Chapter 32

Wil held the golden coin up to the light of the candle flame that passed for a sun in the ‘inner realm’. Unlike the coins he had before, which saved his life both in the North and in Aachen, this one was different.

Those coins held the symbols of the twin suns on both sides, the seven-pointed star of Primaris, and the perfect circle of Secundus. This coin, however, had replaced Secundus with the three wavy lines of Aruna, the God of the Sea.

Aside from the differing faces, this coin was much larger and heavier than the others he held previously. He firmly remembered the coin fitting snug in his palm, with a weight much greater than expected from such a small object.

This coin, however, was larger than his hand, more of a small, golden disk than a coin. It would never fit easily in a coin purse, and it would be unwieldy in a stack on a banker’s desk. He doubted any merchants would take it as currency, reducing it to its weight in gold to determine its value.

Gripping the large coin by the side, he closed his eyes as he sent his senses into it. The familiar warmth filled his arm, and he could feel it start to permeate his body, driving away the traces of negative energy that came from his encounter with the fat man.

On an impulse, Wil transferred the coin from his good hand, to his withered and blackened one. Immediately, the dull ache faded, and the blackness retreated slightly from the coin. Even his nails, yellowed and aged, showed signs of improvement.

What impressed him most was how the divine energy of the coin gathered in his mana core, the energy settling there, agitating his mana, and pushing him towards a breakthrough. It felt like any moment, he could progress to Rank 6.

He had been teetering on the proverbial edge before his encounter with the coin, now he was plunging off the cliff, falling swiftly towards the next Rank.

“Well…maybe it is a perfect reward.” Wil said to the Owl, grinning down at the gold coin that he held.

A faint pulse of mana in the sky above him interrupted his joy at the healing powers of the coin. Looking upwards, he saw a portal forming in the black void above, a swirling mass of familiar energy, exactly like the one that had brough him here in the first place.

Knowing it was time to go, Wil looked back down at his companion.

“Come on buddy, time to head back!” Wil shouted in joy, excited to finally leave this place behind. With a screech of excitement, the owl flapped its massive wings, shooting the pair upwards towards the portal.

The last sight Wil had of the ‘Inner Realm’ of the Azure lord was the candle flame sun shining brightly from the black void.

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In an Abyss of white, filled with endless nothing in all directions, only a calm, black sea existed, undisturbed by neither wind, nor motion. The ocean of ink stretched beyond the horizon, into infinity, unending and motionless.

Nothing moved in this dark sea, nothing lived, and nothing was, except for the white void, and the ocean.

In this empty place, a ripple spread across the black water, a small disturbance in the unending peace. The ripples grew more violent, until the waters were broken by the top of a human’s head.

Gradually, the rest of the body emerged from the sea, as if they were walking up a set of submerged stairs, each step bringing them out of the inky depths and into the endless white void surrounding it.

The person had long, black hair, as dark as the water it emerged from. Her pale skin showed no signs of the black water’s taint, shining brilliant and unblemished in the white light of the void. The only sources of color in the entire world came from the woman’s bright green eyes, her ruby red lips and her bright crimson dress, the silk tight on her frame, accentuating her stunning figure.

With each step she took across the black water, her hips swaying seductively, ripples spreading across the ocean. Not heeding the lack of land, the woman carried on walking on the water’s surface, with an obvious destination in mind.

Stopping, seemingly at random, the ravishing woman smiled brightly as she looked around this place, taking in the sight of the endless water and the white void of nothingness. The ripples in the water stopped, and it seemed that she waited expectantly for something to acknowledge her arrival.

The seconds ticked by, and woman waited patiently, standing on the water’s surface as if it were solid ground.

From the waters in front of her, a disturbance of ripples came from the ocean, with no visible source. Staring at them wordlessly, the woman nodded her head, as if something was speaking to her, although no sound could be heard.

“Yes, Lord. It was successful. You were right about interference, it seems that Aruna sent the Turtle a champion. But it doesn’t matter, I was successful!” She said, grinning at the dark depths in front of her.

The ripples paused, the ocean calming, before another series started, this one larger, seemingly excited.

“Yes, of course! Right away, Lord!” The woman said, before kneeling on the waters, heedless of her red dress making contact with the black ocean.

Cupping her hands in front of her, she slowly raised them above her bowed head, as a single point of blinding light was held between her palms.

A piece of divinity, a shard of godhood, taken from the Dragon Turtle, the woman’s true purpose in its ‘inner realm’. Although capturing the body, mind and spirit of the Azure Lord would have been a bonus, the infection itself was secondary to obtaining this sliver of divinity.

The shard rose in the air, its light shining down on the inky waters, before it slowly floated out of the woman’s grasp. Hovering over the waters, it floated for a moment, before plunging into the dark depths below.

Raising her head slightly to watch, the woman saw the shard drifted deep below the surface, where it joined with another speck of light, another shard of divinity.

From deep below the surface, a single, massive eye opened slowly to gaze at the kneeling woman, its power breathtaking, leaving her trembling in awe as it washed over her. After a moment, the eye closed, the power retracted, and the waters calmed.

Her task complete, the woman stood, before slowly walking away, each step bringing her below the waters.

Before the ocean covered her completely, Desire laughed in anticipation, the sound echoing through the endless white void.

“Only one left!” She screamed with joy, before she disappeared beneath the surface.

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In the real world, at the center of the Azure Sea, a vortex endlessly disturbed the waters, a swirling whirlpool of energy, miles long. Overhead, a massive storm darkened the sky. Unlike other storms in the Azure Sea, this one never left the center, a permanent presence, always hovering above the churning waters.

Deep below the surface, the miles long whirlpool surrounded a portal, a connection to another realm. The portal, a crack in reality as black as the void, had been contained here for countless years.

All along the edge of the vortex of roiling waters and mana, cracks formed on the ocean bed, vast fissures in the rock, leading to blackness below.

Overhead, lighting erupted from the storm, continuously striking the ocean’s surface as the wind picked up suddenly.

As the storm gained strength, and the cracks enlarged, the vortex in the center of the Azure Sea slowed, just for a moment, nearly unnoticeable with the events surrounding it.

The Portal, trapped by the whirlpool of ocean waters, flashed with a bright, white light, the black void reversing in white, before it swiftly changed back.

The vortex quickly picked up speed, the storm overhead weakened, the cracks halted their progress, and the wind gradually died down to normal. The portal, resting on the ocean’s floor, resumed its usual appearance.