King Of Limbo



Looking at the animated carvings in front of him, Aron couldn't help but show a slight smile. Rorthik who was observing closely noticed this and was quick to ask, "What is it? What have you found?"

Aron's smile faded upon hearing Rorthik's voice, and he quickly began to think whether or not he should reveal his findings.

After some brief thought, he looked at Rorthik and nodded. "I was right, there is a connection between this Limbo region and Pesia, look here."

Aron drew in Rorthik's attention and began to point at the moving illustrations while explaining, "This part here shows numerous figures, clearly Aethelians, crossing through this strange structure, likely a gate, and when they emerge out, they are in celebrations and they prosper. Why? Because they shifted from a chaotic world to a stable one."

Rorthik listened intently while nodding at almost every word, seeing the connection Aron was forming.

In truth, once again Aron was simply speaking theoretically. His true findings were in fact the structure shown in the illustrations, the semi-circular gate, like the one he had used to return to limbo.

Seeing it made Aron wonder, whether the one he had found on the Aethelian continent back in Pesia was the same one shown here… or there was another.

Even in a stable world like Pesia, finding that semi-circular gate and knowledge regarding it wasn't easy and also had to do with a bit of luck, but here in Limbo, even if one was present, the chances of finding it were incredibly slim.

For one, the continents of this Limbo region had obviously moved numerous times, perhaps due to seismic activity or the emergence of high density mana zones.

This left him no choice but to be more dependent on the information the natives could provide.

"Rorthik, this thing here, do your people still possess it?" Aron inquired while pointing at the gate in the illustration, taking on a tone of curiosity like he didn't know what it really was.

Rorthik was unfortunately none the wiser and answered immediately, shaking his head, "No, it was given away, for peace, personally by me, so stupid, so stupid, I was fooled!!"

A sudden look of anger emerged on Rorthik's face and his fluctuations began to rise.

His eyes took on an eerie glow and mist began to emerge from his back as the shadowy figure began to take form above him.

Even without seeing it fully, Aron could tell what he was looking at with a glance, "A mana demon!"

Aron's alertness rose and he quickly shuffled back from Rorthik, his hand hovering over his axe, ready to battle at the slightest notice.

However, just when it looked like the mana demon was about to emerge, Rorthik began coughing and his fluctuations came to a halt, fading along with with figure that had began to emerge.

"Dammit!" Rorthik cursed while wiping the blood off his lip, his gaze soon turning to Aron who was in battle ready stance.

Rorthik quickly raised his hands and shook his head, "calm down friend, I became to angry and lost control, the gift nearly took over, dammit, I've been tricked."

Aron eased his hand away from his axe Jormun but maintained a distance while asking, "If this partnership is to continue then I need to know what this gift is? as it is clearly a danger to me and my companions."

Aron's words were nothing but lies, using the unfavorable situation to make Rorthik reveal more truths.

He knew that considering how insightful his information had been to Rorthik thus far, he wouldn't be willing to let their deal break.

His guess proved to be correct this time as Rorthik lowered his head and sighed, sitting down on the grassy ground in a cross legged position before removing the thin cloth that covered part of his chest.

Once the piece of apparel was removed, one could see a distinctive mark at the center of his chest, different from a tattoo and more similar to a glyph.

"This is the gift, passed on from generation to generation. Our people are naturally not strong, not at all, no. But with the gift, we are able to fight beyond our capabilities! Much higher, because of this, no races bother us but in turn we don't bother them, especially now…"

Rorthik's face looked downcast as he explained himself. Upon seeing the mark, Aron was more than sure that Rorthik possessed a mana demon inside him.

This being the second time he found an aethelian possessing one, and with history at that, Aron began to wonder what connection there was between them and the mysterious near extinct race.

As curious as he was, Aron had to prioritize the gate rather than the knowledge regarding mana demons, so he feigned a sympathetic expression and came closer to Rorthik, placing a hand on his shoulder as he sat down cross-legged as well.

"Tell me friend, how were you fooled? And what do you mean by especially now? We are so close to finding answers." Aron baited, using the promise of what Rorthik desired most to lure him into spilling his secrets.

In this moment of weakness, Rorthik who rarely interacted with others was very susceptible to manipulation.

So unknowingly, he lowered his guard and began to explain.

"Not long ago, when I was still a King candidate for my people, our ancestors, beings possessing gifts like me, got into war with the Kolieans of the north. Much blood was shed, too much. Either side suffered greatly, but ours was greater, much too great."

"After some time passed and I ascended to King, the Kolieans found out that only I was left possessing the gift and threats were made for war, but too much loss was suffered already, we couldn't afford to, so I asked what they wanted, they said the gate. Since then, there's been peace, but now I see, I was a fool, a true fool!" Rorthik raged, his fluctuations once again spiking ever so slightly.

Hearing the explanation, Aron frown inwardly, he could indeed agree that Rorthik was a fool. But given how little knowledge he had outside his own race, it was no surprise he was fooled.

He and his people had grown complacent after the war whilst the other party continued to keep tabs on their enemy, eventually finding a weakness and utilizing it.

Perhaps the only real reason the Aethelians weren't already decimated was because they still had uses or the Kolieans didn't consider them a threat.

'So this what the absence of knowledge with power can do.' Aron thought to himself, taking Rorthik as an example of what not to become.

Possessing great power, but falling victim to petty schemes and tactics due to a lack of knowledge and understanding, life truly was cruel, and even the strong were not favored.

On the surface however, Aron feigned an expression of understanding. "They used your lack of knowledge to fool you, those treacherous vermin, but all is not lost, they may have the gate, but we have the knowledge, we can still come out on top."

Aron's words provided the downcast Rorthik encouragement, causing a smile to emerge on his face and hope to reignite in his eyes.

Since others had already made huge gains by fooling Rorthik, Aron intended to do the same.

…

However, Aron wasn't the only one conspiring. Because many kilometers away to the north of the continent, a fast and agile shadow was rushing through dense foliage under the cloudy skies.

His surroundings were eerily quiet and only his steps could be heard as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch.

Soon though, he reached the end of the dense forest and arrived in front of a gigantic valley, with mountains at its sides and back.

Within the lustrous looking valley was what could only be described as a mega-settlement. Unlike anything else in Limbo, the construct of the settlement looked highly advanced in comparison to the rest of Limbo.

Buildings were numerous in number, many of them made of stone and other strong material, looking immovable and firm.

The figure who had just emerged from the forest was looking towards the valley when his attention turned to its skies, where numerous flying silhouettes could be seen.

They had broad wings but humanoid figures, and their very sight caused the shadowy figure to feel a chill run down his spine.

But before he could move even another step, he felt a strong gust of wind hit his body, nearly sending him flying.

The origin of this wind came from a tall winged Koliean who had just appeared in front of the man. The Koliean had an imposing and disciplined attitude, looking down at the unknown figure with caution, his hand hovering near a long spear hanging off his waist.

"Aethelian! Why do you come to Koliean territory? Speak clearly or I shall kill you where you stand!" The Koliean threatened, his voice reverberating in the Aethelian's ear.

The aethelian however composed himself and stood straight.

"My name is Trutet, messenger of king candidate, sire Lufair. I am here to deliver a message." Trutet revealed with a formal and straightforward demeanor, causing the Koliean to ease his pressure as he asked, "whom is the message for?"

"Matriarch Elia."