The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 138 (Patreon)

Chapter 138 – Prepared

I watched as my disciples helped the others down to the platform. While the others had managed riding the undead steeds well enough, I knew that the first time riding them through the air was something of a fright to normal people. There was a difference between knowing magic was at play, and actually putting your life on the line trusting in it, especially if it was not your magic doing the heavy lifting.

Once they were all here, and I had returned the skeletal horses to my pocket dimension, I turned, and looked at the pool of light. Clearly, it was a portal, taking us to the next part of the seal. Given the violence of the fight with the titan, placing the guardian and the seal in different areas was an intelligent move on the part of this seal’s makers. It would hardly be a triumph if the guardians own attacks damaged the seal it was supposed to protect, after all.

I stepped into the pool of light, and felt myself sink down into it. The process was gentler, and slower, than falling, but not so slow that I felt myself getting bored. It was a bit faster than quicksand was in the movies, but I did not feel any wet earth around me, so I knew that this was not actually quicksand. Still, for a portal using Earth mana, it was fairly on brand, I thought.

As the pool of light passed over me, there was a moment of light rushing past as I felt myself being whisked away, before finally emerging in a cavern roughly the size of the platform I’d just left. The only light was from the white crystal shining over the wellspring, the physical manifestation of the seal. But that did not mean that the seal was the only thing in this room.

At the far side of the chamber, I saw a large blue crystal, glinting in the light of the seal. It was not shaped, as the crystal of the seal was, but rather looked to be a natural growth of some sort. As I approached it, I saw that it offered a pale blue light of its own, though the seal’s radiance drowned it out.

Reaching out with my senses, I received another surprise. This crystal was made of crystalized mana, as I had suspected, but the nature of its growth meant that it could act as a pathway of sorts. I had heard of such things, in the other world, though they were pieces worked and shaped into pleasant designs. They were called aetherite crystals, and were used by an ancient civilization to travel between cities, however, the passage of time had shattered most of the crystals, and the knowledge of their making was lost.

I let my magic touch the aetherite, and found that this crystal was ‘locked’, for lack of a better word. It would only allow travel in one direction, unless one had the knowledge to unlock it. Anyone with a modicum of skill could use it to travel to the designated point on the other side, but without the required knowledge, both of the crystal’s workings, and of any other similar crystals to act as the receiver, one could not travel back to the seal, or go to other places.

Tracing the pathways with my mind, it felt as though the crystal led to a point… at the bottom of the winding stairs we had passed before? There must have been a crystal there, dormant, to act as a receiver. So, the designers at least made it so that anyone who visited the seal did not need to climb all the way back up the tunnel. Small mercies, after the fight with the titan.

“What is that, Mistress?”

Ya’s voice stirred me from my contemplation. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that both of my apprentices, and young Chihomi, were standing there, watching me, while the rest of the mortals stood respectfully further back, near the seal itself. Of course, all eyes were on me, and they were no doubt listening to every word spoken, but I appreciated the show of consideration all the same.

“This is a piece of magical technology from a distant age. I have heard of its like before, in the other world, but never seen it in person. In that world, the technology had been lost with the fall of an ancient civilization. Suffice to say, it is a means of transport. Once we are done with the seal, it should take us to the bottom of the stairs we came down, allowing us to skip the trek back up the tunnel.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Koyama said, back by the seal. “Even with your steeds helping us, I was not looking forward to going back along that dark passage, with only magic lights to guide us. I’m not much for caves, and all.”

I chuckled, and said, “Fortunately, the remaining seals should be less caves and caverns, and more something constructed. Though I expect the seal in Cairo will be a tomb, given the location and the mana sealed there, I have some hope that the Prime Wellspring will be sealed in something better suited for normal people.”

“I see,” Koyama said. “So, what do you wish us to do, your Majesty? Shall those of us not participating head back up, or stand to the side while you prepare?”

“No, I don’t think that is necessary. You may stay, so long as you don’t get in the way.” I turned to look at my volunteers, and nodded. “As for you two, you should take off anything you do not wish to lose. So far, no one who has gone through this process has had their clothing survive, so I doubt you will be the first. With that being said, I would be doing you a disservice if I did not give you a chance to make an informed decision about whether or not to go forward.”

Capitán Venegas shook his head. “We know the risks, and what is at stake. We are prepared for what is coming.”

“That as it may be, my own honor will not allow me to subject someone to this change without knowing that I have their full consent. I will not behave as those who stole my class, and our futures, did, focusing only upon their own selfish ends. So, I will say my piece, to ensure that there is no confusion, understand?”

The two men nodded, obviously not wanting to do anything to offend the person literally holding their lives in her hands. Not everyone was so reserved. I heard Mayor Freixa whisper to Koyama, “Is she always this intense?” I had to suppress a chuckle when Koyama told her that, when it came to matters of the other world, he’d never seen me less intense. To be fair, I still had some ‘issues’ with the people of the other world, but they were no longer my problem, unless someone opened a portal or something similar.

Ignoring them for the moment, I focused on the two volunteers. “I am sure that people have informed you of this, but the trial you are about to undergo is unlike anything you have ever experienced before. You will feel as though every fiber of your being is burning in the flames of hell itself, freezing in the frozen tundra, and melting in the most powerful acid you can imagine, all at once. The pain will go on, and on, and on, until either the ritual finishes, or one of you loses control, and it fails.

“If that happens, then it is likely that I, and my mages, will be the only beings her to survive, though I’ll no doubt have to repair much of my body once again. The others will be dead. And the dead will not be limited to just those in this room. Everyone in the city above, from the most wicked criminal to the most innocent babe, will likely perish in the blast, and the following cataclysm. To embark upon this ritual is to take all of those lives upon your shoulders, and be responsible for all of them.

“If you do not believe yourself up to shouldering that weight? If you do not believe in your ability to withstand tortures the likes of which even this world’s most deranged souls might shudder to think of? If you do not believe your partner can do the same? Then it is best if you step down, now, otherwise you will surely fail, to the doom of all those poor mortal souls.”

I paused for a moment, to ensure they understood the gravity of what was about to happen. “I say this to you, because going through with this ritual is not the only way to release the seal. It is merely the one that, if successful, will cause the fewest problems to all around. However, it is not the only method, or the one with the highest chance of success.

“The reason that you are being asked to take on this trial is because should the seal be released in one of the simpler ways, there will either be an explosion of the type I mentioned before, or the mana will leak out, unfiltered, into the environment, potentially mutating animals, people, even the land itself. It may give rise to monsters, far before this world is ready for them.

“However, with this ritual, should it succeed, you will be given the power of summoned heroes, granting you the ability to defend your people against threats that may arise. Your bodies will change, becoming something other than human, to account for the sudden onrush of power. Your lives as you knew them would be over. It may be that you will even need to be removed from your current posts, for the protection of yourselves and others. But the power you will gain will put you well above the common citizen, enabling you to deal with problems that, before, not even your military would be able to easily handle.”

I paused again, letting them think on that for a moment. “That is the choice you face now, mortals. There is no shame in knowing your limits, here. It takes a brave soul to look upon all that I have just laid out here, and acknowledge, in the face of all expectations laid upon them, both by those around them, and by their own will, that they are not up to the task, and it is the coward who denies the truth, simply because they wish it not to be so. Only those with the courage to face the truth, and the calm, rational surety that they can succeed will manage in this trial. The smallest doubt will be the crack that causes the dam to fail, washing away all in the water’s path.

“So, the Lich Queen of Risen Athelia asks you now, Capitán Jairo Venegas and Subteniente Dante Laguna, do you feel that you are up to the challenge? Do you believe, with your whole heart, that you can withstand the trial, and come out the other side? Speak now, if you know truly, or step aside.”

The subteniente was the first to step forward, coming to attention. “I will take the trial, your Majesty, and succeed. I won’t let unbearable pain keep me from doing my duty.” I looked into his eyes, and saw that there was a bit of fear there, but resolve to match it. He would do.

The capitán took a breath, and then came to attention beside his comrade. “As will I, your Majesty. We take this trial knowing full well what will happen, and what may come of it. This is our choice, beyond duty. If we ran from this, then we could not be considered men.” I frowned slightly at his words, since I disliked the patriarchal tone, but there was no flicker of reluctance in what I could see of his soul. He believed his words, if nothing else.

“Very well, then. Prepare yourselves, while I call my servants to begin drawing the circles.”