Across Eternity Bk. 07 Ch. 12

The Mission

Noah and his friends continued traveling north, getting closer and closer to the Andromeda Estate. They moved through scorched wastelands and burnt forests, left behind by the Profane fires, but once they passed the ruins of the northern-most dwarf village, the forests were untouched, showing where the fiends had started their burning campaign. During the day, they pushed their mounts to their limits while aiding them with the special enchanted horse blankets Noah had made on the way back from Lumestada. It worked the same as his anti-paladin cloak, allowing Seraph to give the horses, as well as Foley's donkey, boosts to their speed, strength, and stamina. He had more than enough power to spare, as thoughts of saving his brother made his radiance greater than ever before. He was almost always glowing with his holy aura, even when he didn't mean to.

During the evenings, when they stopped to make camp, Noah continued sparring with Seraph and Roc, forcing them to work together to avoid a beating. Though it was clear their grudge couldn't be so easily erased, their skills were sharpening, and they were starting to learn from each other. They had yet to force Noah to remove his hat, but he had taken off his coat to free up his movements, which was a clear sign that they were getting better.

On one night in particular, they fought against him with the greatest ferocity shown yet. Every night of sparring had left them with bruised bodies and egos, and they were itching to cinch victory, and with it, their honor. Everyone watched as Roc lunged for Noah, not with a punch or kick, but with a simple tackle. Instead of using his wings to propel himself, he was using them to guard his body. Noah swung around with a kick to knock Roc aside, but with his talons gripping the earth, he withstood the blow, and Seraph emerged from behind him with a mighty punch.

Noah deflected the punch and was about to grab Seraph for a Judo throw, but Roc opened one of his wings and used it to separate the two of them. Noah moved to attack Roc, but he once more closed his defenses, while Seraph circled around and unleashed a roundhouse kick. This was a combination the two warriors had utilized several times already. Roc would play defense, using his wings as a shield to both block Noah's attacks and obscure his vision, then Seraph would attack, acting as a spear. Because of their mutual disdain for each other, this was not something they had verbally planned or conceived, but rather a technique they had instinctively developed. It was a strong formation, but not strong enough.

Noah ducked under the kick and rolled to the side, and both Roc and Seraph pounced on him. Noah grabbed Roc's leg and pulled him between him and Seraph, causing them to collide, then brought down a pair of chops onto the backs of their necks, bringing them down to the ground.

"Good effort today. Let's get some dinner," said Noah, slightly out of breath.

Roc and Seraph had to be shaken awake, and they followed him to the campsite. Roc sat next to Cynatas, who ruffled his hair. "You did well out there."

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, dejected.

Shannon handed out dinner to everyone, and Noah received his bowl. "She's right. I have a good feeling about this mission. So long as we stay in formation and don't get separated, I truly think we can save Lupin and wipe out the Profane around him."

"Noah, with so many Profane gathering at this mansion, do you suppose Bella will be there?" Alexis asked, staring into the campfire.

"There's a good chance. Why?"

"Because if she is, I want to be the one to kill her. That sword you showed the dwarves, you said it came from an elite Profane and did augmented damage to fiends. Can I borrow it? Maybe it can finish her off."

"I have multiple blades I can lend you," said Noah. "Considering that there likely will be fiends there, sharing them with you all would be a good idea. However, I was wondering about Bella. What if there was a chance we could bring her to our side? I'm sure she'd listen to me if I asked her to help us kill the Profane."

"Not a chance," said Seraph. "That thing murdered my father. If she's there, she dies."

"Considering how powerful you describe her as, she'd be an invaluable asset," Noah insisted.

"Noah, you weren't there," said Sophia. "You didn't see how many people she slaughtered. I know she was your favorite at the Knight's Sheath, but she can't be allowed to live. Even if she were to hand Lupin to us with a big bow, it wouldn't make up for what she's done, nor erase the threat she poses."

"It's because of me that she became what she is," added Cyrilo. "I played with fire, and she became an inferno that swallows everything. If she is there, we absolutely cannot leave until we're absolutely sure she's dead."

"Seriously, dude, we need to kill her, burn her, bury the ashes, salt the earth, and then take off and nuke the entire site from orbit," said Daniel. "It's the only way to be sure."

Noah had expected pushback on the Bella issue, but it didn't seem like anyone would budge an inch on this. It was one thing to have just Lupin mad at him, but Bella could threaten the cohesion of the whole group. "That's a shame. I really liked the idea of having one of the Profane on our side. I'm sure we could turn at least one of them against the others."

"Don't even think about it," said Valia. "After I nearly died from that darkness in me, I don't want to take the risk of letting one of those monsters around us. They can't be trusted, and they're walking poison. I don't even like you keeping those Carthace blades, among other reasons."

"Fine, fine, we'll do things your way. Anyway, here, take these."

Noah began pulling Carthace blades out of his ring and distributing them to the others. He had lost one sword at the Colbrand arena when Tarnas ended the attack, but he still had five more, plus a pair of daggers. However, he didn't give any to Sophia or Seraph, as their holy magic would end up destroying them. Roc also refused his as expected, preferring to rely on his bare hand. Cynatas didn't even touch hers, looking at it with a grimace. Valia and Shannon shared her disgust.

"You KNOW I hate these things," Valia muttered.

"Me too," said Shannon.

However, Alexis was in awe of the sword she received.

"It's so light, but it must be even tougher than steel. It gives me an unholy feeling when I grip it, but this material is amazing, like something from a dragon."

"Dude, this is awesome," said Daniel, getting up and swinging his sword around. "I feel like I could slaughter a whole army with this thing."

"It almost looks like it was forged," said Foley as he examined a dagger. "You got these from a Profane?"

"Her name was Carthace, a spider-type fiend. These blades are made from her legs, and the ink is made using her venom. Valia was the one who delivered the decisive blow."

"After you had sex with her," Valia groaned.

"Oh gods!" Alexis exclaimed in disgust, immediately dropping her sword and pushing it away. Everyone else discarded theirs with similar feelings.

"You're all overreacting," Noah said as he retrieved the blades. "It's not like I ejaculated on her legs or anything. Besides, you should be a little more sympathetic, Val. Need I remind you that she had her way with me against my will? I was stuck to her web, powerless, and she decided to use me as a toy, and test the rumors."

"Yeah, for the first round. But Shannon and I had the perfect view of you getting on top of her and going balls-deep. You got stabbed through the hands and still fingered her to completion."

"I'm a considerate lover and I take pride in my work."

"I'm really not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of using the body parts of your dead Profane lover," Alexis grimaced.

"And he broke her heart, too," Valia added, accusingly. "She couldn't wait to turn him and have a lovey-dovey-sexy future together. He even encouraged her, raised her hopes. She was about to kiss him, and he slashed her throat."

"I was deceiving her to drop her guard so I could land a sneak attack and then free you and Shannon. I saved your life, and this is how you thank me?"

"You really are the enemy of all women," Alexis muttered.

"Man, I could write a whole song about this, maybe even an album," said Daniel. "Any chance you want to give us a live demonstration with that trippy magic of yours? It could be the album art."

"I don't think anyone here needs to see that," said Valia, shaking her head.

"We've had our dinner and drinks, and it's time for a show," Daniel argued.

"Not that!" Valia hammered.

"I loved that story last night of you being a symphony conductor," said Sophia. "The music was so beautiful. Can you show us something like that?"

"Actually, tonight, I was thinking I'd show you something from my time on the sea. False World."

Noah cast his magic, and once again, the trees and mountains of Vandheim vanished, replaced by the open sky and ocean. Their campsite was now situated on the deck of an aircraft carrier, sloshing through the Atlantic. It took Noah's friends a moment to realize they were on a vessel and not dry ground, having never seen a ship so large. The surrounding ships of the fleet were just as impressive. Jets were lined up behind them, and they watched in awe as one came in for a landing, with the crewmembers working diligently. Had Noah flashed them the Rune of False, they'd feel the heaving of the ship and the might of the wind, but since they were technically having dinner, he just let them enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of naval life.

"I swear, I'll never get tired of this," said Alexis with a smile.

"So, where are you? Were you a deckhand?" Cyrilo asked.

"Please. I was the admiral of the Second Fleet, up there in that tower. All these vessels were under my command. We could have leveled a city like Colbrand in less than a minute. Roc, see those jets flying around us? They can move faster than sound itself. When you dive, I imagine you can reach somewhere between 150 and 200 miles an hour. These metal crafts can do ten times that speed."

"You just beat me in a fight, and now you're telling me this? How much more shame are you going to shovel onto me?" Roc complained.

"So, what, we're going to watch you bomb some country back to the Stone Age?" Daniel asked.

"Actually, you could say we were the ones who got bombed. Right about... now."

The sky then lit up with a thunderous boom as something penetrated the atmosphere. It soared over everyone's heads before striking the ocean in the distance, causing a brilliant flash and a gargantuan pillar of water to rise up to the height of the clouds. Noah's friends were reacting the same way as the illusory sailors, just as he remembered.

"It was a meteor. Our scientists guessed it was a lump of solid metal about the size of a cow, traveling around 20,000 miles an hour."

As Noah spoke, the shockwave of the impact hit the fleet, knocking men off the decks of several ships and even pushing a jet into the ocean. Radio towers and antennas snapped off while windows cracked and shattered. Noah's friends all instinctively shielded their faces from the incoming blast, having flashbacks of the wrath of the Wassengel, but all that hit them was the smell of the sea. However, the shockwave was only the beginning. A massive wall of water rose from the impact site, over a thousand feet high, and heading their way.

"I gave the order for all ships to turn towards the wave, try to ride over it, but half of the crew on the bridge were dead from the blast, and the other ships didn't fare so well either. It wasn't just kinetic force or the shrapnel that killed them. The meteor impact imparted so much thermal energy that it instantly vaporized the seawater, turning it into superheated steam. I had ducked down in time to avoid the most serious burns, but almost everyone around me had their faces melted off."

It seemed like the entire ocean was rising, picking up the hulking steel vessels like they were nothing. Once again, Noah's friends all felt their stomachs lurch as the aircraft carrier was lifted and began to tilt. They weren't actually feeling the shift in balance, but as the ship leaned past the point of no return and the ocean replaced the sky, their eyes tricked their minds. The aircraft carrier capsized, and suddenly, they were all underwater.

"Ok, this is just plain weird," said Daniel. He knew it was an illusion, but his mind still struggled to process the reality that he was sitting on dry ground and free to breathe.

"Look, there I am," said Noah, pointing to a man escaping through one of the bridge windows and swimming towards the surface. "That wave went on to destroy numerous coastal towns and cities. As for my fleet, of the thousands of men and women I had serving under me, less than a hundred made it." Noah released his magic, and they returned to the woods of Vandheim. "All right, what next? Do you want to see me get mauled by Bigfoot while I was fighting wildfires? Or when I discovered the lost city of Atlantis at the bottom of the ocean, populated by mermaids?"

"All I can think about is that spider chick. Seriously, I need to know if she was hot or not," said Daniel.

"You realize I'm sitting next to you, right?" Cyrilo asked, growing increasingly annoyed.

"Come on, you can't tell me you're not a little curious."

Noah sighed. "Fine, here. False World." He recast his magic, bringing everyone to the main chamber of Carthace's base. Surrounded by webs and darkness, everyone jerked in surprise when the spider queen descended, landing in the center of the camp with the fire beneath her. She crossed her arms and pointed one of her bladed legs at Daniel. "Well? Are you satisfied?" she asked.

Daniel turned to Cyrilo. "Be honest. How much money do you think she could have brought into the Knight's Sheath?"

"Well, she is quite attractive and quite scary, but there are plenty of guys who are into that sort of thing."

"I just can't believe that there is anyone in the world who could, you know, have their way with you against your will like that. I mean, you of all people," said Foley.

Noah looked at the Carthace illusion as he spoke. "Oh, it's happened to me plenty of times in the past. It doesn't matter how good a fighter you are when you're drugged, or paralyzed from the neck down, or getting jumped in the prison showers, or even still in diapers. Hell, I remember when I was around six months old and two guys kidnapped me from my crib and just... tore my insides to shreds. That death... that really messed me up for a while. I spent most of my next life in a drug-induced haze after that, just to try to forget, but that memory is burned in there."

He released the spell and looked back at his friends, seeing the gaunt looks of shock on everyone's faces and their mouths hanging open.

"Noah," Sophia gasped with tears falling from her lashes.

"A lot of stuff about me is starting to make sense now, isn't it?" Noah said, then pausing. "That's the first time I've been able to tell people that story. You know I've been through a lot of awful shit, but oftentimes, the worst part was that I could never tell anyone about it. I would die the most horrific, agonizing deaths, then the next thing I know, I'm reborn into a new body, surrounded by a new family, with whom I could never be honest.

All I could do was take the pain and memories of my death and swallow them, bury them deep down, while I pretended to just be a regular baby, a regular kid, a regular adult, never allowed to be my true self. I've done more than my fair share of awful things in the past, and when people asked me why, I could never tell them. I could never tell them what it was that made me the way I am."

Looking around, it was clear that Noah's story had ruined the evening. All that awaited was a night of awkward silence. "We've almost reached the Andromeda Estate. I suggest we all go to bed nice and early tonight and get up even earlier tomorrow." Noah got up and went to his tent, with Valia and Shannon joining him.

Everyone else continued to sit around the campfire, and Alexis noticed that Sophia kept looking at Noah's tent with a pained look.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"It's just... I just wish I could do something for him. I just want to hug him and make all the bad memories go away."

"I don't think there is anything you can do. What happened to him happened a long time ago, with who knows what occurring since then. He told his story and we listened. I think that's all we can do for him."

"There has to be more. All the time he's spent holding onto that memory, forced to deal with it alone. There has to be some way to make up for lost time and fill the hole in his heart."

Alexis looked around and sighed. "Then go tell him that. If you think talking to him will help, then the two of you can talk all night."

"Thank you," said Sophia, getting to her feet, only for Alexis to grasp her hand.

"But... only talking, please?"

"Have a little faith in me," Sophia replied. She walked over to Noah's tent and knelt by the entrance. "Noah? It's Sophia. Are you awake? Can I come in?"

"By all means," she heard Noah say.

She opened the flaps, finding Noah trying to sleep between Valia and Shannon, who seemed to be enacting Sophia's "hug the memories away" plan. They were both clinging tightly to his arms and even had their legs wrapped around his, as though afraid a wyvern was going to swoop down and snatch him up.

"Would you mind helping me out? They won't let go, and I'm really overheating."

"Just a little bit longer," said Valia.

Sophia sighed. "The two of you, make room." She then crawled into the tent and lay atop Noah's chest while hugging him tightly, leaving him struggling to breathe.

"Sophia..." he grunted.

"Just... let us take care of you for a little bit. Let yourself be held by the people who know the real you."

Noah gave up and lay his head back. "Thank you. All of you."

They set out the next day at first light, wanting to make every second count. They had reached northern Vandheim, on the border of the Ashok Mountains. The journey had been quiet, with no signs of the Profane, but that eventually changed when Roc and Cynatas descended from the sky.

"Noah, I spotted a group of fiends about a mile away."

"A war party?"

"No, moving too slow. I think they're patrolling the area. We're getting close to the mansion."

"Ok, we'll slip past them. You and Cynatas should stay on the ground with us. I don't want either of you getting spotted. If they have troops on the ground, they likely have them in the air as well.

"We're not going to take them out?" Seraph asked.

"And lose the element of surprise? If those peons go missing, their leaders will realize that there is someone out here capable of culling their ranks and raise their security. We need to ignore the small fry and focus on the upper echelon." Noah then raised his hand and dispersed his concealment mana over the group. "False Assembly."

Before, he could only shroud one other person to hide their existence, but since finding the Rune of False, his powers had grown by several magnitudes, and he could now shroud the whole group, so long as they stayed close together and didn't make any noise. They continued north, soon encountering the fiends on patrol. Everyone held their breath as they passed by, fearful of being spotted. Once they were in the clear, they moved on.

The further they went north, the more patrols they encountered. There were several close calls, where a sneeze or a horse's anxious whinnying drew the suspicions of the fiends, but Noah's group managed to slip by without being identified. They were leaving behind a scent trail that not even his magic could erase, but these roads were used by slave traders to deliver food to the mansion, so they had the benefit of olfactory camouflage. Finally, as it was getting late in the afternoon, the mansion came into sight.