He exhales, and leans down on his sword.
"There is absolutely no way this is real. You have got to be kidding!" He chuckles, breathless from the absurdity—and then turns back to Hendrix.
"I...I'll try and get these folks out of here, I'll be back as soon as possible!" He swaps places with Hendrix who simply nods, preparing for the worst.
Adrian hustles Mira's limp body up the hill and into the infirmary, dragging her across the harsh stone. 'Hold in there, please!'
Panicked, labored breathing rushes through the white and red crossed door as Adrian pulls Mira with one arm, holding the door open with the other. Immediately, a couple of people with the same color scheme capes grab her arms and legs, prying her out of Adrian's grip.
He collapses in front of the building, gasping for air. But before he can get any rest, his legs screaming in protest—
He remembers. He has to go back down to the tower.
Adrian trudges back down the incline, noticing Hendrix gazing down the hill at the Veilborn that gets closer and closer by the second.
He turns his head at the sound of Adrian. "We'll save this village, or we'll die trying. I hope it's the former," he says as he bitterly laughs, pushing his sword even further into the dirt. Adrian taps Hendrix's shoulder as he regains his breath, the medical personnel following behind him.
"Yeah...yeah I guess we will."
'Who am I kidding! We're dead!' He walks to the spire, and stares back at the blights now at the base of the hill, mere minutes from arrival.
Adrian kicks the obsidian obelisk. "Damn it all! Why won't you work?!" He reels from the pain of his foot. He was not ready to slam something that sturdy with his toes.
'Ow! This is just ridiculous!' He glances back down the hill, the Veilborn already halfway up the hill. He lines up with Hendrix.
"Well, I guess I should have stayed at my office job..." He adjusts his hands on the hilt, repeating 'two hands, two hands' in his head. As they can finally see the embers of the wolves eyes, a voice booms out louder than anything he had ever heard, besides his brother.
[THE SANCTUARY AWAKENS. I HEAR YOUR CALL, DISCIPLE OF OKREUS.]
—A Veilborn lunges. Adrian slashes—without looking.
But his blade finds no resistance.
He turns his head back towards the wolf, and it's suspended in mid-air—dissolving into ashes in front of him.
[SHIELD, ONLINE. WELCOME, FATE'S DISCIPLE: ADRIAN CALDWELLS.]
The once locked jet-black doors open with a smooth krrshk, and what's inside can only be described as illustrious, ever shining gold. Before walking in, he glances to his left, watching the other idiotic beasts leap into the shield, getting eviscerated one by one. He steps inside the tower, noticing something about the gold.
It has the same V symbol with a dash through it in the middle, just like the bronze and silver Vulos. 'So this is the gold Vulo...so pretty.' His hands rub over one, and he shoves it into his pocket. He turns around to see if Hendrix is following, yet he is still enamored by the Veilborn jumping into the shield.
'More for me to enjoy, I suppose.' He walks further into the tower, noticing a distinct silver bit in the back pile. He pulls it out, and it's a tiny silver key with a teardrop engraved on the side.
"Huh. That's...definitely not anything to write home about." He pockets it, and the system appears in front of him.
[The Sanctuary has been unlocked! Good job, Adrian! \^o^/]
[Status: Syncing...5%]
"What? Syncing?"
[New lore unlocked! ◉_◉ You should probably check it out.]
"Lore? Hm..." He rubs his chin, and grabs a couple more Vulos.
"It couldn't hurt to grab some more!" He smiles, and then buckles.
The exhaustion hits him as soon as the rush and adrenaline dies, and he crumples like paper.
He hits his head on the floor, and goes out like a light.
***
A blinding light filters in through the skylight on the ceiling. Adrian blinks, and he finds himself on a moderately comfortable stack of blankets on top of a straw filled mattress. He groans as he moves his left leg, the three tears on his thigh heavily bandaged.
As soon as one of the medics hears him grunt, they rush over to him.
"Good morning, Mr.Adrian! I have to say, it was quite impressive what you did! Thank you for restarting our Sanctuary."
Adrian blinks once more, still groggy. "Uh...yeah, you're welcome."
He lifts a weak thumbs up, and eeks out a smile. 'How did I do that, exactly?'
Almost as if reading his mind, the system pulls up in front of him.
[You opened the Sanctuary because of me! I know, I'm the best. (¬‿¬)]
[Also, you had a minor concussion.]
'A minor concussion? Great. Just great.' He sighs as the medic rubs his bandages. The doctor peels back the bandages and—
There's no actual injury, just dried blood. 'What?' He gets stared at with a sense of wonder.
"Hmmm...I have never seen something like that before." He slaps Adrian on the knee twice. "I guess you're good to go!"
Just like that, Adrian is discharged, walking out of the doorway into a cool night's breeze. It appears he was out for about 8 hours. The stars twinkle and shine above him, their radiance ever glowing. His eyes wander across the sky a little longer, and he notices two moons on either side. One on the east, and one on the west.
"So bizarre..." he says as he strolls to the Elder's office. The door creaks open, and Gath greets him with a friendly smile.
"Well hello there! Thank you so much for fixing our Sanctuary! Now we can open it once more." He strokes his beard, and a cheerful cackle escapes him.
Adrian rubs the back of his head. "Honestly? I have zero clue how I did that—well I mean I do but—ah, forget it." He soon finds the chair in front of Gath, the cushion making contact quickly.
Crickets continuously chirp outside, and Gath hunches over on the table. "Now I must say, that was quite the feat. I feel as if I must award you my boy." He lifts out of the chair and pulls another sword from the cabinet.
The sword from what Adrian can see is not very sharp compared to the one he has now, but it is well taken care of, with zero rust. Unlike the latter. Gath hands it off to him with a longing in his eyes.
"Boy this sword...it has some memories, I tell you what." He sits back down with a grunt as Adrian lays the sword on the table. "That sword...it was my first blade, before all of that hero nonsense. Cherish it. Please."
Gath glances at him with a paternal gaze. "That's my baby."
Adrian glances at the sword, and then back to Gath. "You got it, I appreciate it. What...what do you mean by 'hero nonsense'?"
Gath shakes his head. "Oh nothing, it doesn't mean a thing. Go on now, get to sleep. It's rather late, you know?"
Adrian looks out the window towards the spire, a white light spearing out the top of it as the shield stays active. More and more Veilborn approach it, fruitlessly. Finally, he notices that it truly is dark outside, the light from the tower hiding most of the fact.
"Yeah...yeah I suppose I should." He treks back to his dingy lodging, the poor roof looking like it will cave in at any moment. He sits on the stiff hay, and opens the system, noticing three lights. One for [Quests], [Lore], and [Inventory]. He navigates to [Lore], first.
A virtual scroll appears on the screen, and it reads.
Entry 001: THE GREAT ARCHITECT
He came from another world—a place of machines and minds so advanced, their tech could be mistaken for magic.
He was the first to arrive in this realm, his name now lost to most.
But some still remember the title granted to him by the king:
'The Great Architect.'
He was not a hero at the start. Just a dreamer. A builder. A man who refused to give up.
His first creation…
'The Sanctuary'.
His name was...
Adonis.
[🔒Further syncing required for additional lore.]