Book 7, Chapter 75 - Preparing to Work

Dawn and Selene returned to Greenland, delivering their report .  

Cloudhawk was surprised by what he learned . “I had a feeling something was off in Highmorn, but not like this . Luckily I sent you two and there are no consequences for me to worry about . What is the situation there now?”

“We scoured the Temple and didn’t find any sympathizers . It looks like Zephon was probably working alone . Dead as a doornail, now . You don’t need to worry about it,” Dawn said . “We hardly broke a sweat dealing with the c.o.c.kroach . ”

Selene furtively cast a belittling glance at her compatriot . The blond bimbo was very fond of talking herself up . Egotistical b.i.t.c.h .

If they hadn’t worked together they would have died in Highmorn . Things would have only gotten much worse from there . It was also thanks to the relics Cloudhawk had given them . He was unconcerned for their safety because he knew the sort of power they wielded .

“The survivors?”

“Less than half of the Temple’s people made it . We found them in the prison, including Master Anan . ” Dawn scowled . “He’s supposed to be a Master Demonhunter . Got caught right away . We brought him back with us . ”

Cloudhawk rose to his feet . “Bring me to him . ”

He was led into the subs.p.a.ce cube where h.e.l.lflower and Belial were treating Walrick Anan’s wounds . The mighty demonhunter was a frail old man now, with a body covered in hideous black growth . They were so numerous that no inch of healthy flesh remained .

He was awake and greeted Cloudhawk with a shamed expression . “I’m sorry . I was c.o.c.ky, unprepared for what was in the Temple . I didn’t think we’d be walking into a trap . ”

Cloudhawk nodded to show he held nothing against him . He then asked the others, “What’s it look like?”

h.e.l.lflower adjusted her goggles . “No lethal danger at the moment . However, I am curious why Master Anan wasn’t just killed . There had to be a reason to keep him alive like… this . ”

It certainly wasn’t a sign of mercy from Zephon . He’d lost his mind . Under the domination of a G.o.d, he showed no quarter – especially not to a deserter .

“Simple . Ammunition . ” Belial, in his human form, had taken up post here as a scientist and researcher . “The Star of Dark Omens continuously corrupts any living thing it touches . As you can imagine this causes terrible trauma to the body . The Star’s power rapidly extracts all potential from living tissue, ultimately resulting in exhaustion and death . ”

In other words, the contaminated clerics Dawn and Selene saw in the Temple were already doomed . Zephon didn’t turn them into walking bombs right away, he had to wait for the contagion to spread . Once they were ‘primed’ he could use them as weapons .

“Once the transformation has begun there is no reversing it . Luckily, Walrick wasn’t completely contaminated . After a few days he should be back to normal . ”

This took h.e.l.lflower by surprise . “How do you know that?”

“Because I made the relic that did this to him . ”

Cloudhawk might have figured . The Star of Dark Omens was a demon Elder’s relic . Belial, being Gehenna’s chief artisan, was probably responsible for all sorts of terrible weapons .

“Where is this relic? Sounds like it could be useful . ” h.e.l.lflower was visibly excited by the prospect of studying the Star . It was completely different from any other relic she knew . Not overtly destructive, but practically impossible to defend against . Perhaps it could be abused to make the weak strong – especially suitable for someone with minimal power like h.e.l.lflower .

Cloudhawk looked pointedly at Dawn and Selene .

They both s.h.i.+fted awkwardly . Cloudhawk watched Dawn produce the broken pieces and place it on a table . He was surprised that they had managed to destroy it in the first place . These ladies had gotten strong .

He then turned to Belial . “Can it be fixed?”

The demon frowned . “Hard to say . I can try . ”

It was what it was . Cloudhawk left the two in charge of the wounded . They were the experts, after all, especially Belial with his rich experience with relics .

“We got a little carried away and broke that relic, but we did complete our mission . ” Dawn was eager to save face . She fished out a second item and handed it over . It looked like a pendant . “This is the Key . ”

The Key . A simple name for a simple-looking item .

It appeared to be made of a colorless crystal hanging on a white thread . Around the edges were several gemstones . Looking into the heart of the pendent, it was like staring into the night sky, with the starry contents constantly swirling . [1]

Cloudhawk could feel waves of spatial power wafting from it . Without question, it was a relic that bore  dimensional power .

He held it in his hand and looked the item over . He reached into it with his feelings and listened to its patterns, trying to learn how it worked . He sensed the power of every relic as a particular resonance . If he could understand the vibration, he could understand the secrets of the relic .

Dawn couldn’t contain her curiosity . “Well? Can you use it?”

Selene was also interested . She didn’t know how this small relic could extract thousands of tonnes of crystal from beneath the Cursed Desert . It seemed impossible, even if Cloudhawk had help .

He didn’t answer . Cloudhawk merely lifted his hand with the pendent wrapped around his wrist . A strange light glowed within the gems, too fast for Dawn to react .

s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+mmered, and in a blink Dawn found herself… somewhere else .

She’d experienced teleportation before, but in times past there was a process to it . She knew when it was happening . This time, though, it was almost instantaneous . By the time she realized what happened it was already done .

Dawn and Selene had swapped places . This was the power of the Key, s.h.i.+fting location between two things . The more similar their size and ma.s.s, the easier it was to perform .

“I was right, but we must first prepare . ” 

Before they could move the Source, Cloudhawk had to find something of similar ma.s.s to swap it with . Not an easy task for something fifty kilometers around .

h.e.l.lflower piped up . “The south-eastern side of the capital hugs an underground mountain range . We can try to complete the transference from there . ”

1 . s.h.i.+t, this is ‘simple-looking’? 

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