Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

[lordanl]

[Ebonique, how are you doing? Can you use some strength?]

As he merged all the platforms of Myst into one, Erik communicated with his trusted spirit while staring ahead with narrowed eyes, gripping his machetes tightly. The dragoness replied with a solemn voice, though traces of anger and frustration were clearly detectable in her tone.

[Nothing beyond what this contract incarnation allows, and I have to use your mana. It's too risky to use my own mana with that bastard collector's aura being so thick.]

[That's better than nothing. Your special ability and affinities will be a great help to me.] Erik responded with a composed tone, then asked.

[But who is this 'collector'? What can you tell me about him?]

[He's a spirit on the same level as Ignis and myself.] Ebonique paused briefly to gather her thoughts before continuing her explanation.

[Though under normal circumstances, he wouldn't pose a threat to either of us, in our current situation, he's the worst enemy we could have. He's an annoying bastard who distracts himself from boredom by collecting all sorts of things. From roadside pebbles to other people's treasures. Mainly because his ability makes it easy for him, and because of that hobby of his, he's sparked countless wars over time.]

[Sounds like a really troublesome guy, but how much damage can he do through this 'aura' you mentioned?] Erik asked with a serious tone. Ebonique replied solemnly.

[The 'aura' is more like a part of our mana, or rather, mana oversaturated with spiritual force—something all living beings, especially the powerful ones, produce unconsciously. Through it, various things can be achieved. For example, detecting others through their aura—though with limitations, allowing others to detect us, but more importantly, it's possible to activate certain abilities remotely through it.]

[…What is his ability?] Erik asked with an even darker expression. Ebonique thought for a moment before starting to explain.

[I don't know the exact details of his ability since no one is willing to fully reveal their weaknesses to others, but in our circle, he's nicknamed 'Possessive Bond.' He can basically create an almost unbreakable connection with nearly anything, and it inevitably returns to him. And when I say anything, I mean anything. I heard that once he 'stole' all of someone's mana in a fight.]

[The golden chains…?] Erik asked, feeling his heart tighten. Ebonique gently shook her head, still hidden within Erik's hair, and explained.

[Although those chains do carry some of his aura, it's not exactly the same as his ability… They're more like a low-quality imitation.]

[Can a spirit's special abilities be imitated?!] Erik asked, his eyes widening in disbelief. Ebonique replied with a composed voice.

[Well, special abilities also use mana to function, and even we integrate them into our affinities, so technically, it's possible to achieve a similar effect with a spell. Though in reality, many have tried, and only a few have had 'relative success.' Even when they manage to create something that works similarly, it's always been pathetically weak and absurdly inefficient.]

[… I think I'm starting to understand how they created the island… They used that 'Possessive Bond' to gather samples from everywhere.] Erik commented with a dark tone. Ebonique nodded and replied.

[It's likely, but there must be more than just a replica of that cunning bastard's ability, because even though his ability is powerful, it has some limitations, and an imitation should have even more.]

[…]

Erik fell silent as he reflected, splitting his focus between his Mystic Awareness and his thoughts, sending subtle guidance to Hiyori to change their route and avoid confrontation with other hunters. But as they neared the 'base,' Erik's attention inevitably shifted to the walls, which were already glowing so brightly that their original black color was no longer visible. Now, only endless runes could be seen moving as if they were lava lamps.

But at that very moment, with just one more intersection left before they could finally see the 'base,' something changed. As if some critical point had been reached, Erik felt the Myst slip entirely out of his control, only able to manipulate it within a one-meter radius around him. Simultaneously, the walls began to shine so intensely that it became impossible to see anything.

"Get ready!!"

As he shouted with force, Erik conjured a massive rune-geometric circle along with several smaller geometric circles. The rune-geometric circle was one of the countless tests he had developed in his attempt to understand the theory behind its functioning.

With a dark expression, Erik felt six angelic light wings materialize, then embrace the entire group, at which point a spherical light barrier formed to envelop them completely. At the same time, several prismatic Myst barriers formed inside the light barrier, offering multiple layers of protection.

Though the rune-geometric circles hadn't been fully tested, making him cautious about using them since they could be dangerous, Erik had no other choice. While his Myst barriers were powerful, without proper control over the Myst, he couldn't create anything too resistant. Therefore, in an unknown situation, the safest option was to use a light barrier.

But at the same time, unable to mobilize the Myst, he couldn't use Mystic Confluence to empower spells with Myst. This indirectly increased the mana cost of an elemental spell for him by a significant margin. This inevitably forced him not only to use the runic-geometric circles but also to push his overdrive to the limit, to the point where he could feel his body greatly straining.

Meanwhile, the team's mages quickly reacted and began conjuring barriers, but before they could achieve anything significant, the very space around them trembled. As a debilitating dizziness washed over them, everyone on the Myst platform felt something grab them by the waist and pull them with force, causing them to crash into each other but grouping them together.

While the world still spun for her, Elara forced her narrowed eyes to study their surroundings. But before she could examine anything, her field of vision was filled with the image of Erik behind her. The young man with starry hair had a dark, pained expression, the veins on his forehead bulging, blood trickling from the corner of his lips, and a strange smoke emanating from him.

"E-Erik!"

Elara shouted with a hoarse, trembling voice as she saw Erik bring a healing potion to his lips, revealing the muscles in his hands twitching violently and the veins in them even more pronounced than on his forehead. After downing the potion in one gulp, Erik gritted his teeth for a moment, and as four magic circles appeared around them, he announced in a rough voice.

"Prepare for battle."

Hearing Erik, Elara hurriedly turned to look around, but what she saw made her swallow hard. Beyond the barriers covering them, Elara could see they were in one of those gigantic halls, and there were hunters recovering from dizziness everywhere, as well as two individuals who seemed to belong to two other factions.

One appeared to be from the Lotus Union and the other from the Boreal League. But even more terrifying, golems began emerging from the walls. At that moment, Myst arrows formed in front of Erik's magic circles and shot out at high speed toward the recovering hunters.

Just then, in the middle of the hall, what appeared to be a hologram of a humanoid figure formed, though it was unrecognizable. Likely due to damage over time or something else, the figure looked like a whitish silhouette with volume. But the instant the hologram appeared, Erik's Myst arrows vanished into thin air along with the magic circles, followed by an almost robotic voice echoing through the space.

[Emergency security system activated due to a critical failure in the facilities. As no 'adult' presence has been detected, evacuation protocol 7854 is initiated. Please, 'little ones,' follow the logistic units to the nearest evacuation portal. Do not worry, you will find responsible adults outside the portal, and the logistic units will handle any intruders.]

Though the voice spoke in an unknown language, somehow, everyone present could roughly understand its meaning. The moment the message ended, the figure disappeared, but to the dismay of everyone present, strange music began to resonate in the area. The odd pattern of the unfamiliar song led Tomás to comment with a hint of disbelief.

"A lullaby…?"

"Let's worry about that later; they're coming for us…" Erik remarked with a solemn voice, then took another healing potion and conjured more magic circles.

With that report, everyone snapped back to reality and gripped their weapons tightly, as the hunters began to gather into two groups, and the two youths from the other factions looked at each other in terror and disbelief. At that moment, the golems, which had accumulated to nearly a hundred, raised their arms forward in unison as glowing runes began to shine on their forearms.

Before anyone could do anything, beams of pure energy shot out from the golems' fists, targeting everyone present indiscriminately. As the beams struck Erik's light barrier, the angel wings around them quickly began to vanish one by one, at which point Elara, who had created several magic circles, announced in a serious voice.

"Phoenix Veil! Fiery Plague!!"

Quickly, a fire barrier covered the group while hundreds of fireballs began to fall from the magic circles above, like an apocalyptic rain. At the same time, an ice barrier formed, complementing the fire one, followed by a whirlwind of ice dust.

"Frozen Aegis!! Chilling Cyclone!"

"Expansive Pressure!"

"Combustible Gas!"

"Twilight Rain!"

Simultaneously, Frank, Ethan, and Chen announced their spells, at which point a giant fire rune formed in the air, from which tiny 'fire drops' began to fall. At the same time, several spheres of what appeared to be compressed gas shot out to meet the falling fireballs and 'fire drops' from above.

At the moment of impact, brutal explosions began to occur throughout the enormous hall, creating powerful shockwaves laden with cutting ice dust, capable of piercing through most defenses.

But despite the impressive power, none of those present changed their expressions; all looked incredibly dark and apprehensive. After all, everyone knew how resilient the golems were, and now they seemed even stronger. They had seen how the hunters died like dogs under the onslaught of the golems' lasers, including the pair of youths from the other factions.

As if responding to their thoughts, even as furious shockwaves struck against the barriers, everyone could feel a new barrage of lasers hitting them. As if they were paper, Elara and Christine's barriers were destroyed, followed by Erik's light barrier. But the Myst barriers Erik had conjured managed to halt the onslaught, leaving just two layers of Myst barriers protecting them.

"I'll create illusions to buy time! We have to escape and reach the 'base' as soon as possible!"

As the other mages, along with Erik, conjured barriers with everything they had, Ethan announced in a voice full of urgency. Around Ethan, a large number of runes released a thick mist.

"All knights with me, we'll repel the approaching golems while heading to the third exit on the left."

Tomás announced with a solemn voice as six small magic circles formed on his sword. Erik, who still had smoke emanating from him and veins bulging across his body, announced in a similar tone.

"Hiyori, we'll do the same as before!"

"Understood." The fox spirit replied with an equally serious voice as white flames materialized around her.

Within moments, everyone was on a Myst platform, and Hiyori ran with all her strength, propelled by fire explosions while exact figures of them split into four different directions. But just before the illusions could separate enough, a new rain of attacks hit the group, though the mages noticed a significant difference. This time, it wasn't the laser rain; it was a combined spell striking their barriers.

Due to the brutal onslaught, the barriers weakened significantly, causing Christine to look back in panic, where she could see a group of surviving hunters surrounded by barriers and running toward the opposite exit. At the same time, Christine could see the golems' fists lighting up again, while new golems leaped into the air, heading toward them with an agility they had never shown before.

(Is this the end…?)

[Erik, run!!!]

***

You can support me on patreon.com/lordanl and get up to 20 advanced chapters.

 

[lordanl]

[Erik, run!!!]

Suddenly, Erik felt the Myst begin to rush into his body on its own—hurried and disorganized, almost in a panic. Somehow that made the world around him slow down to the point that Ebonique's panic-filled "scream" in his mind sounded like a slow-motion recording—drawn out and elongated.

But instead of panicking, Erik felt completely calm, as if the death before him meant nothing. With a cold, almost calculating expression, Erik watched the beams of light from the golems' fists closing in on them. Then he lowered his gaze to his shadow, about to vanish, where he saw Kaiser and Tiberius begin to emerge in a panic.

With the same calm, Erik looked at his companions' panicked expressions—especially the mages, who were moving in slow motion to conjure barriers. They were so slow that even Tomás, the fastest person there, who was trying to swing his sword forward, seemed to take a full second to move it a few millimeters. Then Erik focused on the Myst around him.

The surrounding Myst, in addition to trying to force its way inside him in a rush, had a portion that remained outside, seemingly "battling" the Myst he couldn't control. This caused the Myst beyond his control to tremble violently, almost as if it were starting to "boil" somehow.

Meanwhile, the Myst inside him began to communicate with him, almost aggressively demanding that he mobilize his mana to follow it. Though a bit surprised by the Myst's "aggressiveness," Erik—already used to being guided by it—followed almost instinctively, and soon his mana was circulating through his entire body, then passing through the mana gathering point in his head and descending.

Soon, Erik could feel it moving through his chest until it found his third mana gathering point—one he had discovered some time ago and which had been the secret to "elementalization." That third point in his chest was known as Jianggong in the Zazen Discipline, Anima in Sacred Geometry, or Hjarteldr in the aegis system.

That mana gathering point, just like the one in the head, had "special functions," as it was the gateway to total connection between mind and body. Although, as he had heard from his masters, "touching" it prematurely could be potentially lethal, for those who succeeded, it translated into a total connection between their minds and bodies. This granted bodily control and mana control beyond what was "humanly possible."

But while that sounded incredible—and it truly was for an ordinary person—for Erik it had little to no use. Naturally, he had bodily and mana control beyond all norms, as if he had been born with a perfect mind-body connection. But this changed when he tried to circulate elemental mana through the three points.

Somewhat awed by achieving Elemental Synchronization by following Master Jessica's advice and making use of his contract with the wolves, one day Erik tried circulating a combination of elemental mana synchronized with the Myst.

When his mana interconnected across his three mana-gathering points, something magical happened. He became a being of pure energy—a living bolt of lightning—what he now knew was a master-level technique of mana control and harmony with the Myst called Mystical Transcendence.

But although Mystical Transcendence was impressive—making him intangible to physical blows and enhancing his speed and elemental mana control to an absurd level, among other advantages—it was not without problems. Among them, apart from how exhausting it was physically, mentally, and in terms of mana, was the fact that he could still be injured by spells or mana.

Therefore, Erik couldn't understand why the Myst was guiding him to that third point, especially without using Elemental Synchronization—something that wouldn't save him either but would at least make a bit more sense.

But although he didn't understand what the Myst wanted to do, Erik still followed its instructions as he stretched out his hand to touch Kaiser—the only thing that might save him. Since Tiberius had informed him he couldn't create a shadow portal. But just then, Erik realized that his body couldn't follow his mind's speed. He moves painfully slowly.

At the same time, Ebonique, her face full of panic, clenched her jaw hard and took a deep breath while her mind raced at full speed, searching for an escape route. This caused the dragoness to see the world even slower than Erik, but just like him, her incarnation wouldn't withstand moving at the same speed. Even thinking alone was taking a toll on her incarnation, threatening to fade at any moment.

But no matter how much she thought, the dragoness couldn't arrive at a satisfactory solution. Her Erik was about to die, and neither her incarnation nor anyone present had the power to prevent it. Space was sealed, so moving through shadows to another place was impossible; Kaiser was fast, and Erik could move at a terrifying speed with him, but it still wouldn't be enough to escape.

She also couldn't conjure a barrier on her own strong enough to protect him or flee with him in her current state. Therefore, her only option was to flip the table—materialize her true body to destroy the ruin—and to keep that bastard collector from discovering her Erik, she would have to erase any trace of him. In other words, she would have to erase Erik's entire home galaxy from existence without sparing anyone.

After lasting mere milliseconds—which for her felt like hours—Ebonique made a decision and let out a long, heavy sigh, which seemed to make space itself tremble. She was going to destroy everything; even if Erik hated her for thousands or millions of years, as long as he was alive, there would be a chance for reconciliation. Anything was better than letting him die.

(I'll make you pay for this… I'll tear you to pieces and seal them for the rest of eternity while I destroy any trace of what was once yours and those who remember you… Seraphius Archivum, this is a blood debt I will collect until the end of time.)

With the light beams just a few meters from them, Ebonique began to rise slowly into the air, emerging from Erik's hair, while her eyes turned incredibly cold—filled with infinite killing intent. At the same time, Ebonique's body began to grow as dark bolts started to coil around her, but at that very instant, the Myst went mad.

Under Ebonique's incredulous gaze, the Myst moved with such force and in such synchronization that the dragoness could feel a brutal gravitational wave spread through space, scrambling time itself for a few milliseconds. In that instant, the light on the walls dimmed slightly, and around the group there appeared a prismatic Myst barrier that managed to block the lasers just before they struck the group.

But although the barrier was transparent, within it the only thing that could be seen from the outside was darkness. A darkness that seemed to absorb light itself and let nothing escape filled the barrier completely. Soon the golems that had leapt from afar reached it and began pounding on it with fists entirely covered in golden runes from the Zazen Discipline.

After several seconds, the barrier finally couldn't endure anymore and cracked like glass before shattering into pieces. Without the barrier's support, the golems atop it fell to the ground, passing through a dark mist that soon vanished—revealing that there was nothing inside the barrier.

As if showing their confusion, the golems looked at one another for a few moments but quickly organized themselves into several orderly groups. Two of the groups began to pursue the hunters' party while the rest moved nimbly down different corridors with the goal of locating and eliminating any intruders.

…

(Did I die?)

With her heart pounding and her short life of less than a century flashing before her eyes, Christine moved her head in the total darkness surrounding her, so confused she even thought she had died. But at that instant, the darkness vanished all at once, allowing her to see her entire team with Erik at the center—but he looked strange.

His green eyes shone so intensely it was hard to look at him, while his starry hair rose against gravity, its tips almost fading into nothing, as if merging with space. But even more impressive were the patterns of stars and galaxies in his hair; they emitted light and moved at great speed, as if it were a true image of the universe.

But that almost divine image soon disappeared; Erik's face grew greatly paler, and his hair and eyes returned to normal—at which point the young man fell to his knees and vomited a great mouthful of blood onto the floor.

""Erik!!""

Elara and Chen shouted in unison as they ran toward Erik, snapping everyone out of their momentary stupor. But before they could touch Erik, a magnificent oriental black dragon a few meters long appeared, coiling protectively around him, surrounded by thick arcs of dark electricity.

"I'm okay… Let's move to the base… We're still on the second floor… Keep straight along this path, Hiyori…"

With a hoarse, broken voice, Erik ordered as he sat on the Myst platform they were still on. Hiyori, who was looking at Erik as if he were a monster, quickly reacted and looked around, realizing they were in a corridor and more golems were starting to appear in the walls—though much more slowly than in the hallway before, and far fewer.

Without a word, Hiyori rose into the air and began to run along it with paws wreathed in white fire, speeding forward near the corridor's ceiling. Meanwhile, Ebonique asked, full of concern, as she could see Erik's veins and muscles twisting violently, looking quite gross.

[What happened to you? Are you okay?]

[I'm fine. The Myst showed me how to force the 'rebellious Myst' in the surroundings to obey me, and that somehow let me use the shadow portal that Tiberius couldn't open on his own. But it's far too draining; my mana system is in rough shape. It's still manageable though. A few potions and some healing spells will do the trick.]

Erik replied through the contract in a calmer voice while moving his trembling hand toward his storage bag. Ebonique took in Erik's miserable state with a sharp gaze and, though she was still surprised by what had happened, decided to focus on something that worried her even more in the moment.

[…Why do you do this to yourself to save these kids? You could have fled alone; I'm sure it would have been less taxing for you.]

[The difference wouldn't have been much. The Myst's abrupt movement let me synchronize with Tiberius for a few moments and activate the shadow portal for an instant, though it wasn't free. Practically all my mana vanished at once just to open the portal; bringing them along didn't really cost me much.] Erik answered calmly, but Ebonique shot back in an angry tone.

[Don't lie to me! Your mana vanished all at once because you opened a portal bigger than necessary!!]

"Erik, let me help—I know some healing spells."

While Ebonique was "scolding," Elara spoke in a voice full of concern, gripping her staff tightly and conjuring barriers around the group with the other mages. Ebonique looked at the young blonde mage, then at the rest as her anger mounted.

Seeing that everyone was watching Erik with different expressions—but all with some apprehension—and given that Erik was struggling even to get his hand into his storage pouch, Ebonique let out a cold growl and spoke in an authoritative voice.

"You two—tend to Erik until he recovers." Ebonique looked at Elara and Zoe, then looked at the rest and continued, letting her killing intent seep out.

"The rest of you, form up around my Erik and say not a word. From this moment on you will breathe only to place yourselves between him and harm. If a single splinter so much as grazes him, I will dismember you piece by piece until you beg to die. Understood?"

The moment Ebonique finished her speech, her purple eyes shone with a dark purplish light while her dark arcs began to spread across her entire body. At the same time, her horns grew, more claws appeared, and her entire being changed from an elegant dark dragon into something closer to the pinnacle of what a dragon was—a goddess among dragons.

***

You can support me on patreon.com/lordanl and get up to 21 advanced chapters.

 

[lordanl]

Upon hearing the dragoness's cold, murderous voice, all the youths present felt their muscles go rigid, leaving them like statues. Instinct told them the same thing: they were facing a being of a higher order, and their minds and bodies wanted to submit to her at once. It was as if that were the natural outcome—when the dragoness spoke, they could only obey, without debate, without question, blind obedience to something beyond their understanding.

But Tomás wasn't willing to accept that. He was born free thanks to his father—a freedom won with blood and tears—so nothing and no one could enslave him. The only way to take an Arismendi's freedom was to kill him. They, a clan of just two, would fight to their last breath for their freedom, utterly convinced it was better to die on their feet than live on their knees.

Clenching his teeth, Tomás used every last drop of willpower to grip the hilt of his sword and rouse his mana. Even if he knew he was going to die, at least he'd go out in style, landing a good slash on that arrogant "higher being." That dragoness would have to understand that even insects defend themselves when provoked.

"Ebonique."

At that moment, Erik's hoarse voice rang out, blowing away the heaviness and fear running through the youths, who all turned to look at him. Erik—veins bulging, hair duller than ever, traces of blood at his lips—stood up and looked at the dragoness, his green eyes shining dangerously, and continued speaking.

"I don't know who you are, Ebonique, but I am a humble human, and we deal with one another through mutual respect and cooperation. I don't kill unless someone threatens my life or my family's, and that will never change, no matter what."

Erik declared this in a voice on the verge of fading, yet so steady that Ebonique could only stare at him in silence for a few seconds. But that lack of response seemed enough for Erik, because without another word, Ebonique saw him tighten his grip on his machetes and turn to face forward—at the same time she felt her contract with him begin to "tremble."

He was trying to force her back to the spirit world by breaking the contract—something that would leave him gravely incapacitated by the "backlash," which would strike even harder given his current weakened state. In a serious voice, Ebonique looked at Erik's back while she studied the strength of a group of hunters in the distance—hunters Erik had sensed as well and was preparing to confront.

"The world is much crueler than you think, Erik. Not every place is like this remote region where slavery is taboo for fear of a certain individual. The strong take everything, Erik. In this world, where millions of the weak together can't harm a single hair of the strong, the mutual respect you speak of is only possible between beings of similar power. For the weak, servitude to the strong is a blessing and their only means of survival."

"Then allow me to resign from serving you, Ebonique. Thank you for everything, and I wish you the best in your future. It truly was special having you as my contracted spirit all these years, but I—even if pathetically weak in your eyes—am a free man, and I will die as a free man, not a servant."

To the disbelief of everyone present, Erik answered in a ragged voice that sounded incredibly calm. In that instant, his hair rose again, and the stars and galaxies within it began to swirl and layer upon themselves, while the pores of his skin began to release blood instead of sweat.

"Don't break the contract! You are not my servant, Erik! You are my equal—my contractor! My first and only contractor!"

Though Ebonique wanted to correct Erik's naive, childish thinking, when she saw the state of her beloved contractor and felt he truly was about to break the contract, she panicked and cried out. Emotions long forgotten—only now returning thanks to how special Erik was—betrayed her. The dragoness didn't really know how to handle them.

"There's a group of six hunters a hundred meters past the bend up ahead. They're fleeing at least a dozen golems. It's best to hide and avoid the fight, but we need to be ready." Erik announced in a voice so hoarse it was hard to understand, then wiped away the blood that had escaped his mouth.

Feeling a strange mix of emotions, the group quickly tightened their grip on their weapons and prepared for battle in complete silence. Meanwhile, Ethan conjured a multitude of runes that released great amounts of illusory fog, shrouding them completely.

[Erik, I just don't want you to die! I don't want to lose you, and having these kids with you is only complicating your life! They're a burden! Alone, you could run from all this without too much trouble, and you know it! Playing the hero is killing you, Erik! Please, snap out of it! I beg you!]

Ebonique, feeling the contract on the verge of breaking, sent a message in a panic. Erik, silently thanking his masters for strengthening his mana circulatory system—the only reason it hadn't torn apart completely—replied in an even tone.

[There's so much I want to say, so much I want to question, Ebonique, but now is neither the time nor the place. This might be the last day of my life, and as such, I want to live it to the fullest. So I'm going to live as I have every day of my life—doing what I think is best—so I can go without regrets. But I understand you don't agree, and a being of your level doesn't have to follow me in my foolishness.]

[So you're going to kill yourself for strangers?! You'd even cast me off so you can throw your life away without worries?!! Is that what I mean to you, Erik?! An obstacle to get rid of?!!!] Ebonique shot back in equal parts rage, indignation, and pain. Erik watched calmly as the group of hunters below fought and fled from the golems, then replied in a composed tone.

[I'm a rare and delicious snack to you, Ebonique—one you don't want to share and for which you'd do anything to keep hidden. It doesn't take a genius to know that Seraphina, Sigrún, and Eleonora—important witnesses who've known me all my life—are a major obstacle to you.

[You're thinking of getting rid of the people I love to keep me hidden, aren't you, Ebonique? That's why you're using your mana and not mine; you no longer care if you're discovered because you're going to erase every trace of my existence.]

[!!!] Ebonique's eyes widened in disbelief at Erik's words. He sent another message as he gripped his machetes, his instincts warning him things were about to get ugly.

[It's possible your plan goes even further than that. I'm not stupid, Ebonique. We've been together for years—I know you—and thanks to these ruins, I've confirmed and discovered new parts of you. You're someone at the top, used to giving orders, and you see us—the weak—as less than insects. Our lives or deaths don't matter to you; only your goals do. And while I was willing to play dumb about that, the situation has changed.

[Now that I, your rare and delicious snack, am about to die, you've gotten nervous, and you're thinking of acting to save my life at the cost of who knows how much death and destruction. Even at the cost of my masters' and my maid's lives—the people I love most. So let me tell you this, Ebonique: to lay a hand on my family, you'll have to go over my dead body. Once you're back in the spirit world, don't bother returning—you'll find only a corpse with no ability to produce mana.]

[Wait! You're wrong!! I don't care about your mana anymore, and I wasn't going to kill your masters or your maid! I swear it!!] Ebonique replied in a panic, just as the golems raised their fists to target him, detecting them even through the illusion. Erik smiled calmly and sent a message in a soft voice.

[You already lied to me once, Ebonique, and I owe Sigrún, Eleonora, and Seraphina my life and the happiness I can enjoy, so I won't take the risk. If I get out of this alive and well, maybe we can talk again and come to an understanding.

[But for now, this is goodbye. It was a genuine pleasure to know you; along with my masters and Seraphina, you're what I've loved most in this world. Regardless of everything, you've been very good to me, and I truly carry you in my heart. Thank you for everything, Ebonique—you're super cool and powerful!]

[Don't do it, Erik!!! I swear it! I never meant to kill them!!! I never even thought it!!! Erik!!!! Please!! I care about you, not your mana!! Erik!!!!!!!!]

Ebonique cried out in despair as she lunged toward Erik, who was conjuring magic circles at the cost of his mana circulatory system to create barriers. But no matter how much she screamed, Ebonique turned into tiny wisps of light and vanished into nothing just before touching him.

………

"AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

In the middle of a colossal, oriental-style palace, a breathtaking woman with black hair, seated in the lotus position upon an elegant, comfortable purple cushion, suddenly opened her eyes and let out a heartrending scream that made space itself tremble. The quake caused spatial rifts hundreds of kilometers long to open everywhere, making it seem as if the world itself was about to collapse under her colossal power.

"What happened to Erik?!"

At that moment, a woman of no less stunning beauty, with blue eyes and blue hair, seated in the lotus position not far away, opened her eyes and asked, visible panic in her expression. The black-haired woman didn't answer; she only looked at the blue-haired woman with her shining purple eyes as tears began to stream down her cheeks, her hair lifted against gravity, black scales began to cover her body, and horns sprouted from her head.

"I never should have followed you in that lie…"

Soon, black scales covered the woman completely, and she spoke in a voice full of pain. In the next instant, she transformed into a dark electric bolt that shot toward the sky, where it took the form of a colossal black eastern dragon that bore the beauty and dignity of a goddess.

"What happened?! How is Erik?!" The blue-haired woman became a blue blaze that flashed to the dragon's side and asked, transforming into a phoenix of blue fire no less huge and impressive than the dragon.

"Seraphius Archivum! How dare you steal from me! If I don't tear you to pieces, I am not Ebonique Nox!!!"

Instead of answering, the dragon let out a roar that spread through space, fracturing it further and virtually destroying the dimension, then turned into a dark bolt and vanished. Stunned, the blue phoenix froze for a few moments, but soon her blue eyes shone with realization and coldness, and she loosed a phoenix cry no less powerful than the dragon's roar.

"Seraphius Archivum!!! How dare you trespass on my territory!!"

In that instant, the colossal phoenix turned into a blaze of blue fire and disappeared just like the dragon, leaving behind a mansion that still barely stood—thanks only to the incredibly rare and exotic materials it was made of—while all the surrounding land was shattered beyond recognition.

Curiously, in the mansion's main guest hall—totally upended and half-destroyed—there was a sort of transparent crystal box that seemed immovable, unaffected in the slightest by the dragon and phoenix's rampage. Stranger than the box, however, was what it contained: a simple, plain black leather bag. The bag was made from the hide of a magical creature so weak it wouldn't even qualify as an insect to the mansion's owner.

And yet the bag occupied a central place—one normally reserved only for the most valuable treasures of which the host is proud. Which could only mean that, to the owner, that bag was so immensely precious that it needed to be placed in the most special spot while being protected by something capable of concealing anything that might make it special. It was almost as if the owner wanted the world to know she kept something very special just for herself—something only she could truly appreciate.

***

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[lordanl]

The moment Ebonique disappeared, Erik spat a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees on the ground; at the same time, his hair fell and dimmed considerably. Panic-stricken, Elara ran over and held Erik up as she cried out, all while continuing to conjure barriers to help withstand the onslaught of laser beams together with the barriers of solidified Myst.

"Are you okay, Erik?!!"

"…I'm fine… More importantly, we need a distraction so we can get out of here."

After coughing up large clots of blood, Erik spoke in a weak voice as he tried to stand with the help of the wolves, whose fur was standing on end and who looked quite frightened. But at that moment, Zoe stepped forward and placed her right hand on Erik's shoulder. Looking at the black wolf at her side, Zoe spoke in a solemn, heavy voice as her face lit up in shifting hues from the barrage of light striking the barriers.

"…You've sacrificed too much for us, Erik… You even broke your contract with your spirit because of us… I know it, all of us know it… You could always have fled on your own and avoided this whole mess… You're only in this state because of us, but that's enough… At this rate you'll die with all of us… You don't have to do that… Run on your own, survive, and tell those outside what happened to us… Survive and avenge us."

Hearing Zoe, Erik inevitably turned to look at her, which let everyone see his glassy eyes, the veins on his forehead about to burst, and his near-death pallor. He looked at Zoe's solemn expression, then at everyone else, seeing the fear and apprehension they tried to hide behind grave faces.

But even though he took in everyone present, Erik's eyes couldn't help remaining a few moments longer on the pale faces of the girls in the group. While Zoe and Elara gripped their weapons tightly and tried to hide their fear, Christine didn't bother to; her expression laid bare deep panic and terror, and she almost seemed to want to shout at Erik to run away with her. But though she really looked quite pitiful, Erik couldn't laugh in the least.

(Old man… Being a 'real man' really isn't easy…)

Slammed by a wave of dizziness and weakness, Erik couldn't help drifting for a few moments into his memories as his expression turned a bit wry and self-critical.

+++

In the middle of a wide field stood a cozy wooden house surrounded by fruit trees, a patch of different flowers, and a stable not far away. Looking out one of the windows was a boy of about thirteen, with black hair and bright blue eyes, who seemed amazed by the torrential rain that beat mercilessly outside the house.

"Erik, close the window; you might catch a cold."

Suddenly, the boy heard a voice at his side, so he quickly turned to look, and there he found a woman of about fifty gazing at him with a gentle expression as she offered him a steaming cup. The boy took the cup and lowered his head as he spoke in a very calm, even somewhat flat voice—nothing like what one would expect from a boy his age.

"Thank you… Grandma…"

"Do you like watching the rain?"

The woman laid her hand on the boy's head and began to stroke his hair gently as she asked in a kind voice. Erik nodded slightly as he turned his gaze back to the window, which once again made his eyes go distant, as if the torrential rain had the power to absorb all his attention.

"Hahaha, men really are simple-minded creatures; your grandfather is the same. He gets lost staring at random things." Seeing the boy's state, the woman couldn't help remarking in amusement, but at that moment Erik murmured softly.

"People?"

Hearing the murmur, the woman looked at him a bit puzzled, then focused her gaze on the view through the window, which after a few seconds let her see two humanoid figures struggling closer. Startled, the woman quickly exclaimed as she set her steaming cup on a nearby table.

"Old man!! Come help me—someone's coming through the rain!!!"

Hurrying her steps, the woman moved toward the door, just as a man of about the same age came from another room holding a shotgun and an umbrella. With long strides, the man quickly reached the woman's side and handed her the umbrella while he opened the door and fixed his gaze on the distance, gripping the shotgun tightly.

"Any idea who they are?"

"No idea—Erik saw them, but I could barely make out blurry figures." The woman replied hurriedly, at which point the black-haired boy spoke in a calm voice.

"I think it's the neighbors. I can see a big belly on one of them."

Hearing the boy, the old man's eyes widened in surprise, and almost instantly he set the shotgun aside and ran toward the approaching figures. Meanwhile, the woman turned to the boy and ordered in a voice full of urgency.

"Erik, get towels and a chair ready! Something serious must have happened!"

The boy nodded and set his steaming cup aside, then ran to the back of the house. Soon, the old man returned, helping a couple in their thirties, the woman with a large pregnant belly, both of them completely soaked. A few meters from the door, the old man shouted in a serious voice to his wife.

"The baby's coming, old woman!"

"Erik! Get clean towels and heat some water!" Hearing the shout, the woman yelled into the house as she herself rushed toward one of the rooms.

…

"Thank you! Thank you so much! The car got stuck in the mud while we were on the way to the hospital! I have to get her to a hospital right away!"

While the elderly couple helped the visibly pained woman to sit on the bed, the young man spoke in a panic, not even caring about the open wound on his arm, most likely from barbed wire on some fence. After settling the woman on the bed, the old man looked at the young man and spoke in a serious voice.

"Calm down. With this weather it's impossible to move along the muddy road, but my wife has experience as a midwife; the baby and the mother will be fine, but you need to calm down."

"No, it's not time yet—the baby still has a month to go! I have to get her to the hospital!!!"

The man replied in panic, trying to push past the old man. At that moment, the old woman, seeing Erik approach with a basin of hot water and white towels, spoke in a firm voice.

"Get him out of here, old man. I need to deliver the baby now!"

"Let's go!" The old man nodded and grabbed the young man firmly by the shoulders to try to get him out of the room, but the young man resisted and began to shout in a panic as he struggled.

"No! I have to take her to the hospital! Let me go!!!"

"Get him out!"

The old woman took the water from Erik and ordered sternly, and the old man nodded. Then he promptly gave the young man an uppercut, knocking him out instantly, hoisted him over his shoulder, and looked at Erik as he spoke in a calm voice.

"Come on, Erik; this is your grandmother's work."

Erik quickly nodded and ran after the old man, who shut the bedroom door as they left. Once outside the room, the old man laid the unconscious man on a nearby sofa, then walked to the door while Erik followed him like a newborn duckling following its mother.

Soon, the boy picked up his cup of hot chocolate from the table and stood beside the old man, who stood in the doorway watching the rain as he tapped a pack of cigarettes with his fingers. In complete silence, the old man smoked, and the boy drank his hot chocolate while they watched the torrential rain, which only seemed to worsen with each passing second.

"Erik, remember never to end up like that excuse for a man with no backbone. Women and children can be careless, but a man cannot. A man has the obligation to be an unmoving pillar, able to withstand everything head-on and without fear."

After a while, the old man, his voice mingling with the sound of the heavy rain as he glanced at the unconscious man out of the corner of his eye, spoke calmly. Erik, a bit confused, tilted his head to look at the old man, then asked with genuine curiosity.

"Why?"

"Because that is the duty Mother Nature entrusted to us in exchange for the 'advantages' we innately receive. Men are stronger, faster, and more decisive than women, and, unlike women, under normal circumstances we operate at 100% of our capacity all year long.

"Meanwhile, women, who were entrusted with the duty of giving life and bringing the future, pay a huge price. Every month they suffer pain and weakness, and when it comes time to bring new life, they pay the entire price. Their bodies change permanently, they are weakened, they suffer pain and discomfort, and they never become the same again.

"But a man pays no price, to the point that a man could impregnate many women at once and be none the worse for wear. But that's because our duty is to protect them and protect the future. That's why we must keep ourselves strong and agile—our strength cannot wane. Because, if necessary, a man must fight to his last breath and give his life to protect the future.

"A real man must never collapse, panic, or die after a woman does. A real man has to be the unmoving pillar upon which his wife and children grow. So enjoy your last years as a child, because you, as my son, can only be a real man."

"A real man…"

Erik spoke in a thoughtful tone as he fixed his gaze on the rain. The old man nodded, but at that moment a piercing cry rang out from the room, so the old man flicked away the cigarette butt in his hand and looked back as he spoke in a solemn voice.

"If you ever act like this mockery of a man, or worse, if you let a woman or a child die in front of you, forget that you had me as your father. You are a ***, and only a real man can bear that surname. Trash will never deserve my surname nor my time. I'm not raising trash; remember that well."

"I'll remember… I'll be a 'real man' who protects the future…"

Erik replied with a calm, almost empty expression as he turned to look at the room, just as the door opened and an old woman came out smiling, holding a baby who was crying with all its might.

+++

(Old man, it took me years to understand what you said, and in the end I could never agree with you 100%. While I share the idea that a child deserves protection, do all women deserve something similar? Nothing could be further from the truth. Even following your logic, many will never be mothers, and another batch will be terrible mothers who will bring only a bleak future.

(Even in my past life, your ideals were too caveman-like, old man—senseless and even insulting to many, and in this world full of magic? Worse still. Here, women don't suffer a monthly weakness, and their strength matches that of any man; besides, what is a child in this world where someone with centuries of life is considered young? It's nonsense to even think about it, but…)

Recalling a moment from his childhood, Erik couldn't help reflecting with a faint smile, and his gaze inevitably settled on Ethan, who was sweating profusely and downing mana recovery potions like water. In a hoarse, heavy voice on the verge of giving out, yet still laden with unmistakable pride, Erik asked slowly.

"Ethan, you asked about my surname, didn't you?"

Confused, Ethan looked at Erik with a strange expression, almost as if he were wondering whether the star-haired youth had lost his mind because of his condition, but without pause, Erik declared in a firm, proud tone.

"My name is Erik Verne—remember it well."

At the same time that Erik announced his full name for the first time in his new life, everyone could see his complexion grow even paler as his hair rose into the air again. Before him, two never-before-seen magic circles appeared—runic circles. As the shock made everyone's eyes go wide, Erik took a step forward and, tightening his grip on his machetes, declared in a ragged but resolute voice.

"Now then—women and children to the back. From here on, it's the men's job to hold the fort, hahaha!"

***

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[lordanl]

Amid Erik's broken, almost deranged laughter, the runic circles created a huge ball of fire and a ball of darkness, which shot downward and collided halfway. The impact triggered a brutal explosion that released shockwaves laden with black fire spreading in all directions, at which moment Erik jumped from the Myst platform and spoke in his ragged voice.

"Hiyori, I don't know if you're willing to listen to me now, but get the girls out of here."

"Hahaha!!!"

At that moment, a laugh no less crazed than Erik's echoed through the place, making everyone turn to look at Tomás, who gripped his sword tightly, then leaped after Erik while announcing with a wide grin on his face.

"You really are crazy, Erik, but I like your style! If we get out alive, join the Bikerea! We need a madman like you!!"

Stupefied, those who remained on the platform watched as the black fire engulfed the golems, melting their surface and sending them flying in different directions. Just then, Chen couldn't help laughing as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, and he quickly began forming hand signs with both hands while proclaiming loudly.

"Hahaha! I knew you couldn't be right in the head, Erik!!"

"Well, I can't let my sister's good friend die, can I?" Ethan remarked with a somewhat helpless chuckle, then downed a mana potion in one go and created a large number of runes as he jumped after Erik and Tomás.

"Bikereas, to the front!"

At the same time, one of the six youths following Tomás shouted, and the four knights among them jumped after Tomás, while the two mages began conjuring magic circles. For her part, Zoe smiled with visible exasperation, then put her right hand on the hilt of her katana and leaped after Erik, announcing in a firm voice.

"I don't know where you got that nonsense, Erik Verne!! But I am never going to stand behind anyone and wait for them to protect me!! A warrior always steps forward!!"

"We're going to fight to the end!!" Elara declared as dozens of magic circles formed in front of her. She then turned to the terrified Christine and added in a mocking tone.

"Though you can take the chance and run while you can."

Visibly pale and with bluish lips, Christine stared at the star-haired youth who was marching to the front flanked by two wolves while creating more runic circles, her expression full of disbelief. Though her whole body trembled and urged her to flee, she truly couldn't, and she remained frozen on the platform.

"I'll support you with everything I've got!" At that moment, Frank drank a mana potion and created a large number of runes that whipped the wind around him and carried his words to resound powerfully.

While the group of youths on the ground drew the golems' attention and engaged them in close combat—hundreds of illusions attacking from different angles—Hiyori, the fox spirit, stood watching Erik with a look of incredulity tinged with apprehension. She truly couldn't fathom how anyone would willingly give up being at the side of one of the most powerful beings in the universe—a colossal, unstoppable force capable of destroying everything.

(You've just made the biggest mistake of your life, Erik. Even if you get out of this alive, you won't be able to live much longer. Offending an Eternal is something only another Eternal can afford. You're too arrogant and ignorant to know what kind of being you just turned down.)

Hiyori's gaze turned somewhat cold as she looked at Erik, and she quickly moved toward Zoe with no intention whatsoever of listening to him. A lunatic like that didn't deserve her attention or her time, especially now that she had to think of a way to deal with the consequences of that brat's recklessness.

…

"Kaiser, Tiberius!"

After downing several healing potions in quick succession, Erik wiped his mouth with his shoulder and called his wolves, who transformed into lightning and darkness and fused with his machetes.

With his machetes releasing bolts and a dark mist, Erik created more runic circles while channeling his mana through the least-damaged parts of his mana circuit. This formed arrows of electricity and darkness that shot toward the surviving hunters and the golems.

"These golems are weaker and slower!" Tomás, who had sped ahead with impressive velocity, managed to cleave a golem with a single slash and shouted.

"They're also distracted by illusions! Though they can see through them when I try to hide!" Ethan, moving with almost feline agility among the golems, reported loudly.

"It's possible to stop them from firing their beams—you just have to hit them when they're charging!!" The one who seemed to be the leader of the youths following Tomás announced in a serious voice as he and his three companions took down a golem.

"Erik! The burns from the previous explosion are what weakened the golems! You can pierce their defenses with spells if you strike precisely at the burned spots!" Elara called from the sky as several magic circles around her conjured flaming arrows.

Hearing Elara, Erik watched the golems being destroyed one after another with a somewhat thoughtful expression while he took another healing potion. But at that moment, he felt a rather strong presence approaching him, so he quickly leaped to the side while creating two new runic circles—one conjuring fire and the other, darkness.

Just then, a dark figure shot toward him at high speed, holding a dagger in its hand that released a kind of dark mist. Simultaneously, the runic circles conjured a small ball of darkness and one of fire, which streaked toward the dark figure at great speed.

Taken by surprise, the dark figure tried to dodge by moving his body out of the small balls' trajectory, but unfortunately for him, the elemental balls collided with each other less than a meter from him, triggering a brutal explosion. Hastily, Erik created a Myst barrier that protected him from the shockwave, and soon the group could see what had happened.

The lower half of a human body slammed into the opposite wall, with the upper half nowhere in sight, as if it had been erased from existence. Struggling not to let their jaws hit the floor, the group watched the storage pouch on the "corpse" fly toward Erik, who looked equally astonished.

"You're terrifying… That was a Revealed-Peak…" Ethan suddenly materialized out of nowhere not far from Erik, holding his dagger, several runes floating around him with arrows of fog conjured and ready to strike.

"If I told you I didn't even know myself, would you believe me?"

Erik replied a bit dumbfounded after drinking a healing potion. Although he knew the explosive power of fire-and-darkness spells was terrifying from the event before entering the garden, he never imagined it would let him kill a Revealed-Peak so easily.

"Not in a million years—you're a monster." Ethan answered with a somewhat forced smile. At that moment, Tomás, who was up front, spoke seriously.

"We have to push forward. With Erik and the concealment formations, we've got a good chance of surviving this disaster!"

"Erik, avoid attacking and focus on recovering—your black fire is the key to our survival!" Zoe, who had managed to cut down a golem with Hiyori's help, said in a grave tone as she sheathed her katana again.

"Let's move!"

Erik nodded and said seriously, then jumped and landed on Kaiser's back, who emerged from the machete along with Tiberius and grew to a height of about two meters. Soon, Erik created a Myst platform on each side of him and surged forward at full speed while shouting loudly.

"Get on!"

Without a second thought, the Bikereas, Ethan, and Tomás quickly jumped onto the platforms, and the whole group advanced along with the platform in the air, where the team's mages were. Meanwhile, Zoe climbed onto Hiyori's back and followed the team closely, though her eyes couldn't help but look at her contracted spirit with doubt.

It was evident that Hiyori's attitude toward Erik had changed radically, from obeying his every word as if she were a subordinate to outright ignoring him. To the point that the Myst platform where the mages stood no longer moved to the fox spirit's rhythm, but to Erik's. The star-haired youth had switched the anchor point of Hiyori's platform to himself, making the rift blindingly obvious.

[Were you following Erik because of his contracted spirit, Hiyori-sama?] Eyes fixed ahead, Zoe asked through their contract while gripping her katana's hilt tightly, but the fox spirit fell silent and simply kept running.

[…Hiyori-sama… Did I offend you somehow?] Zoe asked in a somewhat apprehensive tone, which led the fox spirit to reply with a slightly regretful note.

[That would have been better than the situation that boy dragged you into, little Zoe… I don't know how this will turn out, but if you manage to get out, the first thing you must do is summon me again and ask me to erase all your memories of what happened in this ruin.]

[What happened?] Zoe asked, visibly surprised. Hiyori replied in a serious tone.

[Don't ask; the less you know, the better. Just don't forget to do what I told you. That's the only way you can gain a small chance to survive this disaster. Though your only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time, for the strong, their dignity is more important than life—never forget that.]

[…]

Zoe fell silent, having grasped the message between the lines Hiyori conveyed, which inevitably led her into deep reflection. But after a few seconds, Zoe let out a long sigh and tightened her grip on her katana, then sent a message to her contracted spirit through their bond.

[Hiyori-sama, with all due respect, I don't think Erik is guilty of anything. If anything, once again he risked his life to give me a chance to survive, because that dragoness wanted to force us to die for him. But instead of taking advantage of the situation, he gave us the chance to fight. He's a great man—one I'm willing to give my heart to.]

[You're still too young, Zoe. There are things you don't understand. He is a dead man—maybe in a few days or some centuries later, it doesn't matter. He's already signed his death sentence, and I assure you his death will be horrible.] Hiyori replied in a critical tone, which only put a smile on Zoe's face as she answered confidently.

[I don't think so, Hiyori-sama. Erik is a man destined for great things. Just look at those magic circles made of runes—that's a miracle never seen before. From now on, Erik will only rise to new heights.]

[You're still too young… You've seen far too little to understand how the world really works—how the truly strong really think. Although the boy is truly impressive, none of that matters; he's far too weak.] Hiyori replied with a small sigh. Zoe chuckled softly and answered with confidence.

[Well, only time will tell, Hiyori-sama. But I will follow my heart, and my heart tells me Erik is a man worth following—that his future is limitless, beyond anything anyone has ever seen.]

[We'll see.] Hiyori replied with a hint of mockery in her tone, to which Zoe answered with a small smile.

[When the time comes, I'll intercede for you with Erik so he'll forgive the attitude you're showing him, Hiyori-sama.]

[You're millennia away from being able to joke with me, little one.]

Hiyori replied with an imperious air, though a trace of tenderness could be seen in her eyes. After all, she had known the brave girl since she was a baby. She had watched her grow, and in that time the girl had claimed a small part of her heart.

[Hehe, sorry, Hiyori-sama. I'm just speaking from the heart. Erik is the man my heart has chosen, and I'll follow him from now on. But I assure you he'll even manage to surprise you!] Zoe replied softly, which made Hiyori snort before she ended up quickening her pace in silence.

***

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[lordanl]

(What silence… What emptiness… Though it was necessary… The risk was too high…)

As he advanced through the enormous hallway atop Kaiser, Erik couldn't help but let out a silent sigh while looking ahead with slightly unfocused eyes, retrieving a healing potion from his bag. It had only taken a minute to shatter a relationship of nearly 20 years, more than enough time for someone as emotionally distant and asocial as him to genuinely grow attached to another person.

As if sensing its master's emotions, Tiberius, in his small form, climbed onto Erik's shoulder and began rubbing his head against him. Erik, with a faint smile, extended his right hand to pet the little wolf while conjuring runes around himself. As the runes emitted a soft green light, healing him little by little, Erik took the healing potion and then announced, his voice sounding slightly better.

"There are 8 Golems at the end of the hallway. To prevent more from gathering, I'm going to pick up the pace. This will be the last encounter before reaching the formations."

"Then stay in the back after a black fire explosion, Erik. You don't look well." Tomás, on the platform beside Erik, commented in a serious tone while closely observing the state of the young man with starry hair.

Erik's appearance was far from his previously neat and elegant style. Now, the young man looked pale, covered in blood, with slightly dimmed eyes. Moreover, his hair, once as black as coal and adorned with stars and galaxies, now appeared withered and dull, to the point that its starry pattern was barely visible.

"Perfect, let's do it that way." Erik nodded calmly, then gave an order while pulling another healing potion from the storage bag at his waist.

"Kaiser."

At his master's call, Kaiser was immediately surrounded by electric arcs before shooting forward at high speed. For his part, Erik took another potion, then gritted his teeth and conjured two new runic circles as thick beads of sweat began to roll down his forehead.

Soon, the group finally spotted the golems in the distance down the hallway, now numbering 9, as one more had managed to emerge from the wall. At that moment, a fireball and a sphere of darkness shot forward at high speed, causing a sonic boom. Just as they reached the golems, who were about to unleash beams from their fists, the fireball and darkness sphere collided, triggering a massive explosion.

"Mages, aim upward! Ethan, confuse them! Bikereas, with me!" In that instant, Tomás ordered with a firm voice, then kicked Myst's platform, visibly cracking it.

As Tomás shot forward at such a high speed that he even disappeared from sight, the other four young knights also kicked Myst's platform and darted after him. Meanwhile, the mages on the upper platform prepared their spells, aiming upward, just as Zoe, riding Hiyori, arrived beside Erik with her hand on her katana.

"I'll be your guard, Erik."

"Thanks, Zoe."

Erik replied with a calm expression as the runes around him intensified, practically surrounding him with a greenish halo, while he reached for another healing potion. At that moment, Zoe looked Erik up and down and asked with a serious voice tinged with traces of concern.

"Are you feeling okay, Erik? You look pretty worn out. I've got some healing potions here."

"I've still got enough, but if I run out, I'll count on you."

Erik replied with a small smile, to which Zoe nodded seriously before turning her gaze back to the front, her right hand firmly on the hilt of her katana, ready to fight at any moment. For her part, Hiyori, seeing that the star-haired young man didn't even bother to look at her, couldn't help but let out a low huff before completely ignoring him.

In the explosion zone, which was filled with smoke obscuring visibility, several figures suddenly shot upward, piercing through the cloud of smoke. Already waiting for their moment, Elara, who was at the forefront of the group of mages, pointed her staff forward, and the magical circles in front of her fired a rapid succession of fire arrows.

In sync, the other mages unleashed various elemental projectiles that struck the figures directly, piercing them at different points before exploding. At that moment, Tomás's voice echoed from the center of the smoke cloud.

"The black fire really weakens the golems significantly! The path is clear!"

"Let's go!" Erik quickly ordered while leaning his body slightly forward, prompting Kaiser to start running, surrounded by lightning.

Soon, the group of knights and Ethan climbed back onto the platforms beside Erik, at which point they could see various pieces of strange blackened metal and shards of crystal flying from different directions into Erik's hands.

"The golems?" Ethan asked, somewhat curious, as he watched Erik store everything in his storage bag. The star-haired young man nodded and explained calmly.

"Yes, the black fire is something I only recently discovered, so I know little to nothing about it. I want to start by figuring out why it's capable of weakening the golems."

"Now that you mention it, I've never seen the collision of two spells create something like that. How did you manage it?" Ethan asked, visibly curious, after taking a mana recovery potion. The young people in the area, including Tomás, couldn't help but pay attention, equally intrigued.

"I have no idea, actually. When I was fighting the hunters to enter the garden, I collided a fireball and a darkness sphere, and the power was impressive. So I went closer to look at the crater and discovered the black fire."

Erik explained while carefully examining a piece of black metal after taking another mana potion. Then, Erik looked up at the high ceiling of the hallway and continued in a reflective tone.

"But I really don't understand why it formed. It's not the first time I've collided elemental spells, but nothing like this has ever happened… According to Ebonique… my contracted spirit… the black fire is close to the first step in creating a perfect synergy, so that strange property might come from there…"

"…If it's a perfect synergy, then that exaggerated power makes sense. From what I've heard from my master, perfect synergies are truly terrifying." Ethan commented in a somewhat uneasy voice, choosing to ignore the shift in Erik's tone when mentioning the dragoness.

"They are. My masters achieved perfect synergy and showed it to me once… It's pretty frightening." Erik remarked with a somewhat ironic smile, but he quickly shook his head and looked at Ethan, adding seriously.

"We've arrived. Start activating the formation to hide us."

"Chen!" Ethan quickly nodded with a serious expression and turned to call out to Chen Ming loudly. The young man immediately nodded with a serious expression and began performing hand signs.

Meanwhile, Ethan conjured several runes that spread through the space, while a small group stayed in front of him, forming a kind of fractal hexagon the size of a hand. At that moment, a dense, dark, illusory fog filled the area before disappearing into nothingness, at which point the 'vice leader' of the Bikereas asked while Tomás looked around seriously.

"Will it work…?"

"Let's hope so."

Erik commented in a low voice while ordering Kaiser to start ascending into the air and taking another potion from his bag. The wolf quickly created clouds of lightning, forming a staircase. Meanwhile, the others remained completely silent, their gazes fixed on the walls, visibly tense and nervous.

After all, although no one dared to ask so as not to affect morale, each and every one of them knew there was no guarantee that the formations could hide them. In fact, the odds were against them.

After all, the golems had been able to detect them when Ethan hid them with illusions. Not to mention that this strange black labyrinth didn't seem simple at all, and the ruin itself had even managed to leave legend-level beings defenseless.

As she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, Elara watched as the golems slowly emerged from the walls until they finally detached completely. At that moment, they took a couple of steps forward and began looking around. As her fists clenched tightly, Elara heard a subtle swallowing sound but couldn't tell where it came from, as her gaze was focused on the golems to the point that she didn't even blink.

After looking around for nearly a minute, the golems began walking down the hallway in groups, allowing everyone present to let out a gasp of pure relief as their bodies lost all strength. As all the mages collapsed onto Myst's platform, Elara began to feel her eyes sting, at which point she heard a subtle sob not too far away.

Turning to look, Elara found Christine on the ground, tightly hugging her staff as tears began to stream down her cheeks. This seemed to spread to Frank, who rubbed his eyes hard to discreetly wipe away tears, a smile forming on his face. A very similar situation to what Chen and the others were experiencing.

Looking down with tears clouding her eyes, Elara could see Tomás spreading his arms before giving Erik a big hug, which, for some reason, brought a smile to her lips. But that smile quickly faded when Erik coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his complexion growing significantly paler as all the runes around him vanished instantly.

"""Erik!!"""

Tomás, Elara, and Zoe shouted in unison, at which point Elara leapt from the platform with worry and fear written across her face. Upon shouting, Tomás widened his eyes slightly and turned to look at the golems while reaching for the sword at his waist. However, upon seeing they remained as before, he let out a sigh of relief and soon refocused on Erik.

"Erik, what's wrong with you?!"

Zoe asked, nearly in panic, just as Elara landed on Myst's platform using a jet of fire from her feet to soften the fall, speaking urgently while hastily creating a magical circle as the wolves howled in pain.

"He's overexerted his body and is going into cardiac arrest! We need to resusci—"

Elara's words were cut off mid-sentence when, to her absolute shock and that of everyone present, a runic circle the size of a palm formed in front of Erik's chest, right over his heart. At the same time, Erik, clinging to consciousness with all his strength, raised his right fist and struck his chest hard, directly over the runic circle, which released electric arcs.

At the moment of impact, Erik trembled for a few instants before taking a deep inhalation, then drink a healing potion and breathing heavily as he spoke in a broken voice. This caused everyone to stare at him as if they were looking at some kind of strange animal in a zoo.

"…I'm fine… I relaxed for a moment… But I'm okay now…"

"You're not fine!"

Elara shouted, her voice on the verge of tears, and quickly activated the magical circle, which released a soft light and began healing Erik. At the same time, Elara grabbed Erik's wrist and circulated her mana through his system, at which point her eyes widened in disbelief. She brought her free hand to her mouth to cover it, her jaw dropping at what she discovered.

"What happened?!" Zoe, on the brink of panic, asked while shaking Elara's shoulder. The pain from Zoe's incredible strength gripping her shoulder snapped Elara back to reality, and she commented in disbelief and pain.

"How did you end up like this…? No… Why did you push yourself to this extreme…? You've nearly completely destroyed your mana circulatory system, and your body is a wreck… Now I understand why you were taking so many healing potions… The potions are only delaying the total decay of your body… They can't heal you…"

Upon hearing Elara, Zoe, Tomás, and the others present widened their eyes in disbelief and looked at Erik with expressions that screamed they weren't willing to believe what they heard. At that moment, Erik spoke between deep breaths while conjuring runes around himself, which began to emit a greenish light.

"It's not that bad… I can still use magic."

"Even in something like this, you're a monster… A normal person would have died long ago…"

Elara commented as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, while the others felt a deep emptiness in their stomachs, a lump forming in their throats. For his part, Erik took another healing potion, then sat up straight on Kaiser and began petting the saddened wolves with his hands, commenting in a calmer, more regular voice.

"I'm a bit injured; it's not a big deal. Actually, I have a solution, and I have an idea to get it." Erik turned to look at Tomás, who gazed at him with an expression full of solemnity, respect, and gratitude, and commented with a small smile.

"And I'll need your help for it, Tomás, so I hope we can come to a good agreement."

***

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[lordanl]

"Count on me for whatever you need; no need for deals or anything like that. I owe you my life. Whatever it is, I'm at your service. We will give you the inventory of what we have. From now on, we're completely at your disposal."

Without even thinking twice, Tomás spoke in a serious tone, then glanced at his companions, who quickly nodded with expressions full of sincerity. At that moment, Chen announced with a voice brimming with gravity.

"You already know you've got us 100%. Whatever you need to do, just give me a task, and I'll complete it with everything I've got."

"Boss, just tell me what to do! I'm ready!"

Frank quickly declared with firmness, raising his staff into the air. The other mages nodded with equal seriousness, and even Christine, who had been in shock until now and had practically done nothing, struggled to her feet and nodded, her face streaked with tears.

"Does that mean you're naming me the leader?" Erik asked in a calm tone after drinking another healing potion. Tomás nodded and replied with a serious, almost solemn tone.

"What you've done is something I could never do. If it weren't for you and all the sacrifices you made, we'd all be dead right now. No one but you can be the leader, Erik. We can all trust you with our lives without fear."

Hearing Tomás, Erik turned to look at everyone present, including Hiyori, who simply ignored him. But everyone else, except the spirit, nodded confidently, leading Erik to reflect deeply. After a few seconds, Erik began to speak in a calm tone after taking another healing potion.

"Alright then, first we need to focus on preparing. Even though we've confirmed the formations work, we're still far from safe. If we really want to live, our only option is to escape this ruin, and for that, we need to find a portal as soon as possible.

"I'm hopeful that what the hologram said about 'evacuation portals' means the exits have been activated ahead of time. Therefore, we need to reach the portal I saw earlier at the far end of this place, and that will require organized cooperation, as well as, of course, enough resources."

"I'm on the same page, but before anything else, let's focus on your recovery, Erik. At the rate you're downing healing potions, they won't last long." Elara commented with a worried expression as she offered her own healing potions to Erik. Tomás quickly nodded and added in a serious tone.

"I agree. Besides being our leader, you're the most valuable asset we have right now and our only hope for survival. We can't afford to lose you. So, what did you need from me? I'll cooperate with everything I can."

"Well, about that… Do you remember what you mentioned about destroying storage pouches to get what's inside without damaging it? I need to do that with a ring." Erik said in a calm tone while taking half of the healing potions Elara offered. Tomás's eyes widened slightly with realization, but soon his smile turned a bit bitter as he explained.

"So that's what you meant when you said you had a way… But unfortunately, destroying a ring without affecting its inner space is a challenge on a whole different level. It's not something I can do right now, or I'd have already opened my own rings. Not to mention, it's possible the inner space of the ring could have collapsed after they stopped functioning."

"For now, explain roughly how you manage to 'open' the storage pouches. If my suspicions are correct, the inner space of our rings might still be intact." Erik said, a hand on his chin, deep in thought. Though a bit surprised by Erik's words, Tomás quickly nodded and explained.

"I see… and honestly, it's not especially complex. It's just a combination of speed, precision, and my father's sword technique, developed based on his perfect synergy, [Resonance]."

"Resonance?" Erik looked up, a bit puzzled by the name. Tomás nodded and explained calmly.

"That's the name my father gave to his perfect resonance and the technique he developed from it—a combination of light and air elements that allows the use of mana to perceive and alter the resonance frequency of anything. Of course, the sword technique is just an imitation, so it's far from showing the true potential of perfect synergy.

"Anyway, to 'open' storage pouches, I make a precise cut that interrupts the natural vibration of their inner space, destabilizing it and causing a controlled collapse that expels everything inside. Of course, the pouch itself can't withstand that collapse and ends up in pieces.

"But with rings, it's much more complicated. Not only because they don't have an 'opening' through which to expel the contents, but also because they're more complex, robust, and their natural frequency shifts and reorganizes automatically in response to any disturbance. Even my father, a Master-level, can barely force open Sage-level rings using this method. Anything beyond that would require a capable artificer."

"I see. Though the method is quite creative, the effects are more or less what I expected, so there's hope." Erik commented in a calm and reflective tone, which led Zoe to ask with equal parts surprise and curiosity.

"What do you have in mind?"

Erik took another recovery potion, then tucked the vial into his storage pouch and replied in a calm, thoughtful tone as he pulled a notebook from his pouch.

"It's more of a possibility than something concrete, but among the rings I have, there are a couple I made myself, so I know every aspect of them. Plus, from what I now know about the golden chains, it's highly likely our artifacts haven't been destroyed. Instead, they've had a crucial, shared component 'stolen' that's necessary for them to function.

"Therefore, for it to be something so general, it must be something isolated from the specific functionality of the artifacts. Something adaptable to any type of magical artifact, but at the same time crucial. If we combine that with the fact that storage pouches work, hunters' weapons work, and other 'simple artifacts' function without issue, that leaves us with a very likely candidate…"

"The Wisdom Runes…"

Christine murmured as if it were a sigh, looking quite weak and tired to the point of using her staff to stay upright, but her shining eyes were focused on the starry-haired young man. Erik nodded and replied with a satisfied smile.

"Exactly. My hypothesis is that the chains 'attack' the fundamental principle shared by all 'intelligent artifacts'—the interconnection between artificial neurons. After all, to a greater or lesser extent, every artifact we brought uses some kind of 'Wisdom Rune.' So there's a chance that, in the case of the rings, the inner space remains intact, just inaccessible.

"So, my plan is to use a refinement circle to open a hole in the inner space of the rings I created myself, since I know all their details and weaknesses. But most likely, that will cause the total collapse of the ring's inner space, destroying everything inside."

"That's why you wanted to know how I handle the pouches… You want to use that 'hole' to pull out as much as you can before the ring collapses." Tomás commented with an expression of realization. Erik nodded and replied while hurriedly writing in his notebook.

"That's the idea."

"But even if the 'hole' you mention helps, the inner space of a storage ring is quite robust. It'll be hard to affect it with my sword technique." Tomás said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. Erik nodded calmly, then revealed what he was writing in his notebook as he spoke in a steady tone.

"That's where this comes in. If my ideas about how the black fire I can somehow create are correct, then it'll be the key to opening the storage ring."

Looking at the notebook, Elara could see a dense array of calculations and formulas written across the pages, leading her to reflect for a moment before commenting with visible disbelief.

"You want to use the black fire to weaken the ring's structure…?"

"Yes, I don't know if it'll work, but it's better than nothing. In one of the storage rings, there's a portable shelter I made myself. Though it's far from the best, I built it with a modular structure using as few Wisdom Runes as possible. So, if my hypotheses are correct, even if the golden chains attack it, its basic functions should still operate." Erik paused briefly, shifting his gaze between each of the direct disciples present, then added in a more serious tone.

"In that shelter, there are resources I used for my experiments, experimental artifacts, cauldrons, and more. But most importantly, there are several potions and magical artifacts I was studying, including several potions created by my master, Sigrún Eldurdóttir, and even formation flags my other master, Eleonora Silverwood, personally crafted to enhance the shelter's camouflage functions."

"!!!"

Hearing Erik's words, all the young people present couldn't help but widen their eyes in disbelief, now feeling more deeply than ever the weight of the starry-haired young man's masters. Not only were they the youngest Master-level individuals in history, but they were also artisans recognized across the galaxy as the best in their respective fields, as well as Auric Laureates.

Being awarded the most prestigious and respected prize in the galaxy, given only to those responsible for notable research, discoveries, or contributions to humanity, could only mean one thing. Anything coming from them, no matter how simple, was the best of the best—a divine resource. In their current situation, anything from the hands of those two women was an incredibly valuable turning point that could completely change their hopes of survival.

"No matter what, we must get that portable shelter." Elara declared in a solemn tone. Zoe nodded and added in a similar tone.

"Though I have no knowledge of artificing, I'm fast. I can try to go retrieve the boxes we left behind with teleportation if anything's missing."

"I'll go with you. Going alone with those golems is suicide." Tomás looked at Zoe and commented seriously. Ethan, from the back, added with equal seriousness.

"Though my illusions can't hide us from the golems, they can confuse them pretty well, so count me in."

"Though I'm not good at fighting or stealth, I can help create makeshift formations to support and cover the entire process of opening the ring." Chen soon added in an equally serious tone, closely followed by Christine, who spoke while trying to stand straight.

"Though I may not be at your level, I still have some knowledge of artificing. I'll be your assistant, Erik."

"Relax, I don't need anyone to go retrieve the boxes. Though Chen's and Disciple Taylor's proposals are exactly what I need." Erik commented after taking another recovery potion, then looked at Ethan and added.

"As for Ethan, do you know any formation that can heal me continuously? I need to reduce the number of potions I'm consuming at all costs, or I won't last a day at this rate."

"I've got something, but it's not that effective." Ethan said after thinking for a few seconds. Erik nodded and replied calmly.

"Doesn't matter. Even if it only helps me save a few potions, it'll buy me valuable time." Erik looked at the others and then commented in a calm tone.

"The rest of you, for now, I need you to focus on recovering and keeping watch over the area. We have to be ready to run at any moment."

"Erik, let us mages help you with healing spells." Elara said in a serious tone, but Erik shook his head and replied.

"No, if you spend your mana healing me and something unexpected happens, you won't be able to fight properly. The risk is too high now that I can barely cast spells myself."

"…At least let me do it. If you keep taking so many potions, you'll end up poisoning yourself and making things worse…"

After biting her lower lip hard, Elara looked at Erik and spoke with a voice full of concern and reluctance. Erik glanced at Elara, at which point Zoe, who was close to her, looked at him with an equally worried but more pleading expression, as if silently begging him to accept. Erik let out a small sigh and replied.

"Alright, then I'll trust you, Elara. Coordinate with Ethan so your spells don't interfere with the formation."

"Leave it to me!" Elara said with determination, ready to fulfill her task at any cost, then walked toward Ethan to start discussing seriously. For his part, Erik looked at the others and commented with gravity.

"Then let's get to work. Time is of the essence."

***

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[lordanl]

"You're truly impressive to come up with this in such a short time."

As she drew a refinement circle on a wooden board, following Erik's instructions and calculations from the notebook, Christine couldn't help but comment with a voice full of admiration. Erik, who was seated a few meters away on Myst's platform amidst a formation of mana crystals, with Elara standing behind him casting healing spells, responded in a calm tone.

"Actually, it was an idea that had been forming in my head for a while. It's just that the current circumstances forced me to rush and improvise a bit."

"It's still impressive. Developing something like this would take an expert several years at least…" Christine replied softly, at which point Elara chimed in with a voice full of admiration.

"Besides, it opens a path for us. If this works, opening our storage rings wouldn't just be a dream."

"That would be difficult." Erik replied while making calculations in a notebook. "I have some confidence in opening my rings because I made them myself with relatively common materials, so at best, they're Illuminated-level artifacts. But I highly doubt anyone here has something like that."

"Boss… Actually, I do have an Illuminated-level ring." At that moment, Frank, who had been sitting in a lotus position recovering, opened his eyes and commented while looking at Erik. Soon, Dalai Lin added with a serious tone.

"Me too. Though I only store some basic pills and low-value items in it, they'd be immensely valuable here."

Erik turned to look at the other young members of his group, noticing two of the youths accompanying Tomás, members of the Bikerea, nodding as they each removed a ring from their fingers. After thinking for a few seconds, Erik commented calmly.

"Perfect, then we'll do the following. Since I didn't make those rings, which increases the difficulty by several levels, we'll first test with my second ring, which has things I can afford to lose. If it doesn't work, we'll try with your rings to avoid risking the portable shelter. Do you agree?"

"Absolutely." Frank nodded with a serious tone, and the others followed suit with equal seriousness. Erik nodded back, then looked at Chen and Ethan, speaking calmly as he handed them the notebook he was writing in.

"Then, Chen and Ethan, I want you to review these rough calculations for the spells I plan to use to harness the black fire. Considering the resources we currently have, I want you to study ways to avoid drawing attention."

"Leave it to us." Ethan quickly took the notebook and replied in a serious tone, then began discussing it with Chen with a focused expression. Meanwhile, Erik took a healing potion, then looked up and commented calmly.

"Elara, check the calculations with Ethan and Chen and help me refine the 'rough edges.'"

Elara, who had her hands extended toward Erik's back with a magic circle in front of her, bit her lower lip hard but soon nodded seriously. Turning to the other sacred geometry mages in the group, she ordered in a firm tone.

"Those who've recovered enough will act as my support. The Sacred Geometry practitioners will review the calculations and take notes to ask me about. Meanwhile, those who can cast healing spells will take turns with me."

""Understood.""

The mages, including Frank, responded in unison, at which point Erik turned to Zoe and spoke seriously.

"Zoe, I'll leave you in charge of making a full inventory of what we have and organizing the entire camp."

"Leave it to me." Zoe soon nodded and turned to the knights in the group, then ordered with a serious tone.

"Knights, follow me. Half of you will help me with the inventory, and the other half will set up support points to keep us elevated without relying on Erik's Myst platforms."

"Understood." The knights nodded seriously, at which point Erik looked at Tomás and commented calmly.

"Tomás, I want you to give me some data on how the controlled collapse of the inner space in storage bags works. We need to reduce the probability of failure to the absolute minimum."

"Count on it. Give me a pencil and paper, and I'll write down everything related to save time." Tomás replied seriously. Erik nodded in satisfaction and quickly reached into his storage bag, pulling out a notebook, a pencil, and a healing potion.

"Perfect."

Meanwhile, Christine continued drawing the refinement circle and polishing some minor details, but her gaze inevitably wandered toward Erik. Though the young man looked pale and sickly, with his dull hair and the pattern of stars and galaxies almost faded, to the beautiful blue-haired woman, he exuded an almost intoxicating charm.

Erik, though on the brink of death, sat with his back straight and a calm expression as he wrote in his notebook and gave orders in a steady tone, like an experienced leader. In Christine's eyes, it was as if, with him in command, everyone was safe, everything was stable, and any problem had a solution. This gave her a sense of security she never expected to feel in the middle of this hell.

But as Christine reflected, she suddenly noticed a change. The strange song echoing in the distance, which Tomás had categorized as a lullaby, began to fade. Surprised, Christine quickly set the chalk aside and grabbed her staff, turning to look at Erik once more.

Beside Erik, Zoe and Tomás were already on full alert along with the wolves, while Elara and the mages formed a circle around Erik, holding their staffs high, ready to conjure barriers at any moment. Meanwhile, Erik himself remained seated with a calm expression as he drank a healing potion and surveyed the surroundings.

As she took her place among the mages, with the other knights positioning themselves in front of them for protection, Christine noticed the light on the walls beginning to dim. At the same time, through Myst's crystalline platform below, Christine could see the golems pause for a moment before starting to move again, their motions slower and more rigid.

"This might not be good news…" Shifting his gaze between the golems and the walls, Erik commented in a thoughtful tone. Elara soon added in a similar tone, looking directly at Erik.

"Do you think this change will affect the exit portals?"

"I imagine it will. According to the hologram's message, the ruin suffered catastrophic damage, which triggered an evacuation mechanism left by the creators of this place. So, it's logical to think it could fail, especially considering how ancient this place is."

"That makes sense… So, are we trapped now…?" Zoe commented in a soft voice, to which Erik replied after a small sigh.

"Hard to say. Maybe yes, maybe no. We won't know until we reach an exit."

"Speaking of which, something's been bothering me… Why did the hologram mention small children and play a lullaby? Could this place have been designed for children in ancient times…? Is that why there's an age limit? But that doesn't make sense.

"Someone who's 300 years old, though young, is far from a child, and I'd sooner lose an arm than believe those hunters are under 300. Plus, why is there a basilisk here…?"

Tomás spoke, full of intrigue, as his gaze wandered over the golems and the corridor, alert to any changes. Erik, also keeping his eyes on the golems, responded in a calm voice.

"I don't see why not. On the planet where I was born, someone at 30 was considered middle-aged, and lifting 300 kilograms would be a titanic, almost impossible task for them. Meanwhile, at the university, it's not uncommon for people to call me a baby for being 'only 30 years old,' not to mention that 300 kg is something any random 30-year-old can lift with one hand. The concept of maturity and strength varies greatly depending on culture and life expectancy.

"Therefore, if we consider that these ancient ruins come from a civilization so powerful that even our Legend levels are helpless against their creations, it's only logical to think that for such a civilization, someone 300 or even 1,000 years old could be considered a child, and a terrifying basilisk might be little more than a somewhat troublesome pet. Not to mention, that thing could have grown and strengthened over time."

Upon hearing Erik, everyone except Elara and Zoe turned to look at him in surprise, at which point Tomás couldn't help but ask, full of astonishment.

"You were born in such a backward place?"

"Yes, what I am today is entirely thanks to my masters." Erik replied with a smile, eliciting a strange feeling in all the listeners. But wanting to get back to the important matter, Elara quickly commented in a serious voice.

"Back to the topic, there's something that doesn't add up to me—the golems. Despite how mysterious this place is and how evidently advanced and powerful, the golems are too weak. Even though the hologram called them 'logistical units,' their strength is around the Illuminated level. Not at all what you'd expect from a place like this."

"They're certainly not strong, but from what we've seen so far, they can be generated in absurd quantities from the walls. If, for example, we say this place can produce an infinite number of Illuminated-level golems, would you still think the same? Besides, no one says the golems were originally this 'weak.' Time could have affected them, or this place might have more intricate restrictions that we don't know about."

"That's true…" Elara nodded with a serious expression, at which point Zoe asked in a firm tone.

"So, what do we do now? Do we move, or what?"

Erik silently watched the golems for a few seconds, pondering his options, but before he could say anything, Christine spoke in a serious tone.

"The best thing is to stay here. The formations have proven effective, and this might just be a temporary pause. Right now, our priority should be opening the ring and healing Erik. Without him, even if no more golems come out of the walls, we have practically no hope of reaching the bottom of this damned place alive, and getting out of here is suicide with the basilisk roaming around."

"Though I don't like agreeing with her, I'm on board. We already have a 'map' of this place thanks to Erik, so there's not much need to explore. There's not much we can gain." Elara soon added, looking at Christine with a bit of distaste. For his part, Erik looked up and commented in a calm voice.

"I agree with your opinions. We don't know if this is a temporary pause or something permanent, or if it's the prelude to something else. Therefore, let's wait and see what happens. This way, we can recover and use the time to open the ring. So, let's get back to work, but knights, stay alert to any changes."

""Understood!"" The knights of the team responded in unison, at which point the wolves, detecting no danger, shrank back down to lie carefully beside Erik's legs.

"Let's get back to work."

Tomás nodded seriously, and soon everyone returned to their tasks while keeping an eye on the golems below. The golems walked slowly through the corridor, almost as if patrolling, while the walls, despite still having many glowing golden runes, once again revealed their shiny black color.

For his part, Erik took his notebook and resumed his calculations, though internally, he couldn't help but let out a small sigh as he studied the Myst around him. Since his body had reached the pitiful state it was in, his senses had dulled, and his connection to the Myst felt distant, almost blocked by a wall.

This caused the Myst he could control to be limited to just one or two meters around him, while the maximum range of his Mystic Awareness had shrunk to nearly a third. Added to the fact that more than half of his mana circulatory system was in tatters and he could barely control his mana effectively to cast spells. It made him feel like the blind, deaf, and mute monkey all at once.

But though he felt tired, dizzy, and alone without Ebonique's company, Erik still took a deep breath and focused entirely on his task. While he wasn't particularly afraid of the almost imminent death, he still wanted to continue living his joyful life with his beautiful masters and his mischievous maid. Therefore, he had to make the utmost effort to escape alive and receive the scolding he was sure they'd give him upon his return.

After all, he was fully aware that Ebonique was right—his actions were foolish and practically suicidal, and they didn't even bring him any real benefit. The worst part was that he didn't even do it because he was a good person or considered himself a hero. He simply lived the way he had been raised, as that was the only way he could feel that his grandparents were still a part of his life.

The sacrifices that old couple made to raise a random orphan who took nearly half of his life to understand what empathy was were not few. As long as he lived, no matter the situation or circumstances, he would never allow them to be forgotten.

Even if he were the last living being in existence, he would continue remembering, valuing, thanking, and respecting the only two people who had the heart to dedicate their lives to teaching him through example. What love, compassion, and family were.

***

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[lordanl]

While writing completely focused on his notebook, Erik occasionally took healing potions and glanced at the others before returning to his work. But as he turned to the next page, an action he had repeated at least dozens of times in that short period, Erik didn't continue writing. Instead, he let the tip of his pencil rest on the blank sheet as he began to reflect.

Although there were many things bothering him that he wanted to think about more deeply, his physical condition, mental state, and current context hadn't allowed him to—until now.

As he reached the fine-tuning of the spell he intended to use to harness the black fire, Erik inevitably had to start reflecting deeply on the basic principles of the strange phenomenon. Since he needed to adjust them to control its power. After all, he couldn't just create an explosion like usual to weaken the ring, as it would either destroy it or disrupt the formation.

The problem was that he was a bit lost on the matter. For starters, he had been honest with the others—this black fire was something he had never seen before. Yet, although it seemed at first glance to be a product of chance, somehow he was now able to reproduce it with relative ease. It was almost as if the black fire were the natural result of colliding a charged sphere of darkness, achieved through Elemental Synchronization with Tiberius, with an ordinary fireball.

Something had changed, and since his spells were the same ones he had used hundreds of thousands of times and experimented with exhaustively, the most likely explanation was that the change was in the environment. Following that line of thought, Erik had two candidates for the possible reason behind the formation of the black fire. One, the 'conditions' of the space within the ruin somehow facilitated the formation of the black fire, or two, the infamous 'aura' that Ebonique often mentioned was the culprit.

But the second candidate was shaky. Even if he assumed Ebonique was still hiding things from him or had outright lied, her surprise upon seeing the black fire seemed genuine. From what he knew of her, if the 'aura' were real and the black fire were a product of it, the dragoness would likely have mentioned it and 'casually' clarified that she could do something better without effort. That was the kind of person she was.

This left only the first candidate as the likely reason, but the problem was that this option raised more questions than answers. For starters, what exactly made the interior of the ruin different? There were many possible answers—after all, they were in a pocket dimension. If he could manipulate the laws of physics to some degree in a pocket dimension, like a storage ring, the creators of this strange place must have been capable of achieving things he couldn't even dare to imagine.

It could have been a very specific change or a combination of changes that unexpectedly created the perfect conditions for the birth of the black fire. The point was, it could be anything—so many possibilities that he could spend decades or centuries researching and still not find the specific reason behind it.

(Studying the environment is pointless… It's much more efficient to determine the minimum necessary to produce the black fire through trial and error… But that would be far too dangerous with the golems practically breathing down our necks…)

Erik let out a small sigh as he unconsciously tapped the page with his pencil, leaving several dots on it, which he noticed and led him to an idea.

(What if the environment isn't the variable, but I am…? If I think about it from that perspective, two things changed with me before the black fire appeared for the first time. I advanced to the Virtuous rank, just one step away from Peak rank, and my bio-mystic technique underwent major modifications… Could it be that something changed with my mana? Ebonique already said it was something special, so it's possible…)

After shifting his train of thought, Erik quickly organized a basic action plan in his mind. Then he looked at Ethan and Chen, who were seriously discussing formations while reviewing the basic inventory Zoe had given them, before speaking in a calm but firm voice.

"Ethan, Chen. I want to conduct a couple of experiments with spells, but I have a hypothesis that the golems can detect us with something similar to Mystic Awareness, so the movement of Myst might draw their attention. Do you have a way to prevent that? I absolutely need to use Mystic Confluence and Elemental Synchronization."

"If the movement isn't too significant, the current formations should be able to conceal it well enough, but to be on the safe side, we could set up some makeshift formations for a double layer of security." Chen quickly replied in a serious tone. Ethan, holding the sheets with the preliminary inventory in his hands, added gravely.

"With what we have, we should be able to create a decent enough set."

"I'll leave it to you." Erik commented calmly, to which Ethan and Chen quickly nodded before standing up to gather materials.

"You want to experiment with the black fire?" Elara, who was gathered with other mages discussing calculations, asked while looking at Erik, who nodded and explained.

"Yes, up until now I've limited myself to replicating what I did the first time to produce the black fire, but if I want to use it to weaken the ring in a controlled manner, I need to gain some control over it."

"You can't modify spells midway, can you? How are you going to do it?" Zoe, recalling Erik's explanation when they first entered the ruin, asked with slight concern. Erik began writing in his notebook as he explained.

"The key is in 'midway.' Due to my issues with converting neutral mana into elemental mana, it's really difficult for me to manipulate a spell once it's cast, so I just have to modify it beforehand. That's why I need several tests to make fine adjustments and prepare different versions of my spells."

"That's a pretty significant limitation for a mage…" Christine, not far away, commented in a soft voice that hid her emotions, making it hard to discern her true opinion.

"A little, but it's manageable once you get used to it. You just have to anticipate your opponent's reactions a bit to cast the spell. It's like playing chess, but easier since you don't have to wait for your opponent to make their move, and you can easily 'suffocate' them with spells. Besides, my Myst constructs can be controlled at will, and since they're comparable to light-based ones in both strength and versatility, I'm really not at a disadvantage."

Hearing Erik, Christine couldn't help but subtly purse her lips, earning a mocking smile from Elara, who quickly joined Erik to start helping him with the calculations for the experiments. Meanwhile, Christine dedicated herself to helping Ethan and Chen prepare the materials for the formations, while Erik began reading the notes Tomás had given him.

After a while, Ethan and Chen finally created a joint formation capable of largely concealing the movement of Myst and the consequences of the spells. However, due to the limited time, lack of space, and the already established formations, the area covered by the new formations was barely 3 square meters.

"It's a bit small, but it should do the job. Just avoid creating an explosion as big as the previous ones—the formation won't be able to handle it," Chen commented calmly in front of the formation. Erik nodded and stepped forward with Elara while saying.

"Don't worry, the idea is to identify the minimum necessary to create the black fire. If I have to create an explosion like that to use the black fire, it's better not to use it at all and look for other alternatives."

Chen quickly nodded, and the moment Elara and Erik stood in the middle of the triangular space created by several mana crystals and other materials, he performed several hand signs. Meanwhile, Ethan activated a kind of fractal triangle composed of runes floating in front of him, which ultimately caused a thick vapor to rise, forming vapor walls that shaped a triangle. At that moment, several chains made of fire surrounded the 'vapor walls.'

From outside, everyone watched Erik take a healing potion while Elara cast a healing spell with a serious expression. But due to the vapor walls, they appeared somewhat blurry and illusory, as if they were a mirage. At that moment, Chen turned to look at Ethan and nodded with a serious expression, and Ethan returned the gesture.

"Everything went well… I hope they pull it off; I'm really starting to lose hope and morale about getting out of here alive."

Ethan commented while looking at the golems slowly walking in the hallway as the runes in front of him disappeared. Chen lowered his hands, took a deep breath, then looked at Erik inside the formations and said.

"If there's anyone who can get us out of this hell, it's Erik. I've never seen someone so absurdly talented in my life. I'm sure he'll create a miracle. But even if that miracle doesn't come, I'll still fight to the end. No matter what happens, I won't go down without a fight."

"You've got guts, truly worthy of being a friend to someone like Erik." Tomás commented from afar in a calm tone. Chen nodded with a smile, then got to work with Ethan.

…

Inside the formations, Erik took a healing potion as he felt his perception of Mystic Awareness become somewhat blurry and inaccurate, though still manageable. At the same time, all sound from outside disappeared, allowing him to gauge the effectiveness of the formations. Quickly, Erik focused on mobilizing the Myst as best he could, which let him make calculations on how to conduct the next experiments. At that moment, Elara, behind Erik, spoke in a calm voice.

"I'll be taking notes on the results and healing you. So you can focus entirely on the experiments."

"Thanks."

Erik replied calmly, then sat on the ground with Kaiser and Tiberius on his shoulders. At that moment, he conjured two small sets of runes around each of his hands. Simultaneously, Tiberius began releasing a faint dark mist, and Kaiser jumped down and increased in size, ready to grab his contractor and run if anything went wrong.

The runes quickly converted Erik's pure mana into a pale orange flame in his left hand and a small sphere of darkness in his right. After a few seconds, Erik created a small Myst barrier, into which he dropped the sphere and the flame. The barrier soon closed, and inside it, a furious explosion occurred that cracked the barrier and soon caused it to collapse.

As the barrier vanished, Erik could see a couple of small black fire sparks that shimmered for a moment like dark fireflies before disappearing into nothingness. Elara quickly began taking notes on the results while Erik drank a new healing potion, after which he created two new sets of runes over his hands.

Repeating the same process, Erik dropped the flame and the sphere of darkness into the barrier, but this time he didn't use Elemental Synchronization with Tiberius. As expected, the barrier, though cracked similarly, wasn't destroyed and soon began to recover as Erik looked inside. This time, Erik couldn't see even a hint of black fire within the barrier.

After nodding, Erik repeated the process several more times, wanting to confirm the results while Elara took notes and made some calculations, obtaining exactly the same results. From what he could tell, Elemental Synchronization was indeed a fundamental part of the black fire, but at the same time, everything seemed to suggest that much more mana was needed for the black fire not to disappear almost instantly.

"Let's move to the second phase of experiments." Erik said in a focused tone after taking a healing potion and being healed by Elara, to which she quickly nodded.

With great attention to detail, Erik began using different amounts of mana, runes, magic circles, and even runic circles to collide fire and darkness while Elara wrote everything down without missing a single detail. After a while, Elara noticed large beads of sweat forming on Erik's forehead, so she quickly approached him and wiped his forehead with a small piece of cloth she pulled from the pouch at her waist while speaking.

"Let's take a break, Erik. You're not in any condition to overexert yourself."

"…Let's take a 15-minute break and then continue."

Erik said, after looking at Elara and letting out a small sigh in a calm voice. Elara quickly nodded and cast a light-based healing spell she had learned from Liliana. Though she lacked the affinity, and it cost her twice as much to cast, the effectiveness of light for healing made it worth using over anything else.

"Meditate a bit to stabilize yourself; I'll keep healing you." Elara said seriously, to which Erik nodded before closing his eyes. But just at that moment, he began to feel movement outside the formations, so he quickly opened his eyes.

Outside the barrier, Zoe and Tomás were already on guard while the mages retreated with their staves raised. At that moment, Chen extended his index finger, on which a small message made of fire formed.

{The lullaby returned.}

***

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[lordanl]

{The lullaby returned.}

Erik nodded and quickly turned to grab his machetes while glancing at the walls, which began to slowly light up. At the same time, Elara stood in the midst of the wolves, who had grown to protect Erik, gripping her staff tightly, her nerves on edge.

The team's defensive formation remained unshaken for nearly 15 minutes, during which they watched the golems regain the agility and speed they had shown earlier. They even saw a couple of them emerge from the walls again. But fortunately, during that entire time, none of the golems so much as turned to look in their direction, confirming once more that the formations were indeed keeping them hidden.

"Did you take note of how long the 'pause' lasted?" Erik asked, looking at Elara beside him, who nodded with a serious expression.

"Nearly two hours."

[Please, 'little ones,' follow the logistic units to the evacuation portal...]

Right at that moment, Erik could hear, almost as if someone were whispering in his ear, a summarized version of what the hologram had said earlier. It startled him a little and made him look at the golems with solemnity. Elara also turned to glance at the golems with a tension-filled expression. The fact that the sound had reached them could only mean their formations had been breached, which meant it was possible the golems could detect them.

At the same time, Elara, mimicking Chen, quickly raised her finger and created a fire message in the air to explain what had happened to Zoe, who was looking at them with questions written all over her face. Full of tension, the group fell into complete silence, their eyes fixed on the golems. Luckily, after 5 minutes, none of them had looked in their direction, allowing the group to let out a sigh of relief.

"The message pierced through the formations as if they were nothing, but the golems, who seem to be controlled by a unified command system, are unable to detect us… Could it be that this place is built with a modular structure, and each module is completely independent from the others? Or maybe over time, certain parts of its functionality have been compromised…? Or perhaps it's running out of energy and redirecting it to the most critical areas, sacrificing other functions…?"

Within the formations, Erik spoke in a thoughtful tone while reaching into his storage pouch to grab a potion. Elara loosened her grip on her staff and let out a small sigh, then looked at Erik and cast a healing spell on him while commenting in a voice filled with relief.

"Whatever the reason, the fact that this place has these flaws is good for us. It gives us a chance to survive."

"Indeed, though from now on, we need to keep precise track of the activation and pause times. It'll be vital to reaching the portal." Erik nodded and ordered in a calm voice, to which Elara quickly nodded back and replied seriously.

"I'll leave that to those outside. For now, focus on recovering. We're one step away from you producing black fire stably. That's more important than anything else right now."

"Then I'll leave it in your hands."

Erik nodded and leaned back with his eyes closed on Kaiser, who had positioned himself to be used as a pillow. Meanwhile, Elara showed a beautiful smile as she looked at Erik and soon wrote orders in the air using fire for the mages outside.

…

…

…

After several cycles of experiments and rests, during which the music played for a while before turning off again, Elara ended up with a notebook almost entirely filled with data. While Elara compiled and organized the experimental data, she cast a healing spell on Erik, who rested on Kaiser, looking slightly paler than before.

With an expression full of guilt for causing the star-haired youth, someone less than half her age, to reach such a state, Elara created a message in the air with fire, asking Ethan and Chen to dismantle the formations. Soon, the formations disappeared, and at that moment, Elara whispered softly to Frank, who approached along with the others, all wearing concerned expressions.

"Frank, gently move Erik to the healing formation."

Frank nodded seriously and soon began manipulating the air to try to lift Erik gently. But right at that moment, the star-haired youth snapped his eyes open. With a cold expression, Erik grabbed the handle of his machete and looked around as the wolves began to growl menacingly.

"Sorry for interrupting your rest, boss. I was trying to move you to the healing formation." Frank quickly explained with a serious tone, which led Erik to nod and release his machete. While patting the wolves' heads to calm them, Erik commented in a calm voice.

"I see. My apologies, my nerves got the better of me."

"No, no. It's my fault, Erik. In this situation, it's only natural to react to anything, and I'm the one who asked Frank to do it. Forgive me." Elara explained while giving a small bow of apology. Erik shook his head and stood up with Tiberius' help, then walked toward the healing formation while speaking.

"Thanks for worrying. I'll rest for a few minutes."

"Rest well. I'll compile this data and study it with the others. Though, let Frank create an insulating barrier around you to block out the noise…" Elara quickly replied, to which Erik nodded before lying down again on Kaiser, this time in the center of the healing formation.

"Alright."

…

After seeing Erik's breathing stabilize, with the wolves protectively surrounding him and eyeing everyone with suspicion, Elara turned to the others and commented in a voice full of admiration.

"Erik managed to find a way to produce black fire in a controlled manner and even schematize a spell for it. There are still details to polish, but it's almost a done deal that the plan can be executed."

"The refinement circle is also operating without many hiccups. After polishing some minor details, it'll be ready to move to the testing phase." Christine soon added while looking at the sleeping youth with deep eyes.

"His talent is truly enviable… It's a stroke of luck that he's on our side." Ethan commented in a soft voice, to which the others could only nod in agreement.

"Talent and character… If we make it out of here alive, it's only a matter of time before the name Erik Verne echoes through this galaxy and the nearby ones…"

Tomás commented in a calm voice, as if stating a fact, which once again made everyone present nod—except for Hiyori, who only let out a slight huff. Though it was evident to her that Erik was a monster among monsters, capable of shaming practically every 'genius' she had seen in her long life, she highly doubted the youth would actually make it out alive. Or live more than a couple of centuries. Talent means nothing in the face of absolute power. She had seen plenty of those 'geniuses' die due to their arrogance.

"But his condition is visibly worsening, and the healing potions are running out… We need to speed things up." Chen said with clenched fists, to which Zoe added a small cut on her lower lip from biting it so hard to contain her worry.

"I've been thinking of creating wooden supports so we stop relying on Myst's platforms, allowing him to rest completely."

"I propose the following: Christine can focus on the refinement circle with half of the mages. The other half and I will concentrate on polishing the black fire spell. Ethan and Chen will start deploying the formations to hide the ring's collapse, and the rest will work on creating the supports." Elara suggested.

"Paul, you're good at creating 'rock slime,' right?" Tomás turned to look at one of the Bikereas, a young man with short dark gray hair and brown eyes, who quickly nodded.

"Yes, boss. With the materials we have, I can make quite a bit."

"Perfect." Tomás nodded and looked at Zoe and Elara before adding.

"I highly doubt we can drill into these walls to secure the supports, so it's better to pull Paul from the mage group and put him in charge of rock slime production. Though he's not yet a certified alchemist, he's quite talented and has studied with his alchemy master for nearly 50 years. It'll just be a matter of 'gluing' ropes to the ceiling that will stay fixed. Meanwhile, I'll work with Christine to learn the intricate details of the refinement circle and adjust my cuts accordingly."

"Let's do it that way." Zoe soon nodded, and everyone headed to their respective tasks with serious and determined expressions.

…

Meanwhile, Erik, on the verge of falling asleep, couldn't help but reflect on the results of the experiments. Besides managing to produce black fire without relying on an explosion, he also tested other things like conjuring lightning using Elemental Synchronization through Kaiser and colliding it with other elements. He even tried colliding darkness and lightning, as well as different combinations, but nothing happened.

Though the clash of lightning and darkness did create tiny sparks of black lightning, they were more ephemeral than the black flames, barely perceptible for a millisecond before vanishing. This inevitably left Erik full of questions. Why did only fire and darkness work together? Why didn't the same happen with other combinations? Why couldn't he produce stable dark lightning? Among many others.

Since he had broken his contract with Ebonique, he could no longer use the dragoness's black lightning—a trump card against magical artifacts and unsuspecting mages. Therefore, it was crucial to understand this strange ability to apply it in combat as soon as possible. But no matter how much he tried, in the end, he only achieved basic control over the creation of black fire and a few fleeting sparks of dark lightning.

(The mysteries keep piling up endlessly… Couldn't you at least give me a hint? I know you have a will…)

As he brought a healing potion to his lips, Erik thought to himself while carefully sensing the Myst around him. But it didn't respond, as if the Myst he always interacted with and the one now were two different things. This only made Erik more aware of how much his connection with the Myst had been affected by his physical condition.

(Sounds like an interesting project to study how much the physical state affects a strong connection with the Myst… If the Myst has 'spirituality,' it's likely it has preferences, and in my current state, I don't meet them, which impacts the connection… It sounds plausible…)

Erik let out a small sigh and stored the empty clay vial in his storage pouch, at which point he could feel some 'wisps' of Myst moving toward him and transmitting a slight 'reproach.' Somehow, that slight reproach improved Erik's mood, and he couldn't help but show a subtle smile on his face while thinking to himself.

(So you're still there, though you seem much weaker than usual. Does my physical condition really affect you?)

After a few seconds, Erik felt the scarce Myst near his head transmit a contradictory message, as if saying yes and no at the same time. But this time, it was even weaker than before, barely perceptible to him. This led Erik to conclude that the next interaction would likely be the last, and his connection with it would be severely impacted. After all, he could feel his physical condition deteriorating.

(I want you to answer one question… Are you like Ebonique? A very powerful being communicating with me through the Myst? Because I've read countless books and haven't found even the slightest mention of an interaction with the Myst remotely close to what I've experienced with you.

(In every single one of those texts, the Myst is simply a mystical energy that permeates the entire universe and other known dimensions, subtly interacting with gravity, being a key ingredient of mana, and something mana users can connect with to enhance their spells and, in a way, affect reality.

(But to me, you're different. At times, you're practically a sentient being… Yes, in some way, you're like the stories I've read about the newly awakened artifact spirits of the Zazen Discipline. A thinking, rational being capable of communicating with its user in a primitive way…

(Could it be that you're some kind of artifact, or are you a living being like Ebonique…? No, I don't think you can answer something like that… I should probably phrase it as a yes or n—)

As Erik organized his thoughts, he suddenly felt the Myst communicate with him in a way similar to what he felt the first time he practiced Tai Chi movements. Though the 'information' it transmitted was weak and confusing, he somehow understood it as a kind of denial. In some way, the Myst was telling him it wasn't what he thought—it was something else.

But soon, the Myst stopped transmitting information and returned to being that strange energy in the form of tiny balls in space that he could somehow instinctively manipulate, leaving him with more questions than answers. After a few minutes of manipulating the Myst and trying to communicate with it to no avail, Erik let out a small sigh, took a new healing potion, and then opened his eyes, commenting in a calm voice.

"It's time to get back to work."

***

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[lordanl]

"Erik, you should rest a bit more." Seeing Erik open his eyes and shift slightly, Zoe, who always kept a watchful eye on him, quickly commented with a concerned tone.

"I can't rest any longer; I'm running out of time." Erik replied in a serious tone before downing a healing potion. Those words caused everyone's expressions to turn solemn, and at that moment, Elara spoke gravely.

"The calculations are more or less ready. But it's still hard to know if the spell will work as expected."

"It's a very simple spell; there shouldn't be many issues." Erik responded calmly as he sent a thin, solidified arm of Myst toward Elara to take the papers she was holding. Ethan added with a serious tone.

"We're ready too. We can deploy the formations at any moment."

"Perfect. How's the refinement circle coming along?" Erik asked as he began to flip through the calculations, to which Christine replied earnestly.

"It activates correctly, and in the basic tests I conducted, it shows no apparent flaws."

"Perfect." Erik nodded and turned to look at Tomás. "How confident are you in controlling the collapse of the ring?"

"50% at best. I've gone over all the calculations and assumptions, but in the end, it'll all come down to luck." Tomás replied after a small sigh, to which Erik nodded and, without taking his eyes off the calculations, spoke.

"Elara, I'm going to design the magic circle, and I want you to draw it with chalk on a wooden board. Meanwhile, I need two mages to prepare healing spells for me. I'll need every ounce of my mana and focus for this, so it's possible my body won't hold up."

"Understood!!" Elara and the mages announced in unison with solemn expressions, at which point Erik, still looking at the papers, continued.

"Zoe, I need you to lead two more knights and escort us outside the formations. Pick fast people—in case of an emergency, they need to carry the mages and flee back here."

Upon hearing Erik, everyone's eyes widened in surprise, and Zoe quickly retorted with a hint of panic in her voice.

"It's too risky for you to go out in your condition, Erik!"

"Yes, but it's riskier to test the spells and open the ring here. This place is the only thing we have to survive out here; we can't afford to risk it." Erik replied in a calm voice, leaving everyone speechless, their fists clenched in indecision. After a few seconds, Tomás spoke seriously.

"…Open the ring here, Erik. While it's true that without this place we'd die, without your black flames, advancing through these golem-filled corridors is impossible for us, which is also a guaranteed death sentence. In the end, any scenario leads to death, and you're already out of time, so let's not waste any more and open that ring as soon as possible."

"We're in this together, Erik. Either we succeed, or we die trying together." Chen added in a serious voice, prompting Erik to look at the others, focusing briefly on their determined, resolute expressions. After a few seconds, Erik nodded and spoke calmly.

"…Well, you've got a point. If this fails, I'm a dead man. Dying here or a few meters away doesn't make much difference."

"We're not going to die. You're Erik Verne, the most talented man in human history, surpassing even Master Eldurdóttir. If anyone can do it, it's you!" Christine cast aside her usual seductive demeanor and spoke with an incredibly serious tone, yet filled with a strange confidence. Elara nodded and added, avoiding looking at Christine.

"It's really annoying to agree with her, but she's right. Let's go all in—we're going to make this happen!"

"…Then let's get to work. Though I do need you to prepare materials to deploy concealment formations in case this fails." Erik replied with a slightly forced smile that, for some reason, made Zoe, Christine, and Elara smile as well, while filling the others with confidence.

"Leave it to us!" Chen quickly responded with enthusiasm as Ethan nodded.

…

With completely focused expressions, each person began carrying out their respective tasks, and soon everything was ready. At that moment, Chen and Ethan activated the formations. Looking even paler and more haggard, Erik walked with difficulty toward the formations, actively supported by Elara and Zoe. Meanwhile, Christine sat in front of the wooden board with the complex refinement circle drawn on it, and the others took their positions.

"The method will be as follows: first, I'll activate the spell to create the black fire and weaken the ring's structure. Then, we'll activate the refinement circle, and simultaneously, Tomás will attempt to control the collapse of the ring's inner space. Any questions?"

As he sat in front of a second wooden board with the spell Elara had drawn, Erik spoke in a slow, hoarse voice. Everyone else, already within the formations, nodded with serious expressions, so Erik nodded back, took a potion, and ordered in a rough voice.

"Let's begin."

With his green eyes fully focused on the relatively simple magic circle drawn on the wooden board, Erik placed his hands on it and activated his mana while Tiberius, at his shoulder, began to release dark mist. Under the expectant and solemn gazes of everyone, the magic circle glowed faintly, and soon two wisps of fire and darkness appeared floating in the center.

Not long after, the wisps elongated like serpents, twisting around each other until they fused into a single sphere of energy that soon expanded, revealing to everyone a beautiful black flame. Without wasting a moment, Elara, who was carefully holding a ring, quickly placed it right in the center of the magic circle, beneath the black flame.

Soon, the black flame descended onto the ring, which quickly shifted from a bright silver to a dull gray, while the elegant gem on its top darkened significantly. As Elara cast a healing spell with all her might on the increasingly pale Erik, he ordered seriously.

"Now."

With a swift motion, Erik extinguished the black flame and sent the ring to the center of the refinement circle using a hand of solidified Myst. Already prepared, the moment the ring touched the circle, Christine activated the refinement circle, which began to glow faintly as the ring gently levitated into the air.

At the same time, Erik turned to face Christine and placed his hands on either side of the refinement circle, beginning to control it carefully. Seeing this, Tomás quickly prepared himself, taking an attack stance and creating six small, brightly glowing magic circles around his sword. After a few seconds, Erik's hair lifted, and the star pattern in it shone brightly while Tiberius began to release dark mist.

"Now!"

Erik announced forcefully, and in that instant, the gem on the ring fractured, and what seemed to be a dark hole formed in the space just above the ring. Simultaneously, Tomás moved, unleashing a slash so fast that none of those present could see it, leaving a clear line of light in the air, which caused the 'hole' to tremble.

But after a few moments, the 'hole' expanded abruptly, and several objects shot out of it at high speed, so fast that it was hard to even discern what they were. Having been prepared, Frank quickly raised his staff and conjured a sort of wind net that contained the escaping objects, preventing damage.

As the joyful and hopeful eyes of those present turned toward Frank, Erik coughed up a thick stream of dark, heavy blood and then collapsed backward, devoid of strength.

"Erik!!!" Elara screamed in panic and began casting healing spells with everything she had while Zoe rushed to catch Erik's head. Tomás quickly ordered in a solemn voice.

"Cast spells! Keep him alive at all costs!!!"

With the order, all the mages, including Christine, grabbed their staffs and began casting healing spells. Meanwhile, Zoe, overcome with panic, brought a healing potion to Erik's lips and spoke in an almost tearful voice as sheets of paper filled with dense notes rained down on the group.

"Please, Erik, don't do this to me... I know you can do this, please..."

For her part, Hiyori, outside the formations, looked at Erik with a deep gaze that combined disbelief with a tiny hint of admiration. The boy wasn't just a monstrous genius; he had impressive guts. He was definitely destined for great things.

(What a shame… Another genius will fall.)

Hiyori let out a small sigh before lying down and closing her eyes, resisting the temptation to retain even a sliver of her memories upon leaving.

…

After taking the potion Zoe offered him, Erik, so pale it was hard to believe there was blood running through his veins, turned to look at Frank. At that moment, he noticed a potion bottle suspended in the air. Seeing the iridescent liquid inside, Erik reached out with the scarce strength he had left, as even his heart was stopping.

"What do you want, Erik?! What do you need?"

Overcome with panic, Zoe asked while holding Erik in her lap. Meanwhile, Elara, with tears welling up in her eyes, quickly scanned the surroundings until her gaze landed on the items Frank was carrying, prompting her to shout urgently.

"Frank! Bring the potions you're carrying!"

"I'm coming!!!"

Frank nearly jumped at the call but quickly set the items on the ground, grabbed the potion vials, and leapt toward Erik. Landing on his knees beside Erik, Frank, holding dozens of bottles in his arms, asked in a panic.

"Which one do you need, boss?!"

Unable to speak, Erik stretched his hand toward the iridescent potion among the bottles. Zoe quickly reached for it, opened it with her teeth, and brought it to Erik's lips while asking urgently.

"Is this the one you need?!"

Without waiting for Erik's response, trusting only in the way the young man looked at the potion, Zoe made him drink it, at which point Erik closed his eyes.

"Erik!!" Zoe and Elara shouted in unison while Christine, completely pale, clutched her chest, and the others clenched their teeth tightly.

But before the tears on the girls' faces could fully fall, a strange pulse of mana emanated from Erik, and soon all the Myst in the area went wild. As if he were a vacuum, Erik began to consume all the Myst around him. At the same time, Erik's hair regained its former shine and even began to glow more brightly, while the others felt his strength increase significantly.

"What a waste of a potion…" As the others looked at Erik with barely contained excitement, the starry-haired young man commented in a soft, somewhat regretful voice before sitting up.

But before anyone could say anything, a 'missile' of blue hair crashed into Erik's chest, leaving him no choice but to open his eyes and look somewhat confused. As if to give him no time to react, two more 'missiles,' one of black hair and one of golden hair, collided with his shoulders.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, I guess."

Looking at the trio of beautiful girls clinging to him while crying, Erik could only comment with a somewhat helpless smile, at which point Tomás stepped forward and asked with a relieved smile.

"How are you? Was that the solution you were talking about?"

"No, this is more of a temporary solution; you could even call it a waste. It was a magical empowerment potion personally crafted by my master…" Erik replied with a small sigh, causing the others to widen their eyes in surprise before looking at the potions in Frank's hands, who seemed to be holding a toxic item weighing hundreds of tons.

"It wasn't a waste; it was to save your life. I'm sure Master Eldurdóttir would think the same."

Elara, the first to regain her composure, stepped back a little from Erik and commented in a tearful voice while wiping her tears. Zoe also pulled away from Erik and spoke with a voice full of relief and happiness.

"Yes, Erik, your life is worth more than any potion…"

"I suppose that's true too…" Erik commented while looking at Christine with questions written on his face, as she still clung to his chest, trembling slightly.

"But you say it's temporary. When the effect wears off, will you return to your previous state?" At that moment, Ethan asked while looking at Erik with undisguised envy. Erik shook his head and explained.

"Not exactly. My condition will improve since, more than just boosting power, the special thing about this potion is that it's an incredibly powerful 'intelligent' healing potion. So I'll get better, but the empowerment also causes damage, meaning the effect duration will be shorter, and my condition will still be bad after it wears off."

"The solution you're talking about, is it something more definitive?" Elara asked while pushing Christine away from Erik, who nodded and explained while subtly trying to distance himself from the blue-haired girl.

"Yes, it's something my masters devised for a situation like this, so it'll bring me back to at least 80-90% of my best form. Enough to cast spells and fight without complications."

"Then let's get to work and open that ring as soon as possible!" Zoe quickly commented while ruthlessly shoving Christine away from Erik, who replied while looking at Frank.

"First, let's check what came out of the ring. Depending on what's there, I can make some calculations, and if my memory serves me right, there were some pretty interesting things in that ring that could help us a lot."

***

You can support me on patreon.com/lordanl and get up to 25 advanced chapters.

 

[lordanl]

Under the astonished gaze of everyone, Erik sat on a throne of Myst he had summoned in front of the pile of items Frank had gathered, holding an elegant notebook in his hands and a pricey-looking pen. As dozens of hands made of solidified Myst sorted through the items in what seemed to be an automatic process, Erik wrote in his notebook at a terrifying speed.

But that relaxed and efficient demeanor somehow brought great calmness to everyone, especially to Elara and Zoe, who, almost unconsciously, ended up approaching Erik and stood silently by his sides. Meanwhile, Christine, who had been pushed aside by Zoe, stared at Erik on his crystal throne with deep eyes, though her gaze kept drifting to the right armrest of the throne over and over again.

"Mostly mana crystals, potions, and a few of my notebooks came out, nothing I needed…"

Without stopping the sorting process with the Myst hands, Erik commented in a calm voice, which prompted Elara to speak with a hint of curiosity.

"What are you looking for?"

"Mostly ingredients, but also a small project I've been working on. They're basically sentinel probes that function without wisdom runes, something that would be very useful in our current situation."

"You managed to create something like that without wisdom runes?! How did you establish the connections and process the data?" Upon hearing Erik, Christine snapped out of her reverie and asked, full of surprise, to which Erik replied in a calm tone.

"With complex rune arrays. It was a bit tricky at first, but it was just a matter of figuring out the knack. Rune arrays have a lot of potential, but wisdom runes make things so much easier that no one bothers to explore alternatives."

"It's not that simple… Structuring complex mathematical models into rune arrays is complicated, expensive, and quite inefficient. Wisdom runes are used so much because it's cheaper to rely on them than to develop arrays to replace their functionalities." Christine retorted with an annoyed pout, to which Erik responded casually.

"Actually, it's the opposite. Rune arrays can be several times cheaper; you just have to get a bit creative with their application."

"…"

Christine fell silent as her pout worsened, her expression almost screaming, 'I don't believe a word you're saying.' But just at that moment, the solidified Myst hands in the air all stopped at once, and Erik lifted his gaze to see what one of them was holding, a huge smile spreading across his face.

"Eureka."

Hearing Erik, everyone followed his gaze, spotting a 'crystal' hand holding a tablet of pure Chantinolite, its surface covered with countless tiny runes engraved all over. As Erik reached out his right hand to take the tablet, Elara asked with visible curiosity while subtly sitting on Erik's right armrest—a move that caused Christine's brow to furrow deeply.

"What is that?"

"The control system for my Sentinel Probes."

Erik replied calmly as he channeled his mana into the tablet, activating it. Once activated, the tablet projected a holographic screen with various controls, which Erik quickly manipulated with confidence. Shortly after Erik operated the controls, several small piles of items that had come out of the ring began to move, and soon three spheres of true copper floated into the air.

As the copper orbs rose, a three-dimensional map of the hallway formed on the holographic screen, surprising everyone present. But the most shocked of all was Christine, who rushed toward Erik and asked, staring at the holographic screen in disbelief.

"You really achieved this with just rune arrays…?"

"Yes."

Erik replied casually while manipulating the controls. Christine looked at Erik's calm face and asked, filled with shock, choosing to ignore the mocking smiles of Elara and Zoe.

"How…?"

"With a lot of effort."

Erik answered nonchalantly, then offered the tablet to Zoe, who was barely containing her laughter at the expression Erik's response had caused on Christine's face. He added in a calm tone.

"Zoe, although there are only three probes now, this tablet can support up to 300 probes simultaneously. They're fairly easy to create, and we don't need much more than what we already have in the inventory, so this will be our safe way to explore the tunnels. Therefore, you'll be in charge of managing it. Be careful—while the spheres are easily replaceable, the control hub is a pain and expensive to make. In other words, we only have one."

"Leave it to me, Erik. I'll guard it with my life." Zoe said seriously as she took the tablet and hugged it to her chest. Erik shook his head and replied calmly.

"No need to go to such extremes. Just be a bit careful."

"Understood."

Zoe responded with seriousness. Erik nodded, then turned to Elara on his right and handed her a large stack of loose papers he tore from the notebook he had been writing in while speaking.

"Elara, here's the distribution of the items that were in the ring and what came out, along with an estimate of the distribution in the second ring. I need you to refine the model I sketched out and calculate the probabilities of safely obtaining the shelter, as well as the most critical variables."

"Got it. Leave it to me. I'll gather a team and have it ready as soon as possible."

"Perfect." Erik nodded, then tore out more pages and offered them to Christine while explaining.

"Christine, here are some improvements for the refinement circle that I need you to implement. Additionally, there are some minor points I need you to perfect on your own. I'm counting on you for this."

Hearing Erik, Christine took a deep breath, then flashed her usual soft smile and commented in a melodious, sensual voice.

"You can always count on me, Erik~"

Erik nodded without paying much attention to the beautiful blue-haired woman's demeanor, quickly tore out more pages, and offered them to a pair of formation specialists before speaking.

"Ethan, Chen, I'm not sure how feasible it is with the limited resources we have, but I noticed several points during the ring's opening and have some suggestions for improving the formations—both the two concealment ones and the ones used to shield us during the opening." Erik casually pointed to a golem below and commented in a serious tone.

"We can't allow another one of those."

Following Erik's finger, everyone spotted a golem staring at them, then walking away, only to look back again, almost as if it were searching for something. Ethan's eyes widened, and he asked in surprise, as he hadn't noticed until Erik pointed it out.

"Did they detect us?"

"Unlikely, or we'd already be dead. But during the ring's opening, the formations were slightly affected, and they might have detected something, though they can't identify it. So, we need to be cautious." Erik turned to look at Tomás and continued seriously.

"That's where you come in. I need you to destroy that golem somehow, Tomás. There's a chance this place could reactivate, and that golem might send data to some kind of central command with better processing power or even human oversight. If that happens, they'll find us, so we need to get rid of that golem to avoid trouble."

Erik made a Myst hand approach Tomás with three different crystal potion vials and one of clay, then commented in a calm tone.

"Also, although the concealment potions I made here didn't turn out to be very effective against the golems when this place is active, I'd like you to run some tests with these potions. It's good to know if concealment potions have any use in this situation."

"Excellent idea. Leave it to me. I'll write down my experience and ideas from the ring's opening and get on it. I think they might be useful to you." Tomás said calmly as he took the potions. Erik nodded, satisfied, and replied.

"I was just about to ask you for that. I'll be counting on you." After Tomás nodded and started writing, Erik looked at everyone else and said seriously.

"For now, let's move as quickly as we can. At best, I have about 30 minutes in this state if I don't use mana, so that ring needs to be opened before then."

"Understood!!"

Everyone replied in unison, then got to work. At the same time, Erik conjured tables and chairs of Myst for the others. He also summoned a table for himself, where he placed a pack of 'gift cookies' that had come out of the ring, and began writing at a frantic pace. The wolves occasionally rubbed against him, taking the chance to steal his cookies.

As Elara worked at a rapid pace, she almost unconsciously looked up at Erik, and upon seeing the genuinely happy smile that formed on his face as he tasted a cookie, all the tension in her body melted away. Now, she could finally feel that the immediate danger had passed.

Seeing Erik calm, brimming with life again, and working was like a healing balm for her worried heart. With Erik in charge, there was nothing to worry about. She just had to do her job, and Erik would create miracle after miracle to keep them all safe.

…

…

…

About 20 minutes later, Erik reviewed the work of Elara and Christine, as well as the tests Zoe had conducted with the Sentinel Probes alongside Tomás. This allowed them to realize that, although the golems detected the spheres, they didn't attack them. Additionally, Tomás confirmed that while the concealment potions made on Basilisk Island weren't very effective against the golems, the ones from Erik's ring were, which gave Erik an idea of how the golems' detection system worked.

…

"Alright, we're ready. Let's open the ring."

In front of the newly improved formations by Chen and Ethan, Erik spoke in a serious tone, to which everyone else nodded with solemn expressions. Once inside the formations, everyone took their previous positions and began the same process with extreme caution, knowing that failure wasn't an option.

Soon, Erik started controlling the refinement circle beneath the slightly blackened ring floating in the air. But just at that moment, Ethan, outside the barrier, began moving exaggeratedly to draw the attention of those inside. With a furrowed brow, Elara turned to look at him, and Ethan pointed to his ear with a worried expression, prompting her to say with concern.

"The music is back!"

Erik opened his eyes and turned to look outside, where he could see Ethan making the gestures, causing him to narrow his eyes and clench his teeth. But with determination, Erik turned back to the ring and ordered in a serious tone.

"There's no turning back now. Let's go!"

With Erik's words, the 'hole' in the air opened again, and Tomás unleashed a burst even faster and more precise than the last as the walls lit up. Just like in the previous attempt, the hole fluctuated violently before opening and starting to spew out a large number of items at high speed, but no one had the time or disposition to celebrate. Below, all the golems turned to look at them simultaneously.

With a solemn expression, Frank created the wind net again to catch everything, though his eyes were fixated on the golems below, who raised their fists toward them in unison and began to glow. Meanwhile, Erik, without even glancing at the golems, kept his gaze focused on the items coming out as the wolves began to grow in size, ready to attack.

"Mages, with me! Raise barriers!!!"

Elara ordered as she raised her staff in the air to create barriers, prompting the mages inside the formations to raise their staves as well. At the same time, Zoe unsheathed her sword outside the formations, then pointed toward them, causing those outside with her to hurriedly jump inside.

"Erik!"

At that moment, Tomás leaped to stand in front of the group with his sword raised, shouting loudly. But Erik didn't respond; instead, he kept watching the items coming out of the ring, his eyes darting at high speed among all the objects. Seeing Erik's concentration, Tomás gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and announced in a serious voice.

"We have to hold our ground! We need that shelter at all costs! At least until the ring collapses, we have to endure!!"

"Yes!!!!"

The group of young people shouted in unison as layer upon layer of barriers formed around them, and the knights activated their magic circles or techniques, causing the Myst to vibrate intensely. At that instant, Elara shouted as she mobilized every drop of her mana.

"Impact incoming!"

With Elara's announcement, a rain of lasers struck the barriers, which began to shatter like paper. At the same moment, Tomás ordered while opening a crystal vial with one hand and looking at the golems preparing to leap toward them.

"Knights, drink the concealment potions and come with me! We're going to hold back the ones that jump!"

"Understood!!"

The knights responded in unison, then downed the potions in one gulp. Meanwhile, Zoe took the most basic Iaido stance as she rapidly made hand signs, white fire and air swirling around her and the sheath of her katana.

"Attack!!" Tomás ordered loudly, then leaped to intercept the golems, closely followed by the other knights.

"Dance of a Thousand Dragonflies!!!!"

Zoe announced powerfully, then disappeared and reappeared in multiple places at once. Instantly, all the 'Zoes' unsheathed their katanas simultaneously at extreme speed, unleashing a rain of flying slashes that formed a giant net closing in on the golems about to reach them.

"Echo Cleaver!!!!" At the same time, Tomás shouted powerfully as he swung his sword at high speed, creating luminous flying slashes that looked like scars in the air.

***

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[lordanl]

As the knights and mages unleashed their most powerful attacks one after another in an attempt to stop the golems, Erik stood fixated on every object that emerged from the ring. But the seconds kept ticking by, and the shelter still hadn't appeared, causing Erik to grit his teeth and mobilize his mana, giving up hope.

Turning his head to glance at the ongoing battle, Erik grabbed his machetes and raised them into the air. At that moment, Kaiser leaped from his shoulder and grew in size, while Tiberius began to release dark mist. The instant Kaiser landed on the ground, now standing about 1.7 meters tall, two large runic circles formed in the air, beginning to shape spheres of fire and darkness.

Soon, two massive spheres of fire and darkness took form, but just as Erik was about to launch a desperate fight, a silvery glint caught the corner of his eye. With a flicker of hope, Erik snapped his head around and focused his gaze, spotting a silver sphere covered in engraved runes emerging from the ring. With sharp eyes, Erik swiftly summoned several solidified Myst hands to seize the sphere while announcing loudly.

"I've got it!! Take concealment potions and get ready to run!!"

"You're the best!!!!"

At the same time that two gigantesque spheres of darkness and fire shot toward the golems, Elara's excited voice echoed amidst the chaos, prompting Zoe and Tomás to turn and look at Erik with wide grins.

Wasting no time, the knights leaped back to the Myst platform with everything they had, while the mages used every ounce of their mana to conjure barriers. As a brutal explosion of black fire erupted outside the barriers, everyone drank concealment potions that had come from Erik's ring, while the platform began to speed forward.

"Chen, Ethan! How much time do you need to reestablish the formations elsewhere?!" Holding the orb firmly in his hands, Erik looked at Chen and Ethan. Ethan quickly replied with a serious tone.

"At least 5 minutes for something makeshift! About 30 for something more powerful!"

"Ok, we're moving near the stairs!" Erik nodded and shot back, then turned to the others and ordered.

"I need you to buy me exactly 5 minutes to deploy the formations and activate the shelter!"

"""Understood!!!"""

Seeing the others respond in unison while gripping their weapons tightly with determined expressions, Erik nodded in satisfaction and placed his hand on Kaiser's neck, commenting.

"I'm counting on you."

The wolf howled with confidence, then transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot out from the barriers. At that moment, Erik announced seriously.

"Hold on tight!"

The instant Erik's voice rang out, the platform lurched forward, causing several mages to fall to the ground and use their mana across their bodies to stick to the platform and avoid being thrown off. In less than a few seconds, the platform came to a screeching halt. Erik created new runic circles as a bolt of lightning landed beside him, taking the form of Kaiser, and he shouted loudly.

"We're here! Tomás will lead in combat, and Elara will direct the mages! Go all out!"

"Understood!!"

Right after speaking, Erik launched the spheres of fire and darkness, then created multiple magic circles to form several layers of barriers. The mages quickly began conjuring barriers and casting attack spells while getting back on their feet. At the same time, the knights, barely affected by the inertia thanks to their strong bodies and reflexes, leaped off the platform to initiate their assault.

Meanwhile, Erik rushed to the rear, holding the orb in his right hand and channeling mana into it before tossing it nearby. Under Erik's watchful gaze, the orb began to fall without the slightest sign of activation, making him narrow his eyes. But just before it touched the platform, it trembled violently. After spinning on itself a few times on the platform, the orb finally lit up faintly and rose into the air.

Seeing the orb ascend with a slight spin, a clear sign it had activated properly, Erik let out a sigh of relief and quickly turned to observe the battle. Noticing that, despite everyone's best efforts to reduce the number of golems, they kept accumulating at an alarming rate, Erik focused on the walls while making mental calculations.

After calculating how much mana he could use without affecting the duration of the empowerment potion, Erik raised his machetes and created different sets of runes around him. The rune sets soon formed arrows of fire and darkness, which shot toward the golems emerging from the walls. At that moment, a small, tired howl echoed near his ear.

"Thanks for the effort, Tiberius. Let's find some food for you."

After Tiberius howled with excitement, Erik turned to the silver wolf beside him, who was gently nudging him with its massive head. Erik smiled calmly and softly patted the huge wolf's head, then commented with a grin.

"Go help the others. I'll get food and biscuits for you too."

Kaiser howled excitedly, then turned into a bolt of lightning and shot into the fray below. Meanwhile, Erik turned to look at the shelter, which had grown in size and was very close to reaching its maximum capacity. After firing a couple more rounds at the walls, destroying many golems before they could emerge, the shelter finally activated fully.

But unlike a normal activation, the top of the spherical shelter with its strong gothic style didn't release the smaller spheres responsible for shields and camouflage. Not even the automatic stairs unfolded, and the door remained tightly shut.

"So the chains even damaged the artifacts inside the rings… This damned ruin has left me bankrupt… I really shouldn't have come…" As he recalled everything in his rings, Erik couldn't help but mutter, visibly pained and reluctant, while using a Myst platform to fly up and reach the door.

Upon reaching the door, Erik quickly placed his hand on it and channeled mana into it, causing it to slowly begin to rise after a few seconds. When the doors were halfway open, Erik slipped inside the pitch-black shelter and swiftly conjured several runes that created small spheres of light, spreading in all directions and fully illuminating the place.

Arriving at the small circular pond in the center of the shelter, Erik conjured more runes, which arranged themselves around the pond. After about a minute, the runes engraved around the pond lit up, and the water took on a beautiful bluish hue before rising into the air, forming a sort of water cabin.

Stepping inside the cabin and creating more runes, which positioned themselves in a ring around Erik's feet, the runes carved into the pond's floor activated after a couple of minutes, and it began to descend like an elevator. Soon, Erik could see the lower floor of his shelter, so he conjured more runes to create new small spheres of light that shot out in all directions to illuminate it.

With the light, Erik found himself in a large, circular space filled with all kinds of tools, worktables, and shelves and weapon displays on the walls. Meanwhile, in the center of the room stood a circular chamber with a terrace. Inside the chamber were tables with glass containers of all shapes, while on the terrace stood a massive smelting furnace surrounded by worktables and tools.

Without wasting a second, Erik exited the elevator and completely emptied his storage pouch onto the floor, then rushed to the weapon displays. From there, Erik grabbed a pair of bluish machetes, some swords, shields, staves, and daggers before running to the shelves to collect potions, various accessories, and more, stuffing them into his storage pouch.

After mentally tallying everything he carried, Erik glanced at a glass case in the corner of his vision, which contained three strange dark spheres engraved with numerous runes. After a few seconds of hesitation, Erik opened the glass case, grabbed a single sphere, and raced back to the elevator while ordering Tiberius on his shoulder.

"Eat whatever you want, Tiberius. I'll be back!"

Instead of happily jumping toward the food storage, Tiberius clung tighter to his beloved contractor's shoulder and barked with its adorable puppy 'voice,' sounding resolute. As he entered the elevator, Erik turned to look at Tiberius with a small chuckle, then sent a Myst hand to grab some dried meat from what he'd left on the floor and offered it to him while commenting.

"Then let's fight together."

Tiberius barked cheerfully, then began gnawing on the meat as the elevator ascended.

…

…

…

Outside the portable shelter, Tomás sliced a golem in half, then leaped into a backward somersault, dodging a laser. While spinning in the air, Tomás created three small magic circles around his sword, then unleashed a powerful glowing flying slash that split a golem attempting to punch him mid-air.

Upon landing, Tomás looked around, finding total pandemonium. Dozens of golems clashed with the knights of his team, while powerful magical explosions erupted everywhere. But no matter how many they destroyed, the golems didn't seem to diminish; instead, they kept piling up, already leaving two of the Bikereas with serious injuries.

(The difference between having Erik and not having him is truly overwhelming… It only took a couple of minutes for us to end up in this mess…)

Tomás reflected with a somewhat bitter smile while conjuring four magic circles on his sword. Without the black flame explosions, each golem became incredibly resilient, comparable to a high-ranking Illuminated-level. Meanwhile, their attacks, though worse than their defenses, were still at the peak of Ascended level, with some reaching Illuminated level.

Thus, destroying each golem was a complicated and exhausting task, even for him. Additionally, the concealment options proved ineffective when the walls were active, forcing them into combat just to survive. This inevitably caused the golems to accumulate, as more emerged from the walls and others rushed in from other corridors.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Tomás gripped the hilt of his sword tightly before darting forward at a terrifying speed, appearing just in time to deliver a slash and save one of his Bikereas.

"Thanks, President!"

The young man got up from where he'd fallen, thanking Tomás while holding his sword, broken in half from the fight. Noticing the bleeding wound on the young man's shoulder, Tomás quickly commented while looking into the distance.

"Take a healing potion and fall back with the others. Things are getting complicated."

"Understood!" The young man nodded seriously, then downed a recovery potion in one gulp and ran toward the rear.

Meanwhile, Tomás stood still, gazing into the distance as a brutal fire explosion occurred just a few meters to his left. At that moment, Zoe, riding atop her white fox spirit, arrived at his side and commented in a somewhat dark tone.

"I've got a bad feeling. The music sounds strange."

"My left eye is twitching… That only happens when I'm about to face mortal danger…" Tomás replied while sending a flying slash at a golem attempting to shoot at him, managing to knock it back, though it didn't do much damage.

Zoe, for her part, gripped the hilt of her katana tighter, taking Tomás's words completely seriously. After all, her grandfather had explained time and again that such strange premonitions were incredibly accurate when it came to mana users with extensive experience in life-or-death scenarios.

"But we have to buy time. I know Erik will find a way to get us out of here." Full of determination, Zoe spoke in a serious tone while extending her Ethereal Projection. Tomás nodded and commented with a smile while taking a combat stance.

"Maidens in love truly have blind faith in their beloved…"

"…"

Zoe remained silent at the comment, with no intention of denying or confirming it, which made Tomás laugh. He added in an oddly amused tone while his gaze focused on what seemed to be a horde of at least a hundred golems charging down the corridor toward them.

"But I think I've got a bit of maiden in love in me too, haha."

After speaking, Tomás shot forward toward the incoming horde, leaving behind a sonic boom that ruffled Zoe's hair. She couldn't help but roll her eyes for a moment. But quickly, the beautiful knight brought her hands to her waist and ordered in a serious tone before darting after Tomás.

"Let's go all out, Hiyori-sama."

***

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