Chapter 129: Riftfall

Valerian ran through the thick forest of white trees, weaving between the thick tree trunks with his highest speed.

Occasionally he would perform short-range teleports to clear an area that was too difficult to pass normally. His teleportation range was heavily restricted, now only spanning a few meters, barely enough to reach over the trees.

And every teleport felt heavy, like it was more difficult to fold space than it was before.

He didn’t slow down or stop, since he wasn’t sure if the monster would suddenly appear again or maybe even more would show up.

He had zero intel on these types of monsters; he didn’t know if they were solitary hunters or would hunt in packs. And one was already difficult to deal with, since it could just bypass all his senses until the very last moment.

His goal right now was to reach the buildings he had seen in the distance. If that place could light fires without fear of attracting these monsters, then they could give him shelter, if they weren’t hostile towards him.

Clearing the last hurdle, Valerian broke through the tree line and left the thick part of the forest. He was able to see what looked like a village made from the white wood and surrounded by the white trees with purple leaves.

"Who are you?"

A rough voice came from his side, and a heavy presence crashed down on him, causing him to fall to his knees.

’Shit.’

Valerian fought through the pressure of the person and turned his head. Standing next to him was a middle-aged man.

He had long, messy silver-white hair tied in a lazy, low ponytail that reached just past his shoulders, with strands resting on his shoulders and pale, almost translucent skin. Faint, violet veins shimmered along his neck and cheeks, while light stubble covered his sharp jaw.

His eyes were a deep purple. There was a faint weariness in his gaze, though his expression remained calm. He wore an elegant black robe decorated with intricate silver patterns that looked like it was worn down.

And the presence the man gave off was more than the current Valerian could handle.

’He’s at SSS, but even that is too much for me right now.’

If he were at his normal strength, he wouldn’t have that kind of reaction to an SSS-ranker, but right now... he couldn’t even move properly.

"I ask again: who are you?"

The man’s violet eyes bore down on him, and he realized that if he didn’t answer, the man would kill him on the spot, and his physique wouldn’t be able to help him here. Meaning true death.

Through gritted teeth, Valerian answered.

"Valerian. I ne- need help."

The pressure didn’t disappear as the man continued to evaluate Valerian. During that time, there wasn’t a single sound coming from the forest, like the beasts inside knew better than to interrupt the man.

Letting out a tired sigh, the man picked up Valerian by the back of his neck and pulled him up until they were at the same height. The man was taller than Valerian, making him hover slightly in the air, unable to move.

The man stared at his face, paying close attention to Valerian’s eyes before moving on to his horns.

’What is he doing?’

A pulse of space mana left the man’s hand, and Valerian could feel his senses overload before his vision turned dark and he lost consciousness.

The man held Valerian in the air, looking at his sleeping face. A complicated expression passed through his eyes before he turned to the side and looked deep into the forest.

His purple eyes passed through the trees and locked onto a place that looked completely empty. He furrowed his brows for a moment before the monster that attacked Valerian appeared from thin air, its head disconnected from its body as purple blood stained the grass underneath it.

Turning away from the forest, the man dragged Valerian with him into the village.

***

Valerian’s eyes snapped open and his body shot up.

’What happened? Where am I?’

He took a moment to realize his surroundings: he was inside some sort of cabin, lying on a bed. The wood that made up the floor and walls was the same color as the trees.

Taking in his surroundings, Valerian noticed that there were utensils that looked like crude versions of medical equipment lying around.

His eyes turned down to his body and he found himself shirtless, with his upper body exposed. Raising the blanket, he at least found himself with his pants on and not completely naked.

The cut that was on his shoulder and the piercing wound on his stomach were already closed, not even leaving a mark behind.

The door leading to the room opened and a person stepped in, but stopped when they saw that Valerian was awake. It was a young girl who looked to be around sixteen years old.

The girl had long, silver-white hair that fell loosely down her back, with a few messy strands framing her face. Her violet eyes held a surprised and slightly caught-off-guard look, making her seem like a deer caught in headlights.

Her skin was pale and smooth, with faint, branching violet markings running along her neck and shoulders. She wore a black and deep-purple outfit with silver embroidery, slightly loose sleeves, and a high collar. Small star-shaped ornaments and violet crystals decorated her clothes.

The ornaments looked less like actual jewelry and more like family heirlooms passed down through dozens of generations.

Her eyes were fixed on Valerian as he lay there on the bed, while he was sizing her up, trying to understand just what happened.

Valerian activated his [Dragon Eyes] on the girl.

│─────── STATUS ─────── │

│ Name : Lyra Vaelis

│ Age : 16

│ Race : Void-Touched

│ ─────── ORIGIN ─────── │

│ Bloodline : None

│ Physique : None

│ Core : C

│ ────── ATTRIBUTES ────── │

│ Vitality : D+

│ Strength : D

│ Agility : C-

│ Dexterity : C

│ Intelligence : C+

│ Mana : C-

│ Charm : B

│ ─────── AFFINITIES ─────── │

│ Space

│ ─────── TITLES ─────── │

│ None

│ ─────── SKILLS ─────── │

│ [Racial Skills]

│ Spatial Veins

│ Void Adaptation

│ Phase Shift

│ ─────── BOND ─────── │

│ Bound Entity: None

’Void-Touched? I have never heard of them before.’

Lyra’s face became bright red as she looked at Valerian.

’Right, my charm...’

Wanting to break this weird silence, Valerian spoke up.

"Where am I, and who are you?"

Lyra caught herself and took a deep breath before answering, but not before her eyes wandered along Valerian’s exposed muscles again.

"You are in our village, Riftfall. And our guardian brought you here and told us to patch you up. But we weren’t able to do much, since your body did it on its own. And he also told me to cut your hair..."

Hearing her mention his hair, his hands went to his head, and it was true: his long, silver-white hair was cut short to ear length, with some hairs falling in his face.

’Why would they just cut my hair???’

Valerian took in the information, remembering the man who had appeared the second he left the forest.

’That must have been the guardian she talked about. But isn’t this a separate dimension created by the principal? Why is there a village here? And it doesn’t seem like it was created recently.’

The wooden house looked rather old, with signs of wear and tear it had endured over the years.

’Just what is this place, and how did the principal create it? I wasn’t able to see a border to this world, and these people seem like they have been living here for a long time.’

While Valerian was in thought, the girl was fiddling with her hands off to the side, as the light blush on her cheeks didn’t disappear. It was the first time she had seen someone so pretty, and she didn’t know how to act right now.

Valerian threw the blanket off of him and stood up. He stretched his body and turned to the girl.

"Can I get a shirt?"

With slight reluctance, Lyra walked to the table to the side and picked up a plain white shirt. She walked over to Valerian and handed it to him, only now realizing how tall he was.

She barely reached his chest, and she had to crane her neck to look up at him.

Valerian put on the shirt and turned to the girl in front of him.

"Where can I meet this guardian?"

"I can bring you to hi-"

"That won’t be necessary, Lyra dear."

She was interrupted by the rough voice of a man who just appeared in the room out of thin air.

Valerian’s eyes locked onto the man, and it was the same person he had met before and who had brought him here.

"A- Asterion."

The man, Asterion, didn’t turn to look at her, keeping his tired eyes fixed on Valerian, who was also staring him down.

Feeling the opposing presences and the rising tension in the room, Lyra slowly made her way out.

"I- I will be going, then."

She left, but not before throwing one last glance at Valerian’s face.

The two stared at each other, both with silver-white hair and purple eyes. Only Valerian had his miniature galaxy and silver light in his, while the man’s looked like he had been dragged out of his bed five nights in a row.

"What are you doing in here, kid?"