Rise Of The Celestials

Chapter 10: An Important Explanation (2)

That day, a prophecy was left in The Chronicle Of Time, a prophecy that dictates the awakening of The World Eater at a later time.

It says;

---

When the bells chime

The wheels of fate slow to a stop

To start anew

Bringing the beginning of the end

---

The prophecy has reappeared now and it signals the awakening of The World Eater”]

Aiden had his head pounding from the amount of information he heard. 

If it hadn't been because this came from a voice in his mind, he would have called whoever told him this one word; 'crazy'.

"You mentioned that The World Eater had something called evil spawns. Are those the savages trapped behind the boundaries?"

[” That is correct and if one comes near you, it will try to kill or capture you"]

The voice answered the question and then dropped a bomb.

Aiden's thoughts turned chaotic immediately after he heard what the voice said. Why would that happen? He had found it weird that the savages had come straight for him the moment they set eyes on him. 

As if sensing the unease, the voice spoke again.

[” It has happened before?"]

"About half a month ago, the city I lived in was infiltrated by some savages and I had only managed to escape from their grasps by luck"

He was still not comfortable telling his secrets to this mind infiltrator, so he did not tell him about his primordial blood essence but he was very surprised by what he heard.

[” You burnt your primordial blood essence. I was wondering why your bloodline was the real thing but awfully thin...

You are surprised by how I know this... What am I?”]

Aiden who had been surprised by the answer he got, calmed down and thought things through.

The voice had stated that it was a branch of a whole and it had mentioned something called The Chronicle Of Time while it was explaining the history.

As a library, it contained information and it was definitely not built by the nation's royal family, then it must be a branch of The Chronicle Of Time.

If that was the case, then it would explain why the voice knew that history he had never heard of anywhere in his life.

"Why is my elemental seed sealed and how can I remove this seal?"

[” Go to sleep and I'll explain it to you. Someone is watching you. I understand you want to hide your irregularities and every connection to the library"]

Aiden almost jumped to his feet because what he got was a warning instead of an answer. 

It was silent and everything seemed normal, so who was watching him? How powerful was the person doing it?

He had no reference and all he could do was listen. From the way the voice spoke, it seemed to have answers to his question.

He could now say that his assumption was for the most part, correct.

He quickly lay down on his bed, closing his eyes to go to sleep.

About five minutes later, he was asleep. Suddenly his senses were triggered and a few moments later, he was standing in front of the royal library.

This time he could see the building in all its former glory.

The doors opened and that voice echoed from inside the library. 

[” Come in. I have to isolate your thoughts in case there is someone capable of taking a peek into it"]

"That is possible?", Aiden was very surprised.

["How am I talking to you right now?"]

Aiden was stunned for a moment by the answer he received before he entered the library. He quickly understood how bad his question had been.

Inside the library, Aiden felt drawn to a particular spot in the library. He walked over, as cautious as he could be.

Soon he saw a small scroll, the length of his palm. It was propped up on a podium made of marble.

Aiden guessed that the voice that had been talking to him was coming from the small scroll.

"You could have just told me the answer I wanted to know. Why did you bring me here", Aiden said to the small scroll.

It was quite an awkward thing to do, made worse by the long silence that followed.

Aiden had been very sure about his guess but now, not so much. He turned around to leave, deciding to check out the library and see if he could find some useful information when the voice spoke again.

[” Looks like I said too much. I just wanted to be sure that knew what you were talking about and if you had made the right assumption.

You're right. Now let's continue.

This is the Royal Library. It is represented to scale and everything in here is an exact copy of the library"]

"What is that scroll for? Is it also inside the library?"

[” Yes... You could say that is my body.

Hey, don't start with any weird thoughts. Do you know how many people would kill to take that scroll from the library?"]

Aiden had only thought 'what a tiny scroll' when the voice went ballistic.

"Why would anyone want that scroll so much?"

[” As I am a branch, I am still connected to the main body. That means through my connection, I contain a lot of information that almost no one knows.

Anyone who finds the scroll could use it as an artifact by laying down restrictions on my body, effectively slaving me to answer questions all day. Naturally, that isn't possible with the main body if someone found it."]

Aiden was surprised by what he heard that he took a second look at the tiny scroll. He did not need to ask what type of information because he had just heard the history of the world. It was safe to say, there was much more to be gleaned from it.

"Why are you telling me this?"

[” I want you to take my body for yourself. If I will be possessed by anyone, I'll rather it be you"]

"Me?"

["Yes, you. Using my connection, this scroll can act as a guide to The Chronicle Of Time, as well as other branches like me"]

Maybe as a result of already guessing this connection between the voice, the scroll, and The Chronicle Of Time, Aiden wasn't too surprised by this.

"I believe it is not so easy to take something from the royal library, is it?"

[” Unfortunately, it is not too easy but not impossible. You just have to get out of sight of the crazy old man, that guards the library"]

"Is he guarding the library?"

["He most definitely is not doing that. All he wants now is me and he has been in that library for a long time. He is almost undying at this point"]

...

Aiden woke up slightly disoriented after a while. He looked like someone who had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

His hair was a mess again and there were creases on his face that showed how deeply he slept.

He went to the washroom to clean his face and straighten his hair. 

Thankfully, he had three days to do what he wanted and the evening shift at the training grounds was something he could still forgo with a good reason.

All he had to say was, that he felt sick and fell asleep. Woke up late and decided to come the next day.

He lay down on his bed after he left the washroom before thinking up a question.

"Do I need to sleep like this every time I want to check out the library?"

[” For now, yes. I am in the library but when I talk to you like this, I am away and unable to search the library for answers"]

"How are you so sure that the seal on my elemental seed will be broken tomorrow?"

This was a question he'd asked about while he toured the library on the voice's guidance and of all the answers he had received from this scroll-dwelling entity, this was the one he did not believe the most.

[” You need to understand something; when you have existed for as long as The Chronicle Of Time, you can infer future events that sound like a prophecy

It's tomorrow, isn't it? Be patient"]

Aiden thought it through and decided that there was nothing to lose.

"Tell me more about Arcanas. I believe there is more you can tell, than if I chose to search for it on my own"

[” You are lucky that I have only you as a choice for escaping that crazy old man's grasp.

Arcanas are ranked from one level to the other and they all have their characteristics.

There are seven levels required to grow into a celestial. They are:

The Apprentice; This level is divided into seven ranks, from the 1st to the 7th Order Arcana. This level revolves around the strengthening of the body to be able to handle aether without exploding.

It is possible to go through this level by just training the body like a workhorse. All that needs to be done is to push the body beyond its limit.

The easier way is to take a potion that strengthens the body, stressing it to reduce the time and effort needed to level up.

After the apprentice level is when a person becomes a real arcana. The level is called Priest because those who reach this level can be referred to as priests of whatever element they wield.

At this level, an Arcana can infuse some of the aether they gather into their elemental seeds to boost their attacks. Due to their elementary use of the aether, they can cast some simple spells as well.

Next is The Keeper and they are just stronger priests. They are now able to cast more powerful spells and the aether they can draw for their use increases with it. 

They can do everything a priest can, but better.

There are four more levels namely; Sage, Saint, Monarch, and Celestial. 

Each of these levels has requirements on how to break through to the next level depending on the element.

I only have information up to the level of a Keeper.

To get information on higher levels, getting to other branches is required, besides, I still don't know what your element is, so I'll hold off on giving any level requirements "]

Aiden was delighted by the answer before he asked.

"What level is that crazy old man at?"

He had seen a projection of what the old man looked like when he was in the dream world library. It was better to know whom to avoid.

["He is almost a sage. He was originally the library keeper long ago. He used to pore through the library, enjoying the store of knowledge but after I showed him some information that led him to find a drop of the water of life, his mind spiraled into an abyss.

He went through every book in the library like a maniac and he found one of the books I left to hint at my existence.

I was not ready and did not expect such a reaction but he was now undying and there was nothing else I could do but hide my existence until you came along.

His life is coming to an end soon and he wants to find me to get something else that can help him"]

"You wanted to help him", Aiden stated.

["Obviously. I was bored and I liked him then as company but I ended changing his whole life"]

"You said you wanted to hold off on giving any level requirements but from your explanation, I believe the apprentice level is just to train the body. 

You mentioned that it only requires pushing the body to its limit to advance in rank or by using potions. Explain in detail, please. At the moment, that is what concerns me the most"

There was silence and the voice did not respond for a few seconds. 

"Hello"

"Are you still there?"

["Yes, I am still here. I just tried searching for a method to train the body that I find acceptable"]

"Oh, that's great. Did you find one?"

[” No. I can only direct you to it when you enter the library"]