The Crack In Heaven [A LitRPG Progression Fantasy] Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Eternal Night

Read chapter 26 of The Crack In Heaven [A LitRPG Progression Fantasy] by Adamus_Auguste on NovelPedia.

Chapter 26: Eternal Night Kael caught Els before she hit the ground. But her smiling face sagged against his chest, and her limbs sagged in his arms. With trembling fingers, he brushed her auburn hair to reveal her closed eyes, her back heaving steadily against his palms. Holding his breath, he searched for the wounds that had spilt blood on the wall. Yet, her nose was as straight as he remembered it. He crouched, resting her back against his left arm, his right fingers parting her lips. Els couldn't have knocked out the thugs' teeth—he doubted even he could—so the ones on the ground had to be hers. But he saw two rows of unblemished teeth tightly rooted in her warm gums. Odd. Really odd. "Sorry, Els." A deep furrow creased his brow as he scrutinised the base of the wall. Beside the thug's belt, the ripped patch of green dress fluttered in the wind. But when he lowered his face beneath Els' back with a guilty gulp, roughly sewn threads returned his gaze. Not even a hole... Something's not right... Don't tell me! Breath catching in his throat, he gripped the hovering ledger. It instantly shed its ethereal form, the interlocking arabesques pressing against his fingers. He flipped to the first page, his eyes running over the sky-blue ink. ✦ Truth of Endurance ✦ ──────────────────────────── Core: I persist. Anchor: Memory of Nessa ──────────────────────────── Stress on Anchor: 27% Risk of Breaking: Low ──────────────────────────── Cost: Cannot voluntarily yield. Price: The warmth from the memories of Nessa. The stress on his anchor likely rose because he slit the two bastards' throats when he didn't have to. He expected it to rise, to wither, and one day to break. But only 2%, while it rose by 20% when he killed Tovin and Ash? Perhaps... his mom wouldn't have wanted to see him kill them. It was the opposite here. He had to save Els. His truth seemed to agree. That, or because no unowned truths clashed with it. Either way, he skimmed to the second half. And there he saw it. Not the paragraph about the survivor's truth now written on the last page. The one that replaced it. ──────────────────────────── Unowned truth of Eternal Night moderately compatible with truth of endurance. Predicted stress on Eternal Night's anchor upon anchoring: 30% Predicted price range: mental-related. ──────────────────────────── The ledger slipped from his trembling hand, hovering beside him. Silent, ethereal, recording his choices. Someone owned a truth. Not the two dead thugs at his feet; they would have used it. Neither Tonio, who growled and tapped his foot behind him. The teeth, the blood, the intact dress—everything connected. It was Els who anchored it... and paid the price for that power, whatever it did. Biting his lip, Kael caressed her cheek with infinite gentleness. "I didn't want this for you. I hope... I hope you didn't pay as much as I have." Tonio's squeak scattered his thoughts. "Slow. Find home. Kael, traitor?" Kael turned to Tonio's narrowed eyes. Then, he secured Els on his back with a headshake. Each wasted minute increased the risk of someone seeing them. Home. Once home, he'd figure everything out with Els. But first, she needed rest. They all did. "You're right. I mean, not about the traitor... Let's leave. I know where we'll stay." He put the patch of dress in Els' basket. Tonio reluctantly helped him put the thug's pants back. A last glance. No clues pointed to them, and no one he could see watched the alley from the rooftops. He left the two corpses behind. Let the Black Cask wonder which gang dared. Anything but that an eighteen-year-old girl killed two men. On the way, he picked up the bloodstained razor from the ground. The dust-laden air of the industrial district replaced the stench of fresh blood as spring began to replace winter, even though a couple of grey mounds of snow stubbornly clung to the side road of the outer slums. Ashcoil Row was as indifferent as Kael had left it a week ago. Empty at night, or rather, this e