“So you didn’t know how to tell if a person was an Eternal?” I blinked, confused by what she was saying.
“I had a lead that a missing Ga’em menu and possession of a Resurrection ability were indicators of one being an Eternal, but I didn’t know for sure. Most of what I read from the documents however was about what kind of people the Eternal were and what magnitude of influence they had on this world.”
“Ah, okay.”
“A lot of the scholars don’t think the Eternals ever existed, and most of the public don’t even know what an Eternal is. It’s all kind of sad really, considering the Kingdom of Aingard had its very own Eternal a few millennia ago.”
“Aingard had an Eternal?” I blinked.
She nodded. “The stories say he was a man that we all know as the Lord of the Light,” she said. “He was formerly the first Knight in both the Lumia Knights faction and the Alliance of Light. He was apparently attributed to the creation of Aingard itself.”
“And people just forgot about him?”
She shook her head. “The people remember the Lord of the Light even today,” she said. “They just forgot that he was actually an Eternal. That piece of information was lost as the times changed.”
“Ah,” I said.
“The Eternals are more like an urban myth here. Even the people who know the term find it amusing to actually consider the existence of such a race.”
“Well, I guess that’s what happens when you go missing for…how long did they go missing for again?”
“I’m unsure of that statistic,” she said. “I would however like to point out that with you here, the Eternals are missing no more.”
“Oh,” I jerked back, re-realizing that I was part of the Eternals too. This was going to take some getting used to. “Wait so does this mean I went missing as well?” I asked, my mind feeling uneasy at the thought.
“It seems likely,” she said.
Is that connected to why I woke up half-dead in that weird forest? I blinked. A part of me was excited, hopeful that I was on the right track to solving one of my foremost questions. But the rest of me felt like pursuing the track would only lead to greater complications, ones that I probably didn’t want.
“Are you okay?” Viola tapped me on the shoulder, breaking my train of thought.
“Yeah,” I said, snapping out of my daze. “I’m fine.”
“Too much to take in?”
“Kinda,” I said. “But I’ll get used to it.”
“It’s okay to feel a little lost sometimes,” she said, a comforting smile on her face.
“I know,” I smiled back.
Maybe I can trust her, I thought to myself, wondering if in this whirlwind of confusion I constantly found myself in, I could depend on Viola to be a person to confide in.
The door creaked open. “Hello again,” Raffyr entered.
“You’re done already?” Viola asked. “That didn’t take long at all.”
“Yes,” he chuckled. “The council is more than eager to meet this young man.”
“That’s nice,” she laughed.
I chuckled along with them, but silently wondered if the council’s eagerness was actually a good thing.
“When do they want to meet him?” Viola asked.
Raffyr pushed the door open. “Now actually.”
“Wow, okay,” she said, a little taken aback herself. “They’re really eager to meet him.”
“First Eternal anyone’s heard of in five thousand years and he just happens to make an appearance in the Lumina Knights’ faction,” he said. “You can see why the head council would be eager.”
Because I’m a rare commodity, I thought, spelling out the unsaid words in the conversation. The objectification didn’t make me feel good, but right now I wasn’t in a position to complain about it either, so I stayed silent.
“Come along, Zoran,” Viola said. “This shouldn’t take too long.”
I nodded and followed her out. I wasn’t too keen on meeting this council, but I didn’t really have another choice. It felt like not agreeing would be akin to going against the Lumina Knights faction, and that was something I wanted to avoid.
I heard the shuffle of footsteps behind me and turned around to see Frey walk out of the room as well. I smiled to myself in amusement. The hooded man had been so quiet amongst all these events that I’d completely forgotten about him.
We walked through the corridors once again, only this time I was even more clueless of where we were. I could tell for the most part that we were climbing up higher, but other than that, I had no idea at all.
I sighed internally as I took a step forward. So I’m an Eternal, huh? I thought to myself.
DING!
Congratulations! You have completed the quest: The mysteries of the Self! You have obtained precious information from Raffyr regarding your origins. Reward: The Mysteries of the Self II.
Weird, I thought. Why did the quest complete only now?
I thought for a few seconds, figuring it probably because I’d just become more accepting of the fact that I was an Eternal.
DING!
Another prompt popped up.
You have obtained a quest: The mysteries of the Self II! Raffyr has given you answers about your origins, yet there are many questions that still need to be answered. You still need to learn more about the mysterious aura sensed by the Nymph Mother. Find someone to talk to and obtain more information. Rewards: Unknown.
Ah, a chain quest, I noticed but quickly tapped the screen close when I noticed we’d reached our destination.
Raffyr led us to a large wooden door. Two guards stood on either side, spears in their arms.
“Priest Raffyr,” they said in unison, and slid the door open. A red-orange glow emerged from within the entrance and we walked into it.
The corridor we went into had no windows, and thus no sunlight. Torches of orange fire lay studded on the walls, giving us the only glow we had. The stone surfaces beneath me were old, cracks and tears designing a large part of them. An open entrance lay on the other side of the path, and we walked to it promptly. I could hear voices echo from beyond it, but couldn’t tell what they were saying.
A shriek of pain shot up my spine for a moment, and disappeared just as fast, as though it had never existed. I pressed my knuckles against my back, easing myself even though I felt nothing anymore.
That was odd, I thought, biting my lip.
A brighter orange light shone from the end of the corridor, just as we passed through it. A circular room lay on the other side, now illuminated by brighter torches of fire on the curved walls. Ten chairs lay around the center of the room, arranged in a perfect circle. Men and women dressed in white robes sat silently on them, awaiting my presence.
I hesitated to step forward, second guessing the situation in its entirety.
“It’ll be fine, Zoran,” Viola said, giving me a nudge.
I nodded and took in a deep breath, relaxing myself.
“Raffyr,” a voice called, coming from the one of the men in the circle. “Have you brought him?”
The old man tugged at me, asking me to follow him. “Head council of the Lumina Knights,” he said as he walked me to the center of the room. “I present to you, the Eternal.”
A round of murmuring went around at the very mention of my presence and I started to feel a weird unease, as though things were not as okay as I’d believed.
“Raffyr,” one of the women said. “I must say I find it quite skeptical that you say this young man is an Eternal.”
“I agree,” a man joined in. “I do understand that the evidence does point towards it, but in my view, his aura lacks the strength of an Eternal. I sense no power in his being.”
Wow, thanks, I thought to myself, but knew inside that he was right. He was only voicing what had bothered me from the very start, that I was too weak to be an Eternal.
“Council,” Viola joined us at the center. “I hope you are aware that I and
Raffyr have been studying the Eternals for as long as we can remember. This boy shattered a lightstone that was placed into his palm. That, along with many such indicators, makes it certain that he is indeed an Eternal.”
“She is right,” a different male voice spoke, power in his tone. “I trust Raffyr and Viola’s judgement, even if I myself cannot completely trace the presence of power within this young one. However, I do have one question,” he paused, as though he was thinking up his words. “What is the young man’s Alignment?”
Viola looked to me, as if she was waiting for me to answer.
I hesitated for a moment. “N-neutral,” I said, and murmuring immediately filled the room once more, the tone of conversation making a change for the worse this time.
“He is not part of the Alliance of Light,” one of the council members said.
“Can we trust him?” another asked.
I have to say, I did not appreciate these comments at all. A certain rage sparked within me, that I was being judged without even being listened to, that all that mattered to them was that I wasn’t part of the Alliance of Light.
“Young one,” the powerful voice from before spoke again, and I could tell he was talking to me. “You must join the Alliance of Light.”
A sharp pain shot through my mind, as thought a needle had pierced it. They’re using you, kid, a voice spoke, disappearing as soon as it had come. I pressed my forehead, trying to get rid of the aching sensation.
“Young one?” the voice said again.
“I-” I spoke, a certain confidence instilled within me. “I do not wish to join an Alignment and be part of the battle between the Alliances.”
A loud crack sounded, of someone smashing his fist into his chair. “Choose wisely child,” a raspy voice said. “If you are not with us, you are against us.”
The pain in my head grew tremendously, and I dropped the ground, clutching my forehead in desperation. I could hear the people around me, some angry and some concerned, but I couldn’t make out anything they were saying.
Foreign voices spoke into my head, ones that did not originate from the room, but from within my mind. A chant summoned itself, the words sounding familiar yet alien. A sole voice broke through, a familiar one, and spoke but a single word, one I knew it had spoken before.
Chaos.
A howl surged out from the walls, as if a ghoul had condensed from thin air. The light around the room flickered for a moment and dulled, like the night had emerged into the room. Suddenly, shadows crawled out from the surface, materializing as black shapes and then swirling around like liquid darkness. I could hear the council panic, I could hear the confusion in their voices, their fear of what was happening.
The howl intensified, and a ghastly scream exploded through the air, sending shivers down my spine. The rivers of darkness burst into the room, cracking the walls and sending the men and women flying.
“Imkar!” a voice yelled. A flash of bright white light struck the air, like lightning had descended the room, and the darkness vanished at once. “THE BOY,” the powerful voice yelled. “CAPTURE HIM.”
And that’s exactly when I knew it was time to run.
My feet picked up off the ground, my mind still in half a daze. I could see Viola and Frey start to move beside me, their movements seemingly happening in slow motion compared to mine. I couldn’t tell if they were running with me or after me, but I didn’t have the time to worry about that.
I charged through the corridor, heading towards the closed door. My hands automatically slid out my Scimitars, the silver blades now glowing with a black, shadowy hue. I slashed at the wooden door and it burst apart, exploding to tiny pieces. The two guards standing outside sprawled onto the floor, my attack taking them completely by surprise.
I surged ahead, running through the pathways as fast as I could.
What the hell just happened? I panicked as my feet flew over the floor. I’d heard that voice say ‘Chaos’ and everything had gone to hell right after. I hadn’t even done anything. But I was certain I was going to get blamed for it.
“GET HIM!” someone yelled and I noticed a squadron of guards charging up to me, these ones much better armed than any other I’d seen.
Definitely getting blamed for it, I thought as I picked up the pace, climbing the first staircase I saw and racing onto the corridor above. I heard the men run up behind me just as I reached the upper floor, haste in their voices. I looked through the corridor I was on, at all the doors around me. I knew I could hide in the rooms they led to, but I knew the men would find me easily if I did.
A glint of light caught my eye and I noticed the open window at the end of the corridor. I rushed to it and looked outside, at all the towers that stood below the one I was in. And a few hundred yards away, I could see the stone-tiled ground of the Lumina HQ.
Ah, I thought. Perfect.
The men’s voices grew closer, but I wasn’t worried about them anymore. I took a few steps back and charged down the corridor. I made a quick leap onto the window sill and used it as a step to push myself into the air. The stone walls in my vision disappeared, replaced by nothing but the sight of the clear sky.
Maybe this was a bad idea, I looked down. I could see the different towers as I fell, but my running start had given me enough momentum to land clear of them.
Land, I chuckled. Sure, let’s say I’m going to ‘land’.
I pulled in my arms and legs, streamlining my body and speeding up my dive. “Here we go!” I yelled, the wind roaring in my ears, the stone-studded ground rushing up to my face.
And then, I died.
***
CHAPTER NINE
“Zoran,” a voice called out to me, shrouded in mumbling. The forms of men and women stood in front of me, their demeanor frozen like statues on pedestals, just forms of wood and stone. I felt like I should recognize them, and yet I couldn’t. The whole scene felt familiar to me, as though it was something that I should know, something that was a close part of who I was.
I opened my eyes, my mind slowly removing itself from my dream and fixating itself on my reality. I searched for light within my vision but all I found was darkness, an unsettling kind.
Where am I? I tried to sit up. My foot stood still, the sound of metal ringing softly in my ears. I reached down and touched my ankle, feeling the metal shackle around it. My eyes adjusted to the darkness a little and objects slowly appeared around me. I looked down, noticing the stone pillar that my foot had been chained to.
What? I blinked. My mind brought up visions of what had happened with the council, of the voices and the darkness, of the words and the shadows, but I dismissed them all. Now was not the time to dote on what had already happened.
DING!
A Ga’em prompt emerged, bathing me in dim light.
You have been Resurrected. As a Resurrection penalty, you have lost 4000XP. You have also lost the weapon ‘Forest Scimitars’. Please be careful in the future.
What, I blinked.
“No no no no no,” I mumbled as I opened my Equipment Inventory menu.
Only to find that my Forest Scimitars really were gone.
DAMMIT! I yelled in frustration. I knew the Resurrection ability gave me a penalty every time it activated and respawned me. When I’d dived from the tower I was prepared for the XP penalty, but I didn’t think I’d lose a weapon as well, especially one that was that good!
“The Ga’em didn’t even tell me anything about having to lose my items,” I muttered, enraged. I opened my Stats screen, swiping over to the second one and tapping on my Resurrection ability.
The ability details screen opened up.
RESURRECTION: Upon death you will be respawned to a randomized location. You will lose XP every time you respawn. You may also lose items and equipment. Other effects unknown.
“Great, it added it in now,” I clutched my hands in frustration, the veins in my forearms showing. I couldn’t deny the anger I felt. Those scimitars were valuable w
eapons, and I’d gone through quite a bit to get them. Of all the things that could have happened, I just hadn’t thought I’d lose them, and in a way as stupid as this.
That Resurrection really screwed me over, I clenched my teeth.
A moment of silence passed.
Calm down, I sighed to myself, willing my rage to settle down. There’s nothing you can do about it now. You have more important things to focus on.
I glanced at my surroundings, making out smooth walls of stone around me and a mud-ridden floor beneath. The pillar I was chained to rose from deep within the mud and went into the ceiling as if it was part of something larger. I could see an entrance a few yards in front of me, the opening a mere three feet tall, but even darker than the cavern I was in.
I looked down at my chain. I need to get out of this first, I thought. I was definitely not strong enough to break the chain by myself, and I didn’t have any weapons on me that could slice through the solid metal either. I knelt and felt the bind, wondering if there were any non-brute ways to get myself out of it. As far as I knew I could see, none, but I still had to think of something.
The sound of voices and footsteps entered the air and I immediately froze, my hand clutching the chain I was secured too. I tried to make out what the voices were saying but it was of a tongue that I did not understand. I panicked, wondering what exactly I had gotten myself into.
I opened my Ga’em menu and navigated to my Equipment Inventory. I had one weapon remaining, the Ogre Club, and that would just have to do. I located the icon with the brown club and tapped it. A stream of light flowed out of the screen and collected around my hand. The voices coming from ahead hastened, as if they’d noticed the glow of the lights. The Ogre Club quickly materialized, as if in reaction to the voices’ haste.
And just in time too.
The Eternal: Awakening - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 1) Page 8