Chapter 17

Jinbe was stunned, as he didn't expect for his successor to completely reform the old sect into an Order. Though it was surprising, Jinbe felt that what Rey said about the old sect was right, so he chose to believe in his successor that a whole new direction would be the best move.

'Those are very ambitious goal, Young One. Goals I fear the Vanguardians may feel conflict with their own goals, as they aren't known for sharing their power willingly.' Jinbe warned.

'Those bastards not only killed this body's previous owner, but they have tried to kill me as well for no reason. As far as I'm concerned, the Vanguardians are just bad guys acting like their all righteous, typical. No, the Shinigami Order will be different. I want to make it to where even a lone person in a small village at the edge of the kingdom can walk home without fear of being robed by random gay bandits, killed by Necromancers, or eaten by a damn Sea Dragon. Shit is too chaotic in this world and someone has to do something about it.' Rey said as he started walking towards the grand keep in the distance.

After walking past what looked to be a crumble down wall that spanned as far as the eye can see, and once housed a gigantic gate, Rey was officially within the keep's walls. Many of the buildings were broken down with time and overgrown with nature, but some still stood and had a unique architecture that Rey found fascinating.

With exterior walls made from solid white bricks, the roof, floors and wall joints made of a jet black wood, and the doors and interior walls made up of Japanese paper walls, it was a stunning design.

Many of the homes, businesses, and even the Keep were all made in the same fashion, making Rey smile, as he couldn't wait to see this architecture in it's prime again. As Rey got closer to Sky Keep's palace, he started noticing that not only was this place like most areas, where the businesses and homes got bigger and better the closer one got to the center of the city, but he noticed that he was on a main road of sorts and has yet to have to make any turns or get lost, as it was a straight shot right to the palace.

Not only that, but as he glanced at all of the roads he passed, they didn't seem to have any crazy turns either, which made him quite excited for what he expected the layout to be, but he couldn't be certain until he got a better vantage point.

After a while of walking through the town and imagining the in's and out's of it's hay-day, Rey finally made it the bottom of the grand, white stone bridge leading up to the Sky Keep Palace. Looking up the bridge, Rey noticed that in the parts of the bridge that weren't chipped or broken off, the white stone was completely smooth and looked as though it was all carved out of one massive block, which even just the thought of that was baffling to Rey.

Then again, he still had his old earth mindset, and just chalked it up to him being in a new magical world and the fact that they could do many impossible things. He was quite literally about to walk up to a Palace floating on its own cloud at the moment, so he was going to just have to learn to roll with all of these new fantastical things.

Half an hour of carefully walking up the crumbling bridge later and passing through the gate of another dilapidated wall, Rey finally made it to the top, only to be met with yet another breathtaking view. Before him was a grand courtyard that had the whole floor covered in the solid white stone he saw being used in the rest of the town.

A majestic fountain shaped like a lotus rested in the middle of a long man-made lake which sat in the center of the courtyard. It reminded Rey of the lake that was at the Washington Monument in America.

To the left side of the courtyard was a outrageously large garden maze that was unfortunately overrun with wild vegetation due to not being maintained. To the right of the courtyard was a wide, expansive training ground full of different equipment and led to what looked to be a barracks of sorts. Turning around and glancing out past the broken down gate and out towards the city, Rey had his suspicions confirmed.

Rey wasn't sure how or what to make of it, but this town was modeled after Leonardo Da Vinci's concept of the "Perfect City". Built in an overall hexagonal shape, the city would have no confusing streets, could be extremely defensible, and be able to expand forever without ever compromising the overall design of the city's infrastructure. It was truly the perfect city, which made Rey excited to fix it up even more.

Turning back around walking towards the main event of his visit, Rey admired the many spires that surrounded the Keep as well as the giant walls that seemed to travel the entirety of the cloud the Keep rested on. After a few more minutes of travel, Rey was finally at the majestic staircase that led up to the massive ebony wood double doors of the palace.

Using a bit of his strength to push the doors open, Rey was met with a cloud of dust that forced him to shield his eyes for a second. After a few seconds of letting the dust settle, Rey was met with an entrance that was clearly meant for only royalty. To his left and right were wide hallways that led to other parts of the palace, while in front of him was a fantastic 3-story foyer that he walked into and marveled at the black painted walls and white colored trim that seemed to decorate the rest of the palace.

To the left of the foyer led to a library full of old scrolls and books, with a large desk sitting at the end of the room. To the right of the foyer was dining room with a ridiculously long table full of dust and old silverware, and a big crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Done looking at those rooms, Rey walked to the end of the foyer that had another set of double doors. Pushing the doors open, Rey was met with what could only be the throne room.

Tall stone pillars ran along the length of the room with crystal ball chandeliers positioned periodically on the ceiling. Walking through the room, Rey came to the steps that led up to the large throne made of ebony wood, decorated with gold and peculiar looking gems that Rey felt mana radiating from. It was only then Rey noticed intricate Runes running all over the throne and trailed along the entire room as well.

'Sit on the throne and chant the spell, 'Allidoray Tahere'. Once you do, Sky Keep will officially recognize you as it's new Master and initialize some programs that just might shock you.' said Jinbe.

Always excited to try a new spell, and somewhat recovered after running from the Sea Dragon, Rey saw no reason to hold off any longer, as he practically ran and sat on the hard, uncushioned throne. "Allidoray Tahere!" Rey shouted as he tapped into his mana.

Feeling his mana stir then travel down into the throne, Rey heard another 'clicking' noise as the Runes on the black throne lit up a deep green, before traveling to the rest of the Runes throughout the throne room and beyond.

Rey's jaw nearly dropped as before his very eyes, the once sad and dark throne room was being lit up and repaired as if it never suffered any damage. By the time it was done, the walls and pillars were whole again, while the crystal ball chandeliers lit up one by one, lighting the room in a beautiful green luster.

Due to the new connection that he felt bound inside of him, Rey somehow knew that just like this room, everywhere those intricate Runes ran, was receiving the same exact treatment, bringing Sky Keep back to life. At least parts of it.

'Jinbe, how is all of this possible?' Rey asked as he looked at once bare walls transform into beautiful grand windows that offered a view of the courtyard, showing him that just like the interior, the exterior of the Keep was being repaired as well.

'I told you before, Inscription is one of the most powerful and versatile forms of magic out there. Most of the Shinigami Sect locations were built with such countermeasures, as since only a member of Shinigami will know this level of Inscription, if a tragedy ever befell the sect like it did, then those left alive will be able to revive the sect without too much effort.' Jinbe said, leaving Rey at a lose for words.

If Inscriptions were powerful enough to do something like this with just a bit of mana, then what couldn't it do? The possibilities running through Rey's mind made him want to hurry and study this secret art as fast as he could.

'Now that you are bound to the Keep, as it's master, you are afforded certain powers that others aren't. Try chanting the spell, Menu.' said Jinbe.

With a vague expectation where this was going, Rey excitedly tapped into his mana and prepared for the spell. "Menu." Rey said as his mana stirred and a transparent blue screen appeared before him. A broad smile spread across Rey's face, as the translucent screen in front of him was just like a menu from the games he used to play.

Immediate excitement swelled as Rey scanned the menu for all of his options, only to feel a little dejected. There were different tabs that offered different options, but many of the were still greyed out. The only option he had now was, Map, Members, Teleporter, and Infrastructure.

'Jinbe, why is it being such a cock-tease? Why can't I use the other options?' Rey asked, more than a little disappointed.

'You and your colorful terms. Unfortunately, some of the Inscriptions seemed to have broken down in those areas with the passage of time. Until those Inscriptions are redrawn, I'm afraid those options are locked to you.' Jinbe said in a regretful tone.

'Damn, another obstacle, huh? That's fine, at least we have some things functioning. The Map is sort of self-explanatory, but can you tell me about the other functions that we do have?' Rey asked, trying to stay positive and move forward.

'As you said, the Map shows an overview of all of the known land not only within this pocket dimension, but the whole world. Unfortunately, it's tied to the Master of the Keep and Shinigami's Core Members, and since you're the only one, it's rather limited at the moment.' Jinbe said.

'The Member function simply shows a detailed list over all of the members currently serving within the sect. You can see their base status as well as assigned them tasks all from this screen. Though it is not too helpful considering our current numbers.

'The Teleporter function is an exciting one. It corresponds with the Map in a since that it can Teleport you to key locations that you and the Core Members have been. But, even with the currently limited Map, it should still be useful because of the other Hardpoints. You can set a certain number of Waypoints you'd like to be able to teleport to, but as I said, those are only available until a certain number. Now, Hardpoints are permanent locations, namely the other sect locations that can't be changed unless the Hardpoint is destroyed. So, you should still be able to use it to teleport to one of the locations that the Shinigami Sect has deemed safe.' Jinbe said, giving Rey a bit of good news he was dying for.

Rey was starting to worry that if he couldn't use the teleporter, he'd truly be stuck within the Keep until he could defeat that Sea Dragon or find some other way to deal with it.

'Now, for the Infrastructure function, this also corresponds with the Map, as it shows a detailed overview of Sky Keep as a whole, including the palace and the town. Also, you can see a list of our resources, what blueprints we have available, and then authorize construction projects like more homes or the building of new roads. But, it's limited to the span of the current Inscription placed on it, so there's no telling how much you can control. Also, we likely have no resources since it has been many years since anyone has been here.' Jinbe informed as Rey let out a heavy sigh.

It was clear that Rey had a lot in front of him, and was starting to think it may be impossible to do everything by himself. Putting the thoughts of recruiting more helpers to the back of his mind, Rey slumped back in the throne, incredibly tired from the long night and day he had. He hadn't had a real chance to sleep with him almost dying from the Necromancer, leaving as soon as he woke up, almost dying again when he came here, then the long travel to get to the keep. To say he was exhausted would be an understatement.

Without much prompting, Rey began closing his eyes, sleeping for the first time in his new Palace.