Soaring Through the Darkness
I was flying through the darkness. Endless shadows stretched out around me. There wasn't a single speck of light, yet the terrain was strangely clear. Distant mountain ranges lined up in the distance, and beyond them, I could even make out the faint outline of a river.
This darkness felt oddly familiar. Comforting, even. It wrapped gently around my body, and the air brushing against my wings was warm and soft. It felt far better than the cozy sleep I got in my nest. Each flap of my wings sent me gliding forward with almost no resistance.
Something appeared far ahead. A massive shape loomed in the shadows, growing sharper as I approached. It was the World Tree. But it was much larger than the one I usually saw. Its branches stretched endlessly into the darkness, blending seamlessly where they met the void. I couldn't tell if the shadows flowed between the branches or if the tree was drawing them in.
As I drew closer, something soft stirred deep in my chest. It felt like a connection to the World Tree—a warm reunion after a long separation. Eager to get a better look, I flapped my wings once more. The darkness began to tremble.
I opened my eyes. I was lying on the turaka hide. Sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead in the nest ceiling. Next to me, Kar was curled up in a ball, just as he'd been since we'd settled in last night. He must've been exhausted from claiming his territory spot.
...Ah, what a nice dream.
The scenery from the dream lingered vividly in my mind, along with that connected sensation to the World Tree still warming my chest. The lightness of those wingbeats had been especially nice—even better than flying in the divine realm. Before that feeling faded, I wanted to try flying for real. I got up and headed to the nest's edge, releasing my polymorph as I took off.
One flap carried me between the branches, sunlight scattering across my feathers through the leaves. It wasn't quite as light as in the dream—weight and air resistance were back to normal—but it still felt great. Each gust of wind cooling between my feathers refreshed something deep inside.
I looped around the World Tree's branches and ascended. Leaf shadows danced across my feathers before vanishing. Then, strong magic approached rapidly from behind.
...Kar?
Kar must've chased after me from the nest; he caught up quickly and flew alongside.
"M-Master!"
"Caw?" (What's up?)
Kar's scales were bristling. He'd come in quite a hurry.
"D-Did something happen?!"
"Caaaw?" (What happened?)
"You got up suddenly and flew off, so I was startled and followed!"
"Caw caw." (Oh, just wanted to fly.)
Kar let out a short sigh beside me.
"...I see."
"Caw." (Yeah.)
"If you'd just told me ahead of time..."
"Caaaw." (Felt like doing it suddenly.)
Kar sighed again. Since we were already out, I flew a bit longer before veering downward.
"Caw caw." (Kar, follow me.)
"Where to?"
"Caw." (The lake.)
"The lake? Which...?"
"Caw caw." (The deep one.)
"...You mean Abi Sal's Lake?"
"Caw caw." (It's basically my domain now.)
Kar paused mid-flight.
"...I'll follow."
We landed on the grassy shore above the lake, the familiar feel of grass under my talons. The lake looked the same as always—its surface rippling gently, sunlight scattering across it, my feather markers still stuck in the edge grass. The domain's magic hung faintly over the grass, easy to sense.
Kar landed beside me and glanced around.
"It's changed a lot."
"Caw caw." (Yeah. Let's catch some.)
"Catch what?"
"Caw." (Fish.)
Kar froze.
"...Fish?"
"Caw caw caw." (Yeah. Just dive in and grab 'em. You too.)
Kar folded and unfolded his wings. His scales bristled slightly.
"M-Me too?"
"Caw." (Yeah.)
"...Wyverns don't like water much..."
"Caw." (Try it anyway.)
I waded straight in. My feathers sank into the water but moved surprisingly well underwater. Water slipped coolly between them, and one flap sent me gliding far. Deeper down, magical beasts in fish form swarmed—big ones swimming slowly, small ones in schools. Sunlight pierced the surface, shattering off their scales in the depths.
I snatched a big one with my talons—heavy. I surfaced and tossed it onto the grass. Kar was awkwardly dipping a foot in and out at the edge.
"Caw?" (Not coming in?)
"...M-Master. I'm not used to water..."
"Caw caw." (Fine, catch from there.)
I dove again, grabbed another, and threw it. Kar caught it with his forepaw. After two more, four fish lay on the grass. I climbed out, water streaming from my feathers. A shake sent droplets flying everywhere. I lit thin flames on my talons and grilled them one by one. Being aquatic magic beasts, they resisted fire, so they needed longer.
Sizzle—!
The fishy smell faded fast as oil burst out. I placed one in front of Kar. He took it and bit down. His scales bristled once, then slowly relaxed as he chewed.
"...Whoa."
"Caw?" (Good, right?)
"Yes. Even in fish form, being magic beasts, I can feel the magic too."
"Caw?" (Really?)
I pecked into one—the cooked flesh was tender, faint magic spreading from inside. Definitely denser magic than normal fish, as expected from magic beasts.
I settled on the grass to finish them off, sunlight from the lake scattering over my feathers. Kar sat beside me, paws together, chewing slowly.
"Caw." (Kar.)
"Yes, Master."
"Caaaw." (The magic feels thicker than last time.)
"You tend to just leave domains be, so the magic builds up naturally. The beasts come in, and as long as they don't cause trouble, you let them stay—they grow influenced by it."
"Caaaw." (Huh.)
"My domain's beasts are changing similarly."
"Caw?" (Differences between domains?)
"Like how outer World Tree beasts differ from deep ones. Even within a domain, they vary per beast."
News to me. Then, a familiar vibration from my subspace.
...Communication orb?
It was Michael. First contact in a while. The orb was too small in crow form, so I perched on the grass and polymorphed to human. Feathers vanished, clothes formed. I pulled the orb from subspace.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah, doing great."
Kar listened from the side.
"Yeah, go ahead."
"It's over?"
"Ah, back to normal, huh?"
I hadn't been to the divine realm in ages anyway. I tried recalling if there was anything I needed to do there—nothing came to mind.
"Guess I can't go to the divine realm anymore."
His tone sounded puzzled.
"Really?"
But one thing bugged me.
"What about the World Tree?"
"If I step away, what happens to the World Tree?"
"For real?"
"Seriously?"
But that differed a bit from what Verat had said.
"Verat said if I went to the Demon Realm, the World Tree would freak out, though?"
"Got it."
Another thing popped up.
"Did you help make it, then, Michael?"
I couldn't see his face, but he felt stiff. A short sigh escaped.
"Huh."
"You did?"
"Oh?"
Michael's voice was heavier than usual. I didn't feel like prying more—godly work drama was too bothersome.
"Got it."
No big deal.
"Yeah, bye."
The connection cut. I stored the orb and glanced at Kar, who had his head resting on his paws. Not sure how much he'd heard, but he didn't ask.
"...Kar."
"Yes, Master."
"You heard that, right?"
"Yes, most of it."
"Don't freak if I vanish for days from now on. Just hang in your territory till I get back."
Kar smoothed his scales.
"...Understood."
Sunlight scattered off the lake onto my shoulder for a moment.
...Back to the nest for now.
I released polymorph, returning to crow form. Kar spread his wings too.
By the time we returned, the sun had dipped low. I polymorphed again to human and settled in the nest; Kar curled up in his spot on the turaka hide. Lying there, I watched light filter through the leaves. I'd moved around a lot today. Sleep tugged at me again.
Eyes closing, Kar's steady breathing came from beside me. The dream darkness and World Tree connection resurfaced. I wished I could've stayed there longer—a bit regrettable. Hopefully, that dream would come again.
Kar's breaths grew even deeper than last night. My eyelids grew heavy.
At that moment, deep in the Rosenberg Main House basement.
The magic circle's outer and inner runes were complete. Mages stepped back, giving the whole thing a final check. In the center, the chains shimmered more intensely through the cloth. The golden particles in the nearby glass vial flowed stronger toward the chains.
The lead mage stood at the edge, scanning every rune. No flaws.
"...Preparations are complete."
A heavy silence fell; no mage dared speak. Failure's consequences were unimaginable.
The lead mage spoke again.
"...Report to Duke Ditmar."
A nearby mage nodded curtly. In the circle's heart, the chains and catalyst pulled each other's magic deeper. The flow had already begun. Faint light rippled beneath the runes, then subsided.