Neil stared at the towering man his stance swaying with the wind. His back ached from the impact of him and the ship and was in a world of pain. The man looked back with contempt as he uttered.
" As for the rest of your—rise. Face him. Let's see if any of you are worth keeping."
Murmurs rose from the members as they gave each other glances of confusion not knowing what to do. Then one spoke.
" But sir … he's a child , we could…" he was cut short by a blow to the face sending him crushing into the trees.
"A child who bested five of your own and managed to finish the job. " the towering man said retracting his arm .
" As of now he's a warrior and will be seen as such. Now go or would you prefer to face me instead?"
Neil staggered back as the people in front of him gazed at him. There were about fifty people all together not counting Jauge and the man.He clutched his wrist, eyes wide with as the members creeped closer. Their faces wavered leaking the hesitation of not
wanting to that. They looked amongst
each other all driven by the same force. Fear.
" Now they act like people? A few minutes ago they were okay with fighting five against one." He thought letting a heavy sigh.
Neil understood that there was no way to win in that case. His plan had failed and his gamble a flop.
While he was fighting the five an idea sprung in his head. After he had heard that there were more people inside the ship he concluded that inside the ship the effects of the decay zone were close to none considering normal people could be held there. So he formulated a plan. First to cut loose the ropes around his wrists and
for that he need the dagger. Then somehow managed to gauge how far the first
decay ring zone was from where they were.
During the fight he had seen a place where some of the trees had dried up but
closer to them others were not as severely affected. Then he used his arcane
and the dagger to show desperation luring them in. Once close enough he would
use a burst of compressed wind arcane to blow them back into the decay ring
zone and himself into the ship.
The events played exactly how he had thought they would but for his gamble it didn't. His gamble was that since the area had been depraved of arcane energy, a sudden burst of wind arcane would grab the attention of someone and come to his aid or make it worse. And it seemed the later had taken point.
The sky was still dark with moments of red flashes from the lightning that hang over Salur. The arcane around had gotten thin from the effects of the decay ring. The plants animals in the area were all gone or
dead. Even the horco ravens had disappeared. Only one place was not void of
activity.
Neil managed to dodge the first two swing. The rest, rested onto his body sending him spiraling out of the ship. The bossy man just stood there as he watched as his underlings continue to beat up Neil.
Neil had turned his back to his assailants trying to run away. He limped dragging his left leg that had became numb and inoperable. Behind him most of the members had stopped
their pursuit. They had grown tired of chasing wounded prey so they stalked him from behind. But among them there were
those who took fun it in. Ten to be exact. They harbored more than hate for the
young boy. They were envious.
" You think you're special huh?." One said driving his knee to Neil's stomach.
" Just coz you're in a decay ring zone doesn't make you strong. " another said as he picked Neil up by the collar.
" You're just going to die here, just like the rest of your pathetic village." He whispered into Neil's ear then tossed him to the ground.
For a person to survive in a decay ring they needed more than not using their arcane, they needed excellent mastery of the flow of
arcane in the Arcs. These took years of intense training and conditioning for
someone to resist the drain from the decay rings that's why it was preferred
they remain under the Lishanar shields. For some they took most of their young
adulthood exposing themselves to torture and hard ironed training to even
master stepping into the third Decay ring let alone the second. These ten fell
into that category. And yet before them was a fourteen year old boy, for some
less half their age , effortlessly walking in the second decay ring and even dared to use his arcane ,twice! Only one thing raced in their minds as they glared down to the bleeding boy.
" Just die already."
Neil peeked through the opening between his arms. He had curled up on the ground trying to protect his head from the relentless blows that rained on him. The siphon effects had started again energy get drained out
of his body. In the back the man stood facing the veil that encapsulated Salur.
Suddenly pulsating pressure waves from Salur surged through the land. The tempo increased as each time more and more the people around Neil fell.
" What's going on. Why are they … ? " Neil thought more of them fell.
" Hurry into the ship. " the bossy man ordered. " The wave decay has began."
Then in a blur he disappeared. The remaining members frantically ran to the ship.
" Let's just leave here. Let the event finish him off." One of the ten said as they dashed towards the ship.
" That'll teach you to be cocky, brat."
Then ten ran leaving Neil on the ground groaning. The flesh of his left hand now closely clang to his bones. His breathing was hoarse and dry. The world spun like a carousel as Neil watched the runes on the Sky Vengers' ship flare to life with a greenish blue glow. His eyes struggled to follow the
movement, only catching streaks of color soar into the air.
" Guess this it, huh." He said closing his eyes as the pulsing wave rushed through him. His thoughts drifted into the silence feeling the floating soil debris gently hit his body.
Then, a dome of warm pale green light surged around him, the air instantly soft and quiet within. The dome shimmered like sunlight dancing on calm water, pushing back the darkness with ease. A wave of serene energy washed over him, his pain dulling as warmth wrapped around his broken body like a mother's embrace. His lost arcane gradually coming back revitalizing his gaunt like hand.
On the side stood a man in an imperial coat, embroidered in silver threads and two golden star insignias, caught in the wind. His face was obscured by the medium long lime green hair that gently swayed in the wind. His gaze was directed to the Sky Vengers' ship that was now hovering in the sky
ready to depart the scene.
Neil's world started to become dark. The light from the clearing skies was a blur. All he could feel was the pulsing wind as the
winding up to something. The man the slowly picked him up from the ground then
said.
" Let's go home."
The sky behind them slowly shifted from red to blue. The clouds contined to clear revealing the solstice sun behind them. With one final pulse a surge of arcane pressure coursed threatening all in its path.
Before his world went dark, Neil saw a silver haired figure with an unconscious boy in his arms land besides them. At the back a gate that glowed deep blue with a dust cloud hiding the sky.