Just as Rethys was about to get overwhelmed from the deluge of twisted emotion his senses forced him to feel, his eyes snapped wide open, and he summoned the strength he could for a final showdown.
He felt as weak as a bundle of twigs and twice as brittle, as his body never stopped shaking from exhaustion. He had pushed himself too hard, and even with his extremely amplified physique he still hit his limit.
That, however, didn't mean he'd just take it lying down. He would go down kicking and screaming if he had any say in it.
But then everything subsided all at once, the aggression, the madness and the unnerving clapping. The cultist leader stood quietly, and now seemed almost completely different than a moment ago, radiating an air of firm calm and composure.
"It is a great feat you accomplished." He chuckled; his chest rising and falling as if he needed air to talk or laugh. "Defeating all of them at once as you did. A masterful display of technique, coordination and raw savagery."
Rethys stood there, watching the robed man's unsettling movements before he grew completely quiet. Silent staring then followed for an uncomfortably long time before the cultist leader spoke again.
"And that element... Origin! To see it in action, and in the hands of a human no less! How spectacular! How RIVETING! Ah, how it pleases me that we unlocked its secrets before the others, such a powerful yet ubiquitous element... And how splendidly the magic of humankind must have advanced thanks to it! This MUST mean that..." Levantros said before beginning to babble on and on about advanced magic this and etherical theory that.
Hearing the cultist leader congratulate him and then begin rambling to himself left Rethys stumped on how to proceed. He kept his guard up and his eyes on his state, both body and soul, making sure to keep himself ready to attack or retreat at a moment's notice. Yet he didn't need his magical senses to realize that the cultist leader didn't bear even a speck of aggression towards them.
But before he could consult Sevi, Levantros spoke again, his voice positively brimming with excitement.
"Tell me, my boy, have your people truly unlocked the secrets and applications of Origin?" The pale man asked. "Its powers over ether must have made it an essential component in your runescript, corecrafting, everything really... the implications are more than JUST profound!"
Getting back on his feet, Rethys began slowly widening the distance between himself and the cultist leader. All the while he was covering his mouth and whispering.
"Sevi what the hell is this?!" He screeched as quietly as he could.
Yet there was no response from the ancient Blood mage, and He couldn't sense her doing anything whatsoever. An uncharacteristic silence.
"Sevi this isn't the time for this!" He snapped.
"So tell me, how is it?" The cultist leader repeated. "The curiosity is JUST about to sear a hole through my cranium I tell you!"
Rethys truly didn't want to speak a word before Sevi snapped out of whatever was going on with her, but the pressure was too much.
"I... don't know." He answered, barely squeezing the words out of his throat.
"Hm?" The robed man froze. "What do you mean you 'don't know'? It is your very element boy, is it not?"
"Yes, but I'm... fairly certain I'm the only person who can use it. In the whole world. Origin, I mean." Rethys clarified.
And he didn't lie, for he knew for sure that he was the first ever user of Origin. For though he loathed the Origin entity, he eventually realized it never lied about anything it said. What he did hate and fear it for was its inhuman nature and completely different values and inclinations.
But all in all, he didn't doubt for a second that this power was truly wholly unique to him.
"Oh, is that so? Why would... huh... why, that is just too anticlimactic ..." The gem-faced man sighed with the sadness of a child losing their toy. "But still, you remain a strange specimen, at once the sole user of a novel element and the host of some sort of Blood creature..."
As the cultist leader retreated into his own thoughts, Rethys took the opportunity to subtly position himself behind some cover.
"Sevi, you know who this guy is, don't you?" He asked in exasperation. "Hey, say something!"
Yet he continued to be met with silence.
"Well, let us not allow such a minor debacle." The cultist leader continued. "Tell me, you two, how far has magic progressed in the surface world and its realms? Have any new elements been discovered since the fall of Yvtar? Has ethercore fusion been perfected? Have rune phrases and clauses been realized? Has stable and affordable ethereal travel been achieved?!"
Seeing the robed man lean towards him while shrieking madly, Rethys jolted into readiness, his hand squeezing the bloodstone dagger's handle. His posture lowered and his muscles tensed as he prepared to either fight or flee.
But just as suddenly as threat reappeared, it once again disappeared as the robed man raised his hands in a calming gesture and retreated towards the center of the platform.
"I seem to have startled you. Why have I not noticed so... you must be scared out of your wits now, all things considered and... rambling to you as I am!" Levantros chuckled. "I apologize for coming on too strong. Rest easy, for I mean you no harm whatsoever. You may not believe that, and that would only be right, but be assured that I can do nothing to harm you, even if I willed it, which I do not."
Silence ruled for a moment before Rethys sought fit to voice his suspicions.
"Aren't you one of the cultists of this place? You even helped them earlier. You cast a spell or... something... you did something there!"
"I actually helped you two over there..." Levantros shrugged. "Well, think nothing of it, for I understand your predicament. For starters, why not answer any question you have about this place, the creatures here, and myself. Come now, you must have all sorts of questions about all sorts of things about this place."
Rethys hesitated for a moment, but eventually figured that he couldn't just keep teetering with indecisiveness.
"Are you Levantros, leader of the cultists here?" He asked.
"That I am! Levantros Phellegor, Mage Lord of Purity, hopefully still considered a pioneer of the Purity element's runological and etherical study, former seat of the Yvtari High Council, former leader of this group of mages which I shall not name, and now eternal prisoner of this place, at your service." The cultist leader said.
Rethys squinted his eyes as his coldness of thought intensified.
"Are you the one responsible for the fall of Yvtar?"
"I suppose I am." The robed man nodded.
"So, you're the one responsible for all the suffering that happened to the people of this place? As well the suffering of those still stuck here?" Rethys asked, his brows furrowing with deep, profound loathing.
"Yes." Levantros nodded again.
Hearing his answer, Rethys felt a huge weight get lifted off his shoulders, as well as frigid cold set in his mind, as he walked slowly towards the elevated stage.
Before him was the one responsible for the suffering of every being that dwelt in this place, himself included. There was no need for second thoughts when action was so, so much easier.
Climbing the steps that led up to where the robed man stood, he took a moment to look around the magical circles that hovered in the air. He didn't linger on them, simply discerning from their ether flows that they weren't harmful.
He then approached the cultist leader, dagger in hand, eyes focused, and heart blazing with righteous indignation.
"This is for all your crimes against souls and the ether. Will you resist?" Rethys asked, knowing full well he wouldn't care about the answer.
"No, I will not." The robed man sighed.
Rethys already had his dagger ready, and though looking at the gem embedded into the man's face made a lot of questions pop into his head, he ignored them and slowly pushed the dagger forwards into his target's chest.
"Wait!!" Before Rethys could go through with it however, the dagger in his hand withdrew into the shape of a sphere, while his arm drew back a little.
"So now you speak. Well? What do you want?" Rethys questioned the Blood mage, his eyes never leaving the cultist leader's visage.
"Killing him will do us no good! Not when he possesses a trove of knowledge and information. And judging by his attitude and circumstance, he must have already been dealt his punishment." Sevi insisted.
Rethys wasn't for a second persuaded by Sevi's oddly desperate spiel, yet he didn't need to be, for his senses also told of a similar tale.
This man was the source of the strange ether phenomenon he sensed in this place. He presumed it was through his power that the ether remained stagnant and forcibly calm. He didn't quite know what this effect did, yet at least knew that it wasn't necessarily hostile.
All in all, the cultist leader's behavior was beyond peculiar, and him having been punished by those that cleansed Yvtar at least somewhat explained why this area in particular was left the way it is.
"What she speaks is true. I am sentenced to watch over this place, my failings, my colleagues, and what remains of both, now and forevermore." Levantros nodded.
"And you never thought to free the souls trapped in suffering just right next door?" Rethys asked.
"I could not. I am prohibited from ever setting foot off this platform. Watching them suffer was my punishment, you see, the consequences of my actions." The robed man revealed.
Rethys stayed silent for a while, processing all he knew and didn't about this place and the catacombs in general, trying to find clues to put together and figure out what he could.
In his eyes, both Sevi and Levantros were unreliable to say the least, yet he eventually figured that no piece of information was useless.
Brandishing his blood-red dagger again, he gave the cultist leader an ultimatum.
"You'll answer every question I have, and if you try anything funny or even if I don't like what you tell me, this dagger going up your ass. Do you understand?"
He had a very hard time keeping his murderous intent in check, especially now that he had a name to attach to his resentment.
"A bit foul-mouthed I see, but... very well, Origin mage." The robed man nodded.