Alaric was still unconscious in the room where he had been left for dead. The stone walls around him began to shake as the temple gradually collapsed. A large crack formed in the ceiling, and a stone broke loose, falling directly on Alaric's head. The sudden impact jolted him awake. He sat up with a groan, clutching his forehead as he felt the dull pain of the injury.
Blinking to shake off the daze, Alaric looked around. The room was in chaos, with chunks of stone and debris scattered everywhere. He saw the destroyed entity, its body dissolved into shadow and light, strewn across the cold floor. The massive door leading to the scientist's chamber was wide open, but there was no sign of Kwame.
"What happened here...?" he murmured to himself, still disoriented. A thousand questions swirled in his mind. Where was Kwame? What had happened between him and the entity? Why did everything seem to be falling apart?
Suddenly, a soft but insistent voice echoed in his mind. "Find the artifact that Kwame came to retrieve for his mission. This artifact will lead you to the rest of the Eyoma people, to your brother, and more. But you must decide now because your friends Lira and Kael are in danger."
Alaric jolted, looking around for the source of the mysterious whisper. "Who... who's there?" he asked, but there was no response. The voice had vanished as quickly as it had appeared, but its words still echoed in his mind. Find the artifact.
He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. His thoughts kept circling: his friends Lira and Kael were in danger. He needed to find them. But this new information about the artifact stirred a mix of curiosity and hope within him. If he could truly find his brother and the other Eyoma people, then perhaps this mission was worth pursuing.
He took a deep breath, weighing his options. Lira and Kael, or the artifact?
After a moment of intense reflection, Alaric felt a wave of resolve wash over him. He couldn't abandon his friends. Kwame was a friend too, and he could always find him later to get answers. Lira and Kael needed him now.
Alaric slowly got to his feet, feeling his strength returning little by little. He headed for the exit of the room, but just as he was about to cross the threshold, a cold, spectral hand grabbed his leg. He looked down and saw the entity, or what remained of it, clutching his leg with a heartbreaking expression, tears streaming from its ghostly eyes.
A surge of inexplicable sadness and pain coursed through Alaric. It was as if he could feel the entity's pain, its suffering, and its despair. But he couldn't afford to linger. With a sharp movement, he pulled his leg free from the spectral grip, freeing himself from its hold. "I'm sorry," he murmured, not really understanding why he felt the need to apologize.
Turning to the exit, he rushed through the collapsing temple, dodging falling debris and the cracks forming under his feet. He knew he had to reach the nearest city, Sakar, to catch a "mutuka," a non-magical but extremely fast means of transportation capable of covering vast distances in an instant.
Emerging from the temple, he found himself in the blinding light of day. He took a moment to orient himself, then set off towards Sakar. With the money he had saved over the past year with Kwame, he had enough funds for a mutuka ride. He needed to reach the Guild of the Eternal Dawn, the one that had given them the initial mission. Lira and Kael were likely already there or on their way, and he needed to join them as quickly as possible.
Alaric began to run, his steps quick and determined. Every second counted. The path to Sakar wasn't long, but with the time lost in the temple and the uncertainty of the situation, he knew he had to hurry.
Upon reaching the gates of Sakar, Alaric saw the mutuka station just at the city's entrance. The mutukas, these fast vehicles capable of covering immense distances in an instant, were lined up and ready to depart. Alaric rushed to one of the drivers, pulling out some coins from his pouch.
"I need to get to the closest city to the Guild of the Eternal Dawn, and fast," he said urgently.
The driver nodded, taking the coins, and gestured for Alaric to get in. "Hold on tight," he said with a smile. "It's going to be a quick ride."
Alaric sat inside the mutuka, his thoughts still on his friends and the mysteries surrounding the artifact and Kwame's mission. As the mutuka started with a blistering acceleration, he closed his eyes, hoping that the decision he had made was the right one.
But deep inside, a small voice still whispered, an echo of the words he had heard in the temple. Find the artifact. Find your brother.