Chapter 222 Bellflower



No normal person wanted to go to the Dark Lands, as everyone knew that it would only lead to death in most cases, and there was really no reason to go here.

Of course, by entering the dangerous territory and surviving, one could become much stronger and more capable, but it was definitely not worth the risk of death which was great. There were other ways to become stronger than going into the most unknown and chaotic part of the continent.

However, all of this only mattered to those who were followers of the Fate, which was most, but not all, though Order had spent years trying to fix that.

Those who supported Chaos, who had their own reasons for following this force that was a confrontation to the Fate, went to the Dark Lands.

Sometimes, they were just idiots who died in the first few hours they stepped onto the secret paths that led to the Dark Lands.

You couldn't get into the Dark Lands just by going through the main road, as the entire border was guarded by members of the Order, where battles were fought from time to time.

So those who wanted to follow Chaos or face the Apostles to join them had to seek out certain obscure places.

Order tried to control them so that no one else could ally with the Chaos, however, it was impossible, and over the years they had failed.

The secret paths sometimes changed, and on the old ones, some anomalies did not allow them to be controlled. That was also why it was very difficult to find someone who happened to be in the Dark Lands.

"How long until it's ready?" Erel asked with a serious expression, looking at the five Oracles, four were standing around, at the points of a massive magic circle, the fifth one was in the center, it was Anet.

She was one of the most experienced Oracles, which was why Order had sent her to protect and control the situation around Zexiton Academy.

Several hours had passed since they had learned of what had happened to Zayne, enough time for Order to send Oracles from the nearest bases and Anet to begin preparing for the special spell.

Anet had been awake for a long time, and in her condition, coffee was not going to help her last another hour, so she had to use some special potions. Her pupils shone brightly as the veins near her eyes swelled.

Normally, Anet wouldn't have put such a strain on her body, but she could afford it. Unlike most Oracles that had graduated from Oracle Academy only a few years ago, and were nothing more than weak children with special skills, she had real strength.

Although she looked like a harmless girl, an ordinary Knight would lose to her in a hundred fights out of a hundred.

"Ten minutes..." Anet muttered, spinning magic circles with various data and runes around her, "Then, everything will depend on our luck. We're lucky that Zayne spent a few days at the academy, as otherwise we wouldn't have a chance of finding him."

Floating in front of Anet was a clump of black hair that they had collected from Zayne's pillow. They needed at least something to find him, so his hair was a great clue. 

"I see..." Erel nodded.

Anet knew the right spell, but since she wasn't ready for it she needed a large amount of resources. Fortunately, Solomon had solved that problem, and the Head of the Zexiton Academy allowed them to use some of the resources from the vault.

'Damn... Even if we can find him we will need to create a special unit to go in search of Zayne... Even though we are trying to do what is necessary and Order is interested, he can only be saved by luck. He needs to survive out there while we search for him. Erel pondered with a complicated expression.

He knew that many people had died trying to get into the Dark Lands, but it was even worse to end up there. Since, if a person could survive in the Dark Lands, then this one was strong and capable.

...

At the same time, while Anet was preparing the spell, Zayne was making his way through the dark forest, following the ripples.

A few more Hyenas came his way, some of them he killed just like the previous ones, so the rest just scattered away.

Even when new Hyenas appeared, in the form of shadows among the trees flickering across Zayne's path, they did not attack him. 

The beasts could smell the scent of blood coming from Zayne, and their instincts told them that there was no point in attacking Zayne.

'Hmm... The pulsations are getting more and more active, but I've been walking for quite some time now. I wonder when it will end? Zayne internally muttered, looking under his feet.

The ground was black with the same grass, so red ripples were clearly visible. At the beginning of the path they had been few and wide, showing the general direction, but now there were many more, becoming almost a road leading Zayne forward.

Zayne followed the ripples as he had no other choice but to keep a close eye on his surroundings.

'Most likely the Hyenas are some of the weakest monsters in this area... Damn, I don't even know what part of the Dark Lands I'm in. Hopefully, I won't meet a local leader or something.''

After a while, amidst the dry trees and black fog covering everything around him, Zayne finally saw something different.I think you should take a look at

It was a faint red glow that could only mean one thing - Chaos!

Zayne sped up, brushing dry tree branches out of his way with his hands and finding himself in a completely different place.

"What is this...?" Zayne muttered in disbelief as his eyes went wide.

In a clearing in the middle of a dark forest where no trees grew, there was a tall, lonely bellflower with one single bud that was pointing towards the ground.

The bellflower was big enough that under it a person could hide from the rain, or from the strong wind.

The petals were red, emitting the Chaos Energy familiar to Zayne. The tips of the flower shone with a pleasant amber glow, like lanterns that were the only source of light in these dark lands.

The aura emanating from the flower prevented other creatures from approaching it, only Zayne was an exception as this flower bloomed today for him.

"What should I do...?" Zayne muttered, slowly stepping towards the flower.

The ripples were still emanating, so he walked until they stopped, this place was right below the bud.

Then, no sooner had thoughts entered Zayne's mind than the massive Bellflower covered him with its bud, as darkness and silence reigned around him.

For some reason Zayne made no attempt to get out of the flower, he felt no threat, and his instincts were calm as if this was the way it was supposed to be.

This continued for a while, then the tips of the flower flared up again, illuminating most of the petals from within.

Golden streams of energy began to emerge from the tips of the flower, which like dice began to write strange symbols on the petals.

Zayne gulped. He didn't understand anything, every letter was unknown and incomprehensible to him, but interest and excitement were constantly growing inside him.

'Is Chaos right now trying to talk to me...? Is this actually happening...? But, how can I figure out what these symbols mean!?"? Zayne inwardly exclaimed with genuine regret that he did not know this alphabet or language.

Now he was about to miss perhaps the rarest opportunity of his life because of some stupidity! However, Chaos had his ways. After all, Zayne was a Traveller, for now.

Bellflower dipped even lower as its tips touched Zayne's head, then energy pulses traveled through them, reaching Zayne's consciousness.

'Zayne Fellen... That's your name... isn't it...?' A strange voice sounded in Zayne's head.

In fact, he didn't need to answer, as it was only a transmission of symbols into his mind. As soon as those words sounded in his head, the first line written on the petals disappeared.

'You are an unusual person... No wonder you have Chaos and Fate energy in you so quickly. You are contradictory, your life has often thrown you from extreme to extreme...''

'Surely you have already realized that Fate is not good, Chaos is not evil, each entity has its own laws they follow... but... have you realized the basic difference?'

Though it was a question, Zayne didn't need to answer.

'Obviously, the answer is no.'

Zayne gulped, as he began to worry it sounded threatening. 

'Fate gives power to those who have tried and sacrificed for it... rewards those who have achieved something... though sometimes those ways don't seem kind at all... but that's the reality...' The voice said calmly, making Zayne remember the case of Roland when Fate gave him power for selflessness as well as Selania's memories when she sacrificed ordinary people.

The voice paused briefly as if even to it it was difficult to speak, then a few more lines disappeared from the petals.

'That seems fair... but what about those who didn't even get a chance to prove themselves? Some may have been born into a poor family, humiliated all their lives, or not even have a bit of talent for anything... These are the people Fate will never pay attention to...'

Perhaps it was a clever manipulation from Chaos, but... Zayne immediately remembered his life. He was lucky that Fallen Fate had appeared, but, what if it hadn't?

Whether Fate was in his world or not, it didn't matter, because in both worlds there were millions of people whose fates were as fallen as his with no chance of a bright future.

Then, it was Chaos' turn.