The Author's Viewpoint-Chapter 93 - No One Left Behind

The creature soaring beneath them was a monstrous fusion of bird and reptile. Its body stretched long and sinewed, a tail like a coiled whip of scaled muscle, and a head shaped like a proud, avian predator. Its wings were impossibly wide, each one layered with feathers pale as clouded sky, shimmering faintly with every beat, as if the creature itself had been stitched from the very sky it flew through.

And it was massive. Not just large. So enormous that when it passed overhead, the land beneath vanished into shadow. A beast that defied natural law, flying not through instinct or evolution, but by sheer will of Gaia Force.

The most viable place to jump, the only viable place, was the base of the tail. It was where the body narrowed, and where they could avoid the dangerous claws or shifting legs mid-flight. More importantly, it gave them time. Time to reach the ledge. Time to prepare.

Now, everyone was in position. Holding on as tightly as they could, each person gripping ropes, vines. Anything to stop the wind from ripping them off too early.

The air howled around them like an unending storm. Speaking was nearly impossible. Breathing wasn’t far behind. Let go too soon, and they’d be swept into the sky. Too late, and they’d miss the jagged terrain entirely.

Tave stood toward the rear, one hand gripping tightly, the other focused as he cycled his Sharing Vision with Fang, who was positioned farther ahead for a clearer vantage point.

This leap had to be perfect.

Not individual jumps, but one synchronized motion. Like a line of soldiers stepping into oblivion together.

If they missed their momentum. If they weren’t all airborne at just the right angle, with the right push, the chance of landing on the jagged outcropping below would drop to zero.

"Thirty seconds!" Tave shouted, his voice torn thin by the wind.

All heads turned. Every face tightened. Eyes narrowed with focused dread. They were ready. Gliding tools, elemental skills prepped, hearts pounding like war drums.

Everything rested on this moment.

And it all depended on Tave’s call.

The burden was crushing, not just the responsibility to leap, but to take the entire team with him into a fall where only chance and preparation stood between life and death.

He swallowed, watching through Fang’s eyes. Measuring the terrain. Watching the sky. One mistake... and everyone dies.

And even if he got it right?

That still didn’t mean they’d all survive. What a fucking joke.

It happened so fast. Far too fast.

Even for Tave, someone who always weighed his decisions, who never rushed into anything without a plan, this moment offered no such luxury. No time to hesitate. No time to think.

This was a gamble. A gamble that couldn’t be taken back.

Any delay meant death. The Rift wouldn’t hold forever, and the challenge it presented still had to be completed. No running. No retreat. No surrender.

Surrender meant dying. And Tave had no intention of dying today.

He kept counting.

"When I count down from five, jump. All of you. No hesitation."

Then he raised his voice.

"Ten!"

Everyone tensed.

Sweat clung to his skin, cold as ice. He scanned the faces around him. Some strained with tension, others neutral with a fighter’s resolve, and a few... pale. Shaking. Silent with fear.

They’d already assigned cover roles in those brief seconds before the jump. Velion would support those who couldn’t survive alone.

Tave had chosen to rely on himself. He had no other option.

He glanced toward Panpan, and their eyes met. That calm, steady face of hers. It was still there. But this time, she didn’t smile.

"We can do it," she whispered.

Even now, even with death in her shadow, she was still trying to comfort others?

Tave gave her the slightest nod.

They had to survive. Somehow.

"Five!"

The jump began.

One by one. They leapt. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Two. Three. Four. More followed.

And then. Only three remained.

Velion moved to leap, his momentum critical, the timing absolute. But both he and Tave froze when they saw it.

One knight hadn’t moved. A woman, Lina, their team’s main support, her hands white-knuckled around a feathered spine, her body trembling violently. She wasn’t just hesitating.

She was paralyzed. Terrified.

She wouldn’t jump. She couldn’t.

Velion’s eyes narrowed, torn between duty and timing. If he missed his window, he couldn’t help anyone below. But if he left her...

Velion couldn’t stop. He had to jump. Now.

"Lina, you have to jump. Now!" Velion called out.

"Velion, go! Let me handle her!" Tave shouted over the roaring wind. "You go now!"

Velion hesitated for the briefest second, locking eyes with Tave. Then, with a nod of understanding, he turned and leapt, disappearing into the open sky below.

Tave lunged forward, grabbing hold of the same feathered ridge Lina clung to. Her face was pale as ash, her body trembling, frozen stiff. Her fingers were white from how tightly she gripped the edge, eyes wide, lips trembling.

She wasn’t just scared. She was completely paralyzed.

"Lina, listen to me!" Tave’s voice cut through the wind. "I have Gaia Wings. You’ll survive. You just need to trust me!"

"No... leave me," she whispered, broken and small. "Please... just leave me here."

Tave clenched her hand firmly. "Lina, we can survive this. We will survive this. You have to believe me! We’re not going to die like this!"

Time was running out. Every second he lingered here brought them both closer to the edge of doom.

"Lina! We didn’t come here to surrender! I’d rather die trying than die with regret! You’re our support. We need you. I swear I’ll get you down safely!"

"No..." Lina shook her head violently, her voice cracking.

She was slipping, both mentally and physically. Her body nearly limp, on the verge of blacking out.

Tave clenched his jaw. Maybe he needed to force her.

Damn!

"Trust me!" he shouted over the wind, trying to ground her with his voice. "I will get you down safely!"

He leaned in, locking eyes with her. "Close your eyes! You’ll be safe by the time we hit the ground. Trust me!"

"Tave... I’m just a burden."

"No. No one is a burden here!" he said firmly, without hesitation. "Every one of us matters. You matter! You, me, all of us. We’re getting through this. Together!"

Something in her eyes flickered. Not courage. Not faith. But something broke. And she let go.

Tave didn’t hesitate. He pulled her away from the feathered spine with all the force he had, locking his right hand around hers and his left arm around her left shoulder.

They ran.

The wind screamed. The beast roared beneath them. The moment stretched razor-thin.

From the distance, Fang burst forward in a trail of shadow, returning to Tave’s side just as they reached the edge and merged with him.

And then. They jumped.

Into the sky. Into nothing.

Hell! Fucking hell!

Tave hated every second of it.

The wind tore at them, trying to rip Lina from his grip. She clung to him in silence, too terrified to scream.

"Lina, close your eyes! Trust me with everything!"

Tave held on, both hands locked around hers as they plummeted.

"Kaelira!" he roared into the wind. "I need the wings! NOW!"