Chapter 17: Dissent



They ran for three days straight without rest. The scenery changed, slowly becoming more mountainous and rugged as they moved, but the added difficulty of climbing on such rough terrain did not deter them. It only tired them out. Sometimes they would take turns riding on Garuda or Fenrir, but the mana draw of using either beast for hours was something that neither Winoa nor Cleo could keep up with.

Over the travel time Law had taken it upon himself to explain himself and the reason why he had decided to act out and make the huge mess when he did. Cleo did have to admit that five days of rest and one of movement would help her and the rest of the group work a lot longer. The issue was that it was still an insanely dangerous thing to do, and now they were almost definitely being followed because of it. The thing that Cleo found oddest, however, was Yun. By all accounts he should have been going crazy over the fact that they were being chased by the mana eating man-made monstrosities, but instead he had a devilish grin that made her immensely uncofortable. He could feel the mana and sense the creations coming upon them far more acutely than anyone else, yet for some reason he was the one with the least fear. At least Law had the sense to be ashamed that he was the origin of their flight. Something in that bizarre hole had inspired Yun, and nothing good could come out of it.

On the evening of the third day they saw the first sign of them being chased by the golems. Winoa was in the air, circling above them and keeping watch for danger as was her designated job, when she suddenly dipped down towards the group as a whole and screamed out, “Incoming! We have ten golems from the south and they are gaining on us! They should arrive within a day”.

“So they aren't gaining on us as much as they are a day away from here,” Jim replied.

“Quick wit noted and ignored because you're an idiot,” Winoa snipped back as she landed. “They are going to catch up to US within a day if we keep up at the current pace. They are currently going about a third again as fast as we are”.

Law swore, and Cleo followed suit. They were already pushing it, if they went any faster then they would tire themselves out long before the golems caught up. Law seemed to glaze over for a moment before he muttered to himself, “Is there no other way?” He looked at the group as they continued to jog along racking their brains for ideas to get out of the situation they were in. “I am loathed to suggest this...” He said, speaking up properly this time, “But there might be a way to use the minor world I made. Let's be honest, the main reason why we're going so slowly is because Jim and I have no means of speeding up our movement. I mean I could make something, but without mana it would be inconsistent at best and no better at worst. If we use the minor world, then Jim and I can take cover and everyone else can take turns running”.

“Why didn't we do this days ago?” Said Cleo. She knew his excuse was ‘it's unstable’, but that seemed unnecessarily vague when it came down to it. She knew there were a lot of things to like about Law, but one of the things she did not was his vagueness when it came to important information. It seemed like he had no real way to gauge how much information was necessary when dealing with people, which could be insufferable, especially in situations like this one.

“Look, a minor world takes seven days to stabilise, and a major one takes ten. However, you can enter a major world immediately, while a minor one you should try not to enter until it is completely stable. The reason for this is... Basically with a major world there is more mass to the origin point, the bit you rip out of reality, and so it becomes a closed system within the major world until the major world is stable. Going back to the minor world, the origin point is not as massive, so can't be treated as a closed system”.

“What in Babel’s name is that supposed to mean?” Winoa yelled. Cleo could see that her friend was quickly reaching her wit's end with the people around her, and she did not blame her one bit. Cleo could follow what law was saying generally, but as always there was something key missing that she would have to drag out of him.

“I thought that was pretty clear,” Law replied.

“Yeah,” Yun said, hot on his heels to defend his brother. Of course you would think that, Cleo mused. They were far closer than any of her family members were with her.

“I got a sense of what you were talking about,” Cleo said, “But there was something I am missing. What actually stops us going into this minor world of yours immediately?”

“Oh!” Law exclaimed. “That's simple. There is a reason why it takes seven days to make the minor world stable, and that's because there are seven stages to making a world once you have it contained. First, you have to make the earth. You construct the metals and deposits of the world, as well as the boundaries of the world and whether the world is a flat plane or a looping one. The second stage is the elemental affinity. If you want to make the world lean to a particular element or style, you have to decide it at this point. I chose to have a normal world with no element weighing over another, so no skylands, undersea worlds, flame fields or primeval jungles. It is going to be a simple land with flatlands, mountains, oceans and forests when it's done. The next four sections are elemental fine tuning. Now that I decided the elemental affinity, I have to make the land habitable, working through air, then water, then fire, then earth. This gives me a breathable atmosphere, fluids, heat, and plantlife. The last stage is general life but that doesn't matter. The important part is I have only completed stage three, the balancing of air so it doesn't kill us when we enter, however there is still no ecosystems, no way of turning carbon dioxide back into oxygen, or even just water. It is simply not ready for life”.

“You realise Cleo and I could have helped with this? This is our field of expertise you know,” Winoa said, still obviously angry, but less so now she was following Law a bit better.

“It is something I had to do myself. You won't understand until you try it yourself. It's rather involved, and I am dumbing down everything a LOT by telling you it like this. The only reason I am suggesting it now is because you guys can make up for the deficit for a few days because there is actually mana there. The world is still connected to the eternal void by the origin, so where I was going to suggest you stay is actually the most mana rich area of the region”.

Law smiled and focused on completing everything he could before bringing the first person into his world within his bracelet. While he did, the group resumed their standard roles, running along while Winoa flew high above for a few minutes to assess the area. She flew back down with a face full of worry, quickly hopping off Garuda and dismissing it as to conserve mana.

“What's got your goat?” Jim said, noticing Winoa’s frown. “Seriously, Win, what's wrong?”

“The golems are gaining on us. I think they know we are here”.

Before anyone else could react, Louisa pointed to the mountain range they had been approaching for the last few days. “Law is now or never for that minor world of yours. Winoa, prepare to fly as fast as possible to get to the mountain. Cleo, Yun, prepare to cover us for short stints during the journey while Winoa and I restore our mana in Law's world, and Jim... just stay out of the way. We are going now, because otherwise we will just talk about it for another half hour and the golems will be eating or reservoirs out of our stomachs or something. I am not about to be bested by a rock”.

Slightly stunned by Louisa’s outburst, they did as they were told, quickly falling into line as Law swallowed the group into his bracelet, before giving it to Winoa and disappearing inside it as well. Cleo went last, hugging her friend before going into the band as well.

“Do your best,” She said as she copied the actions Law had performed to get into the world.

“I always do,” Winoa replied.


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