Single Wish: Rise Of The Omniscient Paragon

(Some Moments Ago)

The members of the Thirteenth Dawn moved in silence as their figures leaped across shattered rooftops, cracked pathways, and sunken streets as they made their way toward the center of the Dying City.

The sky was still deep and dull grey. The red stars above them burned faintly, their presence unnatural but ever-watchful.

It was Day, but not in the way that brought comfort.

Nobody knew how far the center was, but they kept running.

Kieran was at the front as usual, leading the group with his twin sabers strapped to his side and his gaze darting across the shattered buildings.

Myra was close behind him with her spear in her hand as she calmly breathed. Her expression was extremely stoic as her eyes constantly scanned their surroundings.

Zeke followed a little further back with his pistols in his hand. He was the only one that looked like he didn't mind speaking.

"Watch it. There's another illusion to the left," Kieran said, slashing through a twisting dog that tried to take the form of a crying child.

"Already saw it, " Myra replied with a flick of her spear, dispersing the mist entirely.

"Illusions, spirits, and ghosts..." Yara's voice came from behind. "I'll never get used to this place."

"If you do, you're probably crazy." Zeke smirked.

"But this place isn't so bad to be honest." Aelric said while taking a step off a cracked wall.

Zeke looked at him with twitching lips, "You've been crazy since day one. You don't count."

"Mm." Aelric nodded without refuting Zeke's words. "Just keep your mental defenses up. Some of these illusions can enter through eye contact alone."

No one disagreed.

They kept running.

Not too fast. Not too slow. It was a pace they could all maintain.

Corey was in the middle of the group.

Quiet.

Focused.

And carefully controlled through Corey's Infinite Mirage.

And somehow... no one noticed.

Some minutes later, Kieran swung his saber as he dispersed a shifting mirage in front of them, and he could not help but mutter with a deep frown.

"This is the third one in five minutes. The closer we get to the center, the more frequent they become."

"And trickier too," Yara added as she faded into a shadow before appearing behind another flickering trap.

Aelric clicked his tongue. "This city feels like it's watching us. Testing us."

"I hate it," Zeke muttered while twirling his pistol, "Give me a straightforward monster over invisible nightmares."

Suddenly, a loud caw echoed through the air.

All heads turned.

A bird circled above, and it was dark as ink.

Its wings were spread wide, with faint wisps of smoky white energy drifting from its feathers.

Zeke immediately raised his pistol and fired.

Bang!

The bullet soared, but the bird tilted slightly, and the bullet passed harmlessly beside it.

Zeke frowned, and then he fired again.

Bang!

Same result.

The bird dodged, and it simply kept circling around.

"Kieran," Myra called out while gripping her spear tightly with a solemn expression. "An illusion?'

Kieran squinted, then his eyes glowed faintly, then dimmed.

"It's not. But I might be wrong... It feels real, and I see no sign of illusion magic around it."

"Then what is it?" Zeke asked with a frown. "Is it trying to watch us or is it there to guide us? Or it thinks we're prey and it's just waiting for us to be caught off-guard, and then it'll kill us."

No one had an answer.

Eventually, the group moved on, but their eyes occasionally glanced upward.

The bird followed them, but it showed no sign of hostility.

And this baffled and also made the group wary.

Minutes went by, and Zeke looked at Corey.

He felt bored with the silence, and he needed to talk.

"Hey," Zeke suddenly called out. "Ryan."

The illusion didn't reply.

But before the silence could grow, the bird above cawed sharply in the sky above.

It wasn't loud. Just sharp enough to draw their attention.

Everyone looked up briefly.

Zeke blinked. "Tch. That bird is so freaking creepy and annoying."

"At least it's better than your attitude," Yara muttered as she vanished into another shadow, causing Zeke to force a smile.

The group chuckled, and the tension eased as a result.

They kept moving.

Another ten minutes passed, then Zeke felt bored and decided to try again.

"So, Ryan. What's the strongest monster, beast, or person you've faced. I feel like since you're extremely talented, you must have fought monsters that are higher than your Tier right?"

"You might not have won, but-"

As if on cue, a sharp hiss rang out.

"Damn it!" Myra winced and stopped. She suddenly slapped her arm.

"What is it?" Kieran asked.

"I was bitten by an insect." She replied, and then her expression changed when she felt her hand becoming numb and the veins in her hand turning green.

"It's poisonous." She exclaimed, and then reached into her pouch, pulling out a dark green leaf.

She chewed on it, and her veins slowly returned back to normal.

"Great. We also have to watch out for damn poisonous mosquitoes in a damn dead city." Zeke scoffed while gesturing with a frustrated expression. "What else are we going to see? Cockroaches?"

Nobody said anything, but a few gave Zeke a strange look.

The group paused briefly while Myra finished treating herself.

Corey remained silent.

Nobody noticed, and then they continued their journey.

Time continued passing by, and none of them noticed that each time someone turned to speak to Corey, or ask him a question... something strange always interrupted it.

An illusion.

A trap.

A sudden noise.

An insect bite.

And the caw of the bird above which occurred especially when Zeke spoke, causing Zeke a lot of frustration.

But eventually, Zeke narrowed his eyes. Then he smirked.

"Oi," he said. "Ryan. You've been unusually quiet. Got scared or finally realized how out of your depth you are?"

The illusion of Corey didn't respond.

Zeke frowned, and the others slowed down slightly.

"Ryan?" Myra asked, turning to glance at him. "You alright?"

However, Corey said nothing.

Yara narrowed her eyes. "Kieran? Something feels off."

Kieran's eyes glowed again, and for a moment, his brows furrowed.

Then, the ground in front of them quaked heavily, causing every single one of them to stumble.

"Move!" A voice snapped.

And to their surprise, it was Corey.

The real one, but they didn't know that.

He had shimmered into existence the moment the ground quaked, replacing the illusion with seamless timing.

The Thirteenth Dawn got ready for a battle as they drew their weapons.