Beneath the broken sky

Light and Flame

The forest had gone unnaturally still. Even the wind held its breath. He could feel it before he saw it. That pulse of corrupted mana.

Then it emerged.

The centicorn.

It was a rather awe inspiring creature, standing at about five meters in height with its deer-like lower body and human-like upper body. Meter long antlers with numerous branches. 

The book said they had fifty branches per horn. Four powerful clawed arms to match its legs. A distorted human-like face with two serpent-like eyes, slits for a nose and a large mouth filled with three rows of long serrated teeth, and it was a rather spot on description of this eldritch horror. 

From beside him, Ida exhaled sharply, pulling off her scarf and blouse to reveal a tight black camisole beneath. Her skin gleamed faintly with heat, her body was already warming for battle.

“Better to have left those at home,” Hyperion muttered under his breath.

She caught the glance. “Wouldn’t want my beautiful blouse getting torn, would I?” she teased, eyes locked on the centicorn. “Try to keep up.”

Before he could respond, she vanished, leaving a burst of flame where she stood.

The centicorn reared and bellowed, shaking the air with a sound that was part roar, part shriek. Ida was already upon it. Her fist, cloaked in a spiraling flame, slammed into the creature’s jaw with enough force to send its head whipping sideways. A thunderclap followed the impact.

The monster stumbled, then steadied itself with a snarl. From its back unfurled thick vine-like appendages, barbed with bone. They whipped toward Ida in a blur, hissing through the air. She twisted, rolled, and flipped through the barrage, leaving trails of heat that turned the vines to ash where they came too close.

Hyperion watched, eyes narrowing. "She’s faster than last time," he commented.

But the centicorn was learning. It lunged forward, slamming its claws into the earth. The ground shattered, throwing dust and debris into the air. Ida darted back, a fraction too slow. One of the protrusions slashed her arm. She hissed but smiled through the pain.

“Didn’t even break the skin properly,” she said, voice wild with adrenaline.

The beast roared again, its body convulsing as dark energy rippled across its hide. The earth beneath its hooves blackened, and its eyes glowed crimson. It charged. Trees cracked, the earth trembled.

Ida barely leapt aside in time, her hair whipping in the gust of its passing strike. The creature’s claws tore through an entire row of oaks as if they were parchment.

Hyperion saw his moment. He gathered light at his fingertips, condensing magical energy until it burned white-hot. When the centicorn stumbled from its own momentum, he unleashed the energy in a blinding burst, a lance of light that seared through the air toward its heart.

It hit, but the creature twisted unnaturally, avoiding the full brunt of the blast. The beam grazed its shoulder, slicing through flesh and charring its skin. It shrieked, a sound that rattled Hyperion the forest insects.

Ida was already back in motion. She launched herself skyward with twin jets of flame from her feet, arcing above the creature’s reach. Fire gathered around her fists and coiled down her arms like living serpents. “Let’s see how you like this!”

A volley of fireballs rained down, exploding across the centicorn’s torso. The air shook, smoke rising in thick plumes. When it cleared, the beast was still standing, but its flesh smoked, and parts of its antlers had begun to crack.

The centicorn screamed. Birds burst from the forest in a frenzy, fleeing the sheer force of its voice. Its back split open, revealing a fan of tendrils, dozens this time, each writhing like independent predators.

“Hyperion!” Ida shouted as they lashed toward her.

He didn’t hesitate. “On your mark!”

He bolted at the beast, sweeping both pairs of the creatures limb. The sheer speed disoriented the chimera. “Now!” Hyperion called.

Ida ignited like a comet. She descended in a blaze of cobalt, spinning through the air before driving her heel into the centicorn’s face with an explosion of flame. The impact shattered part of its jaw.

“Got you,” she whispered through gritted teeth.

The creature thrashed wildly, snapping uncontrollably. Hyperion grunted, sliding back as debris tore past.

Ida dropped beside him, panting. “This thing’s tougher than it looks.”

“Then stop holding back,” he replied.

She smirked. “You first.”

They both charged. Hyperion’s beam carved into its side again, while Ida’s fire surged upward in a dragon’s roar. Together, their attacks converged—light and flame intertwining in a blinding explosion.

The centicorn staggered. Its roars grew weaker, its movements sluggish. One last spark of ferocity remained in its eyes before Ida propelled herself upward one final time, her right arm engulfed in white-hot flame.

With a cry that shook the clearing, she sliced through the creature’s neck in a single sweeping motion.

The head fell, hitting the ground with a heavy, echoing thud.

Silence followed, broken only by the crackle of fading flames. The forest, long still, began to breathe again.

Ida landed gracefully, her hair fluttering, the faint glow fading from her hands. She wiped sweat from her brow and grinned. “Now, are you convinced I’m strong enough, or should I go hunt one of the Great Disasters next?”

Hyperion exhaled, lowering his glowing hands. “Show-off.”

She laughed, dragging the severed head by its antlers. “You love it.”

***

After defeating the second class chimera, they were able to sell its corpse to the townsmen and take the reward.

"Thank you for your service", the aged man behind the desk told them as they were leaving. "Perhaps you could help us with one more mission?", he asked. "No thank you", Hyperion replied hastily. “We have to leave, and I'm sure one of the huntsmen will come by soon,“ Hyperion said hoping the man didn't catch on to his lie .

After the duo got home, Ida jumped onto the bed to take a nap. "Wanna join me?" she asked expectantly, but Hyperion just stared at her before going to lie in one of the other rooms.

Three hours passed and Hyperion got up and went into Ida's room. "Wake up", he said as he tapped her several times. She rose up with a grumpy face. "It's the middle of the night, why are you waking me", she asked in a sleepy voice. But he just picked her from the bed and into his arms. She gasped and then proceeded to cover her face.

''The sun hasn't even completely set yet, stop overreacting". He said as he dropped her on the couch, where after an intense session of eye rubbing, she asked; "what!?".

"We need to plan our journey tomorrow", I said matter of factly. "Huh, we are leaving tomorrow, I thought we would have at least a week before we left. After a moment of lingering silence, she shrugged, "I guess it's you after all. So, which one of the eight cities are we going to, she asked. "Iadica, obviously", he replied.

"It is the city with the highest number of huntsman applicants and the furthest from Terra media. It has the lowest probability of us getting caught". "We are just a bunch of underage mages, not some fugitives, do we have to go to the furthest city from here just to evade the government", she asked with an exhausted look on her face. "I am just being cautious", Hyperion replied . "Well, you're the boss, now can I go back to sleep?" she asked, feigning niceness. He sighed, "sure, but we leave for Medes at the tenth hour"

***

The next day, the newly reunited duo left Toa and headed to a port, where they paid for a carriage to take them to Medes. It didn't seem to bother Ida that they would be leaving a place she had been staying for years and not coming back for a while.

In the carriage, Ida lay on Hyperion’s lap despite his insistence that she didn't, "Rion", she said in a sleepy tone, "is there a possibility we would die if we go on this adventure of yours?". "I told you, I have no intention of dying anytime soon. Yes it will be dangerous, but I wouldn't want to go if I didn't think we could handle it". She heaved a sigh before closing her eyes.

***

The journey back to Medes took eight hours, and they arrived in the evening. Out of nowhere, Corriander sprinted at them and gave Ida a hug. Hyperion recounted describing Ida to her some years back, but he didn't expect her to remember or react like this. Even Ida was surprised.

"Come child, let me take those bags inside", Corriander said as she took Ida’s bags and hurried into the house. “I guess I don't require assistance,” Hyperion murmured as he got into the house.

When they got into the house, Hyperion opted for sleep, while Ida decided to stay with my mother and entertain her with stories, “I probably wouldn't want my mother to hear some of these tales,” Hyperion thought, but didn't care enough to try and stop them.

They spent days just living as if they were some average family, doing chores, hunting, cooking, eating and talking. Corriander seemed elated, and Hyperion was glad she was. He had no intention of keeping to the visiting quota she had set for him especially now that he was heading to one of the eight cities in the mainland. So he at least wanted her to be happy now that he was here and it seemed Ida helped him fulfill that.