CHAPTER EIGHTY

The gift of an old dungeon core forsaken by its age

~

King Azure was resting on the floor with his legs crossed

Listening to all the knowledge which had been long lost

He had his own questions to ask, but Hawk had many more

And so he watched excitedly while sitting on the floor

“Why would you be happy that the System’s in distress?

We’re already suffering this sudden portal mess

Are you some old prophet or a god who has been sealed?

Should I break you so that you can no longer be healed?

Core Message

The system doesn’t need your help, so worry not for it

We all find a place in destiny where we can fit

The world you know was made to make you strong, and strong you grew

So strong that the Admin did his best to hinder you

Core Message

I don’t have time to take you through the chaos of that war

But it looks like the Admin can’t hold you back anymore

The world he tried to bend to his will is starting to crack

You’re in for hell, but soon you might be able to fight back

“You’re saying that the System, no, that Admin is to blame

And he’s a god who rules the rest without sharing his name

How are we to fix his damage to the mortal realm

And why is such an incapable captain at the helm?”

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Hawk had grown suspicious of the words the Core had said

But something seemed trustworthy in those messages of red

Now the barrier was starting to flicker as well

Despite the many stories she was sure the stone could tell

Core Message

If you seek strength you’ll find the answer to that last question

The God of Time may help, should it come to revolution

Find the boy and keep him safe, he may just be the key

He’ll be of more use than an old dungeon core like me

Core Message

Before I run out of my mana reserves, take this spell

It’s old fashioned, but I think that it may serve you well

Use it carefully, the System won’t be fooled for long

But it’s a stable barrier, and there are few as strong

In front of the old stone a magic circle then appeared

Floating in the air, and full of runes that looked quite weird

For Hawk, the spell took only a moment to memorize

Then the glowing circle disappeared before their eyes

The barrier dissolved around them, and the room grew cold

The stone slept as if exhausted by the stories it told

Hawk could feel the faintest trace of mana still remained

But it was clear the stones capacity had been too strained

King Azure stood up and put his hand upon he stone

“Sad that it should spend millennia down here alone

Its mana seems to be a different kind than what we know

Perhaps it was affected by great change long ago”

For a while, Hawk pieced together all the things she’d heard

Carefully considering the meaning of each word

The System hadn’t seemed to hear a thing she asked the stone

Thanks to the barrier spell that she just made her own

“It seems like there is still some information that we need

And there is some great force from which our races should be freed

But most of all, if what it said of portals is all true

There will yet be quite a lot of fighting left to do”

King Azure stood up and nodded to agree with her

“Luckily, among my kind is many a fighter

With this, we shall do our best to brace ourselves for war

It looks like we’ll have to endure these peaceful days no more”

Hawk nodded to the king and told him they would meet again

And if they needed help, she’d do her best to help them then

She swam back to the surface and took to the darkened sky

Debating in what direction it would be best to fly

Should she go recover Twig and see what he may know

Or seek out the pages of that book from long ago

There could be more magic rocks with which she might converse

But time was of the essence and things might soon get much worse

The portals still hung overhead, glowing a purple green

But now there were much fewer monsters than there had just been

Maybe they would come in waves, but Hawk couldn’t be sure

The portals simply hung there, painting an eerie picture

While considering the best place to begin her quest

Something caught her eye which put her decision to rest

A sunrise in the wrong place had appeared quite suddenly

Even with her magic eyes it was a shock to see

She used her magic to force extra mana to her eyes

Unsurprised to find that it was in fact no sunrise

And on that great volcano which appeared with no warning

She could see a host of giant golems transforming

~