“You called for me?”
It was the first time Daughter had ever called for him like this. Xavier was the messenger, entering his domain while he was expanding his laboratory for larger scale production of Dream Meth. Just yesterday, he received a kilos worth of Dreamweaver’s Dust by Charles. The Templar, when given a vision, was fast to work. Lucky too as the top floors, forty-one through fifty, were spawning oneiroi, gods of dreams. The quality of Dreamweaver’s Dust was second to none and Dasha was beginning to adjust his production accordingly.
Daughter should have known that, so why interrupt him? He was admittedly agitated as entered her room, an arm inside his gi. On the other end was Daughter, yawning and stretching her arms high in the air. She rubbed her eyes, muttering, “Dasha, you're here. Good, good.” Yawn. “I received information regarding Gate 13. I thought you might want to know.”
Tomorrow on Monday, Gate 13 was going to open. How in the world did she already have information?
“One of our girls overheard Brigid and Toth in the House of Wisdom discussing it. Architects, as stringent as they can be, can be quite loose with their lips.”
‘Ah, I see.’ With that, another mystery was solved. “The people employed at Valhalla’s Gate, the House of Wisdom, and the Heavenly Tower are all called Architects. Hm, but wait, I haven't seen an Architect for the Heavenly Tower yet. Have I?’
His mind flash-backed to the first time he arrived. He heard a voice. He heard a man calling himself Cain. Perhaps…
“There are some gates that repeat and carry over from previous games,” Daughter explained. “This is one of those. In fact, this is one you should be familiar with.”
“...the Silent Forest?”
A nod. Daughter crossed her legs and flicked her Ankh earrings with her index finger. “The redwood of the Silent Forest is of exceptional mystical energy. Because the gate only lasts for a month, it is a very lucrative resource. But that's only half its importance. Have you heard the rumours?”
Dasha read about the Silent Forest in Giovanni Bruno's journals. Other than a detailed analysis on the quality of wood alongside a research partner that specialized in blacksmithing, he found nothing on the main objective. Remarks and theories were written but they were unfounded. Dasha shook his head.
“They say the creators of the Heavenly Tower specially built this gate,” Daughter said. “And due to that, no one has ever completed this gate. Not even those of the Golden Generation. The will of the Heavenly Tower wishes for only the chosen. Whatever treasure is inside may be useful to our mutually agreed contract.”
“You want me to figure out that which the entire history of the Heavenly Games could not?”
Daughter smiled and laid on the bed, hand supporting her head “You have a head start. I hope you don't disappoint.”
Dasha closed his eyes. “It's not a matter of whether I can. I will. But I require eyes. Experience. Stories. If hundreds of theorists before me could not figure it out there must be a reason.”
“Why not ask me?” Daughter said, smiling widely.
“If you had something useful to say, you would have said it already.”
“How mean.” Daughter rolled over, yawning. “I'm going to sleep. Talk to Xavier. He'll have more details. Probably.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
She sure was a handful. Dasha departed immediately and gestured at Xavier, who was waiting outside, to follow. “The Silent Forest. Tell me everything you know,” Dasha ordered.
Xavier lowered his hat. “It has been a while since I've heard that Gate. Almost eight years now since the Golden Generation.”
“Daughter implied you yourself ventured through the forest.”
“I did. It was before I joined the Whispers. At the time, I was in a four-man party. I wandered for a month before the Gate ended and I was allowed out.”
They made a sharp turn and went downstairs. The front door was not far. “A month?”
“It seems to be a mix of a scenario and a raid. All players are within one designated space and cannot leave until either the main objective is complete or the time runs out. Some say it is the same Gate 13 every time. A rumour went around during its previous appearance that a corpse of an old player was there.”
“What makes it so difficult?” Dasha asked. “Inexperienced players cannot be everything.”
“Many things. It is eerie quiet, to the point that you can hear your own heartbeat. You cannot see, for there is a fog that blurs your vision as well as your mana sensing capabilities. It is not difficult as it is plain confusing and mysterious. No information is given. Not even a hint.”
The front door was opened. They ignored the ghosts and converged into the roads of the Dark Sector. Dasha planned to meet up with Li Ch’ang-yu.
"Mana sensing...does that include Qi Sense?"
"Indeed."
“Why? The principles of Qi Sensing and Mana Sensitivity are different. Qi Sensing is a radar created by pulses of Qi. Mana Sensitivity is the body's sensitivity to magic akin to sensing temperature. One can be honed through training. The other is largely innate.”
“I couldn't say," said Xaxier. "I possess neither skill and relied solely on my five senses. All I know is that the mist functions as a mana disruptor on all levels.”
“Noted then. The fog is of a magical quality that disturbs magical sensing of all kinds and sight. I presume hearing is spared?”
“Yes. Screams can be heard regularly through the fog. It is the one sense that is reliable.”
“What monsters roam it?”
“Just the will-o'-the-wisps and Witte Wieven. Both are dangerous in their own right. The wisps shake violently and are attracted to prayer. The more they hear of it, the stronger they get. As for the Witte Wieven, they are Dutch women that play pranks on the wanderers. They rarely fight and if they do…death is very common.”
“Do you recall their levels?”
“Apologies. I cannot. It was long ago now. However, I doubt they are higher than Level 30."
“Level 30 or 40, it hardly matters. I doubt they will trouble me in battle. However, overstaying my visit will be an issue. I cannot let myself get trapped.”
Dasha alone was running the Dream Meth production. Until demand really kicked off and Daughter was convinced of its future, he couldn’t let himself be dragged from his lab for too long. All the power in the world wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t solve this gate effectively.
“You obsess over a perfect run,” Xavier pointed out. “There is nothing wrong with mistakes.”
“For you, perhaps, but not for me.” Dasha gravitated toward cultivation for a reason. He sought perfection. He sought goals beyond the limitations of humanity. If he did not seek perfection in all things, then what was he? Just another human. Just ordinary. These people couldn’t possibly understand what it meant to be him. To turn around and see nothing but flaws when they could be so much more. Under his will, they could be. Under Dasha’s gaze, all would be right.
It was not arrogance, it was fact. He was better. Smarter. In every relevant capacity, he was superior. Because he was superior, he needed to complete this gate. He needed to do that which no one else in the history of the Heavenly Games had. The overhead lamps of the Dark Sector cast a shadow on his mask. Then, as someone walked by, he disappeared. Xavier continued to walk beside him. His five senses must have been honed to the level of gods to be matching his pace.
Dasha was superior—but he was not the most superior. On Earth, it was the same. The president of America, and the senator, both fools that possessed power unworthy to them. Both not understanding what they possessed. He had been scheming all his life to take over and rule the Americas. The foundations were already laid and he planned to publicly exert his influence at the age of twenty-nine, and died before he could do so. In this world, that would not happen. Men looked to gods while the gods looked down on men. This world, this abyss, everything was created from the merging of this dynamic. Dasha would trample upon the heads of gods and men alike and force them to their knees.
He arrived at the Moon Club and opened the door. Yes, in a year, everything in the Dark Sector would become his.