Chapter 8 - The Gate 2

“What on earth!”, she exclaimed. The scenery before her eyes seemed like something cut out of a fairy tale book. How could she be outside in the sun after she clearly fell below the cave?

“You’re awake!”, she heard a man’s voice.

“How come you are here? Did you also fall through the crevice? Wait! Did you follow me?”, she asked, suspicious.

“Relax! I was only curious if you would manage to pass through that cunning fox. But who would have expected you would cause the ground  to collapse under your feet?”, he replied.

“Th… the flower! Where’s the Acarasa?”, she searched flustered through the debris, ignoring his words.

“The pot did not fall through. Well, it is wrong to say fall. We were in fact swallowed by a gate.”

“What? What gate?”

“You don’t possess much knowledge, do you? And yet you were brave enough to search for an Acarasa with that frail body. You didn’t even hire a  guard.”

“Well, I cannot afford one.”, Aira firmly replied, her both hands on her waist as if she prided herself in lacking money.

“Oh! I did not expect Lord Windloom to lack fortune. He should change his last name to Lord Poorbloom instead.”

“He lacks no fortune. It’s a heart he lacks. He’s a scumbag, in short. Wait! How do you know me? Who are you?”

“I wondered how long it would take for you to want to know me, my little lady. I am Elias, a wandering mage.”, he bowed, bringing his right arm and hand to his chest. “I heard about lord Windbloom while I was in town. People were talking about how his only daughter, a beautiful dark-haired, short lady, lacks a mana core.” he added.

“I am no daughter to that trash.”

“Are you not afraid I might tell him that you insulted him?”

“Are you that bored?”

“Not anymore.”, he grinned.

“Well, I would not care anyway if you did.” Aira said. “Where are we exactly?”, she wondered, looking around.

“It seems we were swallowed by a gate of Asteria. We are now in a remnant space, left behind after the bridge between Oria and Asteria collapsed.”

“Asteria? The divine Realm, Asteria?”, Aira asked.

“Yes!”

“Was it not supposed to be a legend?”

“All magic comes from Asteria. How could it be a legend? Just because we can no longer see it, it does not mean it’s not there.”, he said. “I suggest we start going. We need to find an exit. We don’t know what to expect in this dungeon.”

“Dungeon?”

“After the High Bridge collapsed, all remaining realms became homes to demons who are still trying to reach Asteria by all means. These realms were gradually discovered by various mages, cleared and cleansed of dark energy. Some of these we usually call dungeons might be also empty, but we do not know which. So, we need to be careful and find an exit as soon as possible.”

Aira and Elias started their journey through the unknown. They walked a long time and the sun did not seem to move across the sky.

The realm resembled a jungle engulfing ancient ruins - grass, moss and trees overgrown everywhere, adorning the abandoned buildings. A few temple pillars stood proud, as witnesses of the former glory of that forgotten realm.

Aira could not help but be curious and wonder what kind of people used to live there and what cultures flourished before the fall of the High Bridge.

But then she remembered that the reason she ran away from home, risking to make Lady Hestia and Adriel worry, was to find the Acarasa flower and awaken as a mage. He eyes teared up in disappointment and frustration.

“The Acarasa flower is useless.”, Elias said, seeing her sulking face.

“What do you mean?”, Aira wiped away her tears.

“You already have a mana core.”

“… Are you joking with me? How can that be possible? How can I have a core but no mana?”

“Your core is there, but sealed, thus mana cannot flow through the energy points in your body.”

“How… how do you know that?”, Aira asked, suddenly a ray of hope awakening in her heart.

“I also suspect the baron knows but never told you.”

Witnessing on her own skin how the baron viewed her, Aira was not surprised that he would have kept it a secret from her. But could she trust the words of a stranger?

“… Is there a way to break the seal?”, Aira asked earnestly.

“There are few ways, some dangerous and some safe, but the safe ones might not be successful. You seem to also have a unique core. You were born with it. Most mages develop a core after the age of 10, in some rare cases at the age of five or even earlier, but only one or two in a thousand years are born with it.”

“I already risked a lot by coming this far. I am not afraid.”, she said. “What is the best option?”

“The best is to find a relic.”

“Relic?”

“Yes! There are still various magic objects left behind after the great war. And those relics, although just a few, can be found in dungeons. And what a coincidence! We are right in the middle of one. I must say you are very lucky.”

“Lucky or not, I could care less.”, she said. “So, I need to find a relic and I could awaken, you say?”

“That’s right!”

“But, will you not want it if we find one?”

“Relics are of no use to me.”

“But you could still make money if you sold them.”

“I do not lack money.”

Aira could not understand the man and his purpose. If he were a murderer, he could have killed her right away. She could not sense any danger while walking by his side.

He possessed fascinating beauty, a beautiful deep voice, a slender but visibly strong body and a pair of fine golden eyes. She felt like she was accompanied by an angel in disguise.

They talked as they walked, Aira stealing glances of his beauty from time to time, Elias patiently replying to all of Aira’s questions until the path in front of them came to an end. They were facing a tall wall with a door made of stone in the middle.

As they were inspecting it, they heard a rustle between bushes. Suddenly, Aira found herself holding a strange creature in her arms after it jumped towards her. At first, Aira was startled, but as soon as the little fox snuggled in her arms, she no longer felt afraid.

“I thought you stayed behind in the cave.”

“It must have followed us after we both passed through the gate.”

Elias stared at the creature for a few moments, then grinned.

“Kyuu!”, the fox said, looking into Aira’s eyes. “Kyuu!”, it said again, then jumped down from her arms, walking towards the large door. The fox jumped up and down in front of it.

“It looks like it wants to tell us something.”, Aira said, approaching the door. She then noticed fingerprints on its right and left side. “The fingerprints are all gathered in one place on each side. One the left there are prints of a left side and on the right there are prints of a right side.”

Aira placed her left and right hands on the same places where the prints were visible but nothing seemed to happen. Elias then walked and pulled Aira’s right hand, replacing it by his own.

Soon, a loud noise followed by a slight earthquake followed, then the door cracked opened.

Elias went inside, followed by Aira and the fox who either walked by her side, jumped into her arms or stayed on her shoulders.

Behind the large doors a long dark corridor spread ahead. In the middle there was a paved path spreading across deep water.

“The path is safe for now but we must be careful.”, Elias said. He carried a magic lamp in one of his hands while he kept his other hand ready for whatever might attack them.

The large corridor came to an end when they reached another large door. They opened it the same way and walked through six other similar corridors. After opening the seventh door, they found themselves on top of a cliff.

The door closed behind them, unable to open it again, then disappeared. They had nowhere else to go. The cliff was high up in the sky and there was nothing else there but the blue sky, the white soft clouds and the howl of the wind. At least the ground they were standing on was not too narrow.

After a while, the wind scattered the clouds and a fabulous white floating castle revealed itself. White chains connected the cliff and the castle but who would be brave enough to walk on them without the risk of falling?

The scenery took Aira’s breath away but so did the fear of heights she never knew she had.

“What are we going to do?”, she asked, looking at the ‘expert’ by her side.

Elias answered with a smile then started getting closer to Aira.

“Wh… what are you doing?”, she asked, shying away but had to stop her steps otherwise she might have found death a second time.

“Walk or fly?”, Elias asked.

“Uh?”

“Hmm! You are pretty thin.”, he said after grabbing Aira by her waist, throwing her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. He then approached the edge of the cliff.

“Wait! Don’t tell me… Wait! You bastard! Put me do… aaaaaaa!”, Aira started to scream as she saw the cliff suddenly getting farther away.

Elias did not stop running on the chain. On the contrary, he increased his speed as if he was chased by something. The chain suddenly weakened, then, while they had already reached half way, it snapped.

They began to fall, Elias pulling Aira into his embrace. She was too scared to look down. Various thoughts flooded her mind. She thought that it was a pity she had to die but at least she tried and her final moments would be spent in the embrace of a handsome man.

Between those thoughts she heard Elias speaking a strange language. She pulled her face out of his chest and looked at his face. Then Aira saw a pair of black wings emerging from his back, flapping against the strong wind and pushing them up, towards the castle.

Once they touched the ground, Aira’s feet wobbled, unable to stand. Elias did not let her go of her hand until she was able to properly walk again.