Chapter 38: Curse (3)

Arriving at the cathedral the feeling inside Ren just grew stronger.

 

“What have you used this place for?” asked Anya as they walked in, admiring the architecture of the old building, while inside, the sun shone through the cracks and holes on the roof, shining on the broken statues and faded paintings on the walls, making the cathedral looking beautiful, like a mirage from the past. 

 

“Not important.” said Kang “Big but much holes, wind strong, rain falls inside. Feel… bad here. Not like it.”

 

“Yeah, the whole place gives off a creepy feeling to us.” nodded Shaman “You may feel differently but for us this place is… unnerving.”

 

“Maybe because this was once humans’ important place?” thought Isha, looking at the apes

 

“It’s more like their instincts are still working.” commented Ren, looking at the floor “It comes from underground. I feel it. There must be a crypt down there, is there any way down?” turned to Kang who shook her head 

 

“Then it’s hidden. Mom, can you find it?”

 

“I’ll try. If there is a way down, water will find it.” nodded and when she summoned water from the nearby river it slowly washed over the floor, like cleaning away the grime and dust of centuries. Soon everyone saw as the ankle high water started to flow down through the cracks, near where the old altar stood once. “There.”

 

Kang walked up, grabbing onto the frame of the chunk of marble, who knows how heavy, giant altar and by sheer strength he ripped it off from the ground, tossing it away without any problems, followed by a loud bang, scaring the gorillas who were curiously watching them from the broken windows and cracks on the walls. What revealed itself was a damp, musty staircase, leading downwards to the darkness.

 

“Creepy… I don’t really want to go down there…” murmured Isha 

 

“Well, you are out of luck. We need your flames to light the way.” giggled Ren, making her moan frustratedly but just summoned a small flame over her hand as she started to descend, closely followed by Zern, then the others.

 

Going down the stairs was like descending  into a different world, and soon, looking back they did not see the light from above, only Isha’s orange flame gave out any color. Kang and Shaman even had to almost crawl and got stuck multiple times as the whole place was designed for humans not the tall and bulky apes. 

 

After almost 5 minutes of constant walking they arrived at an underground chamber that was filled with otherworldly, bluish-green light, coming from strange crystals on the old pillars, holding up the ceiling. It looked like any, old crypt where important people were laid to rest, not to be bothered by the living in their endless rest, with the only difference being at the far end of it, on a small altar laid a wooden goblet and a crystal with the size of a heart was floating and slowly rotating above it.

 

“I feel… like…. Someone is sitting on me.” whispered Isha, breathing hard, rubbing her body, between her chest as the others also found it hard to breath while Kang’s and Shaman’s fur stood on their ends.

 

“This place feels dangerous. Too dangerous.” murmured Shaman, gulping hard “We should go back. I like discovering things but this place is best to be left in the dark, where it belongs.”

 

“Of course it scares you.” said Ren, looking directly at the slowly rotating, floating crystal that was murky, bluish in color “You stand in the presence of a God.” 

 

“That's… the God Core?” mused Feynor, slowly approaching, while Anya stood close to her daughter, not leaving her out of arm's reach. 

 

“Yes. That's it. It was suppressed here.” nodded again 

 

“Suppressed?” asked Anya as Ren looked up, and following her gaze, they could see that the ceiling was filled with small, colorless crystals that laid out a giant circle with an intricate, foreign pattern inside it.

 

“That is a formation made by another God. See those crystals? Those are all a life.”

 

“What mean?” asked Kang, darting his eyes all over the pattern, soon noticing some crystals were cracked. 

 

“As I said, to cultivate a God Crystal was hard. Just think how many years have passed, how long may our history go back? Hundred thousands of years? More? Millions? Who knows. Time always moves forward and the old days are forgotten and lost. Yet for a God time means nothing. But I’m rambling… through the times talented people may reach the threshold, but fail to form a perfect core. Crystal. Whatever you want to call it. Those could be called Demigods if you will.”

 

“Those are cores of… demigods?” asked Leinor with awe in his voice “I counted more than 200 up there…”

 

“Yeah… their cores formed a pattern that kept the regeneration of this God Core or call it God Crystal as back then there were no demonfolk around, at bay. You said there was an earthquake? The formation above us is damaged. It’s suppressive effect waned. The God who is slumbering here started to regenerate. It must be an unconscious move as it began syphoning away your tribe’s soul.”

 

“Fascinating…” whispered Feynor 

 

“This rock is evil? Killing us! Then destroy it!” roared Kang, clearly enraged and stepped forward trying to smash it but Ren only signaled to the others to not move.

 

As Kang’s fist landed on it, a clear, bell like ringing was heard and the giant gorilla flew backwards like a bullet, crashing into the wall, shaking the whole underground crypt while he spurted a mouthful of blood. 

 

“Don’t even try it. Other Gods would find it challenging to destroy it. It would require too much effort. Why do you think it’s placed here?”

 

“Why… not say…?” gasped Kang, standing back up

 

“You wouldn’t listen to me anyway. We have two options, repairing the seal, or have you move out and find a new home. As I said, you will be fine, just give it time.”

 

“We move.” nodded Kang

 

“Good. Also-” wanted to continue Ren but soon a tremor swept through and all the color, few there was, were washed out. Only Ren’s purple eyes retained their light and the still floating God Crystal that now stopped rotating. “So you are conscious…” thought Ren as her body did not move or reacted in any way yet her thoughts rang out clearly inside the now black and white crypt.

 

The small dust particles in the air stopped flowing, the slowly dripping down water drops stayed still in midair as time itself grinded to a halt. 

 

“Who.. are… you?” came an old, dry voice, undefinable to be a man’s or woman’s. Hearing it felt foggy, weak and distant, like a patient on its deathbed, trying to speak up. 

 

“A girl.”

 

“No…”

 

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“Sorry, but yes.” said with a calm voice, and soon her body started to shimmer in a brighter light as a corporeal soul, looking the same as Ren but naked, flown up above her head “I am just a girl, through and through.” smiled as in the middle of her soul’s chest a small fragment of crystal pulsed. 

 

“That…” seeped out a dark bluish gas from the God Crystal, formless and shapeless but soon it was blocked by an invisible force 

 

“I don’t know who you are or what happened to you but it seems Alfina and Oynega did something nasty. I wonder when did it even happen or did they forget it already? It must have happened eons ago huh? Probably this is just another prison for you through the countless years.” mused Ren watching the swirling, black mass in the goblet, under the God Crystal, that was clearly binding it still, trying to swallow it back.

 

“Don’t speak… those… names…” came the answer with clear rage as the “smoke” started to swirl 

 

“Relax. I’ll come back when I’m stronger… and we can talk. But right now you are in my way of getting allies. This was only a backup if I meet one of my old friends before time and send me back into reincarnation…” said while tapping on the fragment inside her soul, “But unlucky for you it is enough to deal with you for now. Only, they must have felt I’m back… oh well. They won’t find me easily, everything is fresh, even my soul, only my memories stayed.”  laughed as her fragment broke into more, tiny pieces, suppressing the dark smoke of the other “God”, stuffing it back to the crystal as it moaned tiredly before going silent once again. 

 

When it was done those small pieces floated up, fusing into the formation, into the cracked crystals. As they did so, slightly repairing them, Ren suddenly felt something new inside every one she “touched”.

 

“What is this… this energy is… this… is... different… is this… faith?” murmured confusedly before the color soon came back as the wheel of time started turning once again while Ren’s spirit fused back into her body.

 

For everybody else, everything happened in an instant, the tremor they felt was like someone tugging on their souls when the formation on the ceiling suddenly lit up with multiple colors, pushing the God Crystal back to the wooden goblet, submerging it in the dark liquid. 

 

“Ren!” screamed suddenly Anya as her daughter coughed up a mouthful of blood from nowhere, looking pale 

 

“I’m fine…” murmured but soon her vision started to swim, every voice became a white noise only “Fucking… backlash…” whispered before fainting. 

 

…

….

….

 

“No, no, the second ring is bad, also the fifth and ninth symbols are in dissonance.” said a young looking woman, maybe in her twenties, standing over a middle aged man who was drawing on a giant sheet of paper a complicated, circle shaped pattern decorated with runes and symbols 

 

She was wearing a cream colored silk dress, as her chestnut, curly hair draped over her shoulders, crossing her hands under her chest, puffing up her breasts, revealing an enchanting cleavage yet the man ignored her looks.

 

His face was calm and only nodded, while making the changes, following her instructions. If Leinor or any of the imperial family would be here they would be surprised as he looked similar to him and also to Dermitos, a clear indication he was of the imperial family. After finishing the drawing, he fixed his scholarly robes before mulling over it.

 

“I still feel something is missing. It does not feel right Master. Master?” asked when he did not get any response and looking over she was already gone “Unreliable. As always.” murmured then just tore it up and started over.

 

The woman felt like she was electrocuted a moment ago and immediately disappeared, reappearing above the city they stayed in. It was a bustling, giant city, next to the ocean as the wind carried the salty air while dozens of ships were sailing to and fro but nobody seemed to notice the girl, floating above them.

 

She was looking east, with tears in her eyes, soon wiping it down, revealing a happy smile.

 

“He is back… Master is back!” laughing happily like if someone did not laugh for decades as her voice was carried by the wind but few if any people heard it.

 

…

….

…..

 

“He is back.” came a voice in a dark room, like a small square in the abyss, carved out perfectly 

 

“I felt it, you don’t need to come here and tell me that woman.”

 

“Watch your tongue baldie. His other fragments we collected showed a reaction, but it was too little to follow back to the source. We need to get ready.”

 

“Ready? For what? He is a mortal, if he thinks he could reach back to where he was before, it’s a fool’s errand. He was lucky once, won’t be lucky twice. You three worry too much.”

 

“Don’t underestimate him.”

 

“I’m not. I’m just speaking the truth. You are the one who overestimates him. Still have feelings for him? Was he that good in bed?”

 

No answer came, only silence reigned once again in the darkness as the bald man sitting inside the nothingness gently caressed the rusty blade on his knees.

 

…

….

…..

 

“It was him, wasn’t it?” asked Alfina, hugging Oynega in a hot spring  while it snowed around them, as the steam rising from the water painted a misty, otherworldly picture 

 

“Yeah. Don’t worry, we dealt with him. We will deal with him again and…” smiled while kissing her neck “We five already dealt with others before and he is not a God anymore. Relax Sis… we are enough for this world, there is no need for more Gods.”

 

“What about his disciples? They are still stirring up problems all over!” moaned as they were clearly doing more then just hugging in the water 

 

“Insignificant. Their new ways are nothing more than a dead end. The people’s faith in us is unshakeable and you can’t kill ideas, you can’t kill faith. They are trying to stop a river with their bare hands. Just forget about it. Enjoy the now~”

 

“Mmmh~ You’re right… don’t stop~” moaned and soon they already forgot about everything happening outside their realm.

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