[You have successfully defeated the sons of Marar’bel and reached the Ainfidd Kingdom] [Your actions are being judged…] [You have been awarded 8 Incarnations Points for a splendid performance!] “What?” the Incarnate was stunned. However, in the name of caution, he quickly cast aside his curiosity and surveyed his surroundings. Getting distracted while in unfamiliar territory was a sure way to die a pathetic death in his experience. Thus, he prioritized studying his surroundings. To his surprise, he was standing around five meters away from a great slope that spotted both large, rough rocks and small bits of greenery like bushes and shrubs. All this was a little hard to see as the darkness of night was prevalent, making the Incarnate wonder if there was even a daytime in this place defined by daylight. It was starting to seem unlikely. The Incarnate had counted the days earlier by using the mechanics of the Hermetic Vault. When a new day began, he was able to add another five ite
The writing continued: ‘The celebrations are over. It’s now time for the King and Queen to decide what to do with the captives and the spoils. I only hope we don’t turn barbaric and torture these people for sport. Unlike those bastards, the Rikanja, who dared invade our nation to try and assassinate the royal family, we were the ones who took the Feraanites by surprise. I believe we should be less inclined to butcher them as though they are lowly pigs.’ Another paragraph began: * ‘Oh, gods! How can the King’s Council, men chosen to advise His Majesty, to give equal measures of morality and strategy suggest that we attack the vile Baniale`. It’s only been two weeks since we brought the Feraan under our banner. Thankfully, Alabas sees reason. I maintain that he is a wise king. He too is against this idea, but I think he may fold given how much pressure the council is piling up each day. What has gotten into them? Am I the only one among my peers to remain rational?’ Another: * ‘I
“…” The Incarnate was shocked by all this information. It both eased the bloated, heavy bag of questions he had and made it heavier, as the number of questions he had also swelled. So much could be gleaned from this record, this diary. The first thing the Incarnate had latched onto was Marar’bel’s identity. Marar’bel was the Queen of the Ainfidd Kingdom and her husband was King Alabas, the man whose name this Floor identified. All of a sudden, the Incarnate felt that the name ‘Ruins of the Deserted King Alabas’ made much more sense now. It seemed that the Ainfidd Kingdom was a stalwart nation with a mighty force and a mighty King, one that had tasted many victories against great foes. Yet, it fell because of this woman, Marar’bel and her influence. She had harbored her own goals and ideals, but knowing that she couldn’t expose them to the King, she instead puppeteered the King’s Councilmen to steer his decisions. To push forth her own agenda. What stood out particularly to the
Everything the Incarnate had seen so far spelled to him that a very, very long time had passed since the days when the Ainfidd Kingdom was still thriving.The armor of the fallen warriors in the sands was rusted to hell.The ancient structures he had seen when he first woke up on this Floor, large and seemingly not built for humans at all looked a little devastated.The skeletons he saw, and the mounds of sand also suggested a great passage of time.The Incarnate imagined that no less than a thousand years had passed since everything the councilman wrote happened.Had the King survived through a millennium in that darkness?He was a fearsome warrior, according to the text, given the moniker Flying Reaper Sword. Perhaps he still thrived.The only things that persisted wholly in this place, as the Incarnate had seen, were supernaturally-empowered weapons and beings.Of course, there was the roll of parchment in the Incarnate’s grasp at the moment. While it didn’t appear magical in anywa
The darkness unraveled modestly before the Valiant Subject’s Ward. It peeled from the Incarnate like a layer of dirt, leaving him feeling as though the world was basted with hope again.The Demonling had underestimated just how suffocating the darkness was. He had thought that perhaps it was simply the absence of light fitted through the uncanny power known as Sorcery, disallowing Alabas and his people from leaving Ainfidd, but it was a lot more than that.If one was drowned in it, all their senses would be voided.They would be crippled of their ability to perceive the world around them, and such a thing, which most people relied on for the majority of their lives wasn’t essential to keeping their sanity.The darkness was designed to inspire despair and terror, and the Incarnate was ashamed to even think about what would have happened if his shield hadn’t mysteriously warded away the sinister effect of the all-encompassing black.Speaking of this mystery, after Incarnate ^8001 recall
A great fissure stood before the Incarnate.It traced along the ground in a stunningly smooth fashion with minor chips visible on the edge before the Incarnate.However, rather than looking like it was caused by a natural phenomenon, it gave off an ominous feel.It was deep. Very deep.The Incarnate didn’t even dare to get too lost in its depth. The chips at the fissure’s edge which looked as though they were carved by a chisel after it had formed, made his skin crawl. After taking another step forward and feeling chunks of dirt falling into the fissure, the Incarnate was befuddled to see that he couldn’t identify its width.The allowance of the Valiant Subject’s Ward’s Enchantment couldn’t mark just how wide this gap in the ground was.‘Goodness…’The Incarnate backed away and moved to the left along the fissure.However, his hearts nearly stopped when he saw another fissure cutting across the first one and moving towards the way he had come!What in the world was this?To make matt
The first thing the Incarnate had thought about when he felt the raging waves of power exploding from the figure on the throne, was what his experiences back in his old life had taught him to do when dealing with offended important officials. Whether it be a King, a Prince, or a nobleman, a foot soldier of no renown like him would have to bow and express an unreal degree of humility and make himself not look like anything worth punishing. This lesson from a past life was indispensable right now. The Incarnate had realized that the man seated on the throne was without a doubt King Alabas. Flying Reaper Sword. It had been an error on his part to not show a King the respect he deserved from the start, and thus why he begged to be forgiven. Unbeknownst to him, however, the simple gesture he did – planting himself low so meaningfully – eased the King’s fierce emotion, and he decided against doing him any harm. “Tell me. Who are you?” Alabas asked. “What manner of bravery or foolishne
The Incarnate was smitten silly by all that Alabas said, but also all the pieces that seemed to come together. It wasn’t really a surprise to him that once he entered the darkness, he couldn’t leave. He doubted that the Valiant Subject’s Ward’s enchantment was capable of defying the sorcerous darkness to that extent. What stunned him, however, was the fact that he might have been able to change this. According to Alabas, Marar’bel cast the curse that allowed her sons to persist for many years on Alabas and told him that if he should escape this darkness someday, his children would be waiting for him, but she would long be dead. This meant… ‘If I had destroyed the remaining source of Spirit Essence fuelling the Sorcery keeping this darkness up, things would have been different right now…’ he thought in dread. That was why he wasn’t given more Incarnation Points in the last stage! However, this was the least of the Incarnate’s worries. Possibly because of that blunder on his part