Back at the summit…
“Arrgh…” Aether groaned as his eyes slowly fluttered open, his vision focusing on the figure in front of him.
He blinked, realizing he was staring up at the Principal…. and lying on her soft thighs!!
“A-Angel?” he mumbled in a dazed voice, reaching up toward her cheek, but—
Thud!
The Principal shoved him aside dismissively as if he were a piece of trash.
Of course, Aether landed gracefully, giving her an unimpressed look as he stretched, “That’s quite rude, you know.”
The Principal merely shrugged. “You passed out after exhausting every ounce of energy you had. That kind of recklessness has no place on a battlefield,” she replied, her expression strict and unyielding.
Aether frowned briefly, ‘Looks like she entered into a stern mood hoping to avoid something that already bloomed in her heart… hehe… cute~’ he thought then nodded. He looked down at the enormous crater left in the ground, its edges jagged and scorched.
“Is that… thing still alive?” Aether asked, a spark of curiosity in his voice. But before he could get an answer—
“Masterrrrr~!” Snowflake, his loyal companion, leaped onto him, licking his face frantically in relief.
[+4000 AP]
[+4000 AP]
Aether chuckled, gently patting Snowflake to calm her down. He glanced back at the Principal, who shrugged again and said, “It’s been a while, and there hasn’t been any movement from that thing.” She gestured to the centre of the massive crater, where shards of the Arcanium mountains lay scattered around pools of molten liquid, glowing with faint purple sparks.
Aether flew over to the crater’s centre, his gaze fixed on the charred remains of the giant metal elephant.
“Impressive…” the Principal murmured, hovering near him as they examined the fallen creature. Its pitch-black metal body was not fully destroyed instead it was studded with gaping holes, while on the inside… a fully mangled, molten mess.
Purple sparks sputtered intermittently from its remains.
“It’s still intact… even after all that,” Aether remarked, surprised as he moved closer to inspect the interior.
Everything inside was melted down, reduced to a molten pool with no sign of screws, circuits, or mechanisms. It was as if the inside had dissolved entirely into liquid metal.
“Let’s move. I think reinforcements are arriving,” the Principal said, pointing up at the sky, where a squad of dragon soldiers was closing in, flying swiftly toward the crater.
But Aether lingered, his gaze fixed on the still body of the creature when—
Bragghhhaa!
“Shit!” Aether shouted, leaping back as he saw the creature’s trunk twitch and shift.
The Principal’s eyes widened in surprise before she extended her hand, with gesture…. a crushing force that bore down upon the elephant’s body, flattening it!!!
‘Even after all that… it only reached the point of recrystallization temperature…?’ Aether thought in shock.
The recrystallization temperature was the point where metals allow new grains to form, softening and removing the strain…. in layman’s terms, it just got soft after ‘small’ heat!
“Aether, we need to leave. Now,” the Principal said firmly, grabbing him by the arm as they vanished from the crater just as the dragon soldiers descended upon the scene.
….
….
Aether and the Principal returned to the spot where the mechanical elephant had stubbornly defended something.
“It’s… completely destroyed,” the Principal murmured, surveying the destruction as they stepped through the massive hole the elephant had carved into the stone wall.
Everything around them lay in ruins, scattered remnants of whatever the elephant had been shielding.
“We have to find it,” Aether said, his voice hardened with determination.
Whatever that colossal thing had been protecting was clearly significant—he needed to know why.
Together, they worked meticulously, moving debris and clearing away the mess.
After some time, they uncovered an object that took them both by surprise.
Embedded in the rubble was a massive, circular stone slab wrapped tightly in thick, gnarled roots. Strange, bizarre symbols were etched into its surface, casting faint shadows in the dim light.
“What… is that?” the Principal muttered, her brows furrowing as she studied the stone. “All this destruction… for a slab of stone?”
Aether’s eyes widened, his gaze fixed on that stone, “I’ve seen this before,” he said quietly, his voice tinged with something between awe and dread.
The Principal glanced at him, picking up on his unease. “You recognize it? Where?”
Aether’s hand reached out to touch the slab, fingers grazing its cold, rough surface, “It was in the place where they tried to… sacrifice me,” he said.
The bizarre symbols carved into the stone looked strikingly familiar—they were similar to those on the altar where he’d nearly lost everything.
The Principal’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she scanned the symbols. She wanted to ask him more about the “sacrifice” he’d mentioned, but she sensed that now wasn’t the right moment. “Can you read any of it?”
Aether shook his head. “No… I only recognize some of these markings because of that altar. The only one who could fully decipher them was…” He trailed off.
“Hey, look here,” the Principal said suddenly, leaning in closer as she gestured to a few specific markings.
Aether leaned closer… too much closer that made Principal frown but shrugged.
Aether smiled inwardly before seeing the….
One symbol bore the image of flames, and another resembled a mountain. “These two… I’ve seen them before. They match the symbols on the Origin Pillars.”
Aether blinked, surprised.
The Principal sighed, giving herself a small facepalm, “Oh, that’s right… you’ve never been there. The Origin Pillar is a sacred place where the chosen ones receive their trials. Two pillars there carry these exact symbols.”
Aether nodded, contemplating. “So… this is part of the same lineage. Maybe it’s linked to the trials?”
The Principal shook her head. “I’m not sure. I’ll have Alaric investigate this further. He’s very skilled in old languages and symbols—he may be able to find some answers.”
Aether was about to speak when—
Rrrrr! Tucck… tucccccrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
The roots binding the stone suddenly began to stretch, winding themselves even further as the slab itself started to rotate.
Aether and the Principal stepped back instinctively, both of them frowning. “Was the creature trying to rotate this?” Aether asked. “But… why?”
The Principal attempted to halt the rotation, summoning all her strength, but the slab continued to spin undeterred, her efforts seemingly useless. Even at her full power, the stone neither cracked nor slowed.
The Principal’s expression darkened. An unshakeable sense of dread washed over her. The energy around this stone slab felt ominous—too dangerous to linger around, “We need to get out of here,” she said firmly, and before Aether could protest, she grabbed him and teleported them both away.
The stone slab continued to rotate with an unseen force, each turn sending a faint pulse of energy into the air.
…..
…
High above, Aether and the Principal hovered in the sky, watching the soldiers below as they surrounded the Elephant’s remains, investigating the scene thoroughly.
“So?” the Principal asked, her tone expectant.
Aether smirked inwardly before glancing at her, feigning innocence. “So… what?”
She gave him a pointed look. “I mean… this sacrifice you were talking about? Care to explain?”
Aether grinned mischievously, raising an eyebrow. “Oh? Are you that curious about your disciple’s past? or some—”
“Aether!” Her voice had a hard edge to it, her face dead serious that surprised even him.
‘How adorable~ She started to see me as a man which is quite dangerous for her considering she loves her ‘Students’… this is going to be a challenge… maybe I am wrong… she was little unpredictable after all!’ Aether thought, amusement sparking in his eyes. He steadied his expression, though, and in a serious tone, began to recount the story of his past…. Ether’s past!
