Garden Of The Abyss

The titan ray continued to swing its enormous wings in a rhythm, swimming through the solemn sea of nightly wind filled with the vast space of clouds and a void of comforting wind. Just below stood the array of mountains covering the outskirts of Mastorn.

The armor that covered the crimson-haired man's body suddenly dissolved into a sea of golden particles of mana, leaving him with a silver coat. Seeing him without the armor confirmed something for Ren in his sleepy daze—Sora was still built like a truck.

He watched as the man slid his coat off of his body, gently wrapping the body of Meinhard in it with a look of melancholy. Not a word was spoken, but just his subtle actions and expressions showed the kind of man he was to Ren. Sora truly seemed to regret arriving late to the scene and even more so, was forced to bottle his rage as he prioritized life over revenge.

"What's your name?"Sora suddenly asked, kneeling down on the beast's back, extending his hand towards the boy.

"Ren Nakamura," He spoke his name quietly.

Ren looked at the man's hand for a moment before accepting the gesture, shaking his hand to form a new bond, forged in blood and tears.

"I know you probably already heard it from bowl-cut back there, but I'm Sora. Used to play football overseas over in America, but I'm from Japan—just like you," Sora smiled brightly.

He had an iron vice of a grip, fervently shaking the boy's hand. Ren winced as the man's grip suddenly tightened further, feeling as if the weight of two hammers suddenly slammed against his hand.

"We've got company," Sora gave him a nervous smile, staring past him.

"Up here…?"

"Oh yeah, those bastards wouldn't pass on a chance like this," Sora let go of his hand, standing up and standing on the end of the titan ray.

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Ren turned to see what the man was looking at—seeing a silhouette became vaguely visible from within the clouds behind them.

"It's a dragoon knight—they specialize in aerial combat, while I don't,"Sora told him as he summoned his armor again, this time covering his head with an ivory helmet.

"It doesn't look like you plan on just letting them chase…" Ren commented with a look of concern.

A halberd materialized in Sora's hand as he raised his shining ivory gauntlet. It carried a similar design as the great sword he previously wielded, having roses of black etched into the pole of the weapon.

"If I just let them give chase, they'll take Delilah down. She's a tough girl but these dragoon knights pack a punch with their magic," Sora spun the halberd between his fingers.

Although he watched it with his own two eyes, it didn't actually process in his mind because of how unbelievable the sight was, as if his own sight lied to him. Sora lowered his body, planting one foot against the back of the beast while keeping one foot far back--he was in a position that made it seem as if he was planning to sprint.

"Sora…? Hold on--! That's--!" Ren called out for him as he realized what the man was doing.

His words carried off into the brisk air without meaning as he watched the man sprint across the back of the beast, leaping off of it as he soared through the air. It was hard to decide if he even wanted to look or not, but he decided to put his faith in Sora.

Like a star shooting through the night, the knight of ivory fell through the heavens--piercing the clouds themselves as he approached the dragoon knight below.

The night sky lit up as if the sun itself had awoken, a fiery red illuminating the faltering darkness. That light originated from Sora, wrapping his halberd in a blazing inferno conjured by his own magical power.

"So bright…!" Ren raised his arm in front of his eyes to try and block out the blinding crimson.

Compared to any magical pressure he felt before, the one he felt from Sora was in a league of its own. His entire body trembled in reaction to the dense mana, having to manually force his lungs to take in air as he thanked the world that Sora was on his side.

With a single launch of his halberd, utilizing it more like a javelin than a halberd--as the weapon crashed against the airborne dragon and knight combination, it exploded into a brilliant flash of fire. The resulting shockwave felt as if it was going to push him off the back of the titan ray as he desperately held onto the smooth surface.

The creature let out a high-pitched call before suddenly diving nose-first down.

"Woah, Woah, Woah---!" Ren strained every muscle in his body as he desperately held on.

He felt the integrity of his face lose to the sudden change in wind pressure as his cheeks blew in the wind. The harsh wind felt like tiny knives to his skin before the creature took a sudden turn, freeing him from the prison of wind. Delilah flapped its massive pale wings once more, gaining a boost in speed as it caught Sora from the grasps of gravity.

"That's my girl--!"Sora celebrated, rubbing the creature's back in celebration.

His helmet dematerialized into the air as he fixed his messy hair, letting out an exaggerated breath.

"You're crazy, you know that--?" Ren was panting, finding himself still somehow alive and in one piece.

All the man gave him was a confident smirk and a thumbs up as if embracing the claim. Ren stared at him as if judging the man's value of his own life before realizing he was missing his halberd.

"Urr, are you fine with just ditching your weapon like that?" Ren asked him.

"Oh, that? My arsenal of weapons is part of my innate ability, just like my armor! I can summon them anytime I want," Sora flexed his bicep before slapping his hand against it, only hitting metal.

"Innate ability…?" Ren looked at him.

"Well--let's save that for if we live through this!"Sora slapped the flying beast's back, causing it to increase its speed.

The titan ray's heartbeat began to pump like an engine, a vibration running over his body as he could hear the creature's heartbeat resonate through the air. A glimmer of violet light coiled around the beast's body before its speed further increased.

"This is what makes titan rays special--as long as she wants you there, you won't fall. Delilah's mana is almost like a magnet to our own while we're on her like this," Sora assured him, seeing the worried expression on Ren's face as they traveled through the air like a bullet.

Journeying through the horizon that sat atop the clouds, it was impossible to tell just where they were--not that he would know the land of this world anyways. It could be a desert, woodlands, he didn't know what to expect.

"Almost there," Sora stated, standing upright as he looked onwards.

"How the hell can you even tell from this altitude--?" Ren yelled out, having to overpower the roars of the raging winds with his sore vocal cords.

"See that?"Sora pointed his index finger forward, "that's how I know."

Ren scooted closer to where Sora was standing, squinting his eyes as he searched for whatever the man was trying to show him. He could barely make it out, but it was there--the summit of a mountain that reached above the clouds.

The titan ray took a sudden dive, dropping below the pale floor of mist as once again, the world below became visible. There wasn't a hint of civilization as far as the eye could see--the land below was covered with trees that reached into the sky, nearly reaching the clouds in some cases.

"Since we're basically the most wanted people in the world, ya' know, we had to pick a place nobody would ever want to come to," Sora looked back at Ren, "welcome to the Valley of Grandueve."

He was left in awe at the sight of the new setting, surrounded by colossal mountains that acted like walls around the valley. The titan ray slowed down, gliding through the air, fresh with the graces of the world unpolluted by the industrial age.

"Amazing, isn't it? Besides the abundance of monsters roaming this land, it is a helluva place to live, huh?"Sora smiled, letting his armor dematerialize.

"Monsters, huh?" Ren wasn't even paying attention to the man's words as he gawked at the fantastical land.

Other titan rays could be seen journeying through the open airs of the valley, passing by the heaven reaching trees that seemed to home communities of magical creatures. It was the antithesis of the life he lived full of technology, shut in away from the outside world--but, he forgot how much he missed that aspect of his life as he took in the scenery.

As Delilah lowered her altitude slightly, approaching a tree that would put the skyscrapers in New York to shame, as thick as a mountain--a house became visible. It looked to be ingrained into the tree itself, built out of fine wood, not quite the size of Althaus' mansion but larger than any normal mansion he had seen on Earth.

"We're home," Sora placed his hand on Ren's back as the two looked onward towards the house.