Chapter 172: The Broken Heart Beneath Blackwood
Kael stared at the number floating before him.
Current Stability: 12%
The enormous purple crystal continued pulsing above the platform.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Each pulse sent faint waves of mana across the chamber.
The ancient pillars trembled.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Kael slowly lowered his hand from the glowing wall.
Darius stepped beside him.
How long?
Kael looked toward the crystal.
The System hasn’t told me.
Then ask it.
Kael focused.
System. Estimate the remaining stability.
The blue window flickered.
Analysis in progress.
Structural deterioration detected.
Internal mana pressure increasing.
Estimated catastrophic failure
Unable to determine.
Kael frowned.
That’s helpful.
Grom Ironfang looked toward the twenty-foot crystal.
Does it tell you whether hitting it with a spear is a bad idea?
Kael turned toward him.
Very bad.
Good.
Grom rested the spear across his shoulder.
Then I won’t hit it.
Galahad Charney stared at the countless constructs lining the walls.
We should leave.
Darius nodded.
Agreed.
Kael didn’t move.
Galahad noticed.
You disagree.
Kael looked toward the ceiling.
Thirty-one kilometers.
Galahad’s expression hardened.
Kael continued.
If this thing collapses after we leave, retreating doesn’t solve anything.
Blackwood might be inside that range.
Darius looked toward him.
Part of it certainly is.
Silence settled across the chamber.
That changed the question.
They were no longer deciding whether to risk themselves.
Thousands of people could be endangered.
Blackwood’s villages.
The new settlement.
The workers building the Adventure Guild.
The families who had only recently fled to Kael’s territory seeking safety.
Kael stared at the purple crystal.
He had spent weeks telling people Blackwood could become a place worth living.
Now something beneath the earth threatened to erase everything before it truly began.
Kael stepped toward the platform.
Darius immediately caught his shoulder.
No.
Kael looked back.
I need to understand it.
From farther away.
The System needs proximity.
And ancient artifacts have already reacted to your Light.
Exactly.
That is not the argument you think it is.
Kael almost smiled.
Darius did not.
Kael looked toward the crystal again.
I won’t touch it.
Darius remained beside him.
Then neither will I be far from you.
Grom stepped forward.
Same.
Galahad sighed.
I suppose I’m surrounded by people incapable of making sensible decisions.
Grom looked at him.
You came underground with us.
Fair.
Kael approached the platform.
The purple mana became heavier with every step.
It pressed against his skin.
His breathing became uncomfortable.
The Black Dragon soldiers farther back began shifting.
Several placed hands against their chests.
Darius noticed immediately.
Everyone except Kael, Grom, Galahad and me moves back to the staircase.
A soldier hesitated.
Commander—
Now.
The Black Dragon obeyed.
They retreated until the pressure weakened.
Kael looked at Darius.
You felt it too.
Of course.
Kael concentrated.
Aura moved through his body.
The pressure became easier to withstand.
Then his Light stirred.
Not because Kael summoned it.
It reacted on its own.
A pale glow spread beneath his skin.
The purple mana surrounding him recoiled.
Kael stopped.
Darius saw it.
Your Light.
Kael raised one hand.
White-gold light gathered around his fingers.
The purple haze pulled away.
Galahad stared.
It’s rejecting you.
Kael shook his head.
Not me.
The Light.
The System appeared.
Energy interaction detected.
User Light Affinity suppressing foreign mana contamination.
Kael’s expression changed.
Contamination.
Darius looked toward the crystal.
So whatever is inside that thing isn’t normal mana.
Kael continued reading.
Foreign mana properties
Corrosive
Mutagenic
Emotionally destabilizing
Highly reactive to Light-aligned energy
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
That’s what changed the beasts.
Galahad stepped closer.
The crystal has been leaking.
For months.
Kael remembered the reports.
Eight months of disappearances.
Mutated animals.
Livestock attacks.
Strange behavior.
The purple energy had slowly contaminated everything around the cave.
Not enough to immediately destroy the region.
Enough to change it.
Kael looked toward the ancient constructs.
And probably them too.
Darius followed his gaze.
They may have been guards originally.
Kael nodded.
Then the crystal corrupted their orders.
Or whatever powers them.
Grom looked toward the wall.
Who built this?
Nobody answered.
Kael activated Frost Sense.
Ice mana spread across the platform.
He didn’t touch the crystal.
Instead, he allowed the cold to travel through the ancient stone surrounding it.
Immediately, the world beneath his feet changed.
Channels.
Dozens of them.
Thin pathways carved throughout the floor.
All connected to the central platform.
Kael closed his eyes.
The crystal wasn’t simply sitting there.
It was part of something.
He pushed Frost Sense farther.
Several pathways extended toward the walls.
Others traveled below.
One traveled upward.
Toward the cave.
Kael opened his eyes.
It’s a network.
Darius frowned.
What kind?
I don’t know.
Kael crouched.
He placed his palm against the floor.
These channels carry mana.
Galahad looked toward the platform.
Into the crystal?
Kael concentrated.
Some do.
Others carry it away.
Grom’s eyes narrowed.
Where?
Kael followed one.
His expression changed.
The forest.
Galahad understood.
The corruption.
Yes.
The crystal is leaking mana through whatever system was built here.
Kael traced another channel.
This one went deeper.
Far deeper.
The System appeared.
Substructure detected.
Additional chambers possible.
Kael immediately stopped.
Not today.
Grom looked disappointed.
You’re learning too.
Kael ignored him.
One unstable ancient chamber was enough.
Darius studied the crystal.
Can we shut the channels?
Possibly.
And if we do?
Kael stared at the stability reading.
We could also make the pressure worse.
Darius nodded.
Then we don’t touch anything until we understand it.
Kael hated the answer.
But it was correct.
They needed expertise.
Not another swordsman.
Not another soldier.
Someone who understood mana structures.
Ancient enchantments.
Magical devices.
Kael looked at the crystal.
Blackwood didn’t have anyone like that.
Yet.
The thought irritated him.
Every time Blackwood grew, another weakness became visible.
No permanent healer.
No monster scholar.
No high-level mage.
No artifact specialist.
Kael had soldiers capable of fighting threats.
But sometimes a sword couldn’t solve the problem.
Darius glanced at him.
You’re thinking about recruitment again.
Kael looked at him.
How do you know?
I’ve known you too long.
Galahad smiled.
What’s missing this time?
A mage.
Galahad looked at the crystal.
Not just any mage.
No.
Kael nodded.
Someone who understands magical structures.
Enchantments.
Mana devices.
Possibly ancient ruins.
Darius crossed his arms.
Those people aren’t cheap.
Kael looked at him.
Neither is rebuilding Blackwood after a thirty-one-kilometer explosion.
Darius gave a small nod.
Fair.
The crystal pulsed.
Harder.
BOOM.
Everyone froze.
A crack spread farther across its surface.
Purple energy escaped.
Kael reacted instinctively.
Light burst from his hand.
The energy struck the escaping purple mana.
The two forces collided.
For a moment, the chamber became brilliantly white.
Then the purple cloud disappeared.
The crystal stopped shaking.
The System appeared.
Temporary suppression successful.
Artifact Stability: 13%
Kael stared.
It increased.
Darius stepped closer.
What happened?
My Light stabilized it.
Galahad looked toward the crystal.
Can you keep doing that?
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
He checked his mana.
The burst had consumed more than expected.
Maybe.
For how long?
That’s the problem.
Kael looked at the giant artifact.
If I have to stand here constantly feeding Light into it, I’m not solving anything.
I’m becoming part of the machine.
Grom grinned.
Kael the Crystal Keeper.
Kael stared at him.
Never say that again.
Galahad laughed.
Even Darius almost smiled.
Then the chamber trembled again.
The humor disappeared.
Kael looked at the System.
Stability: 12.8%
Dropping again.
Slowly.
But dropping.
Kael thought.
Then an idea came.
Light had stabilized the crystal.
Maybe it didn’t need Kael himself.
Perhaps it needed something carrying the same energy.
He looked at his sword.
Darius noticed.
What are you thinking?
An experiment.
That sentence worries me.
Kael summoned Light.
Instead of releasing it outward, he concentrated the energy around his sword.
The blade glowed.
Kael walked toward one of the mana channels surrounding the platform.
Darius moved with him.
Kael lowered the point near the channel.
Not touching.
Just close.
The white-gold Light flowed from the sword toward the ancient carving.
The channel responded.
Purple became gold.
Only for several seconds.
Then the color faded.
The System appeared.
Light-compatible conduit detected.
Kael froze.
Compatible?
He looked toward the sun-and-wing symbol carved into the wall.
The same white-gold energy.
The same reaction to his Light.
This place hadn’t originally been built around purple corruption.
Whatever the device had once used...
It may have used something closer to Light.
Kael looked toward the crystal.
The purple energy might not be its original power source.
Darius’s expression hardened.
Something changed it.
Yes.
Galahad stared toward the giant crystal.
Or someone.
Nobody spoke.
That possibility was worse.
Kael walked toward the ancient wall again.
The horned figure remained carved beneath the black sun.
Armies surrounded it.
Above them stood warriors carrying the sun-and-wing symbol.
Kael examined the image more carefully.
Before, he’d assumed they were fighting the horned figure.
Now he wasn’t certain.
The carvings were damaged.
Some parts were missing.
Kael activated the System.
Analyze imagery.
Attempting historical interpretation.
Insufficient linguistic data.
Kael frowned.
Then the System added:
Visual pattern recognition available.
Probable depiction
Conflict between Light-aligned organization and unknown horned entities.
Kael stared.
Light-aligned organization.
Darius noticed the expression.
What?
These people may have fought whatever those things were.
Galahad looked toward the horned figures.
Demons?
The word hung in the chamber.
Kael looked at him.
Why demons?
Galahad shrugged.
Horns. Black sun. Ancient war.
Could be anything.
Darius nodded.
Don’t name something before you understand it.
Kael agreed.
The System had not called them demons.
They weren’t going to create answers from guesses.
Not yet.
Hundreds of miles away, inside Solmara, the High Keeper stood before an enormous circular window.
Morning sunlight entered the chamber.
White banners hung motionless from the stone walls.
A woman stood behind him.
Her pale armor bore no Imperial symbol.
Only the mark of the First Light.
The Blackwood observer has confirmed a second reaction.
The High Keeper didn’t turn.
The prince entered the chamber?
Yes.
And?
The woman hesitated.
The old mechanism responded to him.
The High Keeper slowly closed his eyes.
After all these centuries...
He opened them again.
What color?
White-gold.
Silence.
The woman continued.
The corrupted heart stabilized when he released his Light.
The High Keeper finally turned.
Did he use Radiance?
No.
Magic.
The High Keeper’s expression changed.
Are you certain?
Our observer is certain.
The old man walked toward the table.
Several ancient documents rested there.
One displayed the same sun-and-wing symbol Kael had discovered.
Another contained a drawing of a black sun.
A third had only one surviving word.
Asterion.
The woman watched him.
Should we make contact?
No.
High Keeper—
No.
His voice remained calm.
But absolute.
If the Imperial family discovers we have been watching one of their heirs, they will assume the worst.
The woman lowered her head.
And if Prince Kael destroys the mechanism?
The High Keeper looked toward the ancient records.
He won’t.
How can you know?
Because it opened for him.
The woman became silent.
The High Keeper touched the old Asterion record.
For centuries, his predecessors had asked the same question.
Why had the old Light structures responded to members of a bloodline their sacred records associated with darkness?
No answer had survived.
Perhaps Kael would finally give them one.
Continue observing.
Do not approach.
Do not interfere.
And if he discovers us?
The High Keeper looked toward the east.
Then we learn whether Kael Asterion is his father’s son...
Or something else entirely.
Back beneath Blackwood, Kael stepped away from the crystal.
He had made his decision.
We’re leaving.
Grom looked surprised.
That’s it?
For today.
Kael looked toward Darius.
Seal the cave entrance when we’re out.
Not permanently.
Just enough that nobody enters without Black Dragon permission.
Darius nodded.
Galahad looked toward the artifact.
What about the crystal?
Kael summoned a small amount of Light.
The nearest conduit glowed white-gold again.
We have time.
Not much.
But enough.
Kael looked toward Galahad.
The guild’s next priority changes.
Galahad waited.
Find me a mage.
What kind?
Someone capable of examining this without blowing up half my territory.
Galahad smiled.
That’s a surprisingly specific qualification.
Kael continued.
Ancient magic experience preferred.
Mana structures.
Enchantments.
Artifacts.
And I want their history checked before they ever see this place.
Darius nodded approvingly.
Good.
Kael looked toward him.
You sound surprised.
I am.
You’re learning caution.
Kael shook his head.
I’m learning that some problems can’t be stabbed.
Grom immediately objected.
We don’t know that yet.
Kael stared at him.
We’re leaving.
They climbed toward the surface.
The Black Dragon soldiers followed.
Kael was the final person to leave the underground chamber.
Before stepping onto the staircase, he looked back.
The giant purple crystal pulsed again.
Weakly.
The System displayed one final message.
Foreign Mana Storage Device
Stability: 12.6%
Light Suppression Effect: Temporary
New Research Objective
Determine Original Function
Determine Source of Corruption
Determine Identity of Original Builders
Kael stared at the last objective.
The sun.
The wing.
The Light.
Someone had built this place long before Blackwood existed.
And somewhere in the world...
Someone apparently remembered them.
Kael simply didn’t know that yet.
He turned away.
For now, his problems were much closer to home.
An unfinished Adventure Guild.
Fifty displaced villagers.
A growing territory.
A dangerous artifact.
And a list of specialists Blackwood desperately needed.
Kael climbed the stairs.
Blackwood’s next stage of growth wasn’t going to come from another battle.
It was going to come from finding people whose skills could accomplish what even Kael’s sword could not.
And somewhere above the cave, hidden among the trees, a figure wearing an ordinary traveler’s cloak watched the Black Dragon emerge.
Beneath the cloak, a white-gold symbol briefly caught the sunlight.
Then the observer disappeared into the forest.