Master Of None

2086  2086. Right Before

With mana being blocked, Walker felt that he had his senses dampened. But as they moved up the carved stone stairs, they found themselves ducking under mire and more broken stone. So much of this ruin had been taken by time. Some of the ruins that the party had been to were covered in ornate murals along every wall. This was blank. If it had ever had some of these murals that most races left behind, they had become dust. This was a rough concept to believe. That this race had once been here so long ago that it couldn't even be remembered. No race alive right now, even the ancient races like the vampires, the immortal chasing race, or the angels could recall them. That alone meant that whatever the race was that had been here before the other races and when the ancient monsters were more than at the peak of power, they had also been very powerful. It also meant that they had all left here or been wiped out by something. But since they had constructed these grand temples and cave systems within an entire mountain on an isolated island… Well, it made more sense that they would have been very advanced. Very powerful. They had been capable of traveling through to the elemental planes too. Places that were fraught with danger. To be able to comprehend manas well enough as the world was still properly forming itself, was an astounding feat. but what if it had been deeper than that?

Walker could somewhat believe that whatever the race who had made these ruins were, had been better in many ways. Able to see the universe instead of the world. They had to have been able to see through things better than others. Had a bigger view. If that was the case, then they could have been similar to the echidna. But more than them. Able to peer in to existence as a whole. More than just the system that the world provided. But the overall system of everything. "There it is, these are the mana block herbs. I will mix them with alcohol so that I can throw them and the fumes will evaporate causing the monsters or that damn demon lord to have trouble with their mana. They will breathe it in and start to fail." Remey happily started to pick a few of the oddly pointed leaves from a small herb growing on the stone. They had come out on to a small platform before another set of stone stairs. Many different sections of the ruins could be accessed from these platforms. They were just the main access to the other chambers hidden away within this massive mountain on an island. Unfortunately, exploring this place to discover secrets, if any remained, was not what they had time for. Their focus was going toward the temple that they knew was on the top of the mountain. the place that was most likely to have the demon lord trying to access the elemental planes. "There are more of them here too. It looks like the seeds grew right through the stone. Tougher than you would think." Gil's impressed tone came from the fact that he had not expected such a small plant to be able to dig in to and crack stone. "The forest and nature will take everything over. I thought you would be the one saying that though." Su's slight laugh made her take a deep breath. This was not the time to be teasing one another laughing at all. They were in a dangerous place where they could find themselves around their greatest enemy at any moment. "I would guess that they are growing because they are being exposed to more mana than normal. They look too green, so younger than what they should look like." Remey's comment meant that these herbs might have been influenced by something else. "This place is supposed to be close to the elemental planes, correct brother?" Onyx seemed to understand that there might be some changes in these ruins. "We have caused a lot of things to change lately. It would make sense that we caused these plants to grow as well." Onyx's theory made sense. These seeds could have been dormant for years until the sudden changes in mana oozed through in to the world. The chaotic mana might not have been strong enough to corrupt them, but the manas might have been dense enough to cause them to suddenly begin growing much more than what they had been before.

"Sounds bad." Since Midnight knew that the demon lord intended to use the close relationship of the elemental planes to the world here in this area, she had a bad feeling. Especially since it probably meant that the demon lord would have more success right now. "I agree, it's bad. Let's move faster." Walker pushed himself to start taking the stairs two by two. He saw that some of the places that they could stop were connected to passageways that had collapsed. A dangerous risk that was getting worse and worse for them as they traveled. Now and then, they would all pick up on distant sounds of fighting,. More like echoes. But the corrupted undead had surely made their way to other areas of this massive mountain that did not have the mana block herbs. Even the effects of those herbs and started to fade as the party had moved past the section where they had encountered them. There was another feeling going though. Corrupted mana was feeling like it was stronger. The cracks in the ceiling and walls of the ruins were also more clear. New pieces of rubble falling here and there as the entire mountain and begin to feel stress. If these ruins were in the best state of being, then it would not even make dust. That wasn't the case though. This as a place many years old. It was ready to fall. "If this place is to fall, many of our forces will perish. The island itself might collapse in to the ocean." with Su warning them, the party moved even faster. Walker had sensed that he could use his skills better. He used the multi biff skill right away to help them move a little faster. He had a bad feeling about what they would find. Besides the time that they had spent in the forest with many broken ruins, the sorry had been able to move very fast up until this point. They had been blessed by finding a route with herbs that literally stopped mana flow flowing properly. If they had not, then they would have been fighting more of the corrupted undead that were also moving through the ruins. What they did wonder was, how could there be so little in this place. No monsters appear to live here. So, did it make sense that they had all been cleared out before hand? Or was it the fact that the monsters didn't enter the mountain normally? The unstable nature of the mana just behind the veil could be for that. Along with the fact that very few monsters lived on this island as a whole. It was a large, but isolated, place. The lack of monsters might also be why this ruin still exists, period. They hadn't made this a nest for them, therefore, it stopped them from digging in and ruining it over time as they lived here. Marking their territory or by fighting. A small pulse of mana suddenly pushed through the mountain causing more runes that were nearly faded to nonexistence to appear clearer than before. Walker could tell they had been general runes, but they had reacted. "I would say it's started." Walker mentally prepared himself. This sudden pop of mana was enough to tell him many things. That there was a ritual or something causing it. That there was a larger source of mana nearby. That it all was likely the demon lord beginning to try to use the fragment of elemental purity to break in to the elemental planes. "What's the plan when we get there. He was very powerful when we found the vampires." Remey was usually not the one to show worry. But this time she did without hiding a single bit of it. "We fight to the best of our efforts. You throw your potions first. Weaken him. Gil starts using the best arrows he has. Su uses her elemental defensive skills. Onyx sensed the shadows and light to attack from a distance. Midnight will prepare herself to adapt where she needs to so that we can all fight better. I will see what else I can do." Walker knew that this fight would be hard. His role would be to cover everything that the other could not.  …

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