Chronicles of the Artisan Nomad

Chapter 61: Echoes of Guilt's Embrace

I watched as Yuna raised her blade, blitzing ahead to attack the mummy with determination on her face. The giant mummy tried to hit her away with his staff, still roaring in pain, but she nimbly dodged out of the way. She concentrated in front of the mummy, yelling out, "All-Seeing Slash!" Her movements were almost superhuman as she slashed the monster right down the middle as she dashed past. The mummy began yelling out as blue sand poured out of him like a faucet. He kneeled on the ground, trying to stop the blue sand from pouring out, but that created an opening.

Aeolus got back on his feet, clapping, "Good job, human. You set him up for me." He brought out his silver sword, charging in. He jumped higher than expected, aiming for the mummy's neck; his blade heated up. He slashed a clean line through the beast's neck as he uttered, "Divine Execution." The mummy's head slowly separated from his body, collapsing on the floor.

The rest of his body began breaking apart into many pieces, blue sand slowly filling up the room. The barriers that had held us in place fizzled out; their magic was no longer being sustained, and the seal on the floor also disappeared. That should have been the end of it, but weirdly the Sarcophagus began to glow again. It pulsed normally at first, but then too rapidly sped up. I yelled out, "Run!" The pain in my ribs flared up, but I had to get up. I felt energy gathering into a mass. This wasn't good; we had to get away. I had no idea how far the blast would reach.

We were almost out of the room when I felt something grab my legs; it was the Sarcophagus. Damn it, they really thought of everything! The blue sand formed into magic bindings, willing to do anything to make sure we didn't leave here alive. Yuna momentarily stopped; it was a brief hesitation that lasted a single second. That small amount of time was enough to signal the beginning of the end of our group.

I heard Aeolus saying something, but it was too late; the blast would hit us no matter what now. Finn seemed to try to take over again, but Aeolus kept control and kept running. I gathered my energy together, trying desperately to form something that could shield us. I tried to think of anything, but I had no time; the blast was reaching a crescendo.

Finally, Yuna walked beside me; she concentrated on her hands, "Damn it, I can't die like this!" Yellow energy circulated around both of us as she seemed to unleash everything she had at once. As the room filled with the ominous glow of the accelerating explosion, Yuna's eyes flared with determination. She tapped into the depths of her natural-born magic, intertwining their essences in a desperate bid for survival. The sand beneath us shifted and swirled, responding to her command with an otherworldly dance.

In an instant, the surroundings distorted, and the blue sand formed a protective cocoon around Yuna and me. Her eyes radiated with her intense magical energy as we sunk deep into the blue sand. My surroundings cascaded into darkness as I closed my eyes, feeling Yuna next to me, holding me for dear life. This was no longer the jaded assassin who had tried to kill us but a girl scared for her life. We sank deeper into the earth as the explosion shook the entire area to its core; I had never felt such a supermassive blast. The earth quaked, but we remained in one piece as we sunk beneath the earth. Slowly, we sank down into the earth, barely able to breathe as my body felt like it was being crushed.

Once the sounds from above cleared out, I noticed an issue: my lungs. I couldn't hold my breath much longer. If I were to open my mouth or eyes, sand would fill both of them. Just as I began feeling lightheaded, the ground opened up. I felt us begin to fall down as we hit the ruin floor hard; the ground was hard, no longer made of sand. We had phased through an entire layer of these underground ruins. I gasped for breath; my back hurting, and my ribs still broken—breathing was all I could manage. After what seemed like an eternity, my throat dry from coughing, still covered in blue sand, I managed to stand up. Yuna was already up, looking around at her surroundings. I asked, "Did you save me?" She frowned, "Don't flatter yourself; you just happened to be close by."