?During the night, after carefully analyzing the information they had, it became clear to Kaizen and the others that there were only three options left to save Og’tharoz’s wife.

The first alternative was to ask Zylok, Fryft and Cephal, the only three Evolved that Kaizen knew, to help him on this journey. This was the most logical, quick and possibly efficient choice, except that it had the same problem that a team of NBA stars could run into. If they couldn’t coordinate, failure was almost certain. Og’tharoz didn’t agree with this alternative, because he thought it was his duty to save his wife, not the others’, and that if these four individuals went to Hell, they could end up causing big problems and making things worse.

The second was risky, riskier than the previous one. Using the Mana Crystal wasn’t something they should try again, not after what Linus Farwynn, the last member of the Order of Dalamyr, had done with that item, except that it was now in Kaizen’s possession, in his inventory, so it was an option, even with the possibility of causing another vast shockwave that destroys everything in its path.

Lastly, there was the option that Kaizen and the others had thought of together before he tried to talk to Belial, which was to go after Tyr, the god who, according to legend, sought to connect all the Kingdoms.

The discussion lasted well into the night, as the light of the dying fire danced across the tense faces of the guild mates. Kaizen, Og’tharoz, Alina, Jayaa, Andrew and Xisrth debated the complexities of finding a god who could supposedly open passages between the Realms. He could literally be anywhere.

Near dawn, sitting around the fire that was now reduced to glowing embers, their eyes reflected worry and uncertainty.

“Finding a god is not a simple task, even if the legend is true. Unlike items and places, there are probably no maps or clear indications of how to reach him,” Kaizen pondered, running his fingers through his black hair as his eyes stared into nothingness. “Tyr is an entity of unimaginable power, and searching for him without clear clues is even more difficult than looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Silence hung over the group for a moment, each one beginning to realize the magnitude of the challenge. It was Alina, with her insight and knowledge of ancient legends, who broke the silence.

“Kaizen, the Tower of the Magi!” she suggested, her eyes shining with a sudden idea.

Kaizen’s eyebrows rose slightly, surprised by Alina’s suggestion. The others looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and strangeness. Of course, they knew that Alina came from the Tower of the Magi, only they didn’t know how that could help, after all, all the knowledge of the magi, everything stored by them for millennia, was already in Alina’s library, or so they thought.

“What do you have in mind, Alina?” asked Kaizen, still with a look of concern on his face.

“If Tyr really existed, the Tower of the Magi must have records, manuscripts or tomes that mention his existence, and I believe that the easiest way to find him won’t be by trying to find him, but by having him come to us.” Alina explained, sounding very committed to this alternative.

“Are you suggesting that we…”

“Yes, let’s summon him!” She said and with a gesture with her right hand, a book magically appeared in her hands. “The magicians of the Tower have records of millions of invocations over thousands of years. How do you think the City of Tears has never died of starvation? They summon animals, simple but still living creatures.” As she spoke, she read the book whose pages flipped by themselves.

“Alina, calm down. There’s a big difference between summoning a pig and a god.” Og’tharoz said.

“More or less.” She retorted, which left everyone in even more shock. “Think with me, although there are no records of attempted invocations of gods, there are records of invocations of dragons. Two thousand years ago, a teenager summoned a Dragon by accident while he was taking private lessons in Summoning. His tutor was distracted for a single second to make some notes and in the blink of an eye the house was destroyed. Believe me, if a teenager can summon a Dragon without even trying, I can summon a god.”

Judging by the way Alina spoke and her remarkable skills and irrefutable knowledge, it was almost undeniable that she really was capable of doing what she was talking about. So they all decided to embark on this crazy idea.

“All right, and how do we do that? Considering you mentioned the Wizard Tower, that means we don’t have everything, right?” Xisrith was the first to speak.

“Yes, I need some items and information that we’ll only find there. Although the act of summoning is simple, the process is not. It takes mana, time and mentalization, and the more information I have about Tyr, the more accurate I’ll be. In the end, we don’t want to summon just anyone who imitates Tyr.”

“Alina, do you really think that magicians would keep information about such an ancient god? And I think that even if they do, there’s no way we can convince them to give us this information so freely.” asked Andrew, skepticism coloring his voice. ᴛʜs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀ s ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛ ʙʏ novl(ꜰ)ire.et

Alina smiled, a confident expression on her face. “If there’s one place where this kind of information is kept, it’s in the Tower of the Magi. They may be secretive, but they are also scholars and preservers of knowledge. It doesn’t hurt to try.”

Kaizen considered Alina’s suggestion for a moment, but he still wasn’t completely decided. “Alina, I remember well the last time we were in the Tower of the Magi. It wasn’t a friendly farewell, was it?” Kaizen let his words hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “You chose to leave that place with me, but you took the Library of the Magi with you. Do you really think they’ll welcome us?”

Alina looked up from the book, her deep eyes reflecting a mixture of emotions. There was a shadow of sadness in her gaze before she nodded.

“It was difficult for me, Kaizen…” began Alina, choosing her words carefully. All my life, I’ve had my responsibility as guardian of the Library of the Magi. The quest for knowledge has always been my priority, but when it all seemed to hang by a thread, I thought I couldn’t live away from what I considered my home, so why not take the library with me?”

Kaizen nodded understandingly, but there was a subtle expression in his eyes that denoted his concern. “I understand that you had your obligations, Alina, but you must have made them furious.”

“I know, I know… I just… I didn’t want to lose everything I had in the blink of an eye.”

The flame of the fire reflected in Kaizen’s eyes as he watched her face. “But you made the decision to leave without even consulting me, so it will be more work to get what we need now. And not just information, but also the approval of the mages.” Kaizen crossed his arms, his gaze firmly on Alina.

She sighed, feeling the weight of the past on her shoulders. “I know I was impulsive back then, Kaizen. I didn’t have time to explain, and the circumstances were extreme. The library was my life, but you and the chance for me to see the world also meant a lot to me. But now, more than ever, we need to come together.”

Kaizen kept his gaze fixed on her for a moment before finally nodding. “All right, Alina. We’ll do it, but we have to be careful. The Mage Tower is a dangerous place for us now, all of us.” He looked at the others around the campfire.

Alina agreed, silently thanking him for his concession. As the sun rose, the group began to organize their things in the wagon, aware of the challenges they would face.

“Before we go to the Tower, we need to understand what we’re about to face and prepare ourselves. Tyr is an ancient god, linked to the forces of war. Summoning him is not a simple task, but if we do it right, he can help us.” Alina said as she reduced the remains of the fire to dust.

The group’s gazes met, each member pondering the gravity of the situation.

Andrew raised an eyebrow, still skeptical, but willing to move forward. Xisrith looked at his red sword, ready for any challenge. Og’tharoz, the demon, just nodded, his trust in Alina evident.

With determination, the group headed back towards the Tretidian Capital, where they would need to prepare for a few days, get information about the mages and coordinate more than they had in Mibothen, after all, now they wouldn’t have an army or even reinforcements.

…