[Elysia: Hey. The Ark is glowing right now, probably because it is ready to give you the reward. “Adam and Eve.” That is the name of one of the Merchant Gods' legendary artifacts. I don’t know if it is the real thing, but it might be close.]
Blake looks at her. Her aura is green; she is telling the truth. Not that he doubted her; he just couldn't turn the eye off unless he closed it. Such is the fate of anyone with a God's Eye.
[Blake: I will be there soon. Don’t worry about it too much.]
[Elysia: Everyone else is there, so don’t take too long. Also, we got a letter from Aric.]
Interest flashes in Blake's eyes as he hears this. As Elysia walks down the hall, Bracken materializes behind Blake. Blake had called for him a few minutes earlier, but Bracken must have been busy with something.
[Bracken: What’s up, Boss?]
Blake looks at Bracken and hands him the key.
[Blake: I'm going to a meeting. I want you to handle the forbidden library. Specifically, make sure it’s safe before I go in.]
Bracken cackles to himself.
[Bracken: You got it, big man!]
Bracken dematerializes, and Blake heads to the Ark. Blake arrives to see every vassal sitting in their assigned seats except for Pax, who the enemy has captured. The mood is still damp, but it is not as bad as before. Peak looks at Blake and smiles.
[Peak: Welcome! Let’s see what this weapon is!]
Azarath puts his hand on his head and looks up.
[Azarath: It has to be a weapon befitting myself, naturally!]
Harpstein just looks on with a concerned smile, and Selene casually remarks [I don’t care. Let’s just get this over with.]
Blake questions a little further.
[Blake: Can we even claim the reward without Pax?]
Harpstein looks at him.
[Harpstein: The rule was that we needed everyone to activate the quests. The count probably does not matter for the reward.]
Just after Harpstein said that Apocalypse opened up, the book had a toothy grin, smiling at everyone.
[Apocalypse: Congratulations on completing the quest! Would you like to claim the location of “Adam and Eve?”]
Before anyone can say anything, Elysia walks in with the letter Eric sent them.
[Elysia: Before we continue, I will now read Aric’s letter. “Hello, Vassals. I have important info regarding the reward. With things like this, Apocalypse will evaluate each of your compatibility with the weapon. After that, Apocalypse will bind the person with the most compatibility with the weapon. Meaning that they will know the location and, most importantly, they will be the only ones able to use the weapon. Also, Apocalypse is a one-time-use book. Other than that, I have nothing else to say. I attached week-long training regimens for you guys. See you later.” There you have it. Only one of you will get the reward.]
Everyone seated at the Ark had the same thought.
*Only one of us?*
Harpstein cautiously looked at Apocalypse and accepted the reward. Apocalypse looks around at everyone.
[Apocalypse: Since it seems like you guys don’t know. I'm a one-time-use book. Meaning I will now Self-Destruct.]
To everyone's dismay, Apocalypse explodes in the middle of the room with a small detonation. After that, everyone looked around. Who got the location? Who got the reward? Suddenly, Selene stands up.
[Selene: Guys… I got the reward.]
Everyone in the room was surprised at this result. They didn’t expect Selene to be the one to get it. Peak and Harpstein immediately congratulate her. Azarath is a little butthurt, so he takes his training outline and walks out of the room. Blake is a little disappointed as well. However, he has a bigger fish right now, the forbidden library. Blake grabs his training regimen and walks out of the room.
____________________________________________________________________________
Day 1- Blake and Selene.
Selene walks around outside aimlessly; no one followed her out, so she is alone. She is following a map that has been imprinted on her mind. She knows exactly where Adam and Eve are. Selene walks to a small burrow. Selen uses Earth Manipulation to split the ground. There, she sees two rose-colored guns. They are pistols and have golden highlights. Selene picks the both of them up, and as she touches them, red vines emerge. They wrap around Selene, and their thorns pierce her skin. Selene screams in pain as the vines wrap around her harder until they are gone. Disappeared just as fast as they came, but Selene knew what had happened.
Selene looks down at her arms and sees red veins coursing through her body. The pair of guns was now bound to her very soul.
Back inside, Blake walks to the big door that supposedly leads to the forbidden library.
*Blake: It doesn’t have a lock on it. Bracken must have gone in.*
Blake slowly enters the library. The inside is enormous, bigger than what it should be. The space has a blue tint to it, and books are everywhere. Lined up in neat orders. Interestingly enough, there are no labels or titles on anything. Blake looks around a little before he hears a voice.
[Another one?]
The voice sounded interested in Blake but also a little tired. Blake immediately prepared for a fight. The person who said that voice was not around him but above him. They were standing on his head. Blake immediately hardened and sharpened one of his fingers with cell manipulation and went to stab the man standing on his head. The man jumps back as Blake creates a shadow portal and grabs both of his weapons.
[Blake: Who are you?!? Where is Bracken?!?]
Blake looks at the man. He has a casual smile on his face. He is wearing a turban and sandals. His skin is a caramel tan, and he has white spiked-up hair. His eyes are light green, and he has golden bracelets and a golden necklace.
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[???: He was your friend? Glad I didn’t kill him then. You should know better than to let someone have the key who is not authorized to enter the library.]
A portal appears, and Bracken falls out of it. His body is completely still. He has holes everywhere, his eyes are sunken in, and blood is all around him. He looks more like a husk or a corpse than a living being.
[???: His regeneration is something entirely different from what I know. It took a little more energy than I would like to admit to put him down. Even now, he is not fully dead. In a few days, he will be healthy again.]
Blake looks at the man with a little bit of fear.
*Blake: What did he do to Bracken? Why didn’t any alerts go off? I normally know when Bracken is fighting someone! Unless… The inside size would be impossible compared to the outside.*
[Blake: This is a pocket dimension, isn’t it?]
The man does not answer. Just a casual smile that confirmed Blake's thoughts.
[???: You are smart. I won’t attack you. You were given the right to be here by a power higher than me. Welcome to the forbidden library.]
[Blake: Who the hell are you?!?]
[My name is…
『Zel. The librarian of the forbidden library.』
Blake just looks at Zel and cautiously desummons his weapons. He also dematerializes Bracken. Something is very wrong about Zel. Blake's eye of truth is not even registering an aura for him. Let alone his thoughts or intentions.
[Blake: You seem to be strong. If you are really the librarian, tell me why there are not any labels. No titles to any of the books either.]
Zel bows.
[Zel: Yes, to protect this information, I need to be strong. Let me clear something up about this library. About myself. Your God Eye can’t pick anything up about me, right? That is because I am not a human. I am an android. I am the forbidden library itself. No books are needed; just ask me what you want to know, and I will comply. That is if you have the right to be here, which you do.]
*Blake: An android? Did he attack Bracken because the key was given to me and not him? So, even if I give away the key, it will still be mine and mine alone. That is some tight security. I will test him with a question that the average person shouldn’t know.*
[Blake: Tell me about the seven legendary artifacts.]
Blake watches as the eyes on Zel start spinning around at high speed before returning to the middle.
[Zel: The seven legendary artifacts made by the Old God of Merchants, Johan.
- Adam and Eve- A pair of two guns with insane abilities. Adam can shoot anything the user imagines. There is no need to reload it, as it is fueled by what the user is thinking. The user's imagination determines how strong Adam is. Eves bullets have the ability to alter and change the physical characteristics of anything it pierces. The current confirmed user is Selene Rivers.
- Negation Orb- This is an orb capable of sealing away the strongest form of power this world has, Negations. Negations can deny an aspect of reality entirely. Theoretically, it can be used to seal other things. The current confirmed user is the Negation Killer.
- Scales of Aeon- These are scales that can change the size of anything the user wants. By anything, it could be attacks, personality traits, or even concepts. Theoretically, it could also be used as a judgment scale for one's sins. The current location is unknown.
- The Cursed Staff of Johan- A staff that can afflict anyone with anything. There is no limit on the target or the illness. They can even afflict a person with conceptually impossible diseases. The current location is unknown.
- The Golden Spear of God- Let’s the user power themselves up exponentially over time. Additionally, it allows users to issue commands to any object within their vicinity. The object is forced to follow said orders. For people, it makes the user's words very enticing to follow. The current unconfirmed user is the demon queen Adoba.
- Unknown Sword- It is confirmed by ancient texts that Johan made a sword; however, the name and powers of this sword artifact have been lost to time. The current location is unknown.
- The Anti-God- The strongest Artifact in existence. A sentient android, like myself, made by Johan during the Old God civil war to fight against the Old Gods. After the war, Anti-God went on a rampage in the new world. Killing 1 Old God and 5 New Gods. After a long fight, a group of 7 New Gods was able to seal away the Anti-God in an unknown location.
Would you like to know anything else?]
Blake looks at all of the information he just acquired.
*Blake: This is all way too much to take in. I will just train for the rest of the day.*
Blake goes to look at his training regimen. However, no words are written on the paper. Blake looks up at Zel, who is smiling.
[Zel: How the power you look to acquire that training is very inefficient. I removed the ink from the paper. Now, I will take it upon myself to train you.]
Blake looks extremely concerned as Zel walks closer to him. For the rest of the week, Zel and Blake continued to train. For the rest of the week, Selene trained her accuracy with the guns. She eventually figured out how they worked.
____________________________________________________________________________
Day 2- Harpstein and Azarath.
Azarath is sitting outside. Pouting, he is still pissed he didn’t get the weapon. Harpstein sits right next to him.
[Harpstein: What’s up?]
Azarath looks at Harpstein.
[Azarath: What is it? Are you going to tell me to get back to training?]
Harpstein smiles.
[Harpstein: Are you angry that you didn’t get the weapon?]
Azarath grumbles.
[Azarath: It is not just that. I'm being denied every opportunity to get stronger. Even my training regimen just says, “Learn something new.” What does that even mean?!? I can’t be a hero like this.]
[Harpstein: Why are you so obsessed with being a hero?]
[Azarath: You don’t know this, but I didn’t want to be a hero at first. It was someone in my life who did. He changed everything for me. He was my greatest friend ever. I couldn’t save him. So, I decided to inherit his dream of becoming a hero. So I can at least make good on his memory.]
Harpstein stands up.
[Harpstein: Do you want to be a hero?]
Azarath buries his face in his hands.
[Azarath: I don’t know. When I'm faced with strong enemies like Zane, I freeze up or make mistakes. The fear I felt then, I don’t want people to die because of me. I don’t want to make the same mistake I made with my friend.]
Harpstein looks at Azarath and looks at the rising sun.
[Harpstein: The dead will never leave us. Your friend… I won’t ask, so I probably will never know what happened to him. You truly cared about him, though. You are confusing his wish with your own. His wish is already gone, ended with his life. What you are carrying now is a remnant of a failed wish. A wish that you want to succeed in, a wish that you have worked towards for years. A wish that you have fought to the death for. Fear is what makes us human; it separates us from the monsters that surround our daily lives. Our fear is what keeps us alive. You want to stay alive to try and save a failed wish. That is why you are so scared.]
Azarath looks at Harpstein.
[Harpstein: You are trying to make sacrifices for a dead person. You are not fighting for yourself. If you want confidence, don’t think of those who passed. Don’t think of those you failed to save. They will give you no strength! Think of those alive; think of those whose well-being you are fighting for! When you fight alongside us, are you not thinking about us but a dead friend? I will not tell you that your feelings are wrong; I will not tell you to just move on. What I will ask, though, is one simple question.]
Harpstein puts out his hand to Azarath.
[Harpstein: Do you want to be a Hero? Not for a dead friend, not for any of us, but for yourself!]
Azarath looks, stunned completely. A new emotion appears that he has not felt in a while: admiration. For the first time, he truly respected another person on this team. Azarath stands up.
[Azarath: You really are the king's son…]
Azarath grabs Harpsteins hand.
[Azarath: I want to be a hero!]
They shake hands, and Harpstein smiles.
[Harpstein: Would you like to learn the royal military martial arts?]
[Azarath: Huh?]
[Harpstein: I noticed during your fight. You are untrained. You just threw around punches randomly. Growing up, my father made all his children learn the royal military martial arts style. Would you like to learn it?]
Azarath bowed to Harpstein.
[Azarath: It would be my honor.]
For the rest of the week, Azarath trained in the royal military martial arts. For the rest of the week, Harpstein trained his speed and reaction time against Azarath's super speed.
____________________________________________________________________________
Day 3- Peak.
Peak looks at Chad in anger as the hand scurries across the ground. Peak desperately tries to catch it to no avail.
[Peak: No! Bad sword! Your mom raised you better than this! Wait… Do you have a mom?]
The sword hurriedly writes something in the dirt.
“Shut up, loser.”
Peak gets angry.
[Peak: Oh, you!]
Peak tries to catch the sword again, but Chad has other plans. Chad jumps into a sheath and stops moving. Peak tries to unsheathe Chad, but it won’t work. Chad quickly slaps Peak and writes something on the ground.
“I will now only unsheathe for worthy opponents! Hahaha! ??”
[Peak: Chad drew a face! You can’t do this to me! I traded a mythical sword for you!]
“Scammer gets scammed ig.”
Peak can barely comprehend what Chad is saying to him.
[Peak: Fine! I will show you that I don’t need you anyway!]
Peak tries to pick up a wooden sword to practice, but his hand suddenly feels a surge of pain. He drops the sword.
[Peak: What the hell happened!]
Chad writes something on the floor.
“Unfortunately for both of us. Our souls were bound the first time you touched me. Since our souls are now completely bound together, you can’t use any other sword. I get jealous, you know?”
[Peak: THEN LET ME USE YOU!]
“I don’t feel like it. ??. I'm, like, really strong. You can’t just use me on no one. It would be an insult!”
For the rest of the week, Peak trains his physical and specialist abilities. His sword abilities go untrained.
____________________________________________________________________________
Day 7.
The vassals, King Valerian, accompanied by Lyric, Elysia, and Sarah, enter the meeting room. Sarah proposes the plan she has been working on.
[Sarah: The Dungeon of Terror and Starvation has three entrances: the front entrance, the back entrance, and a secret tunnel. Guards will be stationed at all three, with the most being in the tunnel, with that in mind. Blake and Peak will take the tunnel. Blake can take out the guards without anyone knowing. Peak is very fast and can sense danger. Pax will likely be on the lowest level, so Peak can get to Pax and get out before the Aspects can hit. Harpstein and Azarath will take the front entrance. Azarath will cause a huge commotion, which will hopefully draw out the warden and possibly wake up an aspect. Harpstein can keep Azarath safe. This will draw attention to the front and make it easier to break in from the tunnel and the back. Selene, you will go in from the back and search the cells at the top. You and Peak will continue to search the cells, one from the bottom and one from the top, until you find Pax. Any objections?]
No one had any objections to the plan. King Valerian stands.
[Valerian: The plan will take place tomorrow night! Make sure to be prepared! Good luck to you all!]
With that, the meeting was dismissed.