Zeke's mind reeled as he stared after Viola, unable to fathom the reality of what had just occurred. He felt as if he had been struck by a physical blow, and his legs gave out beneath him as he stumbled back and sat down heavily on the ground, dazed and disoriented. The combination of blood loss and the shock of the situation was too much for him to handle, and he struggled to maintain control of his body as it began to tremble with a mixture of fear and despair.
He reached within himself, drawing upon the power of his blood magic to steady himself and calm the raging storm of emotion that threatened to consume him. He used his [Perfect body control] spell to relax his muscles and slow his breathing, but even this small measure of control could not quell the tempest of feelings that swirled within him. Furthermore, he felt as if he were caught in the grip of a whirlwind, unable to find any footing or sense of direction in the face of this sudden and overwhelming trauma.
As he sat there, the weight of what had just happened began to settle upon him, and he felt a sense of deep despair and hopelessness wash over him. He couldn't help but feel that he had somehow failed, that he had been unable to protect the people he cared about, and that he was now alone in the face of this unfathomable tragedy. His mind was a jumbled mess of emotions, and he couldn't seem to focus on anything except the overwhelming sense of loss and grief that consumed him.
For a while, Zeke just sat on the ground, only focusing on maintaining a steady breathing pattern. Once he finally regained control over his emotions, he began to process the information he had on 'the heart'. He knew that it had been the central focus of research for the Giger people for at least a century. The Giger people had hoped to create the fourth holy artifact with this project. He thought long and hard about anything that could be used to turn the situation around. The first guardian had told them that once 'the heart' had control over someone, they needed to be killed because there was no way it would relinquish control again as long as the person was alive.
Zeke knew that time was of the essence, he needed to find a solution fast before it was too late. He began to recall all the information he had learned about the Giger people's research, searching for any clues or insights that might help him. He remembered reading stories about the Giger's experiments with mind magic and the use of special artifacts to control 'the heart'.
As Zeke sat there, lost in thought, he couldn't help but question the words of the guardian. Could they be trusted? The idea went against everything he knew about how mind magic worked. And why would they not simply turn off 'the heart'? Surely, there had to be a way to deactivate their own creation.
But as he sat there, something clicked in his mind, and he realized the missing piece of the puzzle. He remembered a single phrase from Olenzo's notes: "...it was truly one of our people's biggest fortunes to have the pleasure to work on something like this...". Zeke had thought that Olenzo was talking about the privilege of being able to work on such an important project, but what if - what if the heart was not created by the Giger people at all, but was, in fact, an actual heart.
The realization hit him like a thunderbolt, and he couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it before. He knew that the Giger people were experts in mind magic and had the ability to manipulate and control their technology with their minds, but what if they had stumbled upon a real heart, the heart had to be the magical core of an apex monster. This would explain the power and control that the heart had over people, it would be a living, beating heart, and not just an object of magic.
Zeke's thoughts turned to what he knew about the hearts of evolved monster species. He remembered that the monster species that had true sentience were built differently than regular monsters. Regular monsters were like aggressive animals, the only difference was that the organs of monsters were able to absorb a bit of mana. Monsters would get a tiny bit stronger with every breath of air, with every bite of food they ate. The key to this was how a monster's heart had the ability to convert and distribute the absorbed Mana into the rest of the body, strengthening it in the process.
True sentient monsters, however, had their hearts turned into a hybrid between a heart and a magic core. They were able to utilize the surrounding Mana the same way a human could, as well as use ambient Mana to strengthen the body. He realized that this could be the key to the heart's power, that it was not just an ordinary object but a true sentient monster's heart. This would explain its ability to control and manipulate those who were in its presence.
If the heart was the actual heart of one of the apex monster species, improved by a century of Giger tinkering, Zeke couldn't even begin to comprehend the power he was dealing with. He remembered the story of a Titan who fell in battle against a dwarven army. Apparently, the Titan was not content with his loss and detonated all the Mana he had stored in his heart, killing almost every dwarf present, as well as destroying half the hill they had been fighting on. If 'the heart' had similar capabilities to the one from the story, Zeke didn't see a way for him to survive this.
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He couldn't shake off the feeling that he was out of his league and that he might not be able to handle the situation. The idea of facing a being with the power to destroy an entire army with a single detonation was daunting, and he knew that he needed a plan and a team of experts to take on this task safely, but as luck would have it, he had neither. The one thing he was certain about was that he couldn't leave Viola under the control of the heart for long, he had no idea what was happening to her right now.
Zeke got up and started walking, the thought of planning felt pointless to him now. He had a theory of the enemy's identity, and he knew that he could not match the being in terms of power. His only hope was that he could use his resistance to mind magic to destroy the heart or save Viola and flee.
He knew that his chances of success were slim, but he couldn't just give up and accept defeat. He had to try, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed. He knew that he needed to act fast, the longer he waited, the more time the heart would have to exert its control over Viola. He couldn't let that happen, he had to do whatever it took to save her.
As he passed the second floor, Zeke saw a strange construction that looked almost like an altar, similar to the ones he had seen in the churches of the many gods. On top of it lay something that almost looked like a wrapped birthday present, complete with a bow and everything. Zeke was first confused by the bizarre display, what was this? A birthday present for one of the gods? But then he realized what the present was, it was one of the three holy artifacts, the "Mystery Box". He remembered how Viola had bragged that the box would immediately accept her as its owner as soon as she touched it. The thought of Viola brought a deep sting, thinking about her situation, but he quickly calmed himself down again. He looked at the box and had a sudden thought. Maybe he could become the new owner of the Mystery Box and use its power to save Viola and defeat the heart. He knew that the box was powerful, and that it could be the key to their success.
With hesitant steps, he approached the altar. He looked at the beautifully crafted box. It seemed to be made from a metal that Zeke didn't recognize. It had a blueish-gray color and looked to be incredibly smooth. The box had artistic carvings all along its sides. It truly looked like the mysterious artifact that it was. Zeke realized that what he thought of as the bow of a present was in fact an attachment to make it easier to carry the box. With a trembling hand and a trembling heart, Zeke stretched out his hand and touched the box. But nothing happened.
He stood there, disappointed, but not surprised. He had hoped from the bottom of his heart that the Mystery Box would be the key to saving Viola and destroying the heart. In his desperation, he had even let some of his blood trickle on the box, as he had heard some artifacts were bound by blood, but it was all for naught. It now seemed that all his hope had been in vain. He looked closer at the carvings on the box, trying to find some clue as to why it wasn't working. He noticed that there were some symbols inscribed on the box, in an ancient language that he didn't understand. He was pretty sure that the words on the box would be the key to unlocking its power.
But all that didn't matter right now, he didn't have the time to sit here and experiment with the box. He tried picking it up and almost dropped it from surprise. The box was light, really light. In fact, Zeke was sure that there could be nothing inside this box that had any weight. He could barely believe that the metal it was made of was this light. But as he held it in his hand, he could sense a very familiar feeling coming from the box. Something that he had felt every single day for the past months - the feeling of space magic. No wonder he couldn't feel any weight from the box! No wonder he couldn't see inside the box even with [Perfect Spatial Awareness]. If the box used space magic to store its contents in an alternate space, then of course there would be no weight.
This realization made him even more determined to figure out the mystery behind the box. He put the box in his tattered backpack and set off to the third floor. He knew that time was of the essence, and he had to act fast in order to save Viola and defeat the heart.
As Zeke stepped into the third floor, he was met with a sight that he had not been expecting. The first two floors had been filled with small offices and research stations, but this floor was a vast open space, filled with an array of technological devices that he couldn't even begin to fathom the purpose of. Amidst the chaos of machines and contraptions, there stood a giant, glowing organ at the center of the room. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, a grotesque hybrid of a heart and a brain. But as he looked upon it, his gaze was drawn to something else entirely.
Kneeling beside the glowing organ was Viola, her posture rigid and her eyes closed. The sight of her in such a state sent a pang of worry through Zeke's heart, but he knew that he had to focus on the task at hand. As he approached her, a voice spoke inside his mind, cold and calculating. "It's good of you to join us, Ezekiel."