Symbiotic Ascension : A Progression Fantasy Adventure

There he sat, his legs crossed, and his decaying chin resting on his rotten fist. His Katana, black at its core and white everywhere else, had found its way to his knees, shimmering with a pale hue. It was such a natural position for him, it just fitted. Like a painting missing a character, the throne couldn't be complete without its ruler.

The Corpse.

Or rather, the King of the Dark Elves.

Spells and Aura flared up, but the Corpse raised his hand placatingly. "I do not wish to fight. Not anymore, at least. Please."

Glenn looked at his friends hesitantly, his spell shakily maintaining itself. Even if his recovery was much greater than before, he'd still pushed himself far beyond what he should have been able to handle, defending against a divine spell. His Mana had barely recovered, thanks to him using Overload previously. It would certainly take an entire day and night for him to get back to pristine condition.

'Which isn't that long,' commented Diamanes in his mind, unconcerned. 'Think about all the mages who are forced to feed themselves Mana potions and constantly Meditate, hoping to gather Mana a second faster.'

Glenn mentally muted the voice, sighed, and dismissed his spell. Lucian exhaled in relief as the crown above his head shattered, while Sahro clenched his teeth. Liara held her waist, staring at the Corpse with a curious yet complicated expression. As for Milena, her four arms were crossed expectantly.

"Alright," Glenn finally said. "We won't fight either. Unless you start something."

"In which case, we'll probably die," whispered Lucian.

The Corpse looked down, amused. "You. This strange, heteroclite team. You remind me of the past, back when I still had a name, when I still had a kingdom, back when I still had faith..."

Crash!

Thunder fell close to the castle, resonating powerfully through the hallways and making the walls tremble. The Corpse glanced at the sky through the hole in the roof with a frown.

"We do not have much time. They'll try to silence me again soon. You, and you." He pointed at Liara and Sahro. "Step forward, my descendants."

Sahro opened his mouth to protest, but his feet walked without asking him his opinion. He and Liara stood closer to the Corpse, an arm's length away. The Corpse looked at his Katana for a silent moment before throwing it at Sahro's feet, planting it in the ground. The blade seemed to... cry, strangely. It wasn't a sound, nor its appearance, just a feeling it gave off. A sentiment.

"Do not despair, for every end is just a new beginning," the Corpse said with a warm smile.

'It's a little disturbing, watching a zombie with so many emotions,' Glenn couldn't help but think.

Sahro kneeled and grabbed the Katana. A current of Aura ran through the blade, making it shimmer with a violent red glow.

"Fox Guardian, please, take care of this descendant of mine." The Corpse tipped his head slightly at Sahro's shadow. A red-furred fox poked his head out, glanced at the Corpse, and hurriedly dove back into the shadows.

"I..." Sahro clenched the weapon with a complicated expression. "Thank you."

The Corpse turned his eyes away from Sahro and to Liara, more precisely at the white cross on her forehead.

"It seems like this generation's Alsaahir foresaw what would happen. Very well." He sighed heavily. Whitey suddenly dove through the hole in the ceiling and landed before Liara, standing tall and defying the Corpse.

"Shrr-kkk!"

The Corpse chuckled and waved his hand away. It was a slow, exhausted movement, and yet the griffon fell to its paws, trembling, its beak pressed on the ground.

"Arrogant as ever, I see. Shame you can't upset your mistress's promised anymore, isn't it?"

Whitey's feathers trembled slightly and he laid closer to the ground with his entire body. The Corpse laughed and tapped his fingers on the throne's armrest, freeing Whitey.

"A new time, and new masters to serve." He glanced at Glenn and squinted. "Even though some things seem to never change. Why...?"

Crash, crash!

The thunder rumbled once again, growing closer. The Corpse clicked his tongue and suddenly appeared before Liara, grabbing her hand gently. She almost jerked her hand out instinctively, but something stopped her at the last moment.

"Take this, child. Take, and don't forget to give back. The Guardian Fox will watch over you, just like how Whitey will. Find the key, and wake the tree. This, is the way."

A black flame engulfed Liara's hand, burning with calm strength.

"Liara!" Glenn stepped forward, worried, but Milena and Lucian held him back.

"Look," Milena whispered, pointing at the back of Liara's hand. Glenn complied, squinting. His eyebrows rose as he watched a white tattoo appear on her skin. A white tree. The symbol was a mirror copy of the Black Heir's symbol, only in a different color.

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The black flame disappeared, and Liara stumbled back, clenching her hand. The Corpse looked at the ceiling one last time, his teeth gritted. He turned to the group one last time, his power rising once again. Black and white surged out of him, suppressing all other colors and threatening the world's balance itself. Reality warped, trembling in the face of his might.

"This age doesn't belong to us anymore," spat the Corpse. "The chains of Fate are crumbling. It is time to let go of them."

The sky rumbled, dark clouds gathering en masse. The Corpse turned toward them and grinned.

"Never forget this, my descendants. Nor you, Wielders of the Stars, Moon, and Light. Nothing ever happens at random." He floated above ground, rising toward the hole in the ceiling. "Fate always had a hand in things. So go and break its chains."

The thunder finally crashed on the Corpse, silencing him. Divinity-filled attacks fell from the sky, drumming down on the Corpse. Glenn and the others could feel their surroundings being warped, the ground collapsing beneath their feet. The world trembled, and reality twisted. Without a word of warning, they landed somewhere else entirely, the black sand storming in their faces.

"What?" Diamanes blurted out, frustrated. "I had questions to ask, too! It really just ends like this?"

Glenn sighed. "Back to square one. Am I the only one who's starting to get tired of the Ink Dunes?"

Milena stabbed her feet into the ground and conjured a spell, creating an illusory shelter from the sandstorm. Lucian sat in the black sand, exhaling heavily.

"Never a dull moment whenever I'm with you, my friends," he beamed.

Liara was pensive, staring at the tattoo on the back of her hand. Sahro slowly threw away his sheath and placed the Katana in its place, a scowl on his face.

"This didn't bring us any closer to destroying the Orc factories," he said, annoyed.

Glenn groaned, sitting next to Lucian. "Damn it, I forgot about that. Shit, why is it so easy to forget we're fighting a war?"

Milena looked at them confusedly. "What do you mean, it didn't bring us closer to our objective? Of course it did!"

The group stared at her like she was crazy. The raven-black haired lady grinned wickedly and pulled a sealed scroll from her belt. "Good thing you didn't blast Black Holes everywhere, Glenn. There was a reason I asked you not to do it, and it's right there in my hand."

She broke the seal and gave it a quick read. Her grin grew even wider.

"Here's our key to the Orc factories. You can thank me now, or later. Either way, I know I'm awesome." She threw her raven-black hair back, beaming in satisfaction and pride.

"Where did you get that?" Lucian asked curiously.

Milena raised her chin in the air, somehow looking even prouder. "I took it from a zombie Orc's pockets while you were all busy fighting that kingly Corpse."

Sahro took the scroll from her and read it, only for his eyebrows to crease. "This is gibberish. Orc language?"

Milena cleared her throat. "Coded Orcish. And I've learned to decrypt it from Munirp's researchers. They've broken through the cipher recently, thanks to a message seized some time ago." She chuckled. "A message we seized. Remember our first expedition into the Ink Dunes?"

Lucian nodded impassively. "Of course I remember. Hah. Hah."

Glenn ignored him. "That message was from the Thorn's Church, if I remember correctly. Do you know its contents?"

"I can answer that for her," Lucian interrupted. "It was a message asking about the advancement of the searches. Don't ask what they were searching for, we're still trying to figure that out."

"What could the Thorn's Church look for in the Ink Dunes?" Liara muttered while rubbing the back of her hand. "Is there a specific ruin they're trying to find?"

"It does not matter anymore," Sahro cut. "The Thorn's Church has been annihilated. They'll probably be more fixated on rebuilding their forces rather than bothering us." He turned to Milena impatiently. "Now. What does this message say?"

Milena twirled the scroll in her fingers.

"Any of you ever heard of the River of Life?" she asked, her expression suddenly hardening in realization. "That's a meeting point. The team that carried the scroll was supposed to be there for the full moon. Which is..." She looked at the sky and winced. "In less than a week, if I'm correct."

Lucian crossed his arms, frowning. "I am very confident in my geographical knowledge, and the River of Life doesn't evoke anything."

"Never heard of it," grimaced Glenn.

"The River of Life...?" Sahro repeated, his eyebrows creased.

"The Waters of Thalorieth," Liara muttered. The group turned toward her, Sahro's eyes widening in realization.

"Miyāh al-Ḥayāh!" he exclaimed. "In the legends, that river is supposed to connect every Black Heir in the Ink Dunes, bringing them life and fortune."

"That doesn't tell us anything about where that's supposed to be, though," remarked Lucian.

"What does the legend say exactly?" Glenn asked, his expression serious. Sahro grimaced and scratched the back of his head, struggling to recall the details.

"I'll roughly translate it from Black Heir tongue, but..." Liara clasped her hands together, her eyes drawn to the sky.

"Once, there was a tree. That tree's reach grew beyond the sky, beyond the stars. It drank in their light, its leaves a myriad of suns and moons. Once, the leaves of the tree fell, swirling into one whole, Limbo."

'Glenn, I think she's telling the wrong myth,' Diamanes whispered in his host's mind. The latter chased the voice away and focused.

"Once, Limbo was barren. A ball of leaves, a lifeless husk. Once, a drop of sap fell from the great tree and into Limbo, giving life."

"Miyāh al-Ḥayāh, the River of Life, the blood of Limbo."

"The pulse of the sap lit up the fire of life in Limbo. Heirs in the darkness rose, feeding from the sap and raising the tree's seeds."

Sahro shook his head, turning away. "This is nonsense," he muttered through gritted teeth. "The 'great' tree never did anything for the Black Heirs. It does not even exist."

"Shhh!" Milena slapped him on the arm, very interested in the legend. Lucian was similarly completely engrossed by the story. Liara exhaled heavily, her golden eyes gleaming slightly.

"Where the sap connects, where the root joins, where life meets death, is where Miyāh al-Ḥayāh rests."

A short silence fell upon the group as they all thought about the legend's meaning, trying to figure out if it actually hinted at the location of Miyāh al-Ḥayāh, the River of Life. Until, eventually, evidently, someone shattered the peace.

"That's it?"

Diamanes couldn't help himself.

"This legend fucking sucks! A tree? Really? That's your deity? A plant? Glenn, just hack me off. I'm done dealing with this."

Glenn shook his left hand in annoyance. "Shut it."

"The tree in the legend isn't our God," Liara explained in a soft voice. "It is simply a legend. Something passed down through generations, but which never mattered. It is simply how the world came to be."

"We don't have Gods," Sahro added spitefully. "Gods are for the weak-minded who can't bear the thought of dying!"

Lucian patted him on the back with a large smile. "To each his opinion, Sahro. And to each their Gods." He turned toward Liara and tipped his head slightly. "You have my thanks, Miss Liara. This was a very interesting story."

She simply smiled before looking at Glenn. He nodded at her slightly, a nod that she immediately returned.

Milena suddenly clapped all four hands in realization. "Guys. What if Miyāh al-Ḥayāh was the thing the Thorn's Church was looking for?"

Lucian paused and rubbed his chin. "There's no if. Now that you mention it, it's almost certainly their goal. I don't see what could top some sort of mythical location in this forsaken desert."

Glenn, who was listening to the exchange while repeating the legend in his head, suddenly gasped. Everyone turned toward him, puzzled.

"Oh-ho," he chuckled, "I think I know where to look."