Ascenders Rift

Chapter 21: Leaving the Mountains, A Strange Group

The base of Death's Fissure was forever a space of darkness, leaving only its deepest center shrouded by the lights of the Lesser Space. At this moment, the previously scarlet portal had changed, adopting a more gentle and softer blue hue. It seemed as if the portal had washed away all its sinister auras leaving only a gate of pureness to an unknown world.

Soon, a bright white light flashed as the figure of a handsome youth garbed in leather armor had appeared, his dark brown cape fluttered mildly with the soft wind. The youth looked around the dark passage before turning to face the rift in silence.

"Good now that it's conquered this rift can primarily be used as an awakening point. Even if its monsters evolve, they won't be able to leave the space and threatened the towns around it. At least, not for anytime soon. With this one down, only two additional dangerous rifts are left to go, plus the many other lesser kinds scattered across the lands. Yet, even though I say this, it is highly unlikely I'll be able to reach the two most troubling ones at this time..."

Evan thought as he recalled the location of the two other most dangerous Lesser Spaces, which had the potential to evolve into Apex Tier Spaces. He shook his head and thought to himself, "I can't venture to neither the distant Arctic Ice Cavern nor the core Bewildering Zone of the Western Nations. I'll have to deal with them at a different time, for once the first Ascenders Rift appears, there's going to be too much stuff to handle. Especially that race which is a troublesome kind..."

Evan's eye's flashed as he said this, recalling the sight of a genuinely terrible race from the First Rift. At the same time, he thought to here, he looked at the Void Blood Pendant on his chest and murmured, "If I were to recall correctly, in my last life this pendant had a few stimulations in that world from the First Rift. Though I've claimed this inheritance there is still too much unknown, I should give it a bit more of an in-depth inspection once I leave this place..."

Having cleared up his thoughts, Evan then glanced at the crests on his arms as he smirked and commanded, "Store!"

The instant Evan said this, the items around his body vanished after a flash of white light. Now, he could be seen in his ragged torn up hiking clothing once again.

Evan spoke in satisfaction, "These crests are far too handy..."

He then looked over his clothes and frowned as he pondered, "I definitely can't head out like this, with Ralph dead there will naturally be people alarmed about this, be it that Alan, or the RADA group. I should hurry and find my backpack so that I can change these clothes and leave this mountain range. Though without any core proof, no one can claim me as the direct suspect. It's better to lay low and see how the situation responds to this disorder."

As Evan quickly cleared these thoughts, the two crests on his palms flashed for a moment before he vanished in the darkness, leaping from the base of the fissure like a rocket, as he bounced up the damp walls traveling up towards the surface.

Soon, Evan had arrived at the peak of the gorge. Here, he had found the rope which he had previously bounded around a sturdy stone. He quickly unfurled it and sped through the woods as he retraced his steps.

The night was almost upon us again, even though three days passed for Evan in Arelith, with the time moving at its coefficient of 3:1, the current hours were that of the late afternoon.

Evan swift and nimble figure brushed through the bushes as he soared over the tall trees, landing on top of a reasonably high branch as he inspected the region with his eyes. In moments, he had crossed the wide valley, separating the outer parts of the mountain from its inner regions. Soon, his eyes flashed as he had finally found the location of his former perilous encounter.

"It should be around here somewhere..." Evan said as he scurried around carefully.

After scanning the region for a while, Evan's lips curved into a smile as he saw the bag hanging on a tree branch. He quickly walked over and received it before opening it and changing his clothes. Upon doing this, Evan was about to continue his way, but it was at this time he heard some shuffling noises.

His eyes narrowed as he looked towards the direction before he sent a tinge of his Battle Will to inspect, but having detected no blood on them, he calmed himself and awaited their arrival. Soon, a series of laughter and voices sounded.

"Haha! You better stop, or you're going to continue making a fool of yourself." A young female voice said.

"I'm telling you it's real! I saw it with two eyes, that golden boar was no ordinary kind!" A man's voice said as if trying to prove he was right.

"Alright, alright! I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, next time we come here we'll try to find its location." A woman's voice said in a half-believing tone.

"Big sister, why do you spoil him so much? You should know when to tell him to give up!" A young girl's voice snarled.

"Nah, it's fine, there's no reason to ruin a man's dream. Since he wants to prove its existence, then don't try to hinder him. Besides, he's not the only one to see a few strange things during this month-long camping trip, now wasn't he?" The woman said with a hint of mystery in her voice.

"..." The young girl remained silent as she seemed to have agreed with her words, but it was at this time, the group had stumbled upon a strange young man before them.

"Hmm? Little brother, you're in these mountains so late?" The leading woman asked as she looked at Evan in surprise.

Evan was a bit surprised; he gave the group a once over, noticing that they all sported classy wilderness clothing. The leading beauty had silky black hair the fell to her neck and wore a hat to cover her head. She had an attractive face capable of grasping any man, as her slender upturned eyes gave off a hint of sophisticated charm.

By her side was a young girl, similar to her in features but with larger eyes and a ponytail. The other two were a slender man and fat bearded man that brought heavy backpacks, with a few weapons such as guns sticking out.

"Such a heavy load, they must have been venturing quite deep into these mountains... and likely quite skilled, especially since they were able to survive last night's chaos," Evan thought to himself as he saw that none of them had any wounds or injuries.

The woman noticing Evan's silence spoke once again to convince him, "It's quite a dangerous place you know, you'd best leave here soon. Tell you what, if you have no intentions of staying, why not travel with us as we make our way down?"

Her companions also looked at Evan with inviting looks; it seemed that they didn't want to leave such a young man alone in these wilds. Evan smiled as he thought, "Hmm, their good people and the offer isn't a bad idea; it's better to blend in as I leave..."

Upon thinking this, Evan nodded as he stretched out his hand and replied, "That's great, I was thinking of leaving myself, but I got lost and couldn't find the way. Your timing was impeccable..."

The leading beauty smiled as she shook Evan's hand and spoke, "It's our pleasure, little brother, you may address me by name, Angeline. This is my little sister, Breya, and our friends, Hank and Thomas."

As Angeline spoke, Breya, Hank, and Thomas gave Evan a polite nod. Evan seeing this promptly responded in kind as he spoke, "It's a pleasure to meet you all, my name is Evan..."

Angeline seeing that the greetings were done spoke once more, "Well then, little brother Evan, shall we get going?"

Evan replied with a nod, "Sure."

As they moved, Evan's who moved at the back of the group couldn't help but ponder as he thought deeply, "Angeline that name is somewhat familiar"

Not long after, Evan had left this part of the Skyrise Mountains in the company if the peculiar party, as their forms vanished into the sea of trees and hedges.

***

This night was a cold one, carrying an uneasy chilliness that seemed to be capable of freezing one's soul. At these hours, the strange sight of the clustering stars around a crack in the universe was visible, a scene that though many have come to adopt in these past few years was still more than enough to raise a few individual's thoughts.

One such person was currently gazing at its mystery, a tall man in his late thirties garbed a well-dressed suit with dark red hair. His face was chiseled and rough as if a knife carved him as his red eyes gleamed with a hint of profoundness when he spoke, "Such a splendid sight you are as always..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but close his eyes as the lights from the high moon shone above his figure as if he alone existed in this world. A genuinely peaceful scene, but it was soon interrupted.

"Sir. We've found the location..." A voice said as someone appeared behind him.

The red-haired man opened his eyes and nodded as he spoke, "Mm. Then let's get moving, we must inspect the cause of Number 15's death...."

"Understood." The man said as he vanished after speaking.

The red-haired man's eyes shone coldly, as he lifted his head, gazing towards the horizon as he spoke, "I don't know who you are, but I can certainly promise... we will find you... there is no place you'll be able to hide..."

The chilly wind growing colder after his words, while his figure faded into the dark of the night.