Gloominess +4: The Cradle of Gods. A LitRPG series: Book 4
Page 23
Omarh was dead.
The rest of the team was wounded. Lying on the ground, Tiara struggled to breathe. Dunker, paying no heed to the terrible burn on the right half of his face and body, was trying to heal her.
“My dear husband…” She groaned and smiled with an effort when I leaned over her.
“Everything’s all right, you did good…” I caressed her cheeks and looked up at Dunker. “What happened?”
“She used all of her abilities,” he said and shook his head disapprovingly.
I looked back at Tiara. “Did you take a Restoring Potion 3?”
“We all did,” Dunkan answered for her. “And healing potions… And mana potions…”
I nodded. “Can you heal her?”
“I won’t die, my dear husband.” She smiled faintly. “My body will start recovering soon.”
“Until then, I’ll be keeping her alive.” I looked at the poor fellow, who could’ve used some medical attention as well.
“Then please, take her and go. Meet up with the duke.”
“My dear husband, no… I…” Tiara tried to argue, but Dunker had already lifted her. We shared a look. He then nodded and, turning around, set off to the stairs. “Put me down! Dunker!” Tiara cried, unable to kick and wiggle out of his grasp as she was too weak. “My dear husband… Please, come back to me,” she said tenderly.
“Of course.” I nodded and turned around.
“You’ve put up quite a show,” Una grunted, straightening her back.
“I saw that you’ve been busy. So? Any luck?” I asked with a slight quiver in my voice.
“Check this out.” Smiling smugly, she watched Leor stand up, head hidden in a cloud of lilac sand. “Lead us to the Part of Zurtarn, now!”
Because of the big difference in levels (and thus in strength) and because his patron was Rheingeit, we couldn’t have subdued him while he was conscious. But now that had two HP left (he needed to have at least five percent of all his bars filled to get rid of Control), and since Rheingeit was chained, neither of them could escape. The rest of the Gods couldn’t get to us as all of their Followers within the castle had been dealt with and because the castle itself was a temple of the God of All Kings.
Arrogant as he was, Rheingeit’s didn’t think that we would get this far or defeat Leor, so he didn’t bother filling the castle with Followers of each God. And even if he had, we would’ve still found a way to block his teleportation skill. And secondly, it was dangerous to have any other God near him as the chance still existed that one of his own would turn against him.
The Old Man told me all about it while we were running along a narrow, poorly-lit hallway, the entrance to which was hidden underneath the throne. I doubted that we would’ve ever found this place had it not been for Una and her skills.
At the end of the hallway was a tiny room, in the center of which was a stone pedestal. Like a flower, it seemed to be growing out of the floor. Out of it, like a bud on a stalk, a small chest was growing.
“Open it!” Una ordered.
Leor kneeled and tapped his left sabaton. Surprisingly, an ornate key emerged from his boot.
In a couple of seconds, the chest’s lock clicked open.
“Wake up,” whispered a tired voice. As soon as I heard it, I fell to my knees, groaning in pain. I clenched my teeth so hard they cracked. My lungs burned with each new breath.
You have fallen under the effect of “Rheingeit’s Aura.” You will receive 500 points of damage for every second spent within its range.
You have received 500 points of damage.
Through a haze, I saw a silhouette that was missing a hand.
I felt like a pincushion, jabbed with thousands of long needles. I was being burnt, frozen, trampled, and stretched like a rubber all at the same time.
You have fallen under the effect of “Rugus’s Aura.” You will receive 300 points of damage for every second spent within its range.
You have received 300 points of damage.
You have received 500 points of damage.
It took all of my willpower to remain conscious. Just as I was about to pass out, the pain subsided. I raised my head and saw Old Man, Rugus, and Rheingeit in the hallway. Their fight had started just a moment ago, but the ceiling and the walls were already crumbling.
“Come on, Ken! Take it! Let’s go!” Una cried. I slowly turned my head to her. A ball of lilac sand and black smoke hovered in front of her left hand. It was a “pass” from our patrons for a safe teleportation for the two of us. I slowly reached for her. Our fingers intertwined.
Elusive Darkness.
***
If I had a body, it would start shivering — that’s how badly I wanted to put an end to all this.
“The Shard of Zira’s Gravestone,” I ordered the moment we appeared in the Darkness.
A moment later, we were at the bottom of the Lake of Grace. The Guardians and the Shaman swam over to us at once. I pointed at the First Awaken and Una passed him the Part.
We had two energy sources and could’ve charged the Part in any of them. But we chose the Lake as here we have been keeping two other Parts: one that we had found during our “second journey” into the Territory of Decay, and the one that Una had took from Tsunter’s people. This was also where the Shard that had once belonged to the mayor was being kept. Also taken by Una from Tsunter. I remembered how she was tortured to discover their location…
I took what we needed from the chest that was lying on the bottom of the lake. We were running out of air, but the Tree Frogs were quick to charge the last Part — the Old Man had asked them to concentrate the energy beforehand.
Holding her left hand over her nose and mouth, Una swam to me and began to wave her right hand nervously in front of her. When the portal to the Rugus’s Abode opened, she took me by the wrist and pulled me in.
***
The teleportation was immediate. Standing on the trampled grass, I looked around. A big territory surrounded by a fence and wooden houses — it was humble, but it had its charm. Although, I expected something more impressive from Rugus.
Green hills and mountains could be seen behind the fence. I listened: there were only the sounds of nature, birds singing and wind blowing. There were no people around. Had Rugus sent all his loyal Disciples to the war and left no one to hold the fort?
We had to hurry up. The enemy Gods couldn’t teleport here, but nothing prevented them from getting here on foot or by flying. They could get to their nearest Follower (there were probably spies on the territory of the Free Duchy of Oruel) and rush here. With their speed, they’d arrive in no time.
“Will we put it together right here?” I asked Una.
“Yes.”
I was about to begin, but remembered the Old Man’s order and took off the Amulet.
“Why are you taking it off?”
“My patron said that it could cause trouble. I don’t know the details.” I waved my hand, taking the Coffer out of my inventory and taking the artifacts out of it. I put the Parts on the grass beside each other, and the Shard aside. There were two piles, into which I added the rest of the artifacts.
The Parts glowed and united with a deafening rumble. Oddly enough, I felt no energy being emitted from them…
Full of doubts and uncertainty, I lifted the complete artifact and turned it in my hands. It was a heavy, cold disc made of stone. Why didn’t I feel anything? It was filled with mana! What had I done wrong? The Old Man didn’t tell me how exactly I should use the artifact.
“Put it back on the grass, and put the Shards on top of it,” Una said. I looked at her, nodded, and did as told.
Having placed the last Shard, I finally felt the power of the Zurtarn. Divine power was nothing compared it. Something wild and unrestrained begged to be released. The desire was so strong that it threatened to burn me.
Una gasped in surprise when the earth under our feet began to shudder. Grabbing my arm and she pressed herself against me.
Suddenly, it lifted off the ground.
Losing my balance, I fell on my knees. I cast a glance at Una — she had ended up in the same position. What the hell was going on?!
Zurtan flew through a cloud. The shudder stopped as unexpectedly as it had begun.
“Oh my…” Una groaned. “That was quite an ascension…”
We slowly stood up. I looked around cautiously. The stone under our feet was engraved with beautiful ornaments. In the center of it, also on a stone pedestal, was an incomplete iridescent ball. The three Shards had united. Separate, they reminded of angular stones and had no round edges. But together, they formed a sphere with an uneven, angular bottom.
“So, it appears to be that the Serpent has the biggest of the Shards,” I noted to myself, continuing to look around. I had never before been above the clouds. The height at which we were flying should’ve made it hard to breathe. But I felt nothing put the power that Zurtan emanated. There was no time to enjoy the view although I wanted to walk to the edge of the Zurtarn and look at Zurtane from above, but I couldn’t leave the center of this weird tower of ours, because of the incomplete Unity, around which the air had begun to waver and buzz.
I heard a whine not far from me. Turning my head, I saw Una spread on the floor. She wasn’t a Wizard, so she had never dealt with pure energy. If it was pressing me, than it was pressing her even harder.
“You seem to be doing fine, Bon,” Rugus said, appearing beside Una in his human form. Stepping on the stone platform, he observed me with a sly grin. I felt waves of energy rush to him. A moment later, his tattered clothes, torn during the battle, mended themselves. His arm, which had been hanging limply by his side, moved, and the big bruise that covered half of his face disappeared. “You’re lucky that a true Wizard lived in your body for a little while.”
It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. The Unity’s pressure must’ve numbed my mind. Or maybe I was just too tired after so many battles. Or perhaps I was too shocked that although he was looking me in the eyes, he was addressing not me, but my body.
You have no idea how much it pissed me off. Looking at me but talking to someone else... a voice mocked.
Synchronization with the body: 100 %.
“Welcome back, Bon,” Rugus smiled and sent a cloud of lilac sand at me. The grains cut into my soul and will; they filled my eyes, mouth, nostrils, and ears. I wanted to laugh, but ended up chuckling maniacally.
Your role has been defined.
You role: donor
Your individuality will be lost.
I felt a lot of pain in during my stay in this world. But all that faded in comparison to what I felt then, when the World Tower rose above Zurtane. The day, when my soul was split until it was destroyed.
***
“How are you?” Una asked from somewhere far away.
“Not bad,” I chuckled. No, it wasn’t me — it was Bon. “That was a big chunk of meat — takes a while to digest.”
“I’m glad to see you,” she said tenderly.
“I’ve always been here.”
“It wasn’t you.”
“You’re right. By the way, thank you for waking me up. I didn’t expect that you’d do it like this.”
“The Great One recommended it. He said you’d find my rejection funny.”
“And what if he had agreed to it? Have you thought about it?”
“Hah! Then you would’ve woken up out of sheer rage.”
“And you would’ve to sleep with him.”
“I would’ve been thinking about you. He has your body, after all.”
“All right, enough about that. Come here! Finally, this long mission is over and I can be myself once again.”
“Your new self, honey. Being level 750 looks good on you.”
“And 725 on you. But those are just numbers. What matters is how you feel. And I always felt like I was the king of the world and now, thanks to the Great One, I am, hah! Oh… What’s that? Great One! Help me!”
I listened to their conversation as if from a bottom of a well. Imagine my surprise when a beam of light appeared in that abyss and a slender hand grabbed me and dragged me away into another unknown.