Beyond The System-Chapter 269: Time and Space

“Her sister?” I echoed, the word slipping out before I could stop it, as Serith’s hands froze mid-motion.

Harua nodded vigorously, feathers rustling with pride. “Yes! I taught her all about connections on her first trip here. I remember she drank a lot after that, gave me a huge hug, and said we were sworn sisters because together we fled—”

A sharp blur. Serith’s hand darted out, clamping over Harua’s beak before she could finish. “Harua,” Serith hissed, venom threading through her tone.

The bird-woman’s eyes went wide with unbothered delight, as if being scolded only confirmed her success.

Serith must have taken that as acknowledgment, because she exhaled through her nose and spoke in a voice carefully stripped of emotion. “I recall saying the next morning that all of that should remain private.” She released her hold and let her hand fall to her side with deliberate control.

She seemed far more tense than usual. The secret that was nearly revealed obviously not being something she wished to have made public. Though I was curious, private matters weren’t something I wanted to pry in on.

But I was curious.

Harua merely shrugged, wings lifting lazily. “There are no secrets in the connections we share. And… I like bragging about my sister.”

I could have sworn I caught a flicker of guilt cross Serith’s face, but if it was there, it vanished instantly, swallowed by composure. She abandoned all traces of restraint and waved her hand.

Whyrhh.

And I froze.

Portals. Scores of them.

Dark abysses woven into space silently rather than torn through it. Controlled. Precise. Terrifyingly elegant. I stood in stunned silence as dozens more of them bloomed around her, each no larger than my hand, forming from a mere flick of her wrist.

Shwoop.

One merged into the next. Then another. Faster and faster, until the air itself began to twist, my hair whipping forward in the rising current.

“Let’s go,” Serith commanded, stepping forward as we were engulfed within a sphere of incandescent black.

I followed, watching the rippling barrier shift around us, its surface alive with movement. “Wh—where does it go?” I asked, feeling a pang of sympathy for whatever lay on the receiving end of that redirected storm.

Serith barely glanced back, her focus unbroken. “Go? It doesn’t go anywhere. It passes through—redirected from one side to the other. You think I’d waste energy Stepping sand?”

I didn’t argue. Honestly, it was refreshing to learn that portals could be more than nauseating gateways through space. “Soooo… elements?” I asked, knowing she’d catch my meaning.

She shrugged without looking at me. “I just use the powers I have. Don’t expect me to understand whatever insane things you do. My interest is power. If understanding is required, then I’ll learn, if not…”

That stopped me mid-step. The barrier around me wavered, flickering faintly before stabilizing again. Luna? I called inwardly, hoping for clarity.

She shifted to a deep shade of purple in confusion. She’s using energy? Luna murmured. I thought you were just walking.

And just like that—paired with the strange, knowing smile curling at Serith’s lips—the woman became infinitely more unsettling.

“Did you find anything?” she asked, voice lilting with false innocence, that same smile never fading.

“Why ask if you already know?” I shot back, crossing my arms and turning away in mock offense.

She giggled.

It was light, almost musical, and yet it made my skin crawl.

Harua puffed up proudly, planting her wings on her hips. “Sister has gotten much better! I remember when you’d empty your stomach after just one! You’re definitely Help!”

The human’s brow twitched dangerously, but she refused to dignify the comment, or the title with a reply.

We walked on together, the tension softening into uneasy chatter. I wanted to ask about Kazriel—the Great Ancestor—desperately, but I forced myself to wait until we were safe.

“How long have you two known each other?” I asked at last, wiping sweat from my brow, beginning to wonder who had ever convinced Serith not to teleport us straight to the Nikme’s home.

Before Harua could open her beak again, Serith spoke, not leaving any space between question and answer. “Several years ago. I came here for—I came here to train. It’s a private place,” she said quickly, leaving no room for elaboration.

“Giants!” Harua suddenly cried out.

“WHERE?!” Serith spun in a full circle, hands already half-raised, eyes sharp.

Harua blinked, staring at her sister in confusion. “I was talking about you! What’s wrong?”

Serith exhaled through her nose, irritation twitching at her brow. “What is it you needed help with again?” she growled, clearly restraining her temper.

“Stomp harder,” Harua answered cheerfully.

Stomp…? Oh.

Rumble.

“Never mind,” she sang in a teasing, singsong tone. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

RUMMMBLE. RUMMMBLE!

The ground convulsed beneath us. This wasn’t like before. No small pulse in the sand chasing me at blinding speed. This was larger. Deeper. A mountain itself was moving toward us, shaking the air with its coming.

“Are you insane?!” I shouted over the deafening tremors, stumbling back, ready to sprint into the storm behind us. “This is why you wanted us to walk?”

Harua nodded without hesitation. “Yes... to both. I’m also joking and serious.”

Serith looked entirely unbothered, calmly rubbing the crease forming in her forehead. “This is what you needed?”

Harua nodded again, feathers fluttering.

Serith turned toward the advancing dune that was a colossal surge of sand devouring the horizon like a tidal wave. “Peter,” she said lightly, “would you like to witness the power of… what did she call it?” She paused, as if the name had momentarily escaped her. “Ah. The World Seed.”

“I’ve already seen you freeze time. Not much—”

“Any moron can freeze a small space for a moment,” she interrupted, cutting through my words.

I would’ve protested—respectfully—if not for the fact that her hands were already in motion. Her body lifted from the ground, weightless, as her arms rose in perfect symmetry.

“I told you we could all fly!” Harua shouted triumphantly, as though this proved every argument she’d ever made.

“I can’t,” I muttered.

She spun toward me, eyes flaring with indignation. “Flap harder.”

“…Yes, master.”

Satisfied, she turned back just as the sound reached its peak that was deeper than thunder, sharper than the storm before. Then a single cry split through the chaos.

“Hah!”

A massive rift tore open above Serith, swallowing the light. From within it descended a mountain of segmented flesh, an enormous beast falling from it. Its body plated in natural armor, limbs paddled and jointed, its maw bristling with serrated blades.

Before the creature could even react and gravity could claim it, another portal bloomed open below.

The world felt like it slowed.

The monster fell, its body stretching between the two voids, its shadow blotting out the horizon. A terror in size and presence. Made helpless by a single woman.

I’d always assumed Serith’s elegance was pure pageantry, an affectation of control. But seeing her now with hands weaving through the air with effortless precision, bending reality as if she were conducting a symphony of gravity—there was no doubt left. The performance had always been real.

The beast plunged straight into the lower rift, bisected cleanly, noiselessly—as though dropped upon a blade of black glass. The creature a third of its size I struggled to wound, was erased in an instant.

And still, as she drifted back down to earth, serene as ever, I couldn’t grasp the full extent of her power. But something did become clear. Her indifference. Her cool detachment from everything wasn’t just arrogance. It was perspective. She had seen too much. Achieved too much.

Only surprise came from my discoveries. But it would be hard to say that she was ever impressed. My Bloodline awakening seemed to be the only thing that ever caused concern.

Was this how far a Blessing could take someone?

“Well?” she asked, landing softly beside me, her tone almost playful. “What do you think?”

“Awesome,” I breathed. It was the only word that survived the awe.

“Too fast,” Harua complained, folding her wings. “But now you’re done! What should we do next?”

Serith shook her head with a faint sigh. “Let’s get you back home.”

A moment later, another rift unfolded before us—this one smaller, shimmering with strain. For the first time, I saw the faint sheen of sweat gather at her temple. Perhaps this was the difference between Stepping and her battlecraft—the toll of precision.

Harua entered first, humming absentmindedly as if none of it were extraordinary. “I’ll start packing.”

“Time and space?” I murmured, half to myself, trying to force Harua’s words away. “Your Blessing is… really something else.”

Serith tapped my shoulder, nudging me gently forward. “Shackles are meant to be broken,” she said. “You should know that better than most.”

The last thing I saw before the world folded away was her knowing smile, terrifying and beautiful in equal measure.

Then a dog tackled me.