volume 3 - Chapter 185 (1/2)
Chapter 185 – The final moment (1)
Brendel contemplated the canyon’s shape one more time.
The places that one could hide near Hati’s pit mostly consisted of small boulders and gaps, and given how good at Andesha was tracking people, she would have encountered the person William was describing very quickly. If she did not murder the person immediately, then it was unlikely for them to be anyone good.
[Just who exactly could it be? Another member of the Tree Shepherds? Even if that person is not, he would probably be one of the bad guys. Bad news, in any case.]
“How much time do I have, Grandmaster William?” He asked.
The old wizard’s intelligent eyes studied the pit, while his hand opened a dimensional portal and took out a silver staff:
“Andesha seems to be stunned from discovering Hati. But she’s the Mistress of Withering Decay, and I believe she will recover from it very soon. You have a few minutes before she arrives.”
Brendel nodded; the Archmage was hinting to him to open the gate now. This place was not a good one to do battle with Andesha, and the youth was not sure how much William was going to help him.
He studied the rock gate closely. It was made with the hands of the Ancestral Citizens. The Great Craftsman, Delluha constructed it approximately thirteen thousand years ago, transcending many Laws and generations, standing quietly in this place with the mist giving it a mysterious air.
This bit of lore was written in the ancient chronicles.
The gate was carved with poems praising the light and fire in many different languages, and Brendel eventually discovered them on the dark obsidian walls. The letters were written majestically and gazing upon them made the youth feel breathless.
He touched the icy gate, and a blast of energy struck him, as though it was a message that came from thirteen thousand years ago.
The sounds of spears and swords filled the entire area. Murderous roars filled his ears, and a vivid picture of the ground stained with fresh blood a.s.saulted his eyes. A bell high above the clouds rang out loudly, as though it was signaling the outcome of this unknown battle.
A pillar of green light pierced through the heavens, striking through the colossal dragon which had unfurled its wings and blotted out the sun’s rays.
Brendel gasped and shook his head, waking up from the illusion. A fragment of history that left him out of breath. Perspiration filled his forehead, and he glanced around to make sure he was not stuck in that timeline.
William smiled when he met Brendel’s gaze:
“Not many people know about that era. The Sky Knights sundered the empyrean to bring us to a new world, felled the Twilight Dragon and ended the generation of suffering. But at the same time, the races gradually forgot the meaning of glory.”
Brendel’s eyes squinted as he considered a speech.
[But the suffering hasn’t ended yet! The people in this era have never lost the meaning of glory. This world is always oppressing someone; heroes do not just exist in one’s memories, they are created whenever the era needs one—]
He would have declared so in the game.
A perfectly standard answer to call forth a new quest.
But the youth was afraid of something crazy happening. There was no need to repeat the situation where the Lionheart reacted to his nonsense again. This particular place was probably even more mystical than the sword, and there was no telling what would happen if he tried to make a grand speech.
Furthermore, he was way past the age of a hot-blooded teenager.
His eyes stayed on William for another second before he turned to Sifrid. Time was running out, and Andesha was probably moving past Hati by now.
“Sifrid, do you sense anything?”
“I hear a voice calling out to me, brother Brendel,” Sifrid said a little nervously.
She also went up to the gate, closed her eyes, and placed a white hand onto the ink-like rock. Her body shook.
“Is it saying anything?”
“The key within the gate, the radiance of starlight, heroic spirits of the past, the Lord who will guard Order.”
“These lines come from the Druids’ Poem of Brambles. This is probably a code of some sort. Did the Druids teach you about what the lines mean?”
“…… No, I only learned ‘The Way of Nature’, brother Brendel.”
“They only taught you that?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not your fault, these stubborn fools are really fond of wasting time. They didn’t even teach you about ‘The Great Split,” Brendel resisted the urge to call them names, “perhaps they have been spending too much of their time with the Elves and have picked up on their bad habits.”
“How much do you know about the Druids and the Elves?” William did not appear bothered by Andesha’s threat and asked curiously.
The youth kept on surprising him.
Brendel did not respond. His mind was quickly shuffling through the walkthrough and the lore about Valhalla from the forum posts. Despite his powerful memory, the urgent situation was interfering with his ability to recall them.
“No. Not this. Perhaps….. The key within the gate? Sifrid, repeat after me and tell the gate these few lines. I am the Daughter of the Forest, blessed by the G.o.ddess and chosen by the Heroic Spirits, the wielder of the Forest and Mountains’ authority.”
Sifrid’s eyes popped out when she heard Brendel’s words. William was stroking his beard with narrowed eyes.
“Ah, I forgot, add in ‘Oh, Mighty Spirit of the Gates’ before you repeat my words.”
“Oh, Mighty Spirit of the Gates,” Sifrid slowly recited Brendel’s words as he repeated himself one more time, “I am the Daughter of the Forest, blessed by the G.o.ddess and chosen by the Heroic Spirits, the wielder of the Forest and Mountains’ authority.”
A mysterious energy poured out from the little girl’s voice. A long moment pa.s.sed, and Brendel was about to think of another way to interpret the words, but a sudden rumble shook the valley.
“And?”
A thunderous voice reached into everyone’s hearts. Sifrid’s eyes gleamed brightly and she looked at Brendel with disbelief.