Chapter 793 Return to Olaynore
Kaizen's first and last visit to Olaynore, the famous Wizard's Tower, ended peacefully, in a way.
On that occasion, a rebel wizard called Adohorn kidnapped Alina Sylly, the daughter of the former librarian of the Library of the Magi. He did this because he believed that Alina was the only one who could know the location of the book of legend, the Book of the Deep. According to the legend, this book could make any wish come true, even if that wish went against Olaynore's natural order. This book could change everything and take the Elders of the Wizarding City off their pedestal at last.
However, Adohorn wasn't the only one after the Book of the Founders. Although he had an alliance with a Citadel mage called Egelza, she was already in the sights of the Elder Mages and just as the final battle was about to begin, with Kaizen on one side, an Elder Mage on the other and Egelza in the center, everything was interrupted by the Guardian of the Forgotten Forest.
In Olaynore, each of the three floors had a Guardian, and they were responsible for keeping order and the Founders' wishes to exclude the Wizard Tower safe. In the end, the Founders knew that their own children would one day wish to get out of that birdcage, and the Elder, who was the reason the Founders' Book existed, believed it was a key to getting out of the cage. However, the Guardian of the Forest of the Lost revealed that he had long ago used the Book of the Founders to resurrect a human woman he loved.
In the end, thanks to the late confession of the Guardian of the Forest of the Lost, it all ended without a fight, and Kaizen breathed a sigh of relief, because at that time he was nowhere near strong enough to fight an Elder.
However, now, after only a few months, Kaizen, Alina and the others need to return to Olaynore and given the tense situation between him and the Elders, something tells him that an unexpected visit like this wouldn't get a very friendly reception. So they prepared an invasion plan.
"Is everyone ready?" Kaizen asked as he stretched his hand forward. He was able to open a portal straight into the Wizard Tower.
The gazes of everyone in the room met, expressing a mixture of determination and nervousness. They then took a moment to adjust their new gadgets and then finally nodded.
"We're going to need all the courage we've got." said Alina, holding up her staff, her eyes shining with a gleam of confidence. "The fate of two souls is intertwined with this mission. We cannot fail."
Kaizen, standing in front of everyone, nodded. His eyes reflected the determination to lead his group through the imminent challenge. "This is the moment we were preparing to face."
When everyone had shown that they were ready, Kaizen stretched out his hand in front of him, concentrating to open the portal. A crack in space-time began to form in front of them, emitting a blinding light and enveloping the room. The crackling of the fire in the fireplace became inaudible in comparison to the magical hum that filled the room. The portal, an ethereal, shimmering rift, pulsed as it appeared.
Each of the people in the room took a deep breath, exchanging silent glances before rising from their seats. The group positioned themselves around the dimensional opening, ready to cross together, and finally they began to cross.
Kaizen, the last to enter, took one last look at the room that had become the starting point for this journey. His eyes passed over the memories with his companions in this place, the dancing flames in the fireplace, the shadows cast on the bookshelves that bore witness to hundreds of versions of the plan they would follow. Then, with a determined step, he stepped through the portal.
As he crossed the rift between worlds, a feeling of displacement overtook Kaizen. For a moment, he floated in an ethereal darkness before emerging on the other side. When he opened his eyes, he didn't find the cold, white corridors of the Mages' Citadel like the last time he was in Olaynore. Instead, he was surrounded by a lush forest, the sounds of birds and the constant hum of insects filling the air. This place was warm, very warm, and the leaves on the trees were as green as they could be.
"We're in the Forest of the Forgotten." Kaizen announced, looking at his companions.
That was exactly their idea. Although they could have gone straight to the Citadel of the Magi, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't appear before some important magician or that the Elders wouldn't have magic capable of sensing a portal opening right under their noses. For this reason, Kaizen and Alina chose to follow the path from the Forest of the Forgotten to the top of Olaynore, the Citadel of the Magi.
"What do we do now?" asked Jayaa, almost unconsciously, as she admired the height of the surrounding trees. Their tops practically blocked the view of the sky.
"Now we should stick to the plan." Alina said and tapped her staff on the dirt floor.
A projection came out of the crystal on the tip of her staff, a projection that looked like a three-dimensional map of the entire area around them.
"We're here." She said and pointed to six golden dots that stood out in the middle of the map. "Practically on the edge of this floor. We'll need to walk a bit to get to that Shaman you know, Kaizen."
"I know, but it'll be worth it. He can implant Marks and that's the only way up to the City of Tears." Kaizen replied.
"Very well, then let's get going. I don't think we have any time to waste." Og'tharoz said and started walking, tearing through the tall vegetation with one of his daggers.
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