Beast-Tamer: Limitless Evolution
Chapter 45: Something in the Air II

Chapter 45: Something in the Air II

Something In the air II

Black Rock Chain. Sector 3B, Mining Zone Outskirts

Time: 5:57 PM

The air here always tasted like iron and ash. It was a common consensus that inhaling the dust was an easy way to get yourself sick for the rest of your life. The particles didn’t treat the lungs of anyone kindly. Jagged rocks covered in dark mineral veins jutted out of the ground like the spines of some ancient beast, and maybe it was.

Some people liked to speculate that this mountain chain appeared when a powerful beast died and its essence saturated the area, creating the special ore that was the Blossom Citadel’s ace. But there was no proof, so it remained a speculation.

Dozens of mining towers loomed across the chain, their metallic frames humming with the faint blue that was Mana as they worked to extract and refine the ore that was the Citadel’s most valuable resource. Orbinite.

But today, the hum felt... wrong.

A low vibration ripped beneath the feet of the scouts who were sent to investigate. Three Adept rank beast tamers of decent renown and ability.

They stood at the edge of a massive fissure that hadn’t been there before. One of them crouched at the edge with a device in hand.

"Still think it’s a tectonic shift?" The first asked with sarcasm and weariness.

The one crouched furrowed his brows as the device in his hand beeped crazily, steam rising from the fissure.

"In the office chance it is, then the planet needs a lung check." He said and stood up.

"Lots of radiation, lots of heat, and lots of Mana. This isn’t normal."

"No shit." The third scoffed.

"We should head back. We need people who are adequately geared to deal with this. Whatever THIS is." The second stood and faced them. He opened his mouth to say more, and then he froze.

A strange, invisible ripple spread through the air and caused them to shiver, and not just them.

The wind changed.

A silence, unnatural and absolute, spread across the range. The constant howling of the wind, the roars and cries of beasts in the distance, all of it suddenly... stopped.

Then came the noise.

An odd, gurgling wail that sounded like a bird, but also not quite, echoed from within the fissure. A wail that was followed by a surge of heat, then frost, as if the elements couldn’t decide who should go first.

The three Tamers froze, their beasts growling as their instincts went into overdrive.

Then, something moved in the depths of the fissure.

___

"Phew, I feel a lot better now," Irene said while stretching, the material of her suit stretching taut over her figure as she worked to remove some of the stiffness in her body.

The group had eliminated its latest target, which was a group of dog-sized fire ants.

Their strategy for it had been pretty simple. The ants, besides being fiery red, could cover their mandible with flames and spew them out if need be. So Osho had Gale suck out the air from around them to prevent the flames from having anything to burn.

From then on, they only had to engage them in physical combat.

Creatures like them could go without oxygen for a long time, mostly due to becoming more durable due to Mana, but mostly because they could use said energy to substitute oxygen for a bit.

In that same vein, the group assumed the ants would just substitute the air needed to make their flames burn with Mana, heck, Gale’s input was more of a test they expected to fail, but to their surprise, the ants truly couldn’t perform such an action, so the fight progressed with a lot more ease than they’d expected.

After that, Mrs Jane decided that would be their last hint for the day and allowed them to rest for the remainder of the 8 hours.

Everyone was looking forward to heading back, but Ellie, who was quite perceptive, especially towards matters involving Osho, couldn’t help but feel a pang of concern in her heart.

’He’s been looking like that since we killed the sloth.’ She thought as she snuck a few glances at him. What she saw that made her judge him to be looking off was how he seemed to be taking more deep breaths than usual, and she’d be correct in her assessment.

’It’s getting worse.’ Osho thought with an imperceptible furrow of his brows.

Ever since he noticed Gale’s unease, it had only gotten worse over the course of the last few hours. He couldn’t sense what the bird was sensing, likely due to the large disparity in their sensory abilities, but he knew not to doubt Gale. Especially given the fact his unease had onky grown.

Whatever the source of his unease was, Osho wasn’t keen on finding out. That’s why he walked over to Mrs Jane and whispered something to her.

"I need to speak to you in private." Hearing this, she didn’t seem surprised in any way. Instead, she just nodded and gestured for them to create some distance between themselves and the rest of the squad.

Everyone looked on curiously as the two of them walked some ways away, and as soon as they were out of earshot, Mrs Jane spoke.

"You’ve noticed it too, huh?" At this, Osho just nodded.

"Gale has been uneasy ever since we killed the Sloth, and it’s only getting worse. I’ve never seen him get worked up in this way." Osho said, unable to hide his, worry.

Mrs Jane nodded, but inwardly, she was surprised.

’He noticed that early, huh? I only noticed about an hour ago. But that’s not important. Whatever this is isn’t good, and I don’t want to find out the cause.’ With that, she spoke.

"Alright then, I was still gauging whether or not it was something to be worried about. But if even Gale is feeling restless, then it’s best we don’t stick around to find out." This made Osho let out a small sigh of relief. As things were, he’d much rather just go home and rest than deal with some—

Everyone froze as the ripple passed over them. Ellie and the others paled, and Osho narrowed his eyes while Mrs Jane frowned.

"Everyone get up, we’re returning to the convoy." She said, booking no room for argument.

No one complained as whatever that was made them feel like they’d just been punched. They got up and started to backtrack.

At the same time, Mrs Jane pointed his finger to the sky, and an orange ball of flames appeared above it before firing upwards, breaking through the canopy of trees and traveling for a few seconds before exploding like fireworks.

That was a signal she’d discussed with the teachers and soldiers. If things went south, she’d release that signal, which was their sign to get the hell out of there.

___

The earth ruptured like a lung exhaling its last breath.

Cracked stone erupted skyward, and from beneath the Black Rock Chain, a mass of obsidian feathers, jagged wings, and molten light tore through the crust. A monstrous, avian shape dragged itself into the sky. But at a glance, it just looked... wrong. Its limbs were too long, wings too wide, a curved beak formed not from bone but a mineral unknown to this world. Not quite organic. Certainly not machine.

Its eyes were glowing slits, vertical and crystalline, flickering with colors that didn’t belong in the natural spectrum. Its feathers shimmered between tangible matter and pure energy, pulsing with an unstable rhythm.

Winds spiraled around it, and the clouds began to darken as its very presence was stifling all around it.

It let out a scream that cracked stone across the ridge and disoriented every living being in a three-mile radius. Beasts fled. Humans collapsed, clutching their heads. Even mana itself seemed to tremble, recoiling from its presence.

Then, as if guided, its head turned, slowly, in a direction.

Its vision, impossibly sharp, fell upon the walls of the Blossom Citadel.

Something flickered across its crystalline eyes.

Purpose.

It took flight, leaving molten stone and warped air in its wake.

Its presence was stifling, its Aura suffocating. Simply by existing, it demanded respect... no, fear.

Fear that every untamed beast in the area gave way to.

Not long after it started moving, the beasts around it started to move as well. Most would have run under normal circumstances, but there was something about it that demanded it be followed.

So, in just a few short seconds, hundreds of beasts started to gather on the ground below it. Hundreds became thousands, and then even more.

Soon, a massive army of wild beasts moved beasts the creature in the direction of the Blossom Citadel, and just like that, an event that hadn’t happened in a very long time since the creation of the Citadel happened once more.

A Beast Tide.

The watches of all the students started blaring loudly, and when they looked to see why, their eyes widened.