Sian followed the path without hesitating but he became confused as he followed it.
‘…Is it really this way?’
He 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.
‘How can I survive if I go there?’
Sian 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.
The tunnels were being destroyed and lava churned everywhere. It seemed that the island itself was sinking.
‘At least my job is done.’
It 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.
‘It’s there.’
As 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.
It was a five-foot-wide red sphere.
‘That’s…’
Sian 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.
‘To that thing?’
He 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.
Sian 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.
<Who are you?>
<Uh, I’m…>
<You killed those Unkaras and destroyed the barrier.>
<Uh, yeah I was trying to do that but…>
<Die.>
<AARGH!>
‘Dammit. I have no choice.’
Sian then jumped inside the sphere.
Sian 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.
<Hm… it’s not doing anything. Do I need to wait inside until they are gone?>
Sian 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.
He 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.
<That’s a relief.>
Sian sighed. He was worried that those Drakuns would jump in to attack.
<But that’s weird. Can’t they come inside?>
It seemed weird that the Drakuns who were related to Aksarai couldn’t come into the orb, so Sian mumbled.
<Well, not anyone can come in. Some work was put into it.>
<…!>
Sian was shocked by the sudden sound of a voice and glanced around.
<What…!>
Sian then realized the voice was transferred directly into his head and groaned.
<It’s been thousands of years since I’ve gotten a chance to express my opinion like this. It’s good to see you.>
Sian was shocked but he answered.
<Uh… yes. Good to see you too. But what’s going on right now?>
Sian asked as the only reason why he could hear the voice was because he jumped into this place.
<I’m helping you solve your problem. And save your life while we’re at it.>
Sian said,
<What problem?>
The voice then scolded Sian.
<It’s the barrier you just destroyed! I never imagined it would be destroyed by some fool like you. Ugh.>
Sian then realized who the voice belonged to.
<Are you Aksarai?>
The voice sighed.
<Yes, you fool.>
Sian 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?
<Well, it can be a problem for you, but I had to do it. Or else your Drakuns will wipe our kind out.>
Aksarai then answered as if he was really frustrated.
<You… and that Lagaope… you were all fooled! You were lied to!>
<Huh?>
Aksarai sternly spoke.
<The barrier that imprisoned them is gone so they will now jump out. To kill everything.>
Sian also speculated that possibility, but he also speculated something else.
<They can’t. Even without the barrier, they are surrounded by Drakuns and Harijans. They cannot come out of the mountain when they will be attacked from both sides…>
Aksarai seemed to agree with this.
<Yes, that must be so. But… it’s complicated to explain. You should see for yourself. It won’t take long.>
Then something began washing into Sian’s head, showing him the old memory.
Thousands of years ago.
The land was occupied by various races including the Drakuns.
The 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.
Aksarai, the leader of Drakuns, then found something dropping from the sky.
<What is that?>
Aksarai 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.
It only made a crater and did not cause much damage.
<Should we investigate?>
<No. We should wait for now.>
It 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.
But Aksarai then realized he couldn’t just watch it.
As 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.
<We will not be able to use our power within the range.>
The 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.
<I’ve never seen them.>
The 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.
<What are they doing?>
Those races returned to the crystal and took out small gems. They then began spreading them out on the southern side of the mountain.
The change happened rapidly and Aksarai was able to see the change from the beginning.
