Zeke slammed his hammer against the vault door for what felt like the millionth time. In reality, it was probably more. Much, much more. For months, he’d been steadily beating his hammer against the giant vault, but to very little avail. He’d made some progress, as evidenced by the deep cracks spreading across the metal surface. However, he’d yet to get through.
And he very much wanted to see what was on the other side.
He could feel it. So close, and yet, so far away. He hefted the hammer, then, like swinging a sledgehammer, he hit the door again. The blow sent a loud gong echoing throughout the citadel and into the citadel, and from what he understood, it could be heard even miles away.
But he didn’t care about that.
Instead, he only wanted to complete the task he’d taken upon himself. Everyone in the tower with even an ounce of runecrafting ability had attempted to get into the vault. Sasha had tried her hand as well. And even Zeke, whose path of arcane destruction was locked away behind Oberon’s divine cage, had endeavored to unravel it.
Nothing had worked.
So, he’d resorted to brute strength. At first, he’d leveraged the entirety of his stats against the problem, but when that hadn’t worked, he’d opted for slow and steady. He’d even tried to dig down from the citadel above and come at it from the top. However, the same metal that comprised the door encased the rest of the vault. It was stronger, too. No – if he wanted to get inside, he’d have to go through the door, one way or another.
Knowing that, and down to the very core of who he was, Zeke embarked on a quest to do just that. The first crack didn’t come until the third week, and the second came only a few days after that. However, the third didn’t appear until three more weeks had passed. By that point, Zeke had lost count of the fissures in the shiny metal. He only knew one thing – keep going – so that was what he did.
Day after day, week after week, he continued in his task. At times, he was forced to rest, and when he did, other people took their turns. Silik used much the same tactics that Zeke did, but to much worse results. Pudge tried to use hellfire to melt it, and Tucker used all manner of caustic substances to try to get through.
Many others – such as Adara, Jasper, and even Sasha – had attempted various means, but the only person who managed to make any progress was Zeke. The stuff was nearly indestructible, but he refused to let it conquer him.
And slowly, new cracks appeared. They didn’t affect the integrity of the door – not yet, at least – but Zeke knew it was only a matter of time before it shattered beneath his monstrously strong blows. He only needed to maintain his commitment, and it would fall before him.
Meanwhile, the kobolds and his friends continued their own progression, sweeping out into the wilderness – both in the forests of the Imperium as well as the Muk’ti Plains – to rid the areas of monsters. Because of that, the locals hailed them as heroes that kept danger at bay, and to a far greater extent than the Radiant Host ever had. At the same time, they’d found multiple dungeons, all of which contributed to the continued leveling of the army. Even the beastkin got into it, and many of them showed themselves to be extraordinary.
Zeke knew that, if he so chose, his army would sweep across the world and conquer everything. Perhaps there would be difficult battles along the way, but the combination of the disciplined kobolds and his ability to easily transport them wherever he wanted – via the gates to the Crimson Tower – his army was practically invincible.
That had never been his goal, though. Regarding war, he had accomplished most of what he wanted to accomplish, and now, he just wanted to move on. However, before he could do that, he needed to get through the damnable vault door. So, he renewed his focus, pushing harder on his strength than he had in weeks. Doing so took a truly ridiculous degree of concentration, but he could feel the effects of each blow. The cracks widened and spread, and yet, the door remained intact.
It was maddening.
From what he felt, there was no reason for its continued resistance. Despite that, it still stood. So, Zeke pushed even harder. He delved even deeper into his pool of willpower. Each blow was enough to sunder a mountain, and every one left him staggered and weak. But after only a few hours’ rest, he was ready to repeat his actions.
Like that, week after week passed.
Until, at last, the vault gave way. One second, it was the same as it had been for months – just a collection of jagged pieces of metal that somehow remained stuck together – and the next, it turned to dust that billowed inward. When it settled, the interior of the vault was laid bare.
“Finally,” he croaked, yanking a canteen of water out of his storage space. He drank deeply, adding, “That thing was ridiculous.”
“Indeed. But I’ll point out that most people would have consulted master enchanters or other specialized personnel to bypass the security measures, rather than simply whacking the door with a hammer,” Eveline stated. “But I suppose the latter fits your personality far better than the former.”
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“Damn right,” Zeke agreed. Once, he might’ve felt a little annoyed at the statement – or more importantly, the implication that he was so stubborn that he made bad choices – but now, he was far more attuned to his nature. And he’d accepted that banging his head – or his hammer, in this case – against a wall was just a representation of who he was. Of what he represented, for better or worse.
In any case, it had worked, which was all that really mattered. Now, with the interior of the vault open to him, he didn’t hesitate to step inside. When he did, he was both impressed and disappointed, and in equal measure.
The second, because there were only a handful of items inside. He didn’t know what he’d expected – maybe a trove befitting a dragon or a pirate king, perhaps – but five treasures certainly didn’t measure up, in terms of quantity. However, he was impressed because at least one of those treasures emitted enough attuned mana to make him uncomfortable.
And he could easily intuit which one it was.
On a pedestal in the center of the vault, there lay a simple crown. It was just a circlet, but it radiated so much mana that Zeke knew that it would easily satisfy the hidden requirements of his quest.
And the others weren’t much weaker. What’s more, the swirl of attuned mana told him that many elements were represented, so he hoped that he’d finally found the last piece of the puzzle that was his quest to upgrade the Crimson Tower by adding a Hall of Affinities.
He stepped forward, and starting with the first one on the right, he circled the room. As he did so, he stored each item – ranging from a broken sword to what looked like a piece of kelp waving in a nonexistent sea – in the tower’s storage. Finally, he approached the crown.
And when he was only a few feet away, he found himself struggling against the flow of mana. It was so strong that it felt like he was swimming against a heavy current. However, if nothing else, Zeke was both strong and persistent, so even though he struggled with every inch, he gradually covered the ground to the crown.
He reached out, and the second his fingers grazed its golden surface, his hand began to disintegrate. He gritted his teeth and tried to dismiss the crown into his spatial storage. However, for whatever reason, it required more than a simple touch. So, he grabbed it.
Immediately, he wished he hadn’t.
Fiery pain lanced through his flesh, traveling up his arm and to his shoulder. Immediately, the disintegration resumed, and Zeke was forced to embrace [Hand of Divinity]. It was only marginally effective in neutralizing the effect, but thankfully, he didn’t need to do so for very long. As soon as he wrapped his fingers around the crown and lifted it from its pedestal, he was able to dismiss it.
Suddenly, the pain stopped, and his arm mended under the effects of [Hand of Divinity].
“Damn,” he muttered. “That might have been the strongest one.”
There was no answer.
“Eveline?”
Still nothing.
“Eveline!”
He knew she was still there. He could feel her nestled in the back of his mind. However, she had clearly been weakened by the dose of what he suspected was holy mana. Perhaps if he’d held on for even a moment longer, she might have been completely destroyed.
More evidence that he needed to be careful when he confronted forces he didn’t understand. He could endure almost anything, but the same couldn’t be said for those he cared about.
His heart beating a little faster, he redirected [Hand of Divinity] toward where he felt Eveline, flooding her with healing. He wasn’t sure if there was anything to actually heal, but he suspected it would work all the same. After all, it was at least partially powered by divine energy. If it didn’t work, then nothing would.
Even as a notification from the Framework pushed at his awareness, he focused entirely on funneling healing to the former demon in his mind. Her presence fluttered, and then, she slowly started to recover.
Finally, in a small voice, she said, “Thank you. That was an incredibly powerful holy-attuned treasure. I wasn’t paying attention, so I didn’t prepare for it.”
“You weren’t paying attention? I thought you were always aware.”
“Not quite,” she admitted, conveying that she was smiling. “Not to everything, at least. Most of my attention was on the tower, adjusting mana densities so that your people could continue to flourish. But let’s not talk about that. Let’s complete your quest and see what this Hall of Affinities becomes.”
Zeke nodded, then finally acknowledged the notification begging for his attention:
Quest: Multiple Attunements
Objective: Gather natural treasures representing the nine major classifications of mana.
Progress:
* Fire 1/1
* Ice: 1/1
* Water: 1/1
* Earth: 1/1
* Wind: 1/1
* Nature: 1/1
* Arcane: 1/1
* Poison: 1/1
* Disease: 1/1
* Life: 1/1
* Death: 1/1
* Demon: 1/1
* Holy: 1/1
Congratulations! You have satisfied the requirements for the quest, Multiple Attunements! You may immediately complete the quest, or you may delay its completion until you gather more powerful natural treasures. Which do you choose?
Zeke didn’t hesitate to choose to complete the quest. For one, he felt confident that he’d gathered incredibly powerful natural treasures, so he didn’t believe he could easily or quickly find anything better. More than that, though, he was tired of leaving that thread dangling. Even if it wasn’t optimal – which he thought it was – he believed that it was best to simply complete the quest and start gaining the benefits of the Hall of Affinity.
When he completed the quest, he received another notification informing him that the tower had undergone an evolution, adding another floor. But as interesting as that was, Zeke was far more interested in the other factor – that he had finally reached his goals for the Eternal Realm. Not only had he completed the quest, but he’d progressed to the peak. Now, at last, he could move on.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to search out a portal to hell, because thanks to Ignatius and his dealings with demons, there was one right under his very nose. He only had to activate it, and he could step across to begin his search for the pit. Once there, he would descend to the next circle of hell.
Not exactly an opportunity that would excite most people, but it was the next step to reaching the Ethereal Realm, where he would reunite with Oberon, get a few answers, and discover a little more about his purpose. And probably most importantly, he would unlock the divine energy within him.
Most people would run in horror from such an itinerary, but Zeke was not most people. So, he couldn’t help but let a small smile cross his face as he turned away from the vault and made his way back to the tower. He had a few preparations to make before he embarked on the next leg of his journey.