Chapter 763: Moving Forward
Roma's words continued to sting in a discomforting way, helping Northern to realize he might have underestimated the journey of growth.
Correction was very difficult to swallow when he stood far superior than the corrector.
However, every word she spat made more sense than he could make excuses for.
She was right. Or maybe she was right. And if she was right, would this be the last thing he needed? Would this make his life and goal meaningful even if he loses?
Northern silently scoffed at the thought. He didn't think so but trying was not going to break his bones at the very least. It could cost him a strain or two, but nothing he couldn't get over.
The perspective Roma offered, he welcomed it. He was going to find this thing called passion in the endeavor forward.
The girl was silent, she moved from corpse to corpse, closed her eyes and mumbled something beneath her lips.
Northern couldn't hear even if he wanted to. Unfortunately, he had very weak ears.
In the mean time, while she did that, he shifted his attention to the cargo and thought for a while what to do about them. They needed a few mounts for a successful march to the blockade.
'I have a few to spare...'
Closing his eyes, he submerged himself in a grave silence, focus sharpening the angles of his face.
Then a couple seconds later, a giant whirlpool began to appear in the middle in front of the cargo-between dead Jezter and the the first cargo.
The landscape began to tremble, softly making Roma stop and turn to Northern with a slight frown.
Seeing the rift, her frown drew out a widened eyes instead.
"A rift?"
Her shoulders trembled as an oppressive wind suddenly blew and assaulted her with chills, prompting her to throw her arms around herself.
'What is this... what is this eerieness about?'
Roma's lips pulsed in silence, her eyes breaking out in wordless wonders.
Slowly, the creature began to drag itself out of the rift. First revealing its sinewy body, deep eyes glowing with a distinguished red light.
The sheer size of the monster sent jolts of electricity traveling across Roma's body. It was as tall as the trees, in fact, its simple and slow movements ploughed down the trees closely standing around it.
The creature had six legs, rippled with sculpted muscles, it had a brown, stony skin on its back, and all over its entire hunched body were metallic shackles worn lime bracelets, with chains extended out of certain strategic points.
The beast of burden was like a three-legged rhino. Each step it carried burdened the earth terribly with its massive weight. It's large and long tail ended with a spiked ball, smashing the trees and weakening them at their base with its subtle movement.
Eventually it came to a stop a breath away from the young man that had commanded it to come forth.
Northern shifted his gaze to Roma and said with an even voice:
"If we are going to reach the blockade with any bit of advantage, we would need my pal here."
Roma was frozen in her stare. She wanted to speak but the words scattered in her mouth which she opened and closed severally.
Her mind toiled and struggled with so many questions that she couldn't put to words because of the sheer might of what she was seeing.
Night Terror was not the only souvenir that Northern got from his first rift. The Beast of Burden had been an enslaved mount that naturally got absorbed into his soul along with the rift itself.
Much later he discovered that the beast was actually a part of the rift and even though it could, it never left the embrace of the palace thrown afar the mountains.
He never saw any need for the creature and sometimes was too skeptical to command it, worried if the creature would not get out of hand.
That worry still persisted even now. Northern did not want any mishap that would cause him to kill the colossal monster, maybe because of his attachment to it.
'It's just sentiments... there's no attachment of any sort.'
He looked at the girl and tilted his head slightly.
"Are you okay?"
Roma slightly shook her head, looking at him with a mix of frustrated anger and awe-inspired sadness.
Then she said:
"Am I okay? Who in their sane mind would be okay after seeing a monster the size of a tree! How exactly are we supposed to move with that?! No, wait, forget how, what is that thing to begin with?!!"
Each of her screams ended with a punctuating throw of her hand at the beast.
Northern glanced at the Beast of Burden and blinked.
"Oh. Don't worry about that..."
He snapped his finger, using it as a sign command for the beast.
The Beast of Burden shrank, its massive frame rippling and folding inward like a collapsing mirage. Its towering, stony back compressed, muscles coiling and condensing, until it stood no taller than Northern's shoulder.
The chains adorning its body clinked together like wind chimes, their once-heavy presence now draping over the creature like loose jewelry.
Roma's breath hitched as she staggered back, her hands twitching with half-formed
thoughts, uncertainty scrawled all over her face.
"You just—just—" she stammered, her voice teetering between panic and fascination. "You
just made that thing smaller. Like... it was nothing."
Northern tilted his head slightly, expression unreadable.
"Because it was nothing," he replied, as if that explained everything.
Roma let out a half-laugh, half-scoff, running a hand down her face.
"You're impossible."
He merely shrugged. Then, as if it had been waiting for its cue, the Beast of Burden stomped forward, its reduced form still carrying the raw weight of something ancient and indomitable.
Despite its smaller size, the air remained thick with its presence, pressing down on the environment like a silent decree.
"We'll load the cargo onto its back," Northern continued, gesturing toward the supplies. "With this, we won't have to waste energy dragging everything manually."
Roma squinted at him, skepticism warring with a dawning realization.
"He is amazing..."
Although she still felt disappointed at the mentality he carried, that did not dilute the fact that he was a Sage, an extremely powerful and influential existence in the world of drifters.
What was such a person doing here with mercenaries, traveling with her. She froze for a moment, reflecting on their argument just a while ago.
Her body shivered as she remembered everything she said.
'Eldech! I said all that?'
Northern watched her for a moment before moving toward the cargo, his fingers curling
slightly as he manipulated his strength.
With practiced ease, he lifted the heaviest of the containers, positioning it atop the beast's sturdy back. The metallic shackles binding the creature rattled as it adjusted to the weight,
but it did not resist.
'He's not going to want to sniff away my life before I even get the chance to realize it, right?'
Her lips pressed together into a thin line, she swallowed and exhaled before turning back toward the scattered corpses.
Her earlier task was unfinished, and even now, the wind carried the faint echoes of her
whispered prayers.
Roma finished her murmured rites, standing over a particularly mangled body farther than
the others. Northern did not pry.
Instead, he continued securing their supplies, weaving the straps and bindings with efficient,
methodical movements. The rhythmic clinking of chains and shifting of cargo filled the
silence, an odd harmony in a place littered with death.
Minutes passed before Roma finally turned back to him. Her expression had settled into something unreadable, though her fingers twitched at her sides.
"What's next?" she asked, voice quieter than before.
Northern finished the last strap, tightening it with a sharp pull. Then he dusted his hands off
and met her gaze.
"We move."
Roma studied him for a second longer before nodding. Without another word, she hoisted
herself up onto the beast's back, settling atop one of the containers. The creature did not react -merely stood there, still as a mountain.
Northern climbed up as well, positioning himself at the front. His fingers brushed against the creature's hardened hide, a silent command passing between them.
The Beast of Burden obeyed.
With a slow, earth-rumbling motion, it began to walk.
The forest seemed to pull back around them, trees parting in the wake of the monstrous steed.
The air hung thick with the scent of damp earth and lingering blood, but Northern kept his
gaze forward.
A slight frown tugged at the edges of his brows as they pushed forward. He could already sense it, those darned abominations were already pouring in from all directions.
It was a given, even with the minimized size of the beast of burden their movement was still
large and elaborate. Easily demanding the savage attention of the field monsters.
Noticing his facial expression, She lingered for a bit before asking:
"What is wrong?"
Northern squinted his face a bit.
"Nothing really concerning. Just hold steady, this will be over before you know it."
"huh...?"
Before she could say anything else Northern jumped away.