Leyland Adventures Chapter Thirteen: Part Twenty-Nine

Returning to the original battlefield, Fayemi fell on the warm grass. Her groans alerted Alfred, who hurriedly rushed to her need.

"I had to skip out on the eruption because of you. I can't do anything with a molten corpse." She sighed with a bit of frustration before continuing. "Well, I'm getting tired, so let's wrap this up."

A grand mirror appeared behind Glace, who flew inside. Both Fayemi and Alfred could see a distorted environment within the mirror. Colors of red and orange were seen, unable to bring the image to familiarity.

"I should handle this myself; you rest here." Alfred released her, heading towards the mirror.

An audible heavy, groan ran out her mouth. Alfred paused and turned his eyes with an eyebrow raised.

"Hell no, I'm not letting her get away with any of this. I won't just sit here like a weakling." Her voice was laced with vengeance and her thoughts fogged with aggression.

"Fayemi, we have no idea what her world looks like. You know that's where reality is under her control. The landscape can change with a simple thought, do you not understand how perilous this could be?"

She couldn't be convinced to stay. No matter what Alfred said, her stubbornness would keep fighting him. Eventually, he allowed her to come along, at the promise that she'd be careful.

Although she agreed to his terms, an inner voice told him she'd do the complete opposite.

Together, they entered the mirror, unaware of whatever lies before them.

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰

Inside the mirror mimicked the area they were once in. The grass, as red as blood. The sky was drenched with orange and filled with black clouds. Nothing had its original color.

"While it's obvious, I still feel the need to tell you. We are sticking together, and I mean that." He stared in her eyes, hoping she'd get the message.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Where are you, Glace?!" She yelled.

"Come and find me." Her voice had an echo effect, bouncing inside her head.

A mirror was made visible. Her fists balled up, marching towards the mirror as Alfred followed behind her. Though, it closed before he could enter.

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰

She stepped into a black space, free of noise. A hallway of mirrors stood in front of her. Each one displayed her reflection; all expect one. She paused at that one peculiar mirror. She drew her face closer to the glass, only for Glace to suddenly show up.

A small, yet loud scream came from her. She struck the mirror, leaving a sizable crack as she was tired of her. Glace appeared on every mirror, chanting a distressing phrase.

"You shouldn't have done that."

Each mirror circled around her, only growing louder.

Her hands were set on her ears, blocking out the irritating voices. The noise eventually died completely, she removed her hands only to see a greater threat.

A much larger mirror covered her in its shadow, falling over and taking her into another area.

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰

She found herself in a forest, hanging onto a lone branch. Carefully, she separated the branch from her cloth. As her heels flattened the grass beneath her, a threatening creature was drawn to the noise. Growling as it grew near, a Kulan Bear stared into her eyes. It's edged teeth and size failed to install dread within her. Instead, she raised her fists and dared the beast to fight her. Seeing this as a challenge, the bear immediately dashed towards her.

She barely moved an inch to avoid the attack. It's paws sunk into the ground, slowing itself down to fix its position. Feeling stubborn, the attack was attempted again. Though this time, it lunged towards her with saliva dripping from its mouth.

She quickly created a decently sized block of ice to keep its jaw busy. The bear's teeth failed to cut through the ice; hardly able to maintain balance. Its rear dropped to the ground, gripping the ice with its claws. Once its jaw was freed, the creature decided to make a hasty retreat.

"Yeah, you don't want any of this!" She yelled, overfilled with pride. Her back rested against a tree; she needed to gather her thoughts before pressing forward.

As she did, a soft meow from a Desound drifted across the air. The tune got stuck in her head, relaxing her body enough to cause her eyes to droop. She tried to fight against the power, but to no avail. Her eyes closed while her body slumped.

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰

She awakened with a limited supply of air. The surface seemed to be a few meters away, though she was sinking inch by inch. Instinctively, her wings flapped as her arms mimicked the motion. With each passing second, her lungs burned more intensely. She dipped into every bit of oxygen she had left, just until she could reach the surface.

Precious air was poured into her lungs. She had never been so relieved to breathe. After taking some time to get herself situated, she scanned the area. The sea was endless; nothing but miles of water off into the distance. The clear sky somewhat put her at ease.

Unfortunately, such ease wouldn't stick around. She wasn't alone in the water. A Shallow launched towards her, showing off its collection of teeth. She forced her body to evade the creature and flew above the sea to prevent any further conflict.

The Shallow shot a torrent of water at her, powerful enough to blast through most solid objects. She blew a chilling gust of air to freeze the water in a near instant. It only took a single gaze at the frozen water to realize it could be used as a weapon.

Though, just as that idea entered her mind, the Shallow disappeared. She took hold of the ice, placing her hands in a comfortable spot. As soon as she blinked, the Shallow sprung up from the water. Droplets fell from its worm-like body as it prepared for a delicious snack.

Sadly, there was no snack. Only a ruthless strike on the head. She watched as its lengthy body fell back into the sea, followed by an eruption of water. She consumed the rest of the ice, regaining some energy. Not to mention her stomach was appeased.

As usual, a mirror awaited her. And once again, she entered without hesitation.

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰

She was led to the bottom of an active volcano. Magma jumped at her heels, thankfully her wings kept her at a safe height. The heat made her feel dizzy, nearly nauseous. She poured her focus into flying upwards, narrowly avoiding the fiery volcano. As she escaped, a terrifying amount of lava spewed from the mouth.

Thick, white smoke quickly spread throughout the air. In no time, her sight became misty. The unhealthy mass of smoke led to severe coughing. Regardless, she had to escape the raining lava.

She flew aimlessly into the smoke, flying hastily down the volcano. Lava splashed on the charred, black ground. She managed to avoid any hot liquid attacking her skin. In fact, she could see a bit more clearly.

As fate would have it, her escape was not without pain. A droplet of lava had struck her back.

"Shit!" She swore, placing a hand on her right shoulder.

The sudden burn in her skin affected her ability to fly, thus, her feet took control. She continued to run as fast as her legs would allow. Her heart drummed in her chest, and yet, this fed her thrill for danger. The only difference is she could die this time.

At last, she was safe from the eruption site. She bent over with her hands against her knees, breathing heavily. This was a moment where she could ease up and calm her core, until a mirror came to visit.

A small, black creature leaped out. It's curled tail had a shade of dark red. It advanced towards Fayemi on all fours, staring at her with its yellow eyes. Two more came out, all drawing towards her. Instead of saliva, lava dripped from their mouths. These creatures were known as Devil Dogs.

After such an experience, she wished to release some anger, but decided that was best saved for Glace. As an alternative, she created an icicle and slid the tip across her arm.

A liquid mixed with red and black covered the tip. The Devil Dogs picked up the scent and immediately regretted it as the smell pained them. The poisonous blood, known as Nukuma, rearranged their behavior entirely. They backed away from her slowly. She continued to threaten the animals until they surrendered.

The mirror was still there, yet nothing came out. This was another gateway to the next area she would visit.

A/N: Alright, so senior year has started, which didn't leave me much time to finish this chapter. I've been working on this when I could and now it's finally done. It was going to be longer, but I was afraid I wouldn't have enough content for the next one. Because of school, the uploading might take a hit, not like it'd make much of a difference from my current schedule. But the next one already has a decent start, so that should be out soon. Thanks for reading!