THE POOL OF SUFFERING
"After we released the Deviants, I went around the Monastery for a short walk", he told me.
"What did you steal?" I asked him.
"Well, there is nothing much that I liked there in their treasury and vault", Ratatouille replied to me.
"Are you a fool? You went down their vault and didn't take anything?" Aluva asked him.
"I didn't say I didn't take anything", Ratatouille replied to her.
"What he means is, he'll pick the things he likes when he sorts them inside his treasure house", I said to Aluva.
"I don't understand", Aluva said.
"He means, Ratatouille took everything from the vaults of the Monastery of Elis", Eirot said to her.
"What? Everything?" Aluva asked in shock.
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Eirot guided us to a remarkable spectacle in the deserts of Elis.
Amidst the glistening golden sands of this exotic realm, an imposing red hill rose incongruously against the horizon.
The hill's fiery breath spewed forth magma and lava in a mesmerizing but controlled dance like a waterfall which cooled off into a Ziggurat, its terraced slopes fashioned from the hardened remnants of molten magma cascading from the volcano's summit.
With Eirot leading the way, we descended into the heart of the volcano, our anticipation mingling with a hint of trepidation.
The volcano was not dormant. Instead, it pulsated with life. At its base lay a simmering pool of magma, its fiery depths softly agitated, as if stirred by some unseen force.
Curiously, this molten mass did not originate from the earth's depths as one might expect.
Instead, it seemed to emerge from a rift in reality, a gateway to another dimension intricately linked to this mystical volcano. Within the fiery embrace of the magma, there thrummed an energy not of this world—a magic that whispered of distant realms and untold wonders.
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"What is this volcano ziggurat?" I asked Eirot.
"This is the Pool of Suffering. The magma at the base of the volcano is the magma from the depths of Hell itself", Eirot told me.
"So, this Pool of Suffering is like the fractures in Hell, where demons can be summoned?" I asked her.
"The demons don't exist inside the Pool of Suffering. Only the pure powers of oblivion exist there, the powers that created what we see as Hell", She replied to me.
"Why is the Pool of Suffering in Elis? Shouldn't the Pool of Suffering be in the Realm of Suffering or Hell? How did it end up in Elis?" I asked them.
"Ironically, the magic that powers Hell is also the same power that nourishes this world of Elis", Aluva added.
"I don't understand", I asked.
"There is something that you may not know. Elis and Hell are actually both sides of the same world. Where we are here in Elis, on the other side of this realm is Hell", Eirot told me.
"So, this is a mirror realm with Hell?" I asked them.
"More like two worlds sharing the same core", Eirot replied to me.
"We discovered this Pool of Suffering while we wandered in the golden sands of Elis. Eventually, we discovered that our demons benefited enormously from the magic of the pool. It healed their wounds and even increased their magic", Eirot explained to me.
"No wonder you have a much stronger demon army than the one you released from the Monastery of Elis Gate years ago", I said to her.
"Yes, some of them even turned into Demonlords after exposure to the pool", Eirot said to me.
"But there is something I'm curious about. How did you get so many Hellhounds in your army? There weren't that many Hellhounds captured by the Apostles in the Canyon of Agony that you released", I asked her.
"Let me show you", Eirot said to me as her hands pointed into the pool below us.
"Rawwwrrrrrr"
Suddenly, two large ears appeared from the pool to my shock and surprise. I was about to attack the creature with my conjured lance when Eirot stopped me.
"Arise my child", Eirot said to the creature.
The large ears emerged from the Pool of Suffering together with other parts of its body. The creature's ears flapped quickly as it flew to the air and floated obediently before Eirot.
"What the hell? Is this an elephant? A Demon elephant?" Ratatouille asked us.
"Did you summon the elephant?" I asked Eirot.
"Yes, I summoned him like the Hellhounds around me. He is a Gajahshura, an elephant guardian of hell. I only recently realized I can summon other demon kinds besides Hounds", Eirot told us.
Eirot quickly floated toward the Gajahshura and patted the large elephant. Then she sat on the elephant's back and the elephant became her mount.
"This is the first time the pool summoned a Gajahshura", Eirot said to us.
"It could be because many Demons and Apostles were killed in the previous battle. Their remnant soul magic travelled to the Pool of Suffering to birth the Gajahshura", Aluva replied to Eirot.
"So, the Pool of Suffering is the creator of demons?" I asked.
"That could be so", Eirot replied to me.
"No wonder there are so many demons captured in the Canyon of Agony. They came from this pool?" I said to them.
"Did you ask us come here to see you adopt an elephant?" Ratatouille asked Eirot.
"No, actually I came down here to claim this pool as my own", Eirot told us.
"How will you do that?" I asked her.
"My mother has given me knowledge about this pool. If I can pass the test of the pool's guardian, I can claim this pool as my own", Eirot said to me.
"There is a guardian in this pool?" I asked.
"Be prepared for battle. We must fight the guardian of the pool once we declare my intention to own this pool", Aluva said to us.
"Ok, we are ready", I replied to her, ready to fight for her for whatever cause that she was interested in.
Eirot raised her hands when patterns magically appeared over the Pool of Suffering. This was the spell that would subdue the magic pool.
"I, Eirot shall claim this pool as my own", Eirot said to the Pool of Suffering loudly.