Alister remained quiet recalling or rather reliving events of the past. A past so cataclysmic, it plunged the world into darkness and horror, it wasn't something mortals should have survived and yet the first generation emerged leading humanity out of those dark times. The first generation referred to a group of families that survived the apocalypse with the help of the scribes of the Eternal Library.
According to history, the scribes of the Eternal Library where the ones who taught mortals about the wonders and possibilities of magic thus the first mortals that harnessed the power of magic were referred to as the first generation.
"I will not be able to tell you about all most of the outer gods, Your Grace. Knowing about them will only put you in harms way, however as you grow stronger, you will inevitably learn more about them", the loyal shadow said.
"Makes sense, I guess", Rio replied guessing that there were some things he was better off not knowing yet.
"Near the end of the war, Poseidon of the Greek pantheon and Ra of the Neturu were the two remaining deities whose authorities could not be forcefully stripped, combined their efforts in a losing battle against destruction. It was all for naught."
"Who brought about their destruction?", Rio asked.
"Your Grace, the last two ruling deities fell to another one of the endless, the one who leaves nothing but disaster while leaving death behind, the embodiment of calamities, Destruction himself. When it was decided that the gods would be annihilated, Destruction was the one that passed judgement."
"Another one of the endless? Why are they called endless? How many are there? Are the beings called endless different from other Outer deities?"
"I apologize, Your Grace. Not much is known about the endless, what knowledge I do know was passed down when I served under the Knights of Order.
The endless are true immortal beings. They exist in every aspect of reality and are said to possess several absolute authorities. I have only ever met one of them due to my connection to you, the endless Fate also known as Destiny. Alongside her are Destruction, Desire, Death, Doubt and Dream as well but there might be others.
The only difference the Knights could find between the Endless and other divine beings is that despite the fact that none of the endless possess any symbol of power or authority...they are absolute in every sense of the word".
"That implies that the Sovereigns have sacred symbols or specific sits of power but what about the churches? What deities do they preach about? And what were the Knights doing to get so much information on the Outer gods?", Rio asked despite his growing headache. It has been quite an eventful day from meeting the endless, Fate, to learning about the cause of the catastrophe thousands of years ago and even about himself. Unsurprisingly, the more he learns the more questions he has.
"The first of the churches were established after the First generation finally stabilized the continents. The church of Twilight follows the primordial star-the sun, also known as the Sol'zha'thik.
The church of Repose is currently an amalgamation of two ancient organisations who were rumoured to have worshipped Death, Darkness and Night, although they later transitioned to a church, they are only one in name alone. Lastly, we have the church of the sea and the Temple of the mind, the latter is a thriving environment for scholars, unfortunately beings such as myself cannot speak the name of their patron god while the former....is still under investigation. The Knights of Order is an organization established along side the First generation.
Their mission was simple yet terrifying - to maintain balance in a world recovering from death.
"Was the apocalypse the death of the world or the old gods?", Rio asked.
"That is something you may have to discover as you age, Your Grace. I must remind you, that the events of today were initially destined to be much farther in the future.
Your early awakening is something that has puzzled both myself and Lady Fate. Whether this is a good or bad omen remains yet to be seen".
"May I offer some words of advice, Your Grace?", Alister asked.
"What is it?", Rio replied.
"Learn about this world, it's history and also about your past".
Rio couldn't help but shiver, not because of the thought learning about the history of his world, a history shrouded in mystery and danger. What sent shivers down his spine the most despite his curiosity was the thought of learning about his past.
Why couldn't he remember anything?
Why did the thought of it make him feels so scared?
Noticing this Alister said, "I have something that could assist you, Your Grace. It is memento from my time in the Order.
Tiny specks of light materialized around his palm, then began to coalesce. What laid resting in his palm was a black fingerless gloves.
Four diamond shaped crystals were skillfully crafted along the knuckles of the gloves.
"This was a tool used by elites of the order during long missions. It's enchanted to help with the users mental state while also warding off almost any kind of mental attacks. It's called the 'Black Hearth', the only artifact that survived the unfortunate fall of the Order".
"Is it okay to give something that holds so much value away?", Rio asked.
"If it will assist in your journey, then it is more valuable in your possession, Your Grace ", Alister replied, the shadow wriath had expressively shown it's loyalty since his time here.
Taking the gloves from Alister's hand, Rio asked while gesturing to the cathedral,"so what exactly do I do with this place?".
The wraith's response was somewhat excited,
"Anything you what, Your Grace. This building is bound to you, that means the structure, appearance all depend on the will of its master. Also you may not have noticed but it resides in a separate space. Entry and exit cannot take place without your permission ".
"So after I leave this place, what happens to you?",He asked.
"I remain here as the cathedral's keeper and guardian", Alister replied.
"Alright, take care till we meet again", Rio said then instantly vanished.
Alister simply bowed at the chair where Rio sat, then said,
"Despite meeting one of the Endless and learning things that would normally drive even the strongest people mad, he never seemed overwhelmed by it or afraid. In this era of geniuses, it seems I have the pleasure of serving the most monstrous one".
.
.
.
Beyond the world, Death's domain
"Do you have any idea what you've unleased destiny?!. A primordial?! And not just any primordial, one of the oldest ones?!
"It was necessary", Destiny/ fate replied.
"With Dream gone, the rest of the Endless can no longer resist their influence completely, we need assistance".
"And your decided to open the Pandora's box of old ones. Why not ask our brother Destruction for help or let one of the lessers take the mantle of dreams?", Death asked in anger.
"You know the rules, they are absolute, besides Destruction is currently in the spirit realm dealing with a few aberrations. He has already been gone for two decades, I have not foreseen when he'll return ".
"But seriously though, did you have to pick that one?", Death asked in resignation.
"My dearest sibling, you seem to have forgotten what happened a few eons ago. Do try to recall what transpired the last time we blocked the incarnation of something similar", Destiny said.
"I don't think immortality is long enough to make me forget that ordeal. At least 'She' no longer seems to hold that against us but still, this time it could really backfire", Death warned.
"Maybe you'll change your mind when he finds his way here", Fate smirked.
"He's coming here?! What exactly did you see with those eyes of yours?", Death asked wary.
"Not telling ", Destiny smirked then vanished.
Death stayed silent for a while then mumbled,"I should retire soon".
.
.
.
.
Seth was perplexed.
Not because of the nature of the dungeon, the fact that it was man-made wasn't even worth his time. What bothered him was the level of strength he could feel from the individuals who had come to conquer this dungeon.
"Three Archon mages, although one of them seems to be weaker. Still, I didn't expect such a remote city to possess mages of this calibre. Then there's the issue of that man, who only appears at peculiar times.
Last time we met, you were about to raid a sealed dungeon. Is it a coincidence that we meet again after all these years, Cain Warren?"
Turning to meet his gaze, Cain responded,
"I already knew there was something special about the kid, but to think House Darce would send one of their war bishops. Isn't the old man overdoing it a little?"
"Seeing as it concerns the safety of his grandson and my nephew, I'd say this is the bare minimum", Seth replied.
"I'm not sure which is more surprising the fact that he's related to you or that the geezer even allowed someone like him to leave in the first place".
'So his already aware of Rio's soul element, this could be troublesome', Seth thought.
"His situation is rather unique, even compared to his older brother", Seth explained.
"That still doesn't explain the old man's thinking ", Cain said.
"This is a rather sensitive matter for our house thus I'm not privy to a lot of information on it. I'm here to retrieve my nephew and complete ensure the events of today remain sealed", Seth replied.
"Your appearance here, however, puts a strain on the process", He said.
"In line with the old man's style, I'm almost certain that you have a different meaning for sealed.
"Something like eliminating all witnesses?", Cain asked rhetorically.
For the first time since Seth arrived, the mages of Nova City grew tense. They threw wary stares at the man dressed completely out of place in the dungeon and then to the black clad figures behind him.
'Despite the obvious familiarity between the two men, there was a hint of bad blood or even a bit of malice.', this thought ran through the minds of mages present.
"Well what ever orders the old man gave, they'll have to wait till we deal with that ", Cain said, nonchalantly pointing back at the hydra.
Seth looked past him towards the black water lake. After taking a few moments to study the creature, he simply sighed then said in cold tone;
"Sentries"
The figures behind him blurred, instantly covering the distance between them and the hydra.
The creature, after having to sever of the shackled head was suddenly bombarded by a fury of attacks from all sides. The hydra lost all its heads before it could even register what was happening.
Just as before, the creature was already healing drawing water from the putrid lake it nested. This time however, as its injuries began to close several spikes of iron erupted from its body completely mutilating it from the inside.
Staring back at Seth, Cain said, "The ruthless style of House Dacre's sentries never seizes to amaze me".
Completely ignoring him, Seth walked towards lake. There was no normal influx of mana that came with the defeat of dungeon creature, that confirmed his suspicions about the nature of the dungeon.
'This could be troubling', Seth thought.
Just as he was about to issue another command to the sentries, a figure suddenly materialized on the opposite side of the lake.
It was Rio.