The Nextworld Invasion and the Death of Magic - 32. Chapter 32 - The Return

Kilial was in the middle of mending one of the Mermonster’s sails, when a portal through reality opened. The warrior woman yanked her sword from its scabbard, pointed its tip at the eldritch doorway, and prepared herself for whatever was about to assail her.

To her relief, Tigath, Othri, Nuji, and Lestralin stepped through the opening onto the deck of the ship.

“What are you all doing here?” Kilial asked them. “I thought we weren’t going to see you until closer to sundown.” She focused past them on the portal as she sheathed her blade. “And how’d you four even do this?”

“Tigath has somehow tapped into magic,” Nuji said with a smile of pride on her wide mouth. “We have no explanation yet,” she added, “but it’s miraculous and wonderful!”

“An Urcai?” Kilial questioned.

“I know!” Nuji replied. “Isn’t it incredible?”

Kilial was unsure. “I mean, I guess it is. Tigath, can you close it?”

He turned his gaze to the portal, and it vanished. He focused back on the captain of the Mermonster. “It’s the Earth. I can feel it in me. I could feel it in Nextworld. The Earth is reacting to me, or it’s connected to me; I’m not sure.”

Nuji stepped up to her fellow Rothian. “How’s Alydrael?”

“She’s resting. I think Illiop is probably with her, since he’s not up here.”

“And where’s Dorjin?” Nuji added.

Kilial looked at the tiny island where the Mermonster was anchored. “She took the dinghy ashore.”

“And you just let her go?” Othri replied.

Kilial frowned at him. “You worried she’s gonna escape? Where’s she gonna go from there?”

In every direction, the ocean stretched out to the horizon, and no other land was in sight besides the lone island.

“What if she casts another spell?” Othri asked.

Kilial let out a sigh. “I think she’s struggling to come to terms with her actions, and the actions of her people. She seemed pretty emotional when she left. I’m not worried about the kid; I think she just needs a little time to herself.” Kilial then spotted the makeshift bandage and splints on Tigath’s hand. “What happened to you?”

“I need to redress that,” Nuji interjected.

“I’ll head down and grab your med bag,” Lestralin offered.

“Thank you, I’m still feeling a little dizzy.”

Kilial frowned at Nuji. “And what happened to you?”

Nuji looked disappointed. “Lestralin and I did not achieve our goal. We were captured, and we’re just lucky Tigath has this new-found power and was able to free us.”

“Lestralin told us,” Othri added, “how you busted him out first. If you hadn’t performed such strong charms, he would not have made it to us.”

Tigath took Nuji’s long-fingered hand. “I’m glad you were able to free Lestralin, and we got you out of there.”

“But what are we going to do about the obelisk?” Nuji asked. “Lestralin and I saw it, but we didn’t even get close before we were captured.”

Tigath hummed to himself. “Maybe Dorjin has an idea.”

Nuji looked up at him. “I know my head was still spinning, but I saw you destroy an entire building, right? Could you do the same thing to the obelisk?”

“What do you mean he destroyed a building?” Kilial asked.

“It’s hard to explain,” Tigath replied. “It’s kind of like I told nature to destroy the building, and the ground of Nextworld reacted. It was as if an earthquake happened beneath the building, and it collapsed and sank into the earth… erm, or the nextworld, I guess.”

Kilial was doubtful. “You told nature?”

Tigath nodded. “I’m going to go talk to Dorjin.”

He held up his hand, and to Kilial’s surprise, another portal through reality opened in front of him that looked right to where Dorjin was seated in her damp undergarments on the beach. Tigath stepped through the doorway, and it disappeared.

“Hello, Dorjin.”

“Tigath?!” Dorjin squawked, slamming her arms over her chest and crotch.

“Hello,” he repeated.

She was looking at the space behind him where the portal had just been. “How did…”

“Mind if I join you?” he asked, pulling his shirt over his head and removing his trousers so he was only wearing a pair of black underwear. He sat down in the shade beside her and looked out to sea. Dorjin was still covering herself, but Tigath was not looking at her. “What’s the Humans’ plan for Earth?” His eyes stayed fixed on the waves.

“It’s bad,” Dorjin whispered in reply.

“Has the Humans’ plan changed from when they initially attacked Vuliburge?”

Dorjin shook her head. “No, it hasn’t changed.”

“So what is it? What’s the end goal?”

Dorjin took a breath and relaxed her arms, but instead of answering, she simply said, “I’m sorry.”

Tigath looked at her with a warm smile. “I know.”

“After killing everyone,” Dorjin answered hesitantly, “there is going to be an exodus from Nextworld. I’m sorry,” she repeated.

Tigath’s smile faded, and he stared into her brown eyes with his purple ones. “There’s nothing we can do about what’s already happened, and there’s no way to stop what’s been set in motion by the Humans, but maybe we can save a remnant of the free peoples.”

Dorjin noticed that Tigath did not lump her in with her fellow Humans, and she greatly appreciated his sentiment. She no longer wanted the thing that she had been raised to want; she no longer wanted the Humans to take over.

“Do you have something in mind?” she asked. “How can we save your people?”

Tigath looked back out at the horizon. “There’s a magical island out there somewhere. It can move on its own. In fact, it moved an impossible distance in a single night, and I think that’s where our people should go. The island is tiny, but it may be the answer.”

Dorjin could not help but still feel awkward about being in such little clothing, and she was wracked with guilt from her actions, but she was desperately holding onto that tiny sensation of peace she had felt while alone. Tigath emanated a gentleness that soothed her, and she wanted to help. She wanted as many of the remaining Urcai, Rothians, and Noktar to survive as possible, and she would do whatever was in her power to protect those Earthians who made it through the ongoing genocide.

“Okay, but if the island moves,” she questioned, “how do you propose to find it, and if it’s so small, how are people going to live on it?”

Tigath’s smile returned. “I don’t know,” he replied, “but we’re going to figure it out. By the by, the island is called Uall. Lestralin has been studying it for a while, but I don’t think he’s figured out yet why or how it’s magical. It is though, and somehow, I think it’ll help.”

Dorjin’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait a second, how did the missions into Nextworld go?”

Tigath made a wincing face. “Othri and I destroyed the machine in the cloning facility, but Nuji and Lestralin didn’t make it to the obelisk.”

“Really? Dammit,” Dorjin grumbled. “That’s great about the machine though. The obelisk has stood for hundreds of years. It’s the symbol of Human power. It’s printed on our money, and it’s part of the Kalthrin official seal. It’s the home of the highest ranking officials in Kalthrin, so destroying it would have rid my people of a significant portion of our leadership. It would have been a blow to Kalthrin’s morale.”

Tigath nodded, and his gaze shifted to Dorjin’s drying clothes on the driftwood. “Did you enjoy the water?”

She nodded. “I did. It tastes weird though.”

Tigath chuckled. “Yeah, you’re not supposed to drink seawater.” He took a deep breath and let out a contented sigh. “I think I might take a dip. I know you’ve already had a swim, but would you like to join me, Dorjin?” Tigath pushed himself up from the sand and reached down to her.

“Okay,” she replied. She took his green hand. He helped her up, and the pair stepped out into the sun and the surf. “Tigath, how did that portal appear?” Dorjin glanced back over her shoulder at the beach where it had been.

He went under the water and came up with his head tilted back so that his long purple hair was slicked down along his neck. “We don’t understand it,” he replied, “but somehow there’s magic channeling through me.”

“I didn’t think your people could do magic,” Dorjin stated.

Tigath nodded and shrugged. “That’s what we don’t understand. I don’t think my people were ever able to do magic, and at first, we thought it was nature itself doing the magic, but it’s me. I made the portal that brought me to you.”

Dorjin was curious. “Okay, so what’s changed?” she asked.

Tigath frowned. “A lot has changed, but I don’t know how any of it would have given me magical abilities.”

“Maybe it’s like with us Humans,” Dorjin replied. “None of us can do magic as children, but with training by someone who can, we learn how. I think our earliest sorcery was just an imitation of the magic done by Kilial and Nuji’s people. Do you think the change in you might just be from being around Nuji, since she’s so magical?”

Tigath shook his head. “I’ve lived around Rothians my entire life. There have always been people nearby who could do magic, but they never had any effect on me or any other Urcai.”

The two of them did not speak for the next several minutes with the gentle waves rolling around them.

“Tigath.”

“Yes, Dorjin?”

“Kalthrin are going to kill everyone. Their plan is to wipe your three races from the face of the Earth.”

Tigath furrowed his brow. “Do you think every Human will be leaving Nextworld?”

“No, some will remain behind,” Dorjin replied. “We’re all raised to hate Nextworld and long for Earth, but I’ve met a few people in my life who want to stay.”

Tigath gave her a contemplative look. “I don’t think we have the answers yet, and we don’t have a plan, but when we look at everything that we know, the solution may be clear.”

“What do you mean?” Dorjin asked. “What do we know?”

Tigath glanced to the west. “The sun will start setting soon. Maybe we should head back to the Mermonster.” His purple eyes turned to Dorjin. “Do you think there are any Humans still in Nextworld who are like you, sympathetic to us and our slaughter?”

Dorjin assumed there had to be others of her people who felt the same way she did, others who did not agree with Kalthrin’s mission of necessary annihilation. “Maybe?” she ventured.

The two of them began to head back to shore.

“Where will you go, Dorjin, after all this?”

She knew what Tigath was asking, and she realized that if she had been forced to make a decision right at that moment, it would have been a difficult one. Dorjin looked into his purple eyes.

“Nextworld or Earth…” She bit her lip. “I don’t know.”