Cypher landed face-first in the dirt and quickly turned to see the image reflected in the Slingate. From this side, they would be safe from that thing and the resulting explosion, but Alvin still closed the portal.
The last thing they saw was the creature growing in size until it was several hundred meters tall. Its flesh was stretched to the absolute limit, and it looked like a cancerous growth that had grown for decades. It shuddered and then everything vanished in a bright flash of light.
“KAAATHOOOOM”
An earth-shattering explosion rang out in the distance, but despite being dozens of kilometers away, the sound still somewhat deafened them. Additionally, the bright flash of light took their vision for a few moments and they stumbled around clutching their eyes.
When they finally could see and hear again, they beheld a massive cloud of purple smoke rising in the distance.
It was shaped like a mushroom. Its edges violently rolled outwards and were sucked back in at incredible speeds. A shockwave of wind blew past them, knocking them to the ground and they were thankful that Alvin had closed the Slingate. Something that destructive would have ripped through the entire Slingate network and annihilated everything in front of and around any active Slingates.
Cypher stood dumbstruck, staring at the sheer destructive power the sixth rank had dominion over. How could anything have survived a world full of people at that level? For once, he found that he was grateful it was so difficult to pass the barriers between each rank, and rise up to higher ground.
That said, he now yearned for such power himself. At that level, no one would be able to stop him from taking his revenge on the Order of Eternal Night. But how long would it take to reach such a peak? Even now he was still a long way from the second rank, let alone the sixth. It would take decades even with his incredible growth speed.
Alvin was standing alone, a solemn look on his face as he watched the massive cloud of destruction in the distance unfurl itself. Cypher looked on in understanding and moved closer to his former master. The ruin had no doubt been completely annihilated in that explosion. It was designed to keep out anyone at or below the fifth rank.
That explosion had been in the middle of the sixth rank, there was no way that anything had survived an event like that, at least not at such a close range. Even when you considered that most of the structure was made of rank five materials it still didn’t matter with a blast that big, that close.
Alvin lamented the fact that he hadn’t had more time to explore the ruin that his sister had died trying to discover. His eyes quickly widened though as he remembered what Cypher had done. He turned to face the young Conductor, who was already smiling at him and holding out a glowing pink crystal.
Alvin took it carefully and cradled it, tears welling up in his eyes, “Cypher… Thank you… Truly, from the bottom of my heart thank you! There is no way I can ever repay you for this but you have my everlasting loyalty and gratitude. If you ever need anything at all please do not hesitate to ask!”
Despite him breaking down almost immediately, Alvin still managed to choke out all those words. He quickly stored Elise’s soul inside his dimensional pocket and wiped away his flowing tears. All of them were exhausted and right now, they could all do with a good meal and a long rest.
After the initial stress of that deadly situation had abated, the group set up camp. It was an arduous task after such a harrowing adventure and with their stomachs growling they started a simple stew for dinner. It had been a couple of hours since the explosion, and dark clouds had begun to form over the area after a while. Thick bolts of lightning could be seen streaking through the sky above what was once a deep and mysterious ruin.
It had not been a complete waste, however. Alvin, Melodi, and Alex had managed to copy down a lot of the runes and carvings on the walls of that treasury room during their short exploration. They had collected samples of art and even a few of the smaller chests filled with riches. Beyond that, Melodi had even snagged herself a pretty powerful bow during her fight.
It was an item in the fourth rank and had layers of powerful enchantments upon it. It would require a lot of study and examination before she even considered using it in live combat, so for now, she would simply keep it put away. Alex was upset that he hadn’t thought of doing the same, and he was moping around the campfire.
Of course, at first, Alvin had suggested she donate it to the kingdom for proper study, but she had eventually convinced him to let her keep it. Especially considering that they had almost all died in the process. Alvin was in a good mood, he had gotten his sister’s soul back after all this time, as well as many artifacts from the Zenith culture that had been lost to time.
A single bow wouldn’t be missed.
Cypher, on the other hand, had discovered what seemed to be the target of that entire Order assault, as well as the central treasure of the ruin. Cypher presented it to the group and they all looked on in awe. Each of them took a turn admiring the iridescent metal and simplistic beauty of the item. Alvin took it and he tried to equip it as Cypher had done. However, the plate remained inert and would not activate.
Alvin asked Cypher if he would try to equip it again, but Cypher shook his head and refused, “The last time I put that thing on it drained half of my Zight,” began Cypher, “If I tried to do that again right now it would probably kill me.” Cypher shuddered and looked at the plate with an expression of disdain.
Alvin offered it back to him but he shook his head again, “No thanks Alvin, you can keep it. I want nothing more to do with that thing. At least if I had kept my Zight I could have helped you guys out some more during the back half of that fight,” he replied.
“Well, as you wish Cypher,” said Alvin, “I’ll do some research and see if I can dig up anything about what this thing is supposed to be… or do,” Alvin’s eyes once again went back to admiring the multicolored metal.
After their meal, they all exchanged stories about their lives during the past five years, and Cypher was happy to feel the strands of friendship somewhat restored between them. They continued talking for a few hours, but all of them were eager to get some sleep and try to forget about the day and that horrible undead creature that had almost taken their lives.
Alvin had erected some protective barriers around camp which would keep their party undetected. It wasn’t long after that before they all climbed into their tents and drifted off to sleep.
