Limits

Time slowly passed, as my search area extended. I found nothing for a long time, until I arrived at the border between the wilderness and the Land of Sands. With my experience spotting those patterns, I finally noticed something. There was a slight deviation of Elemental Orbs. Not as strong as before, but something must've been in the area. 'They have a way to monitor their Formations. If I start digging again, I will attract their attention, and they can easily immobilize me again. I need to be a bit more tricky' I thought.

I wasn't sure whether this was indeed the location, but I found nothing else so far. I also preferred to be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, there was nowhere I could hide. I could use my Art of Stealth, but I wasn't sure how well would that work. It was worth a try either way. I released my Auras, and probed the ground. This time, the Formation wasn't buried as deeply as it was for that thing. My Auras reached it, and bounced back strongly upon contact.

I quickly retrieved my Auras, and hid myself. I wanted to know whether this was their hideout, and more importantly how to enter it. I waited for a long time, but no one came out of some secret entrance, nor came running to check what happened. Pretty much nothing happened. I didn't reveal myself, instead used my Domineering Aura to probe the Formation again. This time, I made sure to strike it harder. A faint "Pak" sound travelled through the ground, as my Aura bounced away from the Formation.

I waited again, but saw no movement or anything. 'Maybe this is just some kind of leftover Formation, that is no longer used for anything. This might not be the place of their hideout, but I will try this a few more times and we will see' I thought. I hoped they would either get annoyed and come out, or that someone would arrive here.

I tried a few more times, even increased my strength every time. Although the sound of my Aura smashing into the Formation got louder, nothing else happened. 'Yea, it's probably nothing. Maybe it's still further up the north of the wilderness, or perhaps in the Land of Sands… I'm not sure anymore' I thought. I covered quite a large area already, and a lot of time has passed. I had no clue what was going on with the war, nor if I could find those damned Grey Lizards at all.

I was contemplating where should I go next, when I noticed something. Something moved in my peripheral view. I turned my head around, and saw something moving. I couldn't see what it was, but I knew it walking towards the Formation. 'It's either a stealth skill, or a Formation which hides the owner. There is no doubt in my mind who that is' I thought. I waited patiently, as the Grey Lizard didn't seem to notice me. I couldn't see the real shape and all, but I could see what that hazy figure was doing.

The Lizard checked the Formation, did some stuff to it and then stared at the ground for a while. I stood still, and observed. The Lizard just stood there looking at the Formation, but that was it. I felt like he was waiting for something, as if waiting for me to make my move. Time slowly passed. The Lizard finally stopped staring at the ground, and looked around. He didn't seem to find anyone, and slowly made his way back.

I stayed still just in case, but I followed all the movements he made. He walked south for a while, stopping once in a while and staring at the ground. 'Is that guy testing me or something?' I asked myself. The Lizard was really cautious. He would walk around places, stare at the ground for no apparent reason, then look around for anyone. This went on for a while, until he stopped in what seemed like a random place.

The place though, wasn't random. He crouched down, and seemed to have activated the Formation hidden there. After a while, the figure simply disappeared. I couldn't feel any presence at all, nothing was in the surroundings that felt alive. I still didn't move. 'The Grey Lizards are not stupid. If I follow him there right now, this will never work. I need to return to this place later, after they drop their guard' I thought.

I burned the image of that area into my mind, otherwise it would be hard to find the exact spot where the Grey Lizard disappeared. I then slowly left, making sure my movements didn't disturb anything. Just to make sure, I spent some time searching for other places, trying to find any other hidden Formations. I was unsuccessful though. 'I think enough time has passed for me to try and get inside' I thought, and headed back to the location of that Formation.

It was as peaceful and quiet as usual, but I stayed hidden just to make it more safe. When I approached the spot where the Grey Lizard disappeared, I tried activating the Formation but nothing happened. 'Hmm, I'm sure this is the place' I thought, and tried all around the spot. Nothing worked, I couldn't seem to activate the Formation there. 'Does that mean, I need some sort of special item to activate it?' I asked myself.

I was entirely possible, but I didn't see anything that the Lizard held. Perhaps I needed something else. 'What if those steps he took, were not some random steps?' I thought. I didn't really pay much attention to other spots, as I thought he was testing the waters. I had to recall those spots, and try the same path that Grey Lizard used. I tried for a long time, until I finally found something. It wasn't that obvious, but something activated below me. That though, was just one spot, and there were at least six of such spots. Whether some of them were real or not, I had no way of knowing.

These Formations were not activated by an outside source, therefore my Auras were useless here. I searched for a bit longer, and found another Formation. 'Alright, that makes two. Worst case, there are four more left' I thought, and was about to search again, when something buzzed and my instincts screamed at me. I jumped backwards as hard as I could, while some sort of earth spikes grew from the ground.

If I stayed there any longer, I would be impaled. This wasn't the end, I could feel my movements slowing down. I tried using my Auras to envelop myself, and even moved further back. The force pressing down on me lessened, while a voice travelled from all around. "We gave you the warning, yet you still wish to die. Let's have it your way Human".

I quickly replied, "Just give me back my stuff". It was quiet for a while, then the voice replied. "We have nothing that belongs to you". I got pissed, and said "Stop spouting bullshit. Alicia took my sword, she is one of you. If she isn't here, where is she?". The voice asked, "What do you mean Human?". I replied, "Exactly what I said. Don't act stupid, tell me where Alicia is". After a while of silence, the voice replied "We don't know Human".

This was just priceless. I asked half laughingly, "So you're telling me, Alicia didn't return here. She didn't return to Olrad or Obsidian Mountains at all, and disappeared... Just like that? You want to tell me, Eterians or someone else found her? With my Sword?". The voice replied, "We would know, if she was in danger. That doesn't change anything Human. You were warned". Suddenly, the whole area lit up and sealed my movements.

"Damned bastard. I'm telling you, let go of me!". There was no response this time. Instead, the pressure on my body increased, while earth spikes pierced through my legs, arms and body. "Argh!" I screamed in pain. "You should've heed to our warnings Human. Blame yourself for your actions". More spikes pierced through my body, and I was losing consciousness.

'Release me', a sudden voice sounded in my head. I closed my eyes, and saw the figure, or rather "me" standing in front of me. The "me" that stood in front, had red eyes. Not like those of a Shade, but completely red. "My" skin was also reddened, with purple veins visible all over. A smirk was on "my" face, as if "I" knew this would happen. 'Release me. You know that's the only way, right?'. I asked confused, 'How can you?… You were supposed to be sealed'. The "me" laughed, 'Sealed? Can you really seal your hate? Your rage and your vengeance? Release me, that is why you are here after all'.