Close Escape

A day passes, filled with walking, camping overnight, and more walking. The stem, as Kyro had called it, is a few miles away now. As they walk across the heat-smothered black land, Cage glances up at another hole that he has noticed, cracks sprawling from its edges. Even he can tell that it's not supposed to be there. They haven't mentioned it, but he knows that Kyro and Ingen have seen it.

Cage decides to throw the thought from his head for now. If the hole was a threat, then the two Rajin men traveling with him would not be silent. Along with Kyro, Ingen has handled every monster that has risen before them. He is not as fast as Kyro, but when it comes to strength, well, Ingen's size is not just for show. Not many creatures survive a hit from that warhammer.

Cage has learned that Kyro has already been on this planet for a month, which is a longer stay than usual. The normal time is a week or two, which is about how long Ingen has been here. What has Kyro been doing in that time? With how he speaks about the planet, Cage can not imagine the Rajin voluntarily remaining on Kalar.

When Cage had asked, he was told that there are over a hundred collector teams, and at least ten of them search Kalar for the Rage Stones at any time. All of them are criminals by Rajin standards. Thieves, rapists, murderers. It makes sense to Cage. However, saving a fellow soldier on the battlefield? Ridiculous. Cage can tell that he won't like these Epochs very much.

But alas, with those trackers in the back of the two Rajin's necks, Cage cannot deny their circumstances. The tiny beads are powered by something called Anima, which is apparently another magic separate from Vas. When Cage asked Kyro to explain further, the Rajin resorted to his answer about the books that Gira wrote. If he wants to learn more, Cage will have to wait until he arrives on Raj.

Cage looks up at the nebulous sky, shading his eyes from the blistering star above. Kalar is already hot and miserable enough, and that crimson sun only makes existing more torturous. It could be worse, Cage thinks. He could still be alone, unable to move, see, or hear. Even with the loss of his arm, and the danger lurking around him, Cage finds himself smiling.

Though his brows furrow as Cage's black eyes scan the clear sky. That strange hole is still there, the swirling colors visible on the other side. The colors do not leak through the hole, as something still halts them from crossing, despite the doorway being right in front of them.

As Cage gazes upward, his eyes widen as that changes.

"Cage," Kyro calls, halted with Ingen beside him as they both look back at Cage, who stands frozen a few meters behind. He looks terrified. What in Betor's name could the one-armed man be so scared of?

Cage points a pale finger up, eyes wide as he stares up at the hole, "D-do you not see that? Something is coming," he says, voice shaky with the words.

Kyro looks to where Cage points, and he freezes. It was not a hallucination, as the Rajin had thought. The hole is there, plain as day, and something is coming through it. White energy funnels through the hole, like smoke blowing from the lips of an old man. It gathers on the other side, quickly forming a massive figure. A creature, several times larger than that centipede, breathes to life high in the air. As the creature fully forms its daunting figure, the hole in the barrier snaps to a close as if it were never there.

The white energy whisps off the creature's intangible, ever-shifting form. Its body is long, like that of a snake, wide and nearly flat in its shape. Sections of armor-like plates extend down the back of the beast, growing smaller towards the tail. The underbelly is smooth and translucent like the rest of the body, revealing a spine and curving ribs inside. However, there are no organs visible between the bones. A heart, lungs, muscles, none of it is present within the creature, leaving wide gaps within it's body as if it is in fact supposed to have them.

The head of the creature is massive, even from Cage's position miles away. There are no eyes, ear cavities, or nostrils on the exposed skull, only teeth, each the size of a man and sharper than any blade. The creature's entire body vibrates and shimmers as if the white energy is on the verge of dispersing.

"A Massor," Kyro mutters, frozen in place as he stares at the ghostly beast. It should not be possible. All his life, Kyro has been told stories of the Massors from different people, his mother, father, and scholarly women. All of them said the same thing; Massors only exist in the branches, unable to travel through stems and enter the space of planets. So why?

"Kyro! We need to go!" Ingen yells, shoving his fellow Rajin forward. Kyro breaks from his terrified gaze and runs. Ingen and Cage follow behind, each of them glancing at the Massor as it floats in the sky.

"I thought they only went for large groups!?" Cage yells, bare feet slapping against the black rock, "Why are we running!?"

The Rajin men before him only look forward, their footsteps booming compared to his. Cage looks up at the Massor again, gasping with wide eyes. Though there are no eyes, the Massor's head turns towards him, a long tongue slithering from between the teeth, the tip sharp like a spear. As if swimming through an ocean, the creature floats towards them, its body wagging back and forth as it moves.

Cage rips his eyes from the Massor, looking past Kyro and Ingen. They run towards two volcanos bunched close together, the bottom of the two slopes connecting to create a sudden rise in the land. Lava flows from both volcanos, running down the slopes in narrow, boiling streams. It splits down the connecting formations, giving space to climb over. That must be where they are heading, Cage thinks.

The Massor grows closer, leaving white trails in its path. The creature is silent, and not even the flap of its wings makes any sound. Cage continues to run, and a gap forms between him and the two men before him. It's no use. His legs can't move any faster, no matter how hard he tries.

A moment later, and Kyro and Ingen reach that steep hill in the land. They climb over the rocks, and reach the top quickly. Ingen leaps down the other side, but Kyro lags behind, standing atop the makeshift hill and looking back at Cage. The man still has several meters until he catches up.

Kyro looks up at the Massor, which is close now, barreling down toward Cage. The Rajin man grimaces, there is nothing he can do. If he tries to save Cage, then both of them will be killed instantly. Kyro looks back and forth between Cage and the Massor, praying to Betor that the man lives.

Kyro can hear Ingen yelling for him from below, but he ignores the call.

A moment later, with Cage only a few meters away from the hill, the Massor closes in on him. The one-armed man closes his eyes tight but keeps running, adrenaline and fear pulsing through his body in a raging tide. Is this it? Is this as far as he goes? Will he really be halted from finding his brother again after being given this chance, this second life?

Kyro watches with wide eyes as the Massor engulfs Cage in its massive jaw. Its mist-like body phases through the ground as if the black rock is not there. Kyro looks away, lips pursed as he jumps down the hill to join Ingen. He doesn't want to see another dead body. There have been enough of those sights in his life.

Kyro had hoped to see him live on. If what Cage said is really true, then his home has been taken from him, and somehow, he'd been given a second life. It is tragic to see that life end so quickly, but there is nothing Kyro could do, not without dying himself.

He can't die yet, not without seeing his sister again. Yoru needs to know what happened to her son, and Kyro doesn't trust anyone else to tell her.

Kyro lands with bent knees, bursting into a sprint across the black rock. He sees Ingen near the left volcano, pulling a boat from a small hole in the base of the massive natural structure. The Massor had disappeared into the ground, but that does not mean they are safe. The creature has already shown that it does not follow the same rules as the other Massors.

Ingen sets the small boat down, glancing at Kyro as he approaches. The violet-skinned man's eyes widen, "What?" he says in disbelief.

Kyro notices his bewildered expression and turns sharply. There, tumbling down the side of the hill, is a man that should not be alive.

Cage's body slams into the base of the hill, a few rips cracking as he rolls to his feet. The injury stings inside his chest, but not enough to cloud the fear surging in his mind. Cold. That's all he could feel when the Massor passed through him. Kyro said that any who cross the path of a Massor do not survive the encounter, yet he had done just that. What does that mean for Cage?

He looks around and finds Kyro and Ingen standing beside something resembling a fishing boat, the wooden structure holding three benches for passengers. Cage meets their wide-eyed expressions as he runs, and notices that they are not looking at him.

Cage glances behind him, and gasps as he sees the Massor rocketing from the ground, its massive figure rising straight up into the air. Cage turns back to the path before him, arriving at the boat a moment later.

All three men hurry into the boat, Kyro sitting in the back, Cage in the middle, and Ingen at the front, "How did you survive? I saw the Massor engulf you!" Kyro asks, quickly placing his hand on a black sphere implanted in the bench beside him. The boat lifts into the air slowly as Kyro twists and slides his hand across the smooth orb.

"I don't know! We need to go!" Cage responds, looking back to see the Massor zipping around in the sky. He doesn't know if the creature is looking for them, but waiting to find out is not a good idea.

Blueish smoke-like energy forms beneath the boat, resembling waves that Kyro uses the paddles to push the vessel through. They fly toward the stem at a speed which a normal boat could never imitate.

Cage turns, looking back at where the Massor once was. The ghostly creature still flies erratically through the sky. Though a moment later, it snaps its empty eyes to the boat and flies toward them at a ridiculous speed.

The boat nears the stem, those strands making up the barrier glowing brightly, "Can't you go any faster!?" Cage yells, staring at the Massor as it approaches. He survived an attack from the creature once, but he is not certain that the same will happen again.

"I'm trying!" Kyro responds, fingers squeezing the orb.

"That blasted thing doesn't like to follow rules, does it?!" Ingen says, holding his warhammer before him, as if the weapon will help against a creature that can phase through physical objects.

The Massor grows closer as the boat passes through the entrance of the stem, opening its jaw, those massive teeth baring toward its prey.

Suddenly, the Massor slams against an invisible barrier. It stares at the exiting boat with those empty eyes, then turns, flying back down to the black land.

"We're safe," Cage sighs in relief, sitting back on the middle bench.

Kyro glances back at the Massor, watching as it seems to search for other prey. They survived the encounter, but that only solves one problem. This event, with its impossible circumstances, will crush Rajin society. The supply of Rage Stones has been cut off, and the rest of the universe will not wait for Raj to recover from the effects.