Ch 12

  The System’s crimson notification flashed across my vision, igniting a primal fear in my chest that I thought I had buried. I scrambled toward the rooftop, my heart hammering against my ribs, praying that this wasn't another rain of fire. Behind me, I could hear the heavy, frantic footsteps of my Uncle, Maya, and Ajit as they chased my shadow.

  I reached the roof, gasping for breath as I looked toward the horizon. Two kilometers away, the jagged obsidian scar of the Rift was pulsing with a malevolent, bruised-blue light.

  What I saw next turned my blood to ice.

  Protruding from the hundred-meter-long crack was a colossal, crystalline beak. Even from this distance, it looked sharp enough to rend the very fabric of reality. It shimmered like a cursed diamond—beautiful yet utterly lethal. As the creature hauled itself out of the void, wings followed. They weren't made of flesh or feather; they were jagged, translucent shards of reinforced glass, their edges reflecting the dying light with a cold, predatory glisten.

  Then, the creature tilted its head toward the heavens and screamed.

  It wasn't a roar; it was a Sonic Cataclysm. The air didn't just vibrate; it shattered. Above the Rift, the atmospheric pressure reached a breaking point, triggering a massive sonic boom that tore through the clouds, leaving a gaping, circular hole in the sky. The earth beneath me groaned, vibrating with a frequency so violent I felt my bones might turn to powder.

  Even from two kilometers away, the sound hit us like a physical wall. The agony was instantaneous. I collapsed to my knees, clutching my ears as a piercing, high-pitched ringing drowned out the world. When I finally pulled my hands away, my palms were stained with a dark, warm crimson. My ears were bleeding.

  I struggled to open my eyes, my vision swimming. I looked down at the rooftop—the solid concrete of our boundary wall was spiderwebbed with fresh, deep cracks. A single shriek from that distance had nearly deafened us and damaged our sanctuary.

  A cold, paralyzing dread settled in my gut. If a mere cry from two kilometers away can do this to us... what will happen when they arrive?

  I looked back at the Rift, my ears still ringing and wet with blood. The titanic beast—the one with the colossal beak—seemed to be struggling against the very fabric of the Rift. It was as if some unseen force, perhaps the world’s current Rank limit, was pulling it back, dragging it into the obsidian void. I let out a jagged breath of relief. If that god-like creature had emerged, we would have been nothing but dust.

  But the relief was short-lived.

  I snapped my gaze back to the horizon. Small, glittering specks were detaching from the blue light of the Rift. At first, they looked like beautiful diamonds falling from the sky, but as they caught the sunlight, I saw the truth. They were fast. Terrifyingly fast.

  "Everyone, get ready! They’re coming!" I roared, my voice barely audible over the wind.

  Twenty-one of them. Three distinct v-formations of seven, slicing through the air with a grace that made my skin crawl. Even from two kilometers away, I had to activate my Air Prana just to track their movement. Their wings were shimmering prisms of light, so bright that even the midday sun couldn't wash out their glow.

  I stared at the System notification, my mind reeling. The Searing Maw Universe... and now the Shattered Sky Universe? How many Universes were clawing at ours, trying to kill us in our reality?

  My heart hammered against my ribs. Eighteen Rank-C Commanders and three C+ Alpha? This was a death sentence for any normal human.

  The sky was literally screaming.

  The three swarms of wyverns banked toward us, their wings catching the sunlight like jagged mirrors. They didn't just fly—they ignited. As they accelerated, massive sonic booms erupted behind them, creating white, circular vapor cones that looked like high-speed fighter jets breaking the sound barrier. The raw velocity was staggering; they were closing the two-kilometer gap in mere heartbeats.

  I looked at the lead wyverns in the V-formations—the Alphas. Its glass wings were larger, its body glowing with a lethal, crystalline violet light.

  They leveled off about 300 meters above us, the sheer force of their passage creating a vacuum that whistled through the village. The sound was like a thousand glass knives grinding against a whetstone. I gripped my silver bow, a Tier-2 Air Astra already nocked. I couldn't afford to take risks.

  Even with my Agility enhanced by my Air Prana , their movements were a blur of refracting light and sonic thunder. They circled us—twenty-one diamond-bright predators—mapping our defenses like sharks circling a sinking raft.

  The wyverns were masterpieces of biological destruction. Their wingspans reached a staggering five meters, composed of iridescent membranes that shimmered with the cold brilliance of a thousand diamonds. Every movement sent jagged needles of refracted sunlight stabbing into my retinas, blinding me for heartbeats at a time. Their talons were curved crystalline hooks, and their serrated beaks looked sharp enough to slice through the very air they occupied.

  "Maya! Ajit! Check the villagers and the fortified shelter!" I commanded, shielding my eyes against the glare. "Uncle, stay with me. We hold the high ground here."

  "Be careful, Amit!" Maya shouted back, her voice firm despite the underlying tremor of anxiety. "If they pin you down, signal us immediately!" She vaulted from the rooftop, landing with practiced grace before sprinting toward the shelter.

  Once they were clear, I centered my core. I drew my silver bow, but I didn't target the C+ Alpha. Instead, I aimed for the trailing wyvern on the right flank to test their defensive reactions. I funneled my Strength Attribute into my grip, the bowstring groaning as I pulled it past my ear. I loosed a Tier-2 Air Astra.

  The astra didn't just fly; it ignited the atmosphere. It tore through the sky with a predatory, high-pitched scream, leaving a visible distortion in the air behind it. I watched, breathless, as it closed the distance in a fraction of a second.

  Then, the impossible happened.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Just as my astra was about to pierce the creature’s chest, a blur of light detached from the Alpha’s wing. It was a shimmering, razor-sharp crystal shard. Clang! The shard collided with my Astra mid-air, the impact echoing like a hammer on an anvil. My Tier-2 astra shattered into a cloud of useless blue sparks.

  I stood there, stunned. The Alpha tilted its head, its crystalline eyes locking onto mine with a terrifying, sentient intelligence.

  "Dammit," I hissed, a bead of cold sweat rolling down my neck. "He’s using his own wings as an interceptor system."

  This wasn't just a beast; it was an aerial counter-sniper. With their ability to break the sound barrier and a literal missile defense system made of glass, this wasn't going to be a hunt. This was a war of attrition in the sky.

  I nocked my second Tier-2 Air Astra, but before I could release it, the Alpha Wyvern locked its predatory gaze onto me. Its crystalline wings beat with a rhythmic, metallic clang as it began its descent. The creature accelerated at a terrifying rate, the air around it beginning to shimmer and distort. I loosed the astra, the projectile screaming through the sky as it aimed for the beast's chest.

  But as the astra neared, the Alpha didn't even flinch. It tilted its razor-sharp beak, and the moment my Astra collided with the crystalline armor of its face, the astra shattered into a shower of useless blue sparks. The monster was closing the distance with the velocity of a falling star. My Intuition (15) was screaming at me—every nerve in my body was on fire with a single message: Death is coming.

  "AMIT, RUN!" my Uncle’s voice roared from the edge of the roof.

  I didn't hesitate. I sprinted toward the far end, but the air felt heavy, almost solid, as if the Wyvern’s sheer speed was compressing the atmosphere around me. It was like running through deep water.

  BOOM—SHHHH!

  The sound was less of a crash and more of a reality-shattering detonation. The Alpha struck the rooftop with its ability. A massive, circular sonic boom erupted upon impact, a wall of pressurized air that hit me like a physical hammer. I was launched off my feet, my body hurtling through the air until I slammed into the concrete boundary wall. The stone gave way with a sickening crunch, and I was sent tumbling off the roof, crashing into the dirt below.

  Dust and debris choked the air, turning the world into a grey, suffocating blur. I struggled to breathe, my head spinning from the concussion. As the dust partially cleared, I looked up and my heart plummeted. The upper half of our home—our sanctuary—had been pulverized. The reinforced concrete had been shredded as if it were nothing but paper.

  "Maa! Papa!" I screamed, the panic clawing at my throat.

  I scrambled toward the wreckage, frantically clawing at the broken beams and slabs of stone. Through a gap in the settling dust, I saw a flicker of movement. Lori was standing there, her fur matted with white dust, looking small and defiant amidst the ruins. Behind her, shielded by a fallen slab and Lori’s own protective stance, I saw my parents. For a second, the world went silent—the absolute terror of losing them nearly ripped the soul out of my chest.

  "MAA!" I screamed, lunging through the choking dust toward her. She lay unconscious, her face pale, but her chest was rising and falling in a rhythmic, shallow cadence. My father looked battered but was awake, and I realized in a heartbeat that it was Lori who had saved them. She stood before them, her fur bristling, having used her own small body as a living shield against the concussive shockwave.

  Wasting no time, I activated my Mental Link and commanded her: "Lori! Get Maa, Papa, and Aunty under the massive mango trees, NOW! The dense canopy will block their line of sight from the air. Go!"

  Lori let out a sharp, decisive Meow and began clearing a path through the debris. My father gathered my mother into his arms, his face set in a grim mask of survival, and followed the cat’s swift movements. I helped them through the threshold of the ruined house, my heart heavy. "Wait for me there. Lori, protect them!"

  As they disappeared into the shadows of the giant trees, the sounds of the massacre outside hit me with full force. High-frequency shrieks tore through the air, and I could see villagers collapsing everywhere, their hands clutched over their bleeding ears.

  I scanned the chaos and spotted Rocky in the distance. He had dropped to one knee, his heavy shield raised above his head in a desperate defensive stance.

  BOOM!

  A Wyvern plummeted from the sky like a falling crystal hammer, its beak slamming into Rocky's shield with the force of a detonating shell. The shockwave rattled his bones, but as the creature veered back into the sky, Rocky grunted and stood his ground.

  Not far from him, Ajit was a blur of motion, zigzagging between burning carts and stone walls. I looked up and saw why—the sky was raining glass. Thousands of razor-sharp crystalline feathers were whistling through the air like guided shrapnel.

  A squad of seven Wyverns circled them like vultures. Their leader hovered above, orchestrating the slaughter. Two Wyverns were taking turns dive-bombing Rocky to break his stance, while another two launched Glass-Storm barrages at Ajit to pin him down. The remaining two were hovering, their eyes cold and calculating, waiting for a single moment of weakness to deliver the final kill

  I scanned the chaotic battlefield, my eyes locking onto Ankit. His, spear whistling through the air as he swatted away the crystalline shards of the [Glass-Storm]. Each time a razor-sharp feather neared, he would spin his weapon with surgical precision, the sparks flying as steel met enchanted glass. He was surviving, but he was pinned.

  My heart hammered as I searched for Maya. I spotted her in front of the massive communal hall we had built just yesterday. Hundreds of villagers were scrambling inside, and Maya stood at the threshold like an immovable goddess of war, her gaze fixed on the sky. I followed her line of sight and saw a Wyvern plummeting toward her with the speed of a falling star.

  Maya didn't flinch. She braced her Gada, her feet digging deep into the earth. As the beast’s beak reached for her throat, she unleashed a colossal horizontal swing.

  CRACK-BOOM!

  The impact sent a shockwave through the ground. Maya was forced back, her boots carving deep trenches in the soil as she skidded meters, but the Wyvern was deflected, screeching as it spiraled back into the clouds. It looked unfazed, its crystalline hide glowing with a resilient luster.

  Suddenly, another Wyvern dived toward the roof of the communal hall. It struck the iron-leaf timber with a bone-jarring thud. To my relief, the dark wood—harder than forged steel—held firm, but the beast was already circling back for another pass.

  "Uncle, now!" I roared.

  A spear streaked through the air toward the diving beast, humming with my Uncle's resonance. But before it could connect, a high-frequency distortion rippled through the sky. One of the hovering Wyverns unleashed a [Sonic Pulse]. I watched in horror as the visible waves of sound slammed into the spear mid-air, robbing it of its momentum. The weapon slowed, diverted by the invisible wall of sound, and fell harmlessly into the dirt.

  The tactical coordination was chilling. The Alpha Leader hovered at the apex of the formation, its prismatic wings orchestrating the slaughter. Below it, the squad operated like a well-oiled machine: two focused on relentless dive-bombs, two rained down lethal glass shrapnel, and two stayed in reserve, using their sonic shrieks to intercept any counter-attacks. They were a perfect aerial fortress.

  They operated with chilling coordination, maintaining their formations, never striking without confirmation. As I analyzed the battlefield, a new realization hit me—the third group! I scanned the sky frantically.

  I looked straight up, and my eyes seized instantly. It was as if someone had placed a mirror to the sun. The intense glare was channeled directly into my retinas, forcing my eyes shut. A wave of extreme danger washed over me, screaming through my Intuition. I sprinted away from the spot instantly.

  A soft whistling sound, the whisper of air being sliced, followed me. I felt a sharp sting, a warm trickle of blood on my lower leg. A crystalline feather had struck me. They were invisible, fast, and deadly efficient.

  "They're using the sun as a weapon and the light as camouflage!" I hissed to myself. I nocked a Tier-2 Earth Astra into my bowstring, channeling my Prana. "I need defense!" I activated a quick 20% Resonance.

  Prana of Human: 99%

  Follow ??