No way in Heaven or Hell - Afterlife Series Book 1

Chapter 5 - Two enemies against three worlds - part 3

Khyros was astonished at the sight before him. Dark grey sky, cold winds, empty streets... Was this really Cethiel? It couldn't be! It was supposed to be the opposite of Thendaria, whereas this... sounded more like its copy... Not that he cared, but it was weird.

"Did whatever struck Thendaria reach Cethiel as well...?" He wondered aloud.

He looked around, scouting the area for any sign of life. So far, however, he heard nothing. But he didn't trust the silence. So he drew his sword and held it tightly, moving slowly forwards. The buildings were unharmed, so there didn't seem to have been an attack... But he couldn't see any statues, either.

Maybe there were different effects here, he mused.

He glanced around him as he walked through the empty streets. He didn't trust the wind enough to fly. It was blowing in every direction. As he walked, despite thinking everything looked too white, he had to admit he could see the beauty of the buildings, the way every house looked similar, yet kept its own identity while remaining harmonious with the rest.

It's strange... it looks like Thendaria, and yet it feels very different, he thought.

And the smooth pavestones below his feet were a far cry from the rough, sandy ground he'd walked on in Thendaria, with jagged rock poking out every so often and forcing you to watch your step every moment. It would almost have been relaxing, if not for the strange weather, empty streets and ambient tension. He kept listening for sounds of movement, but could hear nothing. Only his own heart pounding in his ears, and his breathing. His sword firmly in hand, his eyes watching everything, he pushed on, keeping very silent. He was all alone against whoever was left here. He wasn't foolish enough to make his presence known when he had no idea what was out there. Thinking he heard a sound behind him, he whipped round, his sword flying through the air... but there was nothing. He exhaled in frustration and marched on. He almost felt like kicking a rock, but there were none around. New sigh of frustration. He paused, wondering how wise it was to climb up on a roof and look around from above, when something caught his eye. Looking around sharply, he caught sight of something white blowing about in the wind. Looking on, he saw it was not something, but someone. He stood still, watching as the white figure twirled uncontrollably through the sky in the wind. He could tell they were going to fall. And sure enough, they soon disappeared from sight behind a building.

********

Eliana had not expected the wind to get even worse than it had been so far. She was barely able to stay steady. The wind was pushing and pulling her constantly in every direction it could. She was freezing, her body and wings felt like they had been plunged into ice cold water. Her hair whipped her cheeks, and she was amazed she could see anything in this darkness. At least it had stopped snowing... She was trying to head to the palace, to see if anyone was there that could help her get to Earth. But suddenly, a particularly strong gust of wind threw her off course so much, she was tilted upside down and couldn't straighten herself. Eliana couldn't help thinking that Laera might have told her that her wings would never let her down if she trusted them, but she'd never mentioned what might happen in stormy weather like this. Probably because she'd never expected there to ever be such a thing in sunny, peaceful Cethiel. She tried her best to find her balance again, but it soon proved impossible. She spun and flailed around until she hit the ground hard.

"Ow... Why is it that you always remember how hard stone is when it hits you on the head?" Eliana grumbled, getting slowly to her feet trying to determine if her vision was normal or not. "Darn, that really hurt..."

Rubbing her head gingerly, she looked around. The wind was still howling aimlessly around them, the sky still dark and miserable-looking. She glanced in the direction of the Judgement Hall. Everyone was going to just hide and stay safe while she would be risking her life for them! It felt kind of unfair. But she had no choice. If no one wanted to stand up and do something, then she would just do it alone. She tried to take off again, but the wind too hectic.