Free Web NovelChapter 29: Chapter 029: Dilemma!
The golden sunlight bled across the sky like molten gold, casting the canyon in hues of deep bronze and amber. The sun itself hung low on the horizon, its beams forming radiant pillars of light that stretched downward into the earth as though the world was being split open by divinity.
On either side of the canyon rose sheer cliffs, draped with wind-tossed grass and foliage. The chasm between flowed with a river of clear,blue waters.
Farther off, dusky mountains rolled into the distance, softened by the hazy light. At the center of it all stood the figure — Mikael. He gazed at the horizon with such serenity, completely taken with the view from another part of the forest, one that had persisted and had kept its green nature.
"Very beautiful."
He closed his eyes, feeling the quiet pulse of the earth beneath his feet. The mana veins, invisible to most, coursed through the land like veins of dim, gold light.
Drawing a deep breath, he began to channel his own energy into the scythe which had powered down. The air around him thickened and charged as mana particles gathered in response to his actions, and the ground trembled ever so slightly beneath him.
Deep in his consciousness, he floated over a darkness so black that light could never hope to shine through — a free mind.
Moments later, the astral Cosmic Gate slowly manifested in the darkness, bringing with it the light of the multitude of stars!
"Open the Gate!"
The Gate creaked open. Celestial essence, trinkets of it, surged forward and through him, into Ragnarok. The non-interference rule also was as vigilant as ever and did not fail to exact its due from the mortal flesh channeling divinity.
And since what he planned for, to unlock the scythe with celestial essence, did not work out, he planned to increase the amount of essence he poured into, to achieve another purpose. Try to locate the other Old Gods relics, or any divine relics he’d placed in the mortal realm!
With a sudden motion, he opened his eyes and thrust the scythe outward, releasing little continuous surges of essence that mixed with the quite large surrounding mana that gathered from every part of the forest that still had it.
The energy shot out in all directions, a dim,almost invisible wave of light and force that raced, with astonishing speed, across lands, touching every corner of the world. A second pulse with an objective this time and that travelled far!
In distant temples, ruins, and treasure vaults, ancient relics of the divine stirred.
Artifacts, sealed and long forgotten, pulsed with renewed energy, responding to the call. A summoning, a rollcall of every relic, divine artifact, and every lost shard of power, even the ones he’d scattered across continents. The pulse travelled far and wide for hours, gathering its information and a few hours later, the pulse returned to its source.
The results too were not as pleasant as Mikael had expected. While there were a lot of places that popped up in his head, they were mostly pure divine relics, ones that would probably help Heaven in dealing with him. With no signs of The Old Gods materials anywhere.
He paid it no much heed. With the connection to the Cosmic Gate established to some extent, he had a sort of essence supply albeit in little amounts, but enough just enough to aid his search for a way to get back to being a Celestial first, then comes the question of the sight.
Meanwhile, Guardians of sacred sites felt the disturbance and began to prepare for the worst!
But the power from the Gate came at a cost Mikael did not expect, and this was not the due from his usual backlash.
Still bound by mortal limits, his body shuddered as the immense celestial energy, divinity, tore through him.
Cracks appeared on his skin, aglow with inner light. Blood seeped from his eyes and mouth, and his knees buckled under the strain. He cut the connection immediately after the pulse had completed its task.
He fell to the ground, gasping for breath, vision blurred. The world around him spun again, and he could almost swear he felt his consciousness slipping.
"Foolish me, trying to use maximum celestial power as a mortal," he smiled amidst the pain. "But I’ve quite outdone myself." He shut his eyes and fell into a deep slumber while the trusty scythe stood tall as his guard.
+ + + + + + + +
The surge of powerful, mysterious energy had not gone unnoticed. Across the world, powerhouses and those closely attuned to the mana and energies of the world felt the disturbance.
In the capital city of Elyria, the Elven King Edward, grimaced as the Phantom Witch’s Prophecy seemed to be coming to life.
In the volcanic kingdom of Khyron, an ancient being opened its third eye, trembling with fear and ecstasy. "Such power...," it cackled. "About time."
In the icy north, the Vampire Monarch stood atop his citadel, gazing into the distance. "Interesting. I wonder how those short-lived monkeys will entertain me this time."
+ +
Over at the Limnor residence, Duke Alan smiled, the uneasiness clearly written across his face. They had felt it, the pulse that had passed through, like it was searching for something!
Selena rubbed her temples with worry. "Dear, do you think it’s...?" she asked, a resigned look in her eyes.
"Without a doubt, my love. We’ve got quite the troublesome fellow on our hands."
A knock sounded at the door, bringing the senses of Alan and Selena back to their present reality. "Your Graces, it is I, Clinton." A familiar voice followed.
"Come in."
The old man strode in, impeccably dressed in black and silver livery, holding a few ledgers and parchments that changed the Duke’s mood as soon as he saw them. Clinton stood at his right hand and set them down before him.
"My lord, I’ve made the necessary enquiries for this year’s admission, and I must say, we’d be digging a seriously deep grave for the Household, financially." Clinton began, his deep voice carrying with it worry and reality.
"The tuition per child has risen to almost a hundred thousand gold for new students, whilst for the old students, it’s just over seventy five thousand in gold. For the year that is. And that excludes the contributions to the Academy’s Treasury as well as bribes for the councillors in charge of the new students’ registry. They do expect their palms to be greased."
Selena let out a soft sound of worry. "How much... all together, for Isabella only?"
Clinton’s eyes flicked to her, then right back to the Duke. " It’s around ninety five thousand for her. Then for Evander, around eighty. For Lucius, it’s just forty thousand.
An estimated total of about two hundred and fifteen thousand gold coins."
" What was our net profit for this year so far, these tuition fees included?"
" A little over thirty thousand, your Grace. And it’s still late August. Lest we forget, what of our ’guest’, Your Graces?"
Alan leaned back, his chair creaking under the shift of his weight.
"True, the boy did ask that we get him registered," he rubbed his temples. "Then again, someone strong enough to beat me in a spar and speaks so well, should surely have no interest in a place filled with mere budding mages and knights," he thought aloud.
"I do share your sentiments, my lord. But I believe it is better to bleed in coins than to bleed in blood. Then again, I hope it will not come to that."
Alan laughed wearily. "True, if we need his ingenuity, we should bring something to the table.
But... Since Khyron began their invasion, more than half our coffers went to payments for our repelling army. I heard one of the Imperial army had to help us out because we couldn’t get enough knights for our army. If we add Mikael’s fees too, it would be over three hundred tuition for a year’s tuition only, huh? We are not the Imperial Treasury, Clinton. We are Limnor, you know."
"House Limnor still commands influence," Clinton continued, "but it is true that influence alone does not refill coffers, my lord. Like you said earlier, the wages for the now active army have slashed our budget so much that we have not seen the hope of recovery, and I think that Khyron have not yet laid down their weapons as is usual with them, which means a border Duchy like us will be in for a lot of trouble."
The Duke and his wife sighed together.
"Selena, this was part of the reasons I tried to escape succeeding to the title of Duke Limnor. I think I might have a breakdown soon," Alan joked.
"I know you’ll like to take the chance to taunt me a bit, dear. But we’ve got more pressing issues, okay?"
"Three children into the famous Silver Arcane Academy of Magic...?"
Alan tapped the parchment, his voice clipped. His other hand tightened around his cup until it cracked. "Might be my biggest hurdle yet. My decision will be on hold till Mikael returns. I believe he too can bring something to the table. After all, it was his quick wit that helped him to triumph over me. There’s something about him that I can not quite place my hands on. But it does not in any way mean we cannot tap from it, does it?"
The butler bowed. "No, Your Grace."
Alan turned to Selena. "What say you, Selena?"
"Your wish is my wish," she replied, a resigned look in her emerald eyes.
