The monument was huge, taller than I was. Mostly rectangular with a flared and then tiered design at the top, it was resting on a set of circular stairs. It was set directly in the center of the forest clearing that I had found, bathed in the peaceful morning light. I stepped into the clearing in order to get a better look at it, entranced.

As I got closer to the monument, I was able to make out more details on it. It was absolutely covered in moss, but I swear that I could see a glint of something beneath the foliage. Climbing the stairs to stand in front of the monument, I tried to wipe the moss out of the way. It was really stuck on there though, so I used the blade of my spear to scrape it away, careful not to damage the stone beneath. When I succeeded in scraping away the moss, my breath caught in my throat.

There was a large, twisting design of a seven-armed spiral etched on the face of the monument. Elaborately detailed, it looked to me like the design had been etched on some kind of turquoise crystal set into the stone. Furrowing my brow, I realized that the design was familiar.

After all, I’d seen it just yesterday on the robe of the Preceptor.

Below the spiral-etched crystal, I could see a line of text written in familiar-looking runes. Above the design though, there appeared to be a large, blue gem of some kind, cut into the shape of a triangle. However, the stone was jagged and broken. Half of it looked like it had been ripped away.

I stepped back to goggle at the surprisingly beautiful monument when it was fully revealed. What was this thing? It looked too beautiful, too elaborate to have been deliberately abandoned like this in the middle of a random forest clearing. Furrowing my brow, I stepped closer to the writing on the stone. It was done in what looked like something similar to Enchanting runes. They weren’t a complete match, but it was like the difference between modern English and old English to my eyes. I thought I could puzzle out the meaning if I tried.

“H-here…look-no…lies? The…d-” I tried to sound out the runes, but I was interrupted before I could get very far.

“Here layeth the door to the stars,” I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. Startled, I turned around as quickly as I could, instinctively readying my spear. I needn’t have bothered, though.

It was Venix, the Antium I had sort of met yesterday.

He had somehow snuck into the clearing while I was absorbed in pondering the monument. He was still wearing the same hat and robe, and was standing maybe ten feet from my position. Eyeing his four swords, I remembered how this hadn’t seemed to be my biggest fan yesterday. My grip on my spear tightened.

He continued speaking while I was inspecting him. “Step forward, wayfarer, onto the celestial road. With open hearts, embrace yon brothers and sisters yet discovered.” He was silent for a moment, simply staring at the monument himself. “That’s what it says. This…is a broken portal stone.”

Oh.

I risked a glance back over my shoulder at the monument. I remember Azarus telling me about these. Once upon a time, millennia ago, there had been a working portal network between a bunch of different planets. Then the ‘Gods’ had gone to war with each other, and now they were nearly all broken in some way. Apparently, there was only one working portal stone left on Vereden, and even then it was limited. It could only access one other planet. The one that the Orcs, Goblins, and Antium called home.

Indiqua.

Speaking of Antium…

Turning around, I saw that Venix was facing me as well. Before I could say anything, he reached up to take his hat off. For the first time, I got to see the Antium man’s face.

He…didn’t look as bug-like as I was expecting.

His facial features were mostly reminiscent of humanity. He had a mouth, a nose, and two eyes. None of them were quite like they were on me, for example, but they existed. He wasn’t very fleshy though, as his skin seemed to be made of a more inflexible copper-colored chitin. His head was completely bald of any hair, with only his two long antennae sticking out of his forehead. His nose was mostly flat and nonexistent except for a slight rise with two vertical slits for nostrils. His mouth was similar to a human as well, if not wide and possessed of rather more…pointed teeth in a human, obsidian in coloring. The light glinting off of his eyes drew my attention as well, letting me see that while they weren’t completely compound like an actual ant’s, they were still partially. He still had the normal white sclera, but he didn’t have either a visible pupil or iris. Instead, it looked like a pitch-black compound structure.

Other than…all of that, his facial features seemed mostly human proportions, if not with a slightly wider jaw. The overall effect was…a little odd. It was almost uncanny.

However, he wasn’t making a hostile move.

Instead, Venix was bowing his head in my direction.

“I’d like to apologize,” He told me, in his odd, flat tone of voice. “I leveled an accusation at you yesterday that was uncalled for.”

I blinked at him, caught off guard. “Did you...track me all the way out here just to apologize?” I asked incredulously, relaxing my grip on my spear.

Venix gave a short, sharp shake of his head in the negative. “I did not. I was already in the vicinity when I perceived your presence.”

We stood around in awkward silence for a moment. Well, at least I did. Venix gave no indication that he felt anything at all. I cleared my throat. “Well…apology accepted. I can see how someone would have thought my Bond Breaker was a Ward Breaker.” I paused for a moment, before turning back around to look at the portal stone. “Broken, huh. Do you know much about the portal stones?”

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I heard Venix approach closer to the monument, but not step onto the stairs. “Not especially. However, I have encountered them before. All members of the Hive that step foot on Vereden must pass through one. That is where I learned the inscription.”

I turned around to face him anyway in my curiosity. “So you’ve been through one of the portals before? What was that like?”

Venix was silent for a moment. With his upper right arm, he pointed to the large green crystal spiral etched on the monument. “This is not true crystal. It is the portal itself, shrunken and solidified. Upon activation, in a working portal stone, it would expand outward into the portal itself, turning to pure energy as it did so. Then,” He moved his finger up to point at the broken blue gem. “Whatever that is, it would fire some form of…beam at the portal, setting the destination. Once set, you walk through the portal. It is an instantaneous transition. You cannot sense the mechanism behind it. The only reason you are able to tell you have moved planets is due to the change in Aether density.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Does Indiqua have a weaker density or something?”

Venix gave me a small, mirthless smile. “The opposite. The Aether density is stronger than Vereden's. Thus, the monsters are stronger and appear more frequently. The jungle is…merciless.”

Huh. If the Aether is denser over there, and so are the monsters…

I’m guessing the people are generally stronger too.

I didn’t ask though. I just turned back to look at the broken portal stone. “I wonder how they really work.”

Venix stepped up beside me. I could see him shake his head. “I do not know. Nobody truly does, which is why the other planets are lost to us. Their operation is fairly simple, however. Around the back, you will be able to see the control mechanisms.”

Curious, I stepped around to the back of the monument to see what he was talking about. I was pretty surprised about what I found.

Set into the back of the stone in a large circle were six colored gemstones the size of my fist, surrounding a large rune in the center. Differently from the front of the monument, none of them were covered in moss. From the top in a clockwise motion, they were red, orange, yellow, blue, a sort of blue-ish purple, and finally purple.

That wasn’t what surprised me, however.

Laying at the foot of the monument below me, what looked like a puppy was napping in the morning sunlight. Crouching down to get a better look, I discovered that this definitely wasn’t a young dog of some kind.

It was a young wolf.

It was lying on its side, snoozing without a care in the world. It was an almost steel grey in color, and honestly pretty cute. The only thing was, I could tell that it wasn’t a normal wolf. Growing on its forehead, just in front of its tiny pointed ears, were two small bumps on its forehead. I wonder if this was an infant monster or something? I’d never seen something like that before. Curious, I used Observe on it.

Name:

Age: 2 months

Species: Spirit Wolf

I blinked at the small, snoozing wolf puppy. I…guess it wasn’t a monster, after all. Normally, a monster’s species was just listed with Observe as a monster. Not whatever a Spirit Wolf was. No ability listing, either.

Odd.

It didn't have a listing for either it's level or abilities, either...

Venix stepped around the monument, I guess because I’d been silent. He spotted the puppy as well. His hairless brow raised in surprise. “A Spirit Wolf?” He said incredulously, for once injecting emotion into his voice. I guess he had Observed it as well.

The sound of Venix’s voice seemed to finally do the trick in waking up the pup, as it yawned and stretched from its position on the stone stairs. Blinking open a pair of startlingly green eyes, the pup got to its feet and raised its head to look at me. It tilted its head to the side, almost as if it was studying me.

For a wild animal, it was surprisingly unafraid of either of us.

I raised my own head to look at Venix from my crouching position. “You know what it is?”

“Only through stories.” He told me, still staring at the young wolf in surprise. “It is a type of Mystic Beast, rarely seen. In the past, they are said to act as guides and protectors for lost…wayfarers...” He trailed off, his eyes flicking to the monument for a moment. With a small shake of his head, he continued. “I had thought them a myth, in truth. I’ve never heard of one appearing as a pup, however…”

Mystic Beast…

Guess I have another thing to ask Grey about, when he has the time.

Struck by a sudden urge, I stuck my hand out for the pup to smell. It leaned in and sniffed it, causing the canine to sneeze. After that though, it licked my hand a few times before barking at me.

Feeling a smile grow on my face, I put my hand on its head and started to pet the ‘Spirit Wolf’. It seemed to enjoy that, from its renewed panting. The pup suddenly looked up at me, causing me to lock eyes with it.

My green eyes met its own.

I…felt something, then. I couldn’t put it into words accurately. Beyond Magic, or Cultivation, or even Statuses, it felt like I was somehow brushing my soul against the pups. It wasn’t scary at all, though. Somehow, I could feel the inquisitiveness of the young wolf under my hand. At the same time, I could feel that it wasn’t surprised at this contact at all. Slowly, formlessly, I could feel the creature pose a question to me.

I blinked, breaking the contact. A little dizzy, I looked back up at Venix. “Has…anyone ever taken a Spirit Wolf as a…pet?”

Venix blinked at me slowly. “No.” He said. “I don’t believe they have.”

“Well,” I said, gazing back down at the patiently waiting pup. I opened up my arms. The young wolf jumped into them at the wordless gesture. He wasn’t very big right now, only about the size of a small dog back home, so it was easy for me to stand up under his full weight. The pup settled into my arms as if he belonged there. “I guess I’ll be the first.”

“Very well,” Venix said. I got the feeling he didn’t know how to react to the whole situation. He shook his head. “We should be returning to the encampment. They’re likely ready to leave by now.”

I nodded at him, before making my way down the steps of the broken portal stone. My new wolf watched the world curiously from his space in my arms. When I didn’t hear Venix following me, I turned around to see what was holding him up.

Venix had folded his four arms back into his sleeves and was gazing at the stone pensively. I opened my mouth to ask him what was up, but he interrupted me before I could.

“Monument now still,

Enchantment’s touch fades away,

Forest keeps its tale.”

With a deep sigh, Venix turned away from the stone and walked down the stairs. “I will gather your kill. You are…occupied.” With that, Venix walked over to the dead deer I had left over on the edge of the clearing and easily picked it up. I noticed he was careful not to get any of its blood on his white robe.

I looked down at the pup in my arms, causing it to look up at me curiously. “Did he just haiku?” I asked, bemused. The pup barked at me in response.

Flicking my eyes back to the monument briefly, I thought about Venix’s spontaneous poem.

Enchantment’s touch fades away…

“How about Fade, huh?” I asked the Spirit Wolf in my arms.

Fade barked at me again.

I guess he liked it.