章 90: Top Of The Tower

A ghostly shadow of what could have been a smile faintly appeared on the smooth surface of Uhr's face. "Attentive," he remarked softly shooting a glance at Ra from the corner of his eye. "It is curious, is it not?" he continued questioningly, "let me ask you, if you suddenly found yourself for whatever reason at the very center of a never-ending staircase, would you walk up? ...or down?" he asked quizzically, now placing the full extent of his gaze upon Ra even as he continued leading them through the tower.

Ra met his gaze with his own as his mind spun, having been caught off-guard he pondered the question for a while before answering, "Must I choose to ascend or descend?" Uhr truly did smile now as he shook his head, "You do not," he answered, his voice taking on a hint of serenity.

Ra nodded his head slowly, "Then, I would choose to leap off of the staircase, it serves no purpose to travel without end."

It was a while before Uhr spoke again, "Obviously a never-ending staircase cannot truly exist, but how does one define 'never-ending?' it is the belief that one must reach a destination for a journey to end; and that..." he paused, smiling- is the illusion you have been privy to." He winked, Ra threw a glance to Uhr's other side where a giggling Masara had her fist between her teeth in a failing attempt to stifle her laughter. Ra rolled his eyes at her and returned his attention to Uhr, but before he could say anything; "We're here." Uhr said softly.

They were in a brightly lit room, the walls- if they could be called that, were glass. The room resembled a bubble, the walls curving in a circular manner, it could be called a dome.

"So this is the top of the tower," Ra breathed in amazement as he gazed around.

Standing there Ra felt attuned to a presence of magic that could only be described as Old, far older than the Primordials or the Ancients.

It sank into his entire being like a flood of liquid fire, coursing through his veins was a devouring inferno, the Phoenix magic inside him felt...alive.

Ra's eyes flew open, he had not even realized he had closed them.

"Magic is always in a perpetual state of evolution..." Uhr was saying sagely as if lecturing a class of students. "...indeed, when one form of magic meets another the weaker form would attempt to adapt, although..." he paused, "I have never seen any so extreme." Uhr resumed nodding his head as he spoke, "Still, magic will manifest in many forms, it must of course, suit it's wielder, when weak magic users come into possession of powerful spells it stands to reason it would become diluted and weak, otherwise it would only serve to consume its caster."

Ra shook with the effort to remain standing, there was an immeasurable amount of power dwelling inside him at this moment, seemingly straining for release but having no outlet.

"Your potential is truly not simple." Uhr said with no small measure of surprise visible in his eyes.

"What was that!" Ra exclaimed aloud, finally managing to find his voice, he could not explain how different he felt, it was as if he could tear apart the very dimension they inhabited if he only had the desire to do so, the power he currently felt was incomparable to anything he had ever encountered before!

"That," said Uhr, "Is the answer to your question..." he said cryptically.

"What question?" Ra asked, confused.

A smile graced Uhr's features once more, "The Origin God." he answered simply.

Ra felt realisation rush over him in a huge wave as the recollection of their previous conversation crashed into him.

"The Origin God lives at the top of this tower?" he asked, his mouth agape.

Uhr threw his head back and with it- a thick mane of silky black hair and roared with deep booming laughter. "Of course not! The Origin God left behind a tiny fragment of his power to protect us, his descendants!" Uhr smiled proudly and said.

"Descendants...of an Old God?" Ra was understandably shocked at this revelation, "Who are you?"

"And now we get to the real questions, who are we, indeed. Yes, that is a good question, and one I can answer. We are Fairies, but needless to say quite unlike those you've grown accustomed to I imagine." he said, his eyes were both stony and cheerful as he said this. Ra nodded but did not speak.

Uhr was unfazed by this and continued, "It's quite simple really, just as magic is diluted when exposed to weaker elements, so too are the various races, what you know as Fairies are actually Pixies. While their ancestors may have been Fairies, they- most certainly, are not." He said easily.

Ra had more or less pulled his magic back under his control as he listened to Uhr's answer, nodding frequently as he spoke.

"I think I understand," Ra said as he wandered around the dome shaped room, which previously, had appeared empty but now was filled with relics and treasures. It was as if a fog had fallen from his eyes and he was no longer victim to the illusions present in the tower.

Masara stood off to the side quietly watching him as he walked through a row of plinths encased in glass. Each one housed a weapon, varying in shape, size, and aura. At the end of the row was an unremarkable sword, however it lay flat on its plinth rather than hilt up like the others. Moreover, the plinth it rested on was by far much more splendid than the rest.

Ra had taken no more than 3 steps toward it before- without warning: the sword shot toward his head point first at an incredible speed. Taking less than the time it took to blink to arrive before his eyes.

Ra barely succeeded in dodging the sword and reflexively grabbed the hilt, the sword began to pulsate and shudder in his hands as the rust and dirt fell away. Revealing a beautifully crafted, perfectly honed, masterwork of a blade.

Uhr's expression changed and greed filled his eyes.