When Harry reached the barrier, he finally put the girl down. She had not stopped crying ever since they had started. But now, her eyes could not produce any more tears; still, she was whimpering constantly.
Harry knelt beside the girl, and then he stared into the girl's eyes and said, "Listen, it's okay. I am here with you. I am going to get you home, but for that, you need to tell me where you are from. You wanna go home, right?"
The girl whimpered a little more, still processing his words. She then slowly nodded her head, "I wenna go 'ome" she said.
"Good," he said, before he could ask her from which tribe she hails, a shout reverberated in the area, "GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!"
Harry looked to his right to see four people running towards him. Three looked like children, pulling a cart with them. While the one in the lead, a girl around his age with fiery red hair, was the one who yelled. He stood up, ready to clear up the misunderstanding, when he saw the change. He saw Vita coursing through her body, she didnt stop as she came close, and he realized soon that she was not here to bicker or to accuse. She was there to fight.
The girl greeted him with a flying kick, which Harry was easily able to dodge by jumping sideways.
But the girl was not done yet. As soon as she landed, her finger morphed into black claws. Her hands now resembled those of a beast had razor razor-sharp, pointy nails. And they felt as if they could tear off Harry's flesh with ease.
She is using her Essence. He thought as he witnessed her transformation.
As he had jumped sideways, the heavy battle ax had fallen from his back. Although he still had his bow on his shoulder, it was useless in close combat. So, Harry then changed his weapon and took out the hunting knife on his belt.
"I am going to kill you!" the ginger girl yelled.
The little girl that Harry had saved earlier started whimpering more loudly, "DORA!!"
"Wait," Harry said. He now understood that the ginger girl was the one that the little one was looking for. She probably thinks that I tried to kidnap the little one.
But Dora didnt listen, she charged at him.
Pumping Vita through his body, Harry made himself a little bit faster, just enough to dodge the strikes from the girl. She was good, accustomed to her hands. She swiped her arms left and right, trying to get him. But Harry was simply faster, not to mention more agile than her.
But Harry couldnt let this go on for long, "Why are you attacking me!" he yelled. "I saved that little girl!"
"I know who you are!" The girl said, increasing her speed and aggression. "Voyerur of Rubina!" Harry knew that Rubina was another member of the Heks, but what he could not understand was what gave her the idea that he was a Voyeur.
"I AM NOT," he said, dodging another one of her jabs, "I am a Vulcan!" This made the woman stop.
That was easy, He thought.
The woman then glared at him, "Who are you?"
"Name is Adui," he said, staring at the people before him. The other three in the group were with the girl; they all seemed young. All of them seemed to be underage, and their scans didnt have Vita as well.
"Adui?" she said.
He nodded and said, "Yeah. Now.. I think we both have a lot of questions.. But they could wait. I just dont want to be here right now. Care to move away from the place? Then I will answer all of your questions."
The girl looked back, staring at the children with her. She decided to follow his advice…
***
"Why are you coming with us?" Dora the ginger girl asked. She was pulling a cart, along with Harry. The kids were sleeping in the cart, as they had started their journey back to the Mars tribe, their home. The sun had risen, and it had been a very peaceful morning for them.
Harry simply answered, "Look at yourself. You have children with you. Do you think that you are strong enough to handle whatever comes your way?"
Dora, who was a quite prideful girl scorned. "I would have beaten you, if you didnt dodge. I would sliced you up good, Vulcan,"
Harry smirked, but didnt reply. Which further infuriated Dora. "Do you think that you are better than me? Let me tell you something, I am from the Mars tribe. We are known for our prowness..."
This is going to be a very looong journey, Harry thought as Dora continued to tell him about her tribe. Then, for some reason, she shifted the topic to Lord Leh and how her tribe was blessed by him.
Harry stopped listening to her after that. Then looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening around him.
He could see a blue hue all around him. He didnt understand what this hue was. It was not a gas, as its particle seems to be heavier than gas, as they were visible. It was not fog, as it didnt hamper vision in any way or form. It was just present, and he didnt like it.
He had hunted a lot of times in these grasslands, and yet he had not seen this hue anywhere. The only time he had seen it was on his first day in this world, and the hue was being emitted by the sacred dome.
Had the hue spread all across the grasslands because of the destruction of the dome? Was it dangerous or radioactive? Harry didnt have the answer to the questions, and he didnt know where to look for answers as well.
"Can you tell me again what happened last night?" Harry asked Dora, who had become silent by then.
"Why?" Dora asked. "I have already told you everything that I saw."
"I know," Harry said. "I just need to make sense of what had happened… Just once again. Tell me everything from the start,"
Dora didnt argue, just started retelling her tale, "We came to Agora with our parents. They came because of some revelation that the Grand Priestess had around half a moon cycle ago. They wanted to understand what this revelation was all about."
She gulped some saliva, and continued, "Yesterday we came away from Agora as Joni wanted to see them," she pointed towards the kids, "She wanted me to show her friends.. My essence. I told her yes, and we went away from the Agora for a few minutes. And then they appeared…"
She stopped, fighting back tears. After a few deep breaths, she continued, "Then they appeared out of nowhere, creating a hole in the barrier, riding their metal bird, the blue invaders. Our warriors were easily overpowered. Then Lord Leh himself had to step in…" This was the part that Harry couldnt understand.
"He came down from the hell… rained his powers on the blue invaders. But it was not enough… Lord Leh's power, although very potent wasn't enough to kill the invaders. They killed everyone. EVERYONE. And we just stood there… watching everything in horror." Tears started streaming down her face.
Harry remained silent, not fazed by her tears, but arranging his thoughts, trying to make sense of the mysteries of this world…