Chapter 54

Graveyard of Swords (II)

The trek up the massive sword was long; the group had to rest frequently due to the slope and had barely covered three miles within a day. Yet, all the same, there seemed to be no end in sight and many began suspecting that this was just another delusion as they couldn't imagine an actual sword of this size existing.

Even Cain was beginning to grow frustrated despite knowing that the climb would be quite long. However, they had to do it -- perhaps not had to, as it was possible to ‘complete’ the Graveyard of Swords without the climb, but the ante-Human town resided on top of the sword, including the man who gave out the starting Quest for the Ruined King story. Without it, the difficulty of the whole place would spike considerably as he was the only way to get to fight the Sword Spirit’s host first before moving onto the next bosses.

Though frustrations continued to mount, there was little he could do. For all intents and purposes, this was one of the meeker treks of those truly long ones. On the eighth floor, in order to reach one of the dungeons, it was necessary to travel -- by foot -- over two hundred miles up a spiral around a massive tree. As far as Cain knew, only three parties ever completed that dungeon, and since the rewards were certainly not worth the trek, nobody bothered after them.

Graveyard of Swords, on the other hand, was a fairly popular choice. Though the ‘main story’, so to say, could only be completed once, six of eight bosses would ‘respawn’ after a period of time, and as it was the best source of melee weapons cross-Towers, there was quite a battle for who got to do it as only one party can enter at a time.

"Aaagh!! This has to be an illusion!" Senna growled abruptly, stopping. "This entire thing is the fucking same! We're stuck in some weird-ass loop, I guarantee it!"

“C’?” Emma turned to Cain and asked with hopeful eyes. Even she appeared tired and angry with the climb.

“Just a bit longer,” he comforted with a bitter smile, knowing that they would have to travel for at least two more days. “Besides, this can be a good bonding experience, you know? Like, Jamal, though I consider you a buddy of mine, I don’t know anything about you! Like, you know, what’s your favorite book?”

“Are we really doing this?” Jamal asked with a deadpan expression.

“Mine... mine is A Fine Balance...” Diya chimed in from the side.

“See? We’re already getting closer!” Cain exclaimed. “Emma, you tell ‘em yours! Is it still that verbal spewage of Wuthering Heights?”

“... I will toss you off this fucking thing,” she said somewhat angrily. “I mean it.”

“I have a question,” Senna chimed in suddenly. “Are you two married or something?”

“Us?” Emma asked.

“Yup.”

“Divorced.”

“Oh, yeah... no way,” she frowned. “You’re totally having sex with each other!”

“Did she blush right there?” Cain mumbled with a smile, stroking his chin.

“I very much think she did.” Emma echoed.

"It's adorable if you ask me." Jamal nodded.

“She’s cute...” Diya assented. The pile-on left Senna fuming yet she said nothing, merely scoffing and turning away.

“But, you know, she has a point if you--”

“Can it,” Emma interrupted quickly.

“Don’t you mean Cain-it? Ha ha ha--w-what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“...”

“...”

“Fuck you! It was a good pun!”

“Let’s just keep climbing in silence...” Emma sighed, shaking her head and smiling bitterly.

And thus, the trek continued. The longer it went on, the more silent the group grew, causing Cain some anxiety. He feared that it wouldn’t be monsters or creatures of nightmares that would break them, but just really hard hikes. Which would, perhaps, be the greatest tragedy of all.

However, they endured -- however close to the breaking point they came. Some three hundred feet further, Cain, as well as everyone else, noticed that the blade of the ‘sword’ abruptly bent forward into a platform-like point. The group hurried onward and virtually stumbled through the ‘finish line’, finally landing on a flat surface.

Of the five, only Cain remained standing, looking around curiously. Just as it was showcased on the video, there indeed was a town here. It spanned roughly sixty houses from a quick count, with Cain finding no other form of life besides the ante-Humans that had already encircled them, their weapons pointed forward. Though they weren’t insanely powerful, the guards in the town had all, at least, underwent the First Awakening, which meant that Cain and others stood no chance.

“State your business, humans!” one of the ante-Humans in front of them, a man from the sharp and chiseled features he sported, spoke out in a harsh tone, pushing the seven-feet-long spear closer to the group. It was only then that the rest realized they were surrounded, quickly jumping on their feet and summoning out their weapons which, in turn, startled the ante-Humans who grew even more anxious which, in the developing vicious cycle, caused Diya to buff everyone while the others began charging Mana which--

“Enough, you four!!” Cain growled at them angrily. “Do you want to get us fucking killed?!!”

“...” the four immediately piped down, withdrawing their weapons in a single breath and looking almost like kids who’d just been scolded by their parents.

“Sorry about that,” lifting his frown up, Cain smile as he faced the group of ante-Humans. “We mean no harm. We merely wish to resupply before heading further.”

“Are you, perchance, here to combat the Sword Spirit’s Host?” the leading ante-Human asked, surprising Cain. In his past life, this part of the video was largely scrubbed and only pinpointed the ante-Human that gave the quest, and what the quest was. As such, Cain didn’t know what the ‘correct’ answer was, so he went with his gut.

“Yes. Do you, perhaps, have some news for us?” he asked.

“... follow me.” the ante-Human lowered the spear, followed right after by the rest who immediately scattered, opening up the path. Cain happily began strolling forward while the other four followed right after, not wanting to be left behind me. “This one’s name is Ak’kar. May I inquire yours?”

“Cain.”

“Very well, Human Cain,” Ak’kar said. Standing so close, Cain noticed the features of the ante-Humans that made them most definitely not human in almost everyone’s eyes -- their skulls were less spherical and more oval, their hair not growing in individual hairs but in large chunks, the three nostrils, at minimum two irises, unnaturally pale-blue skin color, incredibly pronounced cheeks... this, however, did not stop some of the braver ones from trying to engage in more-than-business-partners relationships. “Our Shaman had professed that we shall soon be visited by the Humans of the new Crucible. Thus, we have awaited on top of the Divine Blade for your arrival.”

“...” Ah, would you look at that, Cain nearly fainted. My memories... failed me again. Goddammit!! I really can’t trust anything of what was shared in the past!! Those fucking cunts!

“If you hadn’t arrived, we would have likely perished, along with our Forefathers’ Legacy. The Sword Spirit had broken all but one seal, and we have no means of resealing it.”

“You can’t defeat it yourselves?” Cain probed carefully as he had no clue what could set this whole, new relationship on fire.

“No,” Ak’kar shook his head. “The Sword Saint is only second to the Divine Blade itself when it comes to our love. It pains us to see it so, but we dare not lay our hands on it. The Giants would never forgive us.”

“The Giants?” the houses around, Cain noticed, were mostly built from mud, windowless and doorless, with just one, rectangular opening in the shape of doors present on each. Curious eyes, especially of the kids -- or at least what Cain believed to be the kids -- continued to follow them as they moved toward the tip of the blade. The platform grew narrower from the edges, and Cain realized that the town truly rested on the very tip of the sword itself.

“Though they may have fallen to the Generational Conquerors,” Ak’kar said with a strange lament in his voice. “They are still our Ka--huds. In human language, Primogenitors. Some of whom you meet shall claim it is not the Giants, and that it is the Winged instead -- or that it is the Sunken, or the Forsaken -- many tales of our inception echo, but in our hearts and this Divine Blade rests the truth. Who else but the Giants could hold the blade so large? None!”

“...” Why does it feel like 1’o’1 intro to their religion or something? Cain remained mute, however, as Ak’kar led them to the furthest-out house at the very edge of the sword. Cain stepped a bit forward and looked from the edge, but all he saw was a dip hidden by clouds and mist. The sight, however, was serene yet terrifying. Even with magic, he knew, humans would still remain small. Perhaps larger than before, but in the picture of everything... truly small.

“Our Shaman will be delighted to meet you, human Cain,” Ak’kar said. “However, as he is very old and feeble, I pray you enter alone and your companions await outside. I swear by the name of the Divine Blade that no harm shall befall them.”

"Alright," he nodded, walking up to the very small house. "You guys rest for a while," he said with an encouraging smile, trying to ease their clearly worried hearts. "I'll be back in a jiffy. Hey, Ak'kar, share with them the glory of the Giants. I know for a fact they are very interested." he added toward the end, as though remembering something.

“Is that so?” the man seemed a tiny bit too excited at the prospect as he turned toward Emma, Jamal, Diya, and Senna. “I shall share the full glory, human Cain. Not to worry.”

Cain grinned at them and waved, entering the dark and humid room where the chill almost instantly wrapped around his soul. At least... B- Mind? Goddamned, this is some big shot... he sucked in a cold breath and took a few steps down the ‘hallway’ before turning right and entering the faintly-lit room where, at the very center, an almost ten feet tall ante-Human sat cross-legged, staring at him with hollow, milky-white eyes, exuding pressure akin to Vyle’s.