Chapter 83: Against The Slope

Marek did not immediately allow the group to leave the clinic—even after the patrol disappeared from the street and the silver-white-clad woman was nowhere to be seen.

He went near the dusty front windows for several minutes. Rafe and Silas did the same from different angles. However, after multiple checks, nobody came back. The civilians who had been with the government patrol also left with them. No sudden movement came from the pharmacy beside the clinic, and no uniformed figures appeared between the crooked buildings.

There were only a handful of other civilians left moving through the street, the ones who refused the assistance of the patrol. Some carried bags and folded papers—perhaps they were also like Marek—trying to trace their families’ movements.

An elderly man stood outside the pharmacy for quite a long time. He was just there in front of several notices taped to the pharmacy’s glass window. Eventually, the old man pulled out a photograph from his pocket—his face blank—and then compared it with several notices taped to the glass window for a few moments.

The moment he finally put the photograph away, his shoulders caved in. Marek shook his head as he watched the old man. He pitied him. However, pity was something different from helping him.

’The world will always be unfair to all people, just disguised in different ways.’

He decided to stay put in the clinic for a few hours because of his mother, but he had already done this. Remaining longer than he should would not make it more likely that she would arrive. ’I’m sorry, Mom, but I have to move forward. You told me to stop moving so you could catch up... but it’s been a few hours, and you’re still not here...’

His gaze went once more toward the road outside, lingering on the spot where Silas had seen the woman in silver-white clothing. ’Where are you, Mara... Mom...’

Unfortunately, no one could respond to him. Not even Celeste herself.

Somewhat, her absence bothered him. He then took one last look through the dusty window before moving away from it.

He nodded to Rhovan. "Let’s go. It’s no use waiting here when we can use this remaining time to find them. I’m certain we’re going to be faster than the two. After all, my mother must have become so exhausted trying to find us both. Moreover, Mara is not traveling by herself, so her movements must have been restricted."

Marek opened the front door and once again glanced toward the street as the silver-white-clad woman returned to his thoughts. Every time he had gotten close to Mara’s trail, that woman had either already gone somewhere else or left so little behind that following them became difficult.

’Or was she deliberately keeping the route difficult to follow?’

As they walked westward, the road had become noticeably steeper than the streets behind them. What should have been a smooth slope between commercial buildings had broken into several rugged levels, forcing them to use railings and abandoned vehicles for balance.

’It’s like we’re inside a game and we’re visiting some kind of ruins,’ Nadia thought.

When Marek looked at the middle of the road’s descent, there was an old delivery truck. Its front wheels sank deep enough that its bumper almost touched the pavement. At its rear, a part of the road had been raised. It pushed its rear upward so much that the vehicle looked tilted from Marek’s angle.

’At least it still looked decent. Very unlike the car opposite it that looked like crumpled paper,’ Marek thought as he continued his descent with the others. On the car, there was a visible punch mark on its front. Its windshield was badly cracked, both side mirrors were broken, and sharp pieces of glass littered the ground around it.

He avoided it swiftly as he did a smooth jump from one disconnected road to another. Apparently, when he entered the first cycle, his overall strength and agility were raised to a certain level. Although he felt eclipsed by Rhovan’s prowess, he still felt a bit proud that he had advanced to this point.

Then, he stopped for a while and looked at Rhovan, basically just floating in the air with gold light spread over his feet, like this was just another day of him visiting a beach. Marek had no energy to scold him for making it difficult for them to pass through this section of the city.

’He could have just helped smooth the process... but he’s a strange dude... and a Certified Narcissist at that! Does he honestly have a mental disorder?’

Kellan also moved around the road. Sweat formed beads across his forehead as they dropped to the ground. He then placed one hand against a building’s wall and muttered under a ragged breath. "If I die because of this road, I’m haunting this city. Fuck."

Dario carefully stepped over a crack behind him, gripping a hanging rope for support as he shifted his weight across the unstable road. Because anytime, this part of the road looked like a single tremor would break it. He then looked at Kellan, who was struggling more than he did. Then, he said, "The scariest ghosts are not those who jump scare you—"

"Shut up. You’re not helping." Kellan turned to Dario and went ahead. He jumped over to another part of the road again. Then, he snapped again, panting. "I’m tired of this shit already! What happened to this road anyway? Why does it look so broken?"

"If you keep babbling like that, you’ll age faster," Dario remarked.

Silas, on the other hand, smoothly reached where Kellan was—his face looking laid-back like Marek’s. He then winked at the guy as he ran ahead of him.

"Fuck you!"

Meanwhile, Rhovan watched this spectacle as he got himself a plastic cup with a straw in it. He sipped on it and showed a very refreshed face.

"Another fuck you to you, too!" Kellan screamed, his breath barely catching up.

’Where did he even get that cup?’ Marek wondered.

Then, he shook his head.

’No use thinking about it too much. That dude is just unpredictable. He is not an assassin, but practically...’ Marek glanced at Kellan. ’He could probably kill a person without even touching them. Psychological damage should also count as an attack. Very unfortunate for that impatient guy.’

Their banter continued, but Marek ignored all of them as he went ahead down the crooked slope.

Farther along, the road was worse, with several storefronts left inaccessible beneath shifted pavement.

However, they continued through because there was no other route to go to, unless they were Rhovan, who could go over many buildings without breaking a sweat.

Marek could still hear Kellan’s complaints from behind. Suddenly, he caught the smell of wet concrete somewhere ahead. A few seconds later, the sound of rushing water reached them between the buildings. When they reached the next intersection, part of the street was already flooded.

Water poured from a broken main near the curb and spread through the cracks in the pavement. Some of it collected beneath abandoned motorcycles and roadside barriers.

’That’s strange...’ Marek thought as he saw something that broke the assumption he had in mind. ’I thought the water was simply following an uneven slope caused by the planet’s Awakening, but after observing it for a few seconds, the streams were actually moving uphill.’

Near a ruptured pipe stood a woman with her sleeve pulled back far enough to expose an Aquarius Astral Mark along her forearm. Her trousers were soaked almost to her knees; some damp strands of her hair clung to her cheeks. He noticed she just kept staring at the water. Undoubtedly, it seemed like she did not completely understand what she was doing either.

’Why is she here? Did she get caught passing through, or was she already around when the pipe broke?’

Apparently, a government maintenance team had already placed portable barriers across part of the intersection. Two workers struggled with a damaged service cover near the main while another shouted instructions toward a vehicle parked farther down the street.

Then, Marek looked at the woman. ’It seems like she doesn’t belong to that group.’

He observed her more. Each time she moved, the nearest streams reacted. When she tried to step one foot backward, the water curled around the space she occupied. When she did so sideways, another current split in two before reaching her ankle, almost as though the water was trying to avoid her without her knowing how she was causing these things.

The others finally reached him. They also watched her with curiosity. They had encountered other Aquarius bearers before, but none had displayed their ability this openly.

Rhovan noticed where they were looking but, unusually, kept his mouth shut and allowed them to observe the woman for themselves.

The woman tried taking another step, and the water reacted again, several streams changing direction around her boots while her breathing gradually became less steady.