Aster Fall, Ch 41: Moonlight Storeroom (Patreon)

The sun rose slowly, turning the sky to a pale rose gold as Sam made his way to the location the Guardian Star had marked. Caelus hadn’t risen on the eastern horizon, but there was a soft blue glimmer that presaged the moon’s appearance.

All around, the peaks of the Western Reaches had begun to glow, soaking in the light as mana gathered around them and rippled in brilliant colors, building up into storms that would flow down the slopes.

The ruins of the first layer were far enough below the peak that the light hadn’t reached them yet. Here, it was still shadowed. The area was more intact than the other layers and all through it ribbons of triple-colored moonlight twined from building to building, lighting up the dark for the inhabitants of the city to find their way.

Moonlight ran like a river across the streets, creating a web that outlined each building and lane. Blue, green, and purple streams decorated the sky, hanging over the open squares. The falling snowflakes merged with the enchantments, reflecting the light and giving everything a subtle glow.

The sight took Sam’s breath away as he drifted between one building and the next, his steps light on the snow. He couldn’t help but wonder what it must have looked like when it was new.

Perhaps one day, it could be again.

In that, it was a symbol for the world itself. He shook his head as he pushed the thought aside and focused on the location of the storeroom that was supposed to be in front of him.

On the way here, he’d avoided the monsters and beasts, which had delayed him a little, but it had been a good scouting expedition. He had a better awareness of what he was facing in clearing out this layer, and some of the battles would be intense.

“Are you certain this is the storeroom?” he muttered, his voice low as he directed his attention to the Guardian Star. “There’s nothing here.”

In front of him, there was only an open square, one of many on the first layer. It was illuminated by the ribbons of moonlight flowing above and the silver-green enchantments from the stones below. Even without his ability to see in the dark, this area would have been clearly visible.

The entrance to the storeroom is in the center of this plaza. To access it, you will need to move the snow aside. The builders chose not to use a spatial storage for this area, since it would be difficult to access if the relic were damaged. To open the entrance, find the keystone and infuse your aura into it.

You have an imprint from the Moonlight Relic, marking you as an official here. It will open for you.

“How did I end up with that anyway?” Sam asked as he thought back to the trap. The moonlight had cut itself into his soul, making its own way through his essence constellation.

You were marked as a Guardian. In the absence of a sentient controller, the relic has the self-awareness to appoint new individuals to help repair it. You were chosen to do so. If the relic had been in better condition, it would have been able to communicate with you directly.

“So I ended up as the town guard again? Or is it the town enchanter this time?” Sam let out a dark chuckle. “I suppose that fits. Are there others who have been appointed to repair the ruins?”

Negative. The Moonlight Relic recognized you due to the Guardian contract you bear. The signature of astral energy has to be close enough to that of its creators to meet its requirements. Great trust has been placed in you.

“Right,” Sam said as he held back a sigh at the thought of more work to do. “At least it will be interesting. Now, how do I get into the storeroom?”

The keystone is approximately one hundred and forty feet in front of you. Walk forward and I will alert you when you are on top of it.

The star’s directions were easy enough to follow. Before long, he reached the correct area and began to move the snow, using his connection to Ice to push it aside in waves as he dug through the drifts.

It was quick work, but the open square made him uneasy, especially with the moonlight above. It was pretty, but it also meant everything here was much too visible. He was concealing himself in a curtain of drifting snow, but that was suspicious if there was anything around that was smart enough to ask questions.

Whether it was luck or concealment, however, he made it down to the keystone without anything disturbing him. The last layer of snow drifted aside as he waved his hand, pulling it away with a wave of essence.

Below him, there was a humming enchantment that looked very similar to the rest of the ruins, swirling with the moons’ colors, but it was in the form of an ornate circle instead of flowing lines. At the center, there was a diagram of three moons inlaid in the stone.

That is the keystone. Charge it with your aura. It may require a significant amount. You are substantially less powerful than the original controllers. They were near the peak for this world.

“So Level 399...or close to it,” he mused as he did some quick calculations. At that level...how much aura would someone have? Assuming it was a core attribute...800...1,000? Did attributes change with an evolution?

He wasn’t sure what attributes were like in the higher evolutions, since the information wasn’t shared easily. The question was how much it was going to take to open a storeroom.

Classes had probably been different when the relic was new, so the same laws might not apply.

Right now, he had 151 base Aura, and 157 with his bracer. Hopefully, that would be enough.

He felt for the three strands of moonlight in his essence as he placed his hand on the formation, pushing the correct strand toward each moon as he let his aura flow into them.

The moons were blank, but it wasn’t hard to figure out which was which. Caelus was at the center, slightly higher than the other two. Silvas was at the left, and Amaris was at the right. It was the same pattern as the Three Crowns for the festival.

Strands of blue, green, and purple moonlight poured out of his hand and into the moons as he felt his aura dropping. He automatically released the same amount of mana into his surroundings, but instead of wasting it, he pushed it into the snow all around him.

As he did, the snow was imprinted with his energy and began to feel more like it was a part of him, swirling more easily into a concealing storm. He was at the eye of the hurricane, where everything was calm, but around him the snow began to intensify, freezing into icy blades at the edges.

A hundred points of aura flowed into the keystone before he felt something shift. Below his hand, the outline of the moons was beginning to glow. When he pulled his hand away to check, there was the sliver of a crescent moon showing on each one.

Unfortunately, it was only at the outer edge.

Probably a thousand at least, he muttered under his breath as he considered how long it would take to charge it. He wasn’t willing to combust more than a few auras, and he doubted that he could do more than ten at most, even with the upgrades from absorbing essence.

The only option was to meditate here and keep trying to fill the keystone, and that would take the better part of a day, if not more.

At that moment, however, the Guardian Star spoke up.

Initial activation successful. Requesting energy transfer from Moonlight Relic.

Transfer approved.

There was a low, resonant hum from the enchantments all around him that echoed through the empty square. It made his teeth ache as he felt energy surge upward from the stones at his feet.

A flow of silver-green energy poured up from the ruins, dividing into three strands of moonlight that poured into each moon, which began to grow brighter. The crescent moons expanded, filling in more of the three diagrams.

It was like watching a wave roll across the shore as the color swept across each moon, and he felt a distinct, vibrant aura from each of them. Caelus was distant and watchful, Silvas was warm with sharp spines, and Amaris was a wild passion.

When each moon was completely filled, they were so bright that their light obscured the keystone. They floated upward, rising out of the stone as they spread out into a triangle around him.

It was a vertical design with Caelus above his head and Silvas and Amaris to the left and right at shoulder height. The space between them was about six feet across, enough for a couple of people to stand comfortably.

The hum of the enchantments changed to a higher pitch as the energy from the relic continued to pour in and the full moons flared above him. Three beams of moonlight shot downward to the stone at his feet.

The stone opened, flowing apart like water to reveal a staircase leading down. The moonlight shot down into the opening, bringing life to the walls as it lit the way. The moons rotated around him and then sank down, returning to the keystone, where they glimmered with continued energy.

A moment later, the stones around the formation surged upwards, creating a triangular peak with an open doorway above the staircase. It was about ten feet tall, similar to the doorway of the house he’d seen.

The Guardian Star said nothing, but he could feel a sense of watchful expectation around him. He wasn’t sure if it was coming from the star or the Moonlight Relic itself. He also wasn’t sure how long he would be inside.

He sent a cautious look around him, examining the flurry of snow that was spinning here. Then he reached out to the mana he’d infused and pulled it back toward him, bringing the snow with it.

A moment later, a compacted ice wall surrounded the opening, with just a sliver of a gap near the top. On the outside, new snow was already falling.

Hopefully, that would be enough to conceal the entrance and make it look like a fallen pillar or building.

Without wasting any more time, he stepped forward, heading down the staircase.

The passageway was brightly lit from the moonlight running along the ceiling, walls, and floor. The stairs led down for about thirty feet through layers of greenish stone. In between the layers, there were strands of either energy or a strange, silver metal that ran through them like veins and glowed with power.

The fortifications of this storeroom are sufficient to protect it against almost every threat. It would require destroying the Moonlight Relic completely in order to break through.

After a few moments, the tunnel ended in a large, arched door with the three moons engraved on it, which was very similar to the keystone outside. Without being told, Sam automatically placed his hand in the center of the design and infused his aura.

This time, it only took a few points before the moons flashed, their colors lighting up. Then the door flowed away, the stone melting into the sides of the archway. The moons remained, shining at the center of a curtain of light that obscured the contents on the other side.

The light brushed over his skin with a familiar tingle as he stepped through.

The first impression of the other side was of a vast, dark space that reminded him of the trap he’d been in, but a moment later the darkness disappeared as moonlight shone down from the ceiling, revealing row after row of long, stone tables between towering shelves.

About half of the spots on the shelves were empty, but the rest were filled with silver crystals, ingots of strange metals, glowing spheres, and floating wisps of starlight and flames that drifted above the surface of the tables encased in protective formations.

The room was more than five hundred feet wide and the same deep, and the containers stretched back along the entire distance.

Analyzing...the Guardian Star spoke up, along with a quiet flow of energy from it that drifted across the chamber. A moment later, it announced its verdict. There are sufficient materials here to repair the top two layers of the relic, and perhaps more, if you are efficient. That may be enough to allow it to initiate self-repair on the other layers.

Sam’s jaw dropped open as he looked at it all and he couldn’t help but wonder what he could make if he had all of these materials to practice with....

Bear in mind that the Moonlight Relic will scan each item before allowing it to leave this chamber, the Guardian Star continued, dashing his hopes. Only what is needed to repair the relic may be removed.

Sam sighed. He was looking at the wealth of a forgotten past that dwarfed anything he'd ever known, but it seemed he couldn't call any of it his own. He wasn’t greedy, but the sight was making his fingers itch.

Even if he could only use them for the relic, he didn't know where to begin. He'd have to learn. It was too important to the Seal and stability in this area.

He’d made a promise to protect his family and the world. Repairing these ruins would be a good start.

The real treasure is not these materials, the Guardian Star added quietly, as if it were trying to make him feel better. Continue onward...straight ahead three hundred feet.

Sam walked past the tables, his eyes brushing over everything he passed, which ended up with him turning in circles and having to retrace his steps more than once as he was distracted by some interesting item.

He tried to analyze some of the objects, but it failed every time, which wasn’t a surprise. The Guardian Star could probably have told him what they were, but there were too many of them to ask about each one. Instead, he contented himself with sensing them through Crystal Focus and letting the impressions settle into his memory, so he would recognize them in the future.

The star’s directions led him about two-thirds of the way through the storeroom to where another circular enchantment was marked on the floor. It had the same design of the three moons, glimmering faintly with light.

The area was separated from the tables around it, with about three dozen feet of clear space on every side. It was enough for a small crowd to gather, as if something was supposed to happen here.

Step into the center and stand above the three moons.

Sam followed the instructions absentmindedly, his attention traveling between the enchantment on the stones and the items on the nearest shelves. Once he was in the right position, he could feel a new flow of energy all around him, tugging at his awareness. The moons on the stone began to intensify, their light increasing.

Activating. The Guardian Star’s word was quick and efficient.

The moonlight brightened, flowing upward around him in three colors that mixed with streams of silver-green energy. All around him, the floor began to flow, boiling upward like a hot spring as it changed shape.

At the center, where he was standing, an illusory mountain appeared, and then to the sides, two others formed as well. Rings of different colors sprang into existence around them, turning into pillars, walls, and tumbled stones that stretched across all three mountains, with each color signifying a layer of the ruins.

The illusion mixed with the flowing stone, giving life to a model of the ruins, including their position on the mountains. A moment later, the design expanded until it filled the empty space around him.

A silver and green stone pillar rose out of the floor in front of Sam, similar to the control pillar on the plateau above, but much smaller.

This is a model of the Moonlight Relic and a subsidiary control point. The original enchantments and design of the relic are contained inside, as well as a model of the current condition. It can assist with identifying critical areas. You will need it to effect repairs.

Now, place your palm on the pillar.

Sam turned around, his eyes widening as he examined the extent of the ruins. Here, there was no snow to obscure the view and he could see exactly how large they were. When he counted up the layers in different colors, it was clear that there were twelve of them.

Each layer once had a specific role, but at the moment, it is irrelevant. The Guardian Star spoke up to call his attention back to the present. Place your hand on the pillar.

Sam pulled his eyes away from the ruins and placed his hand on top of the stone. There were lines of runes and swirling strands of energy running through it. As soon as he touched it, that energy flared up, stabbing at his hand like a spear.

It was well contained, but he could feel enough power in it to obliterate a hundred feet in every direction.

The strands of moonlight in his essence surged outward on their own, wrapping around the energy and calming it before it could strike him, causing it to curve as it returned to the pillar. As soon as it did, the pillar came to life, warming up beneath his hand.

Imprinting.

The Guardian Star’s voice was calm, but there was a weight hidden in it. The energy that had been routed back into the pillar flowed through a series of runes and swirling lines and then shot back toward Sam’s hand, reaching out to the strands of moonlight there.

The auras of each strand intensified as they absorbed the new energy, becoming a little more vibrant, and flickering images passed through Sam’s mind. Swirling runes and lines of power that matched those he’d seen in the ruins embedded themselves in his memory, layering themselves on each other in a massively complex pattern that hung there like a crystal diagram.

Then the real flood of information came, pouring into that design in a torrent of flickering signs and sigils that filled the pattern, so many of them compressed together that they turned from individual symbols into a river of liquid silver.

Then, it stopped, leaving Sam with a massive headache. The meridians all through his body felt frazzled, as if they’d been scorched by the wave of power. In his mind, the diagram had taken the shape of a full moon, the information in it too complex to easily unravel.

Imprint complete.

The Guardian Star sounded satisfied with itself, as if it had accomplished something important.

You now bear the complete imprint of the Moonlight Relic, including a copy of its core enchantment, which is necessary to repair it. Every sigil here is part of that core, and without it you would not be able to access them.

Sam touched his forehead gingerly, feeling around the base of his horns. Despite the headache, he was surprisingly unharmed.

The relic may be broken, but it is easily capable of delivering an imprint without injuring you, the Guardian Star said, as if reading his mind. It sounded slightly miffed. Only a low-tier enchantment would have that effect.

Sam examined the construct in his mind for a moment and then turned his attention to the model of the ruins around him. Somehow, it felt more comfortable, as if it were familiar now.

He reached out and pulled a section of the illusion toward him, and it flew to the area just between his hands, growing larger. With another flick of his intent, it zoomed back out again and was replaced by a different section.

It didn’t take him long to find the central plateau or the section where he was, but it was more intensive to find the area with his father. After a moment, the Guardian Star helped, lighting up a section of the ruins in his view.

He zoomed in on what had once been the tenth layer, the third up from the bottom. Here, nearly every enchantment was broken, each of them highlighted in a dull grey that showed them as disabled. The building with his father glowed with a slight green, evidence of the functioning mana pylon inside.

His hands flickered and the image zoomed out, overlaid with the diagram of what should have been there, showing him the connections between the mana-gathering pylon and the buildings around it.

The tenth layer was once the home of gardens and Wood-focused enchantments. Much of the local food supply was grown there.

Sam nodded, turning his attention away from that as his hands flickered again, pulling up another section of the ruins. This time, he was looking at the area that contained the Grand Flaw.

It was on the northern side of the seventh level, near what had once been a teleportation platform for shifting large quantities of goods. It was highlighted in the diagram’s light in an angry red-yellow, the colors circling around a dark gap with triangular points at both ends.

Even in the moonlight of the diagram, it looked ugly.

“The enchantments here will take a while to learn,” Sam said with his attention fixed on the flaw. “And right now, I need to make sure that this area is clear of dangers. I’ll repair what I can, but eliminating the Outsiders here comes first.”

Security and then repair, the Guardian Star agreed. There are still 11 monsters, 28 beasts, and 6 Outsiders on this layer.

The model in front of Sam spun until it was focused on just the first layer and then the Guardian Star zoomed it in, highlighting the locations of the enemies. With it all laid out in front of his eyes, it was a much more effective map than before. There was something about seeing it in front of him that made it more real.

He looked from one set of targets to the next, rolling his shoulders as he gave them a grim smile. He’d need a little bit to restore his essence, but once that was done...he’d return to his plan to eliminate every enemy on the first layer, and then he’d work his way down to the seventh.

“Then we should get started.”