It had been a day and a half since Ezekiel had last checked the map. They had mostly been forced to move at night due to the necessary directions being tied to the positions of the stars. But for the last hour or so they had been moving during the day, though it would be less than an hour before it was night once more.
He hadn’t thought that his plans would continue to be so derailed, but even Legendary beings were subject to the whims of fate.
Had the cult not revealed their plan so openly, then it was possible that he would be on his way to the Empire right now. Trekking through the known roads west, through the tundra north of the Desolate Lands. Perhaps he would’ve finally gone south to meet up with his family again, before plotting out how they would rescue his father.
Instead, he was an entire kingdom away from any source of civilization, looking for a Ruin that had been lost since before the Age of Despair, that apparently needed mana from all ten elements in order to access.
A Ruin that had only been discovered by Wolken because he was bored once, after he had become a Mythical being, and had decided to explore the world before fully settling down in Tarquessa and founding the Prime Guild.
“This damned Ancient Legacy better be worth it.” Ezekiel mumbled through his enchanted winter wear. The thick layers of clothing that all ten of the assembled Legendaries wore was specially made to be warm, while not taking away too much mobility should they need to fight.
“I doubt that Exalt Wolken would’ve suggested this course of action if it wasn’t. Though, I do wonder why this Ruin hasn’t become well known. Is it a Void Temple?” Riley, who was right next to Ezekiel, heard his words and tried to distract him. Though she was also not enjoying the cold.
“No. All the Temples of the Void are accounted for.” Ezekiel could still vividly remember the locations of the Temples provided by the Void Remnants all those years ago. “This one was made utterly independent of the Ancient Void Temples. Although, that’s apparently all the so-called guardian that Wolken awakened was willing to explain. But it was able to defend against a Mythical Hunter's active offense, so I wouldn’t doubt that whatever we find is going to be valuable.”
That, and the fact that access to the Ruin would require [Ascended Mana] of all ten elements. A term that Ezekiel had never heard before. But apparently it was the official term used by the Ancients for mana that was produced by a Tier four being or higher.
Given that Tier three was the highest Tier that humans could reach prior to the Age of Despair, it was obvious that humanity wouldn’t have popularized such terminology.
Focusing on the task at hand once more, Ezekiel just wished that he hadn’t been blindsided by this expedition by his Guild Leaders. For the past few years, he’d been stuck trying to recover from crippling injuries, and forced to run away, again and again, by enemies that he hadn’t originally wronged.
Now, memories he’d pushed back for the sake of his life and progress were coming back to the forefront of his mind.
“Hey, don’t worry too much, okay.” Riley placed a hand on Ezekiel’s shoulder. “It’s not like the fate of the world will be determined by what we find here.”
A chill ran down Ezekiel’s spine. One that wasn’t caused by the cold.
Riley’s words distinctly reminded him of something he’d tried to forget. Something he hadn’t focused on since there was simply so much else going on.
He was sent here to save the world, and it could very well be ending within his lifetime.
“You’re right.” Ezekiel plastered a smile on his covered face. He did his best to project a happy and relaxed demeanor. “Wolken is taking care of things in the south, and we’ll take care of things up here.”
Thoughts of doomsday were shoved to the side. Aided by Shine’s presence lingering in his mind. A sense of worry, frustration, and anxiety still lingered, but were swallowed up by the Void Spirit’s comforting presence, as well as the heat that Riley began sharing with him.
“Hey, lovebirds! I think we’re here!” A voice from the other Legendary Hunter's call out.
The Void and Flame Hunter turned toward the rest of the group, who had moved on ahead as the duo had slowed down. Sheepishly, Ezekiel and Riley jogged to catch up to their current companions.
A small hill had stretched into the horizon, disrupting the otherwise flat and blank landscape. But upon reaching the top of it, Ezekiel and Riley could see what had made the others stop.
Ten black pillars reached toward the sky. Perfectly spread out from one another as they formed a circle. Though at a much lower altitude than the hill they were standing on. A hill that, now that he could see beyond it, Ezekiel realized was also a perfect circle surrounding the pillars within it.
Like the rim of a giant bowl.
Reaching into his Void Pouch, Ezekiel physically pulled out the map this time, wanting to compare it with his eyes, not just his magical senses. A diagram on the back of it near-perfectly detailed the exact image that they were seeing right now. Copied onto the map by Wolken’s own hands.
“Yeah. This is the Ruin, and apparent Ancient Legacy.” Ezekiel carefully put the map back into its container. Ensuring that it wasn’t damaged at all by the cold environment. “Let's get going then. It’ll take all ten of us to open the damned thing.”
Striding forward, all the Legendaries walked together in a group, not allowing themselves to be broken apart from one another this time. Each of them had drawn their weapons, just in case, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until they reached halfway from the hilltop to the pillars.
A surge of warm air rolled over them, and the white ground beneath their feet became solid like marble. No longer was it made of ice and compact snow, but the Cavern Hunter in their group determined that it wasn’t any type of stone that he’d ever encountered before.
By this point, each of them had donned their Spirit Armor. No enemies were in sight, but doing this would prevent them from being nothing more than squishy flesh and bones in case of a sneak attack.
Finally, they reached the nearest pillar to them, and as if drawn toward it subconsciously, they all spread out to examine it. One thing they noticed as they approached was that the pillars weren’t a solid black color.
Instead, they were dark like the night sky, with countless different colored stars spread out within.
The ground suddenly shook beneath them, sending some of them forward into the pillar, and some of them back and away. Those that touched the pillar became stuck and tried to call for help.
But the world became silent, as the pillars all lit up, and those that had fallen away were pulled forward. Something Ezekiel noticed was not unlike his [Push-and-Pull] spell.
Then, the world turned white once again. Even more so than when they wandered through the tundra. A second later, the ten Legendary Hunter's disappeared, and all that was left were the ten pillars.
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It was the morning of the second day after the attack on Lolend. Wolken had mostly recovered from his fight against the Mythical cultist. Only half of his body was covered in bandages, and it wouldn’t be too long before he was in a good enough condition to head north to check on his little project.
The city had also mostly recovered, but when you can shift the world itself by waving your hands such things are not too difficult. Not when it came to infrastructure at least.
Civilians and those not directly tied to the Guilds would take longer to recover. As unlikely as it was, several of the bunkers that had been created, way back when the city was founded, had collapsed due to the fighting. Mostly those that hadn’t been properly maintained over the years.
Very few people had died, most of whom were Hunters, Scholars, or unaffiliated Mages that chose to fight rather than flee. But it was still something Wolken would be keeping a secret from Ezekiel, if he tried to return. Not that he would be able to stay long, thanks to the city’s unanimous decision to kick him out for good. It simply wasn’t something that he felt Ezekiel needed to worry about.
“You better get stronger faster, kid. Or else there won’t be anywhere in the world that will welcome your presence.” Wolken flipped through a report that he painstakingly read through. I detailed the condition of the bunkers that were directly under the Prime Guild’s supervision.
None of them were damaged, thanks to a large number of checks and inspections he’d hired the Church to do. Which helped his Guild’s credibility when it came to capability.
Several jobs were sent their way, requesting that additional support be sent to several private businesses and homes. All in the hopes that they would receive better safety measures in case of attacks.
“Pansies need to get stronger themselves. Hiding behind walls won’t do them any good.” Glancing outside the window to his current room, Wolken grimaced at the discolored wall.
Fresh stone had been used to reconstruct the wall that had been destroyed. Unlike the other parts of the massive wall protecting the city, these new sections were prim and pristine. Rather than rugged and faded with time and blood.
It was a stark reminder that no one was truly safe in this world. Not when Mythical beings walked with the intent to destroy.
A knock on his door pulled him from his musings.
“Come in,” he said, and the door flew open wide. A Scholar from the Church held a stack of papers in his hands.
“Apologies for the interruption, Exalt, but I have more forms and documents from the Grand Scholars. They say it’s urgent and need them filled out before this afternoon. Else they come here themselves, personally and ensure that you do it.”
Wolken raised an eyebrow at the confidence that the Scholar showed. She was a middle-aged woman with a faded black hair color, but no colorless strands just yet. Just to tease her, Wolken released a bit of pressure. Enough to make most Adepts piss themselves in fright.
Much to his pleasant surprise, he was right, and other than a slight flinch, the Scholar didn’t react at all. While her movements were somewhat stiff, it was clear that she wasn’t having too many difficulties.
“Please be aware that I will be reporting this to the Grand Scholars.” The Scholar moved to put the documents on Wolken’s side table.
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Wolken winced and retracted his aura. That would mean more paperwork for him later.
“That's fine,” he lied, “but tell me; what did you [Understand]?”
The woman froze as she rose from where she had dropped the papers for Wolken. Blinking before her eyes widened, she took a moment to school her features before replying.
“[Silence].” The Scholar said before leaving the room.
Wolken easily noticed that not a sound was made as she left. Even as she shut the door behind her. Only silence existed, until she got further away from the room.
“Interesting.” Wolken smiled, his eyes didn’t leave the door for several seconds. “The world has already changed so much. We hadn’t even thought of spreading this knowledge before, but now the more experienced Mages are finally catching up to the Hunters.”
A soft hissing sound emanated from beneath his chair. A shrunken feathered serpent rose up to wrap around his shoulders.
“Perhaps the Cruor will be pushed back even further, in just a few years.” Reaching over to the side, Wolken grabbed one of the new sheets of paper, only to realize that there was a com-slate hidden within the stack.
“Damn. Those old bookends must really want my attention right now.”
Putting the papers to the side, Wolken put up a sound barrier to ensure that his conversation wasn’t overheard. While it wasn’t likely that there would be any spies in his private quarters within the Prime Guild, there was no reason to take chances.
Activating the com-slate, he waited for the news from the Church of Ten. Internally groaning as he realized he would have even more work coming his way.
At this point, he was starting to wonder if the Church was purposely trying to keep him busy, in order to prevent him from going north.
“Wolken,” the Grand Scholar’s voice was staticky and hard to hear. “The plan has gone off without a hitch so far. The cult members that have been trying to infiltrate the higher authorities in Quintessa have mostly been taken care of. Those we didn’t catch have fled.”
“So, why are you contacting me for this?” A sense of apprehension filled Wolken’s gut.
“We can’t have you going north. Now that we know what the cult is willing to do, we need you here in order to ensure that they don’t pull another stunt like this again. Not until Ezekiel reveals himself once more. Thereby taking attention off Quintessa.”
“I thought we brought him here to protect him?”
“That was before the cult revealed their true power.”
Wolken sighed, allowing the com-slate to pick it up to show his disappointment in the Church’s current decision. He had somewhat expected this, but that didn’t mean he liked it.
“We’ll still provide aid in secret. But there’s other things to worry about.”
“Like what?” Wolken couldn’t help but groan.
“One of the cultists we captured, and subsequently interrogated. They’re a blood relation to one of the Hunters you sent north.”
There was a beat of silence before Wolken cursed. He then flipped his table in anger. There was obviously more to it than that if the Church was contacting him directly and in secret,
“Ancients be damned!”
It took a moment for the Exalt to calm down. Heavy breathing filled the room. But there was nothing he could do. By this point, the only saving grace was that the Hunters sent north had no communication devices on them, so the cult wouldn’t be able to catch up anytime soon.
This still meant that, if this spy survived, the cult would learn of an Ancient Legacy. Which was the last thing they wanted to have happen.
As he bent down to pick up the paperwork he'd have to reorder and work through, Wolken sent a silent prayer to the Ancient Void. Hoping that Ezekiel could fix this mess in his stead.
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The first thing Ezekiel noticed was pain. Then the startling lack of noise, even breathing, that utterly surrounded him. Finally, he realized that he was utterly alone, when there were originally nine other people that had been near him just moments before.
Jerking upright, he winced in pain as a stone that had been digging into his side scraped his skin raw. Which was a surprise, since even without his Spirit Armor, a regular stone shouldn’t have been able to do that. Which surprised him even more so, as he could now tell that he wasn’t in his Spirit Armor.
Unable to see anything due to his pitch-black surroundings, even after enhancing his vision, he blindly groped around until his hand came into contact with whatever it was that had been digging into him.
“What the hell?” He muttered as his fingers slowly ran up and down the jagged rock in his hands.
The lack of light meant that he couldn’t see exactly what the stone was, but he could feel an intricately carved pattern that completely covered every inch of it.
‘Wuzzat!’ Shine’s voice suddenly echoed in Ezekiel’s mind.
Actively sensing Shine’s presence, Ezekiel was able to easily roll over and grab the Void Spirit by the hilt. A comforting sense of companionship filled him as he was reminded that he wasn’t alone in the dark.
‘Shine! Thank the Ancients! Do you know where we are? Did you see what happened when that pillar lit up?’ Ezekiel’s questions caught the awakening Void Spirit off guard. ‘Did you happen to see where Riley and Celia went?’
There was a moment of silence as Shine took the time to think, then a sense of helplessness and apology came through their bond. Ezekiel knew that Shine was as confused as he was.
‘Well, let’s just see what we can do about our current situation first, then. We’ll work on finding the others once we know where we are.’
Before he did anything else, however, he held up the stone for Shine to examine as well. The intricately carved rock was pushed up against Shine’s blade.
‘I can tell that it’s more than just a rock. I think it was carved to take on a distinctive shape.’ Shine’s insight was along the lines of Ezekiel’s befuddled guesses. ‘Have you tried channeling mana through it? I’m thinking it might be an artifact of some sort. I can’t think of any other reason why the carvings would be there. I don’t sense any parts that look broken or chipped, so it should be safe.’
With those encouraging words, Ezekiel did as Shine advised, and recoiled in shock as the area he was in was filled with light. The immediate shift also caused him to cry out as his eye began to water in pain.
“Gah! Spirits! That is bright!”
Fortunately, the enchantments on the stone didn’t go out the moment Ezekiel dropped it. Instead, they lingered, and the light began to slowly fade, becoming dimmer and dimmer, until it was at a bearable level that allowed Ezekiel to see.
All around him was smooth stonework that was obviously artificial, with carvings of battles between humans, Spirits, and Cruor. There was no rhyme or reason to the carvings from what Ezekiel could tell. They were just images, and there were a number that seemed far too lifelike to be mere stonework.
With the light at a lower intensity, Ezekiel could also check the stone that was shining light into the surroundings. The lines depicted channels that the mana he sent into it flowed through. But they were unlike any Runes that he had ever encountered before.
It was like the engravings were somehow overlapping with one another. Rather than being spread out on a single plane like with most human enchantments. Not only that, but sending his senses deeper into it, thanks to his mana passing through it, Ezekiel could tell that there was a sense of [Will] that was almost identical to the sense of [Will] that was imposed into the [Blessed Artifacts] that the Legendary Guardians in the Fjorya could create.
That meant that there were Spirits in these tunnels. Powerful Spirits, that may or may not be friendly toward Ezekiel and Shine. Something that they weren’t looking forward to, if they had the bad luck of running into any such Spirits.
‘We should move on,’ Ezekiel conveyed to Shine. ‘I don’t think we’ll be able to match whatever it was that made these.’
He gestured to the intricately carved walls and their fascinating imagery. From what he could tell, the wall was made of the same stone-like material that the small light-stone was. Even now, he got the sense that the little rock in his hands was incredibly tough, and reinforced with Cavern mana to a degree that he hadn’t ever seen before.
‘I think it’s too late for that. Look at the carvings over there.’ Shine’s voice sounded tired and resigned as the directed Ezekiel’s attention to the side.
The wall itself depicted an army of Fanged and Bone Cruor, teaming up against an army of Mages and Spirits. The Mages were casting spells of all types, with different elements moving in tandem against the monstrous Cruor. The Spirit, as well, were using their magic to great effect, and were also using their animalistic features to rip and tear at the Cruor that got too close.
Both armies were evenly matched, however, as the Cruor’s bodies showed their toughness in the face of the elemental magic used against them. Even as outnumbered as they were.
But it wasn’t the beauty and viciousness of the scene that captured Ezekiel’s attention. It was the fact that the Mage-Spirit army was further away from him, so the Cruor army was facing away from his position in the hall to face the opposition on the wall.
Yet, now, half the army of Cruor carvings had turned, and were facing Ezekiel.
A moment later, a cracking was heard as the carvings seemed to break away from the wall itself and were tearing themselves into the real world. Bone rattling shrieks and roars echoed up and down the winding cave. The stone Cruor was practically life-like in their actions.
Ezekiel saw none of this, since he had begun running down the path in front of him the moment, he saw the carvings move. Though the sounds they made before chasing after him did send a chill down his spine.
Memories of the events that happened over a year ago briefly passed through his mind.
His head start was soon lost, as more and more of the Cruor statues began to catch up to him. But he managed to stay just out of range or throw up a barrier to temporarily slow them down if they got too close. But he didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, as no matter how far he ran, there seemed to be no end in sight for the pathway he was on.
“Shit!” He yelled when a statue got too close for comfort.
He had yet to don his Spirit Armor, as he felt the need to conserve his mana, but was beginning to realize that he no longer had that choice, as the tunnel was nearly clogged with how many statues were chasing him.
‘There’s still more of them!?’ Shine screamed in Ezekiel’s head as they noticed that the number of enemies was continuing to grow. ‘Wait, up ahead, it's a crossroad!’
Ezekiel nearly stumbled, as he had been so focused on avoiding their pursuers that he hadn’t kept aware of the things that were coming up in front of them. Much to his delight, Shine’s words were true, and there was, indeed, a forked path in front of them.
Unlike the tunnel they were currently in, these two seemed to be entirely free of any sort of carvings. The walls were blank of any imagery but differed in direction.
On the left, the path seemed to descend, while on the right, the path ascended instead.
‘Which one do we take!?’ Ezekiel asked Shine. He threw up a barrier of [Void Panes] behind him to slow their opponents and buy some time. There was a noise like shattered glass as the living statue’s momentum broke them through the first few barriers without pause.
Ezekiel dumped half a Step of Tier four mana into another set of barriers. Finally, the statues stopped, but quickly began breaking the barriers down.
‘... Let’s go down...’ Shine didn’t sound sure of themself. ‘I’m certain that a Cavern user is controlling these things. I doubt that they would be hiding closer to the surface if that was the case.’
Thinking it over in the last few seconds before reaching the two paths, Ezekiel found himself agreeing with Shine. Odds were, in an underground glace like this, the path upward would be the one you reflexively ran for. Which would make it ideal for a trap. So, with that logic in mind, Ezekiel took the left path. Heading deeper and deeper into the Cavernous road he and Shine had found themselves in.
Behind them, silently, and out of range from Ezekiel’s senses, the stone figures that had been chasing them came to a stop. The entrance to the tunnel Ezekiel had descended into closed up behind them. A crumbling sound filled the now empty tunnel. An army of Cruor statues fell apart into nothing more than sand and dust.
An invisible wind blew through the cavern, throwing the dust every which way it could, only for the walls to smoothen out once more, the intricately carved depictions of Cruor versus Mage and Spirit, were now returned to their original appearance.
Lost in the dark and unseen by all once more.
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Running further and further down into the depth, Ezekiel’s only source of light began to flicker in and out of existence, even as he continued channeling his mana into it.
“Nonononono! C’mon! You can’ break on me now!” Ezekiel grumbled under his breath.
He had noticed the lack of pursuers after a few seconds of nothing screaming at him. But as the pathway got steeper and steeper, he knew that he was going to be running into new problems soon enough.
'Hole!’ Shine’s sudden warning, and forceful manifestation as Spirit Armor covering Ezekiel, was the only thing that saved them from falling as the floor suddenly gave out from under them.
‘Thank you.’ Ezekiel sent a sense of appreciation and gratitude toward his bonded Spirit. Then took a moment to examine the hole beneath them, and the road ahead of them. Only to realize that the path both front and back was shifting.
Both directions had been closed off as the walls sunk in. Now, the only path forward was down.
‘I don’t want to go that way.’ Ezekiel looked into the darkness beneath him. Shine’s silent agreement filled his soul.
Unfortunately, it seemed like they wouldn’t have a choice, as intricate lines lit up all along the smooth rock walls that surrounded them. Just as the small stone in his hand finally ceased emitting light.
As the enchantment activated, Ezekiel and Shine found it harder and harder to stay afloat. It took him a moment, but Ezekiel figured out what was happening.
“It’s increasing the gravity!” he exclaimed in shock.
This was something that he thought would be considered a Void Spell, given that it was a universal force, rather than a material aspect. Yet, he had never been able to figure out how to replicate such effects himself.
But before he could further examine the enchantments, which he noticed were also [Blessings] like those of the Fjorya Guardians, the force became too much for him and Shine to defy, and they began falling. Descending into the depths far faster than they had ever fallen before.
By this point, Ezekiel couldn’t help but wonder if his companions on this expedition were having as hard a time as he was. He could only hope that Riley wasn’t suffering too badly. While also regretting going along with Wolken’s plan and cursing the Exalt’s orders all the way down.