Sora Brontarion
Our group glided across the peaks of the World Trees, bathed in the rift's orange glow above us.
The group moved slower than I'd like, weighed down by the injured students we had managed to save from the hideout. I considered shocking everyone with a bolt of electricity to force them to move faster, but decided against it.
I needed to conserve my cosmic energy. I couldn't afford to waste it on anything or anyone who might not be savable.
But as we traveled, I couldn't help but notice just how quiet everything felt. For once, I couldn't sense or absorb the emotions of those around me as my own.
It was wonderful.
I could think clearly; there was no judgment, no worrying about others.
I felt I could do what was required of me: lead.
This must be what father feels like, how all the other arbiters feel. No wonder they had an easier time performing.
They were never handicapped.
Now I can finally prove why I should be at the top.
About ten minutes passed before a mental message reached everyone.
"We have a larger cosmic energy source coming our way," Sigmond said.
"Is it the rift guardian?" I asked, trying to get a look at the jungle floor beneath us.
"No, the signature is different, and it's coming from above and the jungle," he said.
Then a larger shadow loomed over us, followed by a low, droning buzz.
I looked up and saw a long segmented body covered in overlapping black chitinous plates.
Four enormous translucent wings, with veins forming strange geometric shapes that made the eye lose track of where they were going.
The creature had six thin, hooked legs with claw-like tips and a large head dominated by compound eyes.
The creature couldn't be smaller than twenty feet long, and it dove straight for us.
My thoughts immediately went to the war-game simulations we ran at the academy, and I replayed how I would defend against aerial attacks.
We had none of the proper tools or weapons to defend against something with such a clear advantage.
The only thing in our favor was that it hadn't reached the void-born stage; if it were at the same stage as the rift guardian, we would have no hope at all.
Some of the injured students became hysterical, making it difficult for people like Simon and a few others to carry them.
I was happy I couldn't feel it.
"I have a plan. But someone needs to be bait," I said, calculating when the large, dragonfly-like behemoth would swoop down and start picking us apart.
The tether communication was silent.
"We are not risking a life for your plan. I will take it out." Jossie said, allowing his titan armor to wrap around his hands.
"Now, everyone, get out of my way and keep following the Corvantis girl," Stravos said, pivoting, jumping, and using his titan to launch himself straight towards the behemoth.
Playing the hero won't help us here.
Stravos hurtled through the sky at blistering speed, but the behemoth tucked its wings and barrel-rolled out of the way, leaving him no time to redirect.
If we had Jace, or even Cyrus, I wouldn't have questioned it.
"Now, everyone, that is why you should listen when I present a strategy."
Since my mother was a Kazehoshi, Jace and I spent a lot of time in her homeland, hunting the Sky Beasts that terrorized the area with Grandpa. I learned a thing or two from those hunts, but the most important lesson was simple: you had to trick a flying creature like that into letting you get close to its wings.
They were too sensitive to their source of freedom.
"Nerena, I need you to be the bait. You are the only one who can get my plan to work, and I need you to let it capture you."
There was silence.
"Fine."
"Alright, perfect"
I told everyone the plan, while Stravos informed us he was on his way back. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, but I looped him into the plan, too.
Moments later, the behemoth swooped down; everyone ducked except Nerena.
The behemoth lifted her high into the sky. She winced, but I knew she would pull through. As they climbed higher, she sprouted astral tentacles from her back and wrapped them around the behemoth's wings, stopping them from flapping.
Our group continued running after the other truth seekers while I kept my eyes on the behemoth and Nerena, waiting for them to reach the right height.
They were reaching the desired height fast. I glanced to my right and saw an object hurtling toward us.
Everything was lining up perfectly.
I charged my legs with cosmic energy and electricity, coiled my body, and launched myself into the air, aiming straight for the behemoth's wings.
With my wire in hand, I cut through the first set of wings Nerena was restraining, grabbed the exoskeleton at the last second, and propelled myself toward the other set. I flipped beneath the behemoth and released Nerena.
With her clear, we fell toward the World Trees. The mangled behemoth fell beside us, so I kicked the behemoth toward the fast-moving object.
Stravos.
He punched an enormous hole straight through the creature.
"So are we just gonna crash-land into the jungle?" Nerena said, applying pressure to the wound on her side as blood dripped from it.
"Give me more credit."
Before we knew it, Stravos's Titan caught us in midair and landed gracefully atop the trees.
The titan set us down, and we sprinted to catch up with the rest of the group.