The prisoners all utter cries of confusion and fright as the dragon dies. "Impossible! Even the gods cannot kill the mighty dragons," says one, "and the souls of dragons perfectly outmatch any other creature in existence!"
"Clearly not if I was able to defeat it so easily. Now I have a few questions to ask you before I release you. My first is why you’re chained up here." Some sort of scaled humanoid resembling a lizard responds. Another nonhuman species?
"We all accidentally wandered through the Holy Dragon’s territory, so it locked us away in these cages."
"You said this dragon is 'holy'?"
"That’s right. It was a righteous guardian of our kingdom and lands, and all it asked for in return was isolation, and you killed it!" What kind of righteous action is taking prisoners that accidentally offend you? I ponder this for a moment before realizing the corpse could have useful materials. I peel of some of the scales, extract its heart, and drain its blood into some bottles as the prisoners watch in horror. "You defy the gods! You have profaned yourself!"
"Then let them come. Otherwise I will continue doing what I am." They seem shocked at my boldness. As I get up to unlock the cages, I notice an aura coming from the dragon’s brain through the goggles of revealing. I peel the pink flesh apart to reveal some sort of chromatic pearl. It emanates intense Vis. This could come in handy. I pocket it and open the cages.
Although the prisoners clearly hate me for killing the dragon, none dare attack me. Even if that thing was good, I can’t see myself crying if my kidnapper was shot in the head… this thing must really have meant a lot to wherever they came from. I push the thought aside and leave the prisoners to find their own ways home as I continue on my path.
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I eventually reach the edge of the plateau. It drops off steep. The fall would surely kill a normal person. The view at the base of the plateau amazes me. A massive, bustling city sprawls as far as the eye can see. Perfect. At least one person here should know about Heaven, or summoning Magic at the very least. I activate my Motus (Movement, Motion) Harness and gently fly down to one of the alleys in the city. Fortunately, I thought ahead and implanted similar devices into my golem, and it floats to the ground alongside me. As I emerge, I garner looks of curiosity from all those that pass by on the street. Where do I start? Who would I even ask about summoning magic?
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My prayers seem to be magically answered as I pass by a small building labeled "ALCHEMY". That’s awfully convenient. I walk through the glass door, but I do not see anyone at the counter. As I turn to leave, I hear clatters in the back as someone shouts, "One moment!" A frail old woman comes out of the back. "I’m sorry about that! It’s been a long time since we’ve had any customers." I look around the store. I see flawed and incomplete tools for harnessing and manipulating Essentia line the shelves. I can’t blame her. The amount of Warp one must take on to fully understand alchemy would cause any other creature’s brain to boil itself to mush.
"I came only to ask questions. I don’t wish to purchase any of these flawed devices." The woman frowns.
"Well that’s quite rude! These are top of the line and updated to the modern understanding of alchemy! If you don’t wish to buy any, I’ll have to ask you to leave my store!" Her face scrunches in anger.
"Here. Take this then answer my questions." I place a black handsaw-shaped contraption on the table. "This device is called the Transmutator. It is fueled by Permutatio (Exchange, Mutation) and can turn any material into any other material, as long as the quantity of Essentia stays the same."
"What the hell are you taking about? What’s this Essentia nonsense?" Oh, right. How could she know terminology lost to time?
"Let me show you." I place the device on my hand and press the flat face against a silver coin sitting on her table. It flashes and turns into a gold coin. The woman’s eyes widen with shock and perhaps a glint of eccentricity. She quickly collects herself and thinks deeply about her next words.
"How much do you want for it?" She asks like a child at the supermarket begging her mother for candy.
"Just answer my question and you can have it. Who in this city would know about summoning magic?" She answers almost immediately.
"The only one I know of is Winter, the God-King of Immolo." That must be what their kingdom is called. "Good luck getting into the palace though!"
"…Did you say god?"
"Yes, funny enough. Usually gods pick the monarchs of their patron kingdoms, but he decided to make himself king. Narcissism if you ask me."
Perfect. Everything is coming together. I now have a chance to converse with a god. Surely they must know something about Heaven. And when I find him, I will kill him and use his power to locate Yahweh. Snapping out of it, I leave the store and make my way to the large, ominous palace looming over the city.