Drazan stood over the sport where the portal was in the Wrift cavern. His left hand rested on his chin, and he was deep in thought. The shouts of his subordinates to bring healers could be heard in the cavern, but Drazan didn't care about that right now.
What he was seeing wasn't adding up.
His eyes narrowed further, focusing on his surroundings, but neither his eyes nor his senses could see anything. He couldn't see any traces of blessing being used except for his own.
If he ignored his blessings, there were no other blessings in the air that showed a fight had happened. No traces in the aura of blessings being used.
There was nothing…
He had never experienced this, it should have been impossible.
He saw the blessings being used.
The chains, barriers, portals, and even the overwhelming pressure of that dagger. The amount of aura it released was enormous, but even that couldn't be spotted.
The only thing he could think of was that the woman did something which erased all presences from the caverns.
Those unfamiliar figures who were with the Phoenix Clan could only mean one thing.
The Phoenix clan wasn't alone. They had allies either allies who were blessed by a really strong high-tier creature or maybe even an unclassified one.
His grip on his chin tightened. If the Phoenix clan really had the support of someone this strong, it could change the entire fight.
Drazan knew all the strong clans of every force, but he had never seen abilities like this.
The empires will have to rethink their entire strategy. They might become the hunted instead of the hunters. They will have to leave more soldiers back at the empire for defense. They couldn't risk spreading out so much.
And if they were really from the underworld, it would make more sense since only grandmasters and above could go and make it back out.
The underworld was supposed to be uncharted and supposed to have no human settlements.
If the Phoenix clan was residing in a place like that, it made sense why it was so hard to locate them. But there then was still the question about why they were in the village.
This conflict changed everything.
"Commander!"
He ignored the voices of his soldiers still lost in thought. They shouted for healers to be brought for his arm that was cut off. They also asked what had happened, but it only went to deaf ears as Drazan was too focused on his thoughts.
Stepping through the portable, Luis instantly reached the other side. One moment in he was still in the Wrift caverns, and the next, he was standing on a massive circular platform surrounded by flowers.
The rush of Phoenix clan members going forward didn't allow him any time to take in his surroundings, and there were also many Xoliti clan members around who were leading them forward as well. The platform the portal was on was large with a small clearing around it, but ahead of it and surrounding it was nothing but forests.
Luis tilted his head in awe because of the enormous length of the trees.
They were massive in size, like redwood trees. They stretched so high, and there leaves covered so much area that they blocked out most of the sky. The damp earth and fresh leaves filled the air with an earthy scent.
As Luis followed the crowd with his family, he noticed people disappearing up ahead. There were also people handing out something to the people right before they walked forward and disappeared. After watching them more closely, Luis realised they would all disappear after they crossed a certain distance into the barrier.
They went vanishing but looked like they were passing through something.
Before Luis could ask his mother what was happening, a Xoliti clan member approached them. Stepping in front of Luis's family, he wore dark blue robes with markings along its edges.
He gave a short bow and then handed out amulets.
"Please wear these," he said.
The chain of the amulet was simple in design, but the gem embedded in the middle of it pulsed with a small yellow light.
As soon as Luis wore the amulet around his neck, the world around him changed.
The endless forests surrounding him disappeared even the leaves covering the sky decreased.
Instead of the leaves and the forests, Luis could now see barriers.
Up in the sky, there was a thin blue veil covering it. The blue veil covered the sky and ground like a protective dome.
The forest up ahead disappeared instead replaced with a barrier, and ahead of that barrier was a small city. The trees were way fewer in number. There were pathways leading everywhere. Turning around, Luis realised they had actually walked through a giant gate that had walls surrounding the entire city.
Looking at the surroundings further, Luis realised that it wasn't just one barrier around the whole city it was multiple. There was one whole barrier surrounding the city, and then there were smaller barriers splitting the city into even more sections.
The untouched wilderness was actually an entire settlement.
The buildings were both on the ground, and a few trees were spread around. All of them connected with paths going up and down. Most surprising of all, even though the length of the trees was very tall, somehow the walls surrounding the city were taller.
Before Luis could take in more of his surroundings, commotion from further back pulled in his attention.
The Phoenix clan members coming through the portal now appeared to be in too much of a rush, their expressions tense. The panic in their footsteps could be felt.
Before panic arose too much, a Xoliti clan member stepped forward.
All the other Xoliti clan members moved out of the way as he walked forward. As he approached the Phoenix clan members that just appeared and were tense
He spoke something to them. Whatever he said allowed all the members to relax and put them at ease.
Luis couldn't focus on it for too long because as he was looking back, another Xoliti clan member approached Luis's family.
The man gave a deep polite bow before addressing his mother. "Ms. Elena, please follow me. There's separate accommodations for you as we have things to discuss."
Luis cast a curious gaze at the man, but his mom just nodded in understanding, not showing any surprise.
The man also turned to Luis and his siblings and offered a small smile.
Still thinking about the commotion from before, Luis was worried about his father because he hadn't seen him yet, but since his mother didn't seem to be panicked, he just decided to continue following her for now.