The River's Secret
The soldiers were wearing curved swords at their waists, some still in their scabbards, while others had shotels strapped to their backs. More importantly, they were focused intently on the river estuary.
Urnil, who had spotted them a beat late, spoke up.
“Are they chasing me?”
“Given that they’re watching the river so closely, the probability is high. Is there a chance any of those soldiers recognize your face?”
“I’ve toured the city with my father before.”
“Let’s blend in with the crowd and move on.”
Akasa nodded cautiously. As he walked among the people, he spotted a piece of cloth discarded on the roadside, trampled and filthy.
Avoiding the trampling feet of the crowd, Akasa picked it up.
“A poncho. It should be useful for keeping warm.”
“I suppose so.”
The poncho was dirty, but it looked like it would be serviceable enough if he washed it in the river. Judging by the size, it had belonged to an adult; on Akasa, it would easily reach down to his knees.
Clutching it, Akasa glanced toward the river. The soldiers were just passing by his position. As he slipped out from the gaps in the crowd, he was startled by a firm, powerful grip on his shoulder and turned around in surprise.
“Huh?”
A soldier had grabbed his shoulder. Before the startled Akasa could even say a word, the soldier spoke.
“W-what is it?”
“Sorry for grabbing you so suddenly, kid. I’m sorry, but I have something I need to ask you.”
“Ask me?”
Feeling his heart pounding, Akasa feigned composure and asked back.
“Hmm. Do you frequent this area often?”
Akasa fell into a dilemma. This soldier perceived him as a child living in the village. Just as he opened his mouth to answer, a chilling sensation sounded an alarm in his mind.
It was the embroidery near the shoulder, marking the soldier as a member of the guard.
The guard usually knew everything about their assigned sectors. The children who roamed about. Their parents. Their occupations, and if they were thorough, even their earnings. Even if he didn't know these details, Akasa was vaguely aware of the intimacy between the guards and the villagers.
There was no way to avoid the interrogation.
All these thoughts occurred in a split second, leading to one conclusion: This soldier was definitely suspicious of him.
“Ah….”
Even the slightest delay in his response made the soldier’s grip on his shoulder feel painfully sharp.
Urnil, having smelled the danger, spoke. The moment a faint light shimmered from the bracelet, a powerful force surged into Akasa’s body. Feeling a sudden, intense vitality, Akasa violently shook off the soldier’s hand.
“Ugh!”
With a thud, the soldier fell to the ground.
“Hey! What’s going on!”
“Isn’t that Lao? Why is he down?”
“Ugh! You idiots! Catch that kid!”
Akasa, briefly stunned by his own sudden strength, turned and bolted. Shouts from the soldiers echoed behind him. Instead of blending into the crowd, Akasa ran out onto the wide road as if flying. People blurred past him, and the sensation of his feet hitting the ground felt alien. But just a few seconds later, his speed dropped unexpectedly. Unable to control his momentum, Akasa face-planted into the soft sand.
“Ow, ow, ow.”
Had it been hard ground, he would have been severely injured, but the sand spared him. People were starting to stare, and the soldiers were running toward him from a distance.
“Urnil, what should I do now?”
“…….”
“Urnil?”
There was no answer. Having been in similar situations twice before, the image of the stones at the bottom of the river immediately came to Akasa’s mind. He needed objects containing Essence. But there were none here.
“Then….”
Clutching the poncho to his chest, Akasa ran along the estuary in the opposite direction of the soldiers. Now that he had been spotted, he couldn't just wait for a boatman.
“It’s okay. I can do it. I’ve done it once before.”
Repeating words of encouragement to himself, Akasa glanced at the soldiers screaming and running toward him, took a deep breath, and dove headfirst into the river.
Splash! Bubbles rose.
With a violent spray of water, the sounds of the world submerged into the bubbling depths. The cold temperature made every nerve in his body tingle. This was his second time diving into the river. Unlike the first time, Akasa kept his wits about him despite the strong current, balanced his body, and swam toward the riverbed.
His body nearly lost its trajectory several times due to the current, but upon reaching the bottom, Akasa spotted stones glowing white like lamps in the deep blue world. The stones, scattered at intervals, were in positions that were tricky for the current Akasa to reach.
Akasa swam all the way to the bottom and successfully grabbed the stones by letting his body drift with the flow.
“Akasa. Are you okay?”
As soon as he gripped the stones underwater, Urnil’s voice echoed, and his floating body sank to the bottom.
“Puh-ha! Haa, I’m okay. Haa!”
Coughing violently, Akasa answered Urnil and stood up.
It had been like this before. Urnil used Essence to allow him to move on the riverbed as if he were on land, creating a very narrow layer of air around Akasa’s body.
“You can’t hold out for long. I told you that last time, remember?”
“Yes.”
He couldn't go up to the surface right away. He had been seen by too many people; if he surfaced nearby, he would surely be caught by the soldiers easily.
Instead, Akasa shifted his gaze to the direction of the river's flow.
“But it seems I’ll be fine for a while.”
The small stones scattered on the riverbed glowed like signposts underwater. Akasa followed the stones, picking them up as he passed to supply Essence to the bracelet.
“At this rate, you can hold out for quite a while.”
It was a relief.
“Why are there stones like this on the riverbed when they aren't easily seen on the surface?”
“That’s simple. It’s because this river is a vein where Essence flows.”
“A vein?”
“Because it’s a river that has spread across the world from this massive desert and still has plenty left. It’s possible for such concentrated natural objects to exist within it.”
“So that’s why you told me to go to the river at the beginning.”
“Do you finally realize the greatness of a god?”
Urnil said in a tone that sounded like a peer acting smug.
Akasa didn't voice the thought, ‘So there was a time when you weren't great?’ He was afraid he’d get scolded for blasphemy.
Urnil spoke up again when Akasa found his 32nd stone. After confirming that Urnil had absorbed the light from the stone, Akasa tossed it aside lightly.
“How is it?”
“A considerable amount of Essence has gathered. At this rate, you won't need to pick up any more for a while.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not a practitioner, so I’m causing you so much trouble….”
“If you were a practitioner, you might have ended up fighting the soldiers. It’s better to know your place than to act with reckless courage when you have mediocre strength.”
Urnil’s words sounded cold and blunt, but there was always a deep warmth beneath the tone. Akasa felt grateful to Urnil, who resided within the Karmatio.
“Are you crying?”
“……It’s just water splashing.”
Akasa’s reply was blunt.
Several hours passed. Walking on the riverbed where there were no clocks and no sun to gauge the time, he would occasionally pick up stones and rest. The walk of a boy with a companion of great ability was monotonous. However, because the experience of walking underwater itself was fascinating, Akasa’s eyes kept sparkling.
Moreover, true to Urnil’s description of it being a vein of Essence, there were countless white-glowing stones on the bottom of the Laoras River as he went further.
“You don't need to pick up any more now.”
“Then please don't absorb the Essence. I’ll use these for emergencies.”
“Emergencies?”
“If you run out of Essence, you can't come out, right?”
“Understood. I won't eat those and leave them be.”
Though he said that, the number of stones Akasa picked up afterward was only three or four. There were far more stones larger than his fist than the small ones he could hold several of in one hand. So, from then on, Akasa stopped worrying about the stones and just walked.
“Akasa. Wouldn't it be better to head up to the surface soon?”
“Yes?”
“Look ahead.”
Only then did Akasa notice the change in his surroundings. The current flowing past him had quickened, and the water, which had been only slightly darker than the sky, was beginning to turn a deep blue ahead of him.
“The color of the water does seem to have deepened.”
“That means it’s becoming deeper and the current faster. I see paths where the Essence is leaking out elsewhere. It seems there are a few oases nearby.”
“Oases?”
“Yes. Those aren't connected by the river, but through underground passages bored beneath the desert. If a person got caught in one, they might not be able to get back out due to the water pressure.”
“Ah……. Then, that would be incredibly dangerous.”
“If the current gets any faster, there won't be many stones you can pick up. If we go recklessly here, we might not be able to return and get swept away by the rapids. It’s time to go up.”
At Urnil’s words, Akasa stopped and scanned his surroundings. The banks on both sides had become steep. Swimming up wouldn't be difficult, but that was only if there were no rapids. Moreover, standing on the riverbed with Urnil’s power, the slope leading to the estuary looked like a sheer cliff to Akasa.
“I’ll have to go back a bit to climb up, will that be okay?”
“Don't be too anxious. The distance you’ve walked is considerable—wait! Get down!”
“Yes?”
Akasa answered in surprise, only to feel a stabbing pain in his side. It was so painful that a groan escaped him before a scream. As Akasa collapsed to the ground, he realized too late what had happened.
A scream of terror erupted from Akasa’s lips as he looked at his abdomen.
A giant eel with a long body was biting into his stomach.
“Aaaah!”
“Akasa!”
Urnil let out a groan of despair. It was a huge eel. It had clearly seen Akasa, a creature it had never seen underwater, as prey and attacked. Akasa tried to pry the eel’s mouth open with his hands, but the eel’s jaw strength was stronger than a child’s strength could handle, and above all, Akasa was helpless against the eel’s thrashing, which was being dragged by the current. Akasa, nearly collapsed, clawed at the eel’s slippery mouth area and screamed.
“It hurts! It huuuuurts!”
But the eel wouldn't let go.
Watching Akasa shedding tears, Urnil had no choice but to make a decision.
“Take a deep breath! Akasa!”
Urnil’s voice rang through Akasa’s head like thunder. Despite the fear and pain, Akasa followed Urnil’s words.
“Hup, hup!”
His breathing was ragged from crying, but he managed to hold his breath. And the next moment.
“Trust me.”
With Urnil’s words, the air barrier surrounding Akasa vanished. Water rushed into the empty space, and Akasa was swept away by the torrent. In other words, he was now in the same flow as the eel. He could see blood flowing from his wound like smoke, scattering into tails behind him.
And the next moment, Urnil shouted.
With Urnil’s shout, power began to surge through his entire body. The same powerful force as when he had shaken off the soldier and run. Akasa used all his might to grab the eel’s head, prying its upper and lower jaws apart. It was a terrifying jaw strength, but Akasa’s two hands easily pried the eel’s maw open, making his previous struggles seem insignificant.
“……!”
With a silent battle cry, air bubbles burst from his mouth, mixing with the blood. The eel, its jaw abnormally dislocated, thrashed painfully and fell away from Akasa.
“Akasa! Wake up! Akasa……!”
Urnil’s voice felt distant.
Swept away by the torrent, Akasa lost consciousness.