Chapter 190: Ambly

The chains around my wrists remained attached to one of the broken pieces, but at least I was no longer trapped in the chair. I pushed myself onto my knees and tried to get my bearings while the pieces of wood clattered around me.

Another blast tore through the room.

The air itself seemed to compress before the shockwave expanded outward, throwing dust from the walls and sending loose pieces of debris skittering across the floor. The force struck the wall behind me, and a deafening crack rang through the room as fractures spread across the stone. I immediately covered my ears, gritting my teeth as the noise echoed through the small room.

The cracks continued spreading, branching across the wall and climbing toward the ceiling. Dust poured from between the stones while pieces of mortar fell around me.

I barely had time to look up before another blast came.

This one was far stronger than the previous two.

The air in front of the orb compressed into a dense, rippling wave before exploding outward. The floor shook beneath me, the remaining furniture was thrown across the room, and the damaged wall finally gave way. Stone and timber burst outward as the shockwave tore through the structure, and the force caught me in its path.

I was thrown backward through the opening.

Cold air hit my face as I flew out of the building, and I crashed shoulder-first into the trunk of a thick tree. Pain shot through my arm as I hit the bark, and I tumbled into the snow, clutching my shoulder.

Snow fell steadily from the dark sky, covering the ground and the surrounding trees in a thin white layer. To my right stretched a dense forest, its branches coated with snow, while to my left the ground dropped away toward an enormous expanse of dark water far below.

I looked behind me and saw the familiar mist surrounding the Circle stretching through the darkness beyond the trees.

"We're in the Circle," I muttered. "Shit… Aagh… fuck…"

Another blast erupted from the ruined building.

I looked back just in time to see Discu standing in the middle of the chaos, both arms raised as she shouted toward the glowing orb. Somehow, she remained upright despite the force battering everything around her.

The shockwave spread across the clearing, bending the snow and sending loose debris skidding across the ground. I threw myself sideways, and the blast passed over me before slamming into the tree behind me.

The trunk shuddered violently as the force struck it, and a deep crack split through the wood. I looked up just as the tree began leaning toward me.

I rolled away as quickly as I could, blood dripping from my nose and leaving small red marks across the snow. The tree crashed down exactly where I'd been lying a moment earlier, sending snow and broken branches flying in every direction.

Before I could even catch my breath, another blast erupted from the building.

This one was stronger than the previous one, and the entire area seemed to vibrate as the energy expanded outward. The ground shook beneath me, the trees swayed violently and loose chunks of stone were lifted from the ruins before being thrown outward. The crimson light expanded from the orb like a rapidly growing sphere, swallowing the cabin and everything around it.

The building finally collapsed under the force. The remaining walls buckled inward, wooden beams snapped and chunks of stone tumbled into the snow as a cloud of dust and debris erupted from the ruins and rolled across the clearing.

Even the sea below us reacted to the force. The surface heaved violently, waves crashing against the cliffs as though something enormous had struck the water.

I forced myself upright, stumbling as my legs struggled to keep me balanced after everything that had just happened.

The device around my neck crackled.

I immediately grabbed it with both hands and pulled, but the metal didn't even move.

"Come on!"

I pulled harder, but it was useless. The suppression device was still locked around my neck, and whatever mechanism held it in place was far stronger than anything I could break with my bare hands.

"CHAOS!"

Discu's voice echoed through the clearing.

I looked toward the ruins.

The cabin was almost completely destroyed. Dust and smoke drifted through the air, partially obscuring what remained of the building. From what I could see, it had been little more than a small cabin, probably no larger than the dormitory room I'd been staying in.

The place was now buried beneath broken timber, shattered stone and debris, while the crimson glow from the orb continued shining through the dust.

"Shit…" I muttered, taking a step back. "Ah, crap… what the hell is that?"

As the dust began to settle, I could make out a figure standing within the ruins. She was tall, much taller than Discu, and even through the lingering haze, there was something about her silhouette that made my stomach tighten. I squinted, trying to get a better look, but another wave of energy suddenly erupted from the ruins.

This blast was stronger than anything that had come before it.

The air compressed around me before the shockwave slammed into my body and sent me flying backward. I couldn't control my movement as I was carried through the air, but for a brief moment, I thought I saw the figure through the dust.

Her eyes were fixed on me.

There was no anger in them, no curiosity or excitement. She simply watched me with an expressionless stare, and despite seeing her for only a moment, I could feel something deeply wrong about her. Whatever that thing was, she was dangerous. Every instinct I had was telling me to stay as far away from her as possible.

The blast carried me straight into the mist.

The Circle… crossing through the mist meant I would reappear somewhere else within the Circle. It wasn't something I could control, either. The only way out was through one of the exits determined by the Circle itself, almost as if the place were a living thing that decided who could enter and leave.

"Oh, crap."

I hit the ground and rolled several times, the mist completely obscuring my vision. I kept rolling until the pressure of the mist finally faded and I slammed my back against something hard.

The sounds around me changed immediately.

The distant sea and rustling trees were gone. Instead, I heard insects buzzing around me, along with the occasional hum of bees somewhere nearby. The air felt warmer and more humid, and the silence was broken only by the faint sounds of the forest.

I pushed myself upright and shook my head.

The thing I'd hit was a wooden crate. Unfortunately, it wasn't empty. A rotten carcass had been packed inside, and the impact had cracked the side of the crate open. A disgusting mixture of watery, decomposing meat had leaked onto my back.

"Fucking hell…"

I grimaced and wiped some of it away before looking around.

Every part of my body hurt. My shoulder felt like I'd been hit with a hammer, my head was still pounding from the earlier mind control attempt and my wrists were sore from the chains. At least I was away from Discu and whatever that woman had been.

Chaos. That was what Discu had called her. I looked around the unfamiliar area.

A small house stood ahead of me, partially hidden among the trees. It looked nothing like the rustic buildings I'd seen around Toakwood. The structure had clean, straight walls, large rectangular windows and a flat section of roofing that looked strangely modern.

Then I noticed something parked beside it. I stared at the object for several seconds.

"A truck?"

I swallowed hard.

The vehicle was old and badly damaged, with rust covering much of its body. One of the windows was shattered, the tires were flat and weeds had grown around its wheels, but there was no mistaking what it was.

A truck. "What… am I back in my world?"

I slowly approached it and placed a hand against the side. The metal was cold beneath my fingers. I wiped away some of the dirt and rust, revealing the faded paint underneath.

It was definitely real.

I turned toward the house again. The windows, the roof and the overall construction were all too familiar. It looked like something that could have existed back home.

Before I could make sense of it, thunder rolled across the sky. I looked upward. The clouds above me seemed to split apart.

Something descended from the opening. Pink smoke poured down from the sky and struck the ground in front of me like a lightning, spreading outward until it completely obscured whatever had arrived. The smoke was thick enough that I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead.

Then it began to dissipate.

A woman stood where the smoke had been.

Ambly.