Chapter 21: Wave Logic

After they had gotten far away from the demon, they finally stopped.

They were exhausted and covered in dust and sweat. They had run at least half the size of the island, Jax keeping track of every detail as they moved. Dirt paths, dense green forests, the sun's position in the sky, and the strange moons orbiting it. No detail was unimportant to him.

"That thing is incredibly strong. What do you mean save?" Jax asked, wiping sweat from his forehead. His skin felt coarse and rough, like rubbing sandpaper on wood. "Mira, we just came from the second floor before this. That thing would eat us and not even burp afterward."

"We have to save it, Jax. When I saw that demon and realized this island was alive…" "We have to," Mira said again, catching her breath and adjusting her stance. "I can't leave it to die."

"Mira… it's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible, Jax. You said we could conquer anything if we planned first. Well then, let's plan."

Her voice trailed off as distant screams echoed through the forest behind him. Mira looked past Jax. Neither of them noticed the Skorpids until they were already close.

A band of them crept through the brush, drawn by noise and blood. Hungry. Marsh Skorpids were a rare variant of the beast found on the fifth floor. Roughly the size of a large frog, their pale bodies were wrapped in a translucent carapace. A thick stinger curved over their backs, the toxin inside glowing faintly within the bulb of the tail. A single strike could inject enough venom to stop a heart.

"Jax, watch out!" Mira shouted as three ice spikes shot past him.

"Can you try waiting for me to move before you launch those things?" Jax called back, stepping out of their path.

"Can you try not to get almost killed all the time?" She shot back just as quick as she was.

They bantered through the fight while Skorpid bodies piled across the clearing. Corpses scattered everywhere, their translucent shells cracked open across the dirt. Several drops appeared among them.

"What are these things?" Mira asked.

"I'm not sure. They look like shards, but… different," Jax said, picking one up, the stone resembled the dungeon shards they normally received, though the shape carried a more intricate design. He placed the strange shard into his pack and scanned the surrounding forest.

Another wave of Skorpids was already approaching.

"Where are they coming from?" Mira asked, ice spikes forming in the air around her, ready to launch. "I don't think I like this island… god thing."

"You just said you wanted to save it."

"I do. I just mean the island is dangerous. I don't know where to look or what to think."

"I'll get us back home," Jax said as he stepped closer to her, confidence pushing through his voice. "I will protect you, Mira. No matter what."

Mira felt a familiar pull and allowed herself to lean into it. This time her pulse didn't race. The anxious flutter that normally followed was gone. Jax's certainty steadied her instead, and she stepped back until their shoulders touched.

"Okay," she said softly, pressing her back against his. "I'll protect you too. Let's get them."

Using Jax almost as a pivot point, she launched forward with explosive speed. Each step carried her faster as she cut through the Skorpids, ice flashing through the clearing with precise strikes. The more enemies she cut down, the faster she seemed to move.

Jax took the moment to test the knuckle guards that had dropped earlier. The instant he secured the strap around his wrist, his core vibrated violently. Magic surged outward from his body.

"Mira, these gloves must be a rare drop," he said as he crushed a Skorpid's head with a single punch. "I've never felt power like this before."

"When did you start hand-to-hand training?"

"I had Shinra teach me a few things before we left. I wanted to be able to fight up close if I had to. I just didn't expect something like this."

He moved through the swarm brutally, each strike stronger than the last. With every kill his control sharpened, and suddenly a new idea formed in his mind.

"Sinking Spike Field."

Jax slammed his fist into the ground. A wave of stone spikes erupted outward toward a cluster of creatures while the earth beneath them softened and dragged them down. The Skorpids sank waist-deep into the ground, trapped. A second later, pillars of stone tore upward through their bodies. The last of the monsters collapsed, their forms distorting before dissolving into nothing.

In their place, more of the strange shards scattered across the dirt.

"That was… weird," Mira said as she collected them. "Jax, I think we're still in the dungeon."

Jax had reached the same conclusion. He sat against a rock and pulled his books from his pack, flipping through the pages rapidly in search of anything that matched what they were seeing.

"Mira, I can't find anything. Nothing in here is even close. If we're still in the dungeon…"

He stopped mid-sentence as anxiety took over his thoughts.

Without hesitation Mira moved beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, rubbing his back until his breathing slowed. "Calm down, Jax," she said gently. "Remember. Anything."

Hearing the words steadied him. His thoughts slowed, his confidence returning.

"Thank you."

"No problem," she said with a grin. "That's what I'm here for."

For a moment the island was quiet.

Then the ground trembled.

At first it was subtle, just enough to ripple the dirt beneath their boots. The trees around the clearing swayed even though the air was still. A pressure built in the atmosphere, thick and heavy against their skin.

Darkness began creeping inward from the far edges of the island. It did not roll like smoke. It crawled slowly across the ground with deliberate purpose.

Jax stood. Mira moved beside him without needing to be told.

The tremor deepened.

Birds circling overhead suddenly dropped from the sky. Their bodies struck the ground and dissolved into drifting ash.

Then they saw it.

A demon stood at the edge of the clearing, smaller than the one they had seen before, but far more twisted. Jagged horns punched through skin that looked unfinished, as if the creature had been forced into existence rather than born. Its limbs bent slightly wrong, and its chest expanded and contracted with unnatural slowness.

It was looking directly at them.

Not hunting.

Not searching.

Watching.

The air around the creature shimmered like overheated glass.

Without warning it screamed.

The sound tore through the island and seemed to split the sky itself. Jax felt it in his teeth. Mira staggered half a step before catching her balance.

The scream stopped abruptly.

Silence slammed down over the clearing.

The demon took one step forward.

The ground beneath its foot turned black.

Jax swallowed.

"That one knows we're here."