In his rather luxurious, child-sized robes, Athelei walked in the midst of earthen beasts. He was heading towards a nearby arena, excited to see more conflict between The Enlightened.
For this occasion, Athelei opted to use his own, true face.
And thus, even the child, Orien, who was last seen in the depths of the ocean, was now appearing within the deeper depths of the [First Kingdom].
"Everyone is being drawn to the underground." Was a phrase often seen on the Information Network nowadays, and it was quite an accurate description.
When Athelei passed through a giant doorway, his ears were suddenly filled with earth-shaking roars. He could feel the beastly cheers causing tremors, fully drowning out whatever sounds of battle that should be occurring within the arena.
Athelei craned his neck and looked above him to allow the image of battle to be engraved into his irises.
The tower rose into the heavens, truly making Athelei feel like he was nonexistent. The Royal Lizards that towered over many of the beasts that existed in the [First Kingdom] looked like regular lizards within this construct.
In the distant heights, looking like birdcages and suspended by chains of iron, was a stadium-sized set of facilities. They were dangling at the area where the conical tower was most narrow.
A platform the size of a soccer field was at the centre of the tower, and bleachers aplenty were hanging at different heights all around it.
Beasts were brawling in a battle royale, looking like ants waging war. Their roars and wails echoed throughout the tower's walls. The shape just amplified everything and threatened to make Athelei deaf.
Athelei then pried his eyes away from the dizzying sight and directed his gaze at the long set of stairs that spiralled upwards for a thousand metres.
'At least the insides of these towers are human... no, demon-sized...' A smirk wound itself into Athelei's expression as he began his climb.
It was quite tiring, to say the least. The time it had taken for Athelei to climb had spanned the course of several battles, with each one more ferocious than the last.
"The things..." Athelei gasped, "I do... for the sake... of human vanity..."
It took the young child an hour to catch his breath. And he spent this free time observing the battles displayed freely before him. A few incorporeal wisps had already weaved their way into the carnage, partaking of whatever residual consciousness there was to take.
He did it in silence, sitting down beside a Bedrock Worm tamed by a nearby Greater Goblin who was squealing their lungs out. Numerous beasts and even a few Orcs had fought wildly as the hour passed. The rare Greater Goblin that participated commanded a small squad of beasts to spill blood and manipulate the flow of the battlefield with their interesting beast taming tricks.
Inspect flashed secretly before Athelei's eyes, confirming his guesses and conjectures.
Special concoctions that emitted certain scents were definitely the most used weapons in the Greater Goblins' arsenals. The varieties of the scents they created brought about effects that Athelei related to the Mystic Pattern circle, [Seed of Emotion]. It riled up the chaotic sea of beasts in different manners.
A different scent signified a unique command. The Greater Goblins were the commanders of such a seemingly wasteful battlefield.
...If only the skilful Orcs weren't present to assassinate them when they made lapses in judgement.
Three battles went by while Athelei recuperated, crowning three winners.
Wounded and practically near-death, these winners all dragged their exhausted bodies off the arena. They either sat back down on the bleachers to continue watching or descended the long winding stairs as they licked their wounds.
It made Athelei wonder.
'Why are they fighting?'
All he saw was violence, violence, and more violence. A hundred lives were lost with every battle, and hundreds more were waiting in line. The blood that flowed and the carcasses left behind were all cleaned up by some mysterious array of Mystic Pattern-based mechanisms. Athelei could only guess if they were done through circles or concentric circles.
It was a treat for him, but such a practice led to another question.
'Where do all those corpses go?' Flashes of suspicion lit up in Athelei's eyes.
He recalled how one usually went about to refuel the torches found in the Labyrinth above.
'There is definitely a connection between the two... Could Beleyal be the main energy generator of the [First Kingdom]? Is this kingdom-city the reason why those torch towers in every other kingdom-city still burn to this day? Is there still something I missed despite using Inspect so thoroughly?'
Questions once again swamped Athelei's mind as he continued to observe and devour despite his refilled stamina. A few of the questions he had once buried popped up despite his doubts and uncertainty.
It filled him up with the exhilaration of curiosity.
The battles went on for hours, all the way until night descended.
When it was all over, Athelei descended the steps he came from, satisfied with the snack he had been blessed with. His mind was still swamped with thoughts.
"Hu...man."
A raspy voice shook Athelei out of his reveries.
"Hm?" He looked over and discovered a Greater Goblin descending the stairs at the same pace. He replied in Acivis, "Yes? Is there anything you need from me?"
"You speak our tongue?" The Greater Goblin depicted an expression that was likely surprise. "Can you answer a few of my questions?"
Athelei blinked as he tilted his head. He inwardly chuckled, 'I'm not used to being in my human form anymore. I wasn't expecting a Greater Goblin to approach me...'
Upon closer inspection, Athelei realised that the civil Greater Goblin that stood a bit taller than he did was the owner of the Bedrock Worm he had sat beside. The Greater Goblin wore leather gear beneath a cloak of some beast's hide. Potions lined their belt, with murky liquids sloshing with every step they made.
"...Sure?" Athelei almost forgot to reply as he reflexively cast Inspect.
"Splendid!" The Greater Goblin replied with a smile, "My name is Klike and—"
Klike straightened up all of a sudden. His eyes darted around in irked haste, "What was that?"
"...What was what?" Athelei looked around too, "Mister Klike?"
"...Weird," Klike was frowning, and Athelei watched as he allowed the Greater Goblin a moment to calm down.
Klike then shook his head, seemingly remembering Athelei who was walking alongside him.
"I'm sorry about that, er—"
"It's Orien." Athelei smiled as he briefly glanced at the secretive screens that had popped up before his eyes. One displayed the results of Inspect, while the other was a notification of Sneaky's growth.
"Yes..." Klike nodded and asked, "Did you come from aboveground? As the legends say?"
"I did. Why'd you ask?" Athelei asked back.
"Nothing much... It's just that the legends mentioned how every human was our enemy, but I never understood why."
"Mm..." Memories flashed by Athelei's mind. "Do you know about the Oxhorian Spawn then? They should be part of your legends too."
"The Oxhorian Spawn? Do you mean the masters? If so, then, yes. I know them." Klike answered with knitted eyebrows. "Is there some history between the masters and humans?"
"Well, this is just a guess but, humans were their enemies back then because they were invaders." Athelei gestured as he spoke, "I don't know if there was a war, and I don't know how it went. All I know is that there was a faction behind the humans at that time."
"...The Zodiacs?" Klike's voice was brought to a whisper, piquing Athelei's interest.
"Oh? You know of them?" Athelei too ended up speaking in a whisper.
"Of course, I know of them..." Klike nervously glanced around himself, "But I was taught never to speak of them with a human. It's a taboo."
"A taboo?" Athelei felt an alarm ring in his mind. His next words got stuck in his throat as he willed his [Psychic] prowess to life.
There was a faint force that bloomed within his soul, trying to send out some kind of message. Luckily, Athelei discovered it in time.
'Curious!' With great haste, Athelei mobilised his consciousness. The Nefarious Icon manifested itself within his soul space as if it felt his will.
Athelei's eyes flashed as he activated the power of the icon. A stream of energy was about to escape the confines of his soul! It was heading somewhere.
Somewhere that would likely bring a few gazes to scan his entire being.
And Athelei had secrets he could not reveal, especially with the Nefarious Icon becoming active all of a sudden.
A tidal wave of corruptive energy surged forth within Athelei's soul. It used his unique Endbringer characteristics as a mode of transportation, swiftly arriving before the stream of information.
Athelei watched the stream struggle as if it was a snake writhing around to survive. It kept twisting and turning within the edges of his soul, drilling through the walls that he had urgently constructed out of consciousness fog.
Swish!
The Nefarious Icon's corruption swallowed the stream of information in one fell swoop, hinting at its mind-based nature.
Athelei's intuition told him things were alright for the time being as he placed his focus back on reality.
"—en. Human Orien!"
Klike's voice echoed in his ears, as Athelei realised he was on the Bedrock Worm's back. When Athelei's eyes fluttered open, Klike breathed a short sigh of relief.
"It really is taboo to mention them!" He exclaimed. "You lost consciousness for a few seconds and almost fell down the staircase. What happened, human?"
"It's hard to explain for now." Athelei pursed his lips as the gears of his mind turned, "Let me try something. I might be able to answer you in a moment."
Under Klike's weirdly expectant gaze, Athelei's eyes glazed over as he directed his focus into the depths of his soul once more.
A sea of corruption still churned within his mind, and the Nefarious Icon had yet to disappear into his consciousness. Athelei already knew that there was still a lingering threat.
And so, he dived deeper into his soul, sending out his consciousness fog to scan every nook and cranny of his being. Time passed him by as he scoured his soul, looking for the answer to his suspicions.
It was only when Athelei scattered some kind of concealing cloud within his soul, did he find another foreign entity.
It was the glow of a lonely Mystic Pattern.
Searching through his memories, Athelei realised what this Mystic Pattern signified.
He recalled what a pair of humans had once said on the night he lost his family. He also remembered one of Libra's priests and the golden light of a new morning.
'This is the Mystic Pattern placed on me when I was baptised.' Athelei observed in awe.
His eyes regained focus for a brief moment as he glanced up from where he sat. In his mind, he could see the stars up above, shining with the constellations that sat beautifully in the night sky.
A mischievous smile crept up his face.
'Libra? Will you sense the disappearance of your mark?'
The consciousness of a former Denizen of Infinity surged with malice. Corruption lined its waves as it charged forth.
Its target?
Libra's Mystic Pattern.