Chương 986: 1016 - Sea of Dust

Reach Tell Kirin. No longer a vague hope, Leon and his team now knew that that was where they needed to go. With that information, the team made quick progress after leaving Naxor Amis. As with the approach to Naxor Amis, they maneuvered around the desolate remains of larger population centers and constantly stayed on the move, save for the rare moments when rest was truly needed—Mari was still only a sixth-tier mage, after all. Thankfully, the Mandian Lands were relatively flat.

According to Tir and Nara, they had once been quite paradisical, with shallow hills, pleasant forests, and abundant rivers. The climate had been temperate, and the people fairly peaceful. There were wars, but for the most part, they were directed outward, away from the Mandian Lands. Leon wished he could've seen the region in its prime.

As it was now, all he saw was the same bleak landscape that he'd seen since entering the Mandian Lands days ago, save for more frequent rivers with water so polluted and thick that it flowed like tar. At the very least, there were no more monsters or creatures to stop their advance.

Leon found that as curious as he found it comforting, though; the dark aura of the Primal Devil was growing thicker and more intense, requiring him to reinforce his and Tir's defenses—as well as spare Nara a defensive ward, too, when his personal defense started to prove itself inadequate—and yet, not a single person or monster appeared to try and impede their progress.

'When in a desert, ask not from whence the rain comes, I suppose,' Leon thought every time he found himself wondering just what in the hells Khaji'Yun and the Primal Devil were doing, letting them make so much progress. Whatever the case, progress was rapidly made, and within two weeks of leaving Naxor Amis, they finally started drawing close to Tell Kirin, and Leon didn't need anyone to tell him of that.

Tell Kirin had once been a magnificent city if the map Leon had and the stories he'd heard of it from Tir and Nara were any indication. A city centered on a massive tower not unlike Ambrose's, with majestic palaces, vast forums dedicated to trade and debates, spectacular monuments, and grand halls all spiraling out from the center like the petals of a lotus—and with similar coloring, too, with white and pink stone dominating the visual style, though the city possessed all other colors in abundance.

All of that was gone, now; the greatest architectural and artistic achievements of Arkhnavi were now little more than a sea of gray dust. Qo Weylekh's tower, however, still rose high into the sky. Leon could hardly see it, though, for the vast structure was surrounded by black storm clouds that occasionally rippled with purple lightning, though the tower's base was still visible enough through the gloom of distance and intense dust storms.

The tower was twelve-sided instead of cylindrical like Ambrose's and was much wider at the base. Dozens of shorter towers crowded around the base, further widening its footprint—eleven circles of twelve twelve-sided towers each, with each circle of towers radiating out from the central tower being shorter than the last, giving the structure as a whole a kind of star shape. Qo Weylekh's central tower was the twelfth 'circle', though it was the only one on its own.

The towers themselves were made of smooth bronze without even the slightest hint of green patina. There were no windows or doors that Leon could see, leaving the structure itself somewhat plain, though Tir told him that the towers had once been enclosed with layers of walls that turned the areas between the smaller towers into public parks of great beauty, and that water and multicolored ivy had once spilled from the top of each tower, adding even more color.

There wasn't so much as a single dried blade of grass left, though, and no water flowed from the towers, leaving the structure entirely bare. And there the structure sat, its upper half obscured entirely by the storm, its lower reaches surrounded by wild dust dunes stirred into chaos by the storm above. To reach the tower, they'd have to cross the dunes, get through the dust storm, and then find a way inside the towers. From there… Leon wasn't quite sure. [What do you think, demon?] Leon asked.

[Are we close enough now?] [Hmm,] Xaphan hummed. [I can still feel the resonance of my power, but it's hard to place.] [Should I call you out here to get a better read?] Leon asked. [Do I look like I'm in need of such charity?] Xaphan testily responded. [Give me two seconds, I'll get a better read on where you need to go.] Leon silently counted to two. [Well?] he asked. [I wasn't being literal, human,] Xaphan sniped, eliciting a chuckle from Leon.

"What's so funny?" Nara asked, his tone tinged with the slightest bit of accusation.

"Having such a bitchy demon that's so easy to annoy living in my soul realm," Leon responded.

"He needs some time to give us a good idea of where to go other than, 'the obvious only remaining structure in the whole damn sea of dust'." Nara frowned, but they had already come to a short stop at the top of the last hill before the dust sea, so he simply conjured a stool and said, "Then we might as well get some rest now. By the gods—we're unlikely to have another opportunity for a while."

"The gods have blessed our journey thus far," Tir added, "but I am not so bereft of Wise Farangeun's gifts to advocate charging in right now. Let us wait to gather all the information we can before proceeding."

"The gods have always loved the prepared," Nara whispered.

"The lazy fucks prefer those who ask for the least amount'a work on their part," Mari exclaimed as her suit kneeled and entered what Leon now knew to be something of a recharging state. Mari wasn't going to get out of the suit, not with how intense the aura of darkness was around here, but her suit could at least ensure that it had as much magic power as it could contain in such a short amount of time. Thankfully, her suit hadn't run into any power problems the whole way to the Tell Kirin.

The storm crystal and thunder wood had proven their worth in spades, as far as Leon was concerned, providing a considerable amount of power to Mari's suit that didn't need to be purified. Leon even quietly wanted to see how it would function in battle, though Mari had only run a few tests and hadn't yet really run the suit through its paces given their unstated time constraints. The ritual to unleash the Primal Devil would finish at some point.

They didn't know when, but if Arkhnavi was in its current state when the Devil wasn't even out yet, then though no one had stated it aloud yet, they all knew that all life on the plane would most likely come to an end if it did free itself. Granted, there wasn't much life on the plane left, but Nara had assured them that human civilization on the plane still struggled on in the regions more distant from the Mandian Lands than where Leon had arrived.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. So, after Tir visibly held himself back from admonishing Mari for her blasphemy, they settled in to wait for Xaphan to finish his triangulation. However, they'd only gotten comfortable for a few minutes when a burst of darkness magic had them all springing up and turning to confront the source.

The source was Khaji'Yun, appearing without his cloak of darkness, with little more than a strip of cloth to cover his nethers. His arms were raised in greeting and a welcoming smile was on his face.

"Ya poxy ballbag," Mari spat before the cultist had even gotten in a single word.

"How rude," he said.

"And here I am, coming out to welcome you four to Tell Kirin. How uncivilized."

"You insult all of humanity," Nara growled.

"You speak of civilization, yet you laid so much low."

"They have gone to join the true gods," Khaji'Yun responded, his smile not faltering in the slightest, "for the gods are generous and forgiving, and all those that fall in the course of the gods' return are honored in the life after this one. There, they know no pain, suffering, or vice." Leon noted Khaji'Yun briefly turn to Tir'Anu as he spoke, but only for a moment before turning back to Leon.

"I'm disappointed you didn't tell them about me," he said. Leon shrugged as the other three momentarily turned toward him.

"A name and an unsupported backstory. Thought you were dead; can you blame me?" Khaji'Yun seemed hardly disturbed at all by this admission.

"Of course not. But I assure you, I didn't lie at all when I told you my history. Believe me, I'm beyond such petty vices as deceit, now."

"How are you alive?" Leon demanded.

"By the grace of the gods I survived our encounter," the cultist replied.

"And by their grace, the four of you might be saved, too. All they ask of you is to open your hearts to their light, to their love." He unambiguously looked at Tir, Nara, Mari, and then Leon in turn, saying as his eyes landed upon each, "Forgiveness. Family. Understanding. Power. All that you desire, the gods will provide. Is it so onerous that all they want in return is your love?"

"I'd tell ya to eat my ass," Mari shot back, "but I get the feeling that you're the kinda bottom feeder that'd enjoy it. So instead, I'll just tell ya to fuck off."

"There is… certain virtue in stubbornness," Khaji'Yun replied, completely unfazed.

"The false gods you've been raised to venerate might be offended by such language, but not the true gods. Please remember, Mari'Kha: the door to the gods' home is always open. They do not judge us for our past mistakes; they only offer forgiveness." The cultist again turned meaningfully to Tir.

"I will not partake of this devil's offer," Tir said.

"By the brothers of war, Valiant Ashatar and Strong Ashagon; by the Mothers Above and Below; by Mandious, Lord of All in Heaven; by all the gods, named or not, I will stop you!"

"I hope that you someday change your mind," Khaji'Yun good-naturedly replied.

"I have long wanted to talk to you, Tir'Anu, about a great many things— the gods, not the least of which. Perhaps, in the life after this one, when we are all truly equal and all our sins have been forgiven, we might finally have that conversation, if you remain resistant to the word of the gods in this life." He turned to Nara.

"By the Two Skies; by my father and uncle; by my bride; by my people… I will bring your cult to ruin. I will take your head no matter the obstacles your devil puts in my path. I will ensure that Arkhnavi returns to peace and prosperity. We have nothing more to discuss, cultist."

"That is a shame," Khaji'Yun said.

"I hope you see the error of your ways before this life comes to an end." He turned to Leon. Instead of simply letting Leon speak, he instead said, "Leon Raime. Scion of the Thunderbird… and more, besides. Many are the challenges you will face in the future as you rebuild your Clan. Those in the Nexus will not just roll over for you to take the title of Storm King. Fewer still will appreciate you, even if you manage to take it. But with the gods on your side, this will not matter! The gods will grant you power!

They will grant you victory! They will give you the family you've always desired! And so much more! Leon—for your sake, and the sake of your Clan, both past and future—I urge you to consider my offer carefully."

"Why?" Leon asked with a sarcastic smile.

"Is the offer made to me temporary? You wound me, you truly do." Khaji'Yun grinned.

"The offer will always be open to you, Leon Raime. The gods judge no one, not even the descendants of false gods."

"Heh. The answer's still going to be a hard 'no'. Ask again and receive increasingly rude answers." Khaji'Yun bowed.

"So be it," he said as he straightened up. He looked like he was about to say his goodbyes when Mari interjected with a question of her own.

"Why are ya even askin', ya shit?" Khaji'Yun smiled at her, a wistful look crossing his face.

"I believe that I can save you four a tremendous amount of pain and suffering. This path I offer you is one of peace, forgiveness, and joy. If you believed you could bring such things to others, would you not consider it your moral imperative to do so? If you had the power to save those in need, to bring salvation to the sinful… is that not what you must do?

To do otherwise would be sinful beyond reproach, and though the gods will forgive all our mistakes, all our sins, it is always better not to need those things in the first place."

"If your gods are so forgiving, then why does anyone need salvation?" Leon asked. Khaji'Yun cocked an eyebrow and glanced in his direction.

"Everyone will be saved, in the end," he said.

"But the sooner we reach the gods' light, the less suffering we must endure. The gods may forgive us all in the life after this one, but that doesn't mean we should not strive to reduce the suffering we experience in the life we currently live. This is not about the destination, my friend, but the journey." Leon's eyes slid past the cultist to briefly survey the wild and chaotic sea of dust behind him, where once a great city that millions called home once lay.

"You must ignore all the evidence given to you by the eyes and ears. I'd almost wonder if you'd been corrupted by that Primal Devil, but I blasted you with too much lightning for me to believe that without more evidence. Leave us, cultist; your words will find no purchase here." Leon dismissed Khaji'Yun with an imperious wave of his hand, and the cultist sadly smiled, bowed once, and then vanished.

As Leon had suspected—and he was sure the others did too, given their lack of action—Khaji'Yun had just been a projection. He hadn't appeared before them in person.

"Fucker can't even talk to us face-to-face," Mari ranted.

"Has to pretend to be here. Like a little bitch."

"I came close to killing him back in Naxor Amis," Leon said.

"Or at least, I think I did. I wouldn't blame him for taking precautions, even though he seems to want to join his gods more than anything."

"Leon…" Nara said in the kind of serious tone that indicated he was interrupting with a much more serious topic.

"He said that you know who he is?" Leon grimaced.

"Only what he told me back in Naxor Amis. Man by the name of 'Khaji'Yun'." He spared Tir a look.

"Said his parents were caught up in the purge. That was about it. No other specifics, nothing of much value that I could see."

"Be that as it may…" Nara said while Tir's face paled slightly and he averted his gaze, "I would've preferred to know this information sooner."

"Apologies," Leon replied.

"I was… distracted. Were this more immediately relevant information, I would've shared it by now."

"Of course," Nara said in a strained tone that indicated it was only a diplomatic agreement.

"The name… doesn't tell us anything, does it?" Leon asked, his embarrassment over not bringing this up sooner overpowering his pride momentarily.

"Not to me," Nara responded as he glanced over at Tir.

"The name… doesn't stand out," Tir said.

"He said his father was caught up in an adultery case, and his mother protested it," Leon clarified.

"… Many fit that description," Tir sorrowfully admitted, his eyes turning to the tower in the distance.

"What's done is done," Leon stated.

"All we can do now is move ahead, doing what we think is right. Take what you've learned and make sure you never repeat your mistakes. Right?" Tir took a deep breath and steeled himself.

"Right."

"Great," Leon whispered as the group quietly went back to waiting for Xaphan to finish what he was doing.

"Did you feel that?" a man asked his only companion.

"I did," the woman replied, her voice hushed but urgent.

"Felt like that Devil-worshipping man who took Japarthi…" The two shared a look of concern before turning their powerful senses outward, surveying the sea of dust before them and the broken and barren hills that surrounded it. Beyond the tower they could just barely make out in the dust storm, they could sense the dissipating power of the one they spoke of, only a few dozen miles away.

Given the way it interacted with the darkness magic in the environment, it was impossible to miss, even though the four powerful mages they could just barely make out in the distance were nearly invisible in the sheer sea of polluted magic in the air.

"More cultists?" the woman wondered aloud.

"No," the man replied.

"One's a tenth-tier mage. Maybe… he's the last one?" The two shared another look before coming to a silent agreement. They set off from the hill they stood upon, both fading from view until they were completely invisible, and began making their way toward this new group…