B2 Ch. 4 Big Crystal Energy

Tilly hurried to catch up with the others, moving through the front entrance of the temple carved into the side of the mountain with hardly a thought for the things he had faced here on his two previous visits…

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Some of those grizzly memories tried to surface as they moved down the front passageway and assembled in the anti-room of the temple.  But Tilly kept them tamped down, continually singing “the final countdown” under his breath in a successful attempt to distract himself.

The group formed in a semi-circle in the cafeteria-sized room with a high ceiling and softly glowing walls, which Tilly noticed seemed to have become brighter since his last visit. Then Hiro turned from the group and addressed Tilly in a formal tone.

“Jonathan Tillman, Champion of the God, Origin. We plan to activate our nation's Sovereign Crystal in this first room.  Will this displease the patron of this temple in any way? Or do you not have the ability to speak for your God in this?”

Tilly slowly took in the stares of everyone present who had turned to see his answer.  He wasn’t sure how formal this was or if there was a right answer, but he went with his gut, which hadn’t killed him so far… although, it had come pretty close,

“Honestly, I think he will be fine with this.  I'm not sure about other Gods but He doesn’t seem to think about this stuff in the same way as any other gods I have heard of.  I'm not entirely sure what he wants, but I know at the very least that He wouldn’t hold something like this against you. ”

Shuji bowed formally, acknowledging his answer, and then turned to look deeper into the temple.  After a moment he declared, “It is with open intentions we seek to tie this nation's fate with Yours and enact a covenant.  We will align ourselves with your cause and in turn, we ask for your blessing and protection in the face of the coming threat.  You are unknown to us, but the darkness we face is known well enough.  No deity has done as much for our people since our own patron gave up her power to grant us this legacy.  We share enemies and allies alike, let us be bound together in the eyes of Nephesh and all who dwell within it.”  He intoned formally, before bowing again.

His words echoed through the glowing chamber, and nothing seemed to happen.  This did not ruffle Hiro at all, who nodded to Ichiro and stepped aside.  His son stepped forward and pulled out a cloth bundle from under his banned shash holding his sword against his robe. He unwrapped the bundle carefully and revealed a golf ball-sized crystal faceted with hundreds of flat planes.

The shape was difficult to pin down and seemed to change as light danced within.  Ichiro held it up and a small stream of white energy flowed from the center of his forehead to the crystal, which took it in and then began to hum.  Ichiro slowly pulled his hand away and left the crystal floating there in the center of the room, rotating slowly.

The humming intensified and the glow became brighter as the crystal started to spin faster.  Tilly couldn’t help but look over at the others especially the Lapins who had been planning for this moment for generations.  But as he turned his head, he was struck by a sudden deafening silence.  He whipped his head back to the crystal and found it shining brightly but completely frozen in place, hovering a few feet off the stone floor.

He turned to the others and found them all frozen in place wearing some mix of awe and trepidation on their unmoving faces.  Time was acting up around him again.  But at least this time he wasn’t frozen with it.

Maybe something had tripped the temple’s time-dilation defense?  Perhaps he had been wrong about how the magic of the crystal and Origin’s power would interact.  He walked through the group and around the crystal but found them to be completely held still in the grip of time, yet otherwise unharmed.

Tilly sighed deeply and moved towards the entrance of the lower hallway.  It there was an answer as to why this was happening, he was certain he would find it in the altar room.

He moved slowly this time, not quite able to summon back the ability to block out the terrifying memories of his first two trips down this hall. Something about time being frozen robbed his earlier defense mechanism of its ability to banish his morbid memories and he fought to keep his steps steady.  Now alone again, outside of time, he found himself suddenly and strangely reluctant to discover whatever waited for Him in the center chamber.

The fine dark gray dust, or more specifically ash did not stir as he stepped slowly into the light of the much larger central chamber.  There, silently burning, was the deep blue, almost white flame.  It rested on the rough-hewn stone altar and had triple in size he had left it, and it seemed to still be growing.

Tilly hesitantly approached closer as the flame continued to burn higher, its light fierce and everchanging.  There was a palpable sense of eagerness emanating from it, as if it was ready to spread, no… consume, no that wasn’t it either… destroy? That was closer but still not quite the word for the hunger that was vibrating off the altar…

Purify.

That was it.  It was kindled, and ready, longing to be unleashed on the world and do its work.

The warmth in Tilly’s chest bloomed to a full and intense heat in response to his full recognition of the feeling radiating off the Flame.  Except it wasn’t just the Flame… He wanted the same thing.  To Burn This INFECTION OUT.

The Corruption in his side started to writhe painfully, and Tilly coughed down a groan as its tendrils raked disturbingly against the interior of his torso. Tears flooded his eyes from the sudden onslaught of pain.

God, he hated that thing.

The anger that had risen up in him wasn’t the mind-numbing rage that Corruption’s influence had fed him to insight violence on the streets of the capital.  Instead, the discontent that was kindling in him wiped away the doubt and fears that constantly buzzed around him like flies.  Even in the face of this literal gut-wrenching pain, he knew he would do whatever he had to, to get rid of this thing that had invaded him.

Then he would spend the rest of his life ending its touch on this plane.

These thoughts came through the pain wracking his body with a burning clarity.  He couldn’t help but laugh, his abs contracting around the sickening contortions writing under his skin.  It was all so clear now.  The Seed was scared. It was scared of Him.

He almost vibrated with a need to try cutting himself open again with enflamed strikes from his hatchets. He knew he could do it, and he suddenly didn't care what happened to him.  He was tired of letting this thing hide in his body, and he knew he could burn it alive.

His hands shook as he reached down to his belt loops while allowing the flame from his chest to flow down his extremities.

“You will destroy it that way… But you will die in the process.” A voice spoke quietly from behind him,  and in shock, he spun as it continued unconcerned,

“A different way has been revealed to you for a reason.”

Tilly finished grabbing for one of his hatchets as a handsome woman wearing dark robes came into view.  She was standing in the shadow of the arched entrance with her eyes focused on the altar. The shifting light of the flames highlighted faint reflective motes of white on her otherwise night-black voluminous clothing.

“Who are you?”  Tilly asked, slowly lowering his weapon. The flame in his chest remained steady, not at all reacting to her presence.

Her eyes hadn’t left the flame as she had spoken, and for a moment she seemed to have forgotten he had even asked her a question.  Then she spoke again, but this time her words emerged along with a disturbingly deep harmony causing Tilly’s chest to vibrate along with the syllables of her non-answer,

“The first lost, buried in time.

The second is kept safe in memories embrace

and the third perched as a jewel on the crown of the world.”

Then her eyes cleared and she finally looked away from the flame and took in Tilly, looking him up and down as if really considering him for the first time.

“When the Flame reemerged from the Weave, the enemy twisted much to gain a foothold in this area first, mangling its plans in some places to marchel a presence here. I thought I was too late to stop it,  and yet here it stands, free of its captor and with a new champion!  The changes allowing you to intervene were so subtle and minute that I missed them at first.  Even I forget sometimes who first taught me how to read the threads,”  she said with a rueful shake of her head and a small self-deprecating smile that made her sharp distinctive features slightly less severe.

Great, another mysterious being that seemed to know exactly what was going on, but would only speak in riddles.

“Hello, I’m Jonathan Tillman, nice to meet you.”  He said, putting on his most congenial smile. An itch was developing between his shoulder blades and he felt sure that some sort of calamitous event was going to interrupt the conversation before he could learn anything useful.  Whoever she was, she also didn't seem to be affected by the Flame’s time dilation.

“Of course.” She said with a smile, “Wonderful to meet you, Jonathan Tillman.  It has been quite some time since He has had a champion for this particular Facet. But my council stands.  Despite its nature, I highly doubt you are meant to consume yourself in fire in order to destroy your infection.  There is another way I believe, although its path is unclear to me.”  She watched him as she spoke, seeming to weigh his reactions as if they could tell him something that he himself didn't know.

“The Flower…”  He said with a sigh sliding the hatchet back into its loop.

“Yes… I can see how the bloom would work.  But why are you being sent there?”  She asked, her eyes drifting off away from Tilly as if flowing some sort of pattern.  Then she suddenly winced and her eyes snapped back to Tilly’s face,

“It has been a long time since I last saw Thunder.  Send him my regards.”  She said, suddenly ready to leave.  The shadows around her began to deepen alarmingly as they mingled with her robes.

“Wait! Who are you and can’t you do anything to help us? We are about to get teleported or attacked or something.  Honestly, I’m not really sure!”  He shouted, after her fading form.  In response, the shadows stopped moving around her, leaving the impression of a floating head, as the only part of her body not swathed in robes.

“I am called Wisdom and you must not fear.  Your people have chosen rightly in seeking His aid.  He seldom gives what you expect, but it is always what you need.  I have already done my part, and after an unexpected detour, I was able to retrieve my gift for your new nation.  It will be waiting outside the temple.”  Then with a nod of farewell, the shadows completely enveloped her and he was alone in the room.

A thunderous crack broke the silence behind him, and he whirled to see words forming out of the Flame on the altar.

HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETE.  RESTORE A NATION TO THE PROTECTION OF ORIGIN’S FLAME

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