609 Attacking All Portals
A day had passed since the defeat of Vivindel.
The group of Emeros was once more at the secret home of Mage Rorcast.
But unlike before, the moment they entered, a vine had sprung up and saw the petrified body that was preserved.
"Rorcast..." Vivindel saw the body.
Emeros had gained a better understanding of Vivindel's form.
Unlike the Deadwood Troglodyte, who had a tree-like body of rotten and petrified wood, Vivindel was a vine that needed to grow and get stronger. It was a creature that could gain level fast through feeding and building up a body.
It was a parasite that would feed inside and use the blood to extend its creations and make puppets. The more it fed, the more of the plant body it could grow.
And so, Vivindel created an amazing armor of plants and creatures and even managed to reform its body.
"Feeling sad for your friend?" Emeros asked. He was the master of Vivindel. Now, Vivindel's vine had grown sturdier and had a coating of green that covered the red true vine.
"I would say respect. Master, you know that our circumstance was forced. Rorcast and I... were forced to fight. We who are the second seals..."
"Of course. I understand. Two groups of people, without any other option, face themselves in a battle for survival. In some ways, we are just like animals and monsters, are we not?"
"...Is it true that you can free me?" Vivindel asked as he looked at the petrified corpse of Rorcast.
"Yes. There is a way. But it's going to be very hard. I need the knowledge of a Champion to do this."
"A champion's knowledge? That of rare supply. You know for yourself the great gap to cross once becoming champions? It is like you would need to be-"
"Born again. Either that, or we kill three of four champions for just one to grow strong. Trust me. I know." Emeros recalled the life of Kyros and his friends in the Planes world. A greater number of people in the Lowlands had the chance to scale the heights and become Champions and even scale higher to be Commanders because their body was built differently.
"You know an awful lot more than Roracast."
"Naturally. My master was a Crown."
"A Crown?!" Vivindel exclaimed.
"Keep up, old man," Perment muttered as he rushed to set the books and belongings that the human Vivindel once made.
Over the past day, Perment had become obsessed with the books and was reading through them.
"That man... is quite a gifted alchemist," Vivindel noted.
"That's why I'm leaving it all to him. The teachings of my master are but memories. While I do boast some gifts, I would need to make an effort to make this mastery into something else. Besides, there are other avenues that need to be settled. The Paths of Creation are Alchemy, Enchantments, Blacksmithing, and Energy Conversion Circles. I have memories for all and have found a way to retain them. But it takes fortitude and wit to push it even further. And that is why you are here, Vine. I turned your attempted enslavement into a chance of servitude because I need you."
"What was that white...?"
"Do not speak of it again. That is an important secret that I have to keep to myself." Emeros answered.
"Master. About what we talked about..."
"Why do you think I've been lost in thoughts? If what you said is true and the war in this place will soon halt, and the attacks will focus outside the mountain, then there will be little chance for us to find and undo the seal. Especially if we need to do the unsealing on And since you determined that there is a time limit until the seal wears out and kills you, we only have two years to open the seals in a way that won't kill you." Emeros sat down on a chair of Rorcast and was lost in thoughts.
"How sure are you that we can survive?"
"The seal, as you have noticed, are large energy conversion circles. It hides a place, a fortress deep within this place. And with it, a powerful resident. My master spoke that something similar to his power is in here. A Crown."
"A Crown?! Impossible! There is Crown here? Master! I'm already harboring doubt to your master. But now this place seals one? Do you know how strong one is?"
"If you only knew..." Emeros chuckled.
"There is a sealed Crown in here. But we can never know its exact state except for what we already know. This sealed fortress... do you have any guesses where it is?"
"Judging from the portals... this Mage hid a crown inside the path of crossing portals to other places. Possible regions of the three planets that no man has ever journeyed. It could be a simple massive land underneath our earth as the Hallow Planet suggest is true."
"Exactly. At the crossroads of several portals lies the sealed Abode. I have deciphered the wording and can tell you with certainty that this portal connects to different regions on this planet. Two from this planet and the other from the other two planets of this place. This goes to prove that the theories of the Hallow Planet are true."
Vivindel was amazed.
Even Perment, who was busy, stopped and glanced at Emeros.
"And that seal stops them from spilling out?" Vivindel asked.
"Yes. The hieroglyphs you found spoke of a grand rebellion. A rebellion that sought to bring down the rule of a mighty king. A king that once ruled over this nation. The text speaks that this King divided the humans as they were the only race who willingly served him. And he sealed four kingdoms in other places. These were the monster races. Though many of them still live among us, in forests and magical regions, the truth is they have a kingdom. Apart from the monsters were the humanoid races. They originally hated the King and lost through conquest. But they were given mercy and allowed to live here. And so the kingdoms of the elves, dwarves, and all Green-Kin were allowed to be here, although the humans ruled over them for a time. But the last narrative speaks of the humans who worshiped him, turned against him. In the end, this King disappeared." Emeros relayed what he knew.
Vivindel was stunned. Among everyone, he had seen the strange throne, and he recalled what that King called Emeros.
At once, Vivindel realized how dangerous it was to talk more on the matter of that vision.
"Vivindel, you and the rest came here to chase after the treasure of legends. You believed that your shared knowledge had allowed you to find the tomb of the Unknown King. And you were right. This King forgave the sins of humans long ago. But his last curse was that those who seek to find the Abode of where his body lays will also bring out the curse of the four kingdoms."
"...So we've opened up hell?"
"Not yet. The openings are intermittent and inconsistent and can only allow so much. If the seals are properly moderated, we can control the portals from our end."
"And to moderate it, you would need us, the four mages who opened it. That was the curse!"
"Yes. You are also the keys to the Abode. To undo it, you four need to step inside the portal that opened and then, the path towards the Abode."
"We are the keys?!"
"Actually, it's your heart." Emeros then revealed a strange wooden object.
"That is?" Vivindel couldn't identify the strange object before him. It looked like a powerful magic ore, but it was made of wood.
"This is the heart of Rorcast. Your heart has also changed, Vivindel. It will now look something like this. It has life and mana. Given a little more time, magic, and effort, this could be an Elemental Core."
"An elemental core?!" Everyone exclaimed. Those were words of great blessings. Having one would almost assure them of being Champions!
"Yes. And with all our dilemmas, I can't seem to resolve them here. To get to that Abode, we have to attack all portals at once! The seal requires all these hearts to pass through together. Only then, the way will be opened."
"Is there a time limit? I've noticed irregularities with the portals. They've been opening and closing faster than before."
"Yes. We have five years. Within that period, we must muster an army to attack and invade the monsters. Only then can we sneak in and head to the portals. Right now, it will be difficult to move in and find the mages. Especially with the war going on. They may be forced to reveal their secrets since they know they would be trapped here."
"So we're moving out?"
"Yes. We now have another monster to face when we leave. No doubt we will be treated as traitors and harbingers of destruction... Prepare yourself for the monster that is politics!"
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