The Grand Treasure Atlantis

Just finished writing the final battle of jin vs ???. it was so mind numbingly exhausting. Took me 2 while days to complete it.

Anyway check out my pat.reon. 10 advance chapters. Pat.reon.com/Saintbarbido

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(General P.O.V)

Conquest had been pushed hard before but this time, it was different. The sorcerer was powerful and intelligent. He shot her down before she could complete one of her signature moves, granted from the connection with her master. So suffice it to say she had gotten mad easily. That had led to her releasing some constraints on her ability. Constraints that were imposed to prevent the interference from the guardian of the mortals. 

She knew that few things would be able to block or match the power of 'War Call' and after judging the Sorcerer's strength from their brief fight, she knew he wouldn't be able to take it head on. Pulling upon the energy reserves needed to fuel the multidirectional 'War Call' would put much stress in her body and came with a lot of pain. So she decided, if she was going to do it…she would do it at full power. Damn the consequences. 

However something changed. The shift in the battle began not with an attack but a sentence. A sentence of absolute surety and confidence. Then the shift ended with her very body and soul feeling weighed down. She had little choice but to fall down to her knees struggling to raise her head while trembling due to the effort of staying awake. The last thing she had before darkness took her over was,

"You're lucky I can't kill you. The energy discharge from your death alone would be akin to a bomb going off. One I can't contain for now. But trust me next time not even a speck of your dust will be left."

(Zoren's P.O.V)

He sighed as he banished the strange woman back from where she had come from. Zoren hadn't wanted to use his trump card. He looked at himself and sighed. His features were turning a little dull from the brighter image he had had before. 

"Just as I thought. It takes from me everytime I use the city like that."

There was a reason why Atlantis had stood for millennia without falling. It was more than just a city. It was a sanctuary for the people and most importantly, it was one of the most powerful magic artefacts ever created. For the grand sorcerer, 'Atlantis the grand treasure,' was an activation phrase that was only used when left with no other choice. The Grand sorcerer position wasn't given to the week or the meek, but the most powerful, the wisest and when pushed to such an extent that could only mean that the enemy was far far dangerous than any they'd faced before. Only then would Atlantis, the grand treasure be used. 

Contrary to that, Conquest wasn't the most powerful foe that Zoren had fought. That privilege went to more ruthless monsters that he'd had the displeasure to come across during his life. Conquest's threat lay in the fact that she could output a high level of destruction than Zoren could contain at just a fraction of his power. Hence the need to use the activation phrase to call upon the power of Atlantis as a whole. The city had been refined by the first Grand Sorcerer into a magical artefact wielded only by the Grand Sorcerer. It had untold power due to the artificial leylines constructed to store natural magic. 

In the event of an unavoidable calamity, the city could close itself off from the outside world or teleport away to anywhere else in the universe. That's how powerful it was. The Grand Sorcerer would be at the height of his power with the city backing them up. That's how Atlantis hadn't been conquered in ever. Too bad that for all it's power it couldn't compete with magic itself. The power waned after banishing Ares' champion and Zoren heaved a sigh of relief. Not for himself but for Jin, if Jin had been disrupted before finishing the runic trance…his life wouldn't be the only thing in danger. Not even his soul would be spared.

(Jin's P.O.V)

I chose both. Call me greedy but if I wanted the chance to change my life, to cut the strings puppeteering me from the shadows then I needed to go big or go home. Power AND control. I had taken risks before but none of them felt as dangerous as this but I also had the feeling that none of the outcomes would be as rewarding as making that choice. The two opposing lines combined to form a vaguely humanoid shape. It glowed a beautiful blue color and I could feel that this was my essence. Suddenly I looked down and saw myself as the humanoid figure. Devoid of features or any other distinguishing factors. 

I felt serene and humbled at the sacredness of what I was watching. The soul is something precious in all religions or civilizations. It's the purest form if a person's intent, personality and memories. It's pure energy expressed in the form of sentience. Simply awe-inspiring. I don't know long I simply stayed there feeling my soul. For however long I did though, my worry increased. There was something attached to it. A smaller ball of dull white seeping lines through my form. It didn't cover the entirety of my soul however. In some cases I could feel where it had previously rooted itself where the lines of dull white had withdrawn. Leaving light grooves in the surface of my soul. 

Could this be the (POWER) system? Alfred had changed it from the template system to what I currently had now but…why did it feel like he had done that for another reason. Come to think if it…I had been slowly forgetting about the system with each passing day. Content to pursue power my own way than using it. Was it due to Alfred? It's influence on me had been lessening yes but I could tell it wouldn't budge or be destroyed. Not that I wanted to do that. It was the last thing Alfred had left for me and I would ensure that I'd meet him and get some answers first. 

Apart from that, some inches off my soul, a mesh of net like energy covered it in a barrier of sorts. Cutting me off from the full control of my body. It didn't feel natural at all. It felt as if I was a round peg trying to fit in a square hole. Disconcerting. Could it maybe be because this body wasn't actually mine and it's owner still existed? From what I could see, I had two paths to take. One, forcefully adapt the body to fit my soul or two, get my own body and relinquish the control back to it's owner. 

Both of which would be almost impossible. Impossible if it had been the old me. After reflecting so much on my past actions, I could feel I had been limiting myself and also simultaneously overestimating myself. I smiled as the embers of an idea started to burn in my mind. 

Back to the observations, the streams of runic energy script that had imprinted themselves in the innermost part of my soul brought me to a saddening realization. It would take time before I could leverage rune magic to the point of creating my own rune script. What I had been given wasn't a way to come up with my own runes. It was a potential. A potential to become a grand master in rune magic but due to my situation, it wouldn't be soon. The system in my soul, reeked of a different energy from magic and it would continue restricting me from acquiring my own reserves and tuning my soul to magic.

As long as I had the system, I would never be able to use my magic the way it was intended. I guess this was what Ziren had been talking about. This put me in a very tough position. Yet, I couldn't let go of my strongest abilities. The demigod set and the ones acquired from killing Devoe and Weather Wizard had helped me in more ways then I could count. Solve one problem and another one crops up. But now, my conviction was stronger than before and I knew what I would do. 

I was sure I could still learn basic rune magic and other things from Zoren and the wealth of information contained in the library. So who knows? Maybe I would find the answer to my predicament from there. Right now though, it was time to wake up. I closed my non existent eyes in my metaphysical world and opened them in the real world. The entire place barring the ritual area was absolutely wrecked.

"Ok. Who threw a party and forgot to invite me?"

(General P.O.V)

Caitlin was ready. Ready to use the key that Jin had given her. The key to most of the questions plaguing her head. As she stood before the warehouse, she was a little surprised at how bland and ordinary it looked. It wasn't the biggest warehouse around and the place looked trashed. 

She gripped the key in her hand tightly and started to walk forward, her mind fluttering with nervousness. She hesitated before going to near to the door.

"Come on Caitlin. Just one more step..."

Her words were cut short as the key in her hand started shaking. Caitlin curiously looked at her palm. Quickly and without warning, the metallic key shot off and landed in a hole that appeared on the door. The key melded inside the key hole and a loud click sound was produced. 

Caitlin watched on in silence as the door split off from the section to reveal an empty hallway with good lighting. The cream walls looked inviting enough that Caitlin started walking forward absentmindedly. 'How had Jin managed this?' she wondered. The wall section and dimensions were a little too off to fit in the warehouse. Then again, apparently they'd found out that he was a genius in his own right. The thing that stood out most to Caitlin as she walked on...was how safe she actually felt in this place.