Tale of Eldramir

Rolling over in his bed, Ezekiel couldn’t help but contemplate the unfortunate fact that the world was likely to undergo yet another change. One that would, once again, be centered around him and the people he cared about.

‘Instead of moping about it, maybe you could help me figure out how we can avoid whatever it is that’s coming for us.’ Shine had been meditating, using Ezekiel’s comprehension of their danger sense to peer into possible futures, but had only gotten blank images, and the odd sense of caution.

‘I’ve come to realize that avoiding the future always ends in failure. It’s only by facing it that you can take a hold of your fate.’ This had been one of the things that had aided Ezekiel in comprehending more ‘Understandings] regarding the Void.

The end was inevitable. It was only by facing it that you would be able to overcome it.

‘Though, that doesn't mean that we can’t prepare and tilt things in our favor,’ he thought, and ideas of how to take down whatever it was that was coming for him. ‘For now, let’s get ready for the meeting with the Void Temple. I have no doubt that we’ll be off on yet another mission of some sort or receive even more bad news once we get there.’

Without letting it through his bond, Ezekiel also had the sinking feeling that whatever it was the Void Temple of the Church of Ten wanted had something to do with Ancient knowledge.

Each time he had gone to a Void Temple, secrets of the Ancient Void had been revealed to him. He saw no reason to expect anything different this time.

A knock on his door grabbed his attention, and Shine flew into the air, taking a defensive position at the foot of the bed.

“It’s me...” Riley’s voice came from the other side of the doorway.

“Come in.” Ezekiel climbed out of his bed, letting the blanket that covered him fall.

As Riley entered the room, with Celia trailing behind her, she stopped at the doorway. Ezekiel looked away, not wanting to see the look of pity in her eyes.

While he hadn’t suffered any permanent effects from consuming Ichor for days on end, his physical condition had still deteriorated after the last stretch when he had strained his soul.

While he was recovering just fine spiritually, his body was somewhat emaciated from the lack of sustenance beyond Ichor and mana. Something that neither George, nor any of the other healers had noticed due to the mana he had been flooding his body with.

“Do you know when you’ll be in top shape again?” Riley approached while Ezekiel was turned away.

He had begun dressing himself and had just pulled up his pants when he felt her arms wrap around him. With a sigh, he turned around, still within her grasp.

“They have me on a diet that should let me recover within a week. Much sooner than what they expect Wolken to take.” Given that the older Exalt had lost a limb, that was expected, but still worrisome.

Now, with Ezekiel having to speak with the Void Remnant, there were two Exalted Hunters that were out of commission for the foreseeable future.

The fact that Wolken was still one of the more powerful Tier fives in the world, even with the Cruor having been further blessed by their Brood patrons, meant that the balance that was previously there would now be leaning slightly in the Cruor’s favor.

“Riley, I have a favor to ask you, when we reach the Void Temple.” Ezekiel finished dressing, and turned toward his wife, a solemn tone painted on his face. A wave of his hand put up a barrier around the room to prevent any eavesdropping. “I need you to head back to the Archipelago. Leave me here, no matter what happens, and return to my family.”

“No.” There wasn’t any hesitation in Riley’s voice as she denied his request, but Ezekiel didn’t change his expression. “There’s no way that I’m leaving you here when you don’t know what you’re up against. You said it yourself; the Ancient Void is not the purely benevolent being we thought he was. Especially with how he’s simply using you to fulfill the unspecified goal of ‘saving the world’. You need me here, even if it’s only to keep you from falling over when you push yourself too far like always!”

“Given that I haven’t fulfilled my purpose yet, it’s not the Void that I need to fear. It’s what the Cruor might do to my family if they get the chance while I’m away.” Ezekiel kept his tone even as he spoke.

He knew that this was going to hurt the both of them, but he needed Riley gone, so that she couldn’t be used against him. As well as to make sure that the rest of his family was safe.

There was no one that he trusted more to keep his sisters and mother safe in Sanafalls than his wife. Even more so when he didn’t know if he’d be returning anytime soon.

Riley glared at him, but he figured that she must’ve seen something in his gaze, because she backed down without much more of a fight.

“I don’t like this.” She turned her eyes to the ground.

Ezekiel reached forward and placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Neither do I, but I think this might also be something you need.” His words made her look back up at him. “I think that, when I’m gone, you need to look into what and who you are. I think that this will help you figure out the last step you need to ascend to Mythic. Something I don’t think is going to happen if you’re always near me.”

Riley remained silent for a moment, but Celia came up and nipped her legs. The Flame Hunter and her Spirit had a silent conversation between them.

Once they were finished, Riley looked less reluctant, but still unhappy.

“Fine. But only because I can’t let you leave me behind when you go even further in the future.”

With that said and done, the two finished getting ready. The Void Temple wasn’t in this city. So, they would need to head out soon, and start flying at full speed to get to where they needed to.

The other Hunters would be fine here, for now, and it would give them a chance to rest from the stress of traveling through the Desolate Lands like they had.

All the while, the plots and plans of others were put into motion.

----------

On the other side of the Desolate Lands, towards the Frozen Fjords in the north, a small army led by a man in Radiant Spirit armor marched toward a tall Spine standing proudly in the distance.

“Lord Luminance! We are approaching the miasma of the Spine. Given the events happening in the south, with the Swarm making an attack, we need to move now if we wish to push the Cruor back before they can settle in.” A woman with gray Spirit armor and covered in an enchanted cloak with the image of the Cult of Light descended from where she had been scouting in the air.

“We move now.” Warren’s words were stilted, but clearly understood, and the army headed out.

A sphere of Radiant mana emanated from Warren. It pushed back the miasma and kept the group safe. Besides the Void, the next best element to fight against the Cruor was Radiant magic.

Its purifying properties were often used to purge the effects of Ichor in the environment. But it was only effective against Ichor that was of equal or lower Tier than the mana used. An issue that Void magic didn’t have.

This shouldn’t have been a concern, since the magic was coming from a Mythical being. An Exalted Hunter working for the Empire on behalf of the Followers of Radiance.

However, this time, it seemed like there was something different. The closer they got to the Spine, the smaller the [Domain] being maintained by Warren became.

“Lord Exalt, is something the matter?” One of the Hunters asked when the fourth Hunter was forced to move closer to Warren. “Is there something different about this miasma? Why is your [Domain] getting smaller?”

Warren didn’t reply. He just kept moving forward.

“Lord Exalt! Lord Luminance!”

Warren’s steps increased in speed, and the other Hunters were either running or flying to keep up with them. All to stay within the Radiant [Domain] that had kept them safe so far.

“Something is wrong! Lord Luminance, we should turn back and-”

The Tempest Hunter from the Cult who had previously descended was cut off. Her head having been removed from her shoulders by a thin tendril of iridescent substance emerging from the miasma.

“Cruor! Defensive -”

The Hunters cried out one by one and were silenced before they could move into a proper formation to protect themselves. All the while, Warren continued to run toward the Spine in the distance.

It was only minutes later when he arrived. No Cruor were in sight, nor were there any Umbral Beasts. The Spine itself was surrounded by a massive pool of Ichor. One that formed a moat that was hundreds of feet wide around the Spine. From the sheer size of the pool, it was more like a lake.

Approaching the Ichor without stopping, Warren’s [Domain] began to falter. The purifying effect seemed to lose its power, and the miasma seeped into the magic, eventually touching Warren’s body directly. Yet the man’s mana didn’t seem to be drained.

It was as if the Ichor didn’t want to harm him.

Stopping at the edge of the lake of Ichor, Warren waited. For nearly a full day, he remained there, utterly still and silent.

Only when the sun had set in the distance, beyond the border of the Desolate Land, that something happened.

The Ichor in the lake began to ripple as something beneath it moved.

An enormous splash of Ichor sent the lake well past the previous edge it had once settled into. From the depths of the Ichor lake, and amorphous blob, Drake, the Broodlord of the Chaos Brood of Cruor, emerged and made his move.

The oily liquid that made up his body wrapped up and around Warren’s motionless figure.

After the Radiant Exalt was totally covered, Drake returned to the pool. His figure merged seamlessly with the lake itself. Even as Ichor flowed up and into the Spine.

As the glowing, iridescent, veins of Ichor crawled up the Spine, it began to sink into the ground.

The Ichor then drained down toward the center, until the entire lake was empty.

Nothing remained, and even the miasma of the Desolate Lands in this region faded away.

----------

Ezekiel walked into the Void Temple on his own. The pull from his contract with the Ancient Void was powerful, and the moment he had set down in the city he had been forced to march forward. He hadn’t even had the time to properly say goodbye to Riley.

All he could do was watch as she flew away on Celia’s back. They would need to go around the Desolate Lands, but since they didn’t need to go in a group composed of Hunters who couldn’t move as fast as they could, he knew it’d only take her a couple of weeks, even with the increased travel length.

Though, he hoped that the contingency he had given her remained safe, and unneeded.

‘I’m surprised that the city is in such good condition. I would’ve thought that the number of Hunters, Mages, Scholars, and Spirits would be far lower than this.’ Shine’s musings pulled Ezekiel from his thoughts. Their blade was more dull than usual. A side-effect of the magic they were using for Ezekiel. ‘Plenty of opportunities to make escape routes though.’

The sensation of yet another waypoint being placed sent a ping through Ezekiel’s soul. He wasn’t certain that they would be useful once he entered the Temple, but it was better than nothing at this point.

Especially since he had a few that were placed outside the city as well. Though, time would tell if those remained functional for long enough.

For now, Ezekiel turned his attention to the city itself, and noticed the same things that Shine had. It was far fuller and more active than any other city they had been to.

The war efforts had resulted in an incredible loss of life on both sides. The fact that the Cruor were actively working in tandem with one another, rather than fighting separately with their respective Broods, meant that the fighting was mostly a back-and-forth push all around.

‘It’s likely to do with the fact that this is the last place where the Ancient Void has a legacy remaining. At least as far as the rest of the world is aware.’ Ezekiel knew there were at least two more places where the Ancient Void’s presence still held power. ‘It’s still better than Morncrest and the Legacy under the mantle. At least here, there will be witnesses for when we have to break out.’

He had hoped that his remark would remain sarcastic, but as he and Shine walked through the large entrance to the Void Temple, located within the deeper sections of the Grand Cathedral’s grounds, he could already tell that things were not going to go well for them.

“Greetings, Exalt Ezekiel, I am Wilma Sanyew. The nominal leader of the Church of Ten, and representative of the Void Remnant within the Temple. Please follow me. The Remnant is waiting for you.” The woman that stood just inside the temple’s interior turned and began walking further in.

For a moment, Ezekiel nearly tripped as he stopped himself from following right away.

Instead of going in without questioning it, he turned to look over at the guards. They were standing at attention, and their focus was directly in front of them. Completely ignoring his presence as he walked forward.

Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem. He was used to guards that were well disciplined and didn’t allow those that were stronger than them distract them from their duties.

However, the fact that these guards were connected to a formation that had an unknown effect and were subtly sweating as they did everything to avoid eye contact with him alerted Ezekiel to the fact that something was wrong.

Yet, the pull on his soul grew too strong to deny, and he finally stepped into the Void Temple.

A loud ‘slam’ filled the room he had entered. The large stone doorways that sealed the temple shut with a force that almost sent him stumbling forward.

“Not a great first impression,” he said as he immediately went on guard.

Wilman looked back at him over her shoulder with a sad smile on her face. “Given what you will be learning while you are down here, we cannot afford to be kind. Not when you are too much of a possible threat to the balance of this world.”

In that moment, Ezekiel knew that Wilma was aware of his reincarnation. The fact that the Void Remnants were well aware of his existence meant that they could tell whoever they wanted. So long as it didn’t conflict with any standing orders from the Ancient Void.

“How much do you know?” Ezekiel and Wilman began to descend into the depths of the Temple. The familiar winding hallways that led to the core of the temple passed them by as they slowly proceeded.

“I know less than your wife, I think, but more than your family.”

Wilma’s response sent a chill down his spine.

‘Calm down! She’s just saying these things to throw you off!’ Shine’s words calmed him down a bit, but he still grew worried. ‘Don’t forget, you’ve got me and Riley to help keep them safe!’

Ezekiel nodded his head in response but couldn’t help but think of everything he knew so far. While he had told Riley basically everything, he had refrained from sharing the same with his mother and sisters. Even when his sisters grew more powerful. Now nearly in the realm of Legendaries.

He didn’t think that they’d respond well to knowing all that he had been through. Riley was made of slightly sterner stuff, and her relationship wasn’t tainted by the same type of love that he and his family had for each other. So, she was much more willing to accept certain things.

At least, that’s what he assumed.

“To simplify things, I know that your soul was not originally from this planet, and that the reason you became so strong so far is because your soul was already in the later stages of Tier four in strength and size when you were reborn on this world.” Wilman continued to speak, unaware of Ezekiel’s inner turmoil. “I also know the true origins of the Cruor, and the connection between the Broods and the Ancients. Though, the latter is a more recent development.”

Ezekiel smiled, even as his grip on Shine tightened. “I don’t suppose you could give me an early preview of that? I have my own suspicions, but nothing concrete.”

Wilman shook her head and didn’t say anything. The two humans, and Shine, then walked in silence for a little while.

“...Thank you... for saving my little brother...”

Wilma’s words drew Ezekiel’s attention back to her, but his guard hadn’t dropped in the slightest.

“...Don’t worry about it... Given all he’s done for me, of course I would take the risk to save him.” Ezekiel wasn’t speaking empty words. He truly meant what he was saying, and when he saw Wilma flinch out of the corner of his eye, all doubts regarding this being a trap disappeared.

“I see... still, not everyone is as good at paying their debts as you are.” Wilma sounded wistful to Ezekiel, and he wondered if there was something else going on that he was missing.

Suddenly, a tingle at the edge of his senses told him that the layout of the temple had changed.

‘Several more barriers just formed. I’ve also lost contact with the waypoints we left in the city.’ Shine’s voice was rushed as they spoke, but the pull in Ezekiel’s soul was still strong, so he had no choice but to continue to descend.

“You know I’m not going to do anything to you, don’t you?” Ezekiel tried to ignore the feeling of claustrophobia that was starting to settle in. “It’s actually your brother that you’ll need to worry about. I know you two already have a strained relationship because of me. I find it unfortunate that it’s about to get worse because of me as well.”

They had finally arrived at the core room of the Void Temple.

Unlike in Morncrest, there was no avatar of the Void Remnant to greet him. Just the door to the room that held a Remnant of the Ancient Void.

Off to the side, Wilma nearly reared back at Ezekiel’s words, but grit her teeth and steadied herself.

“I follow the will of the Ancients. Their one true purpose is to keep this world alive. To do as they command cannot be wrong. My brother will forgive me. I’m sure of it.”

The last few words came out as a whisper, and Ezekiel knew that she had her reservations about keeping him here.

“Well, let’s get this over with.” With a mental nudge to Shine, he stepped into the core room.

The opening behind him closed, but he continued forward. Without stopping, he placed his hand on the core, where the Void Remnant was waiting for him.

----------

Outside the core room, Wilma gazed at the closed doors for a few seconds. Only after her hands stopped shaking did she turn around and step into a black sphere that had appeared behind her.

The sound of multiple barricades slamming down was the last thing she heard before she stepped outside the Void Temple. The [Gateway] formed by the Void Remnant having granted her access to the surface in an instant.

“Lady Wilma, are you alright!?” one of the guards asked when she stumbled and nearly fell on her face after stepping out of the [Gateway]. “Did the Void Exalt do anything to you?”

There was a hint of anger in the guard’s voice, but she just waved him off.

“The Void Exalt did nothing to me. He was a perfect gentleman and accepted the Remnant’s summons without complaint.” An image of Ezekiel walking into the core room passed through her mind. “I will have no one speak ill of him for following the will of the Ancients. Understood?”

The guard who spoke, and the others who followed him, all stood at attention and replied, “Understood!”

Giving them one last look over, Wilma sighed, “That’s enough. All of you head back to your normal positions. There is no need to keep on high alert any longer.”

With that said, the crowd dispersed, and Wilma turned back to the entrance of the Void Temple.

“I hope that I am doing the right thing...”

Turning away from the temple once more, she headed back into the Cathedral proper.

Thoughts of how she was going to explain this to her brother and the other Cathedrals and Scholars not of Quintessa passed through her mind.

----------

For a moment, Ezekiel allowed himself to get lost in the vision of an infinite darkness filled with stars. It was a view he had witnessed numerous times before, but it never failed to fill him with a sense of awe. The sheer scope of that which existed beyond himself, and the world, was beautiful.

“How arrogant...” a toneless voice called out from behind him, “To think that you would be so confident in your abilities that you would ignore the one that called you here.”

With a sigh, Ezekiel turned around to face the Remnant that had summoned him here.

“I am Quintessence. The first and oldest of the Remnants left behind by the Ancient Void. I am also the most knowledgeable, and the one that was granted the final will and word of the Ancient Void.”

Unlike the other Remnants he had seen, this one didn’t even slightly resemble a human figure. It was simply a perfect sphere of mana that shone with the opalescent light of Void mana when it was maintained by a [Will] to keep it from mixing with the mana in nature.

For the moment, he decided that he would ignore the arrogance that the Remnant before him was displaying. It was never a good thing to feed another being’s ego. Especially when they were likely to be enemies.

“I did not think that my admiring your maker’s design would be an act of arrogance. But I guess with your lack of [Understanding] it would seem that way.” Ezekiel’s voice was also monotone, with his emotions consciously suppressed from the mana he was flooding himself with.

It wouldn’t be good for him to fly off the hand at this point. No matter how much he wanted to punch this Remnant in the face.

Focusing more on the Remnant itself, Ezekiel realized that he was actually bigger than it. At least within this mental plane. Proof that his soul was actually just as powerful as these Remnants, but previously lacking in the power necessary to manifest himself properly.

“If you think my [Understanding] is lesser than yours, then you are truly incapable,” The Remnant said, their tone shifting to one with a hint of disappointment.

A moment after, they manifested phenomena with their magic that Ezekiel had only ever witnessed the Ancient Void create in the memories he once reviewed in the Ancient Legacy.

“Impressive, but we both know that you can only do that because the Ancient Void granted you those abilities. Not because you obtained them with your own power.” Ezekiel wasn’t surprised by the Remnant’s power. If anything, he’d be disappointed if it wasn’t capable of at least this much.

But he would not allow himself to be suppressed by this thing that was clearly opposed to his existence. Though, he knew that he couldn’t be too antagonistic. Doing so would prevent him from getting the answers he needed in order to figure out what was going on.

“Now, are you going to give me whatever it was the Ancient Void left behind or are you going to keep stalling for whatever convoluted plan you have to keep me trapped here?” his posture shifted a bit, and the pulling sensation in his soul lessened.

He had already fulfilled the command that summoned him here. Now, if the Remnant displayed any hostile intentions, he would be able to defend himself. Something that he knew would be incredibly destructive if it came to a conflict.

“If that is what you seek, then fine. You shall receive the final message of the Ancient Void.”

A beam of light shot out from the Remnant, but Ezekiel didn’t move to avoid it. He could tell that it wasn’t dangerous.

While the light consumed him, his mind was filled with a massive humanoid figure composed of stars. It was a being that filled a space greater than the whole of the world.

“Greetings, contractor. Now that you have reached the fifth Tier, it is time you learn the truth.”

Silently, Ezekiel settled down. Ready to accept the last words of the Ancient Void.