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Chapter 23 - Should I awaken Anubis?

With the wedding ceremony and the crowning of a new King and Queen completed, the Vampire Coven began their celebrations. Those who noticed the King and Queen stepping out and heading to their chambers assumed they intended to start their own wedding celebrations. None thought it odd that Maximus, Zed, and Patricia slipped out behind the couple. When Hadorix and Alexus entered their room, Maximus, Zed, and Patricia stood guard outside. Hadorix shared everything he had discussed with Cy with Alexus. Hadorix made sure to emphasize the information about Anubis. To Hadorix the main debate was whether to wake up Anubis or to head to the Mystic Orchard directly. As the night wore on their discussions did not go where Hadorix had expected. While Alexus did agree that they needed to move swiftly, she felt the most important thing they could do was to see Cy and determine the secrets of the spire and Melatonin prison. By the end of the night, while they did not agree on what to do, they did agree that they should go to the Spider's lair. Alexus would go to see Cy and discover the secrets of her ancestor. Hadorix would go to Melatonin prison and awaken Anubis. He could easily gather the information on how to do so from the data Cy uploaded to his system.

Once a decision had been made, the couple began the trek down to the Spiders lair. As Hadorix had claimed ownership, he was able to bring Alexus in with him this time. Upon entry, Cy again stepped out. To his surprise he could sense a member of his blood line with Hadorix. Upon seeing the crest on both of their armor and the crowns on their heads, Cy had an idea of what had occurred.

Cy spoke, "Hadorix, who is this? When I asked you to protect my bloodline, I do not recall mentioning marrying into it?"

Alexus replied before Hadorix could say a word. "I am Alexus Queen of the coven. You gave up your right to make decisions for your bloodline when you opted to convince everyone you were dead. Hadorix is now my husband, and HE is King of this Coven. If you consider yourself part of the Coven still, that means HE is your King. YOU should speak to him as such."

Cy replied, "Well met and well said Alexus. While I do desire to protect the Coven, I do not consider myself a member any longer. I am more of an ancient relic, that has long outlived its usefulness."

Alexus replied, "Even relics have their uses when they possess the power you do. Hadorix has errands to run. I requested he bring me here in the hopes that you could shed some light on the past of our people. Would you be willing to do so?"

Cy said, "I will share about the past if you are willing to share your knowledge of the present. While I am not completely blind and do have an idea of what has occurred, it would be nice to hear a firsthand account."

Sensing his dismissal, Hadorix summoned the warehouse and entered. He quickly made his way up to the entrance to Melatonin prison and browsed the memories Cy had shared with him to determine how to open the door. This proved far simpler than he expected. As Hadorix now possessed the crown and shared the blood of Cy, all he had to do was place a drop of his blood on the handle of the door. After doing so it immediately opened.

Hadorix entered Melatonin prison. He was surprised to see several robots scurrying around to maintain the systems of the prison and ensure that everything was kept in good repair as well as a terminal. Out of curiosity, Hadorix first went to the terminal to try to find Anubis. This proved to be far simpler than Hadorix first suspected. The terminal contained a list of all the prisoners kept in stasis. He merely had to find Anubis's name and select him. After doing so the cryochamber of Anubis quickly appeared on a platform on the other side of the room. The terminal then prompted Hadorix to verify if he desired to awaken Anubis. Hadorix chose yes.

The cryochamber of Anubis began to open. After approximately half an hour, a creature that could easily pass as a human stepped out and began to speak. "As you wear the crown and were able to enter this prison, I will not slay you on the spot Archdruid. But my patience is slim, you had better explain yourself quickly."

Hadorix replied, "I am the Archdruid Hadorix, King of the Coven. I apologize for awakening you, however I find myself in need of advice that I believe only you can provide Archdruid Anubis."

Anubis replied, "I sense the blood of the Coven in you, and yet you appear to be human. Are you then from Earth? I do not recall being known as an Archdruid there. In fact, if memory serves, I lived as a God. However, as King of the Coven, and an Archdruid to boot, you certainly have the status required to seek my advice. Though I admit I am curious how you knew I still live. Why have you revived me human?"

Hadorix replied, "I find myself in possession of the Mystic Orchard, the Well of Souls, and the Spiders lair. If I insert the soul stone of the Spiders lair into the throne of the Mystic Orchard, I fear what the World Tree may do. Can the World Tree access the powers of the Mystic Orchard?"

Anubis replied, "The World Tree possesses an affinity with the Mystic Orchard that is beyond anything I have seen. Even I, an Archdruid and an ancient blue dragon could not claim ownership of that artifact. With the restrictions placed on me all I could do is add soul stones, even with that ability, I could never upgrade the Mystic Orchard above grade D. Even the World Tree seemed to be at a loss to how to enhance its capabilities. What do you desire to do with what you now possess?"

Hadorix replied, "I wish to restore the balance to Pax. I do not desire to destroy the druids which I am rebuilding, The World Tree, the Coven, or Cy. I do not see a way to restore the balance though. Do you have any suggestions?"

Anubis replied, "To anyone else, I would say that is an impossibility, however, I see you wear the spiders crown. As an Archdruid, that should have given you something unexpected. Did it?"

Hadorix said, "I received the Spider's legacy. Though I have not yet absorbed it. The system gave me the option of gaining all the knowledge at once, or slowly learning it. It siad the first option may have unknown side effects."

Anubis replied, "The absorbing the inheritance at once may incorporate a portion of the Spiders personality into yours. There is even the possibility that you will develop a split personality. However, if you possess the absorption ability that we placed in the chest with the crown, the chances of that are extremely slim. To accomplish what you desire, you need to absorb the Spiders Land Grant. A Land Grant is like a secondary dimension that resides in your mind. Few can generate a Land Grant as it is a somewhat rare ability. Those that do can gain many benefits, I do not possess one so even I do not know much about them. However, I do know that if you place the Mystic Orchard there, the World Tree should no longer be able to access it. But be warned, the Spider always stored his crew of assassins in his Land Grant. He feared losing control of them to the World Tree. I do not know if they still live, but each of them was at least a C grade super. Most were at B grade. At your current strength you would not last 5 seconds should they desire your demise."

Hadorix considered the potential repercussions of absorbing the Land Grant as well as absorbing the entire Legacy. Hadorix felt it was time to fully commit to protecting the Coven no matter what. He had chosen to marry Alexus, he had become King, and just as importantly, he had given Cy his word that he would protect his bloodline. Hadorix felt he had no choice. He went into his system, and with the thoughts it could sense from him it gave him two options.

1. Do you wish to absorb the entire legacy of the Spider?

2. Do you wish to only absorb the Land Grant of the Spider?

Hadorix chose option 1. Hadorix was immediately overwhelmed with the amount of information flowing into his mind. He began to glow with an immense light. He collapsed and passed out. When he awoke, he was extremely disoriented and no longer recognized his own body. Hadorix began to walk and stretch to attempt to familiarize himself with the changes that were so blatantly obvious in his power rating. After doing so for hours he began to feel at home in his own skin again. He then decided to review the changes in his system.

· Druid Level increased to 5.

· Assassin Level increased to 10.

· Passive Ability Land Grant gained. "Congratulations, you have gained the ability Land Grant. This will be your own pocket dimension. Its uses are only restricted by your own imagination."

· Absorption ability increased to Purple Grade. "Access to the Land Grant ability has opened options never before seen. As such, your absorption ability has seen explosive improvements in grade. You may now decide whether you want to absorb a being you have slain, and you may even absorb those slain by others."

· Passive Ability Animal Speak gained. "You now have the ability to speak to animals of all shapes and sizes."

· Active Ability Hide in Shadows gained. "When this ability is in use, you have a chance to become invisible to all creatures near you. The darker the area is, the higher the success rate. For those more than 1 grade higher than you, success is impossible."

· Spiders Spell Book Gained. "While the Spider was not an avid spellcaster, he did gain the ability to generate his own spell book. Browse the contents to see what new spells you have gained."

· Poison Affinity +90

· Crest ability gained.

o Passive Ability Animal Speak gained. "You now have the ability to speak to animals of all shapes and sizes."

Hadorix was ecstatic. He hoped this would be the first step toward truly restoring the balance to Pax.