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Chapter 7 - The Predator's Return

Squad Beta had confirmed the path for their escape. They had to descend from the dead Mirewood tree now. Hera materialized steps made of fog, using her Mist Cuffs. The three of them descended slowly from the gigantic corpse. Zavian noticed a wave of strong emotions of Longing originating from the crater formed by them during their battle with the Mirewood Tree. This was the Tier 1 Soul-Ether fragments that had formed after they defeated the Mirewood. 

Zavian notified his team about his discovery. Hera suggested that they retrieve the fragment, as it could help them in a desperate situation or could be given to the master craftsman in the Aether forge who could purify the fragment and safely form relics and armor for them.

The team reached near the crater and Zavian sensed a wave of sadness washing over him. Hera and Riven also felt faint, unnerving sense of melancholy propagating from the fragment.

Hera entrusted the fragment to Zavian. Zavian picked it up, steeling himself against the strong effects of negative emotions surging from the fragments and stored it inside his bag pack.

After the retrieval of the fragment, the team members proceeded towards the "Specter's path" they had discovered. The formation was same as before, with Zavian at the vanguard responsible for sensing imminent danger and reacting first, Hera at the rear watching out for ambush and surprise attacks and Riven just behind Zavian watching out the periphery and surroundings to navigate their path and assist Zavian.

They had to move with caution as they were fairly deep inside the outer region of the forest. They were numerous concealed Velcryn creatures in their surroundings.

The path they took when they rushed towards the giant Mirewood tree the night before was mapped perfectly in Zavian's mind. After awakening his pulse, Zavian had attained eidetic memory and excellent terrain mapping abilities. He sensed the intent and emotional undercurrents around him to discern Velcryn creatures and guided his team in a manner to avoid them. As a Mindweaver, Zavian had familiarized himself with his abilities rather quickly. He could easily filter out unnecessary information and read the flow of information from his surroundings that he required. 

With Zavian's guidance and Riven's navigation, they reached to the periphery of the forest securely. Hera pin-pointed the starting point of the "Specter's path" using her Pulse. The three of them arrived near the water where the supposed path to their escape was located. Zavian used Cognivault and confirmed their route.

Riven stepped forward first, because he had the ability to transform in a blizzard of stars and move away quickly in case of any danger. He stepped forward, his foot came in contact with surface of the crimson sea but instead of going inside the water, there was a solid foothold on that surface. Riven was amazed, because it was mesmerizing for him to think that they were going to 'walk on water', which was not only impossible for normal humans but was an utterly absurd phenomenon.

After confirming there was indeed an invisible path present atop the surface of water, Hera and Zavian stepped forward and joined Riven. This time Riven takes the lead as their navigator. Riven's Pulse orbit sense and his Mark Starborne Array allowed him to feel the path's physical presence through subtle gravitational signatures and "astral coordinates." He possessed perfect spatial memory and was also the only one who could teleport them in case of any unprecedented danger.

Hera was responsible for watching the outline of their path. She walked behind Riven, constantly observed the veil and notify the team in case the path narrowed or shifted. She was the Cartographer of their team who identified their path within the lies.

Zavian took the position of their rear guard and psychic guardian. He extended his Cognivault, constantly scanning the crimson depths below and around them for any hostile consciousness that might be drawn to their presence.

The journey in front of them was a long and tense ordeal. They maintained their formation and continued forward.

---

 The third day of the Crucible arrived, brought a sense of urgency and apprehension to both the squads.

Squad Alpha had moved relentlessly to climb up the ravine. Only a quarter of the distance they had to cover had remained. Their plan of resting at night was voided because they couldn't find a stable foothold to take shelter.

Sayan was now more adept at using his Parallax Sight. It was still overwhelming, but his control over his Pulse deepened. He actively fought to filter the unnecessary sensory details and focused his layered vision of multidimensional space towards the cliff directly ahead.

Elyria fulfilled her role to identify unseen dangers. She had gained better understanding of the heat signatures around her. She had attained better cognizance of Ether's movement around her and developed a sharp, emotional Etherpath awareness.

Kaelen had accustomed himself with the floods of constant agony and lingering emotional resonance around him. He had started to accept these ravings and accumulated them within his mark. His mark had deepened and his mind was now stable despite being bombarded by the constant agonizing 'soundtrack' he was forced to hear.

They continued their climb with persistence despite being exhausted by the gruelling effort.

With the improved control they attained over their Pulse, Squad Alpha did not face any more dangers after their battle with the onyx serpent. They avoided most Velcryn creatures they faced, by locating their presence beforehand and altering their course to be safe.

The climb was strenuous and exhausting. Despite using their Pulse and Marks efficiently, the toll of using their vision constantly while climbing the ravine was a daunting task, both mentally and physically. Their Ether Pools were nearly drained and they had to rest now. Even the endurance pillar of the team, Kaelen was worn out. Sayan noticed their conditions and realized that even though they were not very far from the cliff, they had to rest now because even if the remaining distance was less than they had covered; their conditions were not optimal.

Sayan used his vision and searched through his surroundings for the most stable and anchored space suitable for taking shelter. Elyria scanned her surrounding and found a ridge near them with the most coherent heat signature, that was locate about 10 meters below them. Kaelen inspected the ridge for any creatures and found that it was safe. They informed Sayan and he made the final observation using his Pulse and concluded that even though the geometry and space around the ridge wasn't completely stable. It would be safe enough if they maintain caution and tread carefully.

They moved swiftly and skilfully without wasting any time and effort. The layer of frost on Elyria's mark intensified as the ice around their feet coagulated and solidified in a manner which strengthened the ridge's structure. Sayan used his excellent mapping skills and determined the most stable and secure position atop the ridge to form shelter. They quickly prepared a temporary shelter, looked out for dangers and finally took they well-required reprieve.

---

Squad Beta had travelled quite far from their starting point and were now somewhere between the crimson sea. They weren't able to determine where they were heading towards, as all they could see was the vermillion hue of the sinister sea around them. They just followed the path and continued forward. They fought two fish-type Velcryn creatures on their way. These creatures were a meter long and their body was covered in hardened scale which had a strange violet flesh protruding from its surface. They had sharp rows of teeth inside their mouth and could jump out of water to attack. These Velcryn creatures were also able to cast a shrill, mind-numbing screeches that dazed them momentarily. 

The battle between these sea creatures and Squad Beta was a short one. Being almost immune to all low-level psychic attacks Zavian took the lead in battle. He identified their attack patterns and engaged with first. He used his Mindshaft and attacked repeatedly while dodging to damage the beast. Even though Zavian could extrapolate more precise control over this large arrow to exert greater strength, due to the target being small, agile and underwater it was hard to land a decisive blow while dodging.

While Zavian was engaged in battle, Hera and Riven recovered from the psychic attack quickly and assessed the current situation to aid Zavian in battle. Riven used his Pulse and Mark together and determined the weak points of the creatures using ability to perform 'guided strikes'. He stepped into battle and hammered his heavy staff onto the surface of water to create a hindrance and informed Zavian and Hera about the weak points of the creatures. Zavian continued his battle like before to lure out both the creatures at once, while Riven informed him about the future attacks using his precognitive Pulse and create visual hindrances using his staff to perform light attacks.

The two Velcryn creatures were completely embroiled in their battle with Zavian and Riven. Hera's Mark became more ethereal as her presence slowly faded, seemingly melting into the crimson, dark surroundings. She materialized a net made of thorns using her Mist Cuffs. She observed the battle carefully while hiding her faint presence and precisely when the two creatures were together, she sprinted forward swiftly and entrapped the creature in net, ceasing their movements. Using this opportunity Zavian focused his Ether Flow and carted a trajectory for the arrow's strike in his mind. The ring on his finger glowed with an azure luminesce as the arrow darted towards the beasts with incredible speed and pierced through the weak points of the monsters, skewering the two creatures onto its tip and ending the monster's despair.

Day three ended quickly for both squads. One got rest while the other experienced battle. At the dawn of day four, Squad Alpha had arrived to the top of the ravine. They were exhausted and spent but they felt relief that they were finally outside the dark, icy and deep ravine.

 Just after a few moments of relief and rest, they decided to move quickly as it was not safe over the surface to halt and rest in the open. Few minutes passed and they realized that they had reached the other end of the mountain. Apparently, they had travelled far inside the ravine.

Sayan was scanning his surroundings as the trio moved forward in proper formation. Suddenly Sayan's sense went into overdrive. His Pulse was overridden by a strong sense of turbulence arising in the space approaching them from the front. His heartbeat quickened, his throat became dry and his Vision rippled and distorted. Kaelen sensed a flood of overwhelming negative emotion approaching them. The frequency of this grim emotional resonance was so intense that rendered Kaelen senseless for a moment. He was overcome with dread and apprehension. He had never felt this magnitude of fear from any existence. Elyria noticed the irregularity in her teammate's Ether and heat signatures. Just as she was about to enquire about their condition, she saw a figure made of absolute cold and darkness with two flames of desire burning in its chest approaching them. Using her Pulse, just from a glace, Elyria was able to conclude that the being approaching them had immense combat potential and possessed tremendous strength.

They all recognized this sense of impending doom. This was the Juggernaut they had faced in the cave before they escaped to the ravine. It had waited for them to come out and followed them all the way there to finally hunt down the prey that had escaped from its jaws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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