“With the traitorous Magi removed, the stronghold on Mount Olympus once again lay in the hands of loyalists.

In the depths of the great fortress, they found something that would make us question some of the things we had come to accept as fundamental truths about the universe.

The followers of the false deities had set up a section of the stronghold that contained strange and arcane machines.

After careful study and experimentation, it was concluded that each machine was preset to open a rift and place an anchor on the other side. An anomaly in spacetime, a rift to a different place. Much like our planetside gateways, but much more energy-demanding, almost shockingly so.

It was also uncertain if the rifts in space even opened to a part of our own universe or merely so far away from what we had been able to see of our universe that it was unrecognizable to us.

What was clear was the need for strong expeditionary forces to map out the new rifts. Some of the more venerable legion champions were brought on board from each legion to explore this new frontier .”

- Elistar Iscariot, Grand Magister during the second Kingfisher dynasty.

Standing still, I watched as the former prisoners swarmed the enemy. Without any of their leaders left, they fell into unorganized groups fighting each other as much as us.

It was a massacre.

This had to be the end; I was starting to feel the abuse I had put my spirit and body through. I had to start taking fewer chances, and I certainly do it without any more surprises or enemy reinforcements today.

Turning around, I started making my way past the wounded and dead; the palace entrance beckoned me.

Ignoring the pained shouts and diminishing sounds of battle behind me, I strode on purposefully; the former prisoners would do just fine without any more intervention.

Receiving regular reports from my voidlings on the battle that was raging by the cavern entrance, well, one of them. They were not the best at delivering reports since the images they delivered to my mind were from a being who perceived the world without light. Still, from what I had been able to understand, the remdra were paying a heavy price to push the others back into the tunnel, a price they could not sustain for much longer, and vast energies were being thrown back and forth between the lines, almost nullifying each other.

The few times I noticed something get through, entire sections of humans or remdra simply ceased to exist in the vision my voidlings sent me.

It did make me wonder where the untehki were hiding. If a handful of them could stay out of direct combat for a while, they could unleash their patron's gifts and make what I had just done to the remdra look like parlor tricks, which, let's be honest, it mostly was. Sabina would have had my head if I tried that on her. I was giving the cave bear a fifty-fifty odds on that one, considering he wasn't Awakened. Tough asshole, that one.

I could sense Sabina jogging towards me before I heard her rapid steps on the cavern floor.

“Leaving already?”

Throwing a hand back toward the remains of the slaughter, I said.

“Doubt they will need me anymore. There is also something I need to check before I leave the palace.”

Phasing herself to walk beside me, I noted that her clothes didn't have a single rip. I wonder if she understands how much what she is wearing is worth. Sure, it lost its ability to reshape and recolor from the radiation coming from all the different incursions and dimensional gates opening in this world. Still, it was made from cloths built and woven by nanites. It should last her for decades without tearing, but like everything, it would lose its integrity eventually. It's not that it could replace armor, but shallow cuts shouldn't be a problem for her anymore if they hit the clothes. Not that it would help against the bruises that followed.

Even with the treatment we had gotten onboard Umbriel, we would soon lose the extra vitality and power over the next few days, and during the next decade, all those perfect cells would have been replaced by the much more unstable natural ones. If we still had a human body at that point, considering we both had undergone our Awakening. Who knows what hidden mutations lay in wait as our bodies adjusted to utilizing the energy and power it was not designed to do?

Awakened at the third level, they were known for starting to take on aspects of their domain, so I can only imagine how it would be for those who were at rank seven or eight. Were they even human anymore?

Not that I had ever known anyone at that rank. Were we, as a species, even capable of reaching those ranks? We were supposed to be forsaken, unguided and unwanted.

I didn't realize I had stopped walking until I felt a slight pull on my arm.

“You feeling okay? You just stopped…everything for a moment.”

The sheer compassion and worry I saw on Sabina's face made me realize it hadn't mattered for countless millennia, so why should I worry about it now when there were so many other things I needed to get done?

I felt a connection to this woman, maybe not as much as the one I had with Mira, despite myself, but a connection. Deciding my offer of friendship had not been meaningless drivel, I held out my arm like a proper gentleman and gave her the most assuring smile while saying,

“Yes, thank you. I sometimes get lost in my own foolish thoughts. Now, let's take a walk. I have a question or two myself, like who you are, and if my theory about that question is correct, how in the blazes did you end up in the situation I found you in?”

“My my, all of these demands, your gentle manner belies your intent, good Sir. May I remind you that you have hardly been a fount of information about yourself? To be fair, there is a slight possibility that I do owe you something for rescuing a damsel in distress.”

Admittedly, she did smile as she answered me.

Almost at the entrance, I saw a group of blue humanoids. Since they looked like copies of each other to me. I waved perfunctory in their general direction. To my surprise, one of them actually waved back. Good to know Pip was about and doing well.

“They don't know what to make of you. Not that I blame them; you have also become quite a big question mark to me. To them, you exude almost no power. Until you unveil your domain, at least. I guess we have a very similar power level, so that means your affinity is at least good enough to reach the second rank.

When it comes to the blue ones, I do not have too much information. One of the few things I have come to understand is that they call themselves The People, and everyone else is a dream…They also believe that what happens in dreams happens in life, so what particular distinguish that makes is beyond my current understanding.

As fascinating as I find them, they have been the most difficult to learn anything about.

I have noted that they are able to sense the power of an Awakened. At least someone is Awakened or not and views us as not as dreams but as interlopers and invaders.

Since they have been freed from prison by us, they are very uncertain how to handle our existence. Normally, tradition would demand that we be driven off or killed.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I don't remember stopping, but I realized we were standing in a rather deep pool of blood, arm in arm, since I was looking down at her face from far too close a distance for it to be appropriate in polite society. Good thing polite society only stood in pools of blood on rest-day, or if the tea was cold.

How in the damn limping lizard tale had she been able to learn all of that from someone who communicated in what I had decided was bird language.

Ah, shit. Statesmanship ability crystal. Tradition dictated that those close in line to take up the mantle of house head were to have one ability crystal of battle, one ability crystal of statesmanship, one ability crystal of defense and one ability crystal to support some sort of art. Not that an ability for art couldn't be used in battle and so on.

That was only their first four crystals. What they chose later was whatever the family could afford.

I had no idea that was still practiced among the imperials. The rest of the continent looked at the spread of abilities and just said “nope” whenever the tradition was brought up.

I have to admit, it sounds a lot like purposefully slowing down one's growth and potential, but as far as I understood, it was what one did in the lofty halls of the founding families. By that, I mean the first group of barbarians that came streaming down from their mountain home and slaughtered everything in every direction until they hit the ocean, then turned around and did the same thing on the way back. Humans, what can I say?

I have to give them points for persistence since it has happened more than a few times by now. Slaughter and subjugation followed by rebellion, and around it went. We were around the time when most people expected another imperial push to take over or back their lands, depending on what side you stood on. All in good fun. I'm sure.

“Well, thank you for the copious amounts of hints and almost no answers. Maybe not the answers I was looking for, but I guess I won't get them until you feel the situation is under your control again. Does it help if I say I am not attempting to commit some elaborate scheme to make your family look bad?”

“No, and no. You will have to earn it and don't be cross; I have not had much opportunity for fun in quite some time.”

“I did save your life, you know?”

“And I will forever be grateful to you for that.”

Starting to walk again, I said.

“Well, that's nice. I want to find a way out of here sooner rather than later, and I am hopeful that it won't be through the battle at the edge of the city, so one small errand and before we get out of here.”

“And what is it that has a chevalier such as yourself interested enough to run away from battle rather than towards it? I can hardly say it has to do with bravery, considering the battles I have seen you take part in so far.

If anything, your abilities show the hallmarks of a crowd controller and battle caster, like most young up-and-coming commanders in the empire. If not for the times I have seen you throw your fool brain head-first into battle, that would have been my first guess. I must say, you are almost as frustrating to read as The People, and we are the same species. It is mildly infuriating.”

We were walking in the hallway, running around the central halls of the first floor. My goal was the staircase to the left. The size of this place still astounded me. From what I had gathered, this was not even the largest building in this underground city, and if we headed opposite the battle, we would still have quite the walk to reach the central part of the city.

It made me wonder who had built this place. Deciding to follow thoughts with words, I ignored her implied questions and asked one of my own.

“I refuse to believe the remdra built this place, even with the help of untekhi. It would be like watching a goblin reciting poetry or a troll dancing ballet. Admittedly, it would probably be fun for a short while, but it would not really contribute much to the arts or soothe my mind. Rather the opposite.”

“Remdra? Untheki?”

Shit.

“Just a name I picked up for the wyrm people and the blasted snakes. Any ideas?”

We were almost at the spiraling staircase when she answered.

“You are right; intellect does not seem to be the wyrmling's forte. I can't say much about the snake people other than they seem to enjoy other's pain.”

There was a slight pause as she seemed to draw in on herself by mentioning the snakes. Sadly, some traumas will just take a lot of time. If I made a list of species I could exterminate, the untehki would certainly stand high on it.

“The style is unknown to me, but I hope to find something in the archives when I get home. It is quite fascinating. The pillars, even as large as they are, should not be able to hold such long spans of the ceiling in place. They would need to be spaced much closer. At least, that's what common sense dictates, but architecture is not a subject I am familiar with. Maybe my brother would have some ideas. He has always had a thing for structures.”

“That's lovely, maybe you should invite him to visit. What did you say your brother's name was again?”

Three levels down, under-underground, I led us along to what would be the far wall of the palace from the entrance.

Dust was thick along the corners and almost as thick along the floor. This palace had not seen much use for a while. Occasionally, the floor would shake from whatever insanity the two sides at the entrance of the cavern were unleashing on each other.

“Yes, maybe I will. I'll be sure to write to him once we reach the nearest city. I'm sure he will be as fascinated by them as you are. If this city has a future, that is, I'm sure the ruler of these lands is less than pleased with a large area they do not control with possible connections to unknown lands and the possibility of hostile forces right under their feet.

No, I imagine there will soon be a dozen Awakened with a connection to one or another earth domain, closing this place off by some impressive use of domain power, for example, reuniting the floor with the ceiling.”

Halfway along the hallway, I changed our direction to a corridor going inwards, towards the center of the building.

“You are right. I doubt we will get many more opportunities to explore this strange place. Whether that is a good thing or not largely depends on what we…I find behind closed doors.”

“Plunder, loot, riches and wealth, is this what you hope to find? Are these the things that drive you, Alucard?

I find it hard to believe you lack these things. Your ability crystals alone must be worth a valued region consulship. If, for some reason, your family is unable to cater to your tastes and needs, I can think of several that would welcome you with open arms, including my own…that would be beside the service you have already rendered me.”

Turning right, I brought us down a final set of stairs at the center of the building.

“You do not have much contact with kingdoms outside the empire. So, are we finally admitting your connection to one of the founding houses? At least, that is some progress. I could almost take it as a sign you are beginning to trust me. You still haven't mentioned your family name, my lady.

No, you are right. I'm not provided with the amount of gold I need for the immediate future from my house currently, so I am left to look for wealth where I can. There are some rather expensive undertakings planned for the near future, so wish me luck.”

Still walking arm in arm, she rose on her toes and kissed me on the cheek.

“Luck.

It doesn't matter much, but if I must suffer the indignation of not knowing, so must you. I imagine it will be a moot point once we leave this cavern anyway, but fair is fair.”

In front of us, a rather unassuming wooden door stood behind a gate of iron. Now, why would anyone close off a room like this if not to keep valuables in it…and a treasury was a common fixture in most palaces.

I could practically smell the loot. My heart started beating faster.

Sending power from my pearlescent, good-sized egg to my eyes, I looked around the room to see if anything stood out. If there was anything that should be pushed or pulled, but sadly, there wasn't even so much as a lock. At least I didn't spot any traps, either.

Walking up to the iron gate, I noted that it slid to the side instead of upwards like I had expected from a gatehouse. Yeah, whoever had this installed probably didn't want an iron gate sticking out of the floor above us whenever it was opened. Sometimes, I'm an idiot.

Taking a moment to prepare myself, I took hold of the iron gate and started pulling. Why couldn't this be the same brittle iron as the cells below had been, Damn it!

A few seconds later, I had both feet on the side of the door and was pulling with all my might. I swear I had felt something give a few moments ago. Then again, it might have been my shoulders. Just a bit more.

“Hmmm, I'm not sure I should say anything since you seem to be enjoying yourself, but the opening mechanism is more than likely in the guard's room opposite this one in the hallway. It is merely a suggestion. I wouldn't want to ruin your adventure.”

Still standing sideways in the door-frame, both my arms, legs and tentacles shaking from exertion. Come to think of it, my entire body was currently made of cramping, sore muscles, and my ligaments and sinews felt ready to snap. I thought back to my own home, and yeah. The opening mechanism was a lever in a guard room you had to walk through to reach the vault. You needed a family ring with the proper privileges to move the leaver.

Gently moving into an upright position again, I took a moment to brush imaginary specks of dust off my chest and shoulders as my tentacles withdrew into my body before answering.

“Yes, I imagine that would be of interest. Shall we?”

Sure enough, back at the top of the stairs was an open door opposite the one going down to what I hoped was a treasury.

The first room looked like a dining room fit for four, with a couch long enough to lay down on, taking up one side of the room.

The other side was a walled-off section with bars in front of a small section big enough for someone to see through. The bars were currently a bit useless because the door to the room was open and everything was in full view.

What do you know, an oversized leaver stood up from the floor at the far end of the room, and lo and behold, a key was hanging from a hook above it. I wanted to smack my head against the wall.

Moments later, I found the oversized keyhole on the floor the lever stood on, and a bit rough handling later, the lever stood in what I assumed was the correct position. The move had been accompanied by the sound of stone and metal grinding from below.

We made our way back in a dignified and serene way…I was jogging by the time I hit the stairs and springing when we entered the vault sentence; Sabina was on my heels the entire way.

To my initial annoyance, the gate was still in place, but to my relief, It easily moved into the wall.

Strong arming the vault door, it opened easily on the old rusty hinges., With Sabina again having taken a position by my side. Arm in arm, we entered what I hoped was the palace treasury.