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After telling Rodi to go away, Dale went to the door of Prosperity with a satisfied smile…
It was a shame he had once again lost another great farming spot due to the matters at hand... His luck with these was terrible...
In there, he saw his teacher already waiting for him, with the final fragment of the key in hand.
"You're here, let's proceed." Testros said as he looked at the door with an expectant gaze
"I never came to the sewers, so I never really thought such a passage to be possible."
"Although I'm confused as to how you found out about it, I won't ask, just like before."
"Instead, I just want to see it… The place I spent my youth in." He said with a bit of melancholy, closing his eyes as he remembered the very faint memories he held dear
Dale didn't say much.
Perhaps it was due to his Reputation or something else, but the Villagers would tend to not ask too many questions about his actions, or be simply supportive of him.
That is good for him, else, explaining some things would become too problematic… Although it did make him a bit concerned.
People aren't really fond of others who are shrouded in mysteries and secrets, especially when they are so impactful to the environment they live in.
People usually like to know the details of the things that will affect them…
"Thank you, I'll continue to try my best." Dale said with a smile
'I'll try to come up with a reasonable explanation for this later…'
'Hm… I can say I was chosen by God?'
'Would that work? It isn't technically wrong…'
{That may be a good option, but it would cause some consequences} David said inside his mind
'?!'
{Don't be surprised by this, it's me, the one and only...}
'I… I thought you didn't want to spend unnecessary energy talking like this?'
{And I do, however, I have come to realize that… I was being too conservative}
{At most, this energy will last a day... Half a day, so there is no point in me keeping a hold of it, especially when I could be using it for something more useful}
{I'll keep communicating with you from now on since you brought him here, this will allow us to better coordinate and proceed}
{Still, I don't think it was a good idea to bring him, but I have only myself to blame for not giving you my opinion and opting to remain silent}
{If you so decide, I think that portraying yourself as a chosen one by Arkesios isn't going to cause any heavy repercussions, at least the ones you're thinking about}
{However, a God isn't just going to allow you to use it as a barrier for your own benefit, and even though that isn't necessarily what you are trying to do, there is a certain price to pay for that}
{So be warned that my Boss would probably ask something out of you in return for his favor and protection}
{My bet is that he may ask you to become a Paragon, the details of this can be discussed later, but by becoming one, there is no chance of you ever being able to interact with other Gods in similar ways}
{But for most people, they would've never ever seen such a chance, so it's up to you really…}
{We'll talk more later, before that old man thinks you're a lunatic for staring at a door for half a minute…}
"Dale? Are you okay?" Testros asked with a bit of worry, seeing as Dale kept staring at the final piece on his hand for a good half a minute
"Hm? Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking about a few things." He replied awkwardly
Dale took a step forward to grab the final piece, and took out the other pieces given to him by Rodi as well…
{Showtime}
David started to glow slightly, so Dale took him from his waist and raised it towards the door.
/Flash!/
The Golden head's eyes flashed, illuminating the door.
Slowly, the symbols on the foot started to move and fuse, making a larger symbol…
"This is…" Testros said in surprise
'A… A miracle…'
For Testros, although he isn't a countryside boy per se, he did spend over 70% of his life in a remote village and the rest of it in a secluded Military complex.
The last time he saw genuine magic or anything remotely resembling it was long… Long ago.
And deeming the origin of the item on Dale's hand, it wasn't difficult for him to attribute this to some sort of miracle.
{Look at the old man, he is super baffled…}
"..."
'Just focus already…'
After a few seconds of waiting, the runes on the door formed into a long string of words.
Dale couldn't read them of course, and it seemed Testros also couldn't... At least not quite.
/Clink!/
With a loud metallic noise, the door started to disappear into nothingness.
Dale found this process rather cool, as the door was extremely solid, but now it vanished like air…
{I'm not over yet, time to fix that key on your hand}
Just like he said, the broken pieces on Dale's hand started to float, connecting with each other in the air…
In the blink of an eye, a palm sized metallic object formed.
"This is… The emblem…" Testros mumbled to himself
He shook his head soon after and said:
"Is everything over now?"
Dale nodded as he strapped David to his waist.
"So let's go." Testros said as he walked on front
"I'll be right behind you..."
{Be careful Dale, the old man is being oddly emotional, and whatever we're going to find on the other side isn't going to be pretty I assure you}
{I'm not insensible, I understand his circumstances...}
{That is why I can't blame him, he has all the right to be upset about this situation and to feel what he is feeling right now…}
{But the worst kind of companion you can have on such an adventure is someone who cannot keep their calm and give in to their emotions during a critical moment}
{Keep an eye on him else you may be going back alone} David said in a solemn tone inside his head
'...'
'I will.' Dale replied w
…
/Time passed.../
The path was long, but it was surprisingly clean.
It was an extremely well made passage that even after many decades, no damage could be seen anywhere…
'I would've never thought that bellow Resko and the forest would be a tunnel like this one.'
{Who knows Dale, often not in the most serene of places you'll find the most bizarre of things}
{This place is a treasure trove in itself, a clear testimony of the immense wealth the Church made during Resko's peak and how much importance they gave to the Southern Corps}
{This entire pathway is made from a rather uncommon rock, it doesn't have many interesting properties, but when it's processed, things change}
{From its extraction to its processing, all of those steps are hard and complicated simply due to faint toxic gasses the rock emits when in contact with air}
{After being processed and laid out in a tunnel… A 4x4 M tunnel that stretches for several Km, the rock was then magically fused together, turning an otherwise ordinary brick tunnel to something akin to a tube}
{This isn't easy to do, especially the post-processing, I can feel faint traces of Magic all around us…}
{In the future, it may be worth it to dismantle this passage and use its materials for something else, after all, I see no point in such a strong material being kept 10M under the ground...}
Like David said, the passage was several Km long, and because they were being cautious, it took them over an hour to arrive at the end.
"It's here." Testros said
Another door, just like the previous one, but this time, the door seemed a bit mightier, with symbols of mythological creatures and metallic ornaments that gave the door a militaristic feel…
This was the door of Promise.
{Just put the key on the door and the rest will happen on its own... Given that the mechanisms are still working...}
Dale did just as he was told, and the same process as last time happened at the door and the key disappeared.
Before he could even ask, David already said:
{Don't ask me, I have no idea where the key went, why, and how, I just know that this path will be open for one more hour, and if we're not back by then, we won't be able to return}
{I can open the other door again as long as I have enough energy, but now this one}
{So get going}
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Notes