Prologue II

Their fall into darkness continued for a few seconds before they heard a splash. Amanda's deafening screams came to a stop as they were submerged in a very cold yet refreshing stream of water. They felt their bodies being quickly dragged away by a strong force. The river was quite large since they could feel the bottom, and orienting in a dark and gravityless environment was hard.

Arthur got hold of himself quite quickly since he wasn't wearing heavy armor and knew how to swim well. His head resurfaced, and he could finally see where they had been taken by the stream. By sensing some of his mana into his eyes, his sight was augmented to the point he was able to make out at least something.

"Arthur!" Someone called his name out. The auburn-haired boy recognized this voice as Reginald's. "We are taken by this stream somewhere else; we need to get hold of others. quickly." It seemed like Reginald and him were good swimmers, also attributing the fact they had the least armor on their bodies.

They waited for some time for others to resurface as well, but nobody showed up. They took matters into their own hands and decided to dive and search for them. What were the chances of them getting a concussion during the fall? Quite high chances. Arthur had already adapted to cold water and was submerged in it again for the search.

His eyes scanned everything, from rocks to branches to the bones of some mana-beasts. But the shiny armor of Kriol and Brald wasn't visible, nor were Oliver and Amanda's flashy gemstones. They were nowhere to be seen. After using all the oxygen in his lungs, Arthur had to take one more breath, so he got back up.

"Arthur, this stream is too strong; we won't be able to track them down at this speed! But I'm sure Brald and Kriol will manage somehow! We will eventually come out at the same place." Rivers usually have a destination; they move along a path that the stream has carved for years. This one was a few hundred meters below the earth's surface.

Reginald and Arthur held themselves quite well, balancing themselves enough to comfortably follow the stream wherever it was taking them. They were gliding freely, but at the same time, they knew they couldn't last forever in this cold water. So they could only hope.

"Arthur!" Reginald called out again; he had to scream because of the loud noise created by the river. " Are you hearing what I'm hearing?!" Sudden fright was due to a certain sound created by the river, a lot more noisy than just a stream of water... It was a waterfall.

"Brace yourself!"

...

When Arthur opened his eyes, he was already lying on the ground. He was dragged out of the water by Reginald, who was sitting next to him, waiting for his teammate to wake up. Very happy to see him open his eyes. "It took you long enough, boy."

"Shit... so many things happened in the last few hours." Arthur looked around and saw a lot of blue and purple mana crystals lighting up the dungeon. "What about others?"

Reginald took a deep breath. "I can't be sure; they haven't fallen off from the waterfall. Besides, it's not like we aren't a couple hundred meters below our previous location." Their fall was a very rough one, which is why Arthur's brain literally shut itself off during the fall. Thankfully, he avoided neck injuries. "We need to figure out a way out of here."

"Have you rested so far?" Arthur asked the old man, to which he shook his head. Visibly in need of some well-required rest, the auburn-haired forced the man to just lay down instead of him and rest. While he would scavenge the area. Since they were so deep down, they would have to search for other ways to get out.

So while Reginald rested, Arthur moved towards the place where most of the noise was coming from. The stream of water here was split in two and surrounded this island like land. Arthur had no option but to just move forward. On the way, he saw multiple mana crystals, of very large size at that, probably worth thousands of gold coins in the guild. Vegetation, though, was of no green color. Instead, it was purple, with the spots on them being blue. They emitted mana, as if these plants were living off of mana, and not the elements they got from the earth.

This was a fascinating scene worth a thousand words. Nobody has ever seen such a place before; this was untouched by human, elven, or dwarven lives. This place was uninhabited by mana-beasts... it was something else. Arthur ventured further to see if there was something more.

He was getting closer to the wall of rocky formation; however, unlike previous places, this was a smooth, polished wall and had some traces of artificial contours. 'This couldn't have been created by nature... this is too humanely.' Arthur commented in his mind, observing what seemed to be old ruins.

The next thing he noticed was a three meters tall doorway, open, inviting his curiosity and urging him to enter. "So it hasn't been an unreached place; it's better for us." Arthur took a step in with some hesitation, but it was not like he had a different option. Maybe calling Reginald for this one was a better idea...

The blue eyes of Arthur were met with wonders of ancient time, things written in some ancient language, runes everywhere transmitting some purple energy. It felt like a hall of gathering, but the dust accumulated on the floor spoke of how long nobody had been here. Arthur wondered, 'Who would have created such a thing?'

Further down the hall, there were portraits and illustrations of people. A giant map covered an entire wall... Arthur could recognize it as a map of Dicathen and not only. There was more to this than just a normal map of Dicathen; there was one more continent on it. Without even knowing the language, the boy read out "Alacrya" from the runes.

The map showed a number of cities, including Xyrus, which was easily recognizable due to the flying island depicted on it. However, Arthur was unfamiliar with many of the other cities, some of which were located in deserts or forests. None of the current maps contain any information about them. Arthur wondered if they had existed in the past but were no longer there.

"What's that?" he asked, observing more carvings on the wall. As he lightly touched them, the carvings began to deform and spread like a wave, forming something out of the jumbled runes. Two middle lines appeared, and then they formed an entrance as the lines separated, opening up the space in between. He stepped through the opening and found himself in a dark room. The only light came from a small opening in the ceiling. He could see a staircase leading down into the darkness. He took a deep breath and started down the stairs.

This place was not a dungeon but rather a hideout created by an ancient race. The number of defenses so deep below the surface of the earth was a testament to their power and ingenuity. It was clear that they had been trying to hide something. The only question was, What were they hiding?

Arthur descended the stairs, the only light coming from the purple runes that illuminated his path. A few hundred steps below, he saw another chamber, a long room that seemed to lead to another hall, this one of a different kind. A long table, fit for a feast of hundreds, stood in the room. At the head of the table was a grand throne.

Mostly likely belonging to a leader, maybe even an king...ancient king. Arthur's curiosity was at its peak, wanting to know at least something that could tell him more about this place. Who it belonged to... certainly, there must be something that could tell him about this. The throne was at the end of a trail, leading to a raised platform where it had once been placed. Art followed the trail and stood in the middle of some bright panels. Behind them were the statues—giant statues made of concrete, each of them wearing armor made of the same material. The statues were of different shapes and sizes, but they all had one thing in common: they were all incredibly lifelike. Art could almost believe that they were going to start moving at any moment.

Five statues stood in a circle, each one looking down at Arthur. The boy felt a sense of foreboding as he stood on the platform in the center of the circle. He knew that this was no accident, that he was meant to be here. Arthur felt like they were judging him, trying to figure out what he was doing there. He tried to ignore them and focus on the task at hand, but it was hard. He could feel their eyes on him, and it made him feel uneasy.

At some point, without him even realizing it, their eyes had already begun to glow a dark purple. Perhaps he had not noticed it before, but this time they also had their hands on their weapons. Statues...moved? Not only that, their actions were consistent with their appearance. The statues depicted knights, and they were doing what knights are supposed to do: protecting something behind their backs.

Arthur narrowed his eyes to see what was behind them. He moved away from his position for the first time and realized that he was not wrong about the statues moving; their eyes were following him. The statues, intent on protecting what they were guarding, began to unsheathe their weapons as he drew near. Their actions spoke louder than words. Their eyes were glaring at things that Arthur hadn't thought about before entering Knight's space.

Their eyes were on the weapons Arthur was carrying—a sword that was of danger for the knights. Urging them to think it was the boy's bad intention. So Arthur strapped off his sword and gently put it on the ground. This was when he showed his true intentions to the statues, "I'm no enemy" he said.

'I... can't believe what I'm seeing.' The knights parted, forming two columns and creating a pathway for him to walk through. Arthur, somewhat hesitantly, stepped forward. The knights allowed him to pass without any reaction. What these knights were protecting for all this time was... a sarcophagus.

As he stood before the sarcophagus and considered touching it, a bluish hologram materialized. The hologram rippled periodically, but the silhouette was visible enough for him to realize it showed a person. The knights, who had been standing behind him, all knelt at its appearance. Then a soothing voice, almost cybernetic, invaded Arthur's ears.

...

The hologram spoke with urgency. [My knights, the signs of glimmering hope are clear to me. For hundreds of years, fate has been leading us to this moment. We have finally met someone worthy of our assistance.] The hologram paused, as if collecting its thoughts. [We must not fail it. We must save the world from its demise.] The hologram's eyes glowed with determination.

[Your path is full of hardships, heartbreaks and despair... but that is the duty of a knight who chose to live a life of protecting others from the pain he experienced.] The hologram continued.

In the place where Arthur stood, another hologram appeared, and the person in front of him disappeared. A blue hand came out of his heart. Scared, Arthur moved away and saw the same person now in his place, throwing a tantrum in front of multiple other holograms. He was angry, very angry. From the beginning, this was just a depiction of the past.

...

[We cannot allow them to continue the slaughter! We cannot stand by and watch these provocations any longer! This is a declaration of war! These power-hungry animals will not let anyone else live in peace and prosperity!] His angry speech caused a chain reaction among the people. Some supported him, while others did not. Those who stood behind him were his supporters, the same knights who had been statues but were now holograms. However, the opposition was larger.

He was exiled for breaking the oath they had once taken. Beings of such power were not allowed to use their power for war, as they believed that fate would eventually restore order. However, those who would sacrifice their own kin were not worthy of life. They were being slowly decimated, one by one, by the dragon-kin. In Arthur's eyes, this man was the king that these people needed but did not deserve. The hologram changed again, showing a different place with the king now sitting on the throne in the hall where Arthur was currently standing.

[We are outnumbered and outmatched. We cannot continue to fight like this. Indrath's power is too great for our numbers. Our powers have diminished, our race has been exterminated, and we are the only ones left alive.] The king was already hopeless, but he continued to search his mind for any other possibilities.

[My knights, our endless battle will continue unless we find another way. While we are only losing our powers, our enemy grows stronger by the day. Now that they are aware of our presence, they will continue to grow stronger. Therefore, I have decided... to give you my final order.]