Chapter 80
Within Time
The root of everything.
She stared at the behemoth spanning eight miles, perfectly circular, its surface smooth and pristine. It seemed metallic, impervious to any and all external effects. Within the rivers of suffering that the world was undergoing, they had forgotten it. The very thing that started it all–the orb that defied reason. Though there were over eighty vessels of nations surrounding it in a permanent occupation, nobody saw her as she walked forth–on the water–and approached the orb, gently touching it.
For a brief, fading moment, it seemed to resonate with her touch–the cold surface warmed up for that singular second, and she could almost feel electric feedback. However, it wasn’t there. It was still young, juvenile, harboured within a cocoon.
The root of everything.
She sighed, her heavy gaze shifting away from it and toward the sky. Something was off, she felt. Though she expected accelerated changes, that wasn’t it. It all began from when she first Awakened–and was told she was second. Someone… had Awakened before her. Someone… had come back, just like her.
Her gaze softening, she glanced back at it. The memories within were in a perpetual flux, seeming incompatible with reality. But they were all real–she’d lived them all. All the horrors, all the impossibilities.
The root of everything.
Her shoulders slumped as she sighed. The heaviness of thoughts pressed down like a chilling mountain. Though the responsibilities were self-imposed, they still weighed heavy. Were it another time, she would be none the wiser. A tiny little mote of light in the perpetual darkness. But this time, it would be different.
“I’ll save you, love,” she mumbled softly and lovingly, her voice a whisper vanishing in the wind. “No matter what, I will save you.”
**
The preparations were over.
Ethan looked guiltily at the young Layla who was doing her best to hide the red in her eyes. It had just been four days since he came back, and he was leaving once again. Though he swore it was all for her, the weight of needing to leave her almost broke him and made him stay. But he had to go. For if he hadn't, there wouldn't be a place to return to.
“I’ll be back in a jiff, firefly,” he crouched down and gently patted her head. “Sis Sarah will teach you a bit more history, so, when I come back, you better be ready to wow me. Okay?”
“... okay.” She nodded, her fingers curling up into fists.
“Anything happens–”
“--off to the cave, yes,” Sarah nodded. “Good luck.”
The full group departed once more, though now with one extra member. Elijah, Ronald, Delilah, and Mingzhu followed tightly after him as he sprinted down the mountain, heading toward the city. 'Michael' had secured them transport and they would be heading to South Korea once again where they would board a submarine that would take them roughly ten miles offshore from North Korea's border.
The logistics of it largely flew over his head, though he’d begun to recognise his dependence on military aid. Getting to those places without them, while likely possible, would have been a major headache. Even with the help of the military, it still took them nearly three days until they boarded the shores of North Korea.
In truth, Ethan had no clue how ‘Michael’ managed to procure so many resources for them–including a nuclear submarine–though he wasn’t complaining.
They had to avoid the border patrols as they moved further inland, though that was relatively easy since the shoreline consisted of tall, steep, and almost impassable cliffs. Beyond them, a stretch of open plains expanded onwards, all the way to the Tunnel itself which was about thirty miles from the shore.
All in all, it took them about six days of travel until they stared at the spinning vortex in the middle of seemingly nowhere. Luckily, it hadn't been discovered yet, though that likely wouldn't stay the case even for half a month later.
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It spun indefinitely, appearing ever so slightly taller than the one in China. They didn’t enter immediately and instead decided to camp out for a few hours to rest and recover. Ethan remembered very few things about this place–the only reason he even knew of its existence was that it was a perpetual Tunnel. Eventually, with the fall of North Korea, it became public knowledge and was attacked countless times, especially by the Second Generation Awakened.
However, there were differences–the first clear of the Tunnel and every subsequent one were different. As such, he couldn’t exactly rely entirely on the knowledge of the Tunnel as it was different from what they would be facing. No one was quite certain who was the first to clear the Tunnel as nobody came forward, though rumours were that one of the Ten Beasts, simply known as the ‘Zealot’, was the first to clear it, kickstarting their journey. As to how credible it was… it was as credible as any other rumour about the Ten Beasts, really, which was to say not very much.
[Dimensional Flux] was one of the items on Ethan’s radar, the kind that he wanted to have, but since it wasn’t Unique like the other three items on the list, there’d be a chance to obtain another one in the future. The only depressing part was that the drop chance was exceedingly low–less than 0.1% by some rough calculations. That was also why he needed to be the first to clear the Tunnel even if he wasn’t 100% certain that it would reward the item.
Six hours later, the group stood in front of the vortex, preparing to go in.
“As soon as we enter,” Ethan said. “Elijah, shield Delilah. Ronald, protect Elijah. Mingzhu, I’ll protect you, so try to shadow-bind them to darkness and make them invisible.”
“Alright.” By now, she’d learned not to question it, so she simply went along with it.
Ethan was the first to step through, and after having suffered through Delilah's version of a tunnel, the smooth journey was rather welcome. However, he didn’t lose himself in the sensation, immediately focusing on his surroundings as soon as he stepped out of the darkness.
He felt it–right away–the surge of Mana.
Conjuring up a three-foot tall shield through Hemomancy, he turned toward the source of the flux and braced himself. A moment later, a bolt of fire surged through the darkness and blasted against his shield, dissipating as it was unable to blow it to smithereens. It was then that the others stepped out into the new world, still partly disoriented. However, even in that state, Elijah immediately managed to buff and shield Delilah and pull her behind him while Ronald stepped in front of the two.
Mingzhu, on the other hand, desperately began weaving shadows in order to erase everyone’s presence.
It was dark–completely dark. The only reason they were even remotely aware of where others were was because Ethan taught them all how to sense Mana on the most basic level and how to recognise each other’s unique ‘Mana prints’. However, they had no means of discerning where the attacks were coming from–or even if they were coming. Ethan was, thus, forced to cover every angle.
Four bursts of Mana were fielded right then–two aimed at Ethan and two aimed at Elijah. Using Hemomancy again, he conjured yet another shield and tossed it at the perfect time to deflect the two bolts of lightning that struck toward Elijah, while he himself defended against the combo of a fireball and the bolt of lightning by deflecting the ball and outright tanking the bolt, taking around 180 damage. While for most other tanks that would be a massive hit that would leave them in a critical state, to him, it was barely a scratch.
It was then that the attacks subsided and the darkness began receding.
While the others were temporarily blinded by the surge of light, Ethan endured the pain as he had to see whether it would be the same as it was ordinarily–but it wasn't. Ordinarily, after 'conquering the darkness', they'd be 'spawned' on a battlefield and tasked with simply surviving for a duration or outright escaping.
However, they weren't–instead, Ethan was shellshocked to realise they were inside a gorgeously decorated hall, tall and wide, with dozens of marble pillars carved out by hand holding up a domed ceiling. In front of them, on an elevated platform, there was a throne of gilded gold and silver, and upon that throne, there was a middle-aged man sporting snow-white hair and a pair of brilliant, gemstone-like silver eyes.
They were surrounded by about sixty well-armoured knights in full plate and further surrounded by a gathering of men and women spanning all ages. They were clearly inside the throne room, which Ethan couldn't understand. There was nothing like this as far as he knew. Was it another anomaly? Or was this simply how the Tunnel originally went?
"Travellers," the King spoke in a commanding tone, the surge of Mana within him revealing something to Ethan that nearly caused his heart to stop–the man was at the very least Level 50 and was a named monster. If they were forced to fight… no. No matter what, this cannot end in a battle. "We bid you welcome."
“...” Ethan remained silent, and others followed suit. Ronald and Elijah recognised that something was off as Ethan’s expression was rather strained.
“You have proven yourself worthy,” the King continued. “And despite Our considerations that you are weak, Ancestral Ways forbid Us from acting upon those considerations. As such, you shall be presented with the Truths and the Lies, and discern the fate of the Void. Whether you succeed or fail, live or die, choke or burn, or yet emerge a vastly more powerful force, the Truths must be discerned from the Lies and you must enact judgment. Do be warned, Travellers–your judgement, ordained within the limited wisdom, shall impact the future beyond reproach. Do not defy, do not deny, do not pry. Thy will be undone." It was odd–terrifying even. Something was very, very, very off–this was nothing like the Tunnel Ethan recalled. Another anomaly? Or… no, chances are that this is simply the original Tunnel. What it turned into was likely the result of the current one. So, depending on our choice, the outcome might yield a completely different Tunnel? Shit, was this even a thing? Perhaps, though Ethan was never privy to it.
“Bright forth the Judged,” the King ordered as the knights surrounding Ethan and the others dispersed. The tall, arched doors to the room were flung open, an array of people walking through, all bound in chains. The Tunnel’s trial, whatever it was, had begun. Ethan’s eyes scryed every person, both those bound to chains and those judging and observing from the sidelines. The answers were somewhere in there. He simply had to see them.