Edge Cases

178 - Book 3: Chapter 43: Orbs Again

The door slamming behind them made all four adventurers pull out their weapons cautiously.

"Never had a door slam on me in a dungeon and have it not be a signal for a boss fight," Misa muttered, and the others made various noises of agreement. "Think we're going to get attacked by Irvis again?"

"No," Vex said, then hesitated. "I'm... pretty sure that can't happen. Irvis can't exist here."

All four of them stared at the center of the room anyway, waiting.

The room itself was massive. The walls were a pure, pristine white, lit by no apparent light source to speak of. There didn't seem to be a point to all the space in the room there was nothing there save for the pedestal in the center, and that pedastal was a fraction of the size of the room.

Which was to say that the room was large enough to comfortably drive around a caravan, but the pedestal was just barely smaller than Misa.

"I can't see what's on the pedestal," Vex grumbled. Derivan stifled a chuckle and offered a hand to the lizardkin, who promptly climbed up onto his shoulders. "Is that just an orb?"

"It's just an orb," Misa said. She held her mace in front of her cautiously. "I remember the last time we faced up against an orb. It's not getting me this time."

"I don't think it's the same type of orb..."

"You guys know I'm the only one that can't see this orb, right?" Sev complained. Vex grinned down at Sev.

"No more space up here, sorry."

"You're not climbing up on my back," Misa added dryly. Sev grumbled and waved a hand, creating a quick shield out of divine energy that he used as a stepping stone.

"Okay, I see the orb now." He paused. "Is there something we're supposed to... do with it?"

"Only one way to find out," Misa said, poking the cleric. He yelped, nearly stumbling off his makeshift platform.

"Why me? You're the one with all the defensive skills," he complained.

"Yeah, so I need to be available to block." Misa grinned, enjoying Sev's discomfort. "Can't react in time if the orb gets me, yeah?"

"Perhaps I should grab it instead?" Derivan suggested. "I still do not have health."

"I'll do it." Sev shook his head, staring at the orb. "It actually feels kind of... familiar. I don't know why, though. I doubt I existed here."

"It would not matter," Derivan said. "This room is much like the door we stepped through it is locked in place through Shift, and is stable across all realities and planes. For all intents and purposes, the orb here is identical to the one held in the true Elyra, and what we see here is proof of what is kept within the Elyran Vault."

"You're sure?" Vex asked, worry lacing his voice, and Derivan nodded solemnly.

"I was uncertain at first," he said. "But I have reached as far as I can with Shift, and I am certain."

"That's gotta mean something, right?" Misa asked. "I mean, a room that's the same across all realities..."

"It is reinforced," Derivan said. "If the void were to consume everything, this room would be one of the last things consumed. It is as though it was built to protect something."

"It was," Sev said softly.

The other three adventurers glanced sharply at the cleric. Sev's tone had changed dramatically there was a sudden wistful quality to his voice that hadn't been there before, and all the levity seemed to have drained out of his voice.

"Sev?" Misa's words were sharp, worried. "You doing okay?"

"I don't... know." Sev's voice was distant. "I think so. It's not an effect, I'm just... I think I'm remembering? Everything's so familiar..."

His voice trailed off, and he stepped forward again.

Misa glanced at Vex and Derivan. "Did he just say he feels like a vault built over a thousand years ago is familiar?"

"Yup," Vex said.

"I also heard that," Derivan confirmed.

"I feel like you guys are calling me old over there," Sev's voice came drifting back towards them. Misa snorted and gave him a thumbs up.

"At least I know you're not being mind controlled!" she called back. Sev pointedly gave her the finger, grinning.

And then he looked back to the orb, and took a deep breath.

Sev let the world fall away from him.

Misa, Vex, and Derivan all fell silent, perhaps sensing how serious this moment was for him. There was something about the room and the orb that resonated with him, though he didn't understand why. He'd never been here before. He'd never been close to the center of Elyra, even; his wandering had taken him along the Outskirts and among the various settlements and villages between the Prime Kingdoms, but he'd spent almost no time inside any of the kingdoms proper. He'd certainly never done so for long enough to gain access to the Elyran Vault.

(So why was this place so achingly familiar?)

It didn't just feel like he'd been here before. It felt like he'd spent a long time here, trapped within the walls; it was part of the reason the room was so big. He needed space.

(Why had he needed space?)

The orb was important. The room was important, though the importance of this room would fall away once he claimed the orb; the whole purpose of it was to give him a place to work, and then to protect that which he had created.

Had he... had he made this? He didn't know how to make artifacts. That was high-level divine magic of a type he'd never explored.

But if he had needed to make artifacts, his connection with Onyx was undoubtedly a part of that. A God of Sculptures would no doubt be able to help him sculpt the perfect artifact.

That couldn't be the reason he'd chosen to become a priest of Onyx, though. He remembered the day he'd chosen Onyx. It had been almost at random out of a list. He'd selected a relatively minor deity, reasoning that doing so would afford him the ability to connect with that deity; they would have less prayers, less mortals vying for their time and affection. Sev had just been looking for a friend, and he'd found one in Onyx.

He was pretty sure that was right. His friendship with Onyx wasn't a product of some deeper plan. It was exactly what it seemed a friendship forged of circumstance and molded to steel.

Sev reached for the orb...

...and when he touched it, it resonated.

A notification appeared.

[ Grand Anchor Magic ]

That was it. Nothing about rarity, no description, nothing.

And yet... he knew what it was for.

Sev cradled the orb carefully in his arms, stepping down from his barrier and walking over to his friend. "This is yours," he said, looking at Vex. Vex blinked.

"...Mine?" he asked. Then he poked the top of Derivan's helmet. "Or Derivan's? I'm sitting on top of him, so I can't tell."

Sev rolled his eyes and laughed, the last of whatever fugue had gripped him falling away. "Yours, you goof," he said. "Get off of Derivan! You don't need him to see the orb anymore!"

"I don't want to. It's comfortable up here." Vex hummed, then let out a startled yelp when Derivan tilted his head in amusement. "Deri! Warn me if you're going to move!"

"I apologize," Derivan said, stifling a laugh. Misa was doing her best to hold back a shit-eating grin, and not really succeeding.

"What do you mean, the orb's Vex's?" Misa asked. "What's the deal with you saying this whole place looks familiar? You remember something, don't you?"

"I think so." Sev hesitated. "This isn't stuff that was erased from my memory, exactly. I think this is just stuff that was... locked away from me. To make sure I didn't throw off the wheels of fate too much, or something."

"I'm going to level with you." Misa gave Sev a serious look. "I have no idea what that means."

"I'm not sure either," Sev admitted. "Just feels right. Uh, I think I made this for Vex. Or someone like Vex."

There was a long pause.

"You think you made this?" Misa asked. "Like, the thousand-year magical artifact?"

"...Yes?" Sev couldn't quite meet Misa's eyes. "I know it sounds ridiculous."

"I mean, I believe you, but I'm going to be real mad if you're trying to tell us we're chosen ones and you're the wise old sage."

"I don't remember doing any of this," Sev said, shaking his head. "I don't think you're chosen, exactly. I think you're just... the right people. I think I spent a long time searching for the right people, and I think you guys are the closest I'm going to get."

"That's a lot of 'I think's," Misa remarked, but she softened when she saw how distressed Sev seemed; there was a shadow over his eyes, like even remembering all of this tired him out on some fundamental level. "...Do you remember anything else?"

"There should be another place like this under Anderstahl," Sev said. He winced, pressing a hand to his head. "...One under each of the Prime Kingdoms. A vault that holds something that will help. I don't... I don't know anything else. But it's more than I've ever remembered."

"It'll have to be enough." Misa glanced up at Vex. "Vex?"

The lizardkin hopped off of Derivan, a sudden serious expression settling on his face. "You know you don't have to go about this alone, right?" he asked Sev. "I don't know what you've been through, and I know you don't remember much. But you sounded lonely when you were talking just now, and I just want you to know that you're not alone. We're going to stick with you no matter what."

"...Thank you." Sev's words were soft. He didn't know why Vex's words stirred an emotional response from him, but they did; a deep ache buried somewhere in his soul, called forward and gently soothed by the lizardkin's sincerity. By Misa's determined smile and playful thumbs-up, and by Derivan's calm, solemn strength and certainty.

Vex grabbed a hold of the orb, and there was a flash of light.

[Grand Anchor Magic] has been integrated.

[ Bonus Room: A World without a System> has been completed! Rewards: ERROR>

Elyran Prime Anchor at insufficient integrity to generate rewards. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Bonus room shutting down. Returning participants to start location for bonus room dissolution.

Bonus room will be dissolved in: 30 minutes.

The room around them vanished, and the four adventurers found themselves back in the Prime Dungeon.

Where an enchanted suit of armor stood staring at them, clearly surprised by their sudden presence.