[Chapter 29 part 1] Silver – Swimming in the Sky

-----------------------------

Silver slouched in his armchair wiped out. Soul and Free did the same. At least my load wasn’t encased in ice. Wise had woken midway, but his head still ached so they’d let him rest. He was lying in one of the cabins. Light is in worse shape.

“I should’ve taken over partway.” Kate commented, overflowing with energy.

“You’re right.” Silver smiled. “So why didn’t you offer to?”

“Because we never stopped.” Kate laughed. “Also, he looked heavy, and you were managing so valiantly.” You also knew I wouldn’t get mad. It’s fine though. While Kate might take advantage of him, she’d never take it too far.

“Oh, Come on. It can’t have been that bad.” Dawn said from her seat at the table. They’d unfrozen her upon returning to Exodia.

Soul glanced over without moving, “You must conquer your fears.”

“…I know.” His sister was fair-minded enough to realize she’d been a burden. Literally in Soul’s case.

“By the way, what happened to Light? Why is he in storage trapped in ice.”

Right, that. Where’s Rose when you need her? His sister was upstairs learning to pilot. Instead, Silver stared at his sweet heart.

“Alright,” Kate sighed. “Light collapsed as we left the Field of Graves. We found him writhing, eyes half-closed. It was unnerving. Other than sweating profusely, he appeared uninjured. When we asked what was wrong, we got no answer. He was delirious, as if trapped in a nightmare. Panicking, we tried shaking him, which helped. He gained awareness and muttered——”

“‘Don’t worry, I only took four’” Free finished disdainfully. She’s the one who had to lug him back.

“Four what?”

“There’s only one thing it could be.” Free responded.

“Weapons?” Dawn said in disbelief.

“Three short swords and a dagger.” Kate confirmed. “And he wouldn’t let go. When we asked why——”

“’Cursed weapons are cool’” Free derided coldly. “Once he’s better, we’ll have a chat. His obsessions are as problematic as a certain person’s acrophobia.” Dawn flinched.

“At least he had the decency to wait before putting himself into a coma.” Soul offered. Right, if he’d collapsed earlier, that would’ve been bad.

“Anyway, we froze him and made our way back. The End.” Kate concluded. That part was an ordeal for some of us.

“So that’s what I missed.” Dawn reflected.

“You needn’t worry.” Free offered, head back, eyes closed. “Nero said ‘Four is still ok’. Unless he’s wrong ——which I doubt——, Light will recover.”

“It’s still another mess for mother to sort out…” Soul sighed, bringing out their quest stone.

QUEST: Clear the Field of Graves

STATUS: Completed

GUILD ESTIMATED DIFFICULTY: B

ACTUAL DIFFICULTY: A

“We got credit.” Soul said. “I really should’ve confirmed earlier. If we’d missed some undead…”

“At least it was worth it.” Kate said. “Having a rank A mission on your card is proof of real strength. We’ll have an easier time forming parties for quests and dungeons. It also gives us bragging rights.”

Silver observed his girlfriend. “Say, Kate, do you have any friends?” He ignored the gasps and continued before Kate exploded. “I’m being serious.”

“Of course I do.” Kate said with mixed emotions.

“Why haven’t we met them?”

“That’s…” Kate took a deep breath. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to introduce you until you’ve adjusted. Your ignorance about basic topics is a dead giveaway. This goes doubly for you, Silver. When they find out… Never mind embarrassment, I’m worried you’d leak your identity. Believe me, they’ll pry.”

“Sounds difficult…” At the same time, he was curious.

“Aren’t they concerned you’ve been missing?” Soul asked.

“Lily has ‘commandeered’ my services in the past. She hates bringing outsiders to the Inner Palace. That’s the excuse I’ve given. Have a look.”

Kate held up her wrystal, displaying a message: Miss you. Let us know when the evil witch child has released you from your bondage. —Yvonne

“Do those work here?” Free asked surprised.

“No, but you can check your messages.” Kate explained.

Emerit popped in from above, “Come up, there’s something you should see.”

“Must we?” Silver didn’t want to.

Emerit grinned ferociously, “I’ve taken us on another detour.” Didn’t the last one nearly kill us? He lethargically made his way up.

“Is this something I’ll like?” Dawn asked coolly. The brewing confrontation with Emerit had been delayed for the moment. She worked off some frustration, and skipping the return trip helped.

Emerit gestured, “Behold, the Skystream, Enera’s one true skyriver.”

Outside was a clear flow of water running through scattered clouds. Sixty feet thick, its surface undulating gently. Must be the wind.

“This ends at the Isle.” Free stated. Only one skyriver traveled this high.

“I figured you deserved a reward.” Emerit exuded self-satisfaction.

Silver pressed against the glass. They were near the Blue Abyss with crop fields spread out below. Calliso, the country bordering the Isle.

“This is nice and all, but we see it everyday.” Silver said.

“But have you swam in it?” Emerit responded smugly. What? Silver peered back at the drifting water.

“Is that safe?” Soul pressed. It sounds intimidating… and exciting. Of course, Silver only felt the latter. They’d learned to swim in the pond at Earth’s End.

“Perfectly. Objects submerged in liquid adopt its gravity. Once you’re in, you’ll be pulled towards the center. It’s practically impossible to fall out.”

“Then how do we get out?” Soul wasn’t convinced.

“There’s still rope.” Emerit said. “Once you’re on board and dried off, you’ll return to normal.”

Silver turned to Kate, “Have you done this before?”

“I must admit I haven’t.” she answered. “I do know that it’s done frequently and is considered safe.”

“Rose, park us above.” Emerit instructed. “Then join the others and get changed. I’ll meet you out back.” This is why Lily told us to bring swimwear.

Soon they were ready. It’s my first time seeing Kate in a bathing suit. It covered about as much as those ‘bikini armors’. She’s beautiful.

“Dive in.” Emerit invited.

Silver could see fields through the transparent liquid. Emerit must know what he’s doing. Plus, if one of us falls, Astra will kill him. With that reasoning, he hopped in.

It’s pretty normal. He quickly surfaced and adjusted his aura to account for the chill. Around him the others were leaping in, which he ignored. Time to test something.

He dove down at a lightning pace, manipulating friction and shaping flippers at his extremities. He then slowed and emerged on the underside. Above ——technically below—— stretched Enera. The visibly was great.

The surface broke besides him, and he was taken aback to find Dawn, “I’m surprised you’re here.”

“Gravity’s direction matters.” Dawn admired the landscape. “Having open space ‘above’ isn’t a problem. Besides, I confirmed with Emerit, even after exiting the water, we’ll still be affected for at least a minute while we’re wet.”

She pointed ‘upwards’, “You could jump out and you’d fall right back in.”

“Really?” Silver contemplated. “I’m going to try.”

He plunged down, building speed while traveling in loop. Then, with a mighty splash, he shot out. He felt himself dragged back as he soared through open air. I might make it thirty feet. He was pretty satisfied with his effort. However, at the high of his trajectory, something unexpected happened. The force pulling him faded at the same time as his momentum. He was left suspended and weightless. What’s going on? While puzzling it out, the water on him froze, and he was yanked towards the skyriver, crashing next to Dawn.

He found his sister shaking her head, “This is my fault for putting ideas in your head. One day, you’ll get yourself killed.”

“What happened?” Silver was perplexed. Did I misunderstand?

“Notice those crops.” Dawn gazed up. “That means it rains here. This skyriver’s gravity field is narrow. Outside of it, water falls normally.”

Ah, I get it. “So if I’d jumped a little higher——”

“——You would’ve ‘rained’ to the ground.” Dawn finished. Sounds scary.

“That nearly gave me a heart attack.” Kate said, swimming up. His stunt had attracted everyone’s attention.

“You nearly escaped the skyriver’s pull,” Emerit laughed, joining in. “Pretty impressive. I might’ve had to save you.”

“Wait, if you’re here, who’s piloting Exodia?” Soul asked.

“I let her drift.” Emerit said confidently. “I can fly when I need to. Not as fast as Lily, but I can catch you if you fall.”

The others relaxed. He should’ve mentioned this earlier. The though was interrupted by a wave pouring over him. Kate had starting a splashing war, and the others joined in one by one as they were caught in the crossfire. Then Dawn got blasted by Free.

With a sneer, his sister extended her hands and the surface warped around her. They all sunk while she rose to tower over them. That’s right, ice is just frozen—— A wall of water crashed down, ending the fight.

“You’re terrible at holding back.” Free complained as she surfaced. “Anyone know other games? Maybe ones less unfair…”

“I do.” Emerit, who’d been on the sidelines, chimed in. “Silver reminded me of one I played in the past. ‘Who-can-fly-the-farthest’ we called it. Pardon the lame name. Anyway, let me show you how it’s done.”

He disappeared, and, seconds later, exploded out at a forty degree angle. They watched him soar out of view as he was pulled into a low orbit around the skyriver. Awesome. He landed ten feet shy of a full revolution. “So that’s it.” He explained. “For the record, I held back. When my friends and I did this at an underground river, it had a larger gravity field. I won with a record six hundred feet.”

“By the way,” Emerit glanced at Dawn and Soul, “no using telekinesis to extend airtime. Keep this fair.”

Although Silver was gun ho to start, the others hesitated. “Don’t worry.” Emerit reassured. “When you’re jumping at an angle, you’re unlikely to escape the skyriver’s pull.”

Soon they were sailing around, one after another. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a while. His attempts got better and better until he was completing half revolutions. As soon as he’d landed, he’d swim to begin his next attempt. The feeling of gliding through the sky was amazing.

Much to Dawn’s frustration, the ultimate winner was Soul. Her angles weren’t aggressive enough. Timidity cost her victory. They would’ve kept going if Emerit hadn’t fetched Exodia.

“I have another rare treat for you.” Emerit leaned serenely on the railing while they dried on deck. “Look there, on the horizon. That’s the Leviathan.”

(continued in part 2)