Spire

The three of us decided to crash at a tavern to take a breather. The tavern was noisy with a bunch of drunkards shouting absurd things across the vicinity. Alexei chugging down shots like clockwork.

"Ease up on the drinks, will you?" Gulhart commanded with irritation dripping from his voice. "The blacksmith doesn't do business with drunks."

"There's no shame in fun every once in a while! Iron, you gotta get in on this!"

"I think I'll lay it off for now. Besides, I have a few questions to ask this guy." 

"Hm?" Gulhart tilted his head with curiosity. 

There were many unanswered questions these past few days—things I skimmed over since there were so many things coming at me. Now was my only opportunity to ponder these questions and get answers.

"How long have you been in Oorlog?"

"An irritating 200 years. The Celestials really can't give me a break."

"200?!" Alexei and I shout in unison. 

Gulhart snickers before adding, "I'm actually considered young here in Oorlog. Are you not aware of the Journey? The thing all Gevagens strive to see the end of?"

The Journey is something I had only heard of just today. I thought it was just something that led us to the next objective, but could that not be the case?

"The 'Journey of A New World'. It's the path of a Gevagen's ideals which lead to their end goal of that ideal. Once one achieves their Journey, the Celestials will grant them the power of the universe. They will become one with Oorlog, creating their own world, and becoming almighty. Every 10 years, the Celestials take over another universe, but it's probably been millions of years, yet no one has achieved their Journey."

A chill crept over me as I stared in awe. That explains how I ended up here so abruptly and why this world had striking similarities to Earth. Also…

"What exactly are Celestials?"

Gulhart scoffed, placing his glass down as if the topic had caught his attention. "They are Oorlog's creators, obviously. I'd be struck down if I said anymore than that. Have they not used the communication channel yet?"

That's right. After we finished that dungeon, a message about Celestial communication had popped up.

"Well, I did recently unlock a channel related to that, and nothing happened whenever I tried opening it. However, before I truly came into Oorlog, an ominous voice did speak to me."

"Intriguing. You'll be hearing them blabber way more later on. I'm so lucky to be free of that Journey." Gulhart took a sip of whisky. 

"'Free', huh? "

"No one has Journeys in Maldorai. We're Ascenders. We've all ascended the Celestial's gaze. Objectives, Conflict, and the Journey are only mere concepts to us."

"Is that why I sensed so little power here?"

Gulhart's expression became disturbed. "We have to go!"

Alexei's body shot up and asked, "What's with the sudden outburst? Hey, wait for me!"

As we all bolted out of the tavern, Gulhart says, "You're not supposed to sense any form of energy here! Only those bastards can be traced by aura!"

"What are you talking about?"

"If you want that blacksmith alive then we need to hurry. Ask questions later. It's right around the corner!"

We arrived at the blacksmith's shop with those words. Gulhart kicked open the door. The next second, his body was slammed into the floor, creating a sound akin to an explosion. Dust from the impact shrouded the figure's appearance.

I summoned Oblivion, while Alexei summoned her bow. The figure's appearance was unveiled as the dust settled. Two emerald eyes glared at us with hostility. 

"The two of you are helping Prism, aren't you?" He trudged aggressively, each step radiated sheer rage. His fist clenched, the veins bulging violently. 

"They're only visitors! What the hell are you doing?!" 

The rage-filled man looked back at Gulhart who steadily regained his footing. Blood was trailing down from his forehead. Herbs from the sack he carried were now dispersed around us. 

"Your father and Beul are missing, you fool!"

Realization struck at those words. The light within Gulhart's eyes sunk. His gaze shifted towards us, his pupils shaking and unable to keep contact. Gulhart gritted his teeth.

"Those two are too weak to pull something like that! Beul is the head knight of the Imperial Capital for fucks sake! Have you lost all capability of rational thought?"

The aggressor's body mildly loosened. His rage, beginning to subside. Pointing at us with a grim expression, he declared, "We're going to need a talk. Now."

_______________________

The workshop was unscathed. A variety of tools were carefully organized on shelves. The forge's strong fire heated up the workshop, causing a little sweat to form. The aggressive man leaned against the wall of the forge with his gaze fixed on the floor. We sat in silence, waiting for an explanation. 

Alexei, who was sitting on the counter, spoke up in frustration. "We gonna get to the damn point or not?" 

Gulhart replied sharply, "If you want a good explanation, be patient." 

Alexei snarled at his comment. Her eyes then locked with mine. A warm smile broke out on her face and she kicked her feet perpetually. I awkwardly returned a small grin. Talk about mood swings. 

"Both of you listen," The blunt voice of the platinum-haired man cut our moment short. "There is a syndicate who go by the moniker, Spire. They are a recent organization, only being founded about 40 years ago. We believe Spire to be the ones who have kidnapped the blacksmith."

"Their goal is to destroy the seal that nullifies all power of Gevagens. Angstige has been fighting them off ever since their first attack." Gulhart added.

"Isn't Maldorai supposed to be peaceful? If everyone here are ascendants, then removing that seal would be pointless."

Angstige refuted, "Equivalent Exchange." 

"Like, the law?" 

"Precisely. Ascenders can sacrifice something of great value in exchange for the Celestials to opt you back in the Journey."

"So, they're so bored of peace and prefer the gruesome world of Oorlog. Pathetic." Alexei commented in dismay.

Something was strange about that. Why would anyone want to abandon a peaceful land only to participate in the Journey? Ascenders lack much strength, and the location of the seal is unknown, so there's no reason in doing so. Unless…

"Does the blacksmith know the location of the seal?"

Angstige bit his lip. "Indeed. However, my brother was watching over him in Gulhart's stead. Spire is far too weak to defeat him, which has me thinking…" 

"Kairon mentioned that he sensed faint power before he arrived. That's why we rushed here."

Angstige's expression became dazed. "You're telling me the seal is—!" 

Boom! 

A thunderous explosion roared in the distance. We all bolted out of the workshop to be met with a harrowing shockwave that almost blew us away, and a violent tremor that shook the village simultaneously. The towering mushroom of smoke engulfed the horizon. My heart plummeted at the dreadful sight. Angstige stood in terror at this scene. 

"The Imperial Capital…"