Chapter 692 - Everything Changes

“You’ve changed,” Zeke said, glancing at Talia.  She was so close that he half expected her to take his arm.  Thankfully, she hadn’t, but she clearly didn’t intend to let him get far out of her sight. 

In any case, his observation was accurate enough.  Talia had always been beautiful in a pale, delicate sort of way.  Sure, she was also a horrifying combatant who could move so fast that most people couldn’t even perceive her, but she was also waifish in stature.  That, combined with her pale complexion gave the impression that she was sickly.

That wasn’t the case anymore. 

It was like the Talia he’d known was a teenager, and while he was gone, she had become a woman.  There were hints of her mother’s look in there – mostly in the way she held herself – but very little of her old demeanor remained.  She was still pail, but there was a vitality to her that had long been lacking.

“New class.  New race.  I’m not entirely undead anymore,” she informed him.  “Oberon says that I could become a greater goddess of life and death, though I’m still a long way from that.  Pudge is closer to greater godhood than I am.”

“Neither of us will reach that status for centuries,” the bearkin stated as they strode to the empty glade where Oberon had told Zeke he could summon his gate to the tower. 

“Speak for yourself,” Tucker said, gripping Zeke’s shoulder.  “I’m going to get there sooner rather than later.  Then, I’m going to spend the rest of eternity making babies with my woman.”

“If she hears you call her that, you won’t have the equipment to meet that goal,” Pudge said.

“She wouldn’t take my lab.”

“Not the equipment he’s talking about,” Talia said with a giggle.

A giggle.

It was so incongruous that Zeke stopped in his tracks just to stare at her.  Everyone else continued on for another stride or two before they realized he’d come to a halt.  They turned, and Talia asked, “What?”

Zeke wanted to answer.  He wanted to tell her that of all people, he hadn’t expected a giggle from her.  Yet, he couldn’t get the words out, largely because his discomfort wasn’t limited to the innocent laugh.  Rather, it was everything.  The full weight of everything he’d missed crashed down on him in the space of an instant, and he soon found himself reeling. 

“They’re all so different,” Zeke said inwardly.

Eveline said, “That happens after a hundred years.  People change.”

“No, but it’s more than that.  You see how close they are?” he asked.  In addition, he didn’t even remember who Iris was. 

“The pirate captain,” Eveline supplied.

“Oh.”

“Is something wrong?” asked Pudge, real concern playing across his face.

“Zeke has been through quite an ordeal,” Oberon reminded them as he caught up.  He didn’t move quickly, but given his obvious age, that wasn’t surprising.  “He will require some adjustment, I am sure.  You have no idea what he’s been forced to endure.”

“I’m fine,” Zeke insisted.

“If you’re not, we can –”

He interrupted Talia, saying, “I said I’m fine.  Let’s see how much the tower has changed.”

With that, he pushed past them.  They hurried to catch up, but he reached the center of the glade a few steps before them.  Once there, Zeke noticed a couple of fairies flitting around, but the place was otherwise deserted.  So, he turned to Oberon and asked, “You okay if I go ahead with this?”

The dwarf nodded as he caught up.  “Go ahead.”

Finally – and for the first time in a subjective millennia – he summoned one of the gates associated with the Crimson Tower.  The gate grew from the ground, building itself brick by brick into a majestic arch.  Whirling runes surrounded it, floating in mid-air and carved into the surface, and emanating divine energy.  Then, once the arch had completed, the air within shimmered before turning completely white. 

“After you,” Oberon said.

Zeke took a deep breath as he attempted to prepare himself for what was coming.  Then, at last, he stepped through.  For a second, he felt a similar sensation as what he’d sensed when traveling from the Nexus to Oberon’s domain, and he once again felt the looming creatures of the void poised to attack.  He lingered for less than a second, but they very nearly reacted in time. 

What would happen if they managed to capture him?

Zeke’s combative side hoped for just such an occasion.  Fighting entirely new opponents and killing a few monsters was just the distraction he needed. 

But he knew it was just that – a distraction.

So, by the time he materialized inside the tower, he’d moved on.  Even he hadn’t, thoughts of fighting eldritch monsters would have been banished by the sight that greeted him upon arrival.

“It’s…I…I don’t…it’s huge.”

And it was.

In fact, the word seemed entirely insufficient to describe what he saw.  He’d once considered the Entry Hall to be quite large, but when he’d left, it was no more than a mile across.  Now, he couldn’t even see the edges.  Rows of buildings stretched as far as he could see, but he’d arrived in a vast square that played host to hundreds of lifelike statues. 

Some were familiar, depicting events he well remembered.  But there were others he wished he could forget.  Like the one that clearly showed the events from the Circle of Fraud.  He stared at the statue of the decrepit and broken man kneeling on the ground, his hand outstretched as if he was begging.

The rest of his exploits in Hell were represented as well, but there were plenty of others that predated his descent by some time. 

And then there were the automatons. 

Zeke didn’t need to use [Unfettered Truth] to know that they were the same figures he summoned with [Pantheon].  They radiated the same divine energy, even if many looked quite different.  Some were slight and fast, while others were heavy and clearly specialized for defense. 

“There are thousands of them,” Pudge said.  “We’re not sure exactly how many, but they help keep the peace, supporting the kobolds’ efforts.”

That was the other thing Zeke was forced to recognize.  There were tens of thousands – maybe hundreds of thousands – of people in the Entry Hall alone.  Zeke could sense them, too.  Many were within the buildings, working in restaurants or other businesses, but plenty of others were shopping or simply moving to one of five gates positioned around the city.

More than anything, it reminded Zeke of the Nexus he’d just left behind.  Not in form, but rather in function. 

It wasn’t just larger, either.  It was that, but it was so much more.  The buildings had evolved into works of art, with flowing lines and intricate details that put Zeke in mind of the architectural works of art from the world he’d left behind when he’d died.  There were elements of gothic, baroque, and classical architecture in there, but somehow, they all blended together into a seamless and unique whole. 

“You think this is great, wait ‘til you see the other levels,” Tucker said, once again gripping Zeke’s shoulder.

“Are those airships?” Zeke asked, pointing in the distance. 

The alchemist nodded, answering, “The gates expanded a decade or two after you left.  They grew big enough for airships to travel.  Then, the docks just kind of appeared.  It made Westport even more dominant than it was before.  And of course, we take our cut.”

“Come on,” Talia said.  “The next level is where the real fun starts.”

Zeke allowed himself to be dragged toward a teleportation pad, and soon enough, he and the rest of the group had been transported to the next level up.  This one was even more densely packed than the last.  The buildings were taller, and the storefronts far more luxurious.

“The Merchant Quarter?” he asked, remembering the layout.

Pudge shook his head. “Commerce district.  This is the single most important business district in the entire Eternal Realm,” he said.  “Cities would fall if they were no longer allowed to trade here.”

“This is also where most of our manufacturing occurs,” Tucker added.  “Millions of people work here.”

Zeke was a little taken aback.  He’d expected there to be changed, but he certainly hadn’t anticipated that they’d be so extensive.  “How many people live in the tower now?” he asked.

“At last count?  Nearly six billion,” Tucker answered.  “More than half of those are kobolds.  The rest are a mixture, with the next largest group being beastkin.”

“Six…billion?” he muttered.

“Probably more now,” Talia said.  “The last census was almost a decade ago.”

“That’s…that’s a lot of people,” Zeke responded. 

That’s when some of the kobolds recognized him.  Murmurs of “Ak-Toh” followed them as they made their way to the next level, which turned out to be somehow be even more impressive than the last.

“It’s like an entire planet.”

“Larger than most,” said Oberon.  “This is your domain.  Without it, you never would have been able to do what you did.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You know about divine energy, right?” he asked.  Zeke nodded.  “It comes from worshippers.  And you have more than four billion kobolds here who worship you.  That energy had to go somewhere.”

“So, all the energy I used in hell…”

“From them.  You have the sixth largest base of worshippers in the Ethereal Realm.  Bigger than mine, certainly,” Oberon explained.

Zeke didn’t really hear him.  Instead, he was too focused on what had once been the Craftsman’s Terrace.  Now, it was called the Wilds, and according to Oberon, it was even larger than most planets.  It had its own ecosystems, complete with home-grown wildlife and monsters.  Nearest to the teleporter were the farms, but beyond were wild lands that people used for hunting and gathering natural resources. 

After that came the Crimson Springs, which had become an entire complex of pools that could miraculously heal anything short of death.  In some ways, the next level changed more than any of the others.  The Hunting Grounds had been completely altered, and at present, they housed a series of training facilities that covered everything from war to crafting. 

Everyone who lived in the tower was required to take advantage of it.

“But not everyone gets to live here,” Talia stated.  “It’s a privilege.”

When Zeke saw the Residential District, that was anything but obvious.  It had grown as well, and extensively.  In addition, it was divided into various neighborhoods depending on the needs of those who lived there.  For instance, the undead population lived in a region suffused with deathly mana that reminded Zeke of El’kireth. 

“This is not what I expected,” Zeke admitted after seeing the new seat of government.  Well – new to him, at least.  It was more than eight years old, and it housed the entire bureaucracy required to run the tower.

“It’s a lot,” Talia said.  “Do you want to see the Lord’s Manor?”

Zeke nodded, and the entire group headed to the teleporter to see the final floor. He braced himself for something truly shocking, but when they arrived, he was surprised to find that it was much the same as it had been when he’d left.  Sure, the energy had shifted, becoming divine, but it was still the same as before.

“I thought you might need something familiar,” Talia said. 

Then, they headed toward the manor itself, and Zeke was happy to find that it too was much the same.  Before long, he and the others were seated around the table and enjoying a meal cooked by a kobold. 

That’s when he asked the question that had been on his mind since he’d arrived in Oberon’s domain.

“Where’s Adara?” he asked.

“Oh…that,” Tucker said.  He looked from one person to the next, then took a deep breath before saying, “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just come right out.  She died about twenty years after you left.  She was dedicated to growing stronger, but…well, it was a freak accident, from what we could tell.  One member of her team was about to be obliterated by a spell, and she knocked him out of the way.  It hit her, and…and she didn’t make it.  I’m sorry, Zeke.  I wish…I wish we had better news.”

Everyone else echoed his sentiments, but Zeke didn’t really hear it.  Instead, he was busy trying to figure out how he felt about the matter.  And even hours later, when the others had left him to his own devices, he still hadn’t arrived at an answer.