Chapter 57: The Path Beyond the Storm

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: The Path Beyond the Storm

After thinking for a moment, Damon looked toward Sylphie.

"Want to help?"

The little Roc chirped confidently.

"Good."

"Go scout ahead."

"But don’t do anything dangerous."

Sylphie immediately shot into the sky.

Whoosh!

She vanished so quickly that even Damon almost lost sight of her.

Freya stared upward.

A little worried.

Damon gently rubbed her head.

"Trust her."

"She’s stronger than you think."

Freya huffed.

But eventually relaxed.

So they waited.

Damon and Freya made a small camp.

Nothing elaborate.

Just enough to rest while Sylphie explored.

The wait lasted longer than expected.

Minutes passed.

Then more minutes.

Freya became restless again.

Damon continued feeding her snacks one by one.

"Relax."

"She’ll be fine."

Just then...

He felt something through their connection.

A strange emotion.

Confusion.

Wonder.

Curiosity.

And...

A small amount of fear.

Damon immediately sat up.

His eyes narrowed.

It wasn’t panic.

It wasn’t danger.

Sylphie wasn’t hurt.

But she had clearly found something.

Something she didn’t understand.

Now Damon was curious too.

"What did you find?"

A few minutes later, a powerful gust appeared in the distance.

Freya jumped up.

Damon stood immediately.

The gust grew larger.

Closer.

Faster.

Then a familiar figure burst through the sky.

Sylphie.

She flew back at incredible speed.

The pressure from her flight alone pushed Damon’s hair backward.

Yet she landed perfectly in front of them.

Graceful.

Silent.

And unusually serious.

Damon’s curiosity immediately grew.

He crouched down.

"What happened?"

"What did you see?"

Sylphie looked toward the distant horizon.

Then back at Damon.

Her feathers rose slightly.

And through their connection...

Damon felt that same emotion again.

Confusion.

Wonder.

And fear.

For the first time since leaving the floating ruin...

Damon’s smile slowly disappeared.

Because whatever Sylphie had found...

It was something important.

Damon quickly packed up the moments after she returned.

Freya was already on her feet before he finished arranging his things, her tails swaying impatiently.

"Lead the way then," Damon said with a chuckle.

Freya barked happily.

Sylphie chirped in agreement.

The three immediately set off.

Along the way, Damon kept asking questions through their connection, but Sylphie only sent back vague emotions.

Curiosity.

Wonder.

Confusion.

And a little fear.

It only made him more interested.

If even Sylphie couldn’t properly describe it, then whatever lay ahead had to be extraordinary.

The deeper they traveled, the stranger Tempest Hollow became.

The route itself was ridiculous.

They crossed unstable wind currents.

Moved through narrow passages hidden behind curtains of storm mist.

Circled around areas filled with violent lightning.

Several times Damon had to stop and carefully memorize the path.

The direction alone was valuable.

Without Sylphie’s guidance, there was no way he would have stumbled upon this place.

Even if someone entered the core of Tempest Hollow, a single wrong turn would make them miss the route entirely.

Freya became increasingly impatient.

She wanted to rush ahead.

Damon had to constantly slow her down.

"Relax."

She looked back.

"We aren’t racing anyone."

Freya huffed.

Sylphie seemed amused by her senior sister’s frustration.

The unstable Aether around them became thicker with every step.

The pressure gradually increased.

By now, even ordinary Master Rank Elemental Users would feel uncomfortable remaining here for long.

Yet Damon only grew more alert.

The further they went, the more he realized something was wrong.

There were still no monsters.

Not even one.

That was impossible.

This area should have been filled with powerful Aether Beasts.

Instead, there was nothing.

It was completely silent.

And silence inside a distorted zone was often more dangerous than noise.

Damon slowly narrowed his eyes.

His thoughts immediately reached the same conclusion.

Something was dominating this region.

Something powerful enough that every other creature avoided it entirely.

An A Rank Beast.

The possibility alone made his blood heat up.

Meanwhile, traces of lightning slowly began appearing around them.

Tiny streaks danced across nearby rocks.

The air occasionally crackled.

Even the wind carried faint sparks.

Damon immediately noticed it.

The closer they moved, the stronger the lightning presence became.

Not natural lightning.

Elemental lightning.

Pure and concentrated.

His curiosity only deepened.

Then Freya suddenly stopped.

Her ears stood upright.

Sylphie became serious as well.

Damon felt it a second later.

A presence.

A massive one.

His body instinctively tensed.

Another step forward.

Then another.

And finally...

A wave of pressure crashed into them.

BOOM.

Damon’s clothes fluttered violently.

The surrounding wind trembled.

Even the storm above seemed to respond.

His eyes sharpened.

This was completely different from the Drakelion.

Different from every beast he had encountered before.

An A Rank.

A true A Rank.

Yet instead of fear, excitement filled his chest.

At last.

A real challenge.

The group continued forward.

Soon the source appeared.

At first, Damon thought it was a cliff.

Then the cliff moved.

His pupils narrowed.

The creature slowly lifted its head.

Its body was enormous.

Dark blue scales covered its frame like storm forged armor.

Lightning flowed between the gaps of those scales.

Large wings folded tightly against its sides.

Even while resting, the wings looked capable of blotting out the sky.

Its claws dug deep into the ground.

Each one looked sharp enough to tear apart steel.

Two curved horns rose from its head.

Lightning occasionally jumped between them.

Its eyes opened.

Golden.

Ancient.

Terrifying.

A low growl escaped its throat.

The entire area vibrated.

Damon finally understood.

This was no ordinary A Rank Beast.

This was a Stormreign Wyvern.

A true ruler of storms.

Just looking at it made the surrounding lightning seem tame in comparison.

The creature slowly stood.

The movement alone released another wave of pressure.

Freya immediately became alert.

Her tails spread.

Sylphie instinctively flew higher.

Neither spirit showed great fear.

But Damon could feel their caution.

The Wyvern’s gaze remained fixed on them.

Not because they were strong.

Not because it feared them.

But because they had come too close.

Only then did Damon notice what stood behind it.

A massive tear in space.

The air around it looked distorted.

Lightning constantly flowed around its edges.

The opening stretched upward like a doorway connecting two worlds.