Favour
Light grew from the set of ancients ruins in the sky, forming another layer beneath the first. This was not a collection of ruins but a single floor. Then another floor joined the second. Yet another the third. Each floor was less wide and tall than the last, giving the structure the shape of a pyramid.
“The Maze is but the first floor of what we call the Tomb of Ancients,” the Custodian said. “Not much is known of its origins beyond that a powerful heavenly master made it their final resting place. Their death saturated the Tomb with their essence, giving birth to many natural treasures.”
Mouths began to water. Mine would’ve too if holes didn’t burn their way into the side of my neck. To my far left was a group of cultivators in golden robes. Erri stood in their centre with her arms folded. Her snake-like face was smooth, and though her clan stared me down, her venom was directed towards a distant corner of the garden, where a tall figure—taller than even myself—lounged in the shadows.
Beside me, Duke stuck out his tongue at the Dragonflight and angled himself so he blocked their sight of me.
I inclined my head and turned back to the Custodian.
“Finding a treasure is mostly a matter of luck,” he said. “But to find any you’ll have to traverse the Tomb.”
A grey coin appeared in his hands which a large projection of light mirrored. Dead in the centre stood in big letters: ‘Tier 0.’
“The system will hand you a similar coin upon entering the tomb. Complete any tests inside, and your coin will upgrade to allow access to the other floors.”
The structures vanished to show hunched and dark apparitions with too many bones and teeth to resemble anything near human, golems that were four times my size, and elemental spirits which soared through the air and released blasts of magic that would rip me apart.
“Of course,” the Custodian added with a bit of a chuckle, “every floor has its own guardians.”
No one laughed with him.
He continued. “Last of what you should know is that the pathways from shrine to shrine can shift. Retracing your steps may not return you to the same place.”
The crowd murmured. Inside, I released a sigh of relief. If the paths changed in real-time then others also couldn’t chase you. Erri rushing after me from the start of the Maze had been my greatest concern.
“Don’t worry,” the Custodian said. “We have a store where you can buy items to deal with the effect.”
My face turned sour. Me and my big mouth.
The Custodian pointed to someone in the Vire camp.
“Do we need to reach the lowest floor to complete the Tomb?” A blonde girl asked. That was Caelia.
Her question caught her a glare from Judith.
“There are two methods to complete the test,” Lord Kazzio continued. “The third and lower floors have exit gates you can enter with your token. They’ll transport you back outside. You can then use our gate to return to the range.”
That’s how the first floor of the Tomb normally functioned. From what I heard, we could enter in teams up to ten.
Disciples glanced at each other and traded nods.
I still needed to hear who my teammates were going to be.
“The other method,” Lord Tesoro said, “is to find an exit token, which you can gain as a reward for completing a shrine. They will also transport you outside.”
Multiple disciples raised their hand.
“Making it outside again is the only requirement for completion,” he said, reading the question on their lips.
‘I see.’
Lower floors would no doubt have more powerful guardians and dangerous shrines than former layers, and short of lucking your way into finding an exit token, you couldn’t exit without fighting your way through. If you couldn’t beat a floor—you were trapped.
Realisation settled into the shoulders of many. Greed made way for reasoning, and the hungry pit in stomachs shrunk.
The Custodian eyed some of the disciples in the yard, me among them. “I’ll send those of you who qualify for a conversation an invitation. You’ll each have five minutes to confide in me your request. Tomorrow morning, the elevator at the far end of the castle will open and the first of you may start their journey. You’ll enter the Tomb based on the ranking of your clans. Your scores should be published.”
My gaze went to a new tab on my system screen.
Clan Rankings:
- The Black Fang Cult
- Heavenly Weapon Empire
- Vermilion Lotus Pavilion
- The Bronze Dragonflight
- The Fallen Immortals
- Snow Moon Divine Sect
- Quiet Heart Monastery
- …
‘Rank three…’
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I wouldn’t lie and say I hadn’t expected to be number one. But if Caelia was as strong as others made her out to be, she could’ve easily farmed the mountains to give her Weapon Empire a higher ranking. What was scary about her beating my slaying of a herald was that she’d done what both the Immortals and the Dragonflight couldn’t despite them starting a war.
And that meant someone in the Black Fang Cult had still managed to outdo her.
“They say the Nightmare also slew a herald,” Raven whispered.
Huh. So Vyke wasn’t just ruffling my feathers.
“The Nightmare?” I said.
“Gaje Bloodhowl the Accursed,” Duke said. His tone was hushed and he glanced over his shoulder. “From what I’ve heard, he’s a tougher sell than the Immortals.”
Which was saying a lot.
A transparent platform formed near the Custodian and a tent materialiased in the centre. Equally transparent steps grew and reached for the ground.
“The first of you may come forwards,” the Custodian said, audible despite not being visible.
Disciples looked from the staircase to the others around them and back to the staircase. The air sucked in a breath as a shadow vaulted into the sky, landing right in front of the tent. Other than a bush of wild hair, I didn’t manage to catch sight of the cultivator going inside.
“That would be him,” Duke said.
I managed my breathing. His spirit was formidable. More formidable even than that of Caelia. Or perhaps that of the heiress was simply more subdued.
‘I have my work cut out for me either way.’
If he’d truly slain a herald, I’d be list of targets.
The Dawnflame disciples around us parted. Wide eyes followed the three figures penetrating into their ranks, eyes which widened further after they noticed the trio’s target.
“Ashe,” Judith said matter of fact. “I thought it wise to discuss plans.”
Garen and Jake flanked her and shouldered whichever Dawnflame thought of coming too close.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked.
“A war council,” she said.
“You suspect we’ll be hunted?” Duke said.
A strange statement given the nature of the trial. But I doubted the Custodian had explained every detail.
She nodded. “We were caught off-guard in the first trial…no longer.”
I shared a glance with Duke.
Judith told us to meet in her room after all favours were doled out, then dragged her entourage in the direction of Aurille.
The flaps of the tent were pushed aside. The Nightmare leapt away in the same manner he arrived but landed in front of the entrance to the chateau.
I still didn’t manage to catch sight of his appearance beyond the wild hair falling to his butt.
Caelia ascended the stairs next. Unlike the Nightmare, she prolonged her stay in the spotlight, walking slow and confident. I would’ve believed her to be taking part in a catwalk if it wasn’t for her height making her appear so childish.
She vanished behind the flap of the tent.
‘I’m third…’
Five minutes later, the notification appeared in my screen.
Invitation from Custodian Kazzio Tesoro.
Please make your way to his tent.
“Make it count,” Duke said.
“Will do.”
Caelia wasn’t yet at the bottom by the time I made it to the first step. Like all of the other heirs, the status of the girl called The Whirling Blade was hidden. An invisible weight on my shoulders grew heavier with each footfall bringer her closer.
‘How many times?’
Three? Four times stronger than I was? I didn’t doubt for a moment that Caelia could’ve killed the herald in a single attack similar to Vyke.
Her eyes, which hung low like heavy fruit from a branch, inched upwards the barest amount. Her attention brushed over me as it had before…but the moment was gone before I had a chance to mentally process it.
Tension fled my shoulders after she vanished into the crowd.
Careful, quiet steps carried me up. A myriad of gazes followed me, ones I didn’t turn to meet.
The tent was unadorned except for the insignia of a shield with a zigzagging tear down the middle, the emblem of the Riftwardens.
“Come in.”
Flaps parted without anyone touching them. Two stools had been arranged. Off to the side was a mobile hearth—it was one of those which changed colour depending on what type of stone was used to power it. Currently, the hue was a vibrant red, but remnants of white fire lingered in the air.
Up close, the sharp lines of the elder’s jacket and hat were more visible. There wasn’t a stubble on his chin, lending Lord Tesoro a youthful appearance. He was also firmly inside the E-grade.
The desire to identify him was there, but doing so without his permission was considered rude. Besides, his status was likely hidden anyway.
“Please,” he said, “take a seat. We lack time so you may skip the pleasantries.”
Velvet cushions absorbed my back and buttocks. I inclined my head. “My patron should’ve traded in a favour in regards to an inheritance.”
He pulled a scroll from a ring without pause and handed it to me. “I’ll burn it once you’re finished.”
I undid the seal and absorbed the text within. Only when I was satisfied the words had been seared into my mind with a brand did I return it.
He chuckled. “Feel free to write it down. I just cannot have any evidence of our…gifts being around.”
Stupidly enough, I didn’t carry parchment and ink with me. The Custodian was so kind to hand me a parchment of his own.
“You can get those at the reception desk,” he explained. “They don’t count.” Then he reclined in his seat.
I recited the rhyme on the scroll in my mind.
Deep in the Void,
In Walls of Black,
A World of Fire,
Shelters A Beating Heart.
“Is there a reason it’s a rhyme?” I asked.
“Divination, more often that not, refuses to give direct answers. At least on our level.”
So that’s why the Dawnflames knew of my inheritance but not what it was.
I regarded the slip again. A world of fire. At least the environment wasn’t going to freeze me to death. Wheels turned behind my eyes. “The third line…must be a shrine. How can I get there?”
He conjured the same light spectacle of the Tomb, though it was more detailed this time. At one corner of the second floor, a mountain rose from the ground, while on the opposite end extended a vast plane of ice.
“The Tomb is its own world. A temple or shrine can be but a chamber, yet they may also contain entirely new landscapes. Moreover, traversing a shrine can lock you out of reaching other areas.”
The lights flickered and warped, showing a barren region where steam poured out of the ground and a red liquid flowed between the rocky floor.
“You need to find the Shrine of Valour within the first layer. That will put you on the path you need to traverse.”
“But aren’t the paths random?”
“They are. We can craft you a guiding totem. It’s a tool that allows us to inscribe a karmic bond into an object.”
“Keeping it on me will pull me in the direction of the shrine?”
“It’s more complicated than that…” he rubbed his chin and glanced at the timepiece hanging on the wall. “But your understanding is close enough. We’ll hand it to you before you set out, should you agree on that being your favour.”
I stood and bowed. “Thank you elder.”
He smiled. “I hope you can keep up your progress and show me something interesting, Ashe Sunstrider.”
I blinked. The Custodian personally rooting for me? That was unexpected.
“I’ll do my best not to disappoint.”
Then I was out the tent, looking down at the gathering of students, most of which were shooting me discreet glares.
And some not so discretely.
I huffed and descended.
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