Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 259: Another Portal(3)

Kothar pushed through the pain and discomfort, knowing that this was exactly what he needed right now, after his Spatial Core being forced to expand unnaturally, he needed to acclimate his body to the increased amount of Spatial Mana.

Otherwise, he would run the risk of being torn apart from the inside out by his own mana.

All the while, the strange creature flew closer and closer to Kothar, currently, it was flying high up above him. Even if Kothar were to open his eyes and look around, he would only see the faintest dot in the sky above, barely visible against the glaring sun.

The odd creature's feathers were a mixture of red, blue and purple, unlike many other creatures of this desert plane, it was not the drab colors that blend with the desert.

For it had no need to hide, with its sharp beak and talons, it could define itself, and against those threats that it couldn't fight, it could take to the skies and flee.

Now, the beast was above Kothar, peering down at him as it circled high above, unlike birds of prey though, it was not able to dive straight down at him.

Instead, it flew away, off to the side, before turning down, and extending its wings straight out to the other side.

It would swoop down, in a shallow arc with its talons extended, to catch its prey.

The beast started its glide down towards Kothar, who still sat there, unaware. Kothar had extended the field far further than it usually was, but it was only about fifty or so meters wide, anymore would strenuous, and he wouldn't be able to meditate.

So, it wasn't until the beast had picked up speed, and had its talons outstretched, that Kothar sensed the slightest vibration from his belt as the electric field was disturbed.

Immediately, Kothar's eyes snapped open, and he turned his head toward the disturbance, in moments, he realized the threat.

Kothar was already drawing in Spatial Mana, and so, his right hand snapped up, and rather than dodging or running, Kothar opened a portal right within the beast's trajectory.

"Squaawwk!" The creature cried out, as the odd purple portal appeared in front of it, but it was going too fast for its ungainly wings to steer it away.

The creature's head and torso passed into the portal, and a spray of blood spurted all  round.

The two halves of the creature continued on their forward path, falling away to either side, a semicircular chunk missing from the edge of them. 

It was a far cleaner cut than any blade, claw or jaw could create, the creature's head and torso had passed into the void, as anything that entered a lone, unpaired portal would.

Kothar closed his eyes again, and continued to gather his Spatial Mana, this plane was far safer than the others he would need to pass through on his way to Atla, and so, he was committed to gathering as much Spatial Mana as he could while he was here.

The heat from above had faded slightly, as the enormous sun was starting to set, it was so enormous that even as it disappeared behind the horizon, the desert was still lit in its red light.

Kothar now came to his feet, brushing the sand from his cloak, it was time for him to resume his journey.

Kothar channeled his mana, feeling around for the 'thin' spot that would allow him to travel to the nearest plane.

Finding it, he opened a portal, and stepped through. All around him were large trees, their trunks so wide that even five men could not wrap their arms together around them.

Vines hung from their branches, and wrapped around their trunks, while ferns grew below, as well moss that lived in the crack in the bark of the enormous trees.

Kothar only looked around quickly, scanning for immediate danger, then opened another portal, this time, in another forested plane.

However, the trees here were twisted and warped, their color slightly off, the vines hanging from them vibrant and green as they leached the life from the trees.

It was as if there were curtains of green all around Kothar, and he pushed apart the vines to look for danger, pausing for a few moments before channelling his mana to open yet another portal.

Kothar took a deep breath before he stepped through this portal, and he stepped through, into the frozen hellscape that he remembered from all those months ago.

Kothar grit his teeth, and braced himself, as he was plumelled by frozen shards of ice that were whipped at him by the chilling winds that screamed through this plane.

Beneath the sound of the wind, and the crackling of the ice against Kothar's armor, was the eerie wail that had set his teeth on edge the last time Kothar had passed through this plane.

Just as before, Kothar felt as though he was being watched, and quickly channeled his Spatial Mana.

Unlike the clearly dangerous planes, this plane was off-putting, it gave one the kind of feeling that you might get when turning your back to a dark cavern, the mysterious emptiness weighing on your mind.

The wailing grew louder, and Kothar felt a genuine sense of panic, he opened the portal as fast as he could, and leapt through, closing it shut behind him.

Here, the Multiplanar equipment showed its strength, as Kothar stepped foot onto the asteroid, the darkness of space all around him.

The air here was thin, the barest remnants of an atmosphere clinging to the enormous hunk of rock that was the barest remnant of the planet hat once stood here.

Kothar felt a strange lightness, and he resisted the urge to leap into the air, as he had always done when landing on a low gravity planet.

For here, one wrong step might send Kothar hurtling out of the bare remnant of the atmosphere that protected him from the vacuum of space.