There may also be some inaccuracies, since English is not my native language.
Essentially, TBATE is first translated from English into my native language — and in that process, some details are already altered to make it more understandable for us. Now I'm taking that adapted (and somewhat distorted) version, revising it, rewriting it, and then translating it back into English.
I hope you'll point out any mistakes in the text that I might have missed.
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Third-person view
Arthur and Lucius were preparing for a long run when a familiar, gentle voice behind them made them turn around. "Wait!"
They turned and met the gaze of a dark-haired spellcaster who wanted them to join her team.
"What's the matter?" Arthur asked coldly.
Daria flinched under his intense gaze, but pulled herself together and looked at them again. "Assuming that everyone here follows you, by the time we reach the energy source, most of our mana will be severely depleted, making it difficult to fight the guards."
"So?" Arthur asked irritably.
"You don't think you're strong enough to take on the guard with your companion after running a marathon, do you?" Daria snapped, stepping toward Arthur. "You'll need all our help. Hell, even if you think we're all dead weight, at least you should be full of energy, right?"
"Get to the point."
Her eyebrows furrowed, and she opened her mouth to reply. A few moments later, they were standing in front of the ice sled.
"Do you think we'll all fit on this?" Taegen asked, towering over the ice sled.
"I've compacted the ice several times, so it's stronger than it looks. I got the general design for this from the ocean riders and tested it myself several times," Daria said with a hint of pride.
Everyone waited for Arthur to get on the sled first, while Daria stood on the edge of the ice ship, waiting for him to approach her. Placing his hand on the surface of the ice, Lucius, who had not seen before how much mana could be condensed, pressed down on it with enough force to make sure it could support his weight.
"Are you seriously doubting the strength of my spell?!" Daria boiled over, throwing back her magic cloak, allowing the luxurious fabric to slide down her bare back, revealing a series of tattoos. "I have four crests and two emblems, you idiot!"
Nodding to Arthur, Lucius climbed onto the ice slab, turning his back to her. "We've wasted a lot of time. Let's go."
One by one, the remaining seven ascendants, excluding Arthur, Lucius and Daria, began to climb onto the massive sled until they were all pressed against each other, holding onto the railing that Daria had so kindly conjured.
With an upward gust of wind lifting some of the weight off the sled and a gust of wind directed at the mast, they sailed across the deserted earthen plain. As they began to accelerate, a cool wind began to blow against their cheeks. Despite the weight of ten adults, eleven because Taegen counted as almost two people, the huge sled never wobbled or creaked. Arthur couldn't help but be impressed by the fact that Daria was constantly casting three spells to keep the sled moving.
She used two wind spells for movement, while her legs, encased in ice, kept her on the sled so she wouldn't fall off, and an ice spell to keep the ice sled from melting or breaking as they glided across the ground.
Daria's remaining partner, Orid, used his earth magic to guide and smooth out particularly uneven sections of ground that could potentially damage the sleigh.
After about half an hour of travel, the rest of the ascendants trusted Daria enough to begin to relax and enjoy the ride.
Arthur and Lucius sat in the back of the sled, leaning against the railing Daria had created, and simply stared mindlessly at the endless expanse of featureless mud and the clear blue sky. Arthur had long since come to terms with the fact that they were looking at the sky of ancient ruins, which he assumed were deep underground.
Lucius was bored with this dull landscape and turned around. Except for Daria and Orid, who were focused on keeping the sleigh moving, the rest of the ascendants were busy with their own affairs. It seemed that Caera's group was the only one left unscathed by the last wave.
An ascendant named Keir, who wielded a staff and controlled electrical discharges for defense and attack, polished his weapon, using a thin cloth to pick out the dirt that had accumulated in the engravings of his wooden staff.
Traider sat with his eyes closed, leaning back against the railing with his arms folded and his legs crossed, while another Ascendant rebandaged his left leg.
Lucius's eyes continued to wander until they settled on Caera, who was sitting in the left corner of the sleigh's bow. Arian sat next to her, while Taegen sat alone on the opposite side, most likely to keep the sleigh balanced.
Arian was meditating, and although Lucius couldn't sense mana, the pressure Arian exuded was proof enough. Meanwhile, Caera stared at the white dagger in her hand, which was still in its sheath. Her expression seemed indifferent as she looked at the weapon, studying it.
Suddenly, a tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand before glancing around warily to make sure no one had seen. Her eyes met Lucius's, and for a split second he saw embarrassment flash across her face before she quickly looked away.
Raising his eyebrow calmly, Lucius turned back to face the back wall, placing his hands on the cold railing. He tried to find anything that might brighten his time, not wanting to dwell on thoughts of his family again, so he began to slowly visualize the aether paths for applying the god step.
At the same time, Arthur's emotions were flooding his mental consciousness, so Lucius temporarily shut down, giving Arthur space to talk heart to heart.
After a few moments, the sky itself became corrupted, a dark red color seeping and spreading over everyone, covering the once blue expanse. The air itself seemed thinner, and the pressure enveloping them was almost palpable.
"The wave is here," said Tegen, standing up.
"We're not going to stop, so hold on!" Daria announced, creating a strong gust of wind directed at the mast.
The sled raced across the bumpy field until cracks began to spread ahead. Fortunately, the obsidian structure was even taller than the castle's watchtowers, located just a few kilometers away, and a flickering red sphere towered at its top.
At that moment, Lucius reactivated his mental communication. These last few kilometers would undoubtedly be the most difficult. Dozens of carallians were already rising from the ground in front of them.
"Defenders, prepare to clear the way for us. We must reach the tower before the guards arrive!" Ariane barked.
Orid stopped focusing on the path ahead and instead conjured up slabs of earth that began to rotate around them. The road immediately became bumpy without Orid, but everyone clung to the railings while Keir summoned his electric spheres.
"Let me take the mast," Traider shouted, limping toward Daria. "You'll have to maintain a constant upward flow, but you're the only spellcaster left. Help the defenders."
After a moment's hesitation, Daria nodded, freeing herself from the ice bindings that held her to the sled. Sweaty and pale, Daria gave Arthur an understanding look, and he nodded back.
Trader immediately set to work, summoning gusts of wind. He lunged forward with his fists aimed at the mast as soon as Daria secured his feet to the sled. Freed from her heavy responsibilities, Daria summoned gusts of wind powerful enough to knock the enlarged carallians off course. Those she missed were either thrown aside by one of the slabs of compressed earth or stunned by the electric spheres floating around.
Arthur Leywin POV
The ground suddenly shook, causing Keir to lose his balance and release his spell.
"Wh-What's going on?" he shouted, trying to get to his feet.
The ground shook again, this time even harder, followed by a blood-curdling roar that echoed off the ground itself. My hair stood on end, and a familiar voice confirmed the very action I was about to take.
"Get out of here, Arthur!" Regis shouted, and a wave of fear washed over me from my companion.
But the earth rose, and I felt dizzy as the sled climbed closer and closer to the red sky. Kair, who was trying to stand up, was thrown off the edge of the sled and knocked unconscious by the impact of one of the earthen slabs spinning around us.
His body quickly disappeared from view as he fell off the edge of the hill while we climbed higher and higher. There was another beastly roar, this time unmuffled and loud enough to make my head spin, followed by the silhouette of something huge and very tall, capable of obscuring most of the sky.
Then it looked at us. The tower that cast a huge shadow over us was actually a long snake's neck. At the top of the neck, which stretched ten stories high, was a leathery bat head with a disproportionately large mouth and two piercing purple eyes... each larger than a carriage, staring straight at us.
Despite the initial shock that gripped everyone who remained in the sleigh when the colossal monster towered over us, it didn't take long for the ascendant to return to reality. However, thanks to Regis' second warning, I was able to react in time to completely dodge the thick tip of the monster's tail. Everyone else except Lucius was too focused on its grotesque face.
Time seemed to slow down as I watched the chain of events unfold after barely jumping out of the way. The beast's leathery tail crashed into the ground, destroying the sleigh like a twig. Taegen somehow managed to react in time to push Caera out of the way, only to be crushed next to Traider under the enormous tail. The shockwave caused by the impact scattered the rest who were not directly within range of the blow.
"Why didn't you tell me there was such a monster here?!" I practically screamed at Lucius.
"Because it wouldn't have helped. The only way to kill this monster is with your destruction rune. The fewer people who see it, the better," Lucius replied coldly.
"Let's get out of here!" Regis insisted.
Ignoring both Lucius and Regis, my eyes darted between Daria and Caera, both unconscious, both falling from the rising ground, which I assumed was the body of this gigantic monster.
My eyes locked on Lucius, who merely shrugged and dashed in the nearest direction, toward Caera. "Yes, yes, I know what to do, this is the final part of the plan. No more surprises."
Still angry at Lucius, I released all the restraints I'd imposed on myself, bursting forth in a blanket of aether, my eyes assessing the situation as if it were the palm of my hand, and rushed toward Daria.
Lucius Zogratis POV
I covered the distance between myself and the falling Caera, her face lost in a veil of dark blue hair. I managed to grab her ankle as I hung over the precipice of the rising earth. Before I could pull myself and Caera up, I looked up and saw the giant's violet eyes staring down at me. And in his drooping jaw, a huge sphere of silver mana was spinning, aimed directly at us.
Why me? Why not Arthur?
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I considered my options. I threw Caera off the edge of the cliff and pulled myself up just as the titan unleashed its breath attack. Landing on the ground, Caera woke up, completely confused by the fact that I had suddenly picked her up and thrown her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"W-what does this mean—" her words were cut off as a bright white light flooded the area.
I looked back and saw the mana explosion destroy everything in its path with a piercing roar.
"Can you run?" I asked as we passed the broken sled. I noticed Traider's remains in a pool of blood where the tail had struck.
"No. It looks like I've broken my left ankle, at least," she stated matter-of-factly.
The destructive beam of pure mana continued to chase us as I kept running across the destroyed surface of the raised ground, leaning on the monster's body. And no matter how I felt, I calmly continued to play out the plan. "Then do something. Otherwise, it will be easier for me to abandon you."
I felt Caera subconsciously squeeze my hand, but she remained silent as we approached the far end of the rocky platform.
"I won't—" The red-eyed ascendant squealed in fear when I loosened my grip around her, threatening to leave her behind.
"Fine!" She softened, her mana-filled nails digging into my skin, clinging to her life. "Just keep running."
"There's nowhere to run!" I protested as the edge of the cliff drew closer. Caera was silent, though I could feel the ominous power I had sensed before growing within her. It was the power of Vritra, the same power I had clearly sensed in Cadell.
Knowing what she would do, I changed direction away from the approaching explosion of destruction, as the dwindling amount of land beneath us became increasingly unstable. Reaching the far edge of the land that had risen above the monstrous beast, I concentrated all my aether in my legs and back and pushed off with all my might.
As the threatening force began to intensify around Caera, who was still hanging on my shoulder, I looked back at the guard that had risen from the ground directly beneath us. The creature was about the same height as the energy source tower, but it looked tiny compared to the overall length and girth of the monster.
From this distance, the colossal beast reminded me of a huge dragon that had lost its wings. Its long tail and neck were attached to a leathery torso that, from close up, could be mistaken for a small mountain. Its weight was supported by six legs, each as thick as a neck.
"Caera!" I said when a shining beam, still bursting from the mouth of the huge monster, stood in our way as we began to descend. I could have activated the explosive step, but I needed a pressure point on Caera, so I just waited.
Just as we were both ready to plunge into the destructive tide of mana, and just as I was about to activate the explosive step after all, Caera writhed in my grip. She grabbed me around the neck with one hand to keep from falling and pulled her curved sword from a spatial item.
I stopped just in time to see the familiar blazing black aura enveloping the scarlet blade as it swung down.
Its once red blade had turned into a blazing black crescent that cut through the shining white cone of destruction, cutting off and creating a path wide enough for us to fall before the black flames disappeared. Judging by the trajectory of the attack continuing to rise upward, I could tell it would be difficult for it to change direction back toward us.
Caera went limp, her left arm still hanging around my neck as she sheathed her sword.
"I can't do that again," she said, her voice barely audible over the gusts of wind.
"Arthur, where are you?" I asked. But instead of Arthur, Regis answered.
"I caught Daria and used the guard's tail to descend to the ground, but I don't think we'll make it to you in time!"
There was no choice but to use the aether explosion. Using the force of the explosion might be enough to slow our fall so that the impact wouldn't kill us both. Of course, using it could also mean depleting all my aether reserves and death, but I had a system for quickly replenishing aether.
Pushing aside the doubts clouding my mind, I focused on another aether art. And although I had tried to do it again and again before, it only worked now, at the moment when I could die.
Am I the main character of Senan?
A strong desire to find a way. A way home, a way in life, a way out of this dire situation.
I could feel the surrounding aether reacting as it vibrated through every millimeter of my body. I welcomed the wave of warmth spreading from my lower back and the knowledge that flooded my head.
Caera seemed to understand that I was about to do something because she pressed herself even closer to me.
My vision blurred as I saw several aether paths, each leading to a different place. Choosing the right one, I "stepped" forward, and that single, god step brought me to Arthur. Clothed in purple lightning, I found myself a meter away from him, his wide-open eyes clearly showing that he understood what I had done.
I just gave a tired smile, as almost 80 percent of the ether had disappeared from my core, but it seemed that I was still worth something.
Turning my head to Caera, who was looking at me with wide eyes, I reached out my hands to her waist.
"Eek!" Her voice burst out sharply as my fingers gently touched her body, unfastening the buckle that held the leather sheath and dagger at her waist, and I fastened it to myself.
"You don't mind, do you? I'll return it later," I said calmly, looking at her red cheeks. She just opened her eyes wide.
So I turned and nodded to Arthur, "Let's go kill this creature."