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[Skill-Eater] Chapter 23: Aurora
🕑 Added 2024-07-15 17:08:01 +0000 UTCSometime later, a thin band of neon began glowing along the northern skyline. A curved slice of crimson that grew bigger and brighter with every second that passed.
The light wasn’t the sunrise, which wouldn’t happen for another half hour or so. It was something that Edge had heard about but had never seen with his own eyes. It must be the red-shield aurora.
He drank in the sight as the resplendent ruby field began stretching its way toward him, soon covering the heavens from horizon to horizon. It was utterly captivating and mind-bogglingly beautiful. A living sheet of magic on a scale that simply blew him away.
The red-shield was a powerful forcefield that completely encapsulated Ord. It kept anyone from leaving without the wardens’ permission, through both magical and conventional means. It was a cage on a global scale, locked and barred by the planetary AI known as the System.
The shield prevented ships from entering the atmosphere and blocked all known forms of teleportation. It protected the System and stopped the prisoners from escaping, either on their own or with help from outside.
The barrier was always up there. But it was only visible to the naked eye at certain times and places. When the thick band of magic refracted the sunlight, setting the whole field aglow.
Edge had wondered if it was still functioning after the disaster. Apparently, not even the anomaly was enough to take the red-shield down. Witnessing the aurora was both fascinating and awe-inspiring. Power on a level that his mind couldn’t even begin to process.
That was when, to his astonishment, a sphere of rainbow light shimmered into existence, coalescing into the shape of a ship on the other side of the shield. His eyes went wide with surprise when he realized that it was a true assault vessel. A ship capable of independent teleportation, not just a receiver for the portal network like the barrages that unloaded the planet’s prisoners.
It was a relic from the age of exploration. A vessel built before the portal network had been discovered, binding distant points across the galaxy into a unified tapestry.
Only a handful of ships could travel between planets in the same system, let alone cross the space between stars. Most were comparable to ancient navel warships, able to attack from orbit like a galleon bombarding an island. They were incredibly rare, worth more than some planets, and Edge had never expected to see one for himself.
It could only mean one thing. One of the factions is making a major play, gambling that they can break through the red-shield with the System under strain and the wardens in disarray. He had to admit it made sense. If someone wanted to challenge the might of the System, now was a perfect time to strike.
It seemed that it was a night for wonders. A direct attack on Ord was a once in a lifetime event by any measure. Edge looked up at the sky, riveted by the approaching vessel, intensely curious to find out what would happen next.
It has to be close for it to seem so big. A few hundred miles at most. They must be trying to free a class SS criminal, blowing a fortune in mana to penetrate the red-shield while the planet is consumed by chaos. But how are they planning to get through? The ship must be armed with some calamity class weaponry to even stand a chance.
It seemed that Edge’s guess was right on the money. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, than four intense points of emerald light appeared at the corners of the colossal vessel. They grew brighter by the heartbeat, converging to form a single beam of concentrated magic.
The wrathful green ray lanced out. It stabbed into the red-shield, pouring enough energy to power a country for weeks into breaking through the barrier. But despite the incredible onslaught, the shield held firm. It didn’t so much as flicker as the ship fired time and time again.
But then a second attack rose from the ground. A searing blue beam erupted from the surface of Ord, striking the shield in the same place from the other side. This time, the red-shield did flicker, fighting to maintain its integrity while being bombarded from two points at once.
Holy shit. They might actually break through. That isn’t supposed to be possible.
While it might have been possible, it was not what happened.
Just before a section of the ruby barrier gave way, the entire red-shield pulsed. A heartbeat later, a sheet of magic the size of a continent rose from the planet. It shimmered across the sky before converging in front of the intruder, like light bending along the surface of a lens.
The assault ship realized that something was wrong. It flared its thrusters and turned hard, trying to maneuver out of the way. But it was already too late.
The System’s magic focused along the shield in front of the vessel, forming a crimson beam of incredible might. The magic laser struck the ship with the force of a natural disaster. Its own shield flared to life. A thin silver bubble that had to be an armada-class device to withstand the bombardment, even for a few moments.
But then the red-shield’s offensive intensified. The laser grew so bright that Edge had to squint to protect his vision, even watching from over a hundred miles away. The ship’s shield wavered and then vanished completely, letting the beam carve off a section the size of a city. An incalculable loss of life and resources.
The planetary defense weapon adjusted its aim and came arcing back down to finishing the invader off. Before it arrived, the ship flashed rainbow once more and warped away. Defeated and wounded, but core functions still intact.
Edge had no idea who had taken such a risk. But they had failed in their gamble at an incredible cost, nearly losing everything in the process. It was a powerful message to anyone who was thinking about trying the same thing. But the System wasn’t done yet.
Magic gathered along the surface of the red-shield one final time, then came streaking back down toward the surface of Ord, following the path that the blue magic had taken. It was too far away for him to hear anything. But he imagined a blast of epic proportion, claiming the life of the prisoner who had dared to challenge the AI’s might.
That was incredible. With his own eyes, Edge had witnessed an event that would rock the sector, if anyone was able to broadcast and report it. It left him at a loss for words, so he just sat there and committed the moment to memory.
Fifteen minutes later, the red-shield aurora began to fade, disappearing completely within another handful of heartbeats. By now, the horizon was glowing with the coming of dawn, as color bled back into the world.
The Ivory Plains began to stir. Their nocturnal denizens returned to their dens and creatures of the day awoke. The cries of beast and bird rose to fill the crisp morning air. It will be light enough to see before much longer, and then I can be on my way.
