“Which way are we supposed to go?” Esben asked as he examined the series of tunnels in front of us.
I bit my lip as my eyes roamed across the nearly identical caves bathed in shadow. Even if the cave had not been terraformed by the energy of the Guardian, I would have difficulty choosing the right path. Now, nothing looked like what I remembered at all.
With a sigh, I reached up and pulled a twig off one of the nearby hanging vines. Without saying a word, I stripped all the leaves off the twig then tossed it up in the air. the twig bounced a few times as it clattered to the ground, before rolling to a stop.
“That way,” I said motioning in the direction the stick pointed.
“You… can’t be serious,” Esben remarked in disbelief as he stared down at the stick.
I just shrugged. “It always works for Azreal.”
“Who?”
“Never mind, do you have a better idea on which way to go?” I said as I quickly changed the subject.
Esben hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “Habil will not like this.”
“Then do not tell him,” I replied as I took a step into the dark tunnel beyond. A small green flame ignited on the fingertips of my uninjured hand, bathing the empty cavern in the flickering glow.
I was surprised by how easy the flame came to me. I clenched my fist and the flame flared bigger than ever. It seemed my dip in the pool was not without its advantages. My innate talent felt stronger than it had since my rebirth. It was nearly twice as strong as before I entered the caves. It was still nothing compared to my full power, but the unexpected progress brought a bright smile to my face.
Curious, I also checked the power contained in my right eye. As the innate talent flared to life, I felt the strength behind it far above anything it had been before. The two talents were now even in strength… perfect for attempting to merge them together.
I shuddered as I remembered the pain of my body burning alive. I knew the Guardian was right, I had to learn to use both talents together if I wanted to stand a chance against Envy but the risk of what could happen still left me hesitant.
I shook my head, pushing away the thoughts and walking further into the abyss of the cave in front of me. Regardless of what I chose to do, it would have to be after we escaped these caverns. An accidental explosion here could cause our doom.
Esben walked beside me in silence as we moved deeper into the cave. My family’s wagon rumbled behind us. The remaining mercenaries took up the rear, hesitating about blindly waking into another dark tunnel. For a while, the only sound was the echo of footsteps and the creaking of the wagon.
Finally, Esben cleared his throat, breaking the silence. He looked like he wanted to say something ever since leaving the illusion but always stopped short before actually speaking the words. With nothing left to distract him now, it seemed he had finally built up his resolve.
“If my men and I are going to continue risking our lives protecting you and your family, I need you to tell me the truth… I know who you are,” Esben said after some hesitation.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” I replied without looking at the man.
“Has anyone ever told you that you are a horrible liar?”
“A few.”
Esben sighed. “Honestly, I do not really care if you are the Raddare or not. What I need to know is whether or not you will answer my questions truthfully. In the illusion, my reflection told me many things… about my people and what will happen to them because of who we are. I need to know… will we have a future beyond this war?”
I frowned as I silently cursed the guardian. After some internal debate, I decided to be truthful. The man was risking his life and his men for us. He deserved to know. “If Envy wins your people will absolutely be among the first he targets. None of your people will survive a defeat, but victory will not be much different. Regardless of the outcome of this war, a new doorway will be open between the realms. It will only be a matter of time before the Seventh Division learns of your existence. When that happens… it might be better if you die in battle before that day comes.”
“Because of the Divine Body?” Esben asked quietly as his body was covered with a slight silver sheen.
I nodded. “The Seventh Division will never allow the technique to be spread somewhere beyond their control. Your people will either be forced into slavery or executed on the spot. There is no room for negotiations in this matter.”
Esben looked at me with a piercing gaze that made me shuffle away uncomfortable. “My people are willing to fight for this realm… for the Raddare… Will we really be abandoned the moment victory is achieved?”
I hesitated as a pang of stabbing guilt grew in my chest. I spoke slowly, knowing Esben would not like my answer. “The Seventh Division is… powerful. Even before half the division leaders died slaying the Archdemon, the Seventh Division rampaged across the realms with impunity. The Thirteenth Division is not strong enough to stand against them in a war. Even without their army, the self-proclaimed god-king that rules the Seventh Division is too powerful for anyone to face in direct combat. When they come for you, there will be no stopping them. The most I can do is secretly relocate some of the women and children to another realm. At least a few of your people can survive that way.”
Esben’s hand clenched into fists as he walked in silence for a long time before he came to a resolution. “We will fight them.”
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“Then you will die,” I said, shaking my head.
“My people have never been afraid of death. It is just one step into another journey. I just wish I knew why. Why spread this power among our people if it would cause our destruction?”
“That is something you will have to ask Svend,” I replied as I shook my head, “Someone with the knowledge to spread the Divine Body to so many people must have been fairly high ranking in the Seventh Division once upon a time. He knew exactly how they react to such blasphemous actions, but decided to teach the technique anyway. This realm may be cut off from the others for now, but getting the hundreds of years required to properly create anything close to a true Divine Body was never possible.”
“True Divine body? What do you mean?” Esben asked curiously.
“You do not know?” I remarked in surprise. Esben shook his head. I thought carefully for a second but decided there was no harm in telling the man. He was already a target of the Seventh Division either way. “Among the techniques used by the Thirteen Divisions, the Divine Body is actually considered one of the weakest… for the first generation. However, the strength gained from this technique is genetic. Even if they never practice the technique themselves, your children will be stronger than a normal person. Once they practice the technique and refine their body further, the next generation of children will be even more powerful. After ten generations of this, the child can barely be considered human anymore. The elite of the Seventh Division believes this process will one day bring their people into true godhood… A true Divine Body that stands above any mortal. That is why they are so protective of the technique being spread outside their borders.”
Esben looked down at his clenched fist as the silver shine on his skin began to glow even more radiant. “I see. That explains…” Esben paused for a moment then looked back at me. “Will you really help hide the children in a new realm after this war is over?”
I nodded firmly. “The number of realms is infinite. I know a few secret places that even the Seventh Division should not be able to find. I cannot save everyone, but I will save as many as I can.”
The silver glow faded from Esben’s skin as he let out a deep breath. “You are exactly like the stories of the Raddare. Thank you. I cannot speak for all my people, but I hold more influence than most. I can promise the full support of the Odjur clan in the war to come. I only ask that you uphold your promise when the time comes.”
“I will.”
We continued to move through the seemingly endless tunnel our eyes turned to the future. At first, our hopes were high, but as time passed everyone started to feel the pressure of being trapped in the dark tunnels. It was hard to tell how much time passed underground. We stopped to rest more than once. The tunnel had started to get smaller and I had the sinking premonition that I had chosen the wrong path forward.
Encroaching darkness put everyone on edge as only a single flickering lantern still burned. The last of our oil reserves had almost been completely used now and what little food and water we rationed out was barely enough to quiet the pain in my stomach. I started using my flames to light the path so that we could conserve what little oil we had left and my dad had already started working on a glyph designed to cast light for us.
Even with the new sources of light, the shadows of the tunnel were always close by. Esben’s second in command, Habil, had started muttering to himself again as the caves seemed to be endless. As more and more branching paths started to appear, I knew the cave I had chosen was nothing more than a mining tunnel, not one of the trade routes.
There was a short debate on whether or not to return to the central area and try another path, but in the end, we decided to continue on this path for a little longer when a single glowing butterfly flew by us. It seemed to beckon us deeper, fluttering its wings impatiently every time we stopped.
Most of the mercenaries were suspicious, but I decided to trust the butterfly. It was all that remained of the guardian’s will and should know to lead us to the correct path. More than once the butterfly had us turn down a side tunnel I would have ignored.
As time passed and we moved deeper and deeper into the maze of mineshafts, even I began to doubt the butterfly’s ability. In the end, it was just an insect. If we were following a normal random butterfly, we would have wasted all this time for nothing.
At the back of my mind, I worried if Irene’s undead had dug their way into the tunnels yet. If they had, it might be too late for us to turn back now without starting a fight. Even now her army might be scouring the tunnels for our trail. The hard rock under our feet did not leave footprints, but if all the undead spread out through the tunnels it would only be a matter of time before we were found.
As I worried, Butterfly came to a sudden stop at a crumbling section of wall that looked as if it had just recently collapsed revealing a natural cave leading deeper underground.
Green flames ignited on my fingertip before flying into the dark tunnel, illuminating what lay beyond. The cave opened up into a massive chasm, a giant hole naturally formed into the rock that stretched further than I could see. I flared my flames as bright as I could, trying to push away the darkness and reveal the empty void beyond. My flames nearly flickered out as I gasped in surprise at the sight that lay down the giant chasm.
“Is that… A fortress?” Donte whispered in disbelief.
I nodded, almost numb as I stared intently at the sharply carved white stone towers reaching up out of the chasm. Below, I could barely make out the battlements of a massive structure lost to time. All of it was carved in the same flawless white stone, a stone I knew was a thousand times more valuable than marble.
However, the beauty of the intricate stonework was not what drew my gaze. Instead, my eyes locked onto a geometric symbol carved into the tallest of the towers stretching up through the chasm. It was a simple symbol of a triangle with a cross underneath, but it held more weight than the mountain over our heads.
My dad hopped down from the wagon and walked next to me to look at the fortress, unmarred by the passage of time. “I do not recognize the insignia. Is this what we are looking for?” my dad asked curiously. I nodded my head silently, unable to tear my gaze away from the symbol on the distant tower. My dad frowned as he scratched his head. “Then this place belonged to the Guardian? Why did she build a fortress so deep underground?”
Once again, I shook my head. My voice was barely a whisper as I spoke as if afraid the noise might scare away the sight in front of us. “This is something much older than the Guardian… older than the Divisions… older than the thousand years of war. That is the insignia of the Preateritum, the precursors that died out thousands of years ago.”
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