As I close in on the thief, the distance between Elizabeth and me feels impossibly vast.
I anchor myself, forcing every fiber in my legs to contract until they hum with unbearable tension. My body becomes a compressed coil, alive with force. The air thickens around me as gravity itself begins to warp.
Then, with a sharp exhale, I release, launching me upward like a cannon shell. For a single heartbeat, I'm suspended in weightless calm, then I let my fibers relax, reversing the density inside me. The sudden shift slingshots me downward like a meteorite.
I hit the ground inches from the thief.
The impact detonates through the square.
A shockwave tears outward, dust, glass, splinters of the tree-anchored bookshop nearby erupts into the air. The entrance caves in. Wind and grit whip my face as I rise slowly, brushing debris from my knees, silence pressing hard against the ringing aftermath.
The thief groans, staggering up from the wreckage. His indigo eyes lock on me, burning with rage.
| "Hey, man—what the hell?! "
| " Give back what you stole! "
My voice cracks with fury. What the hell, he's pretending ignorance?
| "look, this has nothing to do with you. Step aside before I—"
He doesn't finish. He lunges forward, wind flaring behind him, accelerating him like a living arrow.
I grit my teeth.
Now… I could try it.
The Gravity Field. The technique I've been refining since my hometown was reduced to ash.
The memory flashes, nights spent in the woods, recalling old Earth movies where heroes pinned their enemies down with invisible weight. If they could imagine it—why couldn't I be it?
Terrarians muscle fibers don't just contract; they distort local gravitational constants. If I compress them in perfect rhythm, I can drag the ground itself into my opponent.
The first time I tried, my arm exploded fibers tearing open under pressure. I hid the injury from Elizabeth. I kept going. Now, I can hold it for five minutes at most. Any longer, and it'll shred me from the inside out.
The Elf's fist comes screaming toward my jaw, wrapped in razor wind.
| "Get the hell outta my way! "
I shift my footing fibers compressing, gravity locking me in place and drive my own fist forward, wrapped in a pulse of repulsive force.
Impact.
The world erupts.
His wind shatters into spiraling turbulence as my gravity twists it apart. A deafening shockwave consumes the square, scattering dust and debris like storm clouds.
| "What… are you? " he gasps just before my follow-up punch caves into his chest, sending him flying through the broken bookshop.
| "You seem to really love that store," I sneer, stepping forward, coiling again.
| "Didn't your parents teach you not to steal? "
| "l'll make you pay! " he spits, blood flecking his teeth.
It's time.
I drop low. My muscles knot. The ground trembles. Gravity bends.
Then, with a violent pulse, I release it downward. The Elf slams to the ground as if the weight of a mountain has fallen on him. The sound is sickening, bones groaning, earth cracking beneath him.
| "Agh—! "he screams, body trembling, pinned flat.
| "No Elf can do this… what are you? " His voice fractures under the weight.
I hold the field. Muscles burn, lungs sear. Seconds drag like hours.
Sweat pools at my brow.
| "Where the hell are the guards when you need them? " I mutter through clenched teeth.
Then I notice them.
Dozens of Elves, crowding the street. Staring. Not at the thief. Not at the ruined shop. At me.
Why aren't they helping? Why are they, afraid?
I glance toward them.
Elizabeth pushes through the crowd. She freezes mid-step, eyes wide, unreadable. Shock? Fear? Disappointment? Behind her, the victim trembles, staring at me like I'm the monster.
| "No… no, Nov—"Elizabeth's voice catches.
| "Stay right there! " a shout rings from above. Two guards descend on leaf-gliders, their armor gleaming, carved from the same trees that built this city.
| "RUN! NOW! " Elizabeth screams.
| "Run? Why—"
A laugh cuts me off—from behind.
| "Hah! I knew it. No Elf moves like that. Thought you were a Windstrider—rare breed. But no Windstrider has that much force behind their wind " He wipes blood from his lip, grinning through pain.
| "That's not an Elf's power."
The guards land, spears leveled at me.
| "Release the Elf and step back. Hands where we can see them," one orders. His voice is steady, heavy with authority. His creamy hair frames sharp, unflinching eyes.
| "I said RUN! "
Elizabeth barrels forward, wind bursting from her palms. The gust slams into my chest, forcing my legs into motion immediately disrupting my gravity field.
| "If we don't escape, you're dead, we're both dead! This is exactly why I told you not to fight, you fool! You blew your cover! Those earrings weren't made to handle that kind of burst!"
We tear through the crowd as panic ripples around us. The guards shout incantations and drive their spears into the ground.
Boom.
Roots explode from beneath the cobblestones, living branches twisting into a snare.
| "Weavers," Elizabeth hisses.
| "Of course they're Weavers. Perfect."
A sharp pain slices through my legs.
I stumble. My vision flickers.
No, my time's up. I held the field too long.
| "Why are you stopping?! Nova—you idiot! "
| "Don't tell me you're thinking of—"
| "Exactly." My breath rasps, but my voice holds steady.
| "My legs are done. So I'll hold them off. Find my uncle Phil,he'll know how to get us out."
Her eyes widen. Her hands tremble.
| "Were you always this crazy? You think they'll let you live long enough for that? And what if I just—leave?"
| "Then at least one of us gets our revenge."
A crooked smile finds its way to my lips.
| "Shit!" she curses, spinning. Lumis flares beneath her feet, blasting her forward in a streak of light.
Her voice fades behind her;
| "If you die before I get back, I'll kill you myself! "
Somehow… that makes me smile.
I turn to face the guards as they charge, riding their conjured branch like a living steed.
I draw a ragged breath, wiping sweat from my brow.
| "Ahh… I'm screwed."
To be continued…