Hunter, Stone Monkey, and Aldr were being taken back to the city of Elsire in the back of a carriage, it's wheels rolling over the muddy plains with a slight squelch. Aldr had been dressed in leather armor, refusing to take a helmet.
'I hate helmets...'
He stared back at the Stone Mountains, still curious about the mysteries it held.
'There were more in those tunnels, I could feel it.'
Although he wouldn't be returning for now, he had a feeling he would have too soon.
'Death...'
He was sure of it, the Stone Mountains had a mysterious connection with the Eikon of Death, a dagger imbued with the aspect of death, monsters that had been ridden of death, and one of those monsters had shown him a memory of death.
'That place was the old home of death.'
He sighed and stared at the shattered remains of the bone blade, they had crumbled under the indomitable will.
[Two new quests. Open?]
Aldr stared at the sparks and grumbled something before thinking.
'Yes.'
[Quest name: Rebirth
Quest description: Aid the saintess Heila in restoring the order of Velmund.
Rewards: Greater Boon]
[Quest name: Roots
Quest description: The roots of the [Legacy] attribute echo through the world, to unlock it's true potential find the roots.
Rewards: Awakening of the [Legacy] attribute]
'Ah, it's a conditional attribute then...'
He had seen it a few times throughout the years, an attribute that needed a quest to unlock its actual use. They were usually quite useful, as attributes anchored to a world were usually more powerful than others.
The average attribute would be like [Craftsman], a starter attribute that gives a skill or two, but can evolve, and only has an anchor to a person. But, an attribute like [Legacy] is tied to the world, as its roots are anchored to it, so it'll be much more powerful as it's not just anchored to someone's strength.
Aldr stared at the shattered remains.
'So I can't currently make a blade capable of withstanding my will for long enough. That's a shame indeed...'
He shifted his gaze to the black dagger, now sheathed safely on his belt.
'Maybe...'
He unsheathed the dagger. The other two stared as he started extending his willpower to the blade, letting its obsidian form be wreathed in vermilion sparks. And as he suspected, it could sustain his will perfectly fine, while the bone blade was basically crumbling apart every second.
Stone Monkey glanced at the obsidian dagger.
"What exactly are you doing?"
Aldr exhaled and let his will power come back to his body before he looked back at Stone Monkey.
"It doesn't concern you."
Stone Monkey chuckled.
"Wow, and here I thought we were friends..."
Aldr grimaced, running his finger over the black dagger before promptly leaving the moving cart. Walking over to the saintess who was riding horseback on their side.
"Oi."
He observed her for a few moments before she turned, although he wasn't one for complimenting people. She had to be the most beautiful being he had ever seen. Her silver hair was tied into a neat bun, her golden eyes gleaming with a kind of ethereal beauty.
She observed him back, her eyes piercing through him before she calmly responded in a smooth, regal tone.
"Yes?"
Aldr paused for a moment, his jade eyes conveying a bit of a loss.
"What's your goal here, exactly?"
She winced slightly.
"I'm cleaning up your mess."
"My mess, huh?"
He smiled a bit, yet at the sight of his smile her lips only curved downward.
"It's not amusing. There are people in that city, and they are suffering because of you."
Aldr paused, his smile slowly fading back into a blank expression.
'She holds it against me then, I see.'
He sighed.
"I'm aware of that."
"And yet you choose to continue."
"Choose?"
He scoffed.
"I didn't choose this. Did you?"
Her expression noticeably shifted, more towards the blank one Aldr had, similar to his it didn't contain much emotion.
"No. But..."
"But what?"
He cut in.
She just sighed.
"Ah, I apologize for the assumption..."
"It's fine, I understand."
Her gaze seemed more intrigue now, still focused on his form.
"Although it was...quite a while ago, I did indeed doom this world. And these people, and I guess part of it was my choice. Choosing to commit mass genocide of worlds rather than simply, kill myself, or refuse to do my duty. But I didn't."
He paused, leaving room for her to respond.
"Do you remember the people you killed?"
At her statement, his plain lips curved down into a frown.
"Not many."
She looked back towards the open plains leading to the high walls of Elsire.
"How many?"
"...two. Maybe three?"
She looked towards him again, her face carrying bitter somberness.
"Then maybe it's time for you to start remembering people."
He just looked at her, observing her silently until she rode off ahead of the carriage. While Aldr followed behind her, catching up to the moving carriages and the knights on horseback.
When they arrived to the high walls of Elsire, he wasn't sure what he expected. But above him massive walls towered into the clouds, made of beautiful stone that had been partially claimed by nature, covered in moss.
'Who could've made something like this?'
As the carriages reached a check point at the first layer of city walls, he noticed the city had 3 layers of walls. The first layer, the outer walls, lacked intense security, seemingly serving more for watch. While the walls in the middle layer were spiked, carrying a heavily guarded checkpoint. And while the saintess was let in easily, they would have to wait.
He stared at the knights performing a check on the back of the carriages. Yet none of them seemed to eager on meeting the gaze of the three in that carriage.
'Are they scared...?'
When Aldr's gaze met another one of the guards, they swiftly looked away as if they were in a panic.
'Huh. Odd.'