Azimuth: The Elden Throne

The chapter is now fixed; thank you for your patience!

I hope you have enjoyed this strange arc, it was something new for me and although we've been in it for three or so weeks, I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you all for reading, peace!

.

.

.

---

/SLASH!/

/... Thud/

The sound of air being cut reached his ears, but by then, Testros' world was already dark, enveloped in a shroud of mystery and uncertainty.

He did what he could; he couldn't quite visualize things anymore.

The sounds were deafening, the lights were obscured, his sense of touch was growing ever fainter, and he was slowly being pulled somewhere far away...

In the end, his young body had just begun using Mana; its muscles were untrained, unfamiliar with his techniques, its flesh was unused to this form of power, and his heart was being pushed to overdrive.

It wouldn't be surprising if he had a heart attack.

His body went limp, weak, feeble, unable to respond as his muscles snapped, its link to his mind broken, released...

With his last echo, he fell unconscious amidst screams and trembling sensations...

...

/... ding.../

In the void beyond his memories, Testros' mind floated peacefully and cooly under the weak chimes of distant bells...

He had no thoughts, he merely rested amidst the sea of emptiness...

Everything felt distant yet close, a strange sensation beyond Human senses.

What was this place, what was he experiencing? Surfacing thoughts that were quickly extinguished over the course of uncountable moments.

/light.../

Light shone at one of its corners, drawing him towards its warmth.

As he got closer and closer, its light awakened his mind, making him ponder the origin of this place, how he had gotten there, and if this was the afterlife...

/Shine.../

"?!"

As he crossed the division between light and darkness, Testros was thrown into a vortex of chaotic memories...

...

Testros was a mere spectator as the memories unfolded, watching his life unfold before him. His growth, his experiences post the Southern Wall's War, all played out like a vivid movie.

His growth, his life, everything post the day he had nightmares about.

He saw things he deemed impossible; he understood things he had never even asked before...

The origins of the Corps, the world of the past, comradeship, the bond between people...

Love...

And although it all came to him like a tide, he focused and took it all in, one inch at a time.

/Shine!/

When they all ended, Testros saw himself back at his home, lying on his bed.

Yes, everything just now had just been an illusion, a terrible dream...

Or had it?

/Shine.../

Testros' forehead shone with light; maybe it wasn't so much of an illusion after all.

It only made everything worse, the pain of reality, of returning to a world without his accomplishments...

No, this was where he belonged, a world of beauty and possibilities like that one, which was not his fate, not his home.

That was a world only possible due to this one, and even if he desired to return, he would first pay his toll in this world. That was the minimum he should do...

/Close.../

He opened and closed his hands, still feeling somewhat distant and confused, they felt numb and unfamiliar.

Memories of two lifetimes conflicted within his mind, he needed to calm them down and figure out who he trully was.

And then... Make some questions.

There was much a certain young man he knew could speak regarding that strange marble and the memories it contained.

But for now, he sat down on his bed... And began meditating.

...

/Around a day later... Dale awoke from his last memory.../

/Chomp.../

"Haa... I needed this." Dale said out loud as he patted his belly, having finished eating one of the packed meals Illia had made him many days ago; he was thankful the System storage could preserve items for a while

Otherwise, he would be eating rations...

Around half an hour after waking up, Dale finished with his bodily necessities after his lengthy stay in the memories.

He ate, drank, and took a shower. And now, he was better than ever.

He sat on his bed, checking his to-do list before moving on.

It was full of dark lines.

"There's not much left for me to do in Resko... Well... There is a lot, but most of my immediate tasks have been resolved."

'Talking with the Elders and the others to get their Tasks will take a little while, trainingshould also come around then.'

'I still have one more thing from Babylon... But I'll need to talk with the Karkavan again, as finding the proper place for the seed to grow isn't something I can do on my own.'

'There are the items Ermin gave me, but I already know neither Barme nor anyone can fix them all due to their unique manufacturing processes...'

'For those that can't be fixed, I have an idea...'

'Aside from that, I need to contact Roger's agents and his granddaughter; I talked with him not long ago, yet I've been postponing this... She's likely either upset or as excited as ever; both are possible.'

'I could also see how everyone is handling the materials I gave them yesterday... Or was it the day before yesterday? These memories messed up my sense of time a little...'

'Especially Yumi, it's been a while since I saw her... "While"...' He thought as he rolled his eyes

'I should talk with the Merchants and the Mercenary Guild before they depart, convince them to go on with my plans...'

'And with all the free time I have left after, I'll begin the implementation of the upgraded, 'future' Leaderboard Event. I've already written most of it anyway, so the system should have no problem implementing it.'

'The sooner I get it going, the better, the players will begin working hard and they'll have a goal to work towards, especially now since just a day or two ago Babylon ended, making the start of Azimuth's second month of release.'

"Oh! I can't forget about this either!"

/Shine.../

With great excitement, Dale manifested Kiton, the power from the foreign land, and destroyed world of Welmion.

"There are two lifetimes worth of knowledge for me to rummage through... That'll take me a while to process."

"It's impressive how much I lost when I first went through these memories... The experience of fighting on the battlefield as an ordinary soldier was deeply impactful, but it's not something I wished to experience again just for the sake of it."

Figuring this strange power out would greatly assist him in his journey; it was something that held immense value, not only for himself but also for those around him.

"Phew... Okay... I've settled my thoughts." Dale said out loud as he massaged his temples

'Time to work!'

With a broad smile, Dale left his room, ready to face everyone after several days of silence.

And... Well... After so long without any news, they weren't necessarily happy, especially given he left most of them hanging at a rather crucial moment.

Dale wasn't welcomed with open arms...

...

/Later.../

Following this, he met with the Elders individually to see how they were all doing.

Most of them were doing fine, either handling the materials he gave them or studying something new, and for now, he didn't press much as he knew their Quests would update on their own when the due time came.

Tina asked how he was doing physically before doing an overall check on him.

As always, she was the worryheart of them all despite looking and sounding like the one who cared the least.

From everyone's perspective, it had been at most a week since Dale fought the Great Devil, and the memory of her carving his skin with a knife was still vivid in Tina's mind.

But, as always, she was greatly surprised by what she saw.

He was much stronger than before, unusually so...

They had much to discuss, but he promised to tell her what was going on later, to which she hesitantly agreed.

Something similar happened to Sarferato, albeit their conversation was briefer due to his revelation of Kiton, using it as his excuse for not being present in the past few days.

This power baffled Sarferato, who easily replicated it with a frown.

He wonderedjusthow such strange energy averted his and everyone's gazes for so many centuries, given how elementary it was to invoke, raising the concern of caution as he tested this foreign energy for the first time.

Dale agreed, but he knew deep down Kiton wasn't dangerous, atleast, it wasn't as hazardous as Mana as Kiton was beneficial to Human life instead of poisonous like Mana was.

Knowing all well, their conversation wouldn't end there, so Sarferato let Dale leave so he could ponder over this power for a little longer.

Meanwhile, after letting out a sigh of relief that his power hadn't been shunned completely, he made his way around the Village, stopping momentarily as he passed by a familiar place.

It was about time he finished this matter as well.

...

/Later.../

"... and that's about it. Sorry for taking so long to contact youMrDerol." Dale said as he looked at a man sitting on a chair

"No problem, I imagine you've been extremely busy, it was the same for me and the others." The man with square glasses responded as he opened his inventory, dropping a few items nearby

"Here, your items. No one aside from me touched them, and with it, I left a small note with all the unique events that occurred when I acted as you."

"There wasn't anything special or unique that happened... But I still wrote everything just in case someone mentions it."

"Thank you, that's of great help."

'In the past, he did the same. There were a few events that happened that would leave me baffled... He is a lucky guy... Or unlucky, depending on how some looks at it.'

"I must sayMrHouston, you're quitethepopularguy."Derol teased as he chuckled

"Haaa... Popularity can be a curse in some cases."

"That doesn't seem to be the case for you, though... Well, I won't put my nose in your business any more than this."

"Thank you. It's nothing like that yet, but I appreciate the discretion."

"Hm... 'Yet' you say... Mr Houston, you're truly ambitious! Hahaha!"

"I... Sigh."

After a few more words and laughs, Dale said his goodbyes to Derol, the Doppelganger.

He discussed the possibility of arranging a private meeting so he could begin helping Roger's players Level Up and grow stronger; they would become an excellent force in completing many Quests he didn't have the time to redo, growingstrongerin the process.

These players would become the backbone of hisownspecial forces; until then, he had other things to do.

...

/Later.../

...

.

.

.

Notes