The Oracle Paths

The storm lasted four days. Four days each more difficult than the other. If the wind could be considered icy on the first day, this adjective proved to be an understatement for the next three days.

By the morning of the second day, the wind had reached speeds well above the level of a hurricane and a human weighing less than 100 kilos would not be able to set foot outside or else face the risk of being blown away to new skies. Incidentally, this was the least of their concerns.

Hailstones originally the size of a pine cone had quickly reached the diameter of a coconut and the speed of the falling ice projectiles had more than doubled. Even at his peak, Jake would have had to think twice before venturing out into the blizzard.

Naturally, the temperatures had plummeted and the fire in the chimney had soon been no longer enough to warm their stone abode. With Jake away and asleep anyway, Sarah and Kevin had to be even more resourceful in keeping the injured alive.

In the end, it was human warmth that ultimately came to the rescue when the fire and furs were no longer enough. Kevin and Sarah had simply huddled up with the two children and warmed them with their own body heat. To his dismay, Kevin had to keep his bestial form, because it was particularly adapted to withstand low temperatures and this freed up the available blankets.

In spite of all their preparations, it was true that Jake had never intended to house so many people and especially had not anticipated such a drop in temperature. Although they had accumulated quite a number of furs, not all of them had been processed as those that had been used to make leather and their current clothing.

On the morning of the second day of the storm, when the temperature had dropped another notch, Lu Yan had finally woken up with a cold sweat on her face. Her gaze was tormented and shifted intermittently between sadness and anger before finally settling on a stiff, constipated expression.

Restless, the young woman had shakingly searched for her brother's reassuring face... But Sarah had long since tossed his head outside to avoid reeking of the room. Lu Yifeng's skull had long since rolled down the hill, and after a night of being smashed by hailstones, it was questionable whether it still existed in a single piece.

Lu Yan had taken a long time to acclimatize and come to her senses, but when she had at last figured out where she was and was still alive, her hatred had flared up instantly. Never acting without a plan, she had inspected her Status to plan her next strategy and when she had seen the Aether stored in her bracelet, she had been left petrified with indignation.

[Aether Storage: 0 pts]

' Ba-bastard! I'm going to kill you!' She screamed inside, filled with an irrepressible rage when she saw that all her belongings had been taken from her. Even the rudimentary wooden spear she had carved for herself was no longer at her side.

If she did not take immediate revenge, she would be unable to look at herself in the mirror. She had never experienced such a feeling of shame and powerlessness. Usually, everything always went perfectly as she had planned. It was only after meeting Jake that her life had turned into a nightmare. And now her brother was dead because of her... She knew that he had just failed the Second Ordeal, but the sight of his decapitated head was deeply traumatic.

Realizing that the fire was almost out and the residents were still asleep, she had immediately set out to carry out what she thought was a legitimate revenge.

Like a predator on the prowl, she had tiptoed to Tim's axe and then searched every room in the house for that bastard of Jake. After several minutes of extraordinary tension where she didn't even dare to breathe for fear of waking someone up, she had to face the facts. Her target was not in the house.

She could have deployed her Spirit Body to make sure, but it was a risk she couldn't take, as this action would have alerted those nearby who had awakened their Seventh Stat. In the first Ordeal it was extremely rare, but she had very quickly realized that in this second Ordeal it was far too common. All those who had survived to the third trial were tough motherfuckers with resilient minds. Unlocking the Extrasensory Perception was nothing special anymore.

She had been about to steal clothes, weapons, and food before she ran away when a dry voice had startled her.

"What are you doing? You weren't planning to leave, were you?" Sarah had mocked in a sarcastic tone as she sat under her stack of fur.

For a moment Lu Yan had flinched, not knowing what to say, but realizing that Jake was not there, she had soon regained her arrogance. After all she has the Myrmidian bloodline too.

"That's exactly what I was planning to do! "She had finally replied by bulging her chest and raising her chin in a defiant manner.

But contrary to the hostile reaction she was expecting, the young blonde woman opposite had just chuckled and looked at her as if she was looking at someone with brain damage.

"You want to leave. Please do. "Sarah had said, showing her the door with her hand.

Lu Yan could hardly believe it, but she hadn't hesitated for a second. This opportunity may not come again once Jake returned. Always decisive, she had hastily walked to the heavy wooden door and lifted the latch to open it.

She could hear from the wind and the pounding noise that the storm was not over, but she had been confident that she could survive alone for a while with the clothes she had stolen and her telekinesis.

Huge mistake!

No sooner had she opened the door than an icy cold had seeped in, her hand on the edge of the door almost instantly freezing. With horror, she had withdrew her hand, smothering a curse of pain, and closed the door without a second thought. No doubt, she was trapped in that stone house until the storm was over.

Once this sad reality had been accepted, Lu Yan became much more docile. She soon discovered that Sarah and Tim were not the only occupants and that a little girl, a bear and its cub had also occupied the house. When Kevin had learnt that she thought he and the Ziwid were related, he had almost dismembered her on the spot. It was only because he was afraid of Jake's reaction that he had refrained from doing so.

Soon after, Tim and the Ziwid had also woken up, unexpectedly feeling fine, although Tim was a little pale. Clearly Tim's Beskyrian bloodline had done its healing work or perhaps he was just "lucky". After all, it was his specialty.

Sadly, Lily had not been so lucky. By the third day she still hadn't regained consciousness and Tim had become terribly depressed, never leaving her side for more than a few seconds.

Lu Yan had gotten used to this lockdown and got along almost well with Sarah and Kevin who had no prejudices about her. She had almost forgotten her revenge, but unconsciously she feared Jake's return.

What was bound to happen happened. On the third night, Jake opened his eyes underground a few feet below the fireplace and a mental scan was performed to determine the condition of his body and the residents above him. Feeling the intrusive mental wave, Lu Yan, Sarah and Kevin had briefly stiffened, but for Lu Yan it had been a time of terror and despair.

The others might not have been able to tell the difference, but having the Eltarian bloodline too, the spirit was her specialty. When Jake's Spirit Body had passed through her, she had known right away that she would never get her revenge and that recovering the stolen Aether would forever remain an illusory dream.

The next second, the stone floor had begun to swirl like a vortex as it disassembled to make way for a Jake stronger than ever. His golden and silver irises had directly fallen on her and no words had been needed for her to understand the warning.

This was her last chance.

And for her brother who had died for nothing, she chose to not waste this last chance. She wavered for a long time over whether to attack Jake or not, hoping that in a moment of inattention she would manage to surprise him, but when she had seen his stern and cold face, she had eventually given up.

"Good choice. "Jake just said while patting her shoulder before going to Lily's bedside.

For Lu Yan, it was a huge relief. Comparable to how an innocent man might feel when he is acquitted of a crime he did not commit. But before she could completely relax, Jake's voice echoed mentally in her mind one last time.

" Don't think it's over, though. I haven't forgotten that you brought an alien here. Without it, Lily wouldn't be in this state. You'll have to compensate her if she wakes up."

"What?!" Lu Yan almost fainted from sheer outrage.

'With what am I supposed to compensate her?! You've already taken all my Aether!'