Beyond Gods 63 Behind The Scenes

The destruction caused by Gengis and Athelion's brawl was turning the previously beautiful landscape into a wasteland.

Johan and Athyne sat inside the cave around a makes.h.i.+ft fire that Johan had started. As a child, Johan had learnt how to start a fire using a stick, dry gra.s.s and stone, while spending a summer in summer camp. Bidding time they quietly ate the Labyrinth food that he'd packed into his bag.

The earth shaking and accompanying booms was a constant reminder that at any moment, their lives could end because of a stray blast or attack. The cave only offered concealment ... nothing more.

Rey and Shaemus were lying on the cave floor unconscious. Athyne and Johan would periodically cast worried glances in their direction. Johan was unsure of how severe their injuries were and had no idea of whether the two would ever wake up again.

Johan's broken arm was on the mend from eating the Labyrinth food and he felt the bones in his hand creaking. However, even with the accelerated healing from whatever was in the food, Johan knew it would take at least three days before he could use his hand again. The pain of healing was almost worse than the pain he felt from initially breaking it. Yet, he gritted his teeth and ignored it.

Johan reflecting on his powerlessness when confronting Athelion, it had humbled him. His winning streak during his fights for his gym had made him feel invincible, but now, he knew that he had a lot of room the grow. This overwhelming defeat made him question whether he was read to fight in the upcoming tournament.

"I thought you were meditating," said Athyne breaking the silence, "to think so much happened ... for me I'd just been waiting around a day."

Johan had told Athyne what had happened to him and Rey in the array, carefully, keeping to himself the part about his father and the dragon. He didn't want to risk anyone knowing about his father's existence when he knew Armyka was hunting him.

"To think Rey went through all that as a child and never mentioned it," said Athyne, "Incredible ... I've known her for years and she always seemed so strong and care free all that time. Terrifying even."

"Yeah," said Johan. "people tend to have multiple levels of depth to them. Hopefully, she gets better."

"If the Voodoo Queen were here," muttered Athyne, "she'd be able to do something."

"She is just as dangerous as the other two fighting," said Johan. "She might help Rey, but she would definitely kill me."

"Unghhhhhh," groaned Rey.

Johan and Athyne turned and saw Rey sit up. She had woken up on her own.

"Rey!," gasped Athyne hugging her. "I was so worried."

"Hey," said Rey pus.h.i.+ng Athyne away, "we don't hug. What happened? Where is the Voodoo Queen?"

"She didn't come out of the array with us," said Johan.

Rey's eyes widened as she seemed to suddenly remember everything that had happened.

"How did we get here?," said Rey. "How did I get here, I remember being in the array and then nothing."

"Genghis attacked Athelion and distracted him," said Johan. "It gave us enough time to escape. You were attacked by Athelion and fainted. Athyne carried you."

BOOM!

The cave shuddered.

"They are still fighting," said Johan. "We have to get out of this realm, it is just a matter of time before this place is destroyed ... the cave isn't enough."

"Alright," said Rey nodding. "That means we have to get back to the door."

"Door?," asked Johan.

"It is how we got in," said Rey, "we went behind the scenes and found the back entrance."

"Behind the scenes?," muttered Johan curiously.

Rey walked to the walls of the cave and started walking around examining the cave wall while periodically knocking on it. Soon to Johan's surprise she found a bright blue ladder leading up a wall into a large hole in the roof of the cave.

"Found it!," said Rey smiling.

Seeing the ladder, it was obvious it had always been there. It stood out in the cave like a sore thumb, but prior to Rey pointing it out, Johan hadn't noticed its obvious existence.

"Follow me," said Rey as she began climbing the ladder, "We should take Shaemus, he knows his way around back here."

Athyne tossed the Shaemus over his shoulders and climbed after Rey. Johan followed.

When Johan touched the ladder, the cave and its surroundings turned transparent. He could see through everything, yet he knew it was there. The only solid thing was the ladder he held.

They climbed up the ladder onto a sidewalk. It was a side walk that seemed to float on nothing. Looking around, Johan saw transparent galaxies and stars floating around him. Looking down, he saw the entire Athelion realm, the cave they'd just been in, Genghis and Athelion fighting, even what looked like earth overlaying the realm ... and underneath it, even more transparent large tree branch that seemed to be enveloped by strange floating multi colored hieroglyphics.

The mana in the environment was thick and impossible to absorb. It was unlike anything Johan could recall encountering. If there was bound and unbound mana, this wasn't like any of them. The best word Johan could think of to explain the mana around him was 'raw'.

"Where is this?," asked Johan. "What is this place?"

"We are behind the scenes," said Rey, "the Voodoo Queen taught me about this is a place. It is everywhere, even outside the realm, but most people these days have forgotten about it and just don't notice the entrances. It is pathways and doors setup by a powerful ancient race that is now dormant and largely extinct. If you need to get from one place to another fast, its better to take this route."

"Was it the Athelion's who created this place?," asked Johan.

"No," said Rey. "The race that created this place predated human or Fey existence."

BZZZZZZZZ!!!!!

The air around Johan began to flicker.

"AIIIYYEEEEEEEE!," screamed a woman's voice.

A streak of light shot out from earth onto the road and a young beautiful black haired teenager was on the side walk next to them.

"GADRA!," gasped Johan.

"Huh?," said the girl looking up confused. "Where am I?"

"How'd you get here?," asked Johan.

Johan, Athyne, and Rey stared at Gadra as she stood up.

"Ahhh I see what happened," said Gadra. "My imprint on you must have dragged me out of the earth realm. I placed a condition on it for when the mana thickness exceeded a particular threshold I could use. I recall this place from my predecessor's memories."

Gadra began to glow as she took in her environment.

"But that imprint was erased," said Johan. "Dorlene wiped it."

"Hunny, I had backups that Doris didn't detect," said Gadra. "My techniques are unique since I developed them largely on my own based on older and mostly forgotten methods. I used old magic, from the old G.o.ds. Powerful, complex and with a twist of my own added in. Unique, and unlike anything else that currently exists. To keep my imprint on you, I used a technique called layering. That way if one imprint gets removed, others might not be if the remover isn't of adequate skill. Clever, right? If you aren't prepared, you'll get beat by the unexpected. I even planned ahead, when there was nothing in the earth realm that could challenge me. Then my gamble paid off. Who would have thought that a silly precaution I took without apparent reason consistently in all my spells would prove useful?"

The sidewalk shook as ripples appeared around Genghis and Athelion's bodies in the distance.

Gadra looked at them curiously.

"Their fight seem to be effecting even this realm," muttered Rey, "I don't understand how."

Gadra smiled and said, "it is simple babe, G.o.ds are naturally strong and gifted, but that doesn't mean that regular beings cannot achieve great heights that rival G.o.ds if they train hard and are talented. Encountered the right conditions and opportunities also helps. That coupled with the fact that their is an unnatural array that seems to have been setup, makes the G.o.d realm accessible under the right conditions by non-G.o.ds. But, unaccompanied by a G.o.d, they wouldn't survive long in here."

"Arrrr," muttered a voice, "What be going on here?"

Shaemus had woken up. Athyne who had been carrying him, put him down on the side walk.

Gadra glanced at Shaemus and her eyes widened.

"A real life Leprechaun!," she said as her eyes widened in excitement.

"Shaemus," said Johan, "we need your help getting out of here."

Shaemus's grogginess disappeared apon hearing the words Leprechaun.

"LEPRECHAUN!?," gasped Shaemus, "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME THAT!?"

Without warning Gadra struck out and sunk her nails into Shaemus's neck.

Shaemus turned to dust and seemed to be absorbed by her.

Gadra's looks matured as she aged into a s.e.xy black haired, curvy, purple haired woman in her early twenties.

Athyne's jaw dropped, and he said, "To think the woman that took my virginity was capable of such a cold and treacherous feat!"

"Oh no!," cried Rey, "you killed him!"

"No honey," said Gadra, "I absorbed him, his strength lives on inside me. With mystical creatures, beings with divine attributes like you and me can do that. I was short on mana and this helped restore me. Think of them like batteries."

"YOU MURDERED HIM!," cried Rey as her eyes teared up. "HOW COULD YOU!? YOU'RE ACTING LIKE MURDER ISN'T A TERRIBLE THING!"

They stared at Gadra in disbelief.

Johan hadn't taken Gadra for a killer. In his dealings with her, she had simply observed and guided him.

"Humans eat animals," said Gadra, "this is no different, honey. Don't overreact, it will make you old."

"HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!," cried Rey.

Gadra glanced at Johan and smiled at him wryly, "Johan ... my dear Johan ... we have so much to catch up on. But, before that, I think I'll take a look around."

With a flash, Gadra disappeared.

Johan felt a sense of sickness boil up inside him as he reflected on how Shaemus had mentioned that in the past, his kind had been hunted by humans ... and now, his life had come to such a tragic end.

It seemed almost unfair.

"Shaemus!," said Rey as tears flowed down her face, "I am so SORRY! I only wanted to keep you around as a guide, and now you're died!"

BOOM!

The side walk shook again. This time harder.

The area around where Genghis and Athelion fought showed white cracks.

Johan placed his hand on Rey's shoulder.

"There is nothing we can do now Rey," said Johan, "we have to keep moving or Shaemus won't be the only one who dies. They are going to break through into this realm soon."

Johan looked down from the sidewalk into the Athelion realm and saw the others that had come on Kru Bu's exhibition.

Jade was running through a field.

Master Fur and Patric seemed to have been hit by a stray blast. They were dead, lying underneath rocks from a collapsed mountain.

Master Kiev and Alexy were running through a forest. Bruised up, but alive.

Johan looked around for Sun, who he could seem to locate. His heart sunk when he finally found him.

Sun was impaled on a tree branch in the forest ....

DEAD.

How it happened, Johan was unsure.

Had he died due to stray blasts or did something or someone else kill them?

Four innocent people Johan knew had been killed and he had been powerless to do anything to save them. It didn't leave him with a good feeling. This training exhibition had gone terribly wrong.

BOOM!

The sidewalk shook again and cracks began to show up on the ancient sidewalk.

"Lets get moving," said Johan as he began to walk down the side walk. "This place isn't safe."

He didn't know how to get back to Looking Gla.s.s City, but he knew anywhere was better than here.

"Okay," said Rey wiping away tears and walking after Johan, "I might sorta remember the areas I've been to when we get there ... even without Shaemus."