Chapter 195: Reuniting!

The hall settled into a silence that felt ancient, older than the crystalline pillars and older even than the drifting dimension itself. The beast’s words lingered in the air like a fading echo, their weight settling on the trio’s shoulders.

Neither Lilian or Elara fully understood what the Ancient Beast had said, but they could definitely comprehend the gravity of what was said.

Albedo took a slow breath, grounding himself again in the present, in the chamber, in the warmth of Ember pressed lightly against his side.

The beast, this withered soul, this sentinel who had seen the rise and fall of a golden age, turned once more toward the massive doors deep within the chamber. When it moved, the crystalline floor dimmed beneath its paws, rippling like water with every step.

“Come,” it said, its voice softer now, weary in a way that reverberated through the bones. “Your journey here ends in the next room.”

They followed without hesitation.

The doors were enormous, easily the height of small towers, carved from a single slab of polished blackstone veined with liquid silver. Ancient symbols curled across their surface, shifting fluidly as the beast approached.

For a moment, the runes flared with recognition, and then, without being pushed, the doors opened inward with a quiet sigh that somehow carried the sound of a thousand forgotten voices.

Inside was a room far smaller than the grand hall, but no less breathtaking. A circular platform sat at its center, raised just slightly from the floor, etched with dense patterns of runes that formed spiraling rings.

Hovering above the platform were three objects, three simple silver rings, each radiating a different aura, each pulsing faintly like beating hearts.

The trio approached slowly, reverence woven into their footsteps as they could sense the various power silently emitting from the rings.

“These,” the beast said, “are the last vestiges of Axion’s knowledge, power, and history. Contained within each ring is a pocket realm, collections of texts, weapons, resources, artifacts, and memories. Everything that could be saved before the fall. Use them well on your battles against the Abyss,”

Before Elara or Albedo could even decide which ring they wanted to chose, Lilian had already drifted closer, her eyes had widened almost immediately upon entering the room, pupils dilating as she fixed on the ring closest to her.

Its aura was subtle but distinct: a crimson glow coiling like mist around it, the faint scent of iron mixed with cold autumn nights. It pulsed in uneven beats, as if alive. Her breath hitched, and the beast turned its head toward her with faint amusement.

“Bloodline affinity,” The Beast murmured as he saw the pulsing of the Ring, “It seems this ring has something made for you,”

Lilian didn’t wait for permission after hearing the Beast say that. She immediately reached out, and the moment her fingers brushed the ring, a flash of crimson light surged outward, twining up her arm like threads of living blood.

She gasped, but she didn’t pull away, if anything, she gripped tighter.

“Elara, look, you can feel it,” she whispered, her voice trembling with excitement, awe, and a hint of something primal. “It’s… calling me.”

“It is of vampiric origin,” the beast said. “Fragmented knowledge collected from that era’s clans and blood arts. You will understand its contents in time, child.”

Lilian didn’t even pretend to hide her grin. She closed her fingers around the ring, and the crimson aura dimmed, settling into her skin like absorbing ink. She pressed the ring against her palm for a moment, eyes sparkling like a kid at a festival.

“I am going to devour every single thing in this later,” she whispered fiercely to herself, a bright smile on her lips.

Albedo and Elara exchanged a glance, half amused and half relieved she didn’t spontaneously explode from the surge of energy that had sensed when she touched the ring.

Next, Albedo stepped up to the second ring. This one was wrapped in soft silver-blue light, gentle, quiet and unassuming, but steeped in an ancient gravity that made it feel heavier than its small size implied.

The moment his hand neared it, the light shifted subtly, responding. As though recognizing that someone had arrived to claim it. His fingers brushed the metal and a pulse of arcane mana surged into him, not forceful, not overwhelming, but familiar. Like a greeting.

He exhaled sharply, feeling the depth within the ring’s space. Sending his Mana Senses into the ring, he was flooded with the sight of Libraries of tomes & books, various techniques, artifacts, potions, pills and more, mountains of resources.

It was enough to make a pig seem like a genius.

[ DING! Host has learned the Ancient History of the Axion! Host is rewarded with a Phoenix Potion! ]

[ DING! Host has earned the last inheritance of the Axion Civilization! Host is rewarded with a Beast Egg! ]

Albedo looked at the two system rewards he had received, but didn’t open them to check the descriptions, as there was a more pressing matter to attend to.

He simply slid the ring over his finger and looked at Elara, who was approaching the third and final ring. Its aura was different from the other two: a gentle rhythm of emerald and gold, warm and bright, like sunlight filtering through a dense canopy of leaves.

She hesitated for a moment, pressing her lips together. Then, slowly, she extended her hand. The aura responded instantly, wrapping her fingers in glowing warmth.

Her breath caught, not from shock, but from an overwhelming sense of… familiarity.

“This feels like home,” she whispered.

The beast nodded. “The Axion civilization valued harmony with nature, magic, essence, and life. Each of things rings possess aspects of power from various species, you all can trade whatever is useless to you with each-other,”

Elara swallowed and took the ring firmly, her expression softening into something warm and determined. With the rings collected, the beast stepped back.

“My duty is complete,” it said. The hall seemed to shudder at the words, as if the dimension itself mourned. “Take these, and leave. I pray the future you create does not repeat the past we endured.”

Albedo bowed, not deeply, not ceremoniously, but sincerely. “Thank you.”

The beast inclined its head. Ember stepped forward, brushing her snout gently against the creature’s paw, a quiet acknowledgment between beings of flame and mana. The beast’s mane flared faintly in return.

Then the air warped.

A circular distortion formed behind them, swirling like a whirlpool carved from starlight. The edges shimmered with colors that didn’t exist in the normal spectrum, the kind of hues that felt like forgotten dreams. The portal stabilized with a soft hum.

“Go,” the beast said. “The dimension will close once you leave. Axion will finally sleep, and I will have my rest,”

There was no more hesitation. They stepped forward one by one, Albedo first, then Elara, Lilian close behind.

Light swallowed them whole, and the sensation of spacial transit was once again brief yet strange, like being stretched through soft fabric, compressed by gentle pressure, wrapped in mana that smelled faintly of old starlight. Then everything snapped back into place.

Cold water slammed into them from all directions as they once again returned where they came from, plunging into the water, but Albedo used a burst of heat to stabilize herself and the group, sending warm bubbles rising around them.

The sight around them was the same swirling, distorted twilight of the Demonic Sea. They didn’t know exactly where they were within the Demonic Sea, but judging by the fact they could spot Vorago nearby, they had returned close to where they were.

Elara blinked rapidly, pushing wet hair from her face, “Hold on, hold on, give me a second, ”

She pulled out a tiny waterproofed pocket clock from her belt, flicked it open, and froze.

“Three minutes.” Her voice trembled. “Guys… only three minutes passed since we entered the trials. Three.”

Lilian sputtered seawater out of her mouth before reactivating the helmet, “There’s no way,”

“Time dilation,” Albedo said quietly, “The dimension was drifting. It wasn’t aligned to ours.”

Elara snapped the clock shut and looked toward the faint outline of dark rocks in the distance, the rendezvous point where they’d split up from the others before the flood of abyssal creatures and the dimensional distortion.

“They might still be there,” she said. “If only a few minutes passed, they might even still be waiting for us and others to arrive and regroup.”

Albedo nodded once. “Then let’s move, but be careful, the Abyss is definitely still lurking nearby,”

The water around them churned as Albedo used his flames to warm the trio and propel them like serpents.

“Let’s go find everyone,” Lilian said, determination flaring in her crimson eyes.

Behind them, far in the depths, the faint echo of a dimension closing whispered through the water, unfelt, unheard, but meaningful.

After an eternity of waiting, with its mission completed, the last heartbeat of Axion drifted into silence, another civilization dusted.

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