Chapter 138: Drowned In Rukh

The three sat together in a loose circle, a few sticks stabbed into the mud between them. Huda was still glaring at Malik, but he ignored her completely, his attention fixed on Safira as she reached for the first stick.

"Crab Scorpions."

She pulled it from the ground.

"Flesh Swarms."

She grabbed another.

"Djinn of the Deep."

And another.

"Three kinds of monsters."

She looked at Malik with serious eyes.

"These are the monsters we’ll need to kill. Do you have their skill sets memorized?"

Malik nodded.

"I’m ready."

Safira stabbed the sticks back into the ground, one after another, lining them up in the mud like grave markers.

"Then let’s get moving."

The three of them stood up, each heading in a different direction... Or so they were about to, if not for Huda following Malik.

She walked a few steps behind him, her glare still firmly in place.

Malik could feel her eyes on his back, boring into him, but he didn’t turn around and just kept walking.

Eventually, however, he couldn’t help but ask:

"What is it?"

Huda didn’t answer.

She just kept staring, her silence somehow becoming louder than her cursing had been.

Malik shrugged and kept walking, letting the quiet stretch out between them.

That was when, finally, she spoke:

"We didn’t have a falling out."

It seemed she was still stuck on what Malik had said to her earlier, the words having found a crack in her armor and wormed their way inside.

"My family and I... we..."

She paused, struggling with the words.

"Despite all the Demons attacks, they didn’t want to abandon the North. They wanted to die defending their land... our home. I forced them to leave."

Malik raised an eyebrow, finding that surprising.

Huda didn’t seem like the type to force anyone to do anything safe or logical.

It seemed that while she was all bluster and anger, underneath that, she followed orders.

After all, she had followed the Sultan’s old words, even when she didn’t like them.

Huda had truly learned from her past.

But instead of being rewarded for it, she had been punished by her own blood.

"Do they hate you for it?"

Huda quickly shook her head at Malik’s question.

"No, they... they don’t. But it’s just..."

She let out a long sigh.

"I’ve said harsh things."

Ah. So she had made things awkward.

"Harsh" coming from Huda meant that she had absolutely laid into them, a venom harsher than what she used on everyone else, made worse by it being aimed at people who actually cared about her.

Malik considered her for a moment.

"Shouldn’t you tell that to your older brother?"

She scoffed, the familiar anger flickering back into her eyes.

"I’m not dumb enough to waste the Sultan’s time with something so trivial. Besides, he probably already knows. He always knows everything."

"Hm."

Malik nodded along, showing agreement, while inwardly chuckling.

’Yeah, I know everything, alright.’

"Well, you should try making up after we get back."

Huda’s eyes widened slightly, almost mimicking him from earlier.

"You sound confident."

Malik only smiled at her—a knowing smile—and continued walking.

Huda watched him for a while, grumbling under her breath about something he couldn’t quite catch, and then turned and walked back towards Safira.

Malik continued on his path until he reached the island’s edge.

Below him was the ocean.

Just below—barely a few feet away.

In the time that had passed, the island had sunk so low that the liquid Rukh lapped at the rocks, its surface smooth and utterly still.

Around him, nearly every other island had already sunk, their roots dragging them down into the depths.

Far above, the roof of the cavern shook and rumbled, the sound echoing through the void.

New islands were forming up there, breaking off from the ceiling and beginning their slow descent.

But it wasn’t going to happen in time.

Not even close.

They had to dive.

Malik returned to the group, who were now gathered inside what seemed to be a man-made cave.

With much effort, Huda had carved it out of the island’s Rukh-infused rock, creating a sheltered space where they could fight without being surrounded on all sides.

The walls were rough and uneven, but they were solid, and that was what mattered.

Safira looked up as he entered, and Malik nodded at her.

"It’s time."

She smiled at him—that warm, gentle smile that made him feel like nothing would go wrong—and turned to Huda.

"Do you need me to go over the plan again?"

A question that, of course, made Huda scoff.

"How many times will you ask me that?! And stop acting like it’s complicated. We’re only sticking to the cave that I made!"

The plan was simple, and its simplicity held many benefits.

The Rukh-filled island would shield them from the worst of the ocean’s pressure, and the cave itself could be used as a platform to fight the monsters. Much better than trying to fight while swimming.

Furthermore, in the corner of the cave, Huda had created a pocket of air—a small bubble where the Rukh didn’t reach.

It was mainly for Malik, since he still needed oxygen, unlike the other two.

Safira and Huda could survive down in the depths without breathing; their bodies Ascended in ways his wasn’t.

He could just take a breath there every few minutes and continue fighting.

And yes, despite the ocean being made of Rukh, no air was in it.

No gases, no oxygen, thus nothing to fill his lungs.

The liquid was pure energy, and energy alone wouldn’t keep him alive.

Malik needed this.

So, with the plan established, they braced themselves, waiting for the island to complete its descent into the ocean of Rukh.

After a moment, they felt the island gently shake.

The vibration ran up through their feet, legs, and spines, then the movement slowed, the island settling into its final position.

Nothing was heard, not even a splash.

The Rukh simply rose around them, like water seeping through cracks in a ship’s hull.

At first, it was just a drip—a single droplet falling from the cave’s ceiling and landing on Malik’s shoulder.

Then the drip turned into a slow leakage, the Rukh finding every gap and crevice, pouring in from all sides.

Then it became a flood.

The liquid rose quickly, too quickly, filling the cave inch by inch.

It reached their ankles, then their knees, then their waists. Malik felt it pressing against him, heavy and cold, the thousand needles returning to prick at his skin.

Safira and Huda were already submerged, their bodies disappearing beneath the surface, their eyes still visible, watching him.

Malik took a deep breath—the last breath of air he would have for a while—and watched the Rukh rise to his lips.

He held his breath.

The Rukh covered his nose, eyes, and forehead.

Thus, he was drowned in Rukh.

The pressure surrounded him completely, pressing in from all sides, and the darkness behind his closed eyelids was absolute.

He could feel Safira’s cocoon wrapped around him, protecting him, keeping him from being crushed.

But he could still feel the Rukh.

It was pressing against his every orifice—not entering him, not yet, but waiting for him to make a mistake.

He opened his eyes.

The world was blue and endless, the Rukh glowing with its own inner light.

Safira floated beside him, her brown hair drifting around her face. Huda was already moving, her wind pushing against the liquid, propelling her towards the cave’s entrance.

Malik pushed off from the ground and followed.

The fight was about to begin.