Chapter Three Hundred And Fifty Seven – 357

Chapter Three Hundred And Fifty Seven – 357

Congratulations!

You Have Extended Your Authority, Autarch!

The notifications trilled at him pleasantly, and Felix felt a weight settle atop his shoulders. It was there only an instant before vanishing, but in that instant all of him was pressed to its very limit. Mind, Body, and Spirit screamed in pain and subsequent relief, as if he had condensed a week of extreme physical exertion into a single moment. He fought to stay standing and even the ice beneath him splintered from the metaphysical burden.

Authority...A mountain that will crush us, he thought as he flexed his legs and locked his knees. It was all that kept him standing. Yet I can't get out from under it, can I?

A burning hiss drew his attention inward, toward the Essence that roiled within him. The Necromantic Spirit had been a vile thing, as bad as the Urges in its own way, but its being had been reduced to it's quintessential parts and made...not safe, exactly. Digestible. Essence, motes of Memories, and the shimmering song of more danced in the swirling cloud among his Divine Veinor Divine Tree, he supposed.

A heaviness sat among those branches, pulling them ever so slightly downward, settling the Tree further into Felix's dual cores far below. Significance, he recognized. The weight of...what?

Significance was explained to him as a solidity in the core, where everything was firmer and more potent. The 'why' of it had not yet been explained to him, though he planned to change that soon. If Zara would actually tell him the entire truth, for once.

Felix put that thought out of his mind, focusing instead on the prompts that spread around him. The threads of the System wove wide, interfacing with each of the beings in the vast chamber and beyond. A cursory tracing of it suggested it was going out to everyone in the Temple.

The Haestus Temple Has Been Claimed!

His Inheritor's Will flashed, the first and second glyphs on the blade pulsing in time with the faint melody of the notification. Each time his Authority increased by virtue of being the Inheritor, the sword had pulsed. Now it practically strobed with a worrisome insistence.

"Karys?"

"I am unsure, Felix. Perhapsah, there we are." A coil of green-gold Mana vapor spun and pointed directly upward, to where a cluster of faintly glimmering crystal hung from the ceiling. Stalactites made of precious minerals. "Belais Crystals, and in the center is the Control Node. The Inheritor's Will is acting as a conduit for the System's re-integration of this Temple. Like all the rest, it was Lost and cut off, but you can change that. Simply thrust the Inheritor's Will into that formation, and the rest of the process should complete itself."

"Why? Nagast didn't work like this," Felix pointed out. "The sword didn't even come into play there."

"The Waterfall Temple was in far better condition than Haestus," Karys said. "I can practically feel the mold all around you. It is quite unpleasant."

"Fair." He eyed the distance. "I think I can make it."

"Make it?"

No sooner had the words echoed from the blade than Felix hurled it straight up. Karys' scream in surprise was cut short as the blade hilted itself between two large growths of crystal.

Around them, a fractal array burst alight, illuminating the dark waters and filling them with wisps of vibrant Mana. The dark opacity fled before the light, rendering the waters crystal clear and exposing the mess of bones and cast-off scales and waving plant-life clinging to the far bottom. Yet the process didn't stop there. Silver and gold lights tore up the walls, filling in the outlines of carved peoples and creatures, until the entirety of the containment chamber was blazing with light.

The Deepking flinched from it, as did his brethren, many of whom ducked into the waters in trepidation. But there was no escape from it all. At the apex of the chamber the Belais Crystal strengthened, until its amethyst brilliance shone down on them like a second sun, and the ambient Mana in the vast room doubled. Felix could feel his breath come a touch harder than before, the rising magic pressing at him almost as hard as the Shambling Horror.

Temple Seat Reestablished, Autarch.

Do You Wish To Begin Restoration?

Warning: Stores Of Essence and Significance Are Detected.

They Will Be Consumed In The Process.

Felix blinked, and used Adamant Discord to yank free his hooked sword. It fell, though Felix had to pull in it to make sure it landed back in his hands. With the connection between him and the swordand Karys on the other endit was easier than breathing; their link was steel solid and twice as strong.

"N-no, my Lord. Of courssse not"

"Then be silent and accept the truth. The Nym have returned, and the God of Thunder and Flame stands before you!"

Jadorak's crimson eyes turned incredulously to Felix, who did his best to exude a sense of "don't fuck with me I'm maybe a god, probably." It was, he feared, less than convincing. At the very least, however, Felix maintained eye contact with the albino Naga until the guy turned away with a sneer.

"My Lord," the Deepking intoned, facing Felix once again. "I am relieved that you have chosen to preserve our home, and that you allow us to remain. The waters of Haestus and others besides are no longer safe to my kind. Bereft of these walls, we too would fall mercy to the Fathom."

"The Fathom?" Vess asked. "I am not familiar with this term."

The Abyssal Serpent's gaze flickered between Felix and Vess, as if assessing how he should respond to this new figure. "They are an old threat, come anew. The darkest, deepest places of the ten thousand lakes of these Hills hold things that no sky has ever shined upon. Ruins unseen, treasures untold, and monsters that would chill your soul. The Fathom are among those creatures, and the worst of them. We have fought many long years against its vile children, a war from which all Nagafolk have suffered. Season after season we dwindle while the Fathom flourish."

There was a vast sadness bowing across the king's Spirit, a descending note that shook the very room they were into Felix's Affinity, at least. And he was not alone. Vess, Evie, Zara, and even Atar looked affected by it. The Deepking nodded to Jadorak and the other Naga gathered in the chamber around them, their scales a smattering of greens and browns and blues.

"My people have waged war against them, brought the battle to them, but they are too many. Too...irksome to be vanquished altogether. I mention this only so that you understand the danger that this Temple protects us from, and what you shall have to brave if you are to leave it." The king hesitated, a strange thing to see on a giant snake. "I would beseech your aid, however, should you be willing to offer it."

New Threat Discovered!

The Fathom!

New Quest!

Defend The Depths!

The Deepking has outlined a nascent threat to your Authority: the Fathom. Find and neutralize the threat, protect your new people, and seek out the Fathom's purpose.

Purpose 0/1

Reward: Increased Authority, Resources, XP, Varies

Felix blinked at the notifications, a little surprised at the new Quest, before an explosion of movement and sloshing water filled the air. Jadorak, without another word, had dove into the water and surged away, vanishing through some underwater passages that Felix hadn't noticed before. A feeling of frustrated fury left with him, and no less then ten other Naga followed.

"As much as we would like to take on this Quest, we must head south without delay," Zara interjected.

The Deepking rumbled in his throat.

"Are the Fathom an immediate concern?" Felix asked.

"No," the Abyssal Serpent said. "We hold them at bay for now. The power of the Returned God would be a mighty boon to us, but we are still safe."

"Alright. Then I promise, after I settle up with things in the south, I'll be coming back and we can take a look into these Fathom at that point." Felix spread his hands. "That's all I can do at this time."

"Then that is what we shall accept." The Deepking bowed low enough to put his head once more on level with Felix and crew upon the ice barge. "That you have listened to our pleas at all is an honor, my Lord."

Unsure of what else to do, Felix nodded. It seemed to work, as the giant serpent lifted its head once more and called out in a guttural tongue to its people. To him, he said, "I offer you my people as guides to the edge of Haestus. As I said, the waters are not safe beyond these walls."

"That would be most appreciated," Zara accepted on his behalf. "We would like to leave immediately."

"So be it."