Chereads / The Alchemist’s Son / Chapter 27 - Chapter 27: The Ruins of Aetheris

Chapter 27 - Chapter 27: The Ruins of Aetheris

 Damian, Nerrisa and Linda exits the shimmering portal into an strange world, a desolate landscape filled with the ruins of an ancient alchemical civilization. The air crackles with latent energy, and glyphs etched into the ground and walls glow faintly, pulsating as if alive.

 Nerrisa recognizes the glyphs as ancient alchemical seals, theorizing they were used to contain immense power and it is still used to guard secrets from outsiders. Damian starts to notice how the corruption within him feels heightened, the Stone reacting strongly to the environment, and each time the stone reacts like this it only calls for danger. The group were now on high alert, they move cautiously, their eyes piercing each corners as they move forward. Suddenly out of nowhere, strange looking creatures attacks Damian, striking against his arm, trying to retrieve the stone.

 These twisted, demonic creatures, an amalgam of alchemical materials and corrupted energy, their bodies glowing dark red. Their forms are unstable, parts of their bodies shifting and reforming like liquid metal. The sight of this creatures made the group a little bit frightening because their forms are different and more scarier than anything they've encountered before.

 Nerrisa and Linda defend against the creatures using their respective skills. Nerrisa creates alchemical traps, sigil bombs and flame barriers, while Linda activates her Pendant of Aetherial Binding to freeze one in place temporarily. Damian, weakened, struggles to wield the Stone but eventually casts an incantation to destabilize the creatures' alchemical cores. The battle leaves the three of them drained, forcing them to reassess their strategy.

 After defeating the creatures, the group explores the ruins further. They stumble upon a partially sealed chamber adorned with ancient alchemical symbols. Nerrisa takes a brief look at it, she later identifies it as a vault where the civilization stored and studied powerful artifacts, it's like a lab she said.

 Damian uses the Philosopher's Stone to open the chamber, but the effort leaves him visibly weaker, his corruption spreading. Inside, they find remnants of alchemical tools, scrolls, and an incomplete transmutation circle glowing faintly. They decide to take a look at the scrolls, One scroll references the Heart of the Aether, warning of its capacity to bind reality itself. The description aligns with Mortivax's warnings, but Damian ignores the danger, driven by the need to break the stones corruption and stop mortivax.

 As they continue, the ruins react violently to the presence of the Philosopher's Stone, activating a series of alchemical defenses.

 As the ruins' defenses activate, Damian, Nerrisa, and Linda find themselves pulled into separate chambers, each forced to confront unique alchemical trials designed to test their resolve, skill, and emotional strength. Damian, opening his eyes finds himself in a swirling alchemical labyrinth, the walls shifting like liquid metal, mirroring his worsening corruption. At the center of the maze lies a dark, pulsating core, an entity that embodies the corruption spreading through his body.

 The core taunts Damian with visions of himself succumbing to the Philosopher's Stone, becoming Mortivax's puppet. Each step he takes forward causes the corruption on his body to pulse and spread further.

 To escape, Damian must use the Stone to disable glyphs scattered throughout the maze. Each glyph corresponds to a moment of strength or sacrifice in his life.

 As he disables the final glyph, the core transforms into a monstrous creature and attacks. Damian channels the Stone's energy, creating a massive alchemical surge to destroy it:

"Flamma purgatoria, omnem corruptionem disperde!"

("Cleansing flame, scatter all corruption!")

 The core explodes, and Damian is ejected back into the ruins, but the effort worsens his condition, leaving him barely conscious.

 Nerrisa is thrown into a forge like chamber filled with roaring flames and scattered alchemical materials. A spectral alchemist, representing her self-doubt, looms over her.

 The trial demands that she forge a perfect artifact within a time limit, but the materials are highly unstable, and the flames threaten to consume her. As the pressure builds, she recalls teachings from her mentor and begins crafting an alchemical shard capable of neutralizing the chamber's oppressive energy. She uses advanced techniques, combining air and metal sigils to stabilize the shard:

"Aer et metallum, forma perfice et fluctus retine!"

("Air and metal, perfect the form and hold back the waves!")

The shard stabilizes, neutralizing the flames and banishing the spectral alchemist. Nerrisa collapses in exhaustion but emerges with newfound confidence in her abilities.

 Linda finds herself in a dark hall filled with spectral figures from her past, each representing a failure or regret. The figures whisper incessantly, breaking her focus and triggering emotional wounds.

The Pendant of Aetherial Binding glows faintly, but its power is weakened by the oppressive environment. Linda must rebuild her connection to the Pendant by confronting the shadows and claiming her worth.

She uses her pendant to form chains of light, binding each shadow and severing their connection to her:

"Nexus lucis, umbras disiunge et anima libera!"

("Light's bond, sever the shadows and free the soul!")

As the final shadow dissipates, a hidden glyph activates, releasing a torrent of alchemical energy. Linda barely manages to absorb the energy into the pendant, enhancing its power.

 The group is reunited in the central chamber, battered and drained but alive. However, the ruins' ultimate defense activates: an enormous construct forged from alchemical metals and animated by a corrupted energy core.

The construct's attacks are relentless, using heavy alchemical blasts and mechanical limbs to pin the trio down. They are forced to combine their strengths:

Nerrisa uses alchemical sigils to trap the construct's legs temporarily.

Linda channels the Pendant's energy to weaken the core's protective barrier.

Damian, despite his weakened state, channels the Philosopher's Stone to unleash a devastating attack:

"Magna potentia lapidis, inimicum confringe et cor expose!"

("Great power of the Stone, shatter the enemy and expose its core!")

 The construct is destroyed, revealing a glowing artifact embedded within its remains. It is a fragment of the Heart of the Aether, its energy crackling with potential.

As Damian touches the fragment, the Philosopher's Stone reacts violently, sending shockwaves through the chamber. The ruins begin collapsing, forcing the group to flee.

The trio narrowly escapes back to the surface, the fragment in hand, but Damian collapses again, the corruption spreading further. Nerrisa and Linda realize that the fragment may hold a key to stabilizing Damian—but it could also hasten Mortivax's plans if used improperly.