The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 274

Chapter 274

Chapter 274: The Crystal

The dome of translucent purple shimmered out of existence and I found myself back in the hidden chamber. The entity I had just fought was nowhere to be found and I was barely able to remain standing, the mental and physical strain of my new rune gripping its cold claws around me.

Regis came bounding toward me, his expression a mixture of shock and concern. “W-What the hell happened? You got another rune!”

“Where is he?” I asked through gritted teeth, my eyes searching for any sign of the purple figure.

“He?” Regis echoed in confusion. “You were just blankly standing still a few seconds before this purple lightning started crackling around you.”

“I have never seen aether manifest in such a way before,” the familiar deep voice echoed in front of me.

I snapped my head up while Regis whirled around to see that the source of the voice wasn’t coming from that same entity...but the crystal floating atop the pedestal.

“Forgive me for the confusion. Seeing as I don’t have a physical form anymore, I took our fight into your mind,” the crystal stated, radiating a light that corresponded to the words it said.

My brows furrowed. “So that entire fight didn’t really happen?”

“The mind is a powerful tool that even asuras rarely exercise, choosing rather to hone their body and cores,” the crystal replied with a rather flippant tone. “But you seem to be different—in more than one sense.”

“Princess here is a bit of an oddball,” Regis agreed, nodding his head.

Even I had to admit that my case was anything but odd. However, I had so many questions and wanted to move forward. “So what happens now? Have I passed your ‘final trial’ or is there something more?”

“The fact that I have chosen to even speak with you means that you have passed,” the crystal answered. “That little spar was more for my curiosity and boredom, and you have done a splendid job in satiating both.”

Whether it was the Indrath Clan or the Vritra Clan, asuras and these higher entities always seemed to love satisfying their boredom without any care for those on the receiving end.

“To think that you would be able to receive a rune, and of the spatium edict no less,” the crystal continued. “Tell me. How are you able to control the flow of aether within your body with such precision? Is it the asura’s physique that aids you?” _{freёwebnovel.com}

My eyes narrowed. “I have no reason or incentive to answer.”

Regis looked back at me with a flash of panic. “Ar-Grey. What are you doing? Don’t disrespect the talking crystal.”

“No. Your master is prudent,” the crystal said to Regis before addressing me. “Grey, was it? Earlier, you indicated that you wanted answers. What is stored within this aetheric remnant is something that I believe you’ll want. All I ask is that you satiate my curiosity for a few more minutes.”

“You said that I had passed your trial. Am I not already entitled to whatever it was you’re going to give me regardless of whether or not I answer you?” I rebutted, tired of his antics.

The crystal paused, its glowing surface dimming for a few seconds before it spoke again. “Very well. I can grant you an additional small gift from my people.”

Exchanging another glance with Regis, I let out a sigh and began telling my journey after arriving here. I told the crystal about the beasts I had to fight, the trials I had to overcome, and what eventually lay ahead once I got out. I did, however, omit any of my relations to the Indrath Clan for obvious reasons.

***

“Fascinating! To think you were not only able to forge an aether core, but also forcefully temper your own internal conduits to control its output. Truly something that could only be done with the physique of an asura,” the crystal gushed, its lights pulsating excitedly.

“That’s what those runes covering your body are for, right? They’re used so you can control the flow of aether,” I confirmed.

“Correct. While our people have mastered spellform in order to draw in and manipulate aether, true mastery and the organic appearance of godrunes—such as that branch of spatium you had just received—only come through major insight.”

“So this godrune signifies that I’ve gained insight into a certain aspect of aether, right? By whom, or what?” I asked. “Is there a higher deity above the asuras that are bestowing these?”

“That information is not stored within this remnant,” the crystal answered. “But aether is all around us and can work in ways that are impossible to imagine. The path of obtaining authority over aether is different for everyone, and yours—by far—is the most different.”

“How so?” Regis asked.

“Our people were limited by our physical bodies. Most of our struggles weren’t about gaining insights, but rather figuring out ways to make our fragile bodies handle the burden of aether.”

“I may be speculating but I believe your new rune took on the appearance of lightning not because it is lightning but because that was how you conceptualized the abstract nature of that specific branch of aether,” the crystal went on.

“So the dragons of the Indrath Clan weren’t able to do what your people or I am able to do?” I asked. “They have the physique and aptitude to handle aether but not the knowledge and insights to conceptualize aether as their own, right? ”

I felt the hair on my neck stand as a heavy pressure spilled out from the crystal. “Those beasts do not deserve the title of asura for the atrocities they have committed. Their greed for our knowledge and fear that we may overtake their position as the true wielders of aether led them to kill not only our people but take prisoner many of our most powerful mages in the hopes to torture and learn.”

My eyes widened at the crystal’s sudden outburst. I didn’t know how much to believe but if what it said was all true, then the Indrath Clan wasn’t so different from Agrona and the Vritra Clan.

I wanted to argue—to say that not all of the dragons were like that. Sylvia and Lady Myre were some of the kindest beings I had met that had taught me so much. But the thought of Sylvia brought on new suspicions. Based on her last message, it seemed as if even she had come to despise her clan. Were the golden runes she had a byproduct of their findings from these ancient mages?

Biting my tongue, I nodded solemnly.

The crystal seemed to be studying me before it spoke once more. “My apologies for my outburst. It wasn’t only my knowledge that had been stored in here but my emotions as well. As you surmised, the Indrath Clan—along with the rest of the asuras that their leader had fooled into believing we were a threat bent on destroying the world—had managed to succeed in their genocide but not in their pursuit of our knowledge.”

“Because of these Relictombs that you’ve built to keep asuras away?” I asked.

“Relictombs?”

“That’s what the people that delve down here call this place,” I clarified.

“How fitting. Yes. This place is the work of hundreds of mages adept in wielding aether of different edicts, as you might’ve figured. Time, space, and life all work differently here and more of it is from the natural course of time rather than our own design,” the crystal said with a hint of pride. “While our civilization had been ransacked and burned, we had created an ecosystem separate from that of the rest of this world, one that cannot be touched by asuras.”

“I don’t understand how any of that was possible though. With hundreds of aether mages, how did you guys lose?” I asked, more confused than before. “And also, how was it possible for your people to create a place where only lesser beings were allowed when the Indrath Clan—limited as it was—still had the ability to influence aether.”

“That is not for me to tell,” the crystal said. “And we were able to do so with the efforts of many spatium mages.”

Frustration flared in the pit of my stomach and Regis sensed it as well. He lightly hit my leg with his tail.

“Fine,” I mustered. “What about the lesser beings scouring this place, looking to loot anything they can in hopes to get stronger and find pieces of knowledge that you have stored here to bring back to the asuras they serve?”

“As you’ve most likely witnessed firsthand, we have devised safeguards for those contingencies so—”

“Well those contingencies are slowly failing,” I cut in. “It may hold for some time, but like I said, an asura of the Vritra Clan is already close to gaining insights into what your people knew about aether by using lesser beings to explore these ruins for him.”

“You must gain insights into aether faster then. Compared to the asura, who is not even capable of traversing in this plane, your unique physique and understanding gives you an advantage,” the crystal answered.

“It’s not enough. Agrona has had hundreds, if not thousands of years over me!”

The crystal dimmed. “But despite all of that, this Agrona sees you as a threat, yes?”