Hearing the reality of a place like Terusania irked the young man; that unfair, vile discrimination was something undeniably a part of reality. Prejudice based on one's own genetic differences, shortcomings, and even defects was something that struck a chord in the young Dragonheart.
"That's terrible," Emilio remarked truthfully, "I don't understand the point of having a civilization that advanced if they're just going to embody backwards ideals like that."
Picking up a rusty wrench, Blimpo flipped it between his fingers as he leaned back, breathing out, "If only they all thought like you, Emilio, if only."
"Was it all bad? I mean, don't mind me assuming, but…you seem like an upbeat guy to me," he asked.
Blimpo laughed, "Most of the reason for that is the After! Is it weird to say I feel more alive while dead than I ever did when I was living and breathing? You don't need to answer that–I know it is, ha-ha," the elven man adjusted his goggles, "Down here, I have total freedom. Everybody is equal in death, as they say."
"Guess so…but, hold on, what's this have to do with how you died?" He raised an eyebrow.
There was a moment of silence from Blimpo, who either seemed to forget that was the topic at hand or simply wanted to brush it aside altogether, but he obliged and continued nonetheless.
"The bomb I made…Yeah, well, I was going to use it to kill every single noble in my city," Blimpo admitted nonchalantly.
"What?..." Emilio let out in quiet disbelief.
Blimpo nodded with a small smile of that was laced with subtle regret, "...I'm not proud to admit it, but that was the plan–I built a special bomb capable of completely nullifying magic."
"Nullifying magic…" Emilio repeated, curious of it, "What's that have to do with killing though? Something like that…"
"Well, it wasn't a temporary measure of any sort. The complete nullification of magic, driven to the very core of a person, will erase their life force in tandem," Blimpo explained, "You can't survive without mana–that's the sort of bomb I built."
It was a heinous sounding contraption that was built, though unexpected from somebody as seemingly optimistic as the elvish tinkerer.
Blimpo jumped up from the crate, stretching his arms with a small noise being made from the satisfaction given to his muscles and joints, "--Don't worry, I didn't kill anybody but myself."
"Is that the truth?"
"Do I look like the kind of guy that could go through with murder like that?" Blimpo asked with a cheerful smile, "Just kidding. Don't answer that–please. Anywho, the perfect day came for me to set it off…It was a yearly festival celebrating the King's name day. All of the nobles from around Terusania were in one building. All I had to do was place the device and stroll out while whistling."
Holding a spherical contraption of dark-black wood, reinforced with stone that had rune shards implanted in it, the way Blimpo looked at it was if as if he was remembering the shape of the magic-erasing bomb he had created once before.
"...So what changed, then?" He asked.
Blimpo looked up with a suppressed smile, "I saw a pair of kids running around the courtyard. Stupid, isn't it? My conviction was fragile enough to be shattered by a couple of brats," he chuckled, "As soon as I saw them, something changed–all of that anger was replaced by regret and desperation; I rushed the bomb out of there, but it was already armed and ready. I did my best to disarm it once I got away from everybody else, but…boom."
A motion represented by spreading his arms was made by the goggle-wearing inventory to represent the explosion that took his life.
"So, that's how it went down, huh?" Emilio said, leaning back as he folded his arms over his chest.
"Definitely not proud of it," Blimpo laughed before pushing up his goggles, staring intently at the Dragonheart, "--Now, what I'd like to know is what's up with that super-awesome power of yours? You look even younger than me, so I'm wondering how you even came to end up here. A bit premature."
Of course, he expected such a question from the ever-curious inventor, especially after giving him a taste of his abilities in their first meeting.
He didn't know whether or not he should truthfully indulge the questions of Blimpo, especially considering the sensitive nature of the labyrinth and the After as a whole. Still, considering how Blimpo had unquestionably been willing to tell the truth to him and how much the elven man seemed to enjoy learning, the young man wore a smile as he pointed his own thumb against his chest.
…I'll tell him everything. Not just about how I died recently, but how my first life came to an end too, he thought.
"Prepare yourself, Blimpo. I'm about to blow your mind," Emilio said with a smile.
An ear-to-ear smile manifested on the goggle-wearing, blonde-haired man's lips in response as he seemed eager to learn, "Yes, yes! I am all ears!"
Everything was told; not a detail was spared.
Sitting there in the cramped, messy, underground base with spare parts littered and magic runes used for life, the two talked for hours upon hours, mainly with Emilio divulging the details of his original life and world to the ever-excited listener.
The "carriages without wheels" that Blimpo had heard; Emilio told him everything about cars in all varieties: trucks, tanks, and even planes that soared through the air without magic.
A world with the only magic being the intuition of its people, a civilization in which technology and invention was supreme; it was all like music to Blimpo's ears, a melody that enlightened the medieval inventor.
–At the end of it all, the only reaction that came from processing all of this information was a genuine laughter straight from the gut:
"Ha-ha-ha! So, that's how it is?" Blimpo laughed with tears in his eyes, "It's amazing!--Just when you think it can't get anymore awesome, you're ten times smaller than you thought! No, one-hundred times! Televisions, cars–the internet! It all sounds great!"
"It was definitely different than living in Arcadius," Emilio smiled, "There was an adjustment period for me."
"So, you're pretty certain you can make it out of the After, huh? Those notes you've read–they're probably from the Progenitor. If that's the case…I doubt that one is wrong," Blimpo smiled, "You can make it out of here, Emilio."
A part of him was simply astonished that Blimpo took everything he said at face-value; there was no part of the elven man that questioned the legitimacy of his claims, only accepting them straight to his heart. Seeing the genuinely grand excitement held in Blimpo's sparkling, blue eyes made him feel a sense of grandeur from the world he once lived.
"...Thank you, Emilio. You've just fueled me with enough motivation to last a thousand more years–at least!" Blimpo stood up with a thumbs-up.
Emilio stood up as well, watching as the elven inventor immediately got to work throwing spare parts together and hammering away, "What now?"
"Your story made me way too pumped up! It gave me an idea–that Dragonheart System of yours; if it's as powerful as you made it sound, I thought about it…What if I build something that can harness that power for us?" Blimpo looked up with a bright smile.
"Harness it?...What do you have in mind?" He asked curiously.
"Curious, are you!? C'mon, help me make it! I'll guide you step-by-step; you were interested in learning magic tinkering, right?!" Blimpo excitedly asked.
It was contagious just how passionate the inventor was; so infectious was that burning passion that Emilio found himself sitting side-by-side with his newfound companion without thinking twice, overseeing the process and getting hands-on with it.
"If we're going to find that key, there's no getting around the fact we'll have to face that big guy out there at some point," Blimpo said, leaning close to the workbench as he slammed metallic tubes together, "--I doubt we can put 'im down for good, but we can at least knock him on his ass for a good bit!"
"...I'm starting to see it," Emilio said while helping, placing a mix of fiery and wind-based runes in the open slots.
The hideout smelled of sizzling steam and burnt powder; Emilio aided him in terms of using flames to meld the steel, summoning his Dragonheart System to utilize controlled, azure fire.
What laid on the workbench was quite the massive magical tool; a weapon of length and imposing size, crafted of smoothed steel and embedded with a half-dozen magical runes. It resembled a railgun with a magical touch, forged from the stories passed from Emilio to Blimpo; a true unison of their two worlds.
The two main barrels led down near the grip, where a circular hold was inscribed with mystical seals that were custom-made for Emilio's own grip.
"Give it a try," Blimpo said, standing up and watching with a smile.
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