Crucible Chronicles (2)

A/N: Not sure if I should be indulging you guys with these chapters so fast, but it is what it is.

Don't forget to review the series!! Power stones are highly appreciated, comment what you liked!

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[ The Last City, Tower]

Void walked through the courtyard, as he arrived at the Vanguard terminal. He swiftly swiped his hand over the scanner as the doors opened and he rushed inside.

Navigating through a familiar maze of hallways he arrived at a dead end and shuffled his hands around the wall as he triggered the scanner.

The walls spiraled open, revealing the elevator. As he stepped inside, Void traced his pockets for a jade token that he placed on the terminal, boosting the mechanism to life as the lift descended.

Void paced through the pressurized gas as he took a few quick turns in the hallways, arriving at the same door once more, he slowly pushed it open.

A few sets of eyes glanced at Void as he walked inside, some were familiar to him as they shot him a nod, while the others ignored his presence and continued reviewing their records.

"Took you long enough." Wei stomped towards him with a cheeky smile on her face as she slapped his back repeatedly, forcing a cough or two out of Void.

Void cleared his throat, "Aghm, I am a busy man, so let's get down to it." He spoke, raising his brows as he noticed Wei's appearance.

Unlike her usual armor set, she seemed to be in quite a lax outfit comprised of a jade ember robe that was just a size too small and a long shirt that fit her perfectly.

"Don't mind the looks, my armor is still being repaired." She brushed him off before he could even ask.

Void smirked, " I was just going to ask if that was Eriana's robe", he said, low enough for only the two to hear.

Wei blushed slightly, astonishing Void. Was it even possible to embarrass a titan?

She shook her head and walked towards a staircase behind the room, leading a few floors down.

"Follow me, we keep the good stuff down here." She gestured, scurrying down the stairs.

Void followed her down the spiraling steps and arrived at a large basement warehouse. He glanced around as he saw artifacts of all manners.

Some emitted a dark aura, and were encased within layers upon layers of barrier magic constantly circulating above them, whereas others were just hung in frames to signify their importance.

But Void knew with a single glance, that this was perhaps the best treasure collection he had seen. Every single artifact and weapon here was of the legendary tier.

Void's curiosity peaked as his eyes darted around, like a child in a toys aisle.

"May I look around?" He asked politely.

Wei was scrambling around the storage units as she heard Void.

"Hunters never change." She smirked, as she knew the young hunter in front of her was also a hopeless romantic when it came to loot.

"Feel free, the stuff here is mostly old relics from the dark age. We would have thrown them out, but the old warlock vanguard insisted that the Praxic fire store them. He said that it was our history." She replied, still shuffling through crates.

"Dark age relics?"

This piqued his interest. The Dark Ages were different. Guardians as a force had not yet been formed, and the chaotic era was ruled by an iron fist through warlords and risen champions alike.

"Yeah, armor from warlords, crafted artifacts and all that garbage. Take my advice, none of it is worth it. Just some antique scrap." She brushed him off.

Wei was right, as Void looked around, none of the items present emitted any sort of energy. Naturally, he was using his eyes of mercurio. Hence, he could somewhat estimate the history and usefulness of the artifacts on display.

"You say that as if it's not dangerous. Don't these things carry old magic?" Void replied, his hands tracing along the edge of an old spear, as he admired the corroded head.

Wei huffed as she moved a heavy crate around, " Hmph, the stuff with residual magic is usually taken by the scribes."

She placed the box down on the other side of the room as it hit the ground with a thud.

"Those maniacs hoard that shit as if it was gold." Wei spat out.

"Can you blame them? Isn't it their job to append the archives for each and every artifact?" Void replied, rubbing his fingers as he felt his skin had micro tears.

His eyes lingered on the spear head for a simple second,

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Spear of Shojin (Damaged)

Rank: Legendary

"When the skies split, terror descended unbounded, the seas boiled and the earth burned. I saw him, as he wielded the spear, pushing back the devilish monstrosities that emerged. When he took his last breath, and perished within the dark. I found the spear, aiming towards the heavens once more, I fought, for him, for the future. The will of Shojin must live on."

Perk:

(Howling Winds): The wind beckons as you strike. Howling, at each thrust.

* Spear cannot be repaired

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'If it wasn't completely rusted it would have made a good weapon.' He lamented inside.

"So what exactly are you looking for?" Void asked curiously.

"We promised you a reward, but the access key to that cache is stored with these artifacts." Wei answered.

Void knitted his brows as he glanced around the basement. Chests littered every inch of the floor and several glass cases held intriguing antiques on display. Blades and spears decorated the concrete walls, several banners lined below them.

"You're telling me you left the access key in this dumpster?" Void asked, dismayed.

"Quiet down, you'll get your loot. No need to put on the dramatics." Wei scolded.

Like a deflated balloon Void wandered around the basement, 'Shouldn't have truste-....Maybe Levi was righ-' he muttered.

His grumbling wasn't exactly discrete. Wei rolled her eyes, it wasn't the first time she was dealing with drama queens.

As the titan shifted around a few other caches, she found an old rustic box with golden age engravings. Clawing the tin open, she found a small circular token lined with runes.

"I found your access key so stop sulking already." She sighed, holding the coin sized key to her eyes.

Void immediately sprang up and grabbed the token, clinging to her arm. As if he had reunited with a long lost love.

He refused to let go as Wei rolled her eyes again.

"It's my reward, you're not keeping this." He retorted.

"Fine you goblin, just follow me to the cache." She replied, barely pushing him off as she walked towards another set of stairs.

"Follow me, we're going all the way down" She said.

"Hey don't you think you guys have too many stairs here? " Void frowned as he scurried behind her.

Once the two descended a few floors, Void spotted another pile of caches littered around in a small room.

Wei entered the room and brought out a rustic golden cache. Peculiarly, it had a golden hammer crest engraved at the side.

"This is?" Void asked.

"An old cache left by iron lords." Wei answered, dusting off the cache.

Void was surprised to see the Iron Lords influence be visible even after they disbanded. He immediately walked up the cache as Wei inserted the access key,

The cache triggered, as a mechanical windup slowly reveled it's contents, Void's gaze fell on the weapon carefully encased within the box.

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Radegast's Fury

Rank: Legendary

"A high-impact weapon, forged in fire by the Lords of the Iron Banner."

Perks:

(Solar Damage) : This weapon causes solar damage.

(Hard Launch): More Velocity and Blast Radius. Increased recoil.

(Unflinching): It's easier to aim under fire using this weapon.

(Quickdraw): This weapon can be drawn unbelievably fast.

* This weapon can be reforged

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Void gasped, reading the perks.

"This beauty is mine?" He asked, uncertain.

"All yours, just don't fire it in city limits unless you want it to be confiscated." She replied.

Void immediately embraced the launcher, unboxing it out of the case.

"It's perfect" He shouted.

Wei shook her head with a smile, "Let's get you out of here before Aunor comes back. She's somewhat of a hard-ass."

Void still caught up in the launcher, agreed as the two walked up the stairs once more. But just as he ascended a floor, a certain energy pulsed through him.

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[Warning: Interdimensional energy detected!]

[Warning: Interdimensional energy detected!]

[Warning: Interdimensional energy detected!]

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His senses immediately heightened as a shiver ran down his spine, Void flicked his head to see the source, finding a simple glass case, placed under a light, isolated in a storage room. His legs halted as he felt drawn in.

Void felt, enchanted, mesmerized. He couldn't figure it out, the rest was a blur as his legs moved on his own, he slowly walked away from Wei.

A strange resonating whisper filled his ears, drowning at all noise.

"....."

"V...."

"Voi."

"Void."

He felt a slight disturbance as a strange force jerked him backwards, snapping him out of his trance.

Void jolted, as if he had just woken up.

"Void, are you okay?" Wei asked, she had just seen the hunter completely out of it as he began ignoring her voice.

"Y-yeah." Void replied, a strange headache spreading through him.

His eyes landed at the glass case once more

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Ring of ????? (Fragment)

Rank: ?????

"The first to stand against the corruption. The last to have been pricked by the thorn."

Perks:

(Golden Order): All healing effects are boosted to the highest degree. All damaging effects are reduced to the highest degree.

(Blessing of the Traveler): All debuffs applied are cleansed for thirty seconds at a five minute cooldown.

* Interdimensional energy detected

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Void's eyes twitched.

'These perks are too damn overpowered.' He thought to himself, 'Whose ring is it?'

"Is everything alright?" Wei's voice brought him back from his thoughts.

"Yeah, I was just wondering what that is. It seems pretty strong." Void's words nearing a whisper at the end.

"The scribes said it was a mystery. They couldn't analyze the artifact properly. It was made somewhere in the dark ages according to the material, but the energy signatures matched nothing they had ever seen. This was the only fragment they found." She answered, her eyes watching Void.

"Why? Is there a problem?" She questioned.

"No....I just thought it was a strong artifact." He replied, turning towards the stairs as he walked out of the Praxic quarters, leaving the titan confused as she observed the fragment for a few minutes.

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[Courtyard]

Void looked towards his hands as he felt them twitch.

"Whatever that was, it was strong. Almost too strong." He whispered.

But then a thought rose, "Why wasn't she affected? Was it only me?" He questioned.

Void recalled the warning he had gotten, "Interdimensional energy?"

'Could it be something related to the system?' he thought.

Unfortunately the system refused to function after the warning, still hibernating as Void waited for the updates to finish.

The hunter walked towards the outer rim of the courtyard as he spotted a crimson banner fluttering in the wind.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed chapter, don't forget to leave a review! Comment what you liked!!