Chapter 396

Seven(?) Greedy Ones Ascend (VII)

Ethan and Cain moved westward along the dark shore until they hit the land’s edge, one where it seemed to break off into a bay out into the water, with patches of small to large ponds appearing vertically on land for nearly ten miles, making it difficult to distinguish where the ocean ended and the land began.

It turned into more of a swamp deeper inland, one livid with insects and strange creatures that looked the ilk to poison at the mere sight. The two stuck to the edges, mostly exploring from safe distance while maintaining a Mana shield just in case.

Moving a bit further north, they once again encountered the large mountains blocking the view, though there was something nakedly different--at the bottom, there were to extended plateaus connected with a bridge that clearly wasn’t natural. Though it was old, rusty, and half-decrepit, it was clear that it was built by hand.

The two carefully circumvented to the side and found the natural climb point of the plateaus, climbing up to the rather flat surface. Though there were no immediate signs of a civilization, a slightly deeper look revealed that, at some point in history, there used to be a settlement here.

“Found another,” Ethan cried out lowly, taking out a rusted medallion of sorts from the ground. It was palm-sized and cracked on several spots, like the two others they’ve found thus far. “This one’s a bit heavier.”

“Hm? Crack it open,” Cain said.

“Sure. Never did I think as a young lad I’d be brutalizing ancient artifacts like this,” Ethan cracked the medallion. Rather than cracked, however, it was better to say that the medallion simply crumbled under pressure immediately, aged and old and left with no resilience. Underneath, a glimmer of light appeared suddenly, startling both for a moment. As it settled, there lay a pearl, white like milk, seemingly untouched by age.

Ethan blew away the dust and fingered the pearl, putting some pressure on it but he couldn’t even dent it.

“Damn,” Cain took it, inspecting it closely. Just then, a window popped up next to it.

/Ashen Pearl (Artifact)

Level: N/A

Requirements: Xenoy Descendant

[Forsaken] -- clutching the pearl abreast temporarily lifts the curse

Note: forged from the tears of the ten thousand Mermaids, the Pearl is the sap of life for the Xenoy Dynasty. Without it, they are mere mortals; with it, they reign the skies.

“Remind me to look these guys up once we get access to the library or something,” Cain said as he put away the pearl. It was useless to both of them, and for all they knew, the entire Xenoy lineage was destroyed sometime in the past, though it was worth checking up on the name eventually.

“How’d it end up here?” Ethan questioned as the two resumed their ‘excavation’.

“Who knows?” Cain shrugged. “Maybe the last dregs of that lineage took it with ‘em, maybe somebody stole it, maybe nobody left alive even knew there was a pearl inside that thing. For all we know, to the guys who lived here, it was just a shitty medallion or something.”

“I sometimes forget,” Ethan sighed.

“Forget what?”

“All those worlds, this one included, that we visited,” he said. “They all had history just as rich, if not richer, than our own. We only ever caught a glimpse. Maybe, here, finally, we’ll get to see more of it.”

“Why? You interested in the histories of the places?”

“Yeah, honestly,” Ethan said. “Before I ended up joining the Tower hunt, I wanted to anchor our own history, in a way. Even at like thirteen-fourteen I knew that we’re gonna go fuck-all with it, so I wanted to at least help a bit in preserving parts of what made us.”

“What made you give it up?”

“Nobody was giving any money for it.”

“Yep, that’s gonna do it.”

“What about you? Was it easy? Saying goodbye, I mean.”

“Kind of, yeah,” Cain replied. “I never had that much love for that world, to be fair. No, it’s more like the girls are my world. Everything else was simply a backdrop. Everything has a history, long and complex, I imagine. But the only one that matters to me is, well, mine. Call me a prick, but hey, you wouldn’t be the first.”

“Nor last.”

“Nor last.”

“Man, of all the things I think you’re amazing at--and, let’s be fair, there are quite a few of them--managing to somehow have a functioning family in this hell while doing all the things you did... everyone else would have failed, Cain. But you... you somehow made it.”

“Well, having brain-functional family members like you helped, you know?” Cain grinned as they finished their dig. They found a few more medallions, parts of what looked like a shelf, and roots of a wall that once was. On the first plateau, anyway.

“I still remember that fucking day, you know?” Ethan said as they ‘crossed the bridge’, levitating above it. “I was just minding my own business, trying to figure out what the hell I was gonna do... and then you showed up. Like a bolt of lighting. You know, you have tendency to do that?”

“Yeah, that’s my jam,” Cain said. “I appear out of nowhere... and I change people’s lives. No need to thank me.”

“I never did, did I?” the two made it to the other plateau and started digging around as the dusk slowly fell.

“Thank me?”

“Yeah.”

“What would you thank me for?”

“Well, for being here, for starters,” Ethan said.

“You would have gotten yourself places, Ethan.”

“Not here I wouldn’t,” he said. “Or many other places I’ve been. I think Senna put it the best. It’s not as though any of us are talentless hacks who otherwise wouldn’t have made it... but you gave us wings that let us skip half the struggle. No, way more than half, to be honest. So, you know, thank you.”

“Sure thing, bud,” Cain said. “Don’t use this bonding moment as an excuse not to be digging around properly.”

“I’m the one using my fingers while you’re using Mana,” Ethan rolled his eyes. “No amount of bonding will not make me pissed off. Ah, found something.”

“Something new?”

“Yes, somebody buried this tablet here yesterday. We just missed the dude.”

“Since when did you become a sarcastic prick?” Cain asked as the two gathered together, with Ethan swiping the tablet clean of dirt. It was roughly thirty inches long and just over half across, with eight lines etched into its surface.

“Since you started asking dumb questions.”

“Fair enough. Recognize the language?”

“Yeah--”

“You can skip this one.”

“Alright. You?”

“Nah. Prompt the window.” and the window appeared right after in front of them.

/Insignia of the Fire Emperor (Ancient Artifact)

Level: N/A

Requirements: Fire Emperor

-- complete immunity to all fire

Note: crafted within the last kindles of the First Flame, the Insignia bears the true name of the Fire Emperor, lost and forgotten to the Realm of Living, though remembered by those who were burned to ash by the living flames.

“... is it me or have we stumbled onto something kinda... insane?” Ethan quizzed somberly.

“Yeah. That pearl thingamabob, on its own, seemed kind of whatever... but with this... yeah, what the hell kind of a place was this and why has nobody come around to collect this crap?” Cain nodded along. He put away the tablet and the two men resumed digging about, this time in somber silence. It wasn’t long after that Cain discovered something too--it was a dagger of sorts, rusted beyond any use, with a wavy blade and an ornamental guard and handle that still shone ever so lightly in the color of whatever precious metal was used to make them.

“Watch this be a dagger that slayed the first God or something,” Ethan joked as they brought up the window.

/Dagger of Death (Ancient Artifact)

Level: 0

Requirements: None

+1 to Strength

Note: the weapon used to commit the first ever murder registered in the first ever Cycle of Conscience. Though it has long since lost its luster, perhaps there still may be a way to restore it to its original glory.

“... Jesus,” Cain sucked in a cold breath. “Did we land ourselves in the original Garden of Eden or something? Will we find the first ever dildo buried here somewhere?”

“Why? You in need of one?”

“Yeah, to shove it down your throat so you’d shut up.”

“... damn. Walked right into that one. Put it away. Dig more?”

“Uh. Sure. I mean, nobody’s cursed us yet, there hasn’t been anything lightning from the sky or anything like that. So... it’s probably safe?”

“... what a... weird measure of safety. So, back to digging?”

“Back to digging.”