Cynthia waited for the paper to be handed back to her so that they could continue the conversation. However, instead the man tossed the paper back to Alex. The God of Papers had a somewhat smug smile on his face at this, as if it were an indication that he had been chosen to speak for them.

Unfortunately, the only thing that had been written on the paper was the spell he used to detect godly presences. While Alex wondered what this meant, he heard a new chanting from one of the robed figures. Alex readied himself, clearly alarmed by the sudden spellcasting, but Lifre’s hand shot out in front of him.

“They’re not attacking.” She said with certainty as she listened to the chant. When Alex looked around, he saw that Udona, Thessa, and Petra were remarkably calm as well, simply allowing the spell to be cast without any problems. Instead, it was Cynthia and the other non-divine emissaries who seemed the most nervous with this sudden change, until Udona rested a hand on Cynthia’s shoulder.

After roughly thirty seconds of chanting, the man suddenly began to speak fluently, his words easily understood by all parties. “I apologize for my rudeness.” He said in a polite tone, nodding his head towards the group. “This is our first time encountering true gods, so I was a bit surprised.”

Cynthia let out a relieved sigh when she heard that, nodding her head. “If that’s the case, would it be fine for you to take us to the leader of this fortress? As I mentioned, we wish only for a diplomatic talk, so that we can understand your people and your circumstances.”

The figure gave a small nod. “I have already notified the Lord of your presence just now. There should be no trouble conducting this meeting. Am I to take it that you represent this party?” He asked Cynthia, his eyes piercing through her. He seemed quite confused as to why a mortal was leading a team of gods.

However, Cynthia simply nodded her head with a smile. “That’s right. I believe that everything will be easier to understand after our talk. For now, it can be considered that I am the ambassador of our people.”

“For now?” He asked with a tilt of his head.

“Ahh… if the talk goes in a certain direction, I may need to defer to someone else. That is all I meant.” She shook her head to dispel his worries. If they insisted on learning more about the Keeper, it was likely that she would need to implore Udona to assist her.

“Very well… then, if you would please follow me?” He requested, turning and floating just above the stone floor. This action caused Cynthia a touch of confusion, and she couldn’t help but raise her voice to speak while following with her party.

“Why is it that everyone with robes like yours flies like this, if I may ask? Isn’t it just a waste of mana to keep this spell constantly active?”

When the man heard that, he glanced back in surprise, before seeming to realize that she truly didn’t understand their culture. “We need not supply our own mana to maintain this spell. As for why we keep it active, it is because it is seen as a disgrace amongst my people for those of us that can wield magic to walk the same ground as those who cannot. Magic is a means of elevating our minds, and thus we elevate our bodies as well.”

Cynthia wasn’t entirely pleased with the clearly discriminatory heirarchy, but it was far from her place to meddle with such things. “I see…” She wanted to ask if it would be a disgrace for the gods to walk, but held back her words. There was no need to antagonize this species for such a simple distinction.

Alex seemed rather downtrodden at the realization that he would no longer be required as a translator. Instead, he had been moved into the role of a combat escort like the other hired deities. His typical role had been taken from him with the use of a single spell.

The group was led along a long stone corridor, one which was oddly wide and tall for the body size of the architects. Lining the halls were paintings and scrolls depicting strange scenes and even stranger texts. Each door was built at least five meters tall, and Cynthia had to wonder if they had contact with another race of such large creatures, or if they merely preferred the grand style of architecture.

“This is the Lord’s office.” Their guide eventually said, stopping before a single door. His rainbow-like eyes were closed as he hovered off to the side, gesturing for them to enter. Cynthia took a deep breath, nodding and pushing open the door to enter.

Inside, she could see another robed figure sitting at a large desk, his body almost comically small in comparison. His hood was down to reveal his golden hair, his eyes looking over at the group. Given the fact that his speech was understood, it seemed as if he had already cast the translation spell prior to their arrival.

“Greetings, greetings. Please, come in.” He called, hovering up over his desk to sit on the edge closest to the group. “I do apologize for our initial greeting. We just finished a grueling battle yesterday, so my men were suspicious of saboteurs. I pray for your forgiveness in this matter.”

His head was directed at Cynthia as he said this, as if already knowing that she was the leader of this group. Cynthia simply gave a small smile, lifting her hand. “It’s fine. In truth, we witnessed a brief segment of your earlier battle three days prior. That is when we learned of the existence of your people and decided to organize this meeting.”

The rainbow-eyed human blinked at that, before nodding in realization. “Yes, I heard you came from the Wall of Black Stone. You mentioned, and even demonstrated that this wall is a gate for you. Really, such a thing is difficult to believe, but you have shown it yourself. Therefore, I have no choice but to accept your words.”

Cynthia’s smile grew a touch wider at those words. “I thank you for your understanding. In truth, you are not the first people that we have come across when traversing the gates. However, this is definitely among the warmest receptions that we have received.”

It was true. Out of all of the layers they had gone through, Fyor had rarely encountered a race that was willing to discuss on even footing. The one exception so far would be the Dovah, who had peacefully integrated with the other races of Fyor. However, even they were a far more tribal race when they were first found.

“Oh?” The man looked at Cynthia curiously. “If I may ask, what tends to happen to those races who meet you with steel instead of kindness?”

Cynthia couldn’t help but sigh at that, shaking her head. “As you likely know, there are two of these gates on every layer of this world. In order to explore from one layer to the next, you must do so in sequence. Recently in our history, we came across a rather advanced civilization, but it was openly hostile to us as soon as we emerged.”

“In order to circumvent this problem, we had to send our scouts through the gate to explore in secret, avoiding the eyes of this race until we had found the next gate. Thankfully, we have a power that lets a select few of us open passages to any gate that they have previously been to, so we were able to leave that civilization in peace.”

The man’s rainbow-like eyes seemed to flash at that, nodding his head. “I see. It is reassuring to know that you truly do not seek bloodshed. However, I regret to inform you that your path is likely to end here.”

The bodies of the emissaries stiffened when they heard those words, which sounded like a threat but spoken in a tone of… consolation? “What do you mean by that, sir?” Cynthia couldn’t help but ask.

The man gave a small smile, shaking his head. “You see, the Wall of Black Stone is completely unique. We have searched the globe, from the lands of the Faceless to the depths of the Ashen Crag. Even employing the use of our collective magic, we have yet to find a second instance of this phenomenon. That is why this fortress is called Blackstone, because it is the only place in the world with the Wall of Black Stone.”

“I… see. It’s certainly troubling if you haven’t been able to find the location so far.” She made a note to ask more about those locations later. “However, would you mind if we investigate on our own? One of my party members here is quite adept at finding such things.”

There was a faint look of surprise on the man’s face, before it was replaced with a look of pity. “Of course, if you feel as if there is still hope, I encourage you to search. However, I truly--”

“Found it.” Petra suddenly spoked up, making the man choke on the words he was about to say. There was a sly smile on her face as all eyes in the room were directed towards her. “You couldn’t find it because it’s underwater. Do you happen to have a map

In truth, there had been thousands of scouts teleporting all throughout the layer in the shadow world for the last three days, so she had long ruled out the idea of it being located on the surface. Once she sent her scouts to search through the water, it had only been a matter of time before the gate was found.

The man looked incredulously at Petra for a moment, reaching back and muttering a chant under his breath. One of the drawers of the grand desk opened up, and a large scroll flew out to unfurl itself before the group.

Petra looked at the map, which was rather crudely drawn, yet displayed the entirety of the floor. Their desire for knowledge and mental enlightenment seems genuine, they just haven’t been able to let their civilization keep up with their ambitions. She cross-referenced the map with what she knew of the world, stretching out her finger and circling a relatively small area in the middle of the ocean. “The gate is located roughly within that circle.”

The leader of the fortress observed the area that she had circled, caressing his chin. “If it’s there, it may have eluded our search. Though, would it not create problems for you to pass through a gate that was so deep underwater?”

Sadly, those words were the truth. Unless one was a god, their bodies were likely to collapse under the combined pressure of this floor’s gravity and the extreme pressure of the deep ocean. This was something Petra had noted as well, which cost her quite a few shadows in the investigation in different regions of this floor.

Cynthia simply gave a small nod. “We’ll need to create a special structure down there to resist the pressure. In the meantime, can you tell me more about your relationship with the figures you were fighting before? Or those Faceless that you mentioned previously?”

The man blinked at the sudden change in topic, though quickly gave a wry smile. “Of course. Diplomats such as yourself would be interested in more than just my one race. All I can say of the Faceless is that we have established an agreement of mutual noninterference. In truth, it’s very hard to communicate with them, so we prefer to just stay out of each other’s business.”

“As for the Ashenborn… you would be wise not to expect much cooperation from them. They are a rather warlike race, uninterested in the affairs of the mind. Their assaults against us are as old as history itself, their constant claim being that their ‘stone father’ told them that we were a blight on their land. We have yet to confirm the existence of such a creature, but we suspect that he is a deity, if he does exist in the first place. If not, he would be the oldest creature on the face of this planet…”

Cynthia looked awkwardly towards Udona, who shook her head. “This is no work of Tubrock.” That seemed all that she was willing to say about the matter, but that alone was enough to give Cynthia a great sense of relief.

“I see. Then… if I may, the man that escorted us here said that you do not use your own mana to maintain the flight spells of your mages. What exactly do you use, then? Is it just some form of enchantment that gathers ambient mana as fuel?” Cynthia was loathe to believe such a thing, as it would prove rather inefficient when there were less people around. And surely enough, the leader of the fort shook his head.

“I assume that you do not have this material where you come from.” He said with a smile, stroking a hand along his cloak. “A rather valuable ore, smelted and woven into our fabrics. In its raw form, it has the chance to bestow runic knowledge upon those who meditate near it. Meanwhile, its refined form allows it to produce a steady stream of energy to maintain such simple enchantments. We call this material Magicite due to these properties.”

Cynthia’s body stiffened again at that, eyes going wide. “Sir… has there ever been a creature in your world whose level of power was akin to a natural disaster?”

The man looked at Cynthia in confusion. “Not in our records. There have been powerful beasts born of the earth, but none beyond the scope of man. Why do you ask?”

Cynthia gave out a relieved sigh when she heard that. “We have encountered materials on previous layers. These materials connected to different realms, producing fire, water, even the winds of a mighty storm. However, in many of these records, there are also reports of powerful beasts tied to the elements of the stone. I was merely worried that this would be of a similar circumstance.”

“Ahh… you are referring to the thought eaters.” The man said in sudden understanding. “Those who absorb the knowledge of the stones for too long at a time will often face encroachment from these beings. At first, we simply believed it to be the stone driving them mad, until we learned that there was a creature infecting their mana.”

“Those infected by the thought eaters meet one of two fates. If they are unable to sever their own thoughts, they will be devoured, dissolving where they stand. Those who manage to sever their thoughts will be free of the beasts, but will forever be unable to utilize magic after that point. That is the origin of our armored knights walking the halls. Perhaps these are the creatures you speak of?”

Cynthia furrowed her brow, nodding her head. “It certainly matches. But, they are only active near the stones themselves?”

“That’s right, and only when one studies for too long at a time, or if we send our minds to probe what lies on the other side. According to our research, the thought eater cannot tolerate our air. It must either live in a conscious mind of sufficient power, or within the stone itself. Otherwise, it will be snuffed out as if it were a fish deprived of water.”