n

n

nSian followed the path without hesitating but he became confused as he followed it.

n‘…Is it really this way?’

nHe never failed when he followed his path, but he started to question it. There were Drakuns approaching from the distance, but his path led straight into the center of Cloud Mountain.

n‘How can I survive if I go there?’

nSian could not understand, but he went for it anyway. It was too late to run outside and the teleportation magic was not working for some reason.

nThe tunnels were being destroyed and lava churned everywhere. It seemed that the island itself was sinking.

n‘At least my job is done.’

nIt was fortunate that the Unkaras were wiped out so the barrier was going to weaken. But Sian did not want to die yet. He then found out where his path had led him to.

n‘It’s there.’

nAs the island began to sink, a giant sphere that was located at the middle of the island stayed still in mid-air, even when the ground around it began crumbling.

nIt was a five-foot-wide red sphere.

n‘That’s…’

nSian had never seen it before but he knew what it was right away. It was the artifact that created the smoke, or the barrier of Akun-Kal. The path was leading him to the inside of the sphere.

n‘To that thing?’

nHe had been saved by his instinct many times, but it was a bit hard to believe this time. The sphere did not let out any energy, but upon close inspection, Sian was able to see enormous energy swirling within. It was even powerful enough to tear through the dimension, seal it, and recreate it. He now realized why the Lukra priest laughed when he said he was going to break this instead.

nSian hesitated as he was unconvinced that jumping into such energy would save him. But he could not hesitate for too long. He could easily guess what might happen when he faced those Drakuns flying in.

n

n

n

n

n

n

n‘Dammit. I have no choice.’

nSian then jumped inside the sphere.

nSian had prepared himself for the unforeseen consequences, but nothing happened. The power didn’t seem to be made to destroy so it didn’t do anything violent against Sian who jumped in.

n

nSian glanced around the sphere as he sighed in relief. The sphere was about five feet tall, but one interesting thing about it was that he could see through it. It was filled with red light, but it did not hinder his sight.

nHe could not hear what they were talking about, but he could see the Drakuns flying in and talking to each other. Drakuns shot each other concerned looks and glanced at the sphere for a while and then they flew back to where they came from.

n

nSian sighed. He was worried that those Drakuns would jump in to attack.

n

nIt seemed weird that the Drakuns who were related to Aksarai couldn’t come into the orb, so Sian mumbled.

n

n<…!>

nSian was shocked by the sudden sound of a voice and glanced around.

n

nSian then realized the voice was transferred directly into his head and groaned.

n

nSian was shocked but he answered.

n

nSian asked as the only reason why he could hear the voice was because he jumped into this place.

n

nSian said,

n

nThe voice then scolded Sian.

n

nSian then realized who the voice belonged to.

n

nThe voice sighed.

n

nSian grimaced. So this was the man that the Lukra feared so much. But why would such a being talk to him? Why would it be a problem?

n

nAksarai then answered as if he was really frustrated.

n

n

nAksarai sternly spoke.

n

nSian also speculated that possibility, but he also speculated something else.

n

nAksarai seemed to agree with this.

n

nThen something began washing into Sian’s head, showing him the old memory.

nThousands of years ago.

nThe land was occupied by various races including the Drakuns.

nThe Drakuns were more powerful than any other race on the ground. However, they lived above the sky so they did not need to fight the other races so they lived in peace.

nAksarai, the leader of Drakuns, then found something dropping from the sky.

n

nAksarai examined the object. It was a golden crystal. It flew from the sky down through the cloud, and it fell onto the place called the Mountain of Extreme now.

nIt only made a crater and did not cause much damage.

n

n

nIt seemed it wasn’t naturally-made as it was beautifully sculpted. Aksarai forbid his people to approach it and ordered them to watch it from distance.

nBut Aksarai then realized he couldn’t just watch it.

nAs the golden crystal fell down, a strange force began to work around it. It only covered the mountain, but Aksarai frowned as the weird magic affected the laws within its range.

n

nThe weak were more vulnerable against it. As the crystal created its own range, it shined again. Aksarai frowned. There were weird beings coming out from it.

n

nThe crystal wasn’t small, but was it big enough to hold hundreds of those big things in it? It wasn’t. Those that came out from the crystal began roaming around the area, checking to see what it was like. It seemed they were more used to living in their own place, so when they stepped out of it, they frowned. But what they did next made Aksarai scowl.

n

nThose races returned to the crystal and took out small gems. They then began spreading them out on the southern side of the mountain.

nThe change happened rapidly and Aksarai was able to see the change from the beginning.

n