Chapter 64

When the Blades Fall (I)

//Congratulations!

You have reached 200 Intelligence!

Skyeye(B) Unlocked!

Skyeye(B) -- increases the speed at which enemy attacks are broken down into patterns (applies only when actively studying them)

You have reached 3000 Mana!

Singularity(A) Unlocked!

Singularity(A) -- using the Skill removes all Mana costs for 3 seconds and removes the charge speed of the Elements. Entered a weakened state for 60 seconds afterward, doubling Mana consumption. (is not compatible with Mana Burning) //

Cain smiled faintly at the surge of notifications, a sign that he was slowly digging his way out of the beginner’s well. Wasn’t Skyeye C-ranked the last time I got it? He frowned momentarily but dismissed it right after. It’s been twenty years; it was unlikely he’d remember every Skill he’d get, and especially their rank -- this doubly applied to the Passive Skills.

Turning around, he noted that the four were still pampering Te’gha who appeared to be enjoying the attention. Chuckling, he took out a bottle of water and walked over to the edge of the platform, sitting down and tossing his legs over, letting them dangle freely. The sight was breathtaking, a set of valleys spreading out in the horizon, cradled by dozens of massive swords, thick shrouds affording them a sense of mystique.

Yet, all the same, it paled in comparison with hundreds of others he got to witness over the course of his journey. Lighting one up, he ran back through the battle, replaying it constantly in his head. In many ways, that was his best weapon -- patience to sit and think on his failures for hours on end and how to prevent them the next time around.

“What are you doing?” Emma walked up suddenly and sat next to him, smiling.

“Oh, just thinking of places I could take you out on that date you promised me but never delivered.” he replied, grinning.

“Ah, yes, every woman wants to go out on a date with a man who points out her breath stanks.”

“It did stink, though...”

“There were gentler ways of pointing it out.” Emma said.

“Oh? The same way you were gentle when you told me I was getting ‘fat’ despite the fact that I gained like 5 pounds?”

“... how were we?” she asked pensively, changing the subject.

“Good,” Cain replied. “Really good.”

“I don’t need pampering.”

“... yeah, I don’t buy that,” Cain looked at her oddly. “At all.”

“No--I don’t need it now,” she clarified. “Don’t be a smartass. Seriously, on a scale of 1 to 10, how good were we?”

“Depends.” Cain replied. “For beginners, a 10. From my perspective...”

“... we wouldn’t even make the scale, huh?” she sighed.

“You lot are stubborn as all hell,” Cain shook his head. “The key point is that you’re improving -- at a ridiculous rate, I might add. I’m pushing you selfishly, and not only are you not bitching and moaning... but you’re doing your best to keep up. Honestly... in many ways, you guys would have been better off just normally and organically climbing the Tower. Staying with me... has skewed your perspective too much.”

“I don’t know about the others,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “But... I don’t mind. No matter what, I feel far safer with you than anyone else.”

“Even Rambo?”

“I’ll never understand your weird fascination with those movies...” Emma chuckled after a brief silence.

“What is there not to understand?!” Cain exclaimed flamboyantly. “Raging storms of testosterone rampaging through the jungles, machine-gunning everything in their sight, no-shits-given attitude toward the world! Man, I wanted to be like Rambo so bad...”

“Which is precisely why you started smoking,” Emma said. “And drinking. And avoiding gyms like they’re a plague.”

“Just because you want something,” Cain said. “Doesn’t mean you also want to get off your ass and do the work for it.”

“Ah, yes, ever-the-inspiration. Please, just... please, don’t say shit like that in front of Lana...”

“... you guys were seriously fine,” Cain chuckled, patting her head gently. “Best of all, I think you all know where you screwed up without me needing to point it out. And, the next time, you’ll do better. And the time after that, even better. Just like me.”

The two turned to silence, staring at the breathtaking vista for a good while longer before being interrupted by the trio who joined them, whipping out meals and chattering while eating. Senna still kept her distance, though her ears would occasionally perk up when she eavesdropped.

“I got an earring,” Jamal complained. “An earring. Of all the goddamn things, an earring.”

“And?” Emma asked.

“... it’s an earring, for Christ’s sake! Do I really look like a guy who’d wear a fucking earring?”

"A bit, yeah." everyone assented after brief scrutiny, causing Jamal to glare at them before falling silent.

“What’d you get, Diya?” Emma asked.

“Ah, gloves,” the young woman replied. “They lower my Mana use.”

“Oh, not bad, not bad,” Emma nodded. “I got a ring--” she added, extending her arm and out and showing off a massive jewel on her finger, radiating in sapphire-blue. “That’s the biggest rock I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“Hot damn, you ain’t kiddin’!” Jamal exclaimed. “That thing could weigh a man down into an ocean!”

“Alright, alright, let’s stop pining after some jewelry,” Cain said, standing up and stretching. “We should go.”

“Where?”

“Back,” Cain shrugged. “To the town. You know, to hand in the quest. Just... just how loose-headed are you people?”

“... khm, yeah, we should go.”

“Yeah, forgot about that...”

“I--I’m sorry...”

The descent down the ‘mountain’ was far more relaxed than the climb, especially with Te’gha continuously chirping while sitting on top of Emma’s head, occasionally hopping over to Diya, and even Senna.

Cain, once again, found himself adrift in thought, appearing as the odd man out of the group. The conversation he had with the Sword Spirit ate away at him, something in the back of his mind telling him there was a piece of important information there. However... he wasn’t able to discern what. And even after poking and prodding the Spirit lying in the inventory, he got no further answer.

He was even more pensive over raiding the Ruined King now, yet felt as though he almost had to for some reason. It was that instinct, something he trusted perhaps even more than the notifications themselves, he realized. Yet... he was uncertain, now.

In his previous life, he wouldn’t have hesitated at all -- he would have made a public group, recruited people, and went after it. Things were, however, different now. He had no plans on letting any of the four die, much less based off of his hunch, however much he trusted it.

The rest of their journey back to the circle beneath the sword-tipped platform was rather uneventful, only encountering a single small ante-Human encampment in the process. This was largely because they cleaned most of them up on their way to the Blade Mountain, but also because Cain specifically chose a route with fewer of them as fighting the small encampments gave them little.

"What now?" Senna asked, frowning, as they walked into the circle, standing around. The four pairs of eyes quickly veered onto Cain who smiled faintly and crouched, charging Blood into the tip of his index finger, pushing out several drops and smearing them into a rune-like shape at the circle's center.

The earth beneath their feet quaked momentarily as the strange pattern lit up, distorting the world around them. Cain glanced at his Mana and saw 2900 being sucked out instantly, leaving him with almost nothing left.

“Hold on tight.” he warned just a moment before a suction force appeared above them, seemingly ripping their souls out of their bodies.

Due to the abrupt burst of pain, everyone closed their eyes as they screamed. The pain, however, didn’t last long, merely a second, before they felt themselves heaved through the empty air, hitting onto the hardened surface right after, yelping further in pain.

Among them, only Cain landed squarely on his feet, looking around at the four strewn bodies, Jamal and Senna holding their behinds, Emma her nose, and Diya her knees. Chuckling lightly, he looked to the side where he saw L'ksha standing still, an expectant look in his eyes.

“Is it finished, Human?” the man asked, stepping forward.

“Hm,” Cain nodded, taking the Sword Spirit out of his inventory, letting it gently hover above his palm. “We’ve brought back the Spirit.”

“... Ka--huds be loved,” L’ksha exclaimed softly, his trembling hands reaching over and gently wrapping around the Sword Spirit. “The Soul has returned. Endless... endless gratitude, Humans." L'ksha added as the rows of ante-Humans behind him suddenly bent forward, exercising their salute of the highest respect. "Your favor... is our Star. Beloved.”

"..." feeling slightly awkward, Cain merely smiled lightly instead of replying, not quite sure as to what he could say at the moment.

“Fly-- fly, the Heritage of Ka-huds!" L'ksha cried out, lifting his arms up and stimulating the Sword Spirit with faintly golden energy seeping out of his fingers. The tiny blade shuddered for a moment, its light exploding temporarily and blinding the world. Right after, it dipped over the L'ksha's hands and dove straight into the 'mountain' beneath.

Every inch of the massive sword shook and cried out like a babe returned to its mother’s arms, a golden spillage of colors dyeing the entire mountain, every one of its dents, cuts, and dips exuding the holy light that warmed. Emma, Jamal, Diya, and Senna stood up to the sight beyond comprehension -- finding themselves in the sea and the sky of golden, their lips instinctively gaping.

A few seconds into the phenomenon, the ‘mountain’ shook again as every ante-Human fell onto their knees and plastered their heads onto the ground tightly. Cain casually glanced to the far front of the platform, whereupon a golden beam of light erupted from the tip and shot off into the horizon -- yet leaving behind something in the process. A bridge... of stars. A bridge that led directly to their next destination -- the Holy Palace of Blades.