Chapter 67: In the Sanctuary of Sun
"You have to start from here." My father was seeing me off at the end of a secret path that connected the Sungrade castle to the outside, a path leading inside the demon forest.
There were dark trees not far from where I was right now, and while the path seemed well paved, I cannot say what I’ll encounter after going forward.
"I wish you good fortune. Just stay true to yourself and you will find your way." He did not say that just as an advice, this seemed more like words of encouragement from a father.
He was trying his best ever since the Proof of Worth. He wanted to show me that he was not a bad father, however, even if I could show him affection like his other children, I cannot.
"I will come back soon, m’Lord." Except a few times where I had to call him father, I used a formal way to address him.
It was the same with the other ladies of the house.
The other children all called them ’mother’ or something warm, however, I always called them m’Lady like the other people.
They did not like it, but, even if they wanted to ask me to call them mother, they knew I wouldn’t do that until I was comfortable enough.
"Ah..." He seemed a little bitter to hear my respectful way to address him once again, but he quickly shook off the feeling as he gave me a serious look.
"Even though you have made your mind, we will still need you here for as long as we can, do you hear me?" Not only the father, but also the patriarch inside him spoke those words.
They were impactful to me, I’d say. He had come to understand my true value here, within the family.
He had the guilt of not being the same father that he had been to the other towards me, but I did not hate him for that. At least, not for that.
He was good to the rest of my siblings, now... if only he was like that towards my mother and my past self, it’d have been much more forgiving.
"I hear you," I gave him a short answer. And at the same time, seeing his concerns about the family and the state of the empire, though I wanted to tell him what had been on my mind for some time now, I paused with my mouth still open.
"No." Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and calmed my mind. I knew if I told him now, he might not think things through.
He first needed to go through all of the worst case scenarios before I gave him any rays of hope. I’ve thought a lot about it and this is for the better.
"Then I will take my leave now." I turned around, leaving him wondering what I may have wanted to say just now.
The illness that the emperor was experiencing right now was not something simple. In the future, there will be an uproar when the true identity of those flame-like markings are revealed to the world.
I have changed much of the future, but, for the time being, I have to hold it in. The rebellion right now was as important to this world as the calamity that we must deal with.
"May the Sunfire be by your side."
"..." It has been a while since I’ve heard that phrase.
"May the Sunfire be by your side..."
Us eastern folks have been saying this farewell to wish a fortunate trip upon our close ones.
It stemmed from the legend of the six kingdoms, and the greeting had been around for as long as the Sungrades have defended the eastern lands, or perhaps before that as well.
We used it when we were afraid of the journey that our people were going on.
It wasn’t easy saying farewell to them, but at the very least, with this greeting, we hoped that the divine would look after us on the difficult journey.
"..."
I did not have to say anything beyond that, so I walked forward on the path as I called out my two partners: the big gray kitten who had made the copper necklace around her neck a permanent accessory, and my little white bird friend.
At the same time, I activated the ring on my finger with the help of a small piece of Mana ore.
-Ooooooooooong!
The family heirloom that I took from the treasury was called [Larisburg Loop], something that has been in our family for many generations.
It was a spiral shaped ring that coiled around the finger three times.
A golden-orange in color, the ring had various patterns of enchantments carved into it. The name of the ring was also carved on it in High Viskari so the ring was also an old artifact.
Still, this ring that has been passed down within the family is known to have two distinct abilities: a spatial storage space, and a passive healing effect.
’I can store things within a spatial ’box’ and all I’d need to take them out would be Mana reaction.’
With the gloves that I ended up destroying a while ago against Alex’s spirit, I can use the storage space as I need.
Sadly, without the item, I have to rely on my partners or things like these Mana ores.
"Stay close to me, you two." I now had a sword enchanted with a fire spell in my hands, a sword that was literally burning like a torch inside this dark forest.
We have also prepared some other items, and thanks to the rock that Nyx brought back from the treasury, things have been much smoother for us.
’Who would have thought a simple looking mana gem in the treasury was a piece of a dragon’s heart?’
The mythical creatures of the highest authority within the world, the Dragons.
They weren’t merely beasts that breathe fire, they are the most noble creatures born at the beginning of Creation.
In some tales, they are also called the [Progenitors] of a majority of species that exist in this world.
’Few people have seen those beings. And all those who have seen them, have only described those creatures as something indescribable.’
They are more than winged creatures that look similar to their draconic descendents. They are beings on the level of gods in this world, and we now had a piece of such a being’s heart.
’I don’t understand how he does it, but he can harness the near endless energy from that piece of heart, use it as source, and through various spells that he has learned from the books in the library, he can use all kinds of magic.’
Of course he never does it when we actually need it during combat, saying we don’t need his help, but when he is interested, we get to see a different side of that little bird.
-Step. Step. Step.
As we walked deeper into the forest, the darkness around us was glowing.
-Shrrrrrr.
There were predators around us, creatures that were powerful enough to harm us even before we could trap them inside the fog.
’We have been working on the mystique skill these past few days as well, but this won’t be easy.’
Even if we do manage to defeat all the creatures on our path...
"Chirp! Chirp!!"
The entire path was covered in all sorts of magical and physical traps that were made to keep all of the intruders, including those who were called to the sanctuary by the guardians, outside.
"Is it here?"
"Chirp!"
Nyx could find the magic traps with his impeccable Mana detection. But, even he wasn’t omnipotent.
"I see one there as well." Thankfully, I had some experience with the physical traps.
"I also saw one over–."
"Meow?"
"No, Felix!"
"Meeeeeee...!"
Sadly, this party of mine wasn’t experienced with dungeons or labyrinths, the true home of the ancient traps.