Chapter 181: From Disobedience to Resistance

Chapter 181: From Disobedience to Resistance

As Kai flew back to the N District mines, he found himself filled with emotions he couldn't quite name. It was like returning home and realizing he had no home at the same time. Ever since he had understood that Monskon City was no longer his home, he hadn't had a single place that was truly his. And he wasn't sure he needed a place, but he did want someone to come home to.

His friends in the mine were among the strongest relationships he had at the moment, which led to the pang in his heart. Kai replaced such thoughts with practical concerns. He moved lower and made sure not to kick up dust as he got nearer, so the soldiers wouldn't notice him.

In the end it seemed like he didn't need to be worried: he arrived at the forest entrance without any trouble. His enhanced senses easily picked up several workers guarding, all of them tense when they saw the crystal vehicle. When he hopped out and moved toward them, however, they emerged with weapons lowered. He recognized some of them from the veteran miners while others were new to him.

"Kai motherfucking Clanless." Maggle sat up from behind a rock where he had apparently been napping. "Let me guess, you missed my ugly mug so much that you just had to come back."

"Maggle!" Kai grabbed him in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground. "Definitely missed you, ugly mug and all. How have things been?"

"Fine, fine." The honest display of affection seemed to discomfort Maggle and he moved away, fiddling with his tunic until he liked the position. "As you can see, we have more kids coming to stand guard. We kept the secret as long as we could, but they needed something to keep their spirits up."

"Don't you have problems with people wanting to leave?"

"Honestly, I think most are scared. In here, our lives are getting better and better. Out there, we don't know who we'll be facing, but they'll probably be soldiers with big fucking crystals."

"You know, I'm honestly looking forward to being back in the caves again." Kai walked to the edge of the crevice and looked down with a smile on his face. "Alright, let's go."

Most of the guards remained, but he and Maggle walked back to the central caverns. Along the way, Kai was surprised by how many of the workers greeted him. His absence hadn't made his reputation fade any, apparently. But Maggle kept pushing past them, telling ever more absurd stories about why Kai had to hurry to get back.

When they finally got back to the home caverns, Kai was surprised to see Nanny Troggup and Kraetius sitting together on one of the stone tables. She had her hand on his knee and Kai blinked a few times. Well, old people had needs too, and maybe they started being more interested in wrinkles as they got older.

Kraetius drew back sharply while Nanny Troggup just cackled. "We've been busy while you were gone, Kai!"

"Please, no." Maggle dropped down onto his knees and flattened his palms together. "I am begging you, don't give us the disgusting details."

"Enough of this nonsense." Kraetius shoved past him to look Kai up and down. "You got stronger again. That's impressive, but you're no Diamond Crystallier yet. Did you accomplish anything else?"

"Multiple things." Kai smiled at him, then stepped to Nanny Troggup and retrieved a small sack of pills from his bag. "These are healing pills directly from Yulthens. I'm sorry I couldn't bring more, but they should help in the infirmary."

"Healing is well and good," she said, "but what about spices? We could u-"

Kai whipped out several cloves next. "Already thought of that."

"What about me?" Maggle asked. "Don't you have any wonderful presents for me? I must say, receiving presents is one of my favorite hobbies."

"I have a gift that everyone can use, I hope." Kai was about to say more, but at that moment he heard footsteps slapping over the stone behind them.

He turned just in time to see Nirka reach the doorway. She stared at him for several heartbeats, then moved in and kissed him on the lips. Afterward she saw Kraetius and shifted away, as if she was going to be less personal, but Kai snaked a hand around her waist and pulled her to his side.

For a moment she sat there, chest heaving as she caught her breath. Then she grinned at him and jumped up. "This is incredible! I feel so... it's like I've been dragging rocks until now!"

"Congratulations," Kai said, "you're officially a crystallier."

"Don't even joke!" She pretended to slap him, but half-way through the motion her hand got caught on his jaw. Nirka held it there, drawing his face down toward her. "I want you so badly... is that another side effect?"

"No, but why should that stop us?" Kai lifted her into the air and she laughed and wrapped her legs around him with new strength.

.

..

.

Kai stretched next to a happily exhausted Nirka. All the stress that had been building up, of so many different varieties, was finally gone. He could almost have gone to sleep right then, but a monstrous heart was still beating in his chest, driving him on.

So he gently eased away from Nirka and laid his tunic over her. She murmured once in her sleep and then curled into the tunic. Once she was settled, Kai headed deeper into the mines.

He passed more workers than before on his way down, since it seemed like they'd expanded operations. It took a while before he found a completely abandoned area that was suitable. There was a large cavern with what looked like a partially dug tunnel that had been abandoned at some point in the past. Kai examined it for a while, then prepared himself for something much less pleasant.

Drawing up the Acidlance Queen's essence within him, Kai began spewing acid into the pit. He'd practiced a little with it and still couldn't expel it at such violent speeds, which actually suited him fine. Instead he just filled up the pool until he couldn't expel any more acid.

As he'd hoped, the qi-infused walls could resist the acid. Most likely they would end up reacting over time and develop a thin layer of crystal, not refined enough to be useful for qi but durable enough to contain the acid. If he filled it all the way, the workers would have their own location to refine the crystals, which could change everything.

Someone was approaching from behind. Kai reacted automatically as if it was a threat before sensing that it was Kraetius and reassuring himself that his monstrous ability couldn't have been detected. It would be strange, but not suspicious, since no one could connect such random dots.

"So you really did it." Kraetius walked to the edge of the pool and stared over the acid. "At this point, I know better than to ask."

"I'm going to be relying on you for this, Kraetius." Kai came to stand beside him. "Even if they figure out the refining process, they need someone to teach them crystal cultivation. It won't bother you, seeing them do what was taken away from you?"

"If it means getting revenge on the people who put me here, I'll take it."

"Then you'll train them. This is going to be more than you've done before. You need to make Nirka and Maggle and the other stronger workers into the equivalent of crystalliers, and you need to turn the rest into an army."

"I do this, I do that." Kraetius turned to him and frowned. "I admit, you did the impossible part, but you're talking like you'll be leaving again."

"I'm afraid I have to." When he said the words, Kai knew that it was true. He could justify spending another day or two with Nirka, filling the acid pit and helping them learn the refinement process, but he'd need to move on. "There's too much going on right now."

"If you say so. Hope I don't end up wishing I'd stayed down in the tunnels."