443 Shadow's Secrets

A Double Chapter! Daily + 5/6 Monthly Extra!

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{Part 1}

The Order of the Black Worm, or the Worm Cult for short, is the cult of the Work God, Mannimarco.

Originally a High Elf student in the Psijic Order, Mannimarco got kicked away from the sect because of his questionable actions. Later on, he founded the Order of the Black Worm, contacted Molag Bal and almost brought the end of the world during the events of the Planemeld. Ever since that day, Mannimarco was a scourge to everyone on Tamriel and a mark of disgrace to the High Elves of Summerset.

His Worm Cult was treated with all the scorn and hate in the world. Mages were aware of the ideals of the cult which is based on the Free Use of Magic without restricting something as important as Necromancy, the Cult always viewed this as its most noble message but they were a bunch of hypocrites. For that idealism, they broke many rules, killed a lot of innocents, desecrated the tombs of the ancestors and disturbed their rest.

Even arguing that Necromancy is just another tool can't be used in their case as they had no sacred or holy. Necromancy is okay as a summons rather than actual animation but people wouldn't tell the difference. Some Dark Magic was allowed to use but Necromancy was still banned for good reasons.

Even Jon, who is also considered a Necromancer, kept his practices clear from animating bodies or controlling many corpses publicly. Even with the known existence of the Sin of [Wrath], the Bone Samurai Odokuro, Jon would use its bizarre appearance to argue that this is just a powerful inhuman summon he contracted in Oblivion.

All in all, Necromancy isn't acceptable in public and Jon only uses it in number situation so no one can blame him.

The Worm Cult, on the other hand, has a dark history that can't be just discussed like Jon's matters.

That is why they can't be captured is it is an Imperial Decree for all Worm Cult Necromancers to be killed on sight if capturing was not possible. Even the reward of killing them or reporting on them is extremely generous worldwide.

Now, those vermin have desecrated the sacred place of all the Redguard Sword Masters and the followers of the Redguard Afterlife Deity, Tu'whacca.

This Ansei Pyramid is now nothing but an old ruin filled with corpses. It drove Illindar mad with anger as he ripped everything that belonged to the Worm Cult apart. Jon didn't stop him and went down to the Corpses Room and took them all away.

"These corpses are all mummified." Jon said, "They have no organs and were dipped in many chemical compounds, they even got enchanted to perform as good as when they were living. Those Cultists are abhorrent but they know what they are doing."

Mummification is a technique not exclusive to a single race in Tamriel but it was different from one place to another. This Technique of the Worm Cult was very efficient and smart.

The reason for the mummification is to be able to repeatedly use a single corpse even if it ran out of energy or was damaged. Most reanimated undead become dust after destruction or overuse but the mummies are created for the purpose of preservation.

Jon was interested in the Mummification process and pulled a few notes while examining the corpse as well as taking the manuals left by the Necromancers.

There was even a lap to create Flesh Atronachs, an unsightly undead made of human flesh resulting in a very ugly golem.

"The shit here is enough to make you sick for a lifetime." Illindar said.

"True. This is the ugly side of Necromancy." Jon nodded.

"Is there a not ugly sight?"

"Haven't you seen the sight where we fought undead by undead? I know it is immoral but when you find yourself venturing Oblivion with no one to watch your back, the Undead can be a lifesaver like none other."

"Sigh! I don't want to argue with you about that. I have heard about what the Labourers go through so don't mind me."

"Thanks. What will we do now?" Jon asked.

"I have to report this, like right now."

"I understand. However, there is still one chamber left unexplored."

The two nodded and returned all the way to the corridor fork. From there, they went down the Descending Corridor.

Jon wasn't sure what to expect but as far as he can tell, this place is supposedly under Daedric influence.

Why would a place of a Deity such as Tu'whacca harbor a Daedric presence?

The answer was revealed when the two reached the room.

It was a large rocky cave rather than a hall or a chamber. From the looks of it, this place was there before the pyramid itself.

The layout was weird. At the sides of the room, two statues of large humanoids came out of the cave's wall towering all the way up to the ceiling. They were not whole as only the upper half of the bodies were carved with only one arm for each statue.

The faces of the statues looked mean and they had two horns each growing from the sides of their foreheads. The statue on the right had its only arm, coming out of its right side, fixed on a part of the cave wall opposite to the entrance of the cave. The statue on the left was in the same position.

Looking closely, the two statues looked like they were protecting a double gate with each hand blocking a single gate.

"The Gates of Wish." Illindar exclaimed.

"So it is really here." Jon walked forward in the cave.

It was indeed the gates Azura wanted him to find. Behind them is the damage he caused to Azura's power when he corrupted Azura's Star.

He opened the book [N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis!] and started reading about the Gates of Wish.

N'Gasta, the Sload Necromancer who served Clavicus Vile at some point, was knowledgeable with many things related to Clavicus Vile and recorded a great deal about those gates.

"To activate the Gates, we need a living sacrifice… how typical! We need to align the power source of the Gates to the power of the stars in the sky… tricky! Then we need to figure out which gate is the right one by asking one question only. Spoiler alert, the correct gate is random which means if it was the left last time then it can be the right or the left… now that's a lot of work to cover."

Jon murmured as he started preparing for a way to solve the big mystery.

"Krilon."

"Yes."

"I must return."

Jon turned towards Illindar and nodded.

"Before you go, here is your pay." He handed out a large bag of gold.

"Heh heh! Where do you keep such stuff? Whatever… I see you have taken all the trouble into account."

"That's why I told you to arrange your price after the mission. I always attract extra trouble."

"Sithis, Azura and now the Worm Cult… you are a real trouble indeed. Don't worry, I'll ride as fast as I can to the Citadel and bring as many Battlelords with me as I can. I assume you won't wait for us and go on with your business."

"Indeed, as soon as I finish these bloody Labours, the better."

"I bid you farewell then."

"Thank you, brother. Safe travels and godspeed."

And so Illindar's job was done as he left to bring the Citadel of Ebonarm to the Hidden Ansei Pyramid.

Jon was now left alone in the ancient Necropolis.

(Well, not quite alone, are we?)

Yet a certain voice spoke to him.

"Shadow! Where the hell have you been?"

The unknown spirit that keeps haunting him, the one known as Shadow.

(Don't blame me, I have other things to take care of you know.)

Shadow spoke as he possessed [Greed] to form a body for himself that looked like a black slimy humanoid.

(Moreover? What in the seven fucks are you doing here?)

"A Labour."

(No shit?)

"Yeah shit."

Jon briefed Shadow of the last few months he missed.

(Well, this is bad… do you really intend to pass that gate to the Abyss?)

"Do I look like I have a choice?" Jon shrugged his shoulders.

Shadow fell silent and didn't say much.

"Hey, why is a bastard like concerned this matter? You are normally an indifferent ass." Jon was annoyed by Shadow's attitude.

(Do you have any idea what the Abyss means?) Shadow asked.

"The Edge of Reality… the frontier between the absolute Order and the absolute Chaos."

(A very superficial answer. What do you know of the Shadow?)

Jon narrowed his eyes before answering.

"According to Azra Nightwielder, it is the reflection of possible worlds created by forces in conflict which are produced by mundane forces such as light hitting a rock, or by more powerful forces such as nations at war."

(Or by Space, or even Time… especially Time.)

"Space and Time have shadows?" Jon questioned with a funny face.

(Worlds have shadows, the Multiverse, Souls and basically everything. Shadows are simply everyone's record in the Time. You can't live without your Shadow else you will be nothing. Even a Multi-Dimensional being like myself have a shadow. Hell, I introduced myself as Shadow.)

"... Okay, that's a lot to take in one go." Jon said and looked down, "You just said Multiverse and something about you being a Multi-Dimensional being."

(A normal world have 4 Dimension. 3 for the Space, which are the X, Y and Z axes, and a dimension for the Time. There are Soul Dimensions, Astral Dimensions, Black Dimensions, White Dimensions, Higher and Lower Dimensions… you will never find an end to those damn things so don't think about it too much. The important thing is… the stronger the being, the more Dimensions it can exist in. Sometimes, too strong beings can't exist in Stable Dimensions.)

"Like you?" Jon hit the nail on its head.

(Indeed. I can't exist here as the real me is in the most unstable dimension at the edge of existence. The Daedric Princes are the same as me so they need special methods to walk on this Lower Dimension, that's why we prefer to send out Avatars.)

"The more you talk the less I understand. What does all this shit have to do with the Abyss?"

(You already know the existence of Order and Chaos. The fragments of them that were used to create this existence are called Anu and Padomay. These powers have a source and that is something higher than them.)

"The Godhead?"

(Higher.)

"... What?"

An existence higher than the Godhead, the collective thoughts of all things?

[A/n: this is the Lore beyond the Lore. My own creation… call it the Doniverse (Don Universe). Something like the Marvel Universe where all my novels exist together.]

(Have you ever heard about the Nu?)

**********

{Part 2}

(Have you ever heard about the Nu?)

"The Nu?"

Jon thought for a few seconds until he remembered something but he dismissed it immediately but looking at what Shadow was saying, Jon shivered from the thought.

"Fuck! Who are you?"

(Hehe! I am glad you are this perceptive. Now, what is Nu?)

Jon swallowed his saliva.

"The Nu is the deification of the primordial watery Abyss in ancient Egypt. In other words, the Sea of Chaos, the most primal form of existence which from the Sun was ripped to create the All Creation."

(Oh, that's quite the detailed explanation. Now I'll make it easy for you. Think of Oblivion and the Void as a mainland surrounded by what you know as the Seas of Oblivion. The Abyss is something out of this Mainland… think of it as an archipelago that connects this mainland with other mainlands.)

"Other… universes?"

(Bingo!)

"Couldn't you just say 'Hey, Jon. This Abyss leads outside the Aurbis through the Chaotic Forces to other Universes'?"

(Where is the fun in that?)

"Fuck!"

Jon was frustrated by Shadows teasing.

Still, he learns a lot from simply having conversations with Shadow even though he always ends up with his blood pressure at a critical level.

"Does this mean… I can… I can return to the world I came from? To Earth?"

Jon asked a very sensitive question.

(Through the Abyss with your current power? Impossible. You are a being bound to this Universe. Traveling through the Multiverse is impossible even for many of the CHIM. And to Earth of all places… Earth is the most Stable World in the Multiverse as well as its Center and the Lowest World. That's why magic can't be used there… even though changes are coming even to Earth.)

"What?"

(Oh! I haven't said my congratulations. Earth is facing the Apocalypse… not that we can do anything.)

"Apocalypse?"

(Don't worry, a Hero will rise, save the day, you know the drill.)

"What the fuck?"

(Just calm down… hey, Jon… are you with me?)

Not aware that he just delivered a massive blow to Jon's mentality, Shadow kept shaking Jon using the [Greed] form.

It was an hour later when Jon responded.

"FUCK YOU!"

(Oh, he's back.)

"Back my ass! What Apocalypse?"

(Nothing to concern yourself with. Unless you are a Higher Existence and have the ability to send your Avatar to Earth, you are of no help at all.)

"Wh… what about my…"

(To think you are attached to those people even after 18 years of Reincarnation… don't worry about them. The Apocalypse is not as bad as you think it is. And here is something to cheer you up. If Earth is fucked, all the higher worlds are fucked. Earth is the Center of the Multiverse, you know.)

"What the…"

(More importantly, you have an Abyss to… hey, Jon… he lagged again?)

Shadow's airheaded personality was putting too much pressure on Jon.

An hour later, Jon returned from the lag looking pale.

"I… I don't want to talk anymore."

Even Jon has to take it easy in front of Shadow's level of knowledge.

(I don't blame you. Many walk in the Abyss blind of where they step. While some survive, some don't. I was just doing you a favor.)

Jon dismissed what Shadow said and thought carefully.

"So… the Shadow Magic, you said it is related to all that somehow."

(Indeed. As the Shadow is also something with its own Dimension, it is closely related to the Void and the Abyss.)

"How so?"

(Don't you see? The Shadow can Manipulate Space and Time… the Void and the Abyss. Didn't Azura tell you that in the Abyss, Time is your only ally, that basic hoe meant the Abyss is your ally if you managed it well.)

"Manage it?"

(In the Abyss, there are resources that handle magic in ways you don't understand. You will see for yourself.)

Jon held his head then brought out a water skin and poured it on himself.

"Void is Space, Abyss is Time, Earth is having an Apocalypse that threatens all the Multiverse… not worried at all!"

Jon stood up with clouded eyes and pale face trying to fix whatever shit is going to rain in him.

***

After a few hours of meditating and getting his head back, Jon opened his eyes with a bit of peace in them.

"Nefertiti, what did you find out?" He asked.

"Hooman, the power source is the top of this strange building." She replied.

"The top of the pyramid? Well, at least I get to climb one."

Jon said while walking out of the cave under the pyramid to the entrance. He put his feet on the pyramid and walked unhindered all the way up.

Unlike how the Pyramids during the modern era on Earth are stripped naked of their outer shell, this pyramid was well preserved and every stone had an enchantment. The white marble surely gave a bright appearance to the pyramid from the outside.

On the very top, however, the place was crowned with a golden shell and gemstones. In fact, that was a device with a very peculiar enchantment and from the looks of it, it needed a certain intensity of starlight to operate.

Luckily, the sun was setting and the stars will appear in some time. Jon decided to stay and not think of anything until when the stars are the brightest.

(Have I told you about…)

"Shut up!"

***

At the middle of the night, the golden crowning on top of the pyramid started to react but it wasn't quite right.

"The gems need to be aligned with the stars of the sky." Jon looked around and found the golden crowning made of sectors that can be rotated.

Rotating the sectors was easy but there was a missing gem.

"Don't tell me those fucking cultists took one to ensure it doesn't work." Jon cursed.

A missing star was indeed a problem and no matter what gems he has, he needs someone that responds to the power of a star which he doesn't have…

Or maybe he does.

"The Star of Azura."

(Brilliant idea!)

"Shadow, go home. You are grounded."

(Just do your thing.)

Sighing in his heart, Jon looked up at the sky and searched for a certain star. There to the east was the star he was looking for.

Aiming the Star of Azura at that certain star, it started to brighten up along with the Star of Azura.

(Trapping Starlight? That's actually a very advanced trick.)

"I met a certain idiot who used a scroll containing Dawn Magic on himself. I picked up a few tricks."

(Well, this Technique will surely come in handy in the Abyss.)

"How so?"

(That's enough Spoilers for your small brain in one day.)

"Yeah, shut up."

Jon's technique of trapping the Elements in Soul Gems. The Elements are Energies just like the Souls, the Ayleid (Heartland High Elves) were the Masters of trapping energies in certain types of crystals called the Meteoric Glass to create mysteries like the Welkynd Stones and the Varla Stones that served as an excellent substitute for Soul Gems.

Jon was done trapping Starlight Energy in the Star of Azura then directed that energy to the missing gem's position.

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From here onwards, the situation changed in an instant.

The whole valley brightened.

The decorations on the Ansei Pyramid, the writings on the Obelisks around the valley and a road leading inside.

"Well, this is a beautiful appearance."

Jon looked around inspecting the beautiful place but sadly there was no time. The stars in the skies are moving and soon the aligning will end for another 24 hours.

Waving his staff, he teleported back to the cave room under the pyramid.

Unlike before, the two large statues were now lively… lively stone.

The two half-giant statues turned their heads for Jon as soon as he appeared. In the center of the room, there appeared a stone tablet.

Jon approached it carefully. There were some writings on the tablet in Daedric which was a very easy language for Jon.

××××××××××××××××××××

• State your Wish, or Not and you will be Crushed.

• Offer a Soul, or Not and your Soul will be the Price.

• Ask One Question for One, or Not and you will be invited forcefully.

• One Guardian Lies, the Other Doesn't.

• One Gate is your Wish, the Other is your Death.

××××××××××××××××××××

"What a cheerful traveling agency!"

(Whoops!)

As Jon ran his smart mouth, the cave became upset all of a sudden. The two guardians raised their hands and descended with then on Jon. Shadow didn't even bother warning him.

"Shit! WULD! (Whirlwind!)"

Jon used the [Whirlwind Sprint] and dashed away from the reach of the two stone giants pinned on the walls.

As he looked back, he saw them grabbing large rocks from the ground.

"What are you? Children? Fucking hell… I wish to access the Abyss!"

As Jon shouted, the Stone Giants ceased their attacks.

"Offer a Soul now? Easy."

Jon ran over to the stone tablet and placed a filled Black Soul Gem on it. Knowing the Daedra, they all lust for Black Souls.

The energy of the place settled down as the Black Soul Gem turned to dust.

Now the question part.

One guard is going to lie, one is going to tell the truth, one question to one guard must be asked to determine which gate of the two is the right one.

"Thankfully… I watched that movie 'Labyrinth' when I was young. I developed an early crush on black-haired girls because of Jennifer Connolly."

(Yeah… I've never liked blondes too.)

"I know, rig… hey, we are not talking."

Jon ignored Shadow and looked at one of the Guardians.

"Hey, douchebag. If I asked the other Guardian which gate is the right one, what will be his answer?" Jon said.

The Guardian reacted to Jon's question and opened his mouth for an ancient deep voice to come out.

{The Left!}

"I see. I'll take the Right Gate then."

It was simple. Jon didn't even which guard was lying.

This question was going to be answered the same answer by the two. The Guardian who tells the Truth will say what will the Lair Guardian say. The Lair Guardian will say what the other won't say which is the truth. In both cases, the two answers will be the same and the right gate is… well, the Right Gate.

Simple.

The two Guardians cleared the way for Jon. He took a deep breath and advanced forward to the Right Gate.

"Open Sesame!"

And the Gate opened.

(Wow!) Shadow applauded.

"I don't even know how I did it. Well, here goes nothing."

And he stepped through the Gate.

….

…

..

.

"It is kinda pitch black in here."

(It is normal, after all, you are traveling between the fragments of this world.)

"Perfect… please tell me I'll have to go through a Loading Screen once again."

(On the plus side this time, you are not loading 500 mods on a new technology in its beta stages.)

"... True."

As the two were arguing, the world around Jon brightened to find himself in a swampy cave covered with all sorts of crocodile-like creatures.

"Let's worry about rare species then."

(I like your mentality)

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