Chương 180: Fracture

"What?!" Renir stared at Liora incredulously.

"I met—""No, I heard you! We need to talk. Just the two of us," Renir growled, then turned to the antkin.

"I'm stepping out for a moment." The antkin nodded, seeming a bit confused. They said something among themselves in their ant language, but Liora paid them no mind. She grabbed Renir firmly with her talons, and flew up and out of the anthill. The whole flight through the tunnels was tense. Renir was basically vibrating, and all the ants regarded them curiously as they passed by. At one point, they encounter Cee and Caspian, who look at them nervously.

"Where are you two going?" Cee asked.

"Liora and I need to talk. Just the two of us," Renir said firmly, before Liora could say anything. His voice came out low, almost like an angry growl. Cee shifted uncomfortably at such a reply, and Caspian put a consoling hand on her carapace.

"Must be a lover's spat," he joked. But Renir didn't react to his joke, which said spades about his current state of mind. Just how bad was the relationship between two brothers for Renir to react this way just at the mention of him. Aenir seemed quite eager to help his younger brother, so did that mean that the dislike was one-sided? When Liora emerged from the anthill, it was already nighttime. The desert had become incredibly cold, making Liora shiver.

"Let's fly while we talk," Renir said. Liora nodded, turning into her large dracoryx form. It was easier to glide for a long time in this form. Unfortunately, Liora didn't have the web carrier with her right now. She should request Cee to make a few and stash the in her Inventory. For the time being, she held Renir in her talons.

"Explain. What do you mean by you met my brother?" Renir growled.

"It's exactly as I said. Lau'fi and I went to scout the human kingdom, trying to figure out why they were trying to attack the anthill. Everything was pretty much barren, because… Well, I suppose that doesn't matter right now. The point is that we reached the capital with a large castle. I wanted to infiltrate the castle, but accidentally broke the magical protective barrier around it."

"You broke Aenir's barrier?" Renir exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah. Apparently it's supposed to let birds through. But since I'm a monstrous bird, I broke it instead. In either case, the castle was in uproar, but I managed to distract the guards so Lau'fi could dig her way out. Then this mage came. Short, red hair, grey eyes, smug grin."

"That's him, alright… What the hell is he doing here?" The anger in his voice was so palpable, Liora wasn't sure what to do. She had never heard Renir this angry. He got angry at her all the time, but never like this.

"I don't know that. I found it strange too. All the other people here have darker skin. He's the only white guy."

"Do not trust anything that guy tells you. He's a cheating liar. What did he even do to you?"

"He protected me from the guard and brought me into his room. Boy, was it messy. You'd love it there though. It was filled with magical mambo jumbo. In either case, he seemed quite worried about you. When I told him that you've been turned into a gem—""You told him what happened to me?!" Renir shouted so loudly, Liora nearly dropped him.

"Don't shout so loud. Of course, I told him. He's your brother."

"For fuck's sake, Liora! This isn't something you have the right to disclose. How stupid are you to just tell him everything nicely?" Liora looked down and glared at him.

"Who are you calling stupid? You're the one who got stuck in a rock. He's a mage Level 150 and your brother. Asking your family for help when you're in trouble is kind of natural."

"You don't even know anything about him. You have no idea what he has done! He's not my brother. He is NOT my family!" Renir screamed. Liora went silent. She was a bit peeved that Renir was taking his frustration out on her, but she was also worried and simultaneously relieved. It didn't seem like Renir wanted to have anything to do with his brother. So that meant that things wouldn't change right? What are you thinking? Why are you so attached to this… way of life?

Do you seriously want to continue fighting for your life every day, just to remain together with Renir and Cee. Liora shook her head, her own emotions a big jumbling mess which she didn't know how to deal with at the moment. Especially with Renir in this state. Normally, one of them would be in a more calm state of mind and steer the other in the right direction. But at that moment they were both a mess. Liora sighed.

"I have no clue what happened between you two, and I suspect you're not willing to talk about it."

"Absolutely not!"

"Yeah, I figured. But listen, he offered to help you break the seal. He's a powerful mage. Are you really in a position to reject his help?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I… I… Fuck! This is all your fault! Why did you have to tell him everything? He never should have found out! Stupid bird!" His words felt like knives. Liora understood that he was frustrated, but she wasn't so logical a being to just think through the situation calmly and let it go. Instead, she let her own emotions rage like wildfire.

"Well, if I'm so stupid, why don't you deal with your stupid seals yourself!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing now isn't it? While you're just flitting about the world, explaining all my secrets to whoever decides to ask. You just think it's funny. Haha, Renir got drunk and now he is a rock!" That was the last straw. Liora dove straight down. Renir screamed something incomprehensible as she plummeted, but Liora didn't slow down. Like a bullet she descended, opening her wings only at the last moment, so as not to crash into the dunes.

Sand flew everywhere as she flapped her wings, flying towards one of the many anthill entrances. She was Cee and Caspian standing by one of them, alongside a few ants. Perfect. Liora dumped Renir right by their feet and flew back into the night sky.

"Liora?!" Cee called after her.

"I need space!" Liora called, as she flew off into the night sky. Cee stared up at the night sky, Liora already long out of sight thanks to her Shadow Glide. Then she stared down Renir, who had turned away and was heading into the anthill.

"What the hell just happened?" Cee smacked him without hesitation, making the sink into the sand.

"MRPHM," he grumbled something through the sand. Caspian pulled him out.

"What was that for?" Renir muttered.

"Liora just left!" Cee said.

"Yeah, so?" Cee gaped at him for a moment, the gem glaring at her angrily. What was wrong with this guy? It was like the whole fiasco with the swamp all over again, only even worse.

"Okay. You must be in bad mental state or something, but let me repeat it so this information truly sinks in. Liora left," Cee said.

"She'll be back," he said dismissively, some of the anger fading out of his voice.

"Oh, will she? I don't know what you two argued about, but this isn't healthy. You two can't have these kinds of arguments if we're going to travel together. We're trying to help you here. Liora is working hardest of all, yet you just spit in her face."

"How do you that it wasn't Liora who spit in my face?" Renir countered. Cee glared at him. He glared. They stared each other down for a moment, until finally Renir threw up his tiny gem arms.

"Okay, fine. I might have been a bit harsh, but she did something incredibly stupid!" Renir growled.

"What? What is so stupid that she did that you had to drive her away?" Cee demanded. Smokey behind her growled, clearly feeling her agitation. Cee considered whether she should let the wyvern swallow Renir. He wouldn't die anyway, but the journey through the wyvern's gestational track would undoubtedly be unpleasant. But Cee abandoned the idea. She didn't want to give her pet an indigestion from this nasty gem. Renir muttered something.

"What?" Cee asked. He muttered something again.

"He said something about a brother," Caspian said.

"Yes, that foolish bird told everything to my brother!" Renir shouted. Cee smacked him again. They let him wiggle in the sand for a bit before Caspian pulled him out again.

"Okay, seems you don't like your brother very much, so tell me is he some evil villain hellbent on destroying the world?"

"Um… no, but—""Is he one of the Night King freaks, corrupted everything in his path?"

"Well, no, but—""Has ever bullied you as child or something?"

"No, but—""Then what the hell is so bad that you hate him so much?" Renir opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, turning away. Cee sighed.

"Is it something so bad that you have to drive Liora away?"

"I didn't drive her away. She left. Most likely to go to him. It's always like that. He's always the first choice for everyone. Always believes that he knows everything. Always—" Renir continued muttering something, but Cee wasn't listening anymore. It was clear that Renir had some powerful inferiority complex towards his brother. Liora had somehow encountered him—which was a mystery in its own right—and likely told him of Renir's situation.

And now they were in this mess, but Renir's fragile ego couldn't handle it.

"He is such a pain!" Cee threw her front legs up.

"I can sort of understand him," Caspian chimed in.

"Oh, please don't encourage him!" Cee glared at the merman.

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not siding with him," Caspian shook his head.

"But I understand the frustration he must feel. I also was always pushed aside as inferior. It wears down on you heavily. It's why I left the merfolk city in the first place."

"He shouldn't have taken it out on Liora."

"Most certainly not," Caspian said, crouching down by Renir.

"I believe you should apologize to her." Renir paced around in the sand, looking very angry for a moment. But soon his expression started to shift. They were hard to read on his gem face, but he would often glance up at the sky.

"But… But she's gone. We could never catch up to Liora," Renir muttered, a twinge of regret in his voice.

"Well, then you better figure out a way to get her back. You scared her away. You get her back," Cee said firmly.

"Where do you think she would go?" Renir growled.

"Undoubtedly back to my brother. It's where everyone goes. Because he is so damned great!"

"Then we'll be going to your brother too."

"What? No way!" Renir protested.

"So you don't care if Liora leaves?"

"I… I…" Renir stuttered.

"I can't face him."

"Well, then you figure out what's important to you. Holing up in that dingy old room and reading an old book, or actually doing something about the stupid mistakes you made. For an old wizard, you sure aren't very wise." Cee said, scuttling back inside the anthill. Many antkin had gathered to observe the ruckus, chittering among each other in their unusual language. Cee didn't like this attention. She hated this whole situation. If only those two could stop fighting. She frankly wanted to go after Liora.

To calm the argument, and set everything straight. Because ever since they came into the anthill they had been doing things separately. Cee didn't like that. The antkin reasoning was clear, and she couldn't even blame them. Each of them were put to do the task they most excelled at. It's how ants did things. But it didn't work for them. They had to be together, because it was when their group was together that they could bring out the best in each other.

Ever since they split up, the delicate balance they had crumbled away at first obstacle. But Cee also understood that at this moment, Liora needed space. Renir must have said something extremely hurtful. Cee chasing after her wouldn't accomplish anything. It had to be Renir to do it.