章 3: Battle Imminent
The three-headed beast gazed towards the bottom of the mountain, noticing faint flashes of light, creating a dust cloud that spread in all directions, soon on the verge of reaching the foothills.
It looked forward, gazing at the upslope path that connected two mountains along the peak.
Re'Kha looked towards the bottom of the mountain, at the same time as the three-headed beast, noticing a lot of noise congregate around the region, increasing in intensity as they scaled up the mountain. 'That must be the result of the poison released from master's body.'
She gritted her teeth, her face scowling as she wiped her tears, "You have suffered for 20 years, master. I'll make your enemies suffer the same."
As the three-headed beast began to run, she mentally calculated based on the rate of climb of the noise, muttering, "It would need at least 300 breaths before reaching our height."
Hearing her voice, the sheep head looked below once again, reaffirming her answer, increasing its speed, seemingly in a hurry. Faint patches on its skin peeled off, dissolving into particles of light as it ran.
The mass of the three-headed beast seemed to subtly decrease as it sprinted, a sign of overexertion. Re'Kha noticed faint grey sand spill out from its body from time to time, the worry in her heart intensified.
As she rubbed its horns, the cow head mooed once, reassuring her through its actions. The path was inclined and rocky, with the occasional appearance of steep slopes. The three-headed beast ran with all its might, using its natural gifts to tread the rocky terrain.
Time passed in such a manner; the air turned hotter as the rays of the sun seeped out through the gaps in the clouds. Sounds of thunder resounded from time to time, a signal that it was about to rain soon.
Re'Kha felt her back ache, having sat on the three-headed beast for so long without rest while travelling on the rocky terrain. She adjusted her posture, trying her best to relieve her pain without disturbing the beast's running.
"Wait…that's a dead end. Trimukhya!" Re'Kha shouted, flustered at the sight of the path ending before her. The peak of the mountain they tread on ended with a steep slope while the next mountain in the range only began a fair distance away.
The only way to cross it was to descend through the slope and climb up the next mountain from the point where the two connected. To do that, the three-headed beast ought to stop. But to her shock, causing her to fluster, the three-headed beast instead began to accelerate.
Even if she wished to, she couldn't jump from such speeds. Her injured body would be unable to bear the burden, possibly even causing her death. Her only option was to persuade the three-headed beast against its actions.
'But,' Re'Kha looked towards the bottom, noticing the noise had travelled a fair distance upward, spreading parallel to their path. 'We don't have the luxury of time to tread down. We would get caught up mid-journey and die.'
She looked at the other side, shaking her head immediately, 'Heading there is a definite doom in my condition. Unless I have no other choice, I won't descend to the other side of the mountain range.'
She gritted her teeth, gripping the cow head's horn harder, watching it accelerate to frightening speeds. Based on its actions, it planned to jump over the distance between the two mountains. But, the distance was far beyond its capabilities.
'This is master's Pranic Avatar. I'll trust its decision with my life.' Her heart thumped as the three-headed beast drew closer to the edge of the mountain, the layer of noise outlining the terrain in her senses. It crouched a bit lower, further accelerating to alarming speeds.
"Aaah!" Re'Kha involuntarily screamed, watching the three-headed beast leap from the edge, springing forth quite the distance. "We won't make it!"
Even though it had covered a distance beyond her expectation, it was still one-tenth the distance they had to cover, making it a failed endeavour. Her heart lurched, her emotions plunging into despair. She bit the bag, aiming her left hand to the back, causing it to shimmer with blue radiance.
Just when she was about to take action, the hooves of the three-headed beast shimmered with grey radiance, stirring up the air, converging it under before solidifying. A foothold of air, wide enough for its hooves appeared, forming the anchor that held its weight.
The three-headed beast exerted strength in its legs, making another jump while using its momentum, converging the air underneath its hooves again as it began to fall, forming a foothold in the air to perform another leap. It proceeded to leap through the air in such a manner, traversing the distance between the two mountains.
Seeing the ability it displayed, Re'Kha lowered her left hand, grabbing hold of the bag as she calmed her thumping heart. Followed by consecutive leaps, the three-headed beast travelled across the air and reached the other side, landing on solid ground.
Re'Kha observed a lot of noise as grey sand spilt out of the three-headed beast in large volumes, a sign it had consumed too much energy in the previous endeavour. She also noticed it had decreased in mass, looking considerably thinner than before.
"I'm sorry," She could only rub its horn in apology, watching it run without complaint. A fair distance away from her existed a lot of noise, the grey sand forming dense clusters, giving her a headache immediately.
Re'Kha recalled the terrain from her memory, linking it to what she witnessed based on their path, 'It should be the Harara forest.'
She geared up for a battle, her posture alert, her entire focus on the noise cluster before her that approached closer and closer. Soon, the three-headed beast dived into it, running without a decrease in its speed. Re'Kha judged her surrounding to be the Harara forest from the distinct scent lingering in it.
The noise was unbearable, but unlike before, she was starting to adapt, barely able to make out faint outlines in the form of grey sand clusters. Suddenly, all three heads began to shout; the three-headed beast came to a halt by stomping into the ground, sliding forward while ploughing the soil, its hooves cracking under the abrupt action.
Leaves rustled while cackling sounds echoed, like the laughter of a banshee in a trickster show. Shadows flashed past the thicket of the woods, moving in and around their location, the air trembling under their wake.
The cow head mooed, shaking its head while poising its horns forward. The sheep and goat heads were alert, their eyes scanning the surrounding trees. Re'Kha trembled under the sounds, her limbs shaking in fear. She bit her lips, forcefully stabilising her mental state as she adjusted the ribbon covering her eyes, wiping off the leaking blood.
A tree was slammed down as a beast emerged, growling as it cracked its stem with a stomp. Thunder accompanied its appearance; flashes of lightning went off as the clouds covered most of the sunlight.
A battle was imminent!
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