Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 384: [Bonus - ] The Ashen Whisper (Finale)

Part 6: Dreams Survive Even If Hidden Among Sand and Dust

"No disturbances at the border. We can start circling back north if we continue westwards," Fravash reported. He looked up at the stars, "If we stick around with the city in view while heading north, we shall reach Cravolta without getting lost."

"Should have stopped for a map through the desert." She signalled with the back of her head resting against the cart.

"Desperate times," he replied. All around them and their stopped cart was sand and dry grass. The city was the only thing visible, while the vast desert around was simply pitch black, with but a lantern making a droplet of light in the sea of darkness.

However, a few more droplets started to join into view as Arabella turned her head to the side. There were several telltale signs of lantern lights approaching from the direction of the city they just fled.

She snapped her fingers to get his attention and pointed. "If I had to take a guess, the Khathi are following our trail."

Fravash unbuckled his pauldron and set it in the cart, "We need to lose them quickly. We have hours of travel through the desert before we can be safe in Cravolta’s borders."

"Or we deal with them now."

"This is no place or time to fight. Unless you are feeling extremely confident."

"I have sand all around me, they’re the ones walking into a deathtrap."

"Surely they would know that factor. Even you cannot aim if you cannot see your targets, but a lucky shot from a crossbow is different from a directed slash of sand I would presume."

Arabella frowned. "What do you suggest then?"

"Do you know of any caves or mountains that might be south of Asheva? The terrain could provide cover or allow us to lead them astray. I believe the Black-Sand River is nearby as well?"

"The land from here to the sea is relatively flat outside of a few dunes. But the Black-Sand River is..." Her hands froze and she turned to him. She stood within the cart and faced past him, "It should be very close by..." Her fingers twitched.

"Could you part it or make some sort of sand bridge across? It would be the easiest way."

...

"Ms Kaveri?"

Arabella stopped her shaky hands and snapped back to reality, "Part it? I don’t have that level of control. Making a bridge... I don’t know. I have been able to acutely sense the presence of dust and sand, but...

I have never shaped it into something that large and I cannot guarantee it would hold our weight."

"It’s a risk then... Shall we trying getting close and travel alongside it? In case they catch up to us, we have a few options; if the situation gets dire, we rely on you to save us."

"Me...? No, I can’t."

Her shoulders were slumped, her eyes never looked ahead and her entire body had shrunk; Fravash saw weakness overtake her entire form. He slowly reached out and held her shoulder-

"Clang."

Arabella’s hand immediately grabbed his gauntleted wrist and her eyes widened in warning.

"I am not going to harm you, swear on my name."

Arabella slowly removed her hand, but controlled sand from the ground beneath with the other.

He pushed her up by the shoulder and held it firmly as he looked her in the eye. "You can do it. You can," he affirmed with a nod of his head each time.

Arabella took a moment, then shook her head.

"I believe you can," he shook her form a little with his firm grasp. "If you doubt yourself, I shall believe in you for the both of us. Our lives are at stake and you will rise up to the challenge.

Do not litter your mind with what ifs; when the time comes you will do it—and you will not fail," he repeated, sharp and clear. "Gather your courage and face this head on. Understood!?"

He shouted as softly as he could and it got Arabella to face ahead with a little shock.

...

She signalled yes.

Fravash smiled.

"Tck."

They both glanced at the back of the cart just in time to see an arrow from a longbow strike into the wood and stick out. Fravash took the reins and Arabella plucked the arrow before inspecting it.

The roadwinders moved once again with a screech each, while Arabella sat by the edge of the cart and swept away the trail they left behind in the sand as they sped away.

At the same time, she tried shifting the sand in a way that compacted it; she did it over and over again while fleeing. Just do it—failure was not an option.

_

Wind rushed past their hair and clouds of sand followed in their wake. Even in the pitch-black, one patch of sand was far more shadowed than anything in the vicinity.

With the pursuit of the Khathi behind them, Arabella soon realized it was a waste of energy to cover their trail. Fravash pulled on the reins and forced the roadwinders to turn right.

Their bodies slithered and turned in the sand, causing the cart to drift and thud into place before going westwards. Arabella looked over the side... and her heart began to pump more than it should have.

It was right there—dark sand running like a river and hissing like a babbling brook. Grey bits of ash and soot would glimmer to the top and sink back down, no longer able to feel what little lantern light shone onto the riverbank.

Arabella peered into the distance, realizing what a wide expanse it had become since she last saw it. ...It only made her wonder how much deeper it had gotten too.

"Ms Kaveri!" Fravash yelled over the wheels of the cart.

Arabella twisted her head around.

"We might be in a spot of trouble."

Arabella popped over to the other side of the cart to take a peek. The several carts pulled by roadwinders were now more in view and they were trying to cut them off by veering towards the two’s direction.

"I am not sure if we can outpace them, especially if they have more mounts than us. It might be the time," he turned around to look.

Arabella gripped the side of the cart. She released it to sign, "Can we not try to outpace them first? They have to catch up."

Fravash took a deep breath and sighed, "We shall try. But remember—I believe in you."

For a moment, a small amount of relief washed over her. However, that relief would not stop the inevitable. Even pushing the roadwinders to their limits, within half an hour’s travel the Khathi were close enough.

"Fwsh!" "Tf!" "Tck!"

Arabella could make out a few faces before the arrows would fire into the sand. Some managed to pierce the side of the cart... If one were to hit their roadwinders...

Fravash’s eyes went to the side; Arabella gulped. There was a rumbling in the earth beneath—residual and brief. Then it rumbled a little again and it did not help the twisting ache in her stomach.

What she saw in the distance, as if everything else was not enough pressure, tore into her even more. Arabella witnessed Sayyed on one of the carts, signalling each round of arrows. Their carts’ wheels had been put up in favour of skids.

That was far enough. Arabella steeled herself and glared ahead. She clenched her shaky hands and opened them up again to whirl and whisk up sand into the form of crescent blades.

"Rumble..."

The roadwinders seemed to speed up of their own accord. Arabella held up two crescents of sand and aimed for the incoming arrows.

"Fwsh-Tck!" She broke an arrow by the shaft and kept the sand aloft where it was broken. Her eyes narrowed; if it was fired from there, at that angle...

"SWSH!" She threw her arm back and launched one crescent blade forward. Cutting through the wind and dust, the blade of sand crashed into the side of one of the carts.

"Trsh-shhh..." Enough to damage it and push it to slide the wrong way and come to a stop.

"Fw-thng!" Fravash glanced to his arm and saw the arrowhead scuff against his armour. "Are you able to stop all of them?" he shouted back.

Right then, her eyes met with Sayyed’s in the distance... "Do it. Turn." She forced her fingers to stop shaking and she held her breath.

Fravash gave a nod and pulled on the reins. Arabella switched to the other side of the cart and leaned her head over the side. The cart pivoted onto two wheels as the roadwinders tried to franticly not go in that direction.

But Fravash held the reins taut, forcing the beasts to turn into the black sand. Arabella’s shoulders tensed up; she reached her hands down and with contorted fingers tried to compact sand beneath them and push it under their mounts and the wheels of their cart.

The roadwinders chirped and screeched into the air as they began sinking into the Black-Sand River. "Ms Kaveri!" The entire cart sped into the black sand and was hardly staying afloat.

Arabella’s brows wrinkled and went up. Sweat poured down her temples, till dust and sand stuck to her face. The cold desert wind was no more as the cart lost all momentum. The beasts struggled and screeched as half their forms went down.

The Khathi still fired arrows as they rushed to the edge of the river. Arabella side-eyed the incoming barrage and shifted the useless sand beneath the cart to strike against their attackers.

Blades of sand slashed and whizzed past the Khathi. "Shck!" "GHR!"

Arabella knew that grunt. She noticed one of her loose shots had hit none other than Sayyed. With widened eyes, she could see crimson going down his remaining wolf-like ear and his winced glare.

...

Fravash pulled the reins harder and harder to no avail. He turned, "Arabella! Please, give it your all!"

Her eyes darkened and she finally managed her breath despite their currently sinking state. She controlled this ash once before, she can do it again.

With strained shoulders, she forced the ash and soot to her command whilst another volley of arrows flew forward. The low rumbling of the earth around them... Their cart being swallowed whole...

She closed her eyes tight; tears rolled down her cheeks, one by one. There was a tingle in the back of her mind as she felt her hands get a hold of something and gripped tightly.

With her entire form she yanked herself back. The black sand hissed and swirled underneath the cart. The vehicle buffeted from underneath, like it had hit solid rock.

The roadwinders at the front were pushed up and they did not hesitate for a moment to start swimming in a panic through the black sand.

Fravash sat with his entire form tilted up. He glanced back to notice the back half of the cart stayed underneath the sand, while the front part had tipped forward, but they were moving at the very least.

Arabella gripped the cart with her eyes still closed and her other hand pulled and pulled, causing the cart to speed up across the Black-Sand River.

The roadwinders swam like surfacing dolphins while a drop of light sailed across the pitch-black ashen sand, albeit not gracefully by any means and with the entire vehicle floating away half-sunken.

Tilting from side to side, the rocking cart soon had made it across the entire Black-Sand River and the roadwinders scrambled onto normal sand.

A wave of black sand pushed the cart and bumped it above, knocking it onto the other side. Fravash grasped the reins, but it was no use as the cart toppled over and slid into the sand.

Arabella’s eyes waxed open as she fell face first into sand. Their supplies flew out and Fravash skidded against the sand. The roadwinders fell on their sides and slithered back up, unable to flee as they were attached to the toppled cart.

As the dust settled, Arabella lifted her head up and rolled over onto her back. She sat up and panted, only to see stars up in the sky stare back down.

Eyeing to her right, the Khathi were all the way over on the other side of the river. Bows and arrows could fire, but what would be the use at this point?

However, Arabella knew this could not be the end of it... They could still chase them around the river if they headed northwards. Perhaps heading further west towards Galuvit or Kria would be-

"Rumble..."

The earth began to truly shake rather than just rumble. Sayyed on the other side stood with his men, glaring across the river while he held his chopped off and bleeding ear.

Blood trickled onto the sand from the palm of his hand as the earth began to quake beneath him as well.

Meanwhile, Fravash looked up with a groan. He had fallen right next to Arabella. He laid his head in the sand and took a breather.

"Haha... Hahahaha!" Fravash began cackling with his arms out wide. "I cannot believe we made it. You did it. You actually did it," he exclaimed into the night air.

Arabella panted and wiped her nose, only to realize blood was trickling down onto her lip. Nausea overtook her and she swore she was about to vomit.

But with the laughing Fravash beside her, she sighed and shook her head. Her eyes rolled before she looked to the river... The rumble below them only seemed to intensify.

The Khathi men started backing away step by step as they felt their bones begin to quiver. Where Sayyed’s blood had dripped, the sand began to spiral and sink.

Sand spiralled and spiralled further, growing in size. The Khathi shouted a retreat and Sayyed grunted as he faced the ground beneath him.

However, his foot sank into the sand and as he tried to pull back and move, the spiral turned into a whirlpool. It caught all the carts and roadwinders around, before pulling them inwards.

The men were forced to be dragged along, kicking and screaming while the sand formed into a massive sinkhole, engulfing some of the black sand with it.

Sayyed could not even get a word out as he fell straight down—the screams of the Khathi echoing behind before a deep, disturbing rumble boomed out of the sinkhole.

"BFFFFF!!!"

Bursting out of the sand came a gargantuan maw to swallow the sand and everything within its breadth. Large pupilless white eyes came rising out of the earth as its maw slammed shut.

The creature continued to ascend; it launched itself out of the sand, with its serpentine body trailing behind it. Its skin was akin to constantly moving sand, as if it had rivers running through it.

Its skin was a dark coal-like black and had speckles of white sand-like grains that made it sparkle like stars against the night sky—as if it had been painted on it.

Arabella and Fravash watched as this creature burst into the sky and the sound of rumbling earth pause for a moment. A guttural whale-like roar resounded through the night from the primordial beast.

"BFFF!"

It plunged back into the sand and bore itself in. The earth quaked once more as they watched its tail disappear beneath the sands... The rumble continued for a few moments, low and subtle till it became residual.

...

"Well I was right to believe you," the fallen admiral said with widened eyes.

Arabella sat in the sand, contemplating her whole existence as it disappeared. That titan left no Khathi in its wake—including any trace of Sayyed.

Her throat croaked a bit and she held it. She muttered under her breath, "Good riddance..." before stifling a few coughs...

Epilogue

A week or so passed and Tamara Palace had a new visitor who roamed around the grounds. This day however, she roamed within the long and vast halls, walking until she was practically lost.

She sighed while watching the staff walk past her around the corner. Bits of metal plating she wore around her joints that made her keep moving her arms around uncomfortably.

Finding her movements to be too stiff, she took to the corner and began unbuckling the belts to readjust them for the third time. Where the hell had the admiral gone off to? In this maze of a place, it was going to be impossible to-

"Oh, morning sister. Surprised to see you in the palace. Have you come here to inform the king of your second divorce?" she heard the voice of Fravash say in a playful tone.

Arabella peeked around the corner to see a conversation unfold between the admiral in full armour and a young woman in her late twenties.

She was adorned with pearls from her necklace to her wrists—some pearls even lining her flaxen hair braided down to her back.

She gave the tilt of a brow and a glare to the admiral with her faded blue eyes, "Hilarious, I didn’t know the position of the royal jester had been opened up. Believe it or not, I’m here on actual business—a visit to dear King Riyanavan. How fares your work?"

"It fares well. I am actually awaiting a new recruit for the Royal Guard at the moment. Hopefully she has not gotten lost..."

"Picked one up from your trip to the desert slums did you?"

"No need to be so harsh," he tilted his head.

"That was harsh was it?" she crossed her arms.

"Actually, considering you have an affinity, would you mind teaching her a few tricks? Or at least assess her ability?"

The noblewoman narrowed her eyes, "If she has some sort of illusory magic, sure, I can certainly try."

"Uhm, how about moving ash, dust and sand...? While also not being able to speak?"

"You’re truly an imbecile brother," she held the bridge of her nose. "No, that’s not within my realm of expertise in the slightest. I can help in some regard, but why don’t you take it up with the librarian. I believe even her daughter studies magics and affinities."

Fravash nodded, "Noted. That was my next stop." He looked at his sister for a moment and said more mutedly, "Are you alright Varshini? I believe your divorce happened-"

"While you were cavorting through Asheva, yes. It was my decision; no hard feelings. We both wept and shared tears, but all will be well I trust. She was just... Hm. It was just not meant to be," she sombrely put.

"I see. My condolences sister. Though, you are hitting your thirties soonish, the house will not be-"

"Actually, I am soon to be betrothed—picked by dear mother," she forced a smile.

"Arranged? What happened to the one who said she would only court someone she truly fell in love with? This does not suit you at all," Fravash furrowed his brows.

Her eyes shied away, "That argument is over a decade old." She took a deep breath and stood boldly, "Besides, it’s just a marriage for vanity’s sake. I’m sure whoever it is, they will allow me to be my free-spirited self; no need to consummate."

"Hopefully you do not break their heart by saying that. Do you know of them?"

She flapped her hand in the air, "Some lesser noble from Blensir."

Fravash hummed and looked up to the ceiling. "Will you be telling Vagesh of this?"

"I’m sure he will know in time. How is he?" her voice softened and her eyes twinkled with bits of water.

He sighed, "You ought to spend more time with him. The boy needs his mother."

Her lips tightened, "Yet he seems perfectly content with his uncle. I’ve said it before Fravash, I am not cut out to be the boy’s mother. I have already missed out on his formative years, he does not need me waltzing into his life at this point."

"I am certain he may whine about it, but I believe he would appreciate it nevertheless. Do you know how much he treasures that sabre you gifted him?"

She closed her eyes and huffed out her nose. "Fine. I will arrange for lunch with him, if it will get you to stop asking this of me."

He smiled, "I am sure it will be good for you as well."

"We shall see. For now, it seems we have an eavesdropper," as the woman said, her eyes darted to Arabella by the corner of the hallway.

Arabella’s eyes bubbled, but she was surrounded in a bluish glow that marked her position. She gulped and walked into view proper. "I didn’t mean any trouble. I didn’t want to interrupt..."

"Well you interrupted and are a cause for trouble so, who’s employ are you under?" the woman scowled.

"That would be Ms Arabella Kaveri, our new recruit," Fravash walked towards Arabella. "You may stop sister, she means no harm I swear."

"Oh you say that now," she dispelled her magic with a flick of her wrist. She glared to Arabella, "There better not be anything that goes missing from the palace."

"I assure you sister, it will be fine, she will not do such a thing," he sighed and ushered Arabella elsewhere. "Take care sister, I will speak to you again later."

"Right. Farewell," she spun around and strode off in the other direction.

"Apologies if you heard all that. Make no mistake, the Countess Keya is no harlot. She was simply betrothed at a young age with someone she loved, but unfortunately he passed away in service.

Do not speak to her of it, ever. She has been... figuring things out ever since is all."

"Spiralling? Having a crisis?"

"...It is best if you simply refrain from speaking to her whenever she visits. Come now, there is more to be acquainted with before you may resume training with the Royal Guard."

-2 Years Later

"This is outrageous! This is unfair!" his voice had grown and matured a little more—and so did his height. Vagesh Keya wore metallic bits of armour as he grouched about something to his uncle.

Fravash now sported an auburn stubble beard that did not quite connect at the corner of his lips. He had his arms crossed as he listened to his nephew, "I swear, I did not recommend her. I merely said a few words of praise and the king decided."

"Liar. That was your intention," the fifteen-year-old pointed.

He chuckled, "Intentional or not, surely you are not that perturbed? You know as well as I that the king would not station a boy to be a guard for the princess."

"It did not have to be an impossibility," he groaned.

"The princess would still very much meet with you on several occasions, will she not? If she saw you by her side from dawn to dusk, she may grow tired of your presence," Fravash reasoned.

Vagesh pouted to the side, "I suppose there’s logic to that."

"It is better this way." Fravash noticed someone walking towards them. "The princess invited you to tea later, correct? Perhaps you should go get ready."

"That’s hours away... but it does not hurt to be careful," Vagesh agreed and rushed past his uncle.

Fravash turned to the other figure now, who wore metallic armour from neck to toe. He widened his eyes to say, "Just in time. He might have made you tear your ears off if he had seen you."

Arabella smiled, "The little pup will recover, I’m sure."

"Ready for your first day Captain Kaveri?"

She gave a firm nod. "...Although, I’m not sure if it’s alright for you and the king to trust me this much."

He shook his head, "What ever makes you say that?"

"I abandoned the Khathi to flee with you. I wouldn’t call that loyal. Who’s to say what will happen now?" She said, though her face was clearly teasing.

"You want me to keep a better eye on you? I have no need to do so. You were never loyal to those scum; you were just scared," he argued.

Arabella rolled her eyes. "I really don’t deserve all of this... Are you sure I shouldn’t give this job to someone else more qualified? I’m not the best suited for this."

"Really? I can’t think of anyone better. I believe on my name that you will do well by her side. You fell in line for the sake of survival, but you never truly let yourself or your will go.

Perseverance in the face of great defeat will always be rewarded in the end."

"I suppose, this feels like a dream." She smiled, but then tilted her head. "But you always have to stake your name on it hm?"

Fravash laughed. "Unfortunately it is one of the greatest strengths I have. I am not as muscle-bound or as intelligent as many would have you believe. Now, do not be late to introduce yourself; I am sure she will be ecstatic."

Arabella walked forward and got close to Fravash’s ear. He leaned down in curiosity. "I wasn’t charmed py your name or your muscles atmiral," she whispered into his ear and walked past him.

Fravash blinked several times till his complexion grew redder. He turned and watched her walk away, "You could speak this entire time!?"

Arabella kept a hand pressed against her throat while she grinned and walked away. She turned and opened up a pair of massive doors of tinted glass that led onto a massive tile balcony.

There, with her arms folded on the balcony and wavy purple hair drifting behind her, was a fourteen-year-old girl who had just turned her head. On her head rested a golden tiara with purple gems.

She looked at Arabella with her luminous amethyst-hued eyes and smiled before she gave a curtsy. Arabella bowed back in response.

"You must be Captain Kaveri, yes? It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance," her gown drifted along the tiles as she approached. "You may stand up, no need to bow in my presence."

Arabella stood and looked down at her with a nod.

"You are to be my new guard? Splendid! Please stay by my side, my parents tell me I’m quite roguish," the princess chuckled.

"However, Captain Kaveri is much too formal... May I simply call you Arabella? Or Bella for short? You may simply address me as Riya or Maya in private if you wish," she beamed.

-1st of March, 980. 8 Years Later.

Her dark black hair drifted in a breeze; a storm was brewing over her head, but she remained leaning on the balustrade as she looked over the city.

"Arf!"

She glanced down to Orion sat beside her and reached a hand down to give him a few pats on the head.

"Ara?"

Arabella turned to see the princess approach.

"I’ve been looking all over for ya. Hey doggo," Daiyu placed a fist on her hip.

"Sorry, just admiring the view a little." Arabella sauntered over to Daiyu while Orion followed right behind.

"My lady, did you just wander off...?" Feyan poked his head through the balcony doors.

"I’m like ten steps ahead, calm your tits," Daiyu went back into the palace. "I found Ara."

"Ah admiral, good morning."

"Morning. Early business?"

"Just explaining to the princess why we cannot simply expand Cravolta’s borders without consideration."

"Blah, blah, percentage of land ownership, blah, blah, more land tax to give to Kria and Hefaloss, I got the gist of it," Daiyu briefly summarized.

"Well as long as you understand my lady."

"Why the sudden interest in the topic?" Arabella walked alongside the two with Orion.

"It’s just weird there’s massive gaps of land not really under any country’s ruling. Like, I get why, but it’d just be neater if everything was connected.

Also, people outside of the borders probs can’t get into the countries easily. And hell knows how poor those people are. We could like, give better transport and emergency healthcare if we could build things officially on those lands.

Otherwise they’d all have to go to Kria and after everything that’s happened there? Yikes. But Fey was saying we can do that without throwing the country’s budget out the window?" she glanced over.

"Indeed. A lot of contracts to sign and deals to make, but independent buildings funded by Cravolta can exist. Though it might take two or three years to fully establish them," he flipped through his clipboard.

"We can name it like, Xia La-Cares-You or something. It’d be a neat idea," Daiyu nodded to herself. She lifted her hands up in the air in front of them, "Branding..." she whispered.

"We... We will see about a name if this idea goes through," Feyan reluctantly wrote the name down on paper.

"What d’you think about it? Sounds like a good idea, right? Right?" Daiyu leaned her head over to Arabella.

"It actually does." Arabella raised her eyebrows.

"What d’you mean ’actually’?" she half-closed her right eye.

"Absolutely nothing."

"I can give you another vacation, this one’d be permanent..."

"Is that something you really want to threaten me with?" she side-eyed.

"Oh come on, I’m just messing~" Daiyu let out a little cackle. "I never asked, what d’you do on your time off anyway?"

She gave a smile. "Just went to clean up an old house a little."