Demoa - Wasteland (1)

Demoa was still in shock over the fact that Ray had suddenly collapsed and that Elga had dragged her away. After the two disappeared, the square had fallen silent for a moment before erupting into confused chatter.

She herself felt uncertain, a rising sense of fear welling up inside her.

Ray unsettled her, even though she had seemed gentle and empathetic since their departure for the Radiant Monastery. Whatever was sleeping inside her was dangerous. Demoa had no doubt that Ray hadn’t meant any harm, yet something catastrophic had happened near the stream. Almost instinctively, she brushed her fingers over her eyelids. The pain that had nearly torn her apart when her eyeballs were melted away, the disorientation… She swallowed at the memory and tried to steady her breathing as the conversations around her grew louder.

Demoa wondered what Elga would do.

What could she even do?

She knew Elga’s Lucidity could achieve incredible things, and that she had cultivated for years to sharpen that power. It had always been pleasant to speak with her and learn more about the Light. The times they had gone into the woods to gather firewood or berries had been perfect chances to talk, and Demoa had learned a lot. Thanks to Elga, she had become a little better at embracing the blurry visions the crystal had shown her. But now Elga had left. Would she be able to guide Ray?

“How is everyone doing?” Eri suddenly shouted from a side street, loud enough to make everyone fall silent and turn toward him at once.

“I don’t know,” Inga finally said, folding her arms.

“Judging by the way Elga looked, neither she nor that young woman is doing well. Eri, right? Sorry, I didn’t catch your name, you weren’t at our meal…” she added with feigned forgetfulness, narrowing her eyes.

Eri didn’t seem to care.

“Everyone stays right here!” the Pilgrim commanded, pointing his gnarled staff toward the fire.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” asked one of the women who had been speaking with Sars earlier.

She stood and crossed her arms. Eri looked at her with glittering eyes and gave a crooked smile.

“Because otherwise we risk being torn apart, or worse,” he said as calmly as possible.

“What do you mean?” Demoa blurted out.

She flinched and looked away quickly. Eri’s piercing gaze always felt like it could bore straight through her, and his grim expressions made her so uneasy she had to suppress a shiver.

“She’s going to break through,” Eri answered.

His eyes drifted almost imperceptibly in the direction where Elga and Ray had disappeared.

“What’s that mean?” asked the handsome, dark-haired young man who had served her soup earlier.

Demoa tried not to look at him, knowing she’d blush.

“People are usually not supposed to know,” Eri said. “Not because it’s secret, but because you’ll rest better if you don’t.”

“And what does it mean? His question was perfectly fair,” Demoa said, casting a quick glance at the young man, who gave her a grateful smile.

As she’d feared, she felt her cheeks grow hot.

Eri glared at her, and the warmth drained from her in an instant. She thought about apologizing, but the Pilgrim was already speaking again, and she didn’t want to interrupt. Since Ray had attacked her, she’d decided it was wise not to provoke a lucid person. At least not before she’d built up a few more defenses of her own.

Better safe than sorry.

“Why it happens doesn’t matter right now. Just imagine damming up a small stream. The water builds and builds. Until eventually…” Eri slammed his staff into the ground with a loud crack, sending sparks flying.

The crack made her jolt.

“Why does it build up?” Inga asked.

“Like I said, that’s not important. What’s important is that you all understand the pressure can become too much for someone who’s lucid. And when that happens, something breaks through. It usually brings a change to the Dream in the immediate area. Yet Ray… someone like her, with that much talent, it would be catastrophic. I don’t know how far it’ll reach. I don’t know if Elga can get her far enough away. Maybe. Maybe not. Though chasing after them would be foolish and dangerous. We have to stay here. That’s the safest option. Or we can flee in the other direction. Can you manage that?”

Eri had stepped beside the fire now and was staring into the crackling flames. He didn’t seem to be waiting for an answer.

“We’ll never make it! Some of us are still out hunting, others by the fruit trees. We can’t just leave them behind!” said the woman sitting closest to Olver and Sars.

“Yeah, this is insane. Are you sure it could be that bad, Lonely Wanderer?” Inga pressed, though her face now showed concern as well as doubt.

Eri grimaced and seemed to swallow back a remark.

“I’m not sure. I don’t know enough about Ray’s true talent. Still, I fear the worst. I wouldn’t stress it like this if it weren’t critical,” the Pilgrim said, glancing around the group.

Ray… you’re dangerous… and you know it. Please, fight it. Please. Oh, I hope Elga can help her somehow… Demoa thought, starting to chew on her nails.

Inga didn’t respond. She studied Eri briefly, then turned to her people.

“All right. Rowa, go find the hunters. You know the land best. Feni, head to the orchards. Both of you, use your gifts, move fast and light. Use the Light,” she instructed the two women beside Sars and Olver, who leapt to their feet and vanished so quickly in opposite directions that Demoa could barely track them. Only a faint white shimmer around their bodies gave any indication of the paths they took.

Inga wasted no time.

“Get ready. We’re leaving! Away from the direction Elga and Ray went! We need to make sure we put enough distance between us and them. People say the Lonely Wanderer is blunt and distant, though also that his word can be trusted!” she called out, pointing toward the yellow-tinged forest that bordered the village some distance away.

Eri snorted and looked like he wanted to say something, but then only nodded. A flurry of activity spread through the surrounding dwellings as people rushed to gather everyone who wasn’t already present. Figures darted through the paths, calling names and checking for anyone who might have been overlooked.

“This is pretty creepy, huh? That Ray girl gives me the chills.”

Demoa jumped and turned. The dark-haired young man now stood almost beside her, his eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance. She swallowed and took the chance to sneak a slightly longer glance at him. His black hair fell in soft waves over piercing blue eyes, making his gaze even more mysterious than the clarity of his irises already did. He was quite tall, much taller than she was, and had a sharp jawline and smooth, pale skin that matched his hair beautifully. When he ran his hand over his stubbled beard, his loose linen shirt stretched tight, hinting at a much more muscular frame than she had first expected.

Suddenly he looked right at her, and her breath caught. But then he gave her a wide smile, and her cheeks grew even hotter.

Get a grip, what are you doing? You don’t know anything about him, except that he likes giving people soup, Demoa scolded herself, though it had no effect on her pounding heart.

“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to insult your friend. I’m Rad, and my mouth runs faster than it should. One of my flaws!” he said, giving her a wink.

“Um, yeah. No, Ray is… she’s complicated, but I think her heart’s in the right place!” Demoa replied, and wanted to slap herself for stammering.

Now I look like a complete idiot…

“I get that. Lucids are always at least a little strange. Sorry, my mouth again. Not you, though! You’re more…” he said quickly, flashing her an even warmer smile.

“I… I’m what?”

“Well, at the very least, your laugh is honest. Though maybe I’m wrong…” Rad said, his bright eyes locked on hers.

“No... I mean, thank you!” Demoa stammered.

Damn it, I’m making a complete idiot of myself, she cursed inwardly.

But he had already turned away again, watching the people around them as they rushed about. Some were now carrying sacks, slowly making their way toward the village outskirts.

“I don’t mean to embarrass you,” he said. “I just don’t talk to people here very often. I mostly cook or take care of the firewood. Maybe I come off too guarded or something, as no one’s ever really wanted to do anything with me or talk, or maybe even play a game… What am I even saying, you probably don’t care. I just thought maybe it would be different with Lucids. That someone like you might be more willing to… But I saw the way Ray looked at me, the alertness. She’s just like the others. You, on the other hand… You seem different, like I said…”

Rad sighed and turned back to her.

“You’re definitely more talkative than Sars or Olver. I’d really like to—” Demoa started, trying not to grin like an idiot, as a deafening roar cut her off.

The ground beneath their feet began to quake in growing tremors, and she saw several nearby huts and trees shudder and shift. Something was wrong with the sky too. It was its usual dull, dead gray, though now huge distortions rippled across it like colossal waves. Then the first bolt of lightning flared. Demoa saw the thick arc of white light shoot upward into the sky, disappearing into the endless void above.

Don’t lightning bolts usually go the other way around? she wondered, confused.

She couldn’t remember clearly anymore.

A second bolt shot upward, disturbingly closer this time. A third and fourth were just barely visible in the distance. With each breath, more and more arcs of light exploded upward, cracking through the air and sending distorted waves rippling through the bleak gray above.

She felt pressure on her shoulder and turned. Rad had stepped close, wrapping an arm around her protectively.

“I think all we can do now is wait and hope. Whatever’s happening out there… if it reaches us, it’s over,” he whispered, his face tight with tension.

“I wonder how many people are waking up right now…” he added bitterly.

Ray, what are you doing… Demoa despaired, trying to suppress the trembling in her limbs so Rad wouldn’t notice.

She failed.

On the horizon, there were now hundreds, maybe thousands of discharges, glowing like a forest of bright, twisted, short-lived trees. It was an eerie, breathtaking sight. The sky had grown so turbulent and distorted, so warped, that Demoa felt like she was staring at the surface of a storm-lashed sea.

Then she saw a wide beam shoot upward, also white, but straight as a column. It took a few heartbeats before a loud humming sound reached her ears, sharp enough to tear at her eardrums. She clamped her hands over her ears, her eyes still locked on the bright pillar, which now seemed to pierce the very ceiling of the Dream.

“It’s… it’s terrible…” Rad murmured, and Demoa felt his hand clench.

“I think it’s terrible too… also kind of… beautiful,” she breathed.

The beam pulsed, glowed even brighter, and finally sent a thunderous shockwave upward.

Then the sky tore open.

All the gray, all the dreariness, all the dim light vanished in shifting waves of invisible force. A brilliant blue began to seep through, devouring the dismal clouds.

Radiant blue… Endless and beautiful…

And then something else appeared, right where the last wide beam had ended, though impossibly far away: a circle filled with white light that cast its elegance down upon them. It was the same mesmerizing circle Elga had once drawn into the air with her Lucidity. Though now it was more perfect, more breathtaking.

The… sun… Elga, what happened to you both…

In an instant, everything calmed. More than that. Demoa felt lighter than she ever had, as though something inside her had been unshackled. The sight of the sun standing majestically in the sky sent a thrill through her chest, and tears welled in her eyes. The blue above was kind and inviting, limitless and unimaginable. Sunlight kissed her skin, and the gentle warmth drew a soft, joyful sigh from her lips.

She felt like something had fallen away, something that had weighed her down. For a moment, she only wanted to go find a quiet spot and cultivate, the way Elga had taught her.

But a cry jolted Demoa out of her thoughts, and she felt Rad’s hand twitch on her shoulder. She looked around frantically until she spotted Inga, who had fallen to her knees, eyes wide open and shivering, tears streaming down her face.