The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 263: Dark before Dawn

Chapter 263: Dark before Dawn

The Eagle of the north shrieked as one of his feathers fell off. It landed on the peak, destroying it. Its shriek echoed for a while in the frozen lands.

...

The World Tree shuddered as its leaves discolored. The few who noticed it went insane, except the shamans. The wise ones turned somber. Leaves showed only changes at the end of an Age. But they never threatened to fall off like this.

...

The High Altar gazed at the stars overhead. A smile crept on her face. Just a while longer and she would meet the one she and her predecessors before her had been waiting for.

...

Strange phenomena filled the nooks and crannies of the world. Only those at the peak saw the trend and threat of the times to come. Some rejoiced, others feared it.

...

"Keep it steady!"

Cella shouted at her team. She steered the boat to the best of her abilities, which weren’t much in the field of sailing. Despite her desperate tries, she still looked over her shoulder. The cloud of dust blotting the distant sky weighed heavy on her heart.

She saw Bert trying to put his hand on her shoulder, but she winced. She didn’t look at him. She didn’t dare to. Anything with emotions would burst her open. It was hard enough to keep her eyes dry.

...

Hex stared at the whirling clouds of dust. His mind still reeled with disbelief. Althea’s words echoed in his mind.

As always with such things, he questioned whether the words were true. But his excellent memory repeated the words in his mind in an unending loop.

’Was it she who spoke to me or someone else?’

It could be someone else. His experience taught him never to judge things at first glance. Ever since he stepped on his path of Knighthood, he learned that things had layers – many layers.

His heart desired to return. To meet her. He didn’t doubt her survival. It didn’t have to do with hope or his belief in her. He witnessed her abilities and strength. Someone who could wield nature to her will, could survive its aftermath.

’But what if...?’

Unease. It filled his mind and heart. He turned to Sterling, hoping to convince him.

"No!"

He only turned and met his gaze when the silver-haired young man replied without hesitation.

"But..."

"No." Hex seldom saw Sterling as serious as he looked right now. "I understand you want to return to your girl but if we don’t get out now, we will be executed. You do realize we – well, you guys – killed the King, right? Even if the dynasty changed or even the Kingdom fell apart, you would be the number one target of anyone willing to establish their might. And no, no one will say the King was bad. He is dead. And people knew him. You, on the other hand, are a brat from the north. The only thing people know about you is that you have black hair and black eyes, and you are the baron’s heir. And then the baron died. See where I am going with this?"

Hex closed his eyes and clenched his fist. "I am the Cursed Boy who killed the King?"

"Yes."

No matter how unwilling Hex felt to leave, he agreed with Sterling. He turned toward the settling dust as the Sky Serpent braved the turbulent winds, taking him away.

...

"Where is the ruin?"

Silvera reached Notresol as the dust settled. She remembered seeing the high walls and the heavy gates from afar. But as she stared from atop Soran at the sight below, she only saw a crater. She estimated the crater to have a diameter of at least a hundred kilometers. She could be wrong but not by a huge margin.

"Where–where should we search?"

Her partner asked her. She tried to remain calm and steadfast but Silvera noticed her trembling hands and her gulping as she spoke.

’I would love to tease her but now it’s not the time. I am shaking myself.’

Deciding to tease her another time, Silvera let Soran circle the crater. The eagle flew in smaller and smaller circles, moving toward the eye of the crater.

"There."

Silvera saw arcs of lightning splutter and crackle in the dusty ground. With a shriek, the eagle adjusted his flight and hovered at the area.

"I am going down. Pull me up on my signal," Silvera shouted at her partner.

She half-expected her to resist. She wished to do things by herself. Silvera liked that. Less for her to do. But this time, she was better equipped to scout. Even if she suffered a fatal injury, her partner could pull her out. With her Nine Lives Technique, she would survive.

But her partner nodded. Seeing that, Silvera jumped. A silvery cat manifested before it. The cat was about her size. It used her claws where the flashes of lightning arced. The lightning struck the cat but aside from a few indents, nothing happened.

After a while, the cat meowed and pulled someone out.

Silvera hurried and held Althea in her arms. The girl was unconscious. Her breath seemed soft and at peace. But as Silvera held her, she felt the energy inside her all willing to flow out and merge with Althea. She hurried and placed Althea on top of the silver cat.

The Altar didn’t explain why though. Seeing the state of the ruin and Althea lying in the middle of the crater, she suspected a few things. She couldn’t question the Altar though.

On her signal, her partner lowered Soran and threw a self-retracting rope at her. She grabbed and pulled herself on the back of Soran.

With a loud shrill, they soared toward Pontiffe. Silvera looked at the ground a last time. She couldn’t help but hope that the black-haired boy wasn’t buried underneath the dust. Soran’s cries echoed as they flew away.

Dawn was about to arrive but hadn’t yet. It was the darkest period of the day.

...

Somewhere far from the center, yet near the place where once the walls stood, dust started to move.

As the dust fell away, a small hill appeared. It stood protected inside a shield full of cracks and tears.

When all the dust flew off, the shield cracked and disappeared, revealing a group of people. The men and women looked uninjured. Only one tall man looked fatigued. It seemed he could collapse at any time. But the handsome young man ignored everyone and stepped out. He took a sharp breath and smiled.

Let’s finish this. A new dawn is about to arrive.