Chapter 63 White noise
Chapter 63 White noise
The commotion caused by the wave had drawn everyone into the choked space that was the pantry, poking heads to see what had caused the sudden noise. They all looked around at the writings and drawings they couldn't make sense of, they filled the room, like paint on the walls and cloth on the table, similar to the ward of someone who'd gone insane. Rylan struggled to his feet, the impact had sent an unbearable ache through his back that made standing incredibly difficult, Yennifer rose, hair tussled and blood trickling down her face as she staggered forward and knelt down in from to the core. Only then did they see it on the floor, hovering, the clear aura actively reacting to the environment which subtle vibrations. Yennifer stretched her hand out, carefully, when she'd gotten close enough to it and nothing happened, she brought her hands closer until she was holding the core in her palms. She examined it for a few seconds, everyone watching her every movement in pin drop silence as she waved a palm over and around it before she suddenly dropped to her knees. Dravy rushed to her to help her up, stopping when he heard the softest chuckle escape her lips, he turned around and knelt down in front of her and saw that tears were currently streaming down her eyes, he looked away from her and down at the core, He looked at it for a few seconds trying his best to focus his senses on it but he could perceive nothing, if not that he was seeing it with his own eyes and he knew what a core was supposed to be he would have thought the thing in her hands was nothing more than a glowing ball because no matter how hard he tried, he could feel no Arkana from it.
He looked into her teared up eyes.“It….worked.” He got on both knees as his eyes watered, he threw his hands around her hugged her as tight as physically possible cheering. “It worked.” He'd would have never said it out loud but honestly, he had began to lose faith in the success of their little experiment, but seeing this, knowing that he hadn't risled his life for nothing, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed, the rest of the players rushing in with happy cheers shaking Rylan congratulations before joining the bundle of people hugging Yennifer as the dams broke and tears flooded down her eyes, all the time she'd spent in this room, the uncertainty of not knowing if each day she'd spent obsessing over this core was going to pay off and now that she held the result in her hands the joy had rendered her speechless and the only thing she could do was cry out every emotion that had been smothered by the stress of her obsession.
Rylan watched the scene play out, the others players joyously celebrating the achievement, a smile spread across his lips, he was thankful, thankful it had worked but he couldn't feel as overjoyed as everyone else because this was simply the beginning of an exhaustingly long road. He brushed past Maerik who had his hands folded over his chest with a proud smile on his lips and walked past Sandra who stood at the doorway, a forced smile on her face, he wondered what that was about but right now he couldn't care, all he could think about was what came next, they still needed to understand the range, know how long it would last. There were far too many things to take into account to call this a success. Was he happy that it succeeded? Yes, but still there were too many things not known to take this as a victory. He stepped out of the backyard and into the warmth of the morning, taking a few till he was at the edge of the wooden platform, he looked around and took a step down unto the damp grass, he began walking towards the stream a few meters away from the cabin, the crunching sound of his shoes thrashing the soil beneath the only sound audible to him until he got to the water, he stared for a few seconds before he moved, he took a step forward and heard.
“At least take off your shoes.” He didn't need to turn around to know who it was, he knew it was Sandra.
“Go back inside, celebrate with the others.” Rylan urged and was about to continue when she replied.
“If you catch a cold I'll be the one that'll have to treat you so please at the very least take off your shoes.” He turned to her and she stared back at him, her big hazel eyes making it clear that she wasn't going to let up, buy somehow the thought of taking off his shoes before getting in them putting them back on after was enough to change his mind, he took a step back and walked to where she was, she smiled at his change of actions but all he could do was shake his head as he walked to her.
“You win.”
“Really, I hadn't noticed.” She chuckled as he got to her. “How're you feeling?”
“Irrelevant.” Rylan replied.
“You're not —”
“How I'm feeling is irrelevant.” He corrected before she could begin a pep talk, she nodded and offered a smile as she took a step back and sat down on the ground, he followed, it was weird but for the two months he'd been at the cabin, this was the first time he'd ever sat here and enjoyed the sight, the hue of the sky reflected into the water and gave it a darker shade but only added to the entrancing beauty of it, they watched as dried up leaves swam across the stream, the way the ripples formed when an insect would land briefly before taking off, and the soft noise caused by water hitting it's barrier. For the first time in a while, Rylan was at peace.