Unbound

Chapter Four Hundred And Seventy Five – 475

Chapter Four Hundred And Seventy Five – 475

The Chapel of the Eye was named for the three giant Nymean statue that loomed at the top of it all. A purple Belais Crystal had been placed in one of their eye sockets, and its light was a cool amethyst glow across the whole of the chamber. Apart from the other fallen statues and pillars around the wide space, there was a significant amount of blocky stone built up against the tilted door to the Shadowgate; enough that it formed a small island in the water, as well as a tiny promontory that Felix stepped across to meet the ruler of the Nagafolk.

Garox had coiled his brown-scaled length across the arm of a fallen statue, his upper body heavy with slabs of muscle and not a stitch of clothing. Only the golden belt, from which hung his twin scimitars, whose hilts he gripped tightly. He did not speak as Felix approached, nor did the Deepking, who had only barely lifted his giant head from the steaming waters. A part of Felix's Mind noted that they had not been steaming previously, piling together details he'd noticed over the course of his interactions with the Abyssal Serpent. Most of him, however, was concerned with keeping his gaze firm and his resolve firmer.

"My people need to leave," he said. "A threat has announced itself to me, one that could destroy everything we've built. We need to return to my Territory to face it."

The Deepking rumbled, making the water appear to boil all around his massive throat. Garox leaned forward and spoke in a harsh, sibilant whisper. "You will go back on your promise, my Lord?"

"I promised that I'd look into them when I returned from the south. While I haven't faced the source of the threat, my people and I have destroyed a lot of them. Including one of their Nests and the Depthwurm that guarded it." Felix sighed, clenching his jaw several times before continuing. "Those feel like evasions. Quibbling about my promise to you. I don't plan to leave you forever; I will return right after Nagast is defended."

"And what of the threat after that?" the Deepking said through a monstrous snarl. "And after that? This world is not the same one the gods left; it has become wild and unruly, a land of wretches seeking to gobble up all that they can. My people huddle within these Temple walls for safety, where we can guard the hatchery and our future. Out in the deeps, my warriors spend their lives to keep us safe and eradicated the Fathom, but that currency dwindles with each passing day. The Fathom grows stronger as we Naga grow weaker, and soon...even this Temple will fall."

Quest Alert!

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

Do You Wish To Abandon This Quest?

Y/N

Felix started. He'd never been offered an out from a Quest before. But then...he'd never outright walked away from one either. Even finding the Shrines of the gods was still on the table; he was just banned from walking near them. Felix composed himself quickly, all too aware of his audience, and mentally refused to drop the Quest. "I am not abandoning you or your people, Kar'casitrix. The Fathom are a threat that needs to be handled. But if I stay, a great many people may die."

"And if you leave us to our fate, God of Thunder and Flame, a great many monsters will die," Garox hissed. "Which, I wonder, do you find more palatable?"

That struck him hard. "Give me a moment, both of you. II need to converse with my aides."

"Very well," Garox said, his tone back to being almost aggressively neutral. The Deepking, however, disappeared back beneath the waves.

Felix stepped back, his Mind whirling with new considerations and old guilt. He barely noticed how he walked along the broken stones toward his people, nor the frantic rush of sailors, soldiers, and civilians.

What's the right choice here? Felix looked up, taking in the activity around him before making a b-line through the crowd.

His people had dismantled half of the Manaships already and the engines and cargo were being steadily removed and placed into rudimentary sleds formed of the same chitinous material. Beef was working his ass off, visibly straining as he grasped planks of conjured matter and reshaped them into the sleds. As the original casting was his own, Felix knew the Mana cost was considerably lessened than if another were to attempt such a thingsomething about one's Intent baking into the construct when shaped made it hard for others to disrupt, even if they had the same Skillbut the Minotaur didn't have a huge amount of Mana. Instead he was chugging on Mana Potions like they were water, their efficacy slowed with every new quaff, but still a boost to his limited regeneration.

Still, the kid was getting stronger. Already his Mana vapor was thickening, no longer looking like the wispy remains of a campfire but instead the cloying output of a house aflame. It wasn't liquid like his own, but then Beef hadn't even entered the Ring Stage of his core development yet, let alone reached Journeyman Tier. The training Felix had developed for him had paid off, increasing a number of his Skills up through Apprentice Tier and upping several of his stats, and it showed. The kid's hands moved quickly, deftly molding his chitin into rough planks and flat skis. At this rate, they would be ready to go soon.

Felix found Vess talking with Isla, up near the Shadowgate itself. Zara hovered in the air, buoyed by a construct of gleaming aquamarine light.

"this is how you were able to traverse the Continent?" Isla was asking.

"Yes. Felix...has some unique resources," Vess said.

"But how?" When Vess only shrugged, the diminutive Chanter looked up. "Zara! I know you know. How is this possible? Why have we not known?"

"You will see in short order, dear sister," the Naiad replied, still running her hands over the Shadowgate itself. "We must first find a way to get all of our people throughAh. Felix. You've returned from your discussion."

"I have." Felix chewed over his words a moment longer before turning to Isla. "The Shadowgate traverses the Void, Isla. I can't really explain how it works except in generalities, but it does." Felix shrugged. "As to its position, I can fix that, I think."

He accessed his Authority.

Authority Acknowledged, Autarch.

Do You Wish To Begin Restoration?

Warning: Stores Of Essence and Significance Are Detected.

They Will Be Consumed In The Process.

Limited Restoration, as before, Felix requested. Having accomplished the same thing previously in another part of the Temple, Felix had little difficulty altering the System's desire to repair the Temple.

Limited Restoration In Process!

A hefty chunk of Essence and significance was pulled from his channels, funneled outward into several points along the gate chamber's walls. From there, lights of gold and silver appeared, outlining carvings of stars and time-worn faces in radiance that washed over everything. Beside him, Isla squawked in sudden fear as the ground beneath them rippled.

"What is happening?" she demanded.

Zara chuckled and her construct lowed itself, allowing Vess and Isla to climb aboard. "Simply watch."

Felix stood still, the slanting flooring flowing away from him like a river, climbing sideways back up the walls. Stone pillars lifted from the deep pools that crossed the space, rising along the walls before connecting seamlessly to the ceiling that was repairing the beams and vaulted shape. Stone lattices rolled across themselves, building upward across a single wall and sharpening in detail; no longer formless, hole-filled rock, now it resembled woven ivy and vines curling with flowers and fruit all crossed by perfect, star-shaped cavities. The entire room shifted, twisting until the floor was level and the walls had rearranged completely. With the booming sound of a distant gong, it was completed.

"Blind gods," Vess whispered. "Felix that was amazing."

Isla, on the other hand, had been rendered speechless. She slowly panned her head about, studying the reshaped pillars, the lattice in the shape of vines and stars, as well as the mural formed from a thousand different colored tiles. That caught Felix's attention too as it depicted a pastoral landscape of sorts, where people worked fields surrounded by huge trees while a colorful city gleamed in the distance. Shelim, he recognized.

"Is this...is this true Nymean art? And the architecture! It is like the Ages has touched none of it!" Isla spun faster, eyes combing the walls, until she settled on the biggest and most gorgeous feature. "Shadowgate. I think I understand now."

The portal was now level with the ground, if raised up just a touch on a sloping platform. The precious metals and artistry of its design was untouched, but the plants that had grown across it and much of the chamber had vanished altogether. Now the wide opening was filled with a swirling darkness, shadows that seemed far denser than merely blocked light, and from its center Felix could hear a faint...crooning.

Connection Established!

Shadowgate, Designation #5W Is Active!

There was a sudden pull at him, at his center, where his Hunger roused from its easy rest. The crooning increased, and a song he barely recognized but knew perfectly formed in his Mind, before his Spirit and Hunger quivered with a brief but powerful yearning. Abruptly, the connections they had severed were immediately restored. All along the Shadowgate's frame, sigils of gold and silver blazed into being in a grand arc. The swirling darkness turned to thick, liquid tar made of shadow and smoke.

Felix felt a little wobbly, but nothing serious. Losing Essence and significance, even a little bit, always threw him off-kilter. If anything though, he wasn't nearly as bad off as the last time he'd reconnected the Shadowgate. He cleared his throat. "There you go."

Zara smiled. "Remarkable to see it. The power of Authority and your heritage has proven quite the combination. I imagine that was the point."

"No doubt." Felix grimaced. The idea of the Maw with access to the Shadowgates was horrifying. The Primordial had been doubtlessly aware of their existence; it had come from the same era, after all, when such things seemed to be commonplace. The longer Felix spent on the Continent, the longer he realized just how perfect the Maw's plan would have been had she managed to force him to be her Vessel.

"The point?" Isla asked, but Felix ignored her.

He walked forward, stepping up to the Shadowgate. The song of it was quieter than he remembered, the space between points a vast emptiness that walked the very edge of the Void itself. It called to mind a great many things that Felix often pushed away, memories that clawed at him. The pirates. The Whalemaw, which would likely prove an issue when they crossed through again. But also Echo's Reach. Bateo. His wife and children and community still stuck in the Void with no way out...abandoned. By him, just as he was going to leave the Naga to their fate while he ran off and did something more important.

"Goddamn it," Felix muttered.

"What is it?" Vess asked.

He turned from the Shadowgate, only steps from passing through its dark surface. "Change of plans. I'm staying."

"What!" Isla and Zara shouted together, before shooting each other a look.

"Felix, why?" Zara continued. "Nagast is under serious threat. We cannot remain here."

"That's why you're not. I'm going to stay alone, and you can lead everyone else back to Nagast." Felix started walking down the ramp, already eyeing the folks that had started to stream into the far end of the chamber. "I'll join you as soon as my Quest here is finished."

"That is foolishness," Isla scoffed. "Vess told me of this Quest of yours. Defeat the Fathom? You may be mighty, but despite what these serpents claim you are not a god, child."

"No, I'm not. But I'm the best chance the Nagafolk have to survive. You've all saw the Den, the Depthwurm, hell, even the Slaughter Nettle. Something is going on here, and the Nagafolk follow me. I can't turn my back on them." Felix clenched his hands, one around his hooked sword and another around the Riposte. "Nagast and Haarwatch will have an army to face the Hierocracy. The Naga will have me."

"And me," Vess said, stepping to him.

"Vess, no." Felix looked at the others, but both Chanters looked surprised too. "You should go back with everyone else. This isn't your fight."

Vess frowned at him, her dark brown eyes more intense than he'd seen them before. "Felix. You are my friend and ally. And this Fathom, whatever it may be, is of draconic origin. Both of those facts makes this my fight. So do not turn me away, or I shall be forced to ignore your orders."

Felix opened his mouth, but any objections he had fled beneath Vess' heated gaze. So he just shut it again. "Fine. You have a point."

"I will stay as well," Zara declared, but Felix shook his head.

"No, you need to help the team figure out that crystal-core shield...thingy," he said. Zara's frown intensified. "Please, Zara. That will save lives. And I need someone to lead them all."

"Zara! You cannot allow this!" Isla said. "He is jeopardizing everything to play hero for some waterlogged snakes?"

"Enough," Zara said, her voice like a whipcrack. "You make a fine point, Felix. I...will go and lead your people to Haarwatch...but Isla will remain."

"What?" Felix was not interested in spending more alone time with the annoying Chanter. "She is a healer. She needs to go to the front lines."

Zara held up a hand. "You need a healer at your side, to keep you alive. I cannot stop you from risking yourself, that is your own Choice. But your life is far more important than even a Territory full of innocents. If you stay, she stays."

Felix gritted his teeth so hard his molars almost splintered. "Fine. That's it. No one else stays."

"Stay? What're you guys talking about?" Beef asked, walking up with an armful of metallic parts.

This time, Felix definitely felt his tooth crack.