Recap :
In the previous chapter, Rosée, Jamil's wife, became more and more a victim of her own curiosity, where she continued to meddle in matters that were none of her business. She went to the manor house a second time, but this time in the company of her children, who revealed that the woman who lived there was no stranger to them. It was she who abducted them that cursed evening, and Rosée was invited into the manor house for tea by Berthe, who promptly made her drink a beverage that made her faint. Jamil heard the news and rushed to his wife's rescue with his grandson. A long speech was held, during which Jacob, walking through the corridors of the residence, came across several portraits, one of which was covered by a veil. Rosée blamed her husband for keeping the truth from her, and demanded to know the real story, which was revealed to her, with the exception of the dream and the porphecy. The couple spent the next few years in peace, and Rosée's worries about the mysteries surrounding her husband were shattered.
Chapter 6: Such is taken , who thought he was taking .
In the realm of the abyssal crystals, the guardian named Maki, the one who appeared to Jamil in the dream and told him of the prophecy, was looking for any way he could to find the embroideries without having to go to the realm of oblivion: the place where the paintings had inevitably been lost. The dwarf with the golden thread had suggested that she go to Mount Celeste to see the two divine brothers, the wisest deities who could enlighten her about the prophecy contained in the frescoes. All the paintings in the grotto remained empty until the prophecy itself was fulfilled: the grotto of the crystals was the place where all the future was kept and was also the point of reference for all the portals leading to the various worlds. The guardian knew what the destiny was, but having lost his memory over the centuries, he couldn't remember, but an old legend that every inhabitant of the immortal world knew: once a mortal foot touched the land of the eternal kingdom, both worlds would be altered. Jamil was this mortal, but the prophecy said that his offspring would be the cause of damage, and he had two children, which one could it be? And the guardian revealed all he knew that day, being surprised by the mortal's visit...
The city of oblivion: the one that housed the ten portraits when the pilasters came down,A violet light was emanating from it in an unprecedented and unusual way. The guardian Maki went back to the dwarf weaver's crypt in the latter's absence to leaf through a few pages of the grimoire of destiny, a copy of which was hidden in the dwarf's infernal cave, trying to find out the location of the paintings, or at least the sex of the chosen child. The farfadé dwarf was a powerful deity feared in the world of immortals, being the weaver who created the six worlds, then created the seventh. The golden book once rested on the celestial mountain in the palace of the two brothers, but after Maki's attempt to steal it, the book was divided into three copies, each of which was separated in a specific place. No one knew about this, but the dwarf's piplait temperament let the guardian and a few other deities in on the secret. Knowing this, Maki had no choice, even though no one would have dared set foot on the weaver's domain without first receiving permission. The guardian was about to commit an act of madness, and his eagle had advised him to turn back, but ... Maki knew the location of the key that opened the door to the grimoire room, which was hidden in a book in the dwarf's dusty library... The golden book was there, and Maki struck its cover, trying to open it, but the guardian's fingerprints had remained on the book's cover, and a force field pushed it back. Then, on the weaver's potion shelf, a statue of an owl petrified in stone came back to life and immediately spread its wings, preparing to fly off to inform the dwarf of the presence of intruders on the premises. The guardian: sovereign of the ice kingdom used his sceptre to petrify the bird and immediately left the cave before the owner returned, opening an interdimensional portal to his domain. Having learned nothing, the guardian had little time left before the sentinels reported the strange light emanating from the chasm. On his return to his cave, Farfadé, the weaving dwarf, smelled a foreign odor having set foot on his territory. He immediately went to the room of golden walls, where all his belongings were kept and where the book of destiny rested forever. He found the door ajar and the bird petrified in the ice. Furious, he was now sure that a stranger had intruded into his cave. He then went into the darkness: - the deepest of the free worlds, the only one with direct borders with the city of oblivion - ,He consulted the four soothsayer spirits who lived there alone, along with a few harpies: they didn't appreciate anyone's company, and were in the position of the sphere which could see past events in all dimensions at any given moment. Nothing could compel these divinities to help him, however: they were renowned for their lies. But they were always grateful to Farfadé, who didn't use their portrait when he created the city of oblivion in need of golden thread, but once used the thread from Maki's portrait when he tried to steal the golden book from the two brothers, when it was once in their possession.
The spirits consulted their shpere and saw that Maki was the intruder who had entered the dwarf's cave, but being the only ones who could see the contents of the sphere, they tried to play a trick on the dwarf, who proved to be smarter than them, swearing that if they lied to him, their portrait would be cut up forever. They would return to nothingness!
Appalled, the divinities revealed the truth to the dwarf, who, now sure of the culprit's identity, rode furiously to the celestial mountain to meet the two brothers on his griffin-drawn chariot, telling them the whole story . In their wisdom, these divinities entrusted another guardian by the name of Taõ with the mission of going to the Cave of Crystals to verify the accuracy of Farfadé's words. Farfadé could not cross the borders between worlds, a law established to maintain cosmic balance and which only the guardians, of whom Maki was the most powerful, could transgress. The fiery-bladed guardian entered the cave and from his chariot saw hundreds of pilasters adorned with frescoes, each marking an event that had or had not yet taken place. Approaching the mortal realm, he saw the collapsed bridge, the missing pilasters and the violet glow emanating from the world of oblivion, growing ever stronger. This preoccupying glow was reported to the gods, who once again sent Taõ to lead a swarm of immortal troops in search of Maki to hear his confession before his judgment. Taõ returned alone with his army, for Maki had left his domain, vowing to find the frescoes and not return without them. The guardian's absence filled the hearts of the gods with rage, and they launched an eagle to track him down. The latter returned, approving of Maki's presence in the world of oblivion. The angry gods unleashed a storm and a bolt of lightning on the world of oblivion where Maki had found the portraits, but just as they were about to seize them, the lightning struck him and his eagle, and the guardian's wings were scorched, The earth split in two and a whirlwind sucked up all the frescoes except for one, which maki didn't let go of. The paintings were lost, scattered in the bowels of this world that no one knew, not even Farfadé, its creator. The lightning that struck the ground caused lava flows and fire as far as the eye could see. The once-created world of oblivion, once a barren wasteland covered in gray mist, became what would today be known as Hell. Maki's charred eagle was reduced to ashes which, in contact with the fire, gave birth to a creature also known today as a phoenix.
The verdict was in! Maki was stripped of his functions and, having lost his wings, was condemned to spend all eternity in the hell of oblivion. The guardian taõ once again requested permission to travel to Hell to retrieve Maki's scepter, but his request was denied. The supreme gods had regretted placing their trust in Maki and
Taõ was promoted to new guardian of the cave. But what the gods didn't know was that the former guardian, now thirsting for vengeance, was trying hard to make amends for his mistake, and was in position for a most important tableau. He made his mark under the rubble of this suffering world, and established himself as its most powerful king. What, then, was the content of the painting that caused maki's grin to be heard from hell to heaven, and what did he intend to do with it?
.....To be continued...
Chapter 7: The immortals' past.