章 28: CHAPTER 28:Echoes of the Aetherbound
After barely escaping the collapsing ruins with the fragment of the Heart of the Aether, Damian, Nerrisa, and Linda return to the surface. However, the fragment's energy begins to behave erratically, interacting with the Philosopher's Stone in unpredictable ways. The corruption in Damian accelerates, causing him to experience vivid, otherworldly visions that blend reality with an astral realm. Meanwhile, unseen forces begin to stir, and Mortivax's influence becomes more insidious. The trio faces new challenges as rival alchemists and spiritual guardians arrive, each with their own agenda regarding the Heart of the Aether.
It was morning time and the songs from bird filled the air. Damian awakens inside the mansion, laid on a stone altar. Glyphs of protection are carved into the floor around him, glowing softly. Nerrisa and Linda watch over him, their eyes filled with pity and concern.
Damian struggling to get up, suddenly a sharp pain came upon his head, he begins experience intense, disjointed visions of an astral realm where shadowy figures in robes chant in an ancient, incomprehensible language. Among them, he glimpses Mortivax, but this time, Mortivax doesn't notice him. Damian sees a massive, crystalline heart suspended in the air, pulsating with energy. The chant grows louder, and Damian is suddenly dragged back to reality.
The corruption on his body spreads further, now appearing as glowing alchemical sigils that shift across his skin. He tells Nerrisa and Linda about the vision, believing it's connected to the Heart of the Aether. Nerrisa theorizes that the fragment might be a "beacon" tied to a greater force, potentially guiding enemies to their location, and this really spells bad news for them.
As night falls, the mansion's protective glyphs activate without warning. The sigils on the walls and floors flare with golden light, and an eerie sound echoes through the halls. Something has breached the mansion's spiritual defenses.
Three figures in ceremonial alchemical robes stand at the mansion's entrance. They are The Aetherbound Council, a secretive cult of rogue alchemists seeking control of the Heart of the Aether. Their leader, Azarial Vehris, wears an intricate mask resembling a lion's face and speaks with a commanding voice. His two lieutenants, Kaldros the Shroud (a master of illusion-based alchemy) and Eira the Frostborn (an ice-alchemist with a chilling presence), accompany him.
Azarial offers a "truce" and demands to negotiate with Damian, citing the "Ancient Accord of Alchemist Sovereigns." Nerrisa identifies this as a symbolic rite where alchemists can negotiate without battle if certain spiritual protocols are followed. However, Azarial's intentions are clearly deceptive.
Without hesitation Damian refuses the truce, recognizing it as a stalling tactic. Azarial smiles and says, "wrong choice, young Wielder of the Stone!!!. The Accord isn't a request. It's a binding contract written in the Aether itself." Nerrisa realizes too late that the mansion's glyphs have already responded to Azarial's words, and ethereal chains appear around Damian, Linda, and Nerrisa, immobilizing them, keeping them in place.
Damian Nerrisa and Linda realizes they have no choice but to participate in the "Accord Trial," a form of spiritual arbitration enforced by unseen alchemical laws. Each side must present one "truth" and one "lie," and the other side must discern which is which. If Damian's group fails, the Aetherbound Council can claim an "alchemical tithe" , which could be the Philosopher's Stone, the Heart fragment, or even Damian's soul.
Azarial's "truth" and "lie" are designed to confuse them. He states:
"Mortivax is not our enemy."
"The fragment of the Heart of the Aether cannot be destroyed."
Damian, struggling with his own doubts from the earlier vision, suspects the first statement might be true. Nerrisa believes the second is true since the scrolls mentioned that the Heart could "bind reality." However, Linda argues that no alchemical artifact is truly indestructible. For a brief moment they argued amongst themselves, but the time was surely not on their side.
Now they must choose, but Azarial did something, he cheats. As they argued, azarial signals kaldros, Kaldros now uses illusion-based alchemy to obscure the correct answer in their minds. Nerrisa, sensing the manipulation, shouts an incantation to clear their thoughts:
"Mens lucida, omnem confusionem disperde!"
("Clear mind, scatter all confusion!")
The illusion shatters, and Damian sees through Azarial's lie. He declares that the second statement is false. The Accord Trial ends, and Azarial, impressed yet unamused, withdraws the chains. But before leaving, he warns, "You've played well, little alchemists, but next time, there will be no riddles , only ash and blood", he said as they depart from the mansion.
The Accord Trial triggers a resonance with the Philosopher's Stone. The sigils on Damian's body activate, and the corruption surges. His eyes glow the same red hue as Mortivax's. He begins muttering phrases in a voice not his own.
Nerrisa and Linda react quickly. Linda calls upon the Pendant of Aetherial Binding to contain him:
"Nexus animae, vincula lucis, corpus hauri et pacem redde!"
("Soul's bond, chains of light, hold the body and restore peace!")
The pendant's energy creates spectral chains around Damian, subduing him briefly, but the struggle leaves them shaken. Nerrisa insists that they must delve deeper into the Codex Mortivax to understand the connection between the Stone, the Heart, and the corruption.
In the aftermath ,they began to study more on the codex of mortivax, while reading a text on the codex of mortivax, the Codex Mortivax begins to shift its sigils again, forming a new verse:
"The Wielder bears a fate untold,
To chain or sever the paths of old.
With Stone, Tear, and Heart aligned,
The End of the First Cycle shall be defined."
Nerrisa is alarmed. The "End of the First Cycle" is a reference to an ancient prophecy concerning the reset of all alchemical forces in the world. Linda believes it's symbolic, but Nerrisa fears it could mean the collapse of reality itself.
Late at night, as Damian rests, his mind is pulled into the astral realm again. This time, he is not a mere observer. He stands in a starless void, face-to-face with his future self, clad in obsidian alchemical armor. The future Damian's eyes glow with Mortivax's red hue. He stares in awe at his future self.
The future version of himself says, "No matter what you do, you will become me. Even if you destroy the Heart, the cycle repeats. Our destiny is sealed."
Damian refuses to believe it and shouts, "I'll break it! I'll break all of it!"
The future Damian grins. "Then you'll be the first to do so. But beware those who shatter the cycle are often shattered themselves."he warns Damian as he feels himself fade away from this vision,"why do i feel like i keep making the wrong decision?, He asks himself, while reflecting on his recent encounter with his future self.
Damian tells Nerrisa and Linda about his encounter with his future self, but Nerrisa warns him not to trust visions induced by corrupted artifacts.
As they prepare for their next move, they hear an alien knocking sound echoing through the mansion's halls. Linda steps forward, only to hear a voice whisper from the shadows:
"The Wielder has been marked. All paths now lead to the Aether Abyss."
A hooded figure appears briefly, glowing eyes
visible under its hood, then vanishes into black mist.
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