The Third Portal: Chapter Seventy

After the ascension, things moved quickly. The city seemed largely unbothered, and it was a stark reminder that despite all the power that a high gate mage like the Amethyst Mask could wield, most people weren’t interested in snapping up every bit of power they could find. They were more concerned about keeping the lights on than hitting one gate higher. 

A man had ascended to gain enough power to tear apart a mountain with a spell, but to a normal person, it didn’t matter. It might matter if that person was doing something to help them, like how the Amethyst Mask’s deal with the city would let them expand the borders of their wards some, but other than that, it was just some powerful random guy taking another step on a ladder that the average person had ignored.

It was oddly beautiful in a way. Despite all of the power that Magi and Occultists could throw around, they were ultimately still just one individual. They had their place, mobile superweapons worth an entire army, but they were still only one person. 

Regardless of my contemplation, the others who were stuck at fourth or sixth gate wandered away, some seeming annoyed, while others looked more contemplative.

“Will it help them break through?” I asked Meadow as we started picking up some of the litter that the people who’d come to visit had left. 

“One or two, yes,” Meadow said. “I doubt that we’ll see any global powers minted solely by witnessing Darius’ breakthrough. Each person’s breakthrough is unique, and we only got to see it from the inside.” 

“Indeed – from my perspective, it was far more intense,” the Amethyst Mask called out from where he was pumping mana into the crystal, presumably filling it as per the arrangement with the government. 

“What was it like?” I asked, and he just shrugged. 

“I don’t remember much. You won’t either, when or if you break into Arcanist. You’ll remember your Origin of Power, Clarity of Purpose, and Intrinsic Limitation. You might also catch snippets of what you went through, but maybe not. I sort of remember fighting for my life against someone who was throwing around ninth gate telluric mana like it was nothing.” 

“I don’t remember anything from my own ascensions to seventh, eighth, or ninth,” Meadow said. “I do vaguely recall something about books from my fifth gate ascension, and something with maps for my sixth?” 

I listened attentively as the Amethyst Mask and Meadow continued to go back and forth about various odd things they remembered from their breakthroughs, and both Liz and Kene also listened closely. A thought struck me as the Mask and Meadow started to guide us out of the park.

“Why didn’t we invite Kene’s grandmother?” I asked. “She’s stuck at sixth gate, isn’t she?” 

“Mostly. One of her gates is stuck at fifth, but she’s cagey about which one, and it almost seems to change depending on the day,” Kene said. “But I did ask her. She said it wouldn’t help.” 

“When it comes to advancement, her limitations are more practical than those of a mindset,” Meadow said. “Though… Her mind is certainly damaged. Multiple things, I think.” 

“Really?” Kene asked. “I always kind of assumed it came from her incomplete immortality – she’s still lacking the restorative magic of perpetual youth, so her mind is damaged.” 

“I think that’s part of it. Just not all of it,” Meadow agreed. “I’m not sure, though. She keeps herself well-veiled, and I’m not going to shove myself into her business.” 

I turned to ask the Amethyst Mask a question, only to see him conjuring a drop of pure gold, and feeding it to Dawn. I stared at him. 

“Are you feeding her a drop of destiny?” I asked. He paused, looking guilty even underneath his mask, and though the shimmering amethyst, I saw his eyes looking one way, then the others. 

“No?” he said, as if it were a question. 

“I’m not… Where did you even get it?” 

There was a sweep of pressure around us as the world seemed to belong to the Amethyst Mask. 

“Officially, I didn’t. I suggest you don’t see it, since it will create problems with the Storm King. I can sort of get away with it, because she’s fallen from space. Though, how did you find her? And why hasn’t she begun to corrupt? Also, where did you come from, Dusk?” 

He loosened his grip on the world around us, and our motley crew started on the tale of finding a Lushloam Seed, and everything I’d gone through. Darius, as I finally began to think of him, began to share some of the stories from his own time entering third gate – his mana-garden had still largely been a wreck at the time, torn apart by the intensity of his own mana with each spell he cast. 

He shared a story about spending three weeks in the wilderness, tracking down an ancient palace to the north of Kijani that had supposedly held a treasure allowing a person to burn the detritus from their spell trimmings in order to enhance the spell it had come from. To hear him tell it, he’d battled beasts, navigated ancient traps, and wound up stuck in a pit for eight hours while he built gravitational enchantments to lift himself out. When he finally reached the center of the temple, he found an Arcanist level slaughter spirit using the sacrament-hearth as a mana source to try and advance, and they’d fought a massive battle that tore the entire structure apart. 

He’d eventually gotten it, and it was still an active part of his garden to this day, though it was no longer the end-all-be-all that it had felt like when he’d been searching for it. 

None of us were especially good storytellers, but it was still fun to bond over some of the crazy things we’d done, and it started to feel more like he was an uncle that I didn’t get a chance to see often than a total stranger.

Before I brought us back, we drifted into a restaurant. With such a large party, it took us a long time for us to find a place and get served, something that made me laugh. 

Meadow and Darius could probably have torn the entire city apart with their magic, but they waited to be served, the same as if they were a group of construction workers hanging out after work.

I couldn’t have seen Orykson waiting, though I didn’t think he’d have leapt to violence. I could absolutely hear him say something like “A man of power and means does not wait,” while passing over thousands of silver as a bribe to get in early.

Meadow and Darius didn’t believe that, though. They had seen the same thing I’d been contemplating – that for all of their power, they were only people. Limited, powerful, dangerous people. But people. To expect special treatment because they’d taken a few steps further on the path to power than the people working in the restaurant was the kind of thing that could build. Where did the special treatment end? 

Had Vivian, the Death Queen started that way? I didn’t know, but I could see it. 

I shook off the morose thoughts as we were seated, and servers began to bring out dishes of all sorts. Some of them looked familiar to me, like a mix of tomato, rich spices, and chickpeas, but others looked entirely new, like a wormsteak. It wasn’t actually from a worm, but rather from a horse sized earth-burrowing creature that was somewhat shaped like a worm. It was surprisingly juicy, falling apart in my mouth with each bite. 

There were fish dishes from cave dwelling fish, with a taste somewhere between shrimp and haddock, and baked in a massive layer of salt. That had thrown me at first – since they had access to large halite mines, the city’s cuisine tended to use it more in cooking than I was used to. Salt crusted fish, beef, eggs, and even bread. 

I wasn’t sure it was something that I’d want to eat every day, but as occasional fare, I thought it was quite good. I might try making some of the salt-crusted fish on occasion myself. 

The real star of the food that came out was mushrooms though. There were the ordinary white button mushrooms in a thick sauce, long broad capped mushrooms that had a savory taste that were served with rice, pinkish-red mushrooms that were folded with a bunch of vegetables and cooked into a curry, and more.

As we ate, Ed ordered a glass of a dark, syrupy brown liquor and raised it into the air. 

“I know Malachi and Kene have a few more weeks before they head off on their boat ride to collect treasures, but I’m not sure when the next time we all get together will be. I’m sure we’ll have a small dinner to send you off, but Crysite isn’t exactly equipped for fine dining.” 

Liz nudged him in the side, and he coughed, rubbing his stubble. 

“Ah, sure. Sorry about that, distracted. But… I wanted to say I’ve really enjoyed spending time with all of you. I’ve enjoyed our time in Crysite. I’m not at the level where I can compete in the Elysian Mastery Tournament, and I don’t think I’ll ever be. But I look forward to seeing you two compete. Even if you place in last, or even if neither of you place at all, the fact that you two were able to get a chance? You’ve done us all proud.” 

“Two?” I asked. 

In response, Liz winked and raised a familiar looking glass orb into the air. Along her hands, I could see long, thin, silvery scars that hadn’t been there before. We all let out a cheer, even Darius, and raised our glasses for Ed’s toast. 

After that, things began to devolve into stories. Darius talked about his own tournament, where he’d placed in the top eight, gaining access to the training realm of Elysia. Meadow had actually never competed, but she’d seen several. Liz shared stories about her grandfather’s time as a competitor, as well as her participation in the Trial of Absolute Destruction in Mossford, where she’d sharpened her full-gate even further. 

As we ate and drank, our stories slowly turned more personal, until all at once, midnight had crept up on us, and we excused ourselves to find a hotel and get some rest. Ed was right – I might have a few minor tasks left in Crysite, but that chapter of my life was slowly coming to a close. Even so, I knew I’d be back. Just like I’d visit Mossford to see my dad, I’d visit Crysite to see Ed. It was an ending of a sort, but not forever.