Contrary to Hazahnahkah’s wishes, Hwayoung did not turn back. This greatly angered the sword, and it also unsettled him. His expectations for the girl seemed betrayed. She knew he could protect the villagers from anything and yet still she continued onward. He thought better of her. So much so that it had actually crossed his mind to use his First Terror on her, to make her go back, to be the hero that he had imagined her to be. Of course, the sword did not do this, and he was disgusted with himself for even imagining it. He had to get over it. There was no room for him to have lingering thoughts about turning back now. What was once known as Elba was already greeting them in the form of shifting mountains, hillside trams, and blimp lifts. Based on how Yurreth had been described, the city appeared nothing like her. It was beautiful, harmonious even. The echoing heartbeats of its collective people made that clear even from so far below it—the city of Placenta had not seen war, starvation, or injustice in many, many years—perhaps never.

  Health (source of vitality and abilities): 900,000,000,000

  Energy (source of stamina and abilities): 900,000,000,000

  Agility (speed of actions): 50,500 → 50,550

  Regeneration (rate of recovery per hour for Health and Energy): 100,000,000,000

  Tenacity (resistance to unwanted effects): 100,000,000,000,000

  Strength (physical or mental reality manipulation potency): 1,000,000,000

  Hwayoung: Friends 110/100 → Bonded 120/100

  Ysan: Lamented 100/100

  Health (source of vitality and abilities): 3,000

  Energy (source of stamina and abilities): 3,200

  Agility (speed of actions): 5,755 → 5,900

  Regeneration (rate of recovery per hour for Health and Energy): 50

  Tenacity (resistance to unwanted effects): 175

  Strength (physical or mental reality manipulation potency): 80

  Hazahnahkah: Trusting 75/100 → Bonded 85/100

  Before any guards could stop Hwayoung’s company, a sign did. It illustrated several different interconnected maps, and for each map unfurled a simplified city. Hazahnahkah realized this wasn’t just Elba, but a whole collection of places once named something else. Qinzhui, Sonoyahana, Pamapur, Hahlong, and New Tokyo were among the largest, but smaller, even nameless, settlements had been sucked up into the tethered network of isles and blimps onto the Sea of Clouds, crushed of any identity they ever had.

  Yet everyone seemed happy.

  “Why would Bankanzaku come here?” Galfarys asked. “I feel as if Nazaki is being misled. This is a terrible place to get married to women. Is every person here not married to Yurreth?”

  “Not everyone,” Lazul said. “Those under the age of 15, those who are just visiting, and those who are newly enslaved are spared. It’s mostly a formality. A promise to Yurreth. I think you’ll find most don’t even know what she looks like.”

  “Really?”

  “She’s a Rapscallion. Do you really think she wants her face out there?” Hwayoung asked. “I could understand why Bankanzaku would come here. It’s crowded with people. Besides, he can’t survive in the wilds by himself. He has to get food, bathe, sleep, even if he’s a Rapscallion.”

  Zaz was still examining the map. He had looked extremely bothered since their arrival, and now his eyes were very dark. “New Tokyo? Was there ever an old one?”

  “Well I haven’t heard of most of these places,” Dalagun said.

  “Of course you haven’t. I’m better educated than you.”

  Dalagun scowled.

  Maria laughed. “The word new for Yurreth usually means she was unable to usurp the original territory or bring it here.” She pointed to a large blimp, steel and blue and glittering, guiding a whole cluster of its brethren as they pulled an island free from the fog that clung to it.

  It was an entirely new addition, and it was roughly the city of Ysan’s hometown.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Serpent’s Breath,” Hazahnahkah cursed, looking towards Lahahm. “Wake up! Are you seeing this? Look at what these humans have managed!”

  Lahahm did not wake up.

  It was strange. Even though Hazahnahkah had someone of his kindred with him, as well as several other souls, and even a wielder who could communicate with him, he was feeling rather lonely—like his old self—the self that never even knew what Rambles were.

  The cries of healthy, happy children tore Hazahnahkah from his thoughts.

  “Mom! Mom! Look!”

  “It’s the Stairway Serpent!”

  “You’re going to miss it! Dad!”

  “Here it comes!”

  “Wow! The newest version is so quiet!”

  “So fast!”

  A long steel vehicle composed of many smaller vehicles then slid into view around the greenery of hills: a train. It had been many thousands of years since Hazahnahkah had seen one. It seemed this land, this civilization, had managed to progress far enough to discover it. New lands, new people—they always thought themselves the inventors but that was never really true—what was made had always been discovered first. Popular leaders most of all were very concerned with this notion. That they were the exception to the rule and better than the rest. Yurreth perhaps, was the same. But Hazahnahkah had to admit, as self concerned as she seemed she had undeniably created a place with so much good. To see such abundance in Serpent’s Ramble wasn’t just rare, it was a miracle.

  The entire Stairway Serpent system was an architectural marvel as well. The vehicle unfurled its solar sails and opened up its doors. Inside were free goods for all. An almost unheard of concept, even to The Fawn Cities. Gravity spools were located in every car of the train, to prevent tea spills and fruit splatter. Not that any of Hwayoung’s company felt the ride rough in any sense. It was smooth sailing on the sunrise—smoother than even Ysan’s ferrying on a calm and rainless day. While the city’s tiered pagodas and temples came into view, Hazahnahkah witnessed gravity spools of sizes he had never witnessed before. The celestial engines hung in the air like small islands themselves, unraveling space and time into visible rivers under constant conflux and readjustment. To think that Placenta had built a failsafe in case the steel beams the Stairway Serpent slithered island to island, over the horizon, was absurd. Yurreth truly cared for her people.

  And it showed in more ways than this. All services were free and open to visitors as well. Rambletide kites across the realm allowed even children as young as ten to ride with the wings of a spearbird through the leylines of the world. They were given out on a minute-to-minute basis, and Hwayoung had one shoved in her face upon stepping right off the train.

  “Hey little lady! You new here?” a female guide asked, goggles large and smile wide. “I can show you how to ride the wind! With your mother and father’s permission of course.” She looked expectantly at Zaz and Maria.

  Hwayoung blinked, so stunned she had no reply.

  Zaz threw his arms up in immediate cacophony. “Do I look that old!?”

  “No it’s just that we fit together,” Maria replied lovingly, wrapping herself around his waist. “Hwayoung! When you’re done fetching Nazaki home I shall adopt you as my own! I think if had a daughter she’d be as pretty as you, wouldn’t she?”

  “Get off me!” Zaz shouted. “If you knew who I—” His teeth snapped shut.

  The guide bowed. “Oh my apologies! I misunderstood! You two do have a likeness to her.” She glanced at Hwayoung. “You seemed so young.”

  “Malnutrition,” Hwayoung exclaimed flatly.

  “Ah… very common… but not here. You have no worries in these lands, for all are welcome in Yurreth’s loving embrace. You can keep the kites and use them anywhere besides the Red, Yellow, and Green Pavilions. Other guides dressed like myself will always be ready for any questions. Please feel free to ask them for any help with anything. Have a Yurreth day!” she then waved them off, almost breaking off into a run as she tried to distance herself from the awkward altercation.

  Hwayoung groaned. She did not look happy. Hazahnahkah of course, had been laughing throughout the entire exchange. If more moments like this in the world existed, the world would be a better place. He felt like he didn’t get to laugh often, but here—in Placenta—laughs were everywhere. Even Dalagun’s usual sour scowl was a bit sweeter than usual. Serpent’s Breath, even Galfarys was somewhat less paranoid, no longer speaking nonsense at the sky.

  Hazahnahkah had longed for Serpent’s Ramble to reflect a land like this. Maybe Yurreth’s actions and desires were misconstrued in a conflagration of myths that knew her and gossip that didn’t. Maybe she was just like him.

  Misunderstood.

  And in a city so obsessed with Yurreth, it was certainly strange nobody really knew what she looked like. As much as Hwayoung wanted to rationalize that it was because the woman was a Rapscallion, Hazahnahkah knew firsthand, not just from recent events alone, that people made things up. The more people they spoke with, the more apparent this became. Placenta was pincered by two displays of Yurreth’s great power. Both were far away. One was a large red river on Clest, staring down at the city, which almost certainly could not have been made by a human. And the other couldn’t possibly have been true either. A large chasm divided the fields below Elba, and actually encompassed most of the jungle they had traveled through to reach here. From far away it was easy to see. Its ridges, size, and patterns were an exact match for the chasm December 11th trained June 33rd, October 1st, and March 8th in. If this had been made by anyone, it was by Hazahnahkah’s sister. Who, if she was Knife, still did not seem that real herself. Much less Yurreth.

  Hazahnahkah pointed out these facts to Hwayoung in one of the channels running by the overpass, and for the first time in a while, it seemed like she listened to him. “Yes…” She seemed to hug herself as a cold wind from Clest whipped at them. “Sometimes I wonder if she’s even real.”

  A woman, followed by a horde of servants of Yurreth, marched in from behind them, hand on her axe. “She’s real I assure you.”

  “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” Maria shouted, dropping to her knees to grovel. “It is an honor, Right Hand of Pleasure!”

  Hwayoung twisted. She was stiff, but managed a bow. “Freyja Altabella.”

  Galfarys stood. He said nothing.

  “And to what pleasure does Yurreth owe The Fawn City Patriarch?”

  This was not what Hazahnahkah had expected someone so close to Yurreth to be like. Freyja didn’t seem to care for formalities, so this must have been some joke. Nobody laughed or understood it. But some awkward seconds passed and they realized who she’d meant.

  Her hand was lifted straight towards Zaz.

  ? Mysteries of Sacra [Isekai] [Weak to OP] [Beast Companion] ?

  by Robert Wolf

  Thrown into a world of beasts and magic, Kai must fight to survive and hold on to the last pieces of his humanity.

  What to expect:

  In a world where kindness is weakness and morality is a luxury only the strong can afford, Kai must decide who he wants to be and what he's willing to sacrifice.

  Umbra, fierce and loyal, and Scry, wise and offlandish, refuse to let him lose himself to the darkness growing within.

  But every step forward brings him closer to a prophecy no one dares to speak.