Chapter 277: Misty Truths

Chapter 277: Misty Truths

Chapter 277 - Misty Truths

Kai had crossed an ocean and the untamed lands of the mainland, faced pirates and bandits, gone through more unforeseen accidents than he cared to admit. With his sister standing before him well and alive, it had all been worth it.

I made it in time.

He stepped forward, arms raised, about to run towards her when he became conscious of all the eyes on them. There’d be already plenty of cracks to fix in his cover. The journey to the continent could explain many changes in Matthew personality and skills, but he couldn’t change his acquaintances from the archipelago.

I wish Mom could have explained her the whole situation.

Woken from her stupor, Kea abandoned her bow and strode as if she intended to march over him. She stopped in her tracks within arm’s length and studied him with an unblinking gaze.

“Uh, hi.” Kai reciprocated the look, trying to recoup the changes he missed in over two years. “I’m Mat—”

A punch caught him in the shoulder, strong enough to push him back without seriously hurting him. “Ouch.” He massaged his arm. “What was that for...”

Kea pulled him in a tight hug, nestling her head beside his neck. “I— I had to make sure you were real. You’re... really here...”

“I’m...” He gulped to keep his voice steady, whispering, “I’m sorry I made you think I was dead.”

“Uhm...” She hung her weight on him. “Flynn insisted you were alive... but why... why didn’t you come back sooner...”

“I...”

What could he say? The truth hardly changed what he had put his family through.

“I came back as soon as I could.”

Kea continued to hug him amidst the fog, accepting his answer with a low huff. There was so much they needed to say, so much to catch up on. But not now. Beyond her, the trio was observing them with intent gazes, Caeli was already coming closer.

Not even a moment of peace...

Was that too much to ask? Having their reunion without worrying about how breaking his identity could mess up their lives? The world kept turning, uncaring of who it crushed or inconvenienced.

There’ll be time.

Kai was about to speak when Kea pulled back. Her arms still held onto his, while her face was an impassive mask. “It’s nice to meet you again, Mat. We should talk later.”

“Yes, I...”

“Mrooow.” Hobbes grumbled at his feet, peeved at being ignored. He gave Kea the stink eye.

His sister jolted back before finding the source of the noise. “A cat? Where did you come from?” She leaned in to pet him but the furball turned and swatted her hand with his tail.

“Hobbes is my familiar—”

“Is he really yours?” Caeli lost any interest in them upon seeing the fluffy silver ball. “Here, kitty kitty!” She extended her hand, palm up, with a baby voice.

From the height of a domestic cat, Hobbes managed to look down on her. His violet eyes weighed what punishment befitted such impudence: to think he had to move to get scratched—simply preposterous.

Caeli giggled at his grumpy face, then raised her head to glare at Kai. “How could you bring him to such a dangerous place? What if the fairies attacked him?”

It would have made all this a lot easier.

“I—”

“Kea, you’re safe.” Niel reached them with a bright grin, throwing a curious glance at Hobbes before focusing on him. “I guess you already know Mat.”

Mari walked behind him. Her eyes darted between them to make sense of the situation.

“I told you to wait inside the tower.” Kea rested her hands on the hips, her scolding look reminiscent of Alana. “Tell me you didn’t fight a swarm of yellow fairies. You could have all gotten killed.”

“Well, you left us little choice.” Caeli stopped her attempts to coax the cat. “You were gone for hours. What were we supposed to do? Did you find a way out?”

Kea crossed her arms with a harrumph. “I was getting close.”

“Actually, it was my fault for convincing them to go out.” Kai rubbed his neck.

“You...?” His sister pursed her lips and shook her head. “These three should have known better.”

“Huh, how do you know each other?” Niel peered at them. “Don’t take it personally Mat, but I was half convinced you lied. Kea never mentioned you.”

“I’ll stay with him.” Rain spoke up for the first time. “We’ll return before dark.”

“I could also jo—”

“They can look after themselves.” Flynn waved away the worries, stopping by Kai just long enough to whisper, “Just leave them to me.”

Kea gave him one last glance, clearly wanting to say more. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

We’ll talk later.

The group was swallowed by the mist and soon disappeared from his other senses. Kai couldn’t wait to get to a warm place, though he had to figure out how to explain his elemental magic—the teleportation especially. For now, his best policy was to avoid the trio.

Thank the spirits I didn’t show my sword.

“Your sister seems to be doing fine.” Rain swept away the fog around them with a distracted wave. “Mat... I’m sorry if I couldn’t get to you. When I realized something was off with the mist, you had already disappeared. There is still something weird...”

“With the ground. Yes, I noticed too.” That was the second reason why Kai decided to stay behind. If someone tried to kill his sister, they’d learn the consequences of messing with his family.

What kind of trouble did she run into...

Rain lay a palm on the withered grass. A pulse of mana swept around them. “There is some kind of large-scale array to restrict our skills.”

That’s quite a roundabout way to get rid of someone. Hmm... we’d better hurry.

“Do you know where it’s located?

The siren shook his head. “I’m not familiar with this enchanting style, but it’s rapidly decaying. They must have set some countermeasures to cover their tracks.”

This affair is just getting shadier.

Kai pushed Mana Observer into the ground, finding much less resistance than he expected. Looking at the misty meadow of wild weeds and the crystal lake further on their right, there weren’t any obvious signs of a hiding place to look for. No doubt it had been cloaked too.

Unless...it can’t be that obvious.

“I want to check inside the tower.” Kai walked up to the colossal stone structure.

Rain followed him, amused by the climb. Without a swarm of voracious cotton balls, it only took minutes to slip inside the window and descend to the ground floor.

“What are we looking for?” The siren scratched a line along the rock.

The stones of the pavement were aligned with almost no seam, except for one square of compacted ground. Mari had said there could be some old enchantments hidden within the foundations. It felt quite strange that someone had gone through the trouble of setting up this trap and then forgot such a glaring detail. Sure, the team would have been trapped till they starved or went out, but still...

Whatever it is, there must be something.

Kai channeled a pulse of Earth mana to scan the buried section. His spell was eroded by the waning force, not before he managed to see the tower indeed continued for another floor—perhaps more.

There were no signs of runes or enchantments, though he had expected them to be cloaked anyway. He didn’t have enough mana and time to excavate the entire floor if Rain was right about the array decaying.

Guess I’ll just have to get lucky.

Kai gathered his elemental motes and focused on Hallowed Intuition and Treasure Sense for any hint. He wasn’t sure if it was just a phantom impression or the skills working when he got the sudden whim to search two meters below on his left.

Come to me.

He grabbed onto the patch of underground and delicately pulled upward. Earth writhed and wiggled, piling up at his sides. When he thought he had been holding onto a mound of mud, a black lacquered corner poked out of the dirt, followed by more sharp sides till it revealed a casket with a silver latch.

“You’re really good at this. This was really well cloaked.” Rain crouched to observe closer. “I’m not familiar with these runes either...”

“What— Oh...” Inky black symbols had been engraved across the casket. Kai struggled to make them out against the dark wood; using Mana Observer only marginally helped. The jagged symbols carried a vague sense of familiarity, still not quite anything he had met before. Each line simmered with a swirl of motes. “They’re channeling...”

“Darkness,” the siren concluded for him. “The element works quite well to conceal and suppress.” His fingers traced the casket up to the silver latch. “I don’t think it’s rigged to explode.”

Oh...

“Thanks for checking.” Hearing no whispers, Kai carefully lifted the lid. The insides were laden with another web of inky runes. In the center lay a pearlescent substance that looked like soap bubbles with some opaque forms floating inside.

He poked it with his index, jolting back when the shapes inside moved.