CHAPTER 41.

Amber took several steps back in fear of the Primordial Spirit; this wasn’t how she envisioned the meeting at all. However, even though she remained on guard, all the Primordial Spirit did in response was tilt its head.

“You have to be the weakest and most scared Arcane Council member I’ve seen,” it⁠— she said simply.

Amber blinked at her words and hurriedly sputtered. “Arcane Council what? I’m not with them.”

“But how can you not be with them when you are carrying the Cube of Stars, the cube taken by them,” she said. “The kingdom was robbed of that artifact, I was robbed, and now it’s somehow in your hands, how can you not be a member of the Arcane Council?”

“Because I fucking killed one of them who happened to be carrying the Cube of Stars,” Amber explained in a hurry. “He was severely weakened and injured, that’s the only reason I was able to defeat them.”

“Is that so?” The Primordial Spirit began to walk around her.

Amber looked at the god that was examining her. She had the non-descript form of a woman, it was almost the text-book example in terms of anatomy. And in difference to Ax’thra her form emanated a red light rather than the blue she was used to.

The Primordial Spirit continued to walk around her before coming to a stop.

“So, let’s say your claims are true, let’s say you are saying the truth⁠. You aren’t with the Arcane Council, then why are you here? Why have you sought me out?” She tilted her head.

“Because…” she took a deep breath.

“Go on, I await for something substantive, something worth my time,” she said. “Lest, I’ll know that you are⁠—”

“I was hoping you’d help me meet Ax’thra,” Amber stated with resolution.

And at that moment, the darkness of the room disappeared as the Primordial Spirit seemingly froze. Amber turned only to see an ornate room, but before she could observe further she heard a whisper. It was a question.

“What⁠—?”

And she was faced with the Primordial Spirit pretty much breathing on her face.

“I said, how do you know the name of a Primordial Spirit, how do you know the name of my friend?” Her voice was cold and chilly.

“Because I am his friend,” Amber said. “And I came here to ask about what happened at his tower, and everything after that.”

The god stared at her for what felt like a few seconds before she turned around and began to walk away.

“We can talk, Amber. I have confirmed you are Ax’thra’s friend, have ensured you are who you say you are,” she said.

Amber blinked at that. The Primordial Spirit’s manner of speech was… odd. She always reiterated the same thing twice.

“How did you confirm that? Did you look at my class or something?” Amber asked.

“No, I asked Ax’thra himself.” She gave her a glance. “Are you coming?”

Amber froze at that but hurriedly nodded, immediately following after the Primordial Spirit. Though, while following, she observed the ornate room they were in.

It was a grand hall with towering pillars and draping banners lining the sides, and in the middle there was a large red carpet with golden accents that led to some steps to an ornate throne of gold.

Though, after a moment of observing she focused on simply following.

I made it this far… now I just need to obtain the answers I seek…

* * *

Amber found herself in a small room, one that had a coffee table and two couches in parallel to each other. The room was as opulent as anything in the entirety of the one-hundredth floor. Everything had red accents with gold, whites for contrast and orange lights for a warm feeling.

From what Amber could tell, the one-hundredth floor was the Primordial Spirit’s living quarters through and through. Though, she didn’t ask about that. Instead, she sat across from the spirit and⁠—

The spirit rested her feet at the table.

“So, Amber, you have sought me, seeked me out, and now we formally meet.” The Primordial Spirit smiled, her voice sounded happy. “Ax’thra told me he had made a friend sometime ago, nice to finally meet you.”

Amber nodded, she still felt awkward but a lot more comfortable in comparison to their first meeting.

“I welcome you to my not-so-humble, not humble at all, abode.” She chuckled. “I’ll be doing the talking given you are, afraid, scared of me.”

That was quite accurate, but Amber didn’t confirm or deny it. Instead, she watched as the Primordial Spirit sat properly.

“You know, I have to say, I am impressed, surprised. You have a Legacy Branch at this level.”

Amber raised her brow at that but the Primordial Spirit smiled.

“And I want to find out how, but I’ll see for myself, so don’t answer.”

There was a small pause, before the Primordial Spirit paused, she spoke in surprise.

“You killed a half dead level 168 at level 67 and got to keep the Cube of Stars…?” she asked, disbelief present in her voice. “What…?”

Amber blinked. Can Gods just breach my privacy in a blink?

“Not only that but your Legacy Branch is… one of the savage and brutal ones, huh?” And the Primordial Spirit burst out laughing. “I’ve purposefully kept myself from looking at your information, but now I really want to see, so—”

“Can’t you just ask me about it…?”

The Primordial Spirit paused and then turned to her, meeting her gaze.

“No” Amber blinked and she chuckled. “Just kidding⁠— so what is your class, your very rare class, Amber?”

“Cursed Supreme One,” she stated simply.

“Cursed Supreme One…?” The Primordial Spirit repeated after her. “That means in spite of Ax’thra’s favor you have gone above and beyond though that seems hard to believe, something that I have to check for myself.”

And before Amber could say anything, the spirit paused in further shock.

“You haven’t eaten a single thing in eight months… You have hardly rested and you have fought for days on end in some of the floors of the tower. No wonder you befriended Ax’thra.”

A smile formed on the face of the Primordial Spirit.

“You are quite the interesting individual, Amber. In fact, you have my highest praise, my highest commendation. I’d give you much needed food, but unfortunately I don’t have anything of the sort here,” the spirit lamented.

“Thank you?”

Amber didn’t really know how to react at… anything at the moment. She wanted to ask questions and find out what she needed to find out⁠— but just like when she first met with Ax’thra, she didn’t really get to dictate the flow of the conversation⁠, and also she couldn’t really gauge the Primordial Spirit’s personality either.

“Well, ask away, you are here for information are you not?” She smiled. “What may I offer you?”

Here it is. She took a breath.

“Can you telepathically talk with Ax’thra or how did you confirm I was his friend in the first place?”

She tilted her head. “In the past I could, right now it’s limited to simple yes or no questions.”

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“Wait, why can’t you now?” Amber was confused.

The Primordial Spirit smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Amber sighed. They are friends, alright…

The spirit laughed to herself. “We’ll get to that part later.”

“So, what do you know about the Arcane Council?” Amber asked.

“Loaded question, it’s very broad, extremely broad, in fact.” The Primordial Spirit tilted her head. “Though well, for starters it’s an organization that tries to hunt Primordial Spirits in order to try to copy our power, which they won’t be able to.”

Amber blinked. “Wait why⁠—”

“We’ll get to that part later,” she waved her hand dismissively. “As for how the council came to be, some Primordial Spirits fought, one ended half-dead, he was found, experimented on, and when he died, the group wanted more.”

That’s… very straightforward? Amber felt confused, but the Primordial Spirit continued.

“Of course, I won’t go into details about how many kingdoms or even empires they have caused chaos in. They are obsessed, they want to research more, and they even developed techniques to level up their members.” She shook her head. “Kind of wish they decided to research demons instead, but they are hellbent with us.”

“Right.”

The Primordial Spirit shrugged. “Can’t exactly blame them because we are gods, revered throughout the land, icons of fanaticism, but still. It’s annoying.”

“Right⁠…”

The spirit smiled. “Sorry I got side-tracked. They’ve captured about three Primordial Spirits since the founding of the organization, almost two millenia ago.

Amber blinked. “That seems…”

“Very often? Tell me about it.” The Primordial Spirit snorted. “Thankfully, no one is stupid enough to get caught anymore. So they are growing desperate; my guess is that their last test subject is soon going to die, hence their bold moves⁠—”

And Amber paused. She had forgotten⁠—

“They stole a beacon, they will use it to summon Ax’thra, we have to⁠—”

“Do something about it?” the spirit asked. “No chance, Ax’thra will remain safe, the Arcane Council remain nothing but ignorant, they remain nothing but fools, unknowing of many things. And unfortunately for them, it's not like they can find out from those they have captured.”

Amber blinked at that. “Wouldn’t a god cave in and spill secrets given a few hundred years of… torture?”

“Yes, but it’s not like they can talk about it. It’s an impossibility, something only kept between select few, to other select few.”

“Wait… what are you even talking about?” she asked.

“We’ll get to that part later,” the spirit said dismissively once more. “For now I’ll tell you that Ax’thra is safe, Ax’thra is not in danger.”

“Right… so the beacon…?”

“Forget about it for now.” She shook her head. “So, let’s see, let’s think, Arcane Council… you are too weak to face them or even deal with them.”

“I know that…” Amber said.

“They have at least a hundred members, and they are all strong, powerful. It is not a joke that they could raze Cytel to the ground should they want to,” she said. “I know you already know this, but I’ll reiterate it, Ax’thra would give you the same warning.”

“Right…” Amber nodded. “On the Ax’thra topic, what can you say about Dargon?”

“Someone Ax’thra once saved, and then he became obsessed with the power of Primordial Spirits, and now he is one of the executives of the Arcane Council.” The spirit shrugged. “As for his level… I believe he is above 400.”

Amber blinked.

“400? What… how do you even find stuff to kill at that level?”

“I’d tell you, but that wouldn’t be fun,” she smiled. “And there is a handful of members in the council at around that level, so this kingdom…” She tilted her head. “Most definitely doesn’t stand a chance, a lot of kingdoms and even some empires don’t.”

“Right… and somehow no one has banded together to… stop the potential threat to humanity?” Amber found it hard to believe.

The Primordial Spirit chuckled. “My sweet star, they are a secretive organization, records of them barely exist and the extent of their strength is hardly known to most of the residents of Vir. After all, they only target Primordial Spirits, who don’t exactly interact with the world a whole lot in the first place,” she explained.

“And yet you have a whole deal with the royal family…”

“I am an exception; why do you think I’m so knowledgeable?” she asked. “No one else could tell you this much about the Arcane Council, this is information I gathered across centuries.”

Amber shut up at that. “Right, thank you for filling me in. How did Dargon grow so strong anyway?”

“Well, just like any other powerful person they gained unique opportunities? Though he also grew stronger with the help of the council, they were very open to accept him given he had interacted with Ax’thra a fair amount⁠.” She tilted her head. “Though, Ax’thra did teleport the man to some extremely high level ruins and he came out alive, so he had a hand in making him stronger.”

“Wait, why didn’t he just outright kill him?”

The spirit smiled. “You know the answer to that.”

“Right… because it wouldn’t be fun…” Amber sighed.

“Exactly, you are very smart, very sharp, Amber.” She nodded. “I believe I’ve told you everything there is to know about the Arcane Council in a concise and not boring manner⁠⁠— oh I guess there was a small point in history in which they massacred an entire city for information?” She tilted her head. “That’s the only thing that’s worth mentioning, aside from them torturing individuals for information even if they are innocent, they aren’t the worst people in the world.”

“That sounds… quite cruel.”

“The world is cruel, believe me, trust me, I’ve seen worse.” She shook her head. “Anyway that’s the Arcane Council, if it’s related to Primordial Spirits there is nothing they won’t do. Those people are obsessed, and some have been part of the organization for hundreds of years.”

“Right…”

Amber couldn’t help but wonder about everything she had heard. She thought the Arcane Council would have like ten or twenty people, but it was closer to a whole damn cult. It was much bigger and much stronger than she had imagined.

“My information is outdated, not of this time, so maybe the Arcane Council fell off its golden age or entered a new one.” The spirit shrugged.

Amber nodded. She was essentially being told to take it with a grain of salt, but she still appreciated the information greatly.

“Thank you.”

The spirit smiled and clapped her hands. “Now, Ax’thra informed me a while ago that you had interesting information, interesting knowledge, all from a different world.”

Amber blinked. “So you want to hear it?”

“Of course.”

She nodded. “I’m not from this world, I’m from a world called Earth and there is no magic.”

“Oh, tell me more.”

And just like that a very lengthy conversation began.

* * *

Amber pretty much told the Primordial Spirit all she had told Ax’thra. She told her about Earth’s lack of magic, the invention of technology, the discoveries of physics, the fact that humans had reached the moon, that there were no monsters or even any other truly intelligent species aside from humans.

And in response, after Amber was done all the spirit had to say.

“That’s a boring world, not an entertaining one, that is for certain,” she said. “No magic, everything is done at level 1 in terms of physical abilities, and your biggest worries are education.”

Amber blinked at that. “I mean, it’s a peaceful world and the mortality rate is infinitely lower than Vir’s.”

“Yes, but that is because the world is boring, Earth is boring, life and death, they go hand in hand. Interrupting with its natural course is weird⁠— though I guess growing stronger and getting a longer lifespan is also messing with life,” she thought for a moment. “Guess both worlds have their issues.”

“I’d say so…” Amber said. “I kind of thought you’d be more surprised.”

“I am surprised, shocked, but at the same time, I thought it would be something fantastical, not something that is boring and shouldn’t exist,” the spirit explained.

“Huh.”

“Though those car things sound fun,” she admitted. “If they are able to go faster than you at your level then that certainly is something admirable.”

“Right…”

The Primordial Spirit tilted her head. “I think Earth is boring, but I think, I believe I want to visit. See it for myself, how something so boring can have so many achievements under its belt.”

Amber blinked.

“I mean, for such a boring world it certainly has impressive traits all things considered. One moon that has been conquered, electricity that serves you⁠— it all sounds so interesting, but the core of it sounds boring. Do you want to go back home, Amber?”

And she paused at that.

Go… back…? Her mind spun for a moment. She hadn’t thought about Earth in so long that the idea of returning seemed foreign, and yet a small part of her did want to do it. But… I know how I feel already… even if I forgot for quite sometime.

“I don’t, or at least not anytime soon.” She sighed. “Vir is a place where I can push my limits with much more freedom than Earth ever allowed me.”

“Interesting.” The Primordial Spirit smiled.

And then Amber remembered something from earlier. “You kept saying ‘we’ll get to that part later’ what did you mean?”

The spirit grinned at her. “And here I was hoping, I believed, you’d forget.”

Amber paused at that.

“Very well, I guess I’ll tell you about that part.” She nodded. “But first, a change of scenery is necessary.”

And with a flick of her fingers, the couch and table were transported atop of the tower.

Amber blinked feeling the chilly winds and the smooth stone ground that surrounded them, however what caught her attention was the sea of blue around her. Not the sky, but the horizon⁠— she couldn’t see the ground or the forests, all she could see were the clouds below.

“Just how high does the tower go…?”

The Primordial Spirit said nothing and just began to talk.

“You wanted to know about the secret, about why the Arcane Council will never succeed, and why Ax’thra could only communicate through yes and no questions.” She began.

Amber nodded and a moment later the sky darkened.

“And now I shall tell you. The secret is only something we Primordial Spirits can tell to those we truly consider friends, it goes beyond a decision and it’s something that is part of our very being.”

What…? Amber wasn’t quite following, the idea of that sounded ridiculous, but at the same time⁠—

“Can you even tell me then?”

She smiled. “Ax’thra’s friend is my friend.”

After those words, the vast welkin overhead became the night sky, stars speckling in its vastness. Amber blinked at that and the Primordial Spirit continued.

“The Arcane Council will never know because of that. They will never understand why they can’t match our power. The nature of their goal directly opposes that core directive of ours.”

“So you are saying that this secret is… important to getting stronger?” Amber asked.

The spirit nodded and Amber’s interest only grew.

“And finally, as for why I can only ask Ax’thra yes or no questions, the answer is simple.”

And at that moment, the sky became even darker and the stars became even brighter. They became colorful, and a moment later⁠— the sky became filled with multitudes of colorful nebulas, as if a grand painter had made it its mission to create the most beautiful depiction of space possible.

“Ax’thra is not in this realm,” she said simply. “He cannot be summoned because he is not in Vir.”

Amber paused. “Did he tear a portal or something to a different world?”

“No, he is not in a different world.” The spirit chuckled. “He is in a higher realm.”

“A higher realm?” Amber asked.

“He has returned to our birthplace, the place where stars die and are reborn, the place where death and life permeate the very air itself.”

Amber gulped at that, and for a moment she saw visions of a grand land, one that was fantastical and also⁠— one whose mere vision made her feel death.

“He has returned to a place where the weakest creatures could destroy whole empires here, a place the Arcane Council cannot even fathom, a place where most Primordial Spirits aren’t even at the top of the foodchain.”

“He has returned to Ill’hine, the land without a System, the land where one can acquire the power to become god.”