Silver Realm
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CHAPTER 226- DEPTHS OF DARKNESS
🕑 Added 2025-02-19 19:00:09 +0000 UTCCold winds swept up loose snow, throwing it around the steep mountains and cliff faces. The same winds that crashed into Alaster, threatening to send him careening off the narrow ledge he found himself slowly navigating.
‘Why do I have to do this myself again?’ Alaster asked his mental guests with more than a hint of irritation.
Even with the natural body resistance to temperatures of an Expert, Alaster still hated the cold, only slightly less than he hated snow.
Sedall sighed, having already told the young man exactly why three times already, ‘Because Evros would have placed a spell around my cell that would disintegrate anyone attempting to teleport nearby.’
‘Better safe than sorry.’ Belgroth recited in his recent cold voice.
Both Alaster and Sedall had attempted to speak to the Argalon about the shift in his voice, but Belgroth did not open up, so they merely let it be.
“Really wish Vivian had created flying Minions that could just fly me around.” Alaster mumbled, hopping over a missing section of the ledge.
The rough surface of the rock face tore at his clothing. Alaster was glad he remembered to change into some rougher clothing meant for adventuring. The rich clothes of Nobility that he had been wearing recently was too fragile to attempt such travels.
Not that Alaster cared. He cared not for the flamboyant clothes and colors of Nobility. He was perfectly fine with any clothes, so long as they were comfortable, and most of the Nobility’s clothes were not. However, he did understand how expensive they were, and more so how difficult they were to clean.
Unfortunately, he was not an Earth Mage, and with his Minion [Swap] Ability too dangerous to attempt, it was a slow and annoying trip.
A trip that was made even more annoying because Sedall could only feel a general sense of his body. He could feel its direction, but not exactly, nor how far. Alaster found himself being led back and forth constantly.
It had taken several hours just to isolate this single mountain as the location after Belgroth tracked the body. Unfortunately, the spell was only accurate up to a dozen miles. A lot of ground to cover when it was only one person searching. His Minions proved useless in that regard as Sedall could not sense his body through them.
The blizzard that beat down on the mountain had been active for the last two hours, and showed no signs of slowing its torrent. Nor had Alaster found any hints of his destination.
Until now.
‘Stop!’ Sedall cried, nearly causing Alaster to slip off the wet ledge.
‘Son of a. What is it?’
‘This is it!’
Alaster looked around. The cliff face was the same as any other. The ledge was as narrow and broken as the rest of the ledge a mile back. Below him, Alaster saw the tops of the forest trees far below him, looking like moss.
‘There is nothing here.’ Alaster sighed
‘No, there is.’ Belgroth spoke, ‘hit the stone.’
Alaster conjured a small bone platform with supports angled down and pressing against the stone cliff face a few feet below. He used the platform to glance at the cliff face behind him, but saw no markings that appeared different from the rest of the mountain.
‘You won’t see anything. The entrance has been hidden for the last several centuries.’ Sedall commented.
‘So just hit it?’
‘Yep.’
‘And that won’t trigger anything? Nothing that would vaporize me?’
‘No.’
Alaster shrugged, ‘That seems highly insecure. Oh you can’t teleport nearby, but hitting the entrance with a big stick is perfectly fine.’ Alaster said sarcastically, summoning a large Warhammer from his Ring of Holding.
His mood was terrible. And neither of his mental guests could blame him. After all, there were a bunch of extremely powerful Demigods trying to kill his sister.
Winding up his swing, Alaster gathered all the strength his body could muster, a truly terrifying amount of strength even for an Expert.
Taking a deep breath, Alaster swung with all his might. In an instant, the Warhammer connected with the cliff.
A shockwave blew away the blizzard for several meters, silencing the wind, and providing clear vision for a few moments before it came crashing back.
Alaster glanced at the Warhammer in his hands, finding that it was now just a long stick as the steel head had snapped off and was nowhere to be found.
A crumbling sound brought Alaster’s attention back to the cliff face. He watched as chunks of stone broke away, revealing a wall of steel.
Alaster discarded the broken Warhammer without a care and stepped forward to study the wall.
It was intricately crafted, without the standard flaws that were common for metal constructions of this size. It was perfectly smooth and from the few light taps Alaster did, he could tell it was at least four inches thick and perfectly even throughout.
Even skilled Metal Mages would have struggled to create such wall.
But that was not what amazed Alaster.
It was how brightly the wall shone with magic. Even in the setting sun and dense blizzard, the wall shone like a roaring bonfire with the countless Enchantments that were cast on it.
‘Just how many Enchantments are on this wall?’ Alaster asked.
‘A few hundred I suspect.’ Belgroth shrugged, ‘Just melt through it.’
‘You realize I am a Necromancer, not a Fire Mage, right?’
‘But you do know a Fire Spell and you do know how to Weave. Just do what I tell you.’
For the next two hours, standing atop that bone platform hanging off the side, Alaster followed Belgroth’s instructions as he Wove a Novice Fire Spell into an Expert Fire Spell.
‘Good, now when you use it, just focus it down into a small but intense flame and slowly melt through the wall.’
‘And there isn’t an Enchantment that will counter it or attack me?’
Belgroth did not answer for a few moments, ‘I don’t think so.’
Alaster rolled his eyes, ‘Great.’
Despite the uncertainty, Alaster got to work. He did not have the time to be careful. He had to free Sedall and get back to Zolis and finalize his preparations before the Demigods acted.
Holding up his hand, a blue fireball appeared the size of two fists. The fireball held great destructive power across a large area the size of a commoner’s house. However, Alaster condensed the fireball down into the size of a chisel. The flame turned from a fiery blue to a searing white. The very air around it sizzled as it superheated.
Despite the Mana being his own and under his control, Alaster could feel the skin of his hand burning to such a degree that not even his own natural healing factor could compete, even with his Demonic Blood.
Ignoring the pain with not but a twitch, Alaster held the flame against the metal door, moving slowly to allow the flame to melt through to the other side.
Painfully slowly, Alaster melted out a large enough hole that he could crouch through.
Once the hole was melted around, Alaster turned around and kicked backward, sending the middle of the hole flying backward into the space beyond.
In the blizzard, the molten metal was quickly cooling, and in a few moments, it was cool enough for Alaster to step through without taking much damage. His hand also healed most of the way during the wait.
Crouching through, Alaster conjured a Novice Flame and held it up. It did not need its power, but its light. What he found was a smooth tunnel that had clearly been mined out by Dwarven hands. Neither the Elves nor the Pure Humans held the skill or care to create a hallway out of such smooth and polished stone.
The walls had the usual carvings of Dwarven Halls, usually done as simple decoration, these carvings told a story. A story of corruption, greed, and massacre.
‘I am assuming this is about you Sedall?’
Several moments passed before Sedall responded, ‘It was once.’
‘Will that be a problem?’ Alaster asked, walking deeper into the mountain.
‘Not for you. I admit, when I was a new Demigod, I was prideful of my power. After all, even as a fresh Demigod, I was stronger than most of them, and I only grew stronger over the years. I was arrogant and sought a challenge, even when there wasn’t one to be found.’
‘What will you do after you are free?’
‘I will fight with you to protect your sister, then I will fight with you to protect your people against the Argalon. Sorry Belgroth. And if by some miracle, we survive, then I will try to ascent to full Godhood and explore I guess. I have always been curious about other worlds. Who knows? Maybe its possible to become strong enough and travel back to our Birth World and revive it?’
Alaster chuckled, ‘That’s a nice thought. But that does bring up an important point. Belgroth, what are you going to do?’
‘About what?’
‘With your people returning to this world?’
Several minutes passed in silence, only broken up by the soft footfalls resounding off the stone walls as he traveled ever deeper.
Alaster had thought that Belgroth had ignored his question when the Argalon spoke.
‘I… have no idea. I do wish for my people to take back our home world. Before I had wished for the extinction of all of Humanity, but now? Now I only wish for the elimination of most. I don’t wish death upon you or your sister, nor the City Lord’s family in Onigas, nor Azamar or his daughter.
The rest?
I don’t care. Let them burn for all I care. But I know that you will all defend yourselves, which will of course cause a war.
If they were the same Argalon People that I knew before, I think I could convince at least a large percentage to end the war so long as Humanity gave us at least half of the remaining land back.
My people never liked war, that’s why your people were so successful at waging one against us.
Buts its been thousands of years, even for a people as long lived as ours, that is a long time. And with them waging a constant war against your Gods that entire time? I don’t know what they are like anymore.’
Before Alaster could respond, a pitch-black door came into view of his small flame.
‘We are here.’ Belgroth stated.
