CHAPTER. 142: THE BEGINNING OF THE END (PART 4)

And after I agreed to Uwell, the Hero of Arlas’ offer, time began to pass. Asok focused his endeavors in helping and educating the “townsfolk” while sometimes checking on me. The Hero of Arlas focused on strengthening unity and making sure we had an “as one” mentality. Meanwhile, I focused on messing around with the dagger I had acquired.

Sometimes, I wondered why I hadn’t called the Hero of Arlas Uwell from the beginning, but thinking about the fact that the impostor sent me here; I guess it made sense to think the statue was of the impostor⁠— well, if I was honest, maybe the Hero of Arlas down here was the imposter, but he had been rather kind to me, so ⁠— to me at least ⁠— he was the real one.

As for the dagger, it had certainly been a boon, but it was also undoubtedly not what was expected. Of course, I didn’t expect the Hero of Arlas to hand me an SSS Tier Artifact from the world of Eternals or whatever it was called, but this dagger was…

[Ceremonial Dagger. Tier: B]

It wasn’t even S Tier. However, in spite of that, it was undoubtedly something of great help. The skill within the dagger was an interesting thing, it essentially was able to cut a hole in space; sort of like a pocket dimension if I had to describe it. When wielding the dagger with mana, I could feel whatever object I stored inside move according to my relative position.

So if the stored item was put in the north direction at about a meter in height and a meter away from me it would always be there, no matter where I traveled. It was a neat thing. Though I had only spent the first day experimenting with the skill, the rest was truly feeling how it worked.

At first, I could’ve sworn it was no different than using the regular skill of an Artifact. It just came instinctually and instantly. There was nothing to learn, nothing new to try to test. It was something that stumped me but after a few hours of tinkering and slowly using the skill I decided to ask for Asok’s help. Namely in helping me see the runes he spoke about.

He graciously agreed and provided a lot of methods, and it wasn’t until the second day that I finally managed to see them for the first time. And indeed, they were there. I could see the runes that meant, space and cutting all over the magic particles, the method he suggested was⁠— there was no method he just ended up going elsewhere and bringing me a monocle, an A Tier Artifact.

And with it, I tried to understand only to realize that it was essentially fruitless. Even seeing the glyphs on my own ice just made me all the more confused rather than help me. So instead of that, I went back to tinkering and it wasn’t until the third day that I felt something. It wasn’t even a feeling that I could ascribe to something, just a niggling sensation that the magic being used was slightly different, not by much but definitely different.

Something that I noted was; no matter how many times I used the Ceremonial Dagger’s ability there was no corruption to be seen which⁠— kind of weirded me out? But upon asking Asok he said that the corruption would only appear if the magic was Alpha Tier or higher ⁠— my Tier or higher.

While I was doing all of this, the preparations for the war continued as the corruption loomed over the horizon with each passing day. It was obvious that a great attack was coming, contrary to expectations the army of corruption was slowly accumulating rather than charging towards us all at once, however it was obvious that the final battle was imminent.

That’s why I focused all of my efforts in trying to understand this new magic, and on the fifth day I had a realization.

It was just like Asok said.

World Piercer had a similar feeling to using the dagger, but at the same time the feeling was so subtle from using regular magic that it was hard to even tell if I was just imagining it or not based on my memory.

But even then, I had truly dedicated myself to studying the skill of the dagger, only sleeping and eating once during the entire time period I had, but in the end; all I was left with was a very vague distinction between the two magics. And now, it was the final day, the dawn before the battle.

The light of the sky was setting into an orange hue ⁠— there was no sun for some reason but I never thought about it ⁠— and I had been made to go to the final gathering I hadn’t actually left the lab until this point, so I was blown away when I saw a fortified city, one that was laced with magic protections from different kinds of Systems.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to admire the hard work that was put into withstanding the corruption, it was a straight trip to the gathering point following Asok. Even though quite some time had passed, his demeanor and appearance remained practically the same; somewhat impatient and logical to the core, just a cranky old man ⁠— if I was honest I liked him more as a corrupted monster; he seemed infinitely more patient.

We found ourselves seated at the plaza, with hundreds if not thousands of beings present, and Asok and I had the front row towards the raised platform at the center. There was an audible mutter present and I even overheard some of the people asking who I was given they hadn’t seen me before, but I just ignored it and messed with the Ceremonial Dagger until the time came.

Minutes of Asok tapping his foot on the ground passed, all while I kept stabbing holes into space with the dagger, looking like a crazy person. But eventually, the surroundings became misty as if a dome of cloudiness was cast, and all of the natural light focused on the stage. Then, from within the veil, a figure walked onto the stage.

It was none other than the Hero of Arlas.

He looked at all of us, glancing at everyone present as he began to speak.

“A week ago, we were but strangers,” he said. “But now, we are comrades, all united to achieve one simple goal…”

He trailed off as if to take a breath, before speaking bluntly.

“To eradicate the corruption.”

The crowd went completely silent and the Hero of Arlas continued speaking.

“Today we are here as comrades in arms, as brothers, as sisters, as a group of warriors that have a shared goal. We are all of different origins, and I understand that it can be hard to see each other as companions, and for those efforts I want to thank you all.”

He lowered his head at all of us, there were some mutters but nothing I could understand amongst the jumble of words.

“Today we rest, and tomorrow we will fight. Based on information from the scouts, the other strongest warriors and I, have taken measures to ensure we come out victorious from this battle. I’ll let each of them explain.”

With those words he backed off and then, another figure emerged. This one had the body of a man and the head of an eagle, but the thing that surprised me the most was his Tier.

[Chimera of Skies. Tier: SSS]

It was an SSS Tier existence.

Their voice resembled an ordinary man as they began to explain how people would be segmented and which fighters would go where. Essentially divided everyone into groups according to what their magic or usefulness was. Finally, after explaining what group he’d be leading he left.

Next was a winged woman that also had the head of an eagle, but their body resembled a bird-human rather than an amalgamation of something. She had white feathers and golden eyes, black accents sparkled within her coat.

[Goddess of the Wind. Tier: SSS].

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She explained her part. Though before she left, she stared at me, or more specifically at Sol’as’ Spear which I had laid on my thighs. Then, something that resembled a gigantic wolf arrived.

[Guardian of the Red Forest. Tier: SSS].

They also spoke in detail about what they were going to do before leaving and giving way to a different being.

The next to come resembled a gigantic dog with rather ferocious claws.

[Guardian of the Dark Ocean. Tier: SSS].

After came what resembled a female dark elf.

[Dominion of Darkness. Tier: SSS].

And finally after, came a bird. Its wingspan was multiple meters long, and lighting flaked from its feathers.

[Nightmarish Thunder. Tier: SSS].

After saying his part, the Hero of Arlas returned. I was surprised there were so many SSS Tier beings around, and from the looks of it almost everyone present was surprised given the murmurs. Asok though ⁠— he seemed as bored as ever.

“The corruption oppressed everyone for too long, but now that we have our combined forces we can fight back, we can survive and free this accursed world. Tonight is where we celebrate our victory.”

His voice boomed, and for the first time, people cheered. To some extent I even felt emboldened, but unlike others I didn’t feel anything by what he was saying, which was weird.

Asok snorted and whispered only for me to hear. “Using a skill to boost morale even after I told him it was a violation against the First Law of Reality.”

So that’s what it was.

Asok crossed his arms, clearly annoyed, all while everyone else seemed to cheer. And soon the entire plaza was re-arranged, food and drinks were brought out, and a party began. No idea how it was managed; but all the food seemed fresh— though sadly there was almost no meat, but the food was as varied as it was exotic.

I got to try a lot of things and if I was being honest⁠— only about half of all the available food was edible for humans, and I only liked about one eighth, but it was certainly a unique experience that I engraved in my head.

At some point, I was beginning to enjoy myself, that was until I got a tap on the shoulder. I hadn’t even been able to sense the person, but when I turned, there she was.

[Goddess of the Wind. Tier: SSS].

The SSS Tier eagle lady, her gaze already digging onto me.

“Can we talk?” she asked.

Asok glanced her way.

“Privately,” she added coldly after flashing him a look.

Asok gave me a weird look and whispered an apology to me. I contemplated my options for a second before sighing.

“I hope you know that killing me will probably anger the Hero of Arlas.”

“I’m aware of that,” she scoffed, crossing her arms. “Are you going to come or will I have to drag you against your wishes?”

I paused, before nodding in disappointment. A moment after, I stood up and I followed the woman to a back alley. I, of course, brought So’las’ Spear with me, since it seemed like her object of interest and the whole reason this was even happening in the first place.

Finally, once we were away from everyone’s ears, she turned to me.

“You’re Arc, and you intend to return to your world, the Hero of Arlas told us as much,” she said bluntly before crossing her arms. “I am definitely jealous that you have something to return to, but that is not why I’ve brought you here.”

I paused once more.

So the Hero of Arlas told her about me?

I suppressed a sigh, still holding the spear. “It’s because of this, right?” I asked, moving the SSS Tier Artifact.

“Good, glad you noticed my ire.” She nodded and extended her hand. “Hand it over to me.”

“No,” I answered bluntly. “I need it.”

She shook her head, I could sense some disappointment and some amusement on her part

“I figured you’d say that. Fortunately for you, I am no bully.”

With those words, the woman extended her hand into the air, and white streaks of wind coalesced ⁠— formed around her hand. Then, with a small flash of light, I saw a sword with a white blade. Golden ornaments lined its blade and guard. And after using [Appraisal] on it, I saw what it was.

[Alfina’s Sword. Tier: SSS].

“It’s quite the winning trade, the ability of this weapon is much stronger than Sol’as’ Spear,” she began. “What it does⁠—”

“I refuse,” I interrupted.

The woman paused. “Are you even listening⁠—”

I shook my head.

“I don’t know how strong that sword is when it's corrupted, but I got to experience the corrupted version of Sol’as’ Spear, and given the impending battle, I’d like to use something I’m familiar with.”

The woman frowned, and I continued, this time expressing sympathy.

“However, I understand there is probably some emotional attachment on your part, so I’ll be transparent here.” I took a deep breath. “About half of my mana is corrupted by this point, which means I cannot even fight for that long; and if I fail to use magic of the Primordial System, then I will one-hundred-percent die after it gets fully corrupted.”

I let out a breath, and after a second of silence I spoke, my voice becoming nothing but a sad whisper.

“To be honest, I really am not sure if I’ll survive. So if I die, you can take it then. I hope you can… understand my case.”

I closed my eyes, I was… shaking. The lack of progress these past few days really put a massive dent on my confidence. I didn’t even dare to open my eyes, I must’ve looked pitiful⁠— and then she began to laugh.

“You really just sounded just like him, putting on a strong front while you’re actually terrified.” I opened my eyes only to see her shaking her head with a chuckle. “Though, I can’t blame you for feeling like that. The corruption is… a terrifying thing after all.”

She sighed.

“Why did you have to say… all of that? Couldn’t you just have been bitchy or something?”

A groan left her.

And then there was some silence as the woman began to pace around, clearly in her own thoughts. I didn’t quite understand what was happening, but after a minute of ever changing expressions, she seemed to come to a final decision with a nod.

“I guess I’ll tell you a bit about myself:

“When I was born, my world was headed to ruin.

“When I acquired the power to protect those I cared about, they had all died.

“And when I ascended, only a single person remained amidst the ruins.

“That person was Sol’as.”

A bitter sigh left her.

“I was born into an already corrupted world, though I also know about you. I know you were sent to this place against your will and that you were also summoned to your own world against your will, otherworlder.”

I blinked.

“You have my sympathy for that.”

She felt the blade of her sword with her feathered fingers before letting out a breath.

“I don’t know what I’m thinking, but truth be told. There is no future here. Not for a single second do I believe we shall come out victorious against the corruption.”

There was silence as she continued to caress the blade. Then, after feeling its length, she met my gaze.

“But you on the other hand, I believe in you.”

“Ha?” Needless to say I was stupefied.

What was she on about?

“I saw your battles, the Hero of Arlas showed them to all six of us commanders, apparently he can see the occurrences of his world even down here. We saw your growth, and we saw your downfall. At first we were annoyed, outraged even that he requested to let you act independently due to your goals, but after seeing who you were there was unanimous agreement,” she said simply.

“Right…”

“So what I’m saying is that, even though I don’t know you, I believe in what I saw.” She closed her eyes, her words wavering. “There is no future for us, but there is a future for you, which is why:”

She opened her eyes and met my gaze once more, this time a lot more resolutely and with conviction in her voice.

“I want you to preserve my sword, and I want you to preserve Sol’as’ Spear ⁠— the marks of our existences.” She presented the sword, kneeling. “Use both of our powers to return, and preserve our legacy.”

I blinked as she looked at the ground.

“Please,” she pleaded.

“Right…” I grabbed the handle of the sword as I saw tears fall to the ground. “I will preserve you and your lover’s legacy.”

“Thank you.”

After I took it, she remained there for a few seconds, but eventually, she stood up and met my gaze. There was some uncertainty in her gaze before she spoke.

“I really hope you can show our glory to your world.”

I nodded and she lightly smiled, her golden beak somehow radiating light.

“I shall get going now. Please survive.”

I didn’t get a chance to reply as she vanished. All I could do was stand there as I stared at my newly acquired SSS Tier weapon.

It was completely and totally undeserved, but I was certainly going to take any power I could get given how strong the corruption was.

Tomorrow I was going straight to the jaws of death after all…

I shook my head. “To believe the Hero of Arlas invaded my privacy yet again.” I clicked my tongue before lowering my voice. “Though if it helps me, I guess it’s alright…”

My whisper was heard by no one, and after a few seconds of silence I stored Alfina’s Sword into the Ceremonial Dagger’s pocket space. After that, I headed back, too preoccupied wondering how many stories were in this place.

Whether it had been Asok’s or Alfina’s, they both shared a sense of incredible sorrow. I didn’t… want things to end like that for me.

Hours later the day ended and the following morning, the preparations to fight the corruption truly began.