Operation Open Sky

Chapter XIII: The Beginning Of The End

21 Degrees, Central Imperium (Kingdom of Jeong) Morning.

Claire Elford, 1894, 17th June, Mount Paektu;

The lake was practically sweltering with steam, bubbles gushing out from the depths below. It was visibly getting shallower. The two of them were still distracted from fighting one another. With Sophie torching a large gush of flames against Zako who encased himself in multiple walls of ice, each layer melting as he desperately tried to replace each one. Until large ice shards engulfed the sides of his defences circling out and heading straight for her. Sophie jumps in the air with her wing pausing her attack. Zako raised the ice walls he used as defence only to launch it at her along with what felt like hundreds of ice shards. They looked different to the others, hardened in nature. Sophie hadn't moved an inch and just as they were about to impact, she released a burst of fire outwards, although not melting everything entirely, the sheer shockwave immobilised every single attack. Each projectile smashed as soon as it landed. Damn you Claire, don't get distracted now!

"Sophie! We need to leave, look behind you!" Just as I let out that final sentence smoke erupted from the epicentre of the now dried-up lake, revealing the crater. Both of them finally stop, perpetually in complete sync they stare at the smouldering clouds gushing at them. Only for them to briefly look at one another.

"We'll continue this later, shall we? I think we all would rather not die here." Before Sophie could reply, Zako mustered a large cloud of mist, his presence completely gone.

"Claire, are you hurt anywhere?" Sophie landed back down and her flames died down to a sombre blaze.

"Don't worry about me. Right now we need to get out of here." Chants of rumbling emerge as the skies continue to blacken, plagued by the fumes.

"Back to camp then!" Sophie grabbed my hand and we turned dashing straight for the camp, my legs ached instantly. Stressing the sores supplanted recently, and all I could do was force myself to go through with it. Keep running, this time you know you'll make it.

Once reaching camp we scramble to look for the orb, the ground rioting beneath us. Absorbing each violent wave only for it to be replaced with one stronger, each time. The foundations of the camp had completely fallen over, tents collapsed along with some of the remaining equipment fallen and smashed.

"Claire..." The tone of her voice wasn't pleasing in the slightest, look at her. No, what's with me and broken orbs...

"It's shattered, it must have fallen." Irene now wasn't the best time for a sense of Deja Vu. All I could sense was disparity from her, I've dealt with this before, and I could do this again. What were our options? Trying to climb back down the mountain would be suicide. There still was that transmission orb, we could try and communicate with Gim Ji after all, he should be able to pick up the transmission since his an Elf. But what could he do? There is still the issue that we can't exactly leave in time. Unless...

"Sophie? You can fly with that wing of yours right?" She twitches back to reality.

"Well yes... wait. Claire, you're a genius!" It's as if Irene had blessed her with vitality in that instant... as she shakes me incessantly.

"Although I haven't tried flying with another individual I'd be glad to have you as my first test subject!" Chuckling with amusement her wing grew broader with fluttering flames, was she even taking any of this seriously?

Although time had already passed, the quakes still running beneath us. By now we could start to see the formation of magma slithering out rapidly as thunderous waves follow the tremors.