Chapter Twenty-Two: The Wind Rises

He slept well this time.

The fighting and killing in his dreams did not leave Wade exhausted; on the contrary, he felt invigorated.

"Good morning, Mia," Wade greeted her silently.

He grasped the restless little ghost and sat up.

Mia was not pleased. She pouted and struggled to break free, but Wade held tight. The space was too small; if Mia took flight, she might hit her head.

Moreover…

Wade looked up. The bone beam above his head trembled faintly.

A sprinkling of sand fell, filtering through the gaps between Wade's ribs and landing on his tattered shroud.

Things were not looking good; he heard the roar of wind, loud and relentless.

Wade moved to the cave entrance, nudged a stone aside to create a small gap, and immediately, fine sand and pebbles rushed in.

Outside, yellow sand blanketed the world, the wind raging on all sides.

It was a formidable gale. Wade crawled forward to observe.

Mia crawled beside him, mimicking his movements, her little head peeking out to look.

Wade held her firmly, lest she be whisked away. In such wind, a ghost as light as a feather would vanish in an instant, and who knew where he would ever find her again.

Not only ghosts—skeletons could not keep their footing in this environment either.

Wade saw a skeleton caught in the wind, an unlucky brother tossed about, limbs splayed as he rolled across the ground like a stone tumbling down a mountain, swept farther and farther away.

Skeletons were simply too light; their weight could not resist the wind.

Witnessing this, Mia shrank back like a snail into its shell, hiding in Wade's palm.

Wade hurriedly pulled the stone back, sealing the entrance tightly to keep the wind at bay.

It was his first time seeing such a fierce storm on the wasteland. He realized now that even here, the climate could change. His time in this place had been too short; he lacked the experience.

Fortunately, he had prepared himself a little home in advance.

He had considered many factors before choosing this cave for renovation. At first, it was merely a precaution—selecting a spot on the lee side of the slope. Unexpectedly, it proved its worth.

Had he been wandering outside when the wind struck, he might have been swept away like that skeleton brother—gone with the wind, perhaps striking his head on a stone and meeting an untimely end.

It was good to have shelter from the storm.

Yet, hiding in the cave did not mean he was completely safe.

Though the slope shielded him from the wind, several meters of sand and stone acting as a barrier, he still had to guard against the risk of collapse.

The cave’s greatest flaw was its material.

Its structure was not solid rock, but loose sand and earth compared to stone.

Rain soaking through, powerful tremors—any could bring the cave down.

So Wade had reinforced it with bones.

This offered some security, though limited; after all, his efforts were only a temporary fix.

He had spent at most an hour or two piecing the bones together. The framework was crude, held with no strong adhesive, only the fire of his own soul.

If the wind was calm, this structure sufficed, but under severe stress, the dangers of shoddy construction emerged.

The skeletal framework inside shuddered relentlessly, like bamboo in a gale.

He had to stabilize the beams with his own hands, gripping two main bone pillars to support the structure.

Sand continued to fall from above.

Not much, but enough to unsettle him, dropping in small handfuls at intervals. At any moment, the "ceiling" could collapse, burying him and the little ghost alive.

Mia showed no sign of anxiety. She bounced about energetically. The cave was too cramped for her to fly freely, so she clambered over Wade instead.

Wade sat cross-legged, hands steady on the "beams." He could not move; for now, he was the most solid, reliable pillar.

Perhaps his lack of attention irked Mia. The little spirit tried everything to catch his eye.

She climbed from his shin bone, up his thigh, then to his pelvis, and onward up the spine straight to his skull.

She treated Wade's body as a mountain—and to her, he truly was.

Her lower half remained as misty as fog, so she could only cling with her hands.

She swung carefree, eager to play with her skeleton companion, but Wade really had no time for games.

He wished he could find her something to do—perhaps give her a few arithmetic problems to keep her occupied.

Now he understood why teachers loved assigning homework and exams.

Wait, perhaps she really could help with something.

Not solving sums under ten, but using her innate powers.

That power to freeze.

When Wade first met Mia, he felt the chill—white frost formed on him.

Mia could freeze water—she had used this power to trap a little fire demon in ice.

If she could freeze, she could lower the surrounding temperature.

This land was dry, but not devoid of moisture; sleeping outside, dew would condense on the bones.

Wade wanted Mia to channel a bit of magic, see if she could freeze the bones together, seal the "ceiling" more tightly, and prevent sand from falling.

A simple experiment—he sent the idea to Mia.

She needed to control her output and not exhaust herself.

Mia understood and took flight.

The little ghost settled at each joint in the bone framework, embracing every "node." Frost appeared on the bones, ice forming visibly. Even amid the sand, water was hidden.

When she landed atop Wade's skull, reaching up to touch the "ceiling" and channeling her magic, the earth above solidified into hard blocks, transforming loose sand into frozen soil.

The wind still raged, but no more sand fell.

Wade cautiously released his grip, ready to resume his role as "pillar" at any sign of strain, but the beams no longer trembled—the ice provided strength.

The little ghost had spent considerable energy, but was not drained; only a bit tired, she settled on Wade's shoulder.

"Rest if you're tired," Wade communicated with Mia.

She shook her head and began circling him again, still wanting to play.

Then play he would. She had helped so much—what harm in letting her enjoy herself for a while?

Skeleton and ghost chased each other about in the cramped space.

Outside, the wind howled across the wasteland, as if the end of the world had come.

But in this tiny cave, that mattered not at all.