As they continued down the road, no other miners paid them any attention. It was certainly strange how the boy was able to tell immediately, but the rest were oblivious. Maybe it's part of the trick.
"A pound of coal!? The price was half as much last time—what's the meaning of this?"
To the side, a few people were arguing in a market.
"Jewels are asking for more, so I gotta raise the price. It was far too cheap anyway. Pay up or get lost!"
'It's so lively here… I wonder if it was always this way. Maybe it was frozen in time, like a simulation waiting for us to arrive.'
They walked normally to avoid attracting attention from the miners and the Jewels. While Cullen was observing the shopkeepers, he felt a material encompass his body.
"Still gotta get stronger," Adam said with a smile. "I added some extra weight too."
Cullen didn't notice.
"Do you really think we can break the core?" Ryan whispered to Eric. "By the number of miners here, its strength is different from anything we've seen before. It reminds me of you know what."
Eric gave a harsh glance back at him.
"The Endless City got its power by absorbing humans; this did not. Its growth seems to be fueled by the minerals it consumes. And we have no clue how strong the miners really are, so we can't judge their power by them."
Suddenly, the streets went quiet. The people in front shuffled to the sides, making way for the beast approaching them. Something much worse than the Mindcradle, much worse than the feeling Cullen got near The Island's core.
His senses went numb, but he could slightly feel the vest being torn off him. He looked to the others but found that Eric had already vanished. Ahead, an iridescent figure appeared out of the crowd.
It looked like a slim human made from hundreds of rainbow crystals, each one floating in place. The Abomination drifted towards them as more and more crystals stormed around it like a hurricane.
"Eric!" Adam shouted.
Cullen couldn't even move, but Eric already had his sword grazing the Abomination's throat.
'I can't see its core… has Eric already found it?'
The Triarch had closed the distance between them in less than a second, attempting to end the fight instantly. However, the crystals simply moved out of place as his sword swept through them.
Then he vanished.
With zero signs or warning, Eric was gone.
"What the hell?!"
By now, there were no more miners in the streets. Only the four of them stood facing the unpredictable storm of crystals.
"Ryan?" Greye looked over.
"I used my ability, but the same thing happened in all three. I couldn't do anything fast enough."
The worst outcome was that Eric had been killed. But if that was true, then the four of them were doomed anyway. So they went on assuming that their leader had just teleported somewhere else.
'Is its ability teleportation? Like Greye, but can teleport someone different from itself? The only problem is that there were no triggers for its ability. Eric only got closer to it than the rest of us.'
While Cullen was trying to figure out its ability, Greye decided to step in front of them and aim his gun at the Abomination.
"Be careful," Ryan warned.
Before he could pull the trigger, a yellow crystal shot out of the storm with lightning speed, reaching Greye before any of the Gifted could react.
Just like Eric, their only way home vanished.
"The crystal!" Cullen shouted. "We must not have seen it before, but touching the crystal can activate its ability."
"I have eyes, dumbass!" Adam snapped.
The crystal that struck Greye returned to the tornado as the Abomination continued its gradual approach. Adam raised his hands, and the world around responded.
Houses tore apart, sidewalks ripped to shreds, and a whirl of debris began to revolve around Adam.
"Let's see who's stronger!"
"Damnit, Adam!" Ryan shouted. "He just beat Eric like it was nothing!"
Ignoring his words, Adam aimed his palm forward, sending his storm into the Abomination's. However, the weak fragments stood no chance against the crystals and were soon reduced to dust.
Then, in response, the Abomination sent another yellow crystal darting toward Adam.
"Left!"
Adam dodged, listening to Ryan who used his ability to guess its direction. But with only one path left, Ryan was left defenseless when the crystal changed course.
"Shit!"
He instantly raised his stiletto, blocking the crystal from contacting his body.
But it didn't matter. Touching his weapon was enough to erase him.
'How? I can't do anything!'
Cullen hadn't moved a step. He stood waiting for a crystal to shoot at him, doubting whether he could dodge in time.
'It sent a yellow crystal both times. Does that mean each serves a different purpose? And will my vines be able to protect me, or will I disappear just like Ryan?'
This wasn't like anything Cullen had experienced on The Island. He felt truly helpless against this enemy, unable to even comprehend its power.
"Stay there or run away, I don't care!" Adam was still here. Cullen had almost forgotten. "Just don't get in my way!"
He repeated the same action of ripping apart his surroundings, but something changed this time. They smashed together, compressed, and devoured their surroundings.
Watching this, Cullen's eyes widened.
Adam's ability was a heightened form of telekinesis; he had heard that exact sentence many times. But even when Adam explained it to him on the way over, it was still hard to imagine.
Of course, the vest was an example.
Cullen saw an entire house turn into a stone, a sidewalk shape into a jagged rock, so much matter stuffed into a small space.
'It's not his ability that makes him special, it's the way he uses it. This is the kid who's said to be just beneath the Triarchs!'
Adam floated into the air, supported by a self-made harness. Then Cullen noticed a familiar pebble rise into his hand.
'My vest?'
It had gathered even more matter, but still remained the same size.
Adam pushed his hand out, the pebble floating near the center of his palm.
"Eat this."
BOOM!
The matter packed into that tiny object exploded, growing at an unreal speed in the Abominations' direction. A path of stone stretched from Adam's hand and reached the ground faster than Cullen could blink, hitting his target before it realized what was happening.
The stone crashed into its body, most of it turning to rubble and dust facing the Abomination's dexterity. But a few crystals were knocked out of place, and the Abomination itself was sent flying.
Even after that remarkable attack, Adam had enough strength to re-compress the stone. The trail of rock receded into the pebble and floated back into Adam's hand.
'How many times can he do that? It's already impressive, possessing the strength to manipulate that much power. But…'
Just as Cullen thought, the Abomination lifted off the ground and rose back into the air, then imitated Adam by extending its arm. The small crystals around it clumped together, forming a significant spike composed of a mix of red and purple.
'Those colors are different!'
Judging by the object's shape, Cullen figured this attack wasn't intended to erase anyone.
"Adam! Each color crystal has a different purpose!"
Looking closely, Adam noticed the same thing.
'If it really does possess different abilities tied to various colors, that means this Abomination could have all sorts of abilities. Or maybe, each color is set to transport someone to a different location?'
While the Abomination charged its attack, Adam was already preparing something else. The buildings he had ripped apart, dozens of them, had condensed into four more tiny pebbles. In total, he now had five, each revolving around his body.
BOOM!
The Abominations' attack shot towards Adam, showing the same power as his own. But Adam's physical strength was lacking compared to his fighting ability, so he couldn't be hit like the Abomination.
Crack!
One of the pebbles exploded outwards to Adam's left side, sending him flying in the opposite direction.
Crack!
Behind him, another one exploded, thrusting him straight at the Abomination.
"Adam!"
'What the hell is he thinking?'
The storm of crystal cut through Adam, but he ignored the minor scrapes on his body and focused on dodging the larger ones. One strange detail, though, was that the Abomination was holding back the yellow crystals. Adam hadn't disappeared yet.
Landing in front of the Abomination, Adam punched its stomach with all his strength. Not much, in terms of the place they were in.
But on the end of his fist, three pebbles sat between his fingers.
BOOM!
The Abomination erupted, but it wasn't smoke that came out. Stone, gems, and all the materials that are used to resemble buildings finally resurfaced as a result of Adam's attack. Then, after Adam stood panting for a second, it all shrank back into the five pebbles he had created.
Hundreds of crystals were scattered across the ground, lying motionless.
Until one of them twitched.