Breaking Free

Suddenly, he felt a tug at his mind. Or rather, it was like a hundred separate ropes attached to the sealed door of his mind and each a hundred pulled at once to open it. It wasn't opened but he felt their presence and tried to contact them back to no avail. But the tug was enough to remind him, "guys, I gotta get out of here! We need to leave!"

"Dood, we kan't. We'we been trew dis." Rustran slurred, his jaw broken from fighting Ifgizan, the man in purple who ruled Vasatros, his jaw healed and yelled, "Give me the dice you old cranky idiot!"

"You've used it so much already! And just because you want to leave doesn't mean you can't we don't even have a connection outside and haven't had one for years."

"Have any of you ever had a tamed creature outside? Connected by a skill?"

There was a collective "no" in the room. In a room of a hundred people who had killed Rah, none of them had a tamer skill? It truly is a one-of-a-kind skill, so far it was only him, Emma, and Afir who had ever shown the ability and the other two were masters above the rest.

"I have slimes outside connected by a skill and I think I just got contacted by them. It was a tiny nudge but it's proof that we're connected. If we work hard, we can probably connect to the outside."

Everyone stared at him in silence. The news was big, it was the first they ever heard about a real chance outside. There were of course skeptical people, Rustran asked, "but why would some of us even want to leave? We are immortal here, anything we want can be made. People that we cherished outside are likely dead, how many people get chances like this?"

"But you can leave," Skwil said, "guys, don't you remember the outside world?"

"No, I don't. I've been here 5,100 years, I hardly remember anything and I don't know if I want to leave," a humanoid bug replied.

"I was the first one here, for 10,000 years. I don't want to leave, I would've been dead by now, this place is heaven. Besides, who knows what will happen if we leave, what if our body ages by hundreds of years and kills us?" The first creature in here was a black and brown bug that reached up to Zeeth's knees named Bug. Apparently, its name was too hard to say and everyone simply called him Bug and it stuck. He had six legs each armed with a different pattern of spikes, hairs, and claws. Two hard pincers came from his head as weapons.

"yeah!"

"But that's all the more reason to leave, imagine how much the world has changed, don't you want to know? There are things out there we can experience ourselves. I always feel so jealous when people come in and talk about these new tools and foods they can't make because they don't know how it's made. Why would you want to spend the rest of eternity here rotting away?"

"I'm with the squirrel." Rustran said, "I want to go back to my people. I mean, how would they feel to know their king has come back?"

"I wish to leave as well," Ifgizan said, "I fear my advisors have taken the power instead of why son and brought us to ruin. I must go back and ensure peace within my nation. Better late than never. And the aging thing doesn't sound reasonable."

Soon, there was a pretty clear split in the hundred, about 70 were against leaving but 30 were supportive and arguments were thrown around.

"Everyone! Quiet! I don't care whether you want to leave or not, I will contact my slimes. And leave alone if I have to."

"Do not do that," a voice rang out from above. It wasn't a masculine or feminine voice, it simply seemed neutral. Everyone looked up at once silently. "Opening an entrance will suck everyone out at once."

"Who- how would you know?"

"Because my brother created Rah. As well as this space. And I know it better than anyone, including him." a strange entity descended from the ceiling, it wasn't human nor any other race he had seen before. A smooth, seed-shaped head attached to a featureless pale body that was all evenly put together, perfectly streamlined. There were no rough edges as if every part was rubbed smooth and polished like stone yet each movement was simple, effortless, and fast. His entire body reminded him of water and air at the same time. "I was the first one trapped here."

No one spoke.

The rest of the group were underground, staring at the empty table where Zeeth was meant to be, the only thing there was the gold coffin.

"We don't know where he is, it seems his slimes carried his body off and hid it. We don't know where or why would any of you know?" Dealu asked.

Black was trying to find a way out of the room, looking at the locks on the door and anything that could get him out of the room but nothing came up so far without destroying everything. The slimes became more and more panicked, their master had suddenly vanished and the connection was nearly lost and they were all going in a frenzy trying to contact Zeeth and hitting the walls.

Zeeth got another tug and realized there was only one way out so far. His slimes needed to tug so hard that the connection stabilized and he could talk to the outside world with his slimes. From there, they could figure out what to do.

"How do I not know you then? Why didn't you talk to me for the ten thousand years I was trapped here?"

"I felt no need. But now an exit is possible so I must warn you all. You do not need to fear aging by a thousand years, your bodies are in a perfect stasis and will only continue when you go back."

"Who are you anyway?"

"As I've said, the very first prisoner of this room. But if you are asking for my name, I forgot that long ago. I suppose you may refer to me as 0," it said dramatically, "But I argue for us to leave as well, this place isn't going to last and we should leave before it breaks. This room isn't invincible. I created a safe space within the destructive mind of a beast made of pure demonic energy and it's being eaten."

"Hold on, start at the beginning, where is this place? What do you mean you built it?"

"Rah was a trap my brother made 10,100 years ago. A moving monster that killed anything in its way and anything that killed it would have its soul trapped in its body. An uncontrollable beast made to kidnap the strong and bring them to him so he can have an army of powerful souls doing his bidding. Which is why he preserved your bodies. Once he convinced you or brainwashed you to stay loyal to him, he would have returned you to your bodies. But I intercepted his plans and placed this large room within Rah so I could keep others from his grasp while slowing down its healing so it only revived after a century rather than the single day it would've taken. But this room can't hold forever. Eventually, Rah will break it and all your souls will perish. That time will be soon so it's better for us to leave sooner than later."

Zero flew down, walking towards them and many put their guards up, but its presence alone was purifying them. Just by looking at them, all their beastly desires and impure thoughts were forced back, and only calmness remained.

'What a powerful presence...'

'How is this thing… calming me? Calming all of us?' Many of the creatures were creatures of battle and aggression, yet simply standing there, Zero could melt their urges away. They didn't think of fighting for the sake of violence, they only wanted peace and calm.

Everyone was silent but they all seemed to think along the same lines, 'if what this thing says is true, then we better leave!'

Even those who had grown comfortable here started changing their minds. Zeeth took this chance to say, "and there are things out there that would fascinate you. Just thirty years ago, there was a dragon apocalypse and a lot has changed. Haven't you grown bored out of your minds in this tiny space? You are all warriors, heroes who have killed Rah and saved others from its destruction."

"Damn right we are!" An old man with a large grey beard and bald head yelled. He seemed to be a dwarf, but a very large one at that.

"Wait, a dragon apocalypse?" a timid elf asked but her question was drowned in cheers and claps.

Moved by the reaction, Zeeth yelled out, "Don't you wish to fight once more, have adrenaline rushes, and cherish things?"

"Yeah!" More yelled.

"Let's leave and help the world! Who wants to live in boredom and repetitiveness when a fun life full of adventure awaits!"

[you have learned: Motivational Speaking. You have an easier time saying things that rile up others to fight.]

"Raaaah!!"

"Grruuhah!"

Predators and prey yelled in unison, beasts with menacing claws hugged soft animals that would normally be prey outside. In this room where nothing could die, even if they were natural enemies, any animosity were dispelled from the lack of death and the time to talk things out. This was when Zeeth noticed. If all these creatures left, things would change forever. People and animals that hated each other would come out and bring peace to the world.

Zero didn't have a face but he felt even this transcendent being was smiling. "If everyone is on board," Zero echoed, "we may start the process. Slime boy, come forth. I will strengthen the bond enough to break out of this room but you must do so here."

Zero floated him upwards and into a spherical room. "This is the heart and soul of this protective room. It holds the strongest amount of holy energy and is the only part that won't be worn down. In here, I can connect the two worlds through you and everyone may leave. It's too small to hold everyone so I've never introduced it to anyone before for fear of greed. Sit down and we may get started."

He wanted to speak but Zero was right. The room was so full of holy energy even he could feel it and it was preventing him from speaking.

'He can move in here.' Zero thought, surprised, 'hardly anyone can do that anymore. I've picked a good person.'

Zeeth sat down, unaware of his thoughts. Zero put a cold hand on his head, which spread out and wrapped up all his head. He didn't know what was happening, but a pulse was going down his head and sending shivers down his spine. He felt energy building up in the back of his head and when he finally couldn't hold it anymore, it all burst out. His eyes and mouth flew open, the light came pouring out and for a moment, he could see everything outside, Page and the rest looking around, saddened by his death, his slimes stuffed in a room with his body and Black, panicked by his disappearance. But when he saw them, the connection was established stronger than ever and he could see them all calm down. Screams from the other room reached him, warped and fading.

"You must leave as well," Zero said, his gruff voice surprising him a little, "and I part with you my greatest wishes and desires."

He tried to speak but the lights didn't allow him to close his mouth but Zero was able to read his thoughts, 'aren't you coming with us?'

"No, I must stay. During my stay, I have found a way to keep Rah down forever, but I need everyone to leave for it to work, and no one but me can hold this beast down, only I have the heavenly powers to restrain it. But you are a good man. I can trust to part with you my greatest gift," handing him the brightest light he had ever seen. "It's called the Angel and Devil. It is what has given me all this power, but it can also lead you to your demise. Use it wisely. I expect to die the moment I leave this place, my body doesn't exist in the outer world, I trapped my soul here to hold this room open. Besides, the moment I am born again, I fear my brother shall track me and kill us all before we can gain the strength to fight back.

My brother has the skill, but he chose hell's power exclusively. I expect him to now have one of the strongest amounts of devil power."

Zeeth felt his head being released and then grabbed by some vacuum. His vision distorted but he saw Zero waving, standing alone in the room. He could now fully tell Zero was smiling despite no change in his appearance. He simply felt like he was smiling.

Outside, the strangest thing was happening. A white light collected from Rah's head and beamed downwards underground. The beam split into a hundred and one lights, each connecting with the heart of the people who had been in Rah. Creatures in tubes opened their eyes in hundreds of years, mana and energy of all sorts swelled into one area, bursting the test tubes at once. Kezmerald stepped out and looked at his hands, followed by the other hundred.

Zeeth was finally pushed back into his body while Black was forced back down. His slimes rejoiced as he fell on Al from the confusion.

Reporters outside were still packing up their things when the white light beamed out. "Quickly, record it! Some strange light has appeared!" reporters yelled, getting their orbs out to watch the lights.

Otera had her orb whipped out the moment she noticed something on Rah's head, her reflexes built on years of reporting and expectations of getting everything, no matter how big or small. She quickly reported, "something that has never happened in recorded history, Rah is reacting even after death! A ball of white light is collecting at its head and splitting into rays going downwards, what is going on? Post mortem beams? What is the cause?"

The lights cut and everyone ran towards the ground where they had pierced through. Hunters that stayed behind used magic to dig at the ground while monks tried to stop them, yelling, "Do not damage private property!" While hardening their skin and weaving liquid metal around to cover the ground.