The West Corner

The magical circle at his feet began to glow brighter and brighter. The dust located at the previous location of the throne began to swirl a small tornado at its epicentre. Ares had no idea what this magic was but a primordial feel pulsed in the room.

The dust made its way to Ares surrounding him. The magic circle at his feet was now almost blinding in its brightness.

Ares was astounded; if these were the final embers of the Reverent King how powerful must he have been in life! This seemed to be power beyond fathom.

A feeling of pain made its way into Ares which involuntarily made him open his mouth to scream. The pain burst through his body traveling deep into his spirit. There was a ripping sound and Ares looked inside himself to see his magic core had burst; pitch black geysers of water burst from its depths carving deep into the sounding banks.

While his increase in magic was astounding Ares had barely any time to appreciate it before a mind-numbing headache spread into his skull. The pain of his body and his mind almost drove him insane as he clenched his teeth and pierced his palms with his fingernails.

The pain increased in its intensity continued and continued; Ares would have been astounded by the change within his body if he could consider anything. Instead excruciating pain was his only world.

More then once Ares wished he could die but this feeling was always followed by a feeling of regret; his family remained weak and poor; his loss would cause heartache to many. He pushed his feelings of depression as far away in his mind as possible and focused on riding the next wave of pain.

A day passed and Ares remained stood like a statue in the magic circle. Movement was possible but Ares knew if he moved the slightest muscle, he may lose his nerve and run as far from the circle as possible. Greatness requires sacrifice.

After four more days Ares finally felt the pain beginning to recede. This was of a great relief as only willpower had carried him thus far.

Ares internally checked himself. His muscles; bones and organs felt stronger. He subconsciously checked his magic reservoir and almost passed out from the surprise. Where the black core had previously been the size of a large pond it now stretched far beyond his vision. To call his magic reservoir a large lake wouldn't be far from the truth. There was no doubt in his mind if he cast Push twenty times he still wouldn't have trouble casting it again.

The magic circle had diminished and now pulsed quietly; its energy spent.

The throne that had appeared on his first entry to the room was now vacant; the Reverent King had truly disappeared not a single trace of his existence visible. Ares made his way up to the throne to pay his respects.

Ares caught a glimpse of a round lantern like object in the middle of the throne. It was metal with an intricate pattern surrounding a glass square. Inside the lantern was a green flame pulsing lightly. The whole object fit easily in Ares's hand.

He reached out his hand and took a grip of the lantern. There was no reaction from the lantern so Ares pocketed it and then looked around, it was a shame that nothing else of value was left; the survivors of the city had likely taken it with them.

There was nothing left of interest in the room. Ares had already benefited tremendously from the Reverent King. He looked around one last time before making his way to the exit.

It was far easier to exit the castle then it was to enter; Ares found his way through the castle and found the ramparts. Similar to the walls of the west compound there were rope ladders lying on the sides; Ares used his to climb into the streets and began his walk back.

More then once Ares found himself cornered by a group of Revenants but he could no longer be compared to his previous self; his magic core was far larger. Casting the void spell no longer was of consequence to him and he used it countless times without worry on his way back to the compound. His only concern was throughout the trip he had never once come across any of the possessed Mars had warned him of.

When he arrived at the walls Ares found that the gatehouse was shut tightly. When he first entered the abandoned streets, he hadn't wanted to go through the gatehouse due to the number of revenants that usually crowded around it. This was no longer a worry for him as he walked forward casting the void spell to dissipate the numerous Revenants around the entry.

There weren't any regular Sentry's and after clearing the area of reverends Ares waited by the gate for ten minutes before seeing someone walk on the ramparts above.

"HEY OPEN UP" Ares shouted.

The sentry normally conducted his rounds without any change in fact in years he hadn't had a single cause to change his route. Suddenly seeing a human by the gatehouse shocked him half to death.

"QUICK SOMEONE OPEN THE GATE." Ares repeated.

Shaking himself out of his stupor the Sentry made his way to the door levers above the gatehouse and pulled heavily. The gates hadn't been opened in centuries and dust flew as the mechanisms opened the door for the first time in years.

Ares walked through the gates; they quickly shut behind him giving an almighty clunk as they fell back into their earlier positions. Despite the guards who had now gathered to see the person entering the city no one else was near the city entrance.

Ares briefly gave an overview of the mission to the highest ranking guard leaving out the details involving the Reverent King; he didn't want that to be known yet. After accepting his story the guard allowed Ares to leave and he returned into the city.

Ares decided to submit his quest to Spellcaster Nova. After walking through the city he finally found himself at her office door. He knocked and awaited a response.

Nova was waiting in her office and Ares heard her shout.

"Come in."

Ares came into the office. It was pristine with whitewashed walls and a large wooden desk in the centre. There were no bookcases or other pieces or furniture; instead behind the desk sat Nova. She was staring at a brown folder she had open in front of her.

"Ares, come in and sit down I don't have all day." Nova said seeing Ares lingering by the doorway.

Ares sat down in a swivel chair on the other side of the desk; there was a sterile feeling in the room.

"I completed my mission Spellcaster, I have explored the castle."

Nova instantly put down the folder in her hands and glared at him.

"What did you find?" She asked with short tone.

"The castle was locked down, there weren't any revenants in it at all." Ares said he had taken the time to sketch the inside layout of the buildings and he presented it to Nova. The throne room of course was blank.

"How did you get in?" Nova asked

"I swam through the water system." Ares decided being up-front with certain information was in his interests. Hiding the meeting with the Reverent King was a given.

"Interesting" Nova said narrowing her eyes; it was clear she suspected something more.

After a slight delay Nova continued.

"You have succeeded in the quest and I therefore present you with the winnings of the quest. Of course, this is minus the 5 purple coins that you contributed to the school."

Spellcaster Nova clearly wanted to ask more but her own personality hindered her from outright asking.

"You may go." She said dismissing Ares.

Knowing he had much to contemplate Ares made his way back to his dormitory. He sat in the middle of the room and began to meditate on his journey and on his magical core.