Part 750: The Golden Glade

Far-Future Era. Day 20, AJR. Chrona.

Sylphid was a graceful Emissary, one with seductive curves, and a pale white squid-like skin texture. Her long tail swished back and forth as she walked. Her eyes were completely pitch black, so one could never be entirely sure about where she was looking, except by inferring based on the direction her head was aimed. Her hands had distinct fingers, but her feet were mostly webbed, with five individual claw nubs poking out at the tips. It was clear she was a life form that was heavily adapted to life in the water.

She wore golden robes which were made of tree fibers. The robes looked extravagant, and they perfectly suited her, drawing any hot-blooded man’s eyes to her figure.

Timothy fell into step beside her as the group landed on the ground and walked toward the nearby city known as the Golden Glade. It was truly massive in terms of width, and the treetops even rose many stories higher to shield the city’s tallest buildings from the light of the outside world.

The city glowed with golden light, golden trim, golden decorations, golden everything! Where there wasn’t gold, the outer city zones were mostly painted black, but the inner zones were painted white. It drew a strong contrast that made the outer city zones seem softer and less visible than the inner ones, which were far more ostentatious.

Timothy’s stomach clenched up as his group approached the outer city limits. Surprisingly, the city did not have a wall surrounding it. Houses simply started to appear, gradually becoming denser and more numerous as they drew closer.

"Why aren’t there any walls? Any guards?" Timothy asked.

Sylphid turned her head and gave him a cute look out of the corner of her eye.

"What fool would attack us? We are the strongest existence in the Dark Forest." Sylphid said coolly. "No matter what creatures you may have encountered during your passage, they would tremble in fear when facing our weakest soldiers. Any who attempt to poach our outermost civilians would be hunted and down and exterminated within the day. Thus, we have no need to visibly defend ourselves."

Timothy was surprised. "How strong are your soldiers compared to me?"

Sylphid chuckled. Her tail waved playfully. "You ask funny questions, hyuu-man. Unless you are concealing a tremendous power within that light frame of yours, I fear your entire group would be no match for the weakest soldier in the Golden Glade. Perhaps a demonstration is in order? Walk with me to the training grounds."

Timothy wanted to reject her, but Sylphid didn’t seem to know how to take ‘no’ for an answer. He tried to phrase his refusals in the most roundabout way possible, but she just ignored him and dragged the others along.

Before long, the group of six entered the inner city. It was at this point they started to pass by heavily armored soldiers. These soldiers wore ostentatious gold and white or gold and black suits of armor. Their heads and faces were fully covered, and only the tiniest patches of skin were visible through tiny gaps in the joins of their armor. Timothy had no idea what alloy the armor was made of, but it was clear it was extremely durable.

Unlike his father, Timothy wasn’t too familiar with alloys, ores, and other compositional materials. He wasn’t much of a creator, since he’d spent his childhood playing games. It was only natural he’d be lacking his father’s learned eye for such things.

"Sylphid, if you don’t mind my asking," Timothy said, as they neared the training grounds, "what species are your people, exactly? What do you call yourselves?"

Sylphid gave him another curious glance. "You don’t know? Since when was the name of Ashenzari’s Chosen not common knowledge?"

"We… come from a distant galaxy." Timothy hesitantly explained. "I used unique spatial magic to travel here. My comrade, Ferral, is quite interested in learning about other cultures."

"You are able to pass through the Unknown to reach other galaxies?!" Sylphid gasped lightly. She gazed at Timothy with even more interest than before. "I suppose it is possible if you possess His power… since you are not yet Cosmics, the Galactic Barriers will not stop you."

Timothy wanted to ask what she meant, but he thought such a question could invite trouble, so he ignored it.

"Ah, yes." Timothy said. "Therefore, I am not too familiar with the species in galaxies outside my own."

"I see. Well, it’s no secret or anything." Sylphid said, smiling charmingly. "My people are known as Sequids. We are, of course, the purest descendants of the Dark Ones. Ashenzari’s Chosen inherit the direct bloodline of Ashenzari himself. You and your companions, by contrast, do not look very similar to the typical Dark One…"

Even though it was plain to see that Sylphid seemed to still harbor some suspicions, she didn’t press Timothy too hard. It was clear that just by possessing a shard of a Dark One, no matter how strange Timothy was, he possessed a strong level of legitimacy in the eyes of Ashenzari’s Emissaries.

"Is it rare for Emissaries to possess a shard of the Dark Ones?" Timothy carefully asked, slightly shifting the conversation.

"Indeed, it is highly irregular." Sylphid said. "It means a Dark One has given you a portion of their power. For a Ruler to do this, the recipient must possess incredible potential, or some other compelling attribute. Ah, look, we’ve arrived."

She led the group up a flight of stairs into a brightly illuminated Colosseum where hundreds of warriors, male and female, were sparring against one another. All of them wore black and gold heavy armor, and they fought in pairs, one versus one. At periodic intervals, there were white and gold armored elites surveying the recruits, shouting orders and disciplining their recruits, tempering their minds.

Timothy gritted his teeth. The troops below were the newest, rawest, weakest recruits who hadn’t even formally entered the military properly yet. They still wore the black and gold armor, which meant they were part of the Lesser Echelon, something he had quickly picked up on.

Even so, when their axes, swords, spears, maces, and other similar weapons struck the armor and shields of their sparring partners, shockwaves roared outward. The constant sound of weapons banging against armor was deafening, like listening to a constant hailstorm of artillery! How the recruits managed to hear a single word their commanders spoke was beyond him.

All of a sudden, the training grounds came to a stop. All the recruits slowed their attacks, then assumed disciplined postures as they turned and looked upward at… Timothy and the rest.

"Emissary present!" One of the elite commanders shouted. He quickly bowed toward her and punched his fist into his palm in a respectful salute. "Lady Sylphid! It is our honor to receive your presence!"

"Carry on." Sylphid said, her usually warm and cute tone suddenly shifting to one of a domineering ruler. Her eyes become cold as she looked down on the soldiers below. "I am only casually showing off the glory of the Golden Grove to some new friends I’ve made. As you were."

"Yes, Lady Sylphid!" The commander shouted. Like this, the troops quickly returned to their previous sparring, only now Timothy noticed that their attacks were more frenzied than before, as if to put on a good show for the Emissary.

He glanced at Sylphid out of the corner of his eye. "You seem to be quite high up in the hierarchy here."

"Hmph!" Sylphid said, returning to her previous girly demeanor. It was as if she’d become a different person again. "A bunch of groveling weaklings, I have to maintain a fierce attitude before them. It’s not the same as when I get to speak to an equal. I am allowed to relax my guard a little in the presence of a fellow Emissary."

"Ah, I see." Timothy said, smiling once again.

Every so often, as they chatted, Timothy would explain some of what was happening to the others, but it was clear he wasn’t doing a great job. They were missing 60% or more of the context of his and Sylphid’s conversation.

Steam metaphorically started to pour out of Marigold’s ears. She didn’t like that some new girl was getting close to her man, and Timothy seemed oblivious to Sylphid’s charms. The problem was, anything she said, Sylphid just ignored. Marigold wasn’t able to speak Sylphid’s language, and neither were the others.

"Don’t you guys see a problem with this situation?" Marigold hissed.

"Of course I do." Paimon said, his voice low. "I objected to coming here, but nobody listened to me. Now we have to pray we’ll be able to break free and make it to our destination in time."

[I am quite enjoying this side-journey.] Ferral said, his eyes revealing a rare trace of excitement. All the sights and sounds were enthralling to him. He particularly enjoyed the exotic tree-based architecture of the Golden Grove, the treehouses suspended high in the sky, and the color scheme of the two city partitions.

[Whatever these creatures are, they are not simple.] Raavul said evenly. [I am learning a lot about their culture. If these ‘Sequids’ attacked the Milky Way, we would suffer a disaster only slightly less fearsome than the Kolvaxians. Other galaxies are not to be underestimated.]

Timothy continued following Sylphid around. She led the group to the gardens, where beautiful alien flowers wound around smaller trees and arches to create beautiful and somber sights for weary travelers. She led them to the Prophet’s Eye, a beautiful blue pool of water that glowed with radiant light year round. She even brought them to the Chaos Gate, a surprisingly sinister room with dozens of statues surrounding a crackling gateway imbued with dark energy.

"This is a chamber empowered by the purest energy of our deity, Dark God Ashenzari." Sylphid explained. "Through this gate, one can travel across the galaxy, even potentially entering Ripspace. But those who survive when they enter are few in number, and even fewer return intact. Across the thousands who have taken the Final Vows for our god, less than one in ten thousand have ever made it back to the Dark Forest."

"Ripspace, huh?" Timothy muttered. He vaguely recalled that his mother had mentioned it once or twice in the past, but his memory was hazy. "What is Ripspace, exactly?"

Sylphid gave him another one of her strange looks. She remained silent for a few moments before explaining.

"Ripspace is one of the only known ways to traverse the cosmos, prior to the beginning of the Galaxy Wars. Even once the Great Game begins, Ripspace is still a safer way of traveling than by crossing the Unknown."

"You said only one in ten thousand return intact." Timothy pointed out. "That sounds pretty damn unsafe to me."

"If the goal is to someday return, then the odds are indeed quite awful." Sylphid acknowledged. "However, if the goal is instead never to return, then Ripspace is not too bad. Those who merely intend to cross to a distant location will have much better odds of success."

Sylphid fell silent for a moment.

"There is one last place I would like to show you, but… it is not appropriate for your companions to join us. It is a location limited only to Emissaries like us. It is a sacred domain. Are you interested in following me there?"

Timothy hesitated. He wasn’t eager to break away from his friends. How would he remember everything Sylphid said in order to tell them? He was already missing a lot of details. He’d be lucky to remember five, even ten percent if he had to store it all away for next time.

"Ahh, it’s not that I don’t want to, but my companions and I do need to return to our mission. We are truly grateful for the hospitality you’ve shown us. Today, you’ve opened my eyes to the beauty of Ashenzari. Still, we would like to continue our journey."

Sylphid stroked her soft chin for a moment. "Mmm. I see. I apologize, Emissary Timothy. I have been taking up too much of your time, but this place is… it is quite precious to me. How about this? I will show you the sacred location, and then I will give you a parting gift before sending you on your way. Is this agreeable?"

Once again, Timothy paused, feeling conflicted. Sylphid had been quite kind, showing him around. Timothy wasn’t totally oblivious to the fact his girlfriend was getting progressively more and more jealous, but on the other hand, was he supposed to tell an existence way stronger than him ‘no’? Sylphid seemed nice, but he had to admit he was afraid of pissing her off.

"Let me… discuss it with the others."

Timothy said.

"Of course." Sylphid said, blinking her dark black eyes.

Timothy carefully turned and walked over to the others. He explained the situation, noticing the glare his girlfriend was giving him.

"So she wants to take you off for some ‘private time’, huh?" Marigold chuffed. "Well, why don’t you jump into her arms then?! Forget me! I don’t mean anything to you at all. I’m just a stupid ugly smelly crocodile, I can’t compare to some exotic alien beauty."

Timothy’s shrank his neck at her words. "Come on, Marigold, I’m loyal, I’m not thinking like that at all. You’re getting jealous for no reason. I want to get us out of here, and this solves the situation…"

"Whatever!" Marigold snapped. "Do what you want. Run off with some hussy. I’m clearly overthinking it! Must be because I’m a slow, stupid croc!"

"Marigold’s words are rich in anger, but they have some bearing in reality." Paimon warned. "We do not know this woman’s true nature. You are putting a lot of trust in someone you only met an hour ago. If she intended to hurt you…"

"If she wanted to hurt me, the rest of you couldn’t stop her anyway." Timothy pointed out. "None of us are a match for her weakest soldiers, let alone Sylphid herself."

"It’s not HURTING you I’m worried about!" Marigold complained. "Kyargh! I’m sure PAIN will be the last thing that seductress makes you feel!!"

Timothy grimaced. "Do you really want me to turn her down, then? We’re lucky to have made it this far."

Marigold finally hesitated. "Well… yes! But like, do it tactfully! It can’t be that hard!"

Timothy groaned. He didn’t want to make his girlfriend jealous, and she was right in that it was clear Sylphid’s intentions weren’t entirely noble.

In the end, Timothy had to prioritize his friends over a new acquaintance.

Timothy turned to look at Sylphid with a pained expression. "Ah, Sylphid, forgive me. My friends, they… they really wish to leave. We are on a tight deadline."

Sylphid’s head flicked from Timothy’s direction over to the others, then back again. "The yellow-scaled female… is she a sexual partner of yours?"

"Cough cough cough!!" Timothy choked on his saliva. He did not expect Sylphid to utter such crude and blunt words. "Y-yes! She is my, um, my girlfriend. We’ve been together for quite a while."

"I see. And she is… jealous of me? Does she believe I have impure designs on you?" Sylphid asked quietly.

"Uhh, I mean, I uh… yes?" Timothy said, squeezing the last word out through his teeth. "Um… do you?"

"By no means. You may reassure her that I will take a vow on Ashenzari not to attempt any act of fornication with you." Sylphid said, bowing her head respectfully. "We are Emissaries. Such acts harm the relations of our gods. My body must stay sanctified in order to bring honor to Ashenzari."

"Oh. Is that so?" Timothy asked, though the question was more rhetorical than anything else.

After a moment, he turned back to the others and repeated what Sylphid had said. Even so, Marigold’s expression didn’t change.

"Great, so she vows not to jump your bones! Well, I’ll just take her word on it then!"

"That is quite a venomous vow." Paimon said. "For devout religious types like these, a vow on their god is extremely solemn. I would not dare to call her a liar. It would be a terrible breach of decorum."

[I concur.] Raavul said. [Since she has vowed on her god’s name, I do not see the harm in one last visit. This could be a good chance to observe the secrets of extragalactic civilizations.]

[I wish I could go with Timothy.] Ferral said wistfully. [I wish to see Ashenzari’s sacred chamber for myself.]

Marigold once again was outvoted. Seeing that she wouldn’t get her way, she turned on her heel and stormed away. It didn’t matter if Sylphid made a vow or not, Marigold simply didn’t trust a man-stealing hussy no matter what she said!

Timothy turned back to Sylphid. "I’m sorry. My girlfriend really doesn’t… trust you. I’m rather embarrassed."

"No. It is fine." Sylphid replied. "I am quite inexperienced in the relations between sexes, but I can vaguely understand her distrust. If you wish to depart, then you may leave. I do not wish to put you in an uncomfortable position."

Timothy hesitated, yet again. He saw Sylphid’s earnest expression and compared it with Marigold’s sulking, angry one. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand his girlfriend’s reaction, but for Pete’s sake, he was supposed to be an Emissary speaking to a fellow Emissary. Did she have to drag her mind through the gutter all the time?

Wasn’t he his own man? Did he have to pass on things just because his girlfriend didn’t like them?

Was he Timothy, or was he ‘Timothy, property of Marigold’?

That thought hardened his heart. After a long moment of thinking, Timothy shook his head. "No, I should apologize to you. You’ve been nothing but kind to me and my friends. Take me to your Sacred Chamber. Since you’ve vowed on Ashenzari, I will not disrespect you any further."

"Truly?!" Sylphid asked, her eyes lighting up. She clapped her hands happily. "I am pleased that you have changed your mind! Do not worry, once you see the glory of Ashenzari, you will understand the true beauty of being an Emissary!"

With that, Timothy left his party behind.

He was alone in potential enemy territory. But Timothy was not afraid.

Timothy glanced at his stats as he walked. He had leveled up 11 times. He was level 21 now. He had acquired many new options, and had even ruminated on the possibilities while flying with the Psions over the last couple of days. He hadn’t activated any of his level-up options yet, since he wanted to wait until he was back home, but the option was there, nevertheless, merely a thought away.

Among these rewards were several chances to level up two Skills at once.

If I end up being cornered, I might have to empower my Divine Blaze skill to drastically raise my striking power. Or maybe I should focus on defense? Speed? Hmm.

Sylphid led Timothy toward a giant tree located in the center of the Golden Grove, known as the Ancestor Tree, which the entire city was built around. The closer they drew, the more shocked Timothy felt. The Ancestor Tree’s trunk was nearly two kilometers in diameter. It rose all the way up to the top of the forest roof, and its greenery at the top was likely the shroud that kept the sun at bay.

There were tens of thousands of buildings constructed around the tree’s trunk, with stairways the width of six-lane hallways winding around the Ancestor Tree at various intervals. Suspension bridges linked one giant branch after another together, allowing people alternative routes if they wished to traverse the Golden Grove’s most spread-out vertical living space.

In addition to the structures built on the side of the tree and atop the giant, thick branches, there were also buildings hanging from chains, which presumably required either elevator access to reach, or wings. There were alcoves cut into the trunk, presumably leading into living spaces carved within the tree’s interior.

"How impressive…" Timothy said out loud. "This is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen."

"Thank you." Sylphid said. "My people have labored over countless eras to create the most impressive, powerful, and grandest city in all of the Dark Forest. Even outside the Dark Forest, other Dark Ones would not dare to slander our work. Everything we do is for the glory of Ashenzari."

They continued to approach the tree. As the pair walked, Timothy thought about everything he’d learned about Sylphid.

She was a religious zealot, true, but she had strong feelings about her purpose in life. Timothy was just winging his life, doing whatever came to his mind, often aimlessly, but Sylphid approached reality as if she was born to serve a purpose. It gave her a feeling of fulfillment, a reason to live, a reason to improve herself at all costs. She didn’t only serve Ashenzari, but also the people and society around her.

Timothy had no strong beliefs. The King Network wanted him to someday overthrow the Volgrim Empire, and he’d sure like to become a great Hero like his father was, but neither of those could be classified as a ‘grand purpose’. They were simply aspirational goals. They did give his life some meaning, but not the spiritually rich purpose someone like Sylphid lived for.

The young man certainly didn’t think Sylphid was better than him because she had a grand purpose, and he didn’t think she was worse than him just because some might consider her a deluded religious zealot. She was simply… different. He and her had their own viewpoints, and that meant they could engage in interesting, nuanced discussions.

Sylphid led him into a large entry way that tunneled down into the Golden Grove’s Ancestor Tree. The pathway expanded, traveling through great halls of marble and stone carefully crafted by ancient artisans, tastefully applied with aesthetic care on the tree’s inner walls, with patterns that sparked imagination.

There were countless statues erected, each one of strange creatures Timothy actually found somewhat… disturbing. It seemed to him that the Dark Ones primarily consisted of a series of aquatic species. Tentacles were prominent on their hands, their faces, even their entire lower bodies. A theme he quickly noticed was that many of them had octopus and squid-like appearances in one way or another, but even whale, dolphin, and shark-like creatures were seen among their ranks.

A question nagged at the back of Timothy’s mind. Why are they called Dark Ones if they seem to use light and dark in equal measure in their culture? I assumed based on the name they would be creatures of shadow or something, but it seems I was wrong. Maybe it’s symbolic of something… or maybe they just picked the name because they thought it sounded cool?

Timothy wasn’t sure, but if he asked the question, he’d definitely give himself away. So, he decided not to.

The hallways were filled with all sorts of prominent Dark Ones. Timothy discreetly scanned them with his Eye, but found they were not at the level of the Emissary. Thus, they were lower than her in the social caste. Everyone bowed to varying degrees when she passed. It was clear that deference to the Emissary was an integral part of the Dark Ones’ culture.

After traveling down into what Timothy felt was the roots of the tree for ten minutes, they finally arrived before a marble and granite door, the left side pitch black, and the right side bright white. An etching made of gold was drawn across both doors, in the same manner as all the buildings outside.

There was a depiction of a massive bipedal tentacled creature on the doors, a supreme being who seemed to be rising out of the ocean, reaching a claw toward the horizon to snatch the sun from the sky. His wings spread out, ready to take him to the sky where he would complete his quest to devour the light that gave his world life.

The figure was etched with exquisite detail, such that even though he was drawn in gold, Timothy got the impression the monstrous creature once had eyes as blue as the ocean he rose from.

When they arrived at the door, Sylphid turned to look at Timothy. Her gaze was pointed, as if expecting something from him. The problem was, Timothy had no idea what she wanted.

A long several seconds followed.

"You’re… not going to pay respects?" Sylphid asked.

"P-pay respects?" Timothy asked, clueless.

"Yes." She said, her faint smile slowly turning to a frown. "Surely you recognize the visage of the First Darkness?"

"The First Darkness…" Timothy said slowly, trying not to panic. He carefully gave a quick look at the creature, but his thoughts were completely blank. "Uh… I apologize. I was not… informed… of his greatness…"

Sylphid looked at him with a new gaze, as if realizing she was standing next to an idiot for the first time. "You jest with me! All Dark Ones, no matter their galaxy of birth, are to be raised properly and know of the First Darkness! It was his majesty that created our Rulers five thousand Eternities in the past and allowed us to continue existing long after our countless rivals fell!"

She paused before adding, "You cannot tell me that you don’t recognize Lord Cthulhu’s graven image?!"

Timothy blanched. His skin turned a sickly pallid white. "I… ah… Cthulhu is…?"

Before he could get the words out, the door to the chamber began to open inward with loud, almost violent scraping noises.

From within the chamber, a powerful voice boomed outward.

"Thief. You have taken something which does not belong to you. YOU ARE NOT ONE OF MINE."

Timothy realized the situation had suddenly turned bad. Before he could make the slightest motion to reach for his Inventory, Sylphid moved forward at blinding speeds, grabbed him by the throat, and dragged him into the sacred chamber. She slammed him onto his back in the center of the chamber, and a malevolent look of glee spread across her face.

"Thief, Timothy, of the HYUU-MANS! Did you really think your pathetic deception would fool ME?! I’ve been probing you from the moment we met! Now that I have you, I will take back the Shard of Yredelemnul, which you STOLE from my people! All of your secrets will become mine!!"

Timothy’s heart nearly stopped from fear. He was pinned against the ground by just Sylphid’s hand, but a suppressive force bound him and froze his body in place.

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even twitch his fingers, let alone activate his Inventory or use his T-REX to call to the others for help. And even if they could, how could they possibly get to him?! He was isolated in an unknown underground area.

"Sylphid, no!" Timothy screamed.

Her betrayal had come too quickly. He was not prepared in the slightest.