Return of the Fallen Volume 12 Chapter 109
After touching the surface of the black pyramid, Kazuki lost all sense of self. It was almost like he no longer existed.
There was no rage in this, no sadness no fear. Everything was gone and he was no more.
It was then that something deep within him shook him to the core. His senses suddenly returned and he forcefully peeled his hand away from the pyramid.
As soon as he returned to reality a beam of light burst forth from the top of the pyramid and shot up into the air before disappearing. The very next moment the outside forces began to change. For a split second, Kazuki felt a change in space and could sense outside of this world. He felt a great power from the Black gate as all the dark energy moved into 7 different worlds.
There were also many lifeforms suddenly rushing toward this world. Kauzkif elt this all for a split second before space shifted once more and this place blocked his senses again.
Kazuki felt all of this in a split second but he didn’t really take note of it. He was still just coming out of a haze of sorts so it was as if he noticed but did not notice these sudden changes.
His mind was still focused on what just took place. He was covered in a cold sweat at the thought of what would have happened had he stayed connected to the black pyramid.
(What was that and what awoke me?)
Kazuki searched inside himself but found nothing out of the ordinary. This is when the fragmented piece that fused with him came to mind.
(Was it the fact that I’m no longer 100% human that did it? The part of me that’s Artifact…Is that what woke me?)
Kazuki did not know what to think at this moment in time. Nor did he have the time to think as Fleck, Nala, and Specxzu were all still touching the black wall. A blank and soulless expression covered their faces.
Kazuki felt fright witnessing this.
(Is this what I looked like? As if my all was being pulled out of my own hands and transformed into something unrecognizable.)
Kazuki instinctually felt something dangerous about this pyramid and pulled all three away from the pyramid.
Their senses were slower to return than his own but they returned all the same.
Nala shook her head, swaying her horns back and forth like she was trying to remove the haze from her mind.
“Master…what happened. Was I asleep…Was that a dream or a nightmare?”
Nala wasn’t making much sense and even Fleck seemed off. He now looked incredibly sad as he begged Kazuki.
“Master! Please let me go back. I must return to them. My son and daughter. My wife, they are in there. I have to get back in and protect them!”
Fleck tried to grab the wall and Nala grabbed him on reflex.
“No Fleck that place isn’t real. It’s a trick.”
Kazuki grabbed both of them and took a look inside their memories to see what they had just experienced but there was a blank spot, a gap in memory. It was as if nothing had happened at all.
This was way too strange. Kazuki had a memory but it was vague and ever-fading.
(How can my own memories from just now be fading? Is this black pyramid Arc’s missing piece, is this its power?)
Fleck was still struggling in Nala’s arms and it looked like he was losing his mind.
“Fleck, calm yourself now!”
Kazuki’s voice resonated with Fleck and he finally returned to his senses. He took a deep breath before tears poured down his face.
“Forgive me Master…I…I was lost.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. Now tell me, what did you see?”
Fleck went on to describe his old home and his family. They had been taken from him when he was not a God. Later on, when he finally gained power and took revenge on those that delivered evil to his doorstep, it was already too late. His family had died long ago.
From how it was described, he relieved that nightmare over and over again. So many times in fact that he eventually lost count.
“If you hadn’t pulled me away from that wall Master. I’m afraid my sanity would be long gone.”
Nala had a similar experience. She had been reminded of horrible experiences in the past but for her, she eventually died and was at peace. She did not relive the horrors like Fleck and so her mind was unburdened. The difference showed when they both awoke. Fleck who felt as if he had been through the nightmare too many times to count came out almost insane while Nala who suffered once came out calm and collected.
Kazuki couldn’t tell what any of this meant. He tried asking Arc but Arc was once again not answering. This time though Kauzki could sense something had changed about Arc.
Kazuki looked to Specxzu who was also very quiet. The wasp creature looked down at its hand and repeatedly opened and closed it. Kazuki read Specxzu’s soul and once again a gap in memory appeared. From what was going through both his mind and soul at the moment, Kazuki picked up that Specxzu was currently questioning reality. That was why he was opening and closing his hand. He was testing his senses, his strength, and his power to try and see if they were different from his memories.
(If everyone here witnessed something inside the black pyramid, just what did Arc see for it to go so quiet?)
Kazuki wondered for a split second if they should even continue forward. There were simply too many unknowns. He did not know how this strange world worked and now this black pyramid had affected him and everyone around him, Arc included and it was all a mystery.
He didn’t even know what to do now. He had made it to this pyramid but there were no openings and no switches or elvers of any kind. Kauzki’s senses and powers could not penetrate the surface of this pyramid. He could see numerous inscriptions all over it but he could decipher none of them.
They were far too advanced to the point that they looked like a foreign language.
Kazuki slowly approached the pyramid once again.
“Master, what are you doing?”
Nala of course was concerned as she asked him what he was doing but Kauzki just raised a finger over his lips.
“Be quiet for a moment. I need to think.”
That strange power, I can still sense it coming from within this pyramid. If this really is Arc’s missing piece, I can’t stop here. There has to be some kind of mechanism or trigger.
“Maybe there’s a clue around here.”
Just as he said this a spot in the side of the pyramid opened inward as a section of the wall formed a large door 15 feet tall.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
“Master I don’t think we should go in there. My eyes can see things others cannot and in there…All I can see is death.”
Fleck’s words sent a shiver down Nala’s back and she got mad.
“What are you trying to do, curse us all Fleck. Don’t bring up such weird things.”
Fleck ignored her and continued.
“Master just think about it. If just touching it affects us this badly, imagine the dangers that lie in wait. This place is said to hold a great and powerful treasure but who started that rumor, why didn’t that person grab the treasure and then rule the Realms? The more I think about it this place just seems like one big trap. I know I shouldn’t say this but Master I think we should leave this place and never look back.”
Nala wanted to wring Fleck’s neck.
“Fleck sop spouting bull shit! Master knows what he is doing and he doesn’t need your input.”
The two started to argue with one another when Kazuki walked over to Specxzu.
“Do you think this is all fake?”
Specxzu’s many eyes focused in on Kazuki before he shook his head.
“If this were just a part of my imagination, my powers would already have returned in full and the treasure would be resting in my competent hands. Why do you ask Medatte? Does this not seem real to you?”
Kazuki went quiet for a moment.
“At this point, I find it pointless to question such things. Real or fake, all I know is I can’t stop here.”
Specxzu agreed with that sentiment.
“Then I suppose we should keep going. After all…if we don’t hurry, those uninvited guests will get the treasure before you do. Now wouldn’t that be disastrous?”
Specxzu said this half seriously and half sarcastically. He didn’t wish to see Kauzki obtain the treasure but at the same time he no longer had any way of claiming t for himself and his power itself was tied to Kazuki leaving this place and helping him. He believed Kauzki would keep his word and return him to his Godhood. He had no such deals with anyone else in this place. If these outsiders got the treasure before Kazuki did, it would mean that Specxzu’s godhood was not guaranteed.
So even though he did not wish to see Kauzki victorious, he also most definitely did not wish to see any other god claim the Artifact besides Kazuki.
Kazuki smiled.
“I guess we should get going then.”
The four stepped into the black pyramid and disappeared inside.
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