Chapter 9: The Sealed Door
Under the cover of night, the team, led by Robin, headed to their dreadful destination. A place they had hoped they never be unfortunate enough to see, for there only lay misery in that encampment of the corrupted folk. On the third day of their journey, they arrived at a peculiar location where a river could be heard forging a path downward toward an unknown destination. Scitus took note of it for it was the second river he had seen and found it odd that a river, let alone two, existed within the confines of a vast desert ring.
"where?" Scitus grunted as he made a circular motion with his hands. Robin nods, "know," he said as he placed a finger to Scitus's chest. The gesture roughly translated to, "you will know when you are close." Scitus wondered how that could be possible, was there some sort of landmark nearby that signified the goblin encampment?
Seeing his kings confusion, Robin added new information for Scitus, He took his thumb and pointer and pressed his Nose shut, "smell". Scitus was unaware at the time of the universal law for monsters, the more repugnant the smell the more hideous and heinous the monster. "Rotten goblin, not trust" Robin continued with a shake of his head formed two fists that danced along with his head. In goblin tongue, this meant it was absolute, in others Never trust a goblin that smells. At that moment Scitus finally realized why the goblins didn't smell despite never bathing and being filled with filth and grime. To them. a terrible smell would lead to distrust and therefore a death sentence so they adapted somehow, in a way he didn't understand, a way that prevented them from smelling bad beyond a certain degree.
With new information at hand, and the ability to make the search simpler he ordered his unit to spread out in search of the most repugnant smell they could find and if they did, they were to disengage and send a telepathic message to the others.
Scitus traveled passed the river and into a separate area of wood where the trees were as high as the eye could see and far enough apart for a human to comfortably travel and yet only glimmers of light lit the ground, but Scitus had unknowingly been gifted darkvison and low light vision by his subjects. He searched with his nose while his mind lay elsewhere thinking of its lack of social interaction with another of its kind. Scitus had never been one to contemplate social relationships for he had at one point abandoned them all together but perhaps out of some strange desire for it, he felt a need to speak in his native tongue and therefore began to speak aloud to himself in small whispers.
Forgetting his original purpose, Scitus gazed at sights before him, the green trees that interweaved with earth and their branches that held the chirping birds above him. All of it foreign to him for all he knew was a world full of technology, forests were nearly none existent. He came to the realization that he didn't despise the outside but rather he hated the artificiality that his world had become. Technology was a gift and it was a curse, for it provided aid in every which way imaginable but it could not provide warmth. His mind wandered toward a memory of the smiling goblin faces grateful that they had been saved. Truly he wished to grant them a better life one that he was not privy to in his youth. He took in a large breath and decided what the future for his kingdom would be, what he hoped it would become.
"and I, who never had, have obtained what no else could, and have become human once more." He closed his eyes as tears dripped from beneath his lashes in remembrance of the bright ever so gentle smiles of his parents, who held him dearly, often gifted him. He was a man who bore enormous responsibilities beyond what he felt worthy of. Suddenly a tingling sensation catches his nostrils, he turned and found a mossy trail towards a rotten bushel of trees. Curious he sneaked closer, using his training to travel quietly. His eyes shifted from tree to tree, and then from ground to ground in search of goblin activity and when he found none, he moved more quickly deeming it to an area of interest for another reason altogether. His instincts persuaded his better judgement to push forward almost as if the land itself called his name.
After several minutes of travel, he reached his destination, a small opening on a cliffside. The opening was no bigger than an elephant and as he peered inside he felt his skin desire to enter it. He couldn't shake the feeling of excitement enters his pores. He turned one way and then the other in search of possible spies and with a quick final look behind him, he quietly entered.
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As he traveled inside, the world had become lit by a bright green moss that had taken a liking to Scitus and began sapping away at his mana. At first, he did not notice for his immense mana reserves caused his mind to block the insignificant siphoning from entering his conscious mind.
He didn't notice it for it did not drain even an ounce of his immense mana reserves. The deeper he went the more his curiosity grew and so he traveled deeper and deeper forgetting his mission or even the time he had been inside that cave. As he traversed the expanding cavern, his mind pleaded with him to stop for it knew that this was not its objective and yet he desired to keep going. Then, when the moss changed from green to blue, it finally took a noticeable piece of his mana. By that point, Scitus had become resolute in completing the journey and it wasn't until the moss turned red and stripped him of nearly a quarter of his mana did he become startled and hesitate to continue. His eyes turned to the floor where he saw, what had once been a rocky cave, a neat black stoned path was now visible, he pressed forward after seeing this.
At the bottom of that mysterious cavern lay an even more mysterious golden door the size of a two-story building. Its immense architecture astounded Scitus who had grown accustomed to seeing nothing more than trees and poorly built tents. Blocking the grand door was an even grander Statue it was a woman wearing knightly clothing. But behind the stone helmet and in those stone eyes Scitus could see intellect beyond his comprehension. Suddenly the world around him rumbled as the statue grew bright with life as its skin turned from stone to an angelic white. It spoke as it peered into his very soul "A human… No a God " Ferocity and yet a hint of kindness proceeded her mighty voice. Scitus's knees shook uncontrollably beneath her booming voice. If she spoke any longer than those five words he swore his knees would have buckled and kneeled before her.
"I have waited millennia for someone to reach this place." Her voice like the beat of a base shook his heart and made it feel as if it was tearing.
“Have you come to open this door?” Scitus placed his hands on his knees for fear of collapsing otherwise.
"It depends on what lies behind the door." He responded with unintentional rudeness that he felt required apology but before he could muster the strength to speak, the mighty voice boomed once more. She laughed in a decibel mere mortals would find difficult to survive and spoke once more, " You come here and do not know what this sacred ground contains!!" her shouts were not in anger but rather a fascination of the strange god that traveled the depths passed the deadly mana traps she laid. As her eyes peered closer at his soul she quickly found the answer as to how a fool managed to reach her feet.
“Listen.” She spoke and as a sign of respect, Scitus hardened his knees and stood to face her, forfeiting the pathetic position he had shown to her earlier, “Behind these doors lies a book regarding gods. The final book in a series of three and has been sought after for generations. Do you feel yourself worthy of holding such a valuable piece of this world?”
Scitus clenched his fists as he resisted his desire to collapse before her and spoke in a mighty voice of his own. "I abandoned the world once before, I abandoned people who sought for my help and now in this new world, I've met people who call me god. I will not fail them like I did those before. If this book can grant me the ability to protect them, to grant them happiness, then, even if unworthy I wish to use it."
The angelic knight smiled with a warmth reminiscent of his distant past. "You who wishes to protect monsters, you who wishes to bring them happiness and who saw through their strange and frightening exterior are worthy of this book and worthy of a gift."
The enormous woman lifts her sword and digs it deep into the ground. “grow stronger and when you come back here and lift this sword. Only then will your gift be unwrapped and show itself.” Along with her words, Scitus felt a stinging in his palm and as he tried to resist his screaming he looked at his palm as a blue engraving appeared on it showing a grand whirlwind and within it a single book.
"Do not run twice and we may yet meet again." With those final words, the woman vanished almost as she never existed but she was certainly real for her blade remained deep inside the earth. "I've run away once." Scitus carefully analyzed her words and like instinct he knew she read him, she peered into his past and dug it all up.
Scitus placed a single hand on the door and then the doors golded exterior flowed over his hand like water and solidified, trapping him. He was helpless as the door ate his mana at an alarming rate, leaving at sixty than fifty, then forty and finally at twenty percent of his mana. His knees touched the floor as the door released him and finally opened.
Within the chamber lay unimaginable beauty of trees as far as the eye could see colored in pink blue and green assortments. Rivers that flowed from nowhere and from nowhere under trees and over mountains being guided by some unknown forces. Flowers grew near the green grass in a majestic grace that forced a sigh of complete amazement from Scitus. He rarely experienced genuine shock but the beauty that lay before him did what few things could. He entered and as he did, the ground beneath him began to disappear as if it had been an illusion the majestic world vanished and what was revealed were piles of gold, goblets and other incredible items that mortals could only dream of obtaining. In the center of the royally decorated room lay a book on a crystal stand. Scitus took the book in his hands and then…
“find camp” the awe in his mind vanished and in its place was a glare that could pierce the mightiest of egos. It was time to show the other monsters that Scitus would not allow his subjects to be mistreated.