passing by her vision. Ever changing. Curling into a ball as best she could. Then everything jolted, her right shoulder screeching in pain. Feeling herself roll across crunchy snow.

  Finally stopping, she uncurled. Body tense. Groaning in pain, looking up at the world as the moons illuminated the sky. Then she heard rustling from the Ravine. Looking she saw a pair of hands grabbing the ravine ledge, scrabbling for purchase beneath the snow. Finally finding it and pulling himself up, Karu let out a grunt.

  “Didn’t think you could make that jump,” Xukali commented.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “It’s nice knowing you have such faith in me.”

  “I’m always praying for your ruin. Every second,”

  “Really? Surprised my downfall has come yet.”

  She snorted, tense body letting loose a fraction.

  Then they heard something approaching, sounding like footsteps. The sound coming from the forest line. Karu fell into a stance, Xukali just scooting back as far as possible. Then they saw Relu and the sisters jogging towards them.

  Relu stopped, putting hands on their shaky knees trying to catch their breath, “What happened?” they asked.

  “The Sacred Beast lured us to a pit trap,” Karu said, gesturing to the ravine.

  “Think that’s a bit bigger than a pit, but where’s Mei? Was he the only one that fell?”

  “No, Karu and I climbed,” Xukali said

  “I climbed,” Karu corrected

  “Ok!” Relu interjected, “Now do we know where exactly Mei fell?”

  “Probably close by since he was like a foot away from us when it happened,” Xukali answered.

  “Ok, then let's get looking.”

  Xukali tried to stand, forgetting their injury. The foot exploding in pain, letting out a strangled yelp Xukali fell to the ground.

  Relu rushed to her, “Are you, ok? I can heal you.”

  “No, no it’s just a small injury, Mei could have it a lot worse. Wait till we find him to help me.”

  Relu looked into her eyes for a moment, then spoke, “Ok, but you’re going to have to stay out of the search.”

  Xukali bit the inside of her lip, “Fine.”

  Relu nodded, turning to the rest of the group, “Karu protect Xukali,” they demanded. “And everybody else get to searching.”

  “But-” Karu started to say

  Relu turned on him, stopping when he saw the look in their eyes

  Then they were off.

  OOO

  Relu found Mei nearly immediately, just a section over from where Karu and Xukali had fallen. Finding the Sacred Beast's corpse laying below him. Its head missing, a pile of ground meat where it should have been

  “How’d he manage that?” I’ama commented.

  “Don’t think he did, guessing he used it to break his landing. Probably using its head.”

  I’ama grimaced slightly, looking away from the gruesome scene.

  “Anyway, I’m going to jump down to heal him,” Relu said, “The rope is somewhere over there in my pack,” Relu gestured vaguely at the tree line.

  As I’ama went to find it Relu walked over to the edge. Taking a few quick breaths, clenching their hands into fists. And jumped off the ledge. The world flying by them, Oh no, oh no, I shouldn’t have done-

  Then they landed in a crouch, the ice shards and snow flying around them in a puff. No crack of pain, no crimson blood. Not a single ounce of pain. They let out a laugh, their breath calming. But quickly got to work.

  They went to Mei. His back mangled, skin looking more like a ripped cloth than flesh. Relu first checking if he was still even alive, Relu letting out a sigh of relief. Releasing tension they didn’t know they were holding. Then they put their hands on his back, guiding their path of the Endless One’s mana into him.

  A mixture of Life, Cohesion, and Force flowing into the boy’s body. Relu cursing at the lack of effect. Most of the energy used to just pierce through the body's natural barriers.

  Wasting more to activate their perception to guide the mana. Or else it would heal wildly. Mending whatever it could together in a mess of tissue and jutting bone.

  So they did what they could. Mending the vertebrae jolted from fall and sealing his back so blood would stop pouring out. When Relu was done they yelled up to the group.

  “Kay, I’m ready. Pull me up!”

  “Wait a minute,” I’ama yelled back, “Ok, here you go.”

  A rope following the words, unraveling as it fell.

  Relu picked up Mei, trying to find a way to carry him up without help. They ended up binding him to them-self using a rope they usually used as a belt. Tying his arms around their neck using the remains of his shredded shirt.

  Then Relu saw a sparkle at the edge of their vision. Turning to see light coming from and dancing over the sacred beast’s body. Relu recognizing the process of a being's ghost pushing through reality to become a physical Remnant. They cursed under their breath.

  Then they grabbed onto the rope, pulling themselves up as fast as they could. But still too slow since their path was meant for endurance and durability. Even some regular people could still beat Relu in arm wrestling.

  Seeing the claws of the beast come into reality they screamed up above, “Help, the damn things Remnant’s coming through!”

  Karu peaked over the ledge, letting out a hiss. And started pulling the rope up hand over hand faster than Relu could climb. Acting like they weighed nothing. Making Relu question I’ani’s choice in Path for them.

  But Relu was only halfway up when they heard a rumble in the air, followed by a roar from below.

  “I will not let the mouse that dared cave my head away so easily!” it spoke in a slurred speech, obstructed by the Beat’s own ghostly biology.

  Relu bit their lip, the damn things advanced enough to speak! They redoubled their efforts to climb, then they heard a pitter-patter below them. Looking down Relu saw the Beast climbing the wall like a spider.

  Then it jumped at them, claws raised and maw wide open to rip and tear. Relu held onto the rope with one arm, summoning their Spirit Avatar. Letting out the last dregs of their mana. Hitting it mid-air.

  The beast knocked off course. It kicked off the wall, jumping to the other side of the canyon. The force of the jump not enough to reach the other side. But it simply jumped off the air. Landing on the other side.

  As it readied to jump back at them Relu finally reached the top. Karu holding the both of them up and then basically threw them away behind him to the snow. Relu adjusting to land on their feet, knees buckling under the weight of Mei.

  They turned around to the ravine. Seeing Karu strike out with a fist, the Remnant kicked off the air again. Landing on Karu’s head and lept through the air. The moonlight shinning through the ethereal black body of the Beast. Positioned to kill Mei.

  Relu tried to run back but they stumbled and fell. The Beast landing right on them, pinning them to the ground. It went to bite Mei, but it recoiled. A purple ghostly snake emerging from Mei with streaks of green scales rose.

  Its body moving in an unnatural undulating manner making it hard to follow with the eyes. It struck out, bitting the Remnant. Leaving a smoking wound behind. The beast recoiled. Then it roared and went to bite back. But two knives stabbed into its back.

  One covered in a violently bubbling black tar-like shadow, held by Ma’u. The other enveloped in a green flame in the hands of I’ama. The mana latching onto the Remnant like a parasite, devouring all it could into oblivion with a violent crackle as the sisters kept on plunging their knives into it.

  The Beast trying to run away, mewling. But the mana ate it from the inside out till it was just a husk on the ground. Wisps of it slowly dissolving and floating away in the cold night air.

  OOO

  Miles and miles away and apart every Shadow Panther felt a shock run through each and every single one of them at their King's death. The interconnected web between each of them burning with communication. Small and scurrying messages sent like ants. Hearing one another’s thoughts and emotions.

  Then a second wave more powerful than any of their living kind have ever felt. Telling of fire, of emotions hot as a coal and bitter as vinegar. Sent by a single being. Sent by the Ancient Mother. A message when put into human understanding translated as ten words.

  “Kill them all! Kill those bastards who killed my son!”