Another stomach-turning gravity alteration later, I got ejected on the other side of the portal, just to be blinded again.
At first I thought we again reached the ruins of the MIRE, just to remember that I already used most of the blinding mana there. But it was not just bad news.
Even without being able to see, I could tell that I was inside: there was no wind and the smell of the sea was replaced with the very recognizable scent of dusty interior, to the point that I had to stop myself from sneezing. The roar of the sea was also gone, obviously, but that was for the granted. What was more important though was the fact that my appearance was not accompanied with screams of either surprise or hostility. Progress.
In the back of my head, I could tell Iloa being startled, although definitely not as badly as Kon was for the first time he felt such overwhelming mana.
-You good?
-Of course, but where the hell are we…?
-I can’t…
I didn’t manage to finish the sentence because I heard the rest of the group appear right behind me.
I was going to ask where we were, but before I even managed to squeeze out a word, both Jack and Vendi yelped in surprise.
-From the reaction I assume you recognize the place?
-No! What is this thing!? What is this place?!
-Oh great… Kon, how about you? You good?
-Emmm… yes? You’re not?
-Well, I am blind again, so there’s that. Besides, everything’s OK.
-Wait, blind? You? - Iloa sounded surprised. - This place is that infused? Let me see!
-I’m not…
I didn’t finish the sentence before I felt her attempt to take a peek, just to be overwhelmed.
-EEK! - she yelped so weirdly that both me and Kon jumped up.
-Told you so.
-Well, wherever we are, the place is filled to the brim with mana - I said out loud. - And correct me if I am wrong, we are inside some kind of room, right?
-I… I think so? - replied Vendi, audibly confused. - But that’s not really some place I know of… it’s… weird…
-Like any place is normal… But, since even for you it’s weird, I have to say I am curious. I’d recommend not touching anything then.
-Are you mad? I’m not getting even remotely close to this thing! Is there a door here…?
-I don’t see one - said Jack from behind me. - Strange… is this some kind of hidden room or something…?
-Kon, you can see, right? - asked Iloa. - Can I take a peek?
I could feel him hesitate for a second, but he agreed.
-Yes, of course…
-Just don’t get poking in his head too much.
-I’d never.
We both knew that was not true.
As she said that, I felt her connecting to Kon and attempting to do the same thing as with me. I, meanwhile, tried to focus up and at least find the source of this mana, but for naught. Everything was so bright, there was no distinct spot that would say that it’s the source, meaning that we had to be so close that it was overwhelming me completely.
As I was contemplating that, I felt something else. In the back of my head, I felt Iloa, but different, more… profound. I could tell that it was thanks to the spell she was focusing on, or however else would you call the technique she used to borrow our sight. For some reason though, be it thanks to the powerful mana in the air, or maybe on purpose, I felt another connection.
It was Kon, and just like with Iloa, I started feeling him stronger and stronger, the thread that was connecting our thoughts got more defined.
Curious, I focused on that feeling, and to my surprise, I stopped seeing the overwhelming whiteness. Instead, for a second everything went black, and fading in, from the darkness I started seeing something else.
I saw three people standing in some kind of chamber, made out of completely red rock, or maybe crystal.
Wait. That was us. And I was seeing the scene through the eyes of…
-Kon. Nice, I can see now.
-What happened? - he sounded confused and surprised. - Weren’t you blind just a second ago?
-That's… peculiar - muttered Iloa, noticing what happened. - He managed to connect to the same spell I used on you, so he can see through your eyes too.
-What… that’s even possible?!
-Seems like it. It’s somewhat confusing though…
Right. Seeing yourself from a third person perspective was not something normal, but it was pretty handy right now. At least I now had a good idea where we were.
The chamber we found ourselves in was pretty dark, with no windows. It was almost circular, formed akin to a dome, although with some deformations. The walls themselves were rough and made completely out of red crystal, with no door to speak of.
The color and overall feeling I had was pretty familiar…
-Jack, Vendi, can you use magic right now?
-Huh? What for? - asked Vendi, confused.
-Just do it. A small light, anything really.
-Hm… sure…? Mynu qsotnu.
I saw him raise his hand in anticipation, but nothing happened.
-Err… Did you confuse your spells or…? - asked Jack.
-No! Mynu qsotnu! It’s not working!
-Ah. Well, points for her, she was actually right…
-Her? Don’t tell me that’s also another of Melle’s hideouts?
-No… I mean, I think not?
-You think?
-Yes. Jack, don’t you think this red rock seems a bit unique?
-Now, when you mentioned it… sure, I have never seen something like that… Why?
-Well, I did. And if we were to assume that there is only one place with that…
-Wait, you don’t mean…
-Yeah, I think we are in the Red Edge.
-What.
-Yeah, that’s just my assumption, but I don’t think there is another place fully built out of this red crystal. And you said that they do have some kind of powerful magical source, so that would explain my blindness…
-Holy… how the hell did a piece from here end up in some underwater ruins?!
-Your guess is as good as mine - I shrugged.
-Yeah, that’s interesting and all - muttered Vendi - but I have a better question. If we are in the Red Edge, tell me what the hell is that - he asked, pointing to the middle of the room.
Right. The most important, and the weirdest part. As soon as we arrived it caught my attention, and not only mine.
Right in the center of the room, wedged into the floor, there was a very large crystal, the only thing that was not red. It was the size of a person, maybe a bit bigger, and, even though I was looking through Kon’s eyes, I was able to tell that it was glowing, both visibly and with mana.
-Mor…
-Yeah. I know. It looks very similar to the one you’ve been in…
-Yes… but don’t you think it’s a bit… dim?
-Mhm…
True. While it definitely looked like a rainbow crystal she was turned into, it was not glowing as brightly as her, nor was it flickering with light as much. It still looked alive though… but barely.
I took a step towards it, just to almost trip and fall down on my face. The floor was rough, and seeing the scene through Kon’s eyes was not helping.
-What are you trying to do? - asked Vendi. - Shouldn’t we be looking for an exit? If that’s indeed a part of the Red Edge, we should be able to contact someone pretty easily.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
-Mhm… but first I want to confirm something… just stand back…
They both eyed each other, but already knew that it was no use trying to convince me, so just obeyed.
As I stepped closer to the crystal, I felt the mana get stronger. Even if I no longer was able to see the overwhelming whiteness of magic, not like it would be helpful right now, I was pretty sure that the source of it was the crystal right in front of me. Which was doubly strange, because it was seemingly in some kind of sleeping state, yet mana it was emitting was massive.
-Are you sure we should do that?
-That’s how we were able to communicate. Why not?
-Because, unlike me, it’s not speaking.
-You were not exactly in a completely awake state either…
-True… but remember, your body was a bit different back then.
-Sure. I will try not to drain…
-You think that’s even possible? I mean…
-I don’t know. But even if I will, it’ll be a good wake-up-slap for whoever is inside.
-You really think that there is someone in there?
-Do you have any better explanation for this presence?
-Hm… not really… but be careful.
-You’re worried about me?
-Yes. And not only you. Don’t forget that you are now linked to more than one person, you know.
-You think that might affect Kon?
-I was more worried about myself, but yeah, probably.
-Hm. Well, if anything is going to feel strange I’ll break the link immediately.
Before anyone was able to complain any more, I placed my hand on the crystal.
Instantly, I felt a connection and a massive amount of mana started flowing towards me.
It was just as when I was bringing Kon back to his body, although this time there was no outlet for the mana to leave, so I felt myself be bloated by overflowing power. At the same time, via Kon’s sight, I was able to see myself starting to glow and brighten up the whole chamber, to the point where the light of the crystal was almost instantly completely overwhelmed by me, being a shining beacon instead.
-Mor!
She did not have to tell me twice, or at all actually, I already had separated from the crystal, but not before I was able to notice a couple of things.
First off, I was right - the crystal was indeed another piece, or maybe a different Origin Crystal, there was no mistaking it. It also had some kind of presence hidden within it, just like it was with Iloa.
But, unlike with her, this time, whoever was inside did not speak to me, nor did it really react to my touch. Was it still in that weird state of hibernation, just like Iloa at first maybe? If so, it had to be even deeper than that, because when I connected with her, I was clearly able to feel her presence. Here I was barely able to tell that there was something hidden within, although it was undeniable that it had something, or someone bound to it.
Secondly, that was not all that I felt.
Before I was able to remove my hand, I felt my consciousness fade and disperse, which was alarming at first - I thought that I was the one being absorbed by the piece of rock, but in reality it was something else.
It was not my whole person being pulled, it was just the sight.
I found myself being ejected from the eyes and the head of Kon, just to travel back to myself and then towards the crystal. I expected to see myself from yet another perspective, but what I got was a lot better.
In a span of a second, I felt myself linked to the rock in front of me and started to spread through the whole chamber. It didn’t end there though, because almost instantly I felt my senses being stretched and pulled to a massive size. First, it was just the chamber, but then I started feeling the corridors next to it, then the staircase leading down here, then a whole tower… and then, a whole castle… island even.
All that just in a span of a couple of seconds.
Luckily though, I still was able to pull out and return to myself, stunned.
-What in the hell was that?! - yelped Vendi, shaken.
-Hell if I know…
-Did you do that?! - Jack sounded horrified. - The whole thing…
-I did what exactly? - I asked, not sure if I should be worried.
-The whole chamber… turned green as soon as you touched the rock…
-Em… what?
-Yeah, what? Something definitely happened, because my sight was interrupted - said Iloa. - Let me take a look again…
-Well, I am blind again, so that’s definitely not changed…
-I have no idea… - I said, scratching my head. - But if we were not sure where we are, I now can confirm, we are indeed in the Red Edge…
-Yeah, great, but…
-I mean… if there are any people around, you have definitely alerted them… a whole chamber changing color and shining like a beacon is sort of hard to miss…
-There… - muttered Iloa meanwhile. - I can see again… Well… wow.
-What? What’s happened?
Before she managed to reply, I focused on our connection, trying to get a glimpse again, and succeeded without much of an issue. It was actually a lot easier if you knew what you were aiming to do.
But what I saw… Well, it was not something I expected.
The chamber was no longer completely red.
The middle, right next to the crystal was now more prismatic than anything - just like the Origin Crystal itself. While before, the crystal looked like it was wedged into the floor by force, now it was more like it melded into it, and it was spreading through the room, like some kind of weird growth, or parasite more likely.
-That’s… unusual…
Yet still, there was no sign of any reaction from it. Well, maybe the floating sparks of light inside were a tiny bit livelier, but that was it.
-That was exhilarating - I announced, taken aback. - Well, whatever happened, happened, can’t really repaint this thing.
I noticed Kon was looking at me with wide open eyes. It was a bit strange, looking at myself like that…
-Don’t look at me like that, it’s not like I aimed for this thing to happen. But there’s a good thing: I think we’re soon going to have guests.
-How’s that good?! - said Vendi, now completely terrified. - If this is really Red Edge, we are trespassing! And in some kind of hidden chamber to boot!
-Maybe we can teleport out? - proposed Kon. - It’s not like they know where we are… and is there any entrance to this room anyway…?
-There is, but we are not running away.
-Of course we are not! - agreed with me Jack. - I know the person in charge here, we can talk this out.
-I know you have your contacts, but isn’t that a bit of an old one…? - asked Vendi, not convinced. - When was the last time…
-Sure, it’s been a while… but believe me, we are fine. If push comes to shove, I can be very, very convincing.
-Wonder what that’s supposed to mean… - I muttered.
-She’s got a big debt - he stated. - And not the type you can just pay out with money.
That did not clear up anything, but I was not going to ask him more, it probably would be cleared up sooner rather than later. Besides, there was always a chance that she’d still be under the effect of our deal, meaning I was more than fine.
During the moment I shared the senses with… well, the whole island, I was pretty sure that I indeed felt For somewhere above us, so I guess we only had to wait.
But, what was more of a problem, she was not the only familiar presence I felt here. Besides the handful of people that were just probably a bunch of random Red Mages, I also noticed that Jacob was with her, along with, surprisingly, his brother.
I didn’t feel Bert though, which was good, I guess…
Despite my earlier prediction, after about ten minutes, we still were not found. It was very strange - after all, if someone knew that they had this kind of powerful source fueling the castle, seeing this kind of flash go through the whole island, you’d think that it would be the first place they check for anomalies.
-Hm… are you sure that it was not just your imagination? - I asked them, not even sure myself.
-That’s… no!
-It’s hard to make that kind of a mistake - nodded Jack. - Although it is strange that no one has appeared yet…
-They are right. Whatever you did while connecting with this crystal, it was very visible.
-Hm. Maybe I should touch it again…?
-NO! - stopped me Kon. - No. You already started turning the floor, I don’t think that’s a good idea…
-I mean, who cares about their floor… but yeah, you might be right… it’s probably not the only change…
-Hey… I’ve been thinking… - said finally Jack - Is it possible that they have no idea that this place exists…?
-Well, there is no visible door… unless any of you found something…
-Nope - replied Vendi from somewhere behind Kon. - I’ve been trying to find a crack or anything similar… there is nothing here. If we have some kind of doorway here, it’s pretty well hidden, be it mechanically or with magic.
-I kind of doubt that they have no idea about the source of that kind of mana… - muttered Kon.
-Yeah. But besides that, I remember For mentioning something about a chamber that she forbade me from visiting…
-You think that it’s this place…?
-Has to be. It’d make sense: no one would think to check this spot, since it’s closed to everyone besides a chosen few… Hell, probably most of the people don’t even know it exists in the first place.
-Hm. That’s inconvenient… So we have to check until they finally decide to check up on this spot?
-Most likely.
-Eh… and just when I thought that we found ourselves in a bit more civilized spot…
-Well, we are - I shrugged.
-Too bad it doesn't help us at all…
-Say… should we just teleport back? - asked Vendi. - We are stuck…
-And go back to the deserted cabin in the middle of the woods? No thanks. Let’s at least try and contact someone here…
-And how exactly do you want to do that? - puffed Vendi. - Knock on the wall hard enough that someone hears? And then what, they’ll break a wall and release us?
-Even if they would, I think that they wouldn’t be too friendly after that kind of stunt…
-No kidding… but I might have an idea… Say, Jack, you know how the slave contracts work, right?
-Err… yeah, of course… why are you asking though? - he asked, suspicious.
-So tell me, can you manipulate your slave from a distance?
-That depends…
-Elaborate.
-You first. Why do you need to know that?
-Tell me and you’ll know soon enough.
-Yh… Fine. Well, you can’t exactly order someone from a far away, usually they have to be pretty close, say in your earshot. Some say that it’s so they can hear your voice, but I am not so sure about that. I never really checked.
-I guess that won’t work then… - I said, scratching my head. - Damn…
-And what were you trying to do? Can you tell me?
-I just wanted to order one of my slaves to let us out of here.
-Pff, no, that’s not possible - he almost instantly shook his head. - Even if they had the knowledge about this place and enough power to get us out, it’s not possible that they would…
-Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m not even sure if our deal is still working…
-Deal? You mean slave contract? Why?
-Well… - I gestured towards my body - my body sort of got changed, so I don’t have the mark any more…
-So what?
-What do you mean, so the deal is not bound to the mark?
-No! It’s not something that you can get rid of so easily, believe me, a lot of people tried.
-Tried what?
-Cutting their own arms to get the stains from their body. Too bad that didn’t change a thing and the contract was still valid. Same with owners. If someone losing a limb was enough for the slave to be set free, you’d definitely have a lot less slaves around.
-Hm… true… So what, what’s that thing even for? The mark?
-Well, besides making it easier to summon the contract, not much…
-Wait a second… contract… Can I change that remotely as well?
-If by “remotely” you mean without the presence of the slave, then of course not.
-Dang. I guess a different plan then…