“Spell negation,” Acnologia said.
What? I asked.
“There must be a force here that is negating the use of spells. That is the only explanation that I have.”
You realize Freya’s ball of light spell is working, I said. Like, right now. In front of us.
“While that may be true,” he said. “I still think it is easier to believe something negated the use of your spell rather than think it was something completely random.”
“Also,” Nyx said. “It’s possible your negation was a unique case — meaning only certain spells are being negated.”
Is there something in here that’s after me then? I looked into the darkness.
“Zoran.” Freya touched my wrist. “Is everything okay?”
“Not really,” I said. “Looks like something negated my spell.”
“I figured. That isn’t good.”
“No, it is not,” I sighed. “How are we supposed to get out of here now?”
“I’ll ask Raffyr and Viola if they made any progress on their end.”
“Alright,” I nodded. It was nice to see that the elf was not shying away from her old companions now. Maybe she’d finally talked to them about her identity.
DING!
A screen emerged in front of Freya and I looked at it. Viola was the one who was messaging her.
Wow okay, that’s very odd. If you can’t find any way to get out of here then how about we try to meet each other on the other side of the mountain? We can try to look for other pathways. Surely there should be another not-so-hard way of passing through these mountains.
“That sounds reasonable,” I said.
“Yeah,” Freya nodded. “I’ll tell her to go along with that idea.”
“That’s fine. Plus, that’s honestly the only option we have right now.”
The elf finished sending her message in a few seconds, and in that time, I tried moving my leg, curious to see how much it had healed. Much to my surprise the fracture had closed a lot more than I’d expected. It was still quite broken of course, but in the last few minutes the main sections of bone seem to have mended themselves a bit. I could place a little more weight on the limb now, and that was a good sign. Hobbling through these tunnels was not something I was eager to do.
“Okay, I’m done.” Freya closed her screen.
I nodded, and turned toward the Shadow Dragon.
“I am ready,” he said.
“Let’s get going then.” We moved forward, deeper into the darkness, with Freya’s ball of light illuminating the rocks around us as we traveled.
Strands of wind ran along the tunnel, sending vibrations through the walls. I found it odd that there was a breeze in a place like this but I did not question it.
How long to the exit, Nyx? I asked.
“On it,” the spirit said.
DING!
A map popped up in front of me, and on it was the image of a long tunnel path, meandering under the mountain. I could see a blue dot and green dot — Freya and — moving forward through it. But most of all, I could tell it wouldn’t take us more than a few hours to get to the other side.
“This is a really fast route,” I realized once again.
“Past-you was nice to tell us of this,” Freya said.
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“How’s your leg?”
“It’s much better,” I said. “Apparently I heal much quicker than I’d expected.”
“I can see that,” she smiled.
And just as she said that, I stumbled, and a sharp pain hit my leg once more, not from something breaking again, but from my not-so-completely-healed leg taking too much blunt force at once.
“Easy there,” Freya grabbed onto my waist, hoisting me up and making my put my arm around her shoulder. She pulled be close to her, giving me even more support than before.
“She feels guilty about this, Eternal,” Acnologia said. “The poor elf was distraught when you saved her and nearly had the rocks crush your limbs.”
I know, I thought. “I’ll be fine soon, Freya. Don’t worry about it.”
She looked at me. “Either way, you should be resting that leg a little more.”
“I know, I know,” I said. “I just wish Irmeia was here as well. Having another Eternal with us would have been good right about now. Especially since my spells don’t seem to be working for some reason.”
“I can take care of myself just fine, thank you.” Freya’s voice was ice cold. “We don’t need Irmeia here.”
Whoa, I thought. “Is everything okay?”
“Why would it not be okay?” She raised an eyebrow. “You just got close to a lady without learning anything about her. Surely there is no obvious problem with that.”
Nyx sighed. “Well, you’ve gone and done it now, Eternal.”
“Wait,” I blinked. “You have a problem with Irmeia?”
“Of course I do!” she said, in a very I-can’t-believe-you-haven’t-noticed tone.
“Why?”
“I literally just said it. You know absolutely nothing about her. What if she’s an Eternal who’s working for the Dark Lord? Have you ever considered that? It was only after her body started glowing back at Ikarius that everything began. Did you not consider for a single moment that this lady could be the enemy?”
“I did not. And do you want to know why I didn’t do that?” My tone changed. “Because back when I was a lone Eternal, back when I was confused about what was happening to me, a lone elf called Freya believed in who I was, even though everyone else thought I was the enemy.”
She looked at me. “Irmeia is nothing like you.”
“We’re both Eternals who woke up with pretty much no clue of who we were, or what we were doing there in the first place. That sounds like quite a big thing to have in common.”
“Fine.” She looked away.
“Listen,” I said. “I see myself in this Eternal. I see her going through the exact same things that I was going through. She’s lost, unaware of who she is, or what she needs to be doing. I know those feelings. I struggled through them myself. Do you want me to look at a situation I know is hard to get through, a situation I know I empathize with, and then just leave it alone?”
The elf said nothing. I sighed, and let it go.
She remained silent as we walked through the tunnel, and I did not speak to her either. The atmosphere was tense, but even then, she still helped me move around with my injured foot.
“You know,” Nyx said. “That thing back there was unnecessary.”
“It was necessary.” Acnologia disagreed almost instantly.
She’s been off for quite a while now, I said. We had to talk about it sometime. Right?
“Maybe,” the spirit said. “But I don’t think it was ever a good idea to do this when you two were trapped in a confined space with hours of walking ahead of you.”
I don’t really care, I said. It bothered me that every time Irmeia and I had a conversation, Freya would not seem too thrilled about it.
“It seems like she was not at all for having the Eternal as a fellow adventurer,” Acnologia said.
Yeah, that’s what I felt too, I sighed.
“Honestly to me it just sounds like she wanted you to be more suspicious,” Nyx said. “And I have to agree, you’re currently quite unnecessarily trusting. Although I do understand your emotional reasoning for it.”
Wait, now YOU’RE disagreeing with me too? I asked.
“No, no,” Nyx said. “I understand your side a lot better. Irmeia IS in a situation that is very similar to what we had gone through before.”
Exactly, I said.
The wind ahead of us picked up, interrupting the conversation, and all of a sudden, the tunnel filled with the sounds of howling gales rushing past us. Dust and debris broke from the roof, but didn’t drop down, and flied away into the wind instead.
“What’s going on?” I pushed forward.
“I have no clue.” Freya’s yelli
ng voice was barely audible over the loud gales.
I quickly turned around, looking back at the entrance that had been blocked. There were no gaps in that surface, and yet the winds blew through this tunnel at high speeds.
I frowned. That doesn’t make sense.
“Zoran, be careful,” Acnologia said.
A few seconds in, the wind immediately stopped, as though it ran only through one segment of the tunnel.
The elf brushed strands of hair off her face. “Well, that was odd.”
I looked ahead of us, and noticed that the tunnel had expanded out. The walls rose high into the air, and the curved structure sharpened up to look more rectangular now. There was something a few yards ahead of us and I trudged toward it, still leaning on the elf for support.
I stepped into where the tunnel opened up, and realized we were in some kind of chamber. Freya’s ball of light lit up the place, illuminating everything within it. The roof stood more than a hundred yards high and was made of some kind of mineral rock. Its rough surface glittered in rainbow colors as the white light shone onto it.
I looked before me and saw a tall pillar of stone stand up from the ground, rising to about a yard above my head. I didn’t touch it, but instead gazed at its surface, trying to see if there was any clue as to what it was.
“Zoran,” Acnologia said as he entered. “I sense something.”
Freya’s ball of light instantly cut off, leaving us with nothing but the dull light of the mineral roof above.
“What the heck?” the elf said. “My spell just got cut off as well.”
My shoulder’s tightened. “Just like what happened to me before.”
A roar thundered through the chamber, and the walls vibrated from the sheer force of the call. All of a sudden, light emerged into the room, illuminating the place. Runes of pure white glowed brightly, and were painted onto every part of the chamber — the floor, the walls, the pillar. Everything.
A dull hum propagated through the air, and increased in intensity in a mere second, turning into a shrieking cry.
Suddenly ropes of light shot out of the runes, heading right for me. The chains wrapped around my body before I could even flinch, and a searing heat spread through my limbs, numbing my body and shutting down my mind. The sounds before me quickly disappeared as I collapsed to the floor, with sensation running away from my world.
And for once — instead of the darkness — I succumbed to the light.
***
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Warm sunlight fell onto my face, and cool winds raced through the air, ruffling my hair as they sped past me. I blinked a few times, and got used to the brightness. A wide field of grass lay before me, and the blades were not a conventional green, but rather a greenish blue, as though they had been enchanted.
“What is this place,” I whispered.
A few trees lay around me, not in any planned structure but more as though the seeds had fallen randomly and sprouted all over. I looked past the greenery, and saw more trees and fields.
I turned around, glancing in the other directions, and noticed that the same sight lay before me wherever I looked – trees and fields.
However, I quickly noticed that there were two things that I could not see.
Freya and Acnologia.
The Dragon was nowhere to be found and neither was the elf. Nyx, I said. Could you open up my map and check Freya’s location?
Silence replied.
Nyx? I called out.
More silence.
What the heck?
I recalled what had happened right before this. I recalled having ropes of light bind me. I recalled losing my sensations and collapsing to the ground.
Is this a vision then? I looked around. It would make sense given Freya and Acnologia were not here.
I closed my eyes for a second, and enhanced my concentration. I focused on my inner energy, but instead of channeling it into my hands to cast a spell, I sent it to my mind.
A mild shock rang through my head, but I kept still. I tried to imagine waves radiating from my head, trying to reach out to the spirit.
Nyx, I called out. Where are you?
“…Zoran…” a voice spoke, its tone weak.
I concentrated harder, and willed more and more energy to flow into my mind, enriching my concentration. I heard something snap and a harsh shock passed through me. I grasped the sides of my temples, and pressed on them to ease the pain.
“Phew, that was hard,” Nyx chuckled. “Good job, Diablo.”
DING!
Congratulations! You have learned a new skill: Mind Arts! It is said a universe exists within the mind. Now you can explore this mysterious world. Mana regeneration increased by +1%. Intelligence increased by +2%. Wisdom increased by +1%.
Congratulations! You have learned a new skill: Meditation! Focus and concentration are the paths to greatness. All regeneration rates increased by +1% while skill is being used. Spell casting times will be reduced by 5%. Spell Mana consumption will be reduced by 5%. All effects last for only five minutes after skill is deactivated.
My eyes widened. Interesting.
“I’ll say,” Nyx said. “I completely forgot ‘Mind Arts’ was a thing.”
I closed my screens. “Where were you?” I asked. “I tried calling out but you were gone.”
“Something blocked me out,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“I do not understand either,” Acnologia spoke.
“Oh, you managed to get here too,” I said.
“Indeed. And from what I understand, we are currently within your Spirit Space.”
I looked around. “We are?” I asked.
“It appears someone has forced your consciousness into this space.”
“That sounds painful,” I said. “And also something I should be worried that other people can do.”
“Now is not the time for such a worry. We must first try to understand the situation that we have gotten ourselves into.”
“What was that light we saw before?” Nyx asked.
“I have no idea,” the Dragon said. “It seemed a very odd contraption. I have never seen a chamber filled with so many runes.”
“Yeah. That was very odd.”
“Whatever happened there, it doesn’t matter right now,” Nyx said. “How are we supposed to get out of here?”
“I don’t have the faintest clue.”
I looked out into the open fields, and questions filled my mind. Why was I here? Who had brought me here? And to my own Spirit Space at that. That was like kidnapping someone, and bringing them back to their own house.
“Only, this guy seems to know how to use your house for some reason,” Nyx added.
A shiver ran down my spine. “That’s just very creepy.”
A gust of wind blew past us, stronger than before. “Come,” a voice whispered from the gale, its tone weak but its words clear.
“Who’s that?” I jerked my head in the direction of the wind, expecting to see someone, but seeing nothing other than trees and grass instead.
“I cannot sense a presence here,” Acnologia said. “It is most puzzling.”
“You don’t say,” Nyx added. “I have no idea what exactly is going on here. But it’s possible, given the situation, that there is someone else occupying this space.”
“What?” I asked. “Someone else forced their way into my Spirit Space?”
“Well, it sounds absurd when you put it THAT way.”
“What other way am I supposed to put it?” I blinked.
My feet shook, and I glanced down at the surface. Suddenly the ground beneath us tremored violently, throwing trees, grass, and also a very annoyed Eternal across the surface. I fell a few feet from where I had stood, sliding across the grass. I grasped the blades in my hand, tearing them from the ground as I came to a stop.
DING!
The Herb Lore skill’s screen came up.
Name
Blue Mist Grass
Rarity
Common
Condition
Fresh
Special effect
Increases Agility for five minutes.
I closed the screen and tried to stand up. The ground beneath me still shook, only it wasn’t as harsh anymore. Suddenly I heard a loud crash and I turned around.
And there, far in the distance, something had appeared. A massive structure of stone emerged from the ground, rising to about five times the height of any of the closest trees. The ground stopped shaking as more of the structure rose, and completely stopped when it had finished rising.
I glanced at this stone building. It was rectangular, with about four levels in total, placed in a pyramid-step architecture. A series of clear crystals lay studded onto the walls, right where one level ended and the other started. The stone itself was a fuzzy grey, like many shades of the color had been splashed onto the structure.
“Well,” Nyx said. “Did not think that would happen.”
“I was also not aware that you could snatch herbs from your own Spirit Space,” Acnologia said. “How does that work?”
“Well this herb thing isn’t even supposed to be here in the first place. Remember? Diablo’s Spirit Space is supposed to be dark and empty.”
“Ouch,” I said.
“That does make sense though,” the Dragon said. “So this foreign agent populated Diablo’s Spirit Space with this scenery we are in right now.”
“Seems like it.”
“Okay, guys?” I looked at the building. “Can we please get back onto topic now? We need to worry about this massive structure that just rose out of nowhere.”
“Yeah,” Nyx said.
“I do not sense anything off with it,” Acnologia said. “But I have not seen such a thing before either.”
“Neither have I.” I walked toward it, and glanced at its gray walls.
“You’re going to enter it?” Nyx asked.
The Eternal: Transcend - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 3) Page 18
