Chapter 36

A few weeks passed. The closer we get to the northern beaches, the more intense the black patches become. If the ratio near the southern area was around forty-sixty, the ratio here was around fifty-fifty. Still a lot of spots for us to maneuver around, but it does become quite worrying. What if the capital was covered by black patches? What if we ended up not being able to move at all?

“Any results, Nicho?” Angen asked. I was observing the terrain from above through the drone.

“Nothing so far, you could continue.”

“Alright.”

Due to the drone’s limited battery life, I couldn’t keep it in the air for long. I needed to bring it down everytime I finished surveying an area to then recharge it. So far, we didn’t have any bearing, either, no direction we could head toward. There were no clues in regard to where the old capital might be. We kept walking north, using a compass to guide us.

“We still have enough anti-magic medicine, right?” Elerina asked.

I checked the stock in my apartment, which they had been taking from.

“There should be enough to last another ten days.”

Angen and Memorus also brought some in their suitcase, but if I ran out, then they'd be forced to turn around immediately.

“I wonder if there’s any other magic shrine in here that could give us clues.”

Supposedly, magic shrines are scattered throughout the world. They’re built by an ancient civilization, so supposedly, they’re built even before the empire came to be. That said, finding one isn’t easy. We could find the one in the elven nation no problem because Elerina had maps of them.

“Well, let’s keep our eyes peeled on anything that might look like a shrine.”

As we proceeded farther, what we ended up arriving at isn’t a shrine, but rather, a town. It was a small town typical of the desert landscape, with boxed buildings. There were some black patches on the buildings themselves, but not a lot. There were no plants there, despite a rather large oasis right next to it. Which reminds me, even after traveling for weeks, we had yet to come across a single monster.

“Is the water safe?” Memorus asked while observing the oasis. There were no signs of any black infestation in the oasis itself, albeit black patches were visible around it. Like with food and medicine, they had been getting water from me, so there’s no need for them to actually drink it.

“It looks safe, so there’s that.”

They eventually lost interest in the oasis and went into town. The town was empty. They checked the interiors of the buildings. The furniture inside was completely different in style compared to the ones found in elven towns. They tend to be in hard shapes, like perfect cubes.

There wasn’t anything useful, though. They chose the northernmost building in town for tonight, choosing one that had absolutely no black patch on it. It was the first time they slept in a proper building for ages.

“Phew… decent view out here,” Elerina said, looking out the window on the second floor. I noticed something on the screen. Her camera was pointing east, and in the distance, there seemed to be what looked like a cylindrical white tower, exactly like the ones in the elven kingdom.

“We found our shrine!”

•••

Usually, upon touching a magic shrine, I would find myself inside the position of an observer. Someone completely unrelated to the world. This time, however, it was different.

“You can already remember all that? Impressive,” I said, or rather, the original owner of this body said. I was inside someone else’s body. I sat in a well-lit room. From the corner of my eyes, there were a row of bookshelves behind us. In front of us was a window, and the sky outside looked dark.

Beside me was a young girl with sharp elven ears. She had clear blue eyes and long, yellow hair.

“You done well, Ellen.”

The young Elerina beamed. “Will I be able to reach your level one day, Dad?”

“Why of course. You’ll pass us in no time.” Elerina’s father reached out and patted her daughter’s head. Elerina giggled happily.

“Well, it’s getting late. You should be heading to bed.”

“Okay!” Elerina hopped off the chair and ran toward the door. Elerina’s father’s expression changed, and he let out a sigh.

A knock came from the door. An elven woman with clear blue eyes and yellow hair entered. “So how was she, Dear?”

“She already mastered the pronunciation of nizisokuzetarema. It wouldn’t be long before she could unleash that spell.”

“Isn’t that…”

“Yes, the most powerful nature-based spell in existence.”

The words of Elerina’s father felt heavy, and I could feel the worry in his voice. Elerina’s mother, on the other hand, smiled softly at her husband.

“She’ll be alright.”

“Will she, thought? I mean, this is that spell we’re talking about.”

“Calm down, Dear. Trust your daughter. She’ll be fine.”

Elerina’s mother’s lips moved some more, but I could no longer hear her voice.

•••

Silence fell upon us after I finished telling the story I had just witnessed. I think that’s understandable.

“My father… feared me?”

“How does that information even help us? We still don’t know where Izoma is. Actually, did you hear that message again?” Angen asked.

“Not this time.”

Memorus caressed his chin. “Do different shrines have different ways of conveying the message?”

“Maybe? Ellen, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Elerina said, shaking her head. “It’s a bit of a shock, that’s all.”

“You’ve been getting shock after shock after shock. I’m surprised you’re still alright.”

“Angen.”

“What? That’s the truth?”

To be honest, I share my assessment with Angen on this one. Elerina had been discovering things that may or may not be true. But, even if it wasn’t true, seeing a different universe where she had a good relationship with her family must have hurt, although I did find more interest in the conversation after.

“What’s so dangerous about that spell?”

I mean, that is the most powerful nature-based spell, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it has some side effects like life steal or something.

“... There isn't any clear info, but some said it’s corruption of the soul.”

“Much like dark magic, then?”

“A bit different, I think. Dark magic replaces your mind. This changes your personality.”

When Angen and Memorus were affected by dark magic, they slowly lose control of themselves. Based on what Elerina said, I assumed this one changed your personality to something much darker.

“A personality change… huh…”

On Earth, there are several things that might change someone’s personality, so magic being able to do that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“Still, even then-”

“West.” A voice suddenly appeared in my mind. It sounded like a voice of a heavy man. Despite slight difference, that voice sounded similar to the voice I heard when I’m in my visions.

“Nicholas?” Elerina asked worriedly after realizing I had fallen silent.

“We need to head west.”

“What?”

“Did you notice something?”

“I heard a voice, likely the same one that told us to go to Izoma. It said west.”

“That’s it?” Angen tilted her head in disbelief. Unfortunately for her, that was all I heard.

“Yes.”

“That’s hardly anything,” Memorus said, and I agreed with him. That’s so little info, not that any of this voice’s messages before contained much information. At the very least, those sentences are a couple words long. How far should we go west? Do we go exactly west west, or do we go a bit northwest or southwest.

“Guess we’re heading west tomorrow.” Elerina shrugged, she also seemed at a loss with this sudden information.

Without any clearer info, we decided to just follow the voice’s words and began heading west. All four of us have reservations about following it, especially thanks to the vastness of this desert. If we took the wrong turn, returning home would not only take longer, but be much more difficult.

At the same time, the voice is among the reasons we were here in the first place, so it feels wrong to not trust it.

“Let's get some rest. We'll continue the first thing tomorrow.”

•••

“We really should consider building a car,” I said while reducing the drone's altitude. I continued my task of surveying the distance like before. While I checked the route, Elerina made a map to plan our next movements. Once she was done, I flew the drone back to her and transferred it over for recharging, while they proceeded.

Two days had passed since we made our turn to the west. It felt like ages. We needed to move carefully, slowing our speed and making things feel slower than they really are.

“Those things are too big, aren't they?”

“Unfortunately, yeah.”

If we could transfer a car, no, even a buggy or an ATV would be good, we could move much quicker. Admittedly, it would also take longer in some cases because some gaps are too small for a car, but it should still save a lot of time.

Another thing to consider is that we haven’t tested a large object on those black patches. If we can get a car, we can put a brick or a rock on the accelerator, and let it run on its own straight toward the patch. If it survived, then it meant that only small things get sucked, and we can just cruise above it.

If it didn’t… Well, there are plenty of old cars that are relatively cheap. It’s going to be a waste for sure, though.

That said, we ended up not needing it.

“Is that…?”

We crossed a large sand dune. A city stood in the distance. It was larger than all the towns we visited before.

Yes, we finally arrived.

The former capital of the Empire, Izoma.