Appearing back in the tunnel, Elysia plopped down beside Nox.
Before any of them could say anything, they suddenly appeared back in the forest. The appearance of the two seemed to have fulfilled a criteria of sorts as they were forcibly removed from the colorful spiral.
The Mythmaker glanced at his teammate. Elysia looked to be in a daze.
'Did she encounter a Constellation as well?' Nox guessed but decided not to dig too deep into it. After all, everyone has their own circumstances.
The two silently traversed through the forest, looking for their old campsite. However, after almost an hour, there were still no signs of it.
He felt his sword vibrate as it transformed back into a little girl.
The azure-haired child had a panicked look on her face as she warned the group.
"I.. don't think we should continue any further."
"What's wrong?"
Elysia bent down and embraced the girl, returning back to her innocent self.
'That's surprising, she's not usually one to take initiative.'
"I feel something calling me… my body won't listen to me anymore."
The girl shone with an otherworldly glow, but it quickly dimmed back down.
"I can't transform." She revealed to the the duo.
"So what? Me and Elysia are more than enough to handle the freaks on the island."
He reassured the girl, patting her head.
Just then, Elysia held up her hand. 4 of her fingers were up.
Slowly, she cut through the large bush blocking their vision. A clearing was revealed. Inside the overgrown forest, there happened to be a patch of flat land.
Rows of wooden houses lined the area. Vines entwined themselves into the old structures as bird-like creatures created their nests atop them.
'A village? In a challenge?'
Something was off. There was no way a village could even survive a year in this magical forest without being taken over and devoured by the harsh vegetation. For the houses to only be slightly overrun with vines meant that..
"It wasn't here before," Elysia spoke up.
She slowly approached a house. Verdant energy condensed in the form of a hammer as it slammed against the windows.
Miraculously, the window stayed intact. The weapon was the one to break apart as a strange force pulled its form apart, absorbing it into the frame of the house.
The caster had a serious expression on her face.
"Relic." She solemnly said.
Opal covered her eyes, slightly peeking out. Her entire body was trembling.
"The houses, the windows… everything is a relic."
"But why? What would be the purpose of that?" Nox seemed confused.
"To store energy. All the houses are built with materials that can contain and channel energy. That's why the forest is suddenly starting to spread. There is an overflow of mana now that the relics are beginning to exceed their energy storages."
The black-haired girl explained.
"A hundred years ago, there was a Villain attack. Instead of using traditional methods, the Otherworlders summoned a fallen Constellation to wreak havoc on the cities."
She tapped the wooden framing of a house.
Nox saw the air around them tremble as he was able to see the sheer amount of power contained in the vessels.
He tried diving into the world of strings, however, a foreign force seemed to be protecting the houses. Just like Loki, the relics were shrouded in a grey mist.
"Using unsuspecting items to store energy, they built up enough power to open a gate to another world, unleashing chaos on humanity."
"Elysia, you're telling me-
The mage cut him off.
"Something is trying to resurrect itself. Something ancient."
A loud explosion sounded from the distance.
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"Please! Spare me!"
A female Otherworlder begged. Her clothes were covered in dirt and blood as she stared at the abomination in front of her in horror.
Nearby, a pile of dissected bodies can be seen. Their bodies were crushed through their protective armor, offering no resistance against the beasts.
Panicking, the Otherworlder chanted a spell. Unleashing a wave of flames on the approaching adversary, she hoped to slow it down.
To her horror, the monster walked through it, unfazed. Covered in purple scales, the lizard wiped a splotch of blood off his steel helmet. Then raising his blade, cleaved the woman in two.
His gnarly hands dug around her organs, pulling out a small blue stone. He then threw it behind him.
Another figure caught it. Crunching the sediment between his crooked teeth, the creature suddenly stumbled to the ground. After a minute, it got back up, grinning. Clad in red scales, the monster grabbed the corpse of the Otherworlder, transforming it into a wicked staff.
The two beasts suddenly broke into a sprint. Behind their helmets, their lifeless eyes flashed with a sign of intelligence.
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"Excuse me."
A mature voice broke the thought process of the trio.
Then, with hands raised up into the air, a red-haired woman slowly stepped out of a bush.
"Who are you?"
Nox watched her movements closely. After their previous encounter with Otherworlders, he was unwilling to trust anyone.
"My name is Ruby. I overheard your conversation about the resurrections and… I think I can help."
"And how are you able to help?" Elysia said threateningly, her hands were ready to move at any sign of an attack.
Nervous, Ruby hurriedly spoke, "I'm a seer. My divinity allows me to glance into relics. I think I'll be able to find a way to stop the resurrection… i-if you guys will cooperate with me."
Nox pulled Elysia aside.
"I say we trust her. I've seen the power of Constellations firsthand and frankly speaking… we don't stand a chance if one ends up getting resurrected."
Elysia hesitantly agreed, "But if she does anything dumb, I'm blowing her head off."
He let off a small cough, taken aback by the violent remark. Clearly, something had happened to her during the Hall of Constellations.
Near them, Ruby shifted around uncomfortably. In her opinion, the sounds of laughter were never a good sign. What could be so funny when they were just talking about going against godly entities?
Nox turned to her, grinning.
"Well… you're in. Let's kill some Constellations."