Jade: The Hybrid Mage

Chapter 15: Kreel

I woke up to the scent of damp earth and the soft rustle of leaves. The sky above was pale, framed by towering trees that seemed to stretch forever. Ahead of me, a massive wall loomed, built entirely of interlocked tree trunks, its surface rough and intimidating.

Skulls of beasts adorned the top like grim sentinels, their hollow eyes staring down at me. Scrawled across the structure in jagged black lettering, formed from ash and bone, was one word: KREEL.

My heart pounded in my chest. 'Why am I here? Did the machine bring me? Did it do something to me while I was unconscious?'

Panic surged through me as I patted myself down, searching for any changes to my body. My hands ran over my arms, my legs, my neck. Everything felt the same—except for the faint sting in my palm. I turned my hand over and froze.

The tortoise symbol.

Its scar was burned into my skin, red and raw.

"Master wake up . . . bloob . . . after four hours, twenty-seven minutes . . . bloob . . . and thirteen seconds," Blooby’s mechanical voice interrupted my spiraling thoughts. He stepped closer, his small frame sturdy despite his delicate construction, and extended a hand to help me to my feet.

I stared at him, feeling a strange comfort in his emotionless presence. He was the only link to what had happened before I blacked out.

But there were no answers, only questions.

I shook off the unease. I couldn’t dwell on what I didn’t know. The deaths of Butcher and Gidon were heavy enough. I hoped Lydia and the boss had made it out safely, but now wasn’t the time to mourn.

'I’ll take this mercy from the gods and forge ahead.'

:~*~:

The wall stood like a fortress, its height dizzying. No stairs, no visible entrance, just an unyielding barrier.

'The people of Kreel must not like visitors,' I told Naila, trying to lighten the oppressive air around me.

'Monsters are everywhere,' she replied calmly. 'Their precautions make sense.'

Looking up at the wall, a flicker of excitement stirred within me. 'If this is Kreel’s defense, how incredible must the Sky Border be?'

"I can't wait to see it," Naila whispered, a rare trace of eagerness in her voice.

I turned to Blooby. "Get on my back. We’re climbing over this wall."

"But by my calculations . . . bloob . . . there’s a 16.39% chance of success. Master’s . . . bloob . . . strength ratio appears poor at . . ." His droning voice trailed off as he climbed onto my back.

'Will I ever get used to his rambling?' I sighed.

With Naila’s strength coursing through me, the climb was almost effortless. My hands gripped the rough wood, my legs propelling me upward. Blooby’s silence was telling; he must have been recalculating, his earlier doubts crushed by my unexpected power.

"Master’s . . . bloob . . . strength ratio exceeds predictions. Uploading data . . . bloob . . . with new information," he said, his tone almost confused.

When I reached the top, a thick fog greeted me, curling like smoke over the other side. Only the tops of trees poked through the mist, their shapes distorted.

I enhanced my vision instinctively, but the fog was no ordinary mist—it thrummed faintly with energy, resisting my attempts to see through it.

'We have to jump,' Naila said.

'You’re insane,' I shot back. 'I can’t even see what’s below!'

'I sense something,' she urged. 'Trust me . . . jump.'

The certainty in her voice gave me pause. I hesitated but finally muttered, "If this goes wrong, it’s on you," and leapt.

The fall was disorienting, the wind whipping past me. Just as I braced for impact, I landed on a net stretched taut between trees. It creaked under my weight but held firm.

“Welcome, my friend!”

The voice was light, cheerful. Below the net, a boy waved at me, his figure barely visible through the fog.

"Try to roll over!" he called. "It’ll hurt like a b***h when you hit the ground, but you’ll manage!"

“I’m not your friend, kid,” I muttered, rolling to the edge.

The net tilted, and I tumbled to the ground with a heavy thud. Pain shot through my side, and I groaned.

“Damn, big girl!” the boy laughed, covering his mouth with his hands. “Your mama felt that wherever she is!”

"Why are you the only one here?" I asked, ignoring the ache in my ribs.

“The Drop Zone is boring, so Ushers like me take turns greeting New Comers,” he said, his tone shifting from playful to serious. “Now get up. You don’t want to be here when it gets dark.”

His eyes caught the light, and I froze. They were green, like mine—clear, vibrant, and undeniably familiar.

"You dropped late," he muttered, circling me like a predator inspecting its prey. "What’s that metal toy on your back? The Oldlings won’t like that.”

"I am . . . bloob . . ." Blooby began.

"You don’t have to answer him," I snapped, shaking Blooby off my back. "What he is isn’t your business."

The boy took a cautious step back, feigning fear. “The Oldlings really won’t like a metal demon,” he said, but the fear quickly vanished, replaced by his earlier indifference.

"Let’s go. Night falls fast here, and we’ve got a long way to the Shelter."

:~*~:

As we walked, the boy kept up a steady stream of chatter. “A mole-beast paid a lot of meat for an Usher to guide a girl with our eyes through the jungle. That’s you, right?”

“Kema?” I asked.

“Like I care about names,” he scoffed.

'Kema cares for you, Jade,' Naila purred. 'Kema is our mate!'

'Calm down,' I warned, feeling the strange warmth of her emotions rise within me.

She ignored me, her tone giddy. 'Kema is strong. Kema is beautiful.'

I chuckled softly, drawing a sharp look from the boy.

“Laughing now, huh? Pray we don’t run into any monsters,” he said flatly.

"You don’t have to be so mean,” I retorted.

"No hard feelings,” he shrugged. “But I’m not dying for a metal demon carrying girl.”

His words sent a chill through me, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I quickened my pace, keeping close.

The fog thickened, and the trees around us twisted into ominous shapes. The boy’s voice broke the silence one last time.

“Don’t lose track of me, weird woman,” he warned. "If you do, you won’t survive."