The cool, quiet solitude of Kojo's room was a stark contrast to the bustling energy of the library, yet it served as the perfect sanctuary for his current endeavor. The three borrowed tomes lay open before him, their pages whispering secrets of a world far older and more complex than he had initially perceived. He had opted for the thickest of the three first, a heavy volume titled, 'A Compendium of the Sentient Races of Ezkanur and Beyond'.
He had just finished absorbing the details on Jotuns and was about to delve deeper into the official history of Ezkanur when a thought flickered through his mind. He wondered where Lin was. Probably off doing her own thing. Good. Now was probably the time for him to be alone. He sighed, a faint smile touching his lips.
He picked up the third book: Guardians of the Veil: An Examination of Entities Beyond the Gates. He remembered the eerie, almost suffocating feeling he'd experienced when he was temporarily improving the Obelisk, the sheer, unimaginable scale of the beings hinted at beyond the veil. What kind of seals, he wondered, could truly keep such entities at bay? He opened the ominous tome, the scent of ancient parchment filling his nostrils.
He began to read, his eyes scanning the first section:
"The locations of the Gates of Sephirot are as follows: The Holy Land of Ezkanur itself, a location of obvious strategic and spiritual significance.
One gate is situated on the Savage Lands continent, a fittingly remote and untamed place for such a gateway.
The Continent of Heliopolis, known for its scorching deserts and contrasting lush forests of perpetual spring and littered with ancient ruins, also harbors one of these powerful rifts.
On the continent of Appolonia, three distinct Gates of Sephirot are found.
The first is on the northern part of the empire of Adonis. A fortress has been built around it, guarded by a joint group of Adonian Praetorians and Glory Knights.
The second is located in the capital of the Elven Nation of Tessaloni within the branches of the World Tree.
The third is within the grim confines of the Necroleonic Federation, a land often associated with death and dark magic. Not much is known about its current state because no Glorian has been able to go and ascertain its status. What is known is that enturies ago, this Gate was sealed away with Blood Magic by the Vampire King.
Perhaps one of the most unique Gates exists on the Floating Dragon Continent of Seirodragan. Due to its location, this particular Gate is not stationary, a significant benefit in its containment. While all Gates require a precise alignment of cosmic energies for stability, Seirodragan's constant, unpredictable movement makes aligning its Gate with any other point incredibly difficult, effectively serving as a natural, dynamic defense mechanism.
Further Gates are located within the stormy, treacherous waters of the Dead Sea, a fittingly grim location where few dare to venture.
The Spirit Continent, Saifelle, a realm saturated with pure Arcana, hosts another, and is guarded by the Fay.
At the desolate South Pole, another Gate lies hidden, frozen on icy tundra; it serves as an annex to Ezkanur, and only the Knights guarding it are allowed there.
The Oceanian City of Atlantis in the east, sitting at a ninety-degree angle between the continent of Heliopolis and the Dwarven Kingdom, Quava.
The Volcanic Peaks of Ignis, an underwater island housed within an air bubble between the Dead Sea and Saifelle, houses a Gate, a remnant of the island where the Mercurians once lived before their extinction.
Lastly, one is found within the vast expanse of the Undersea, an underwater ocean teeming with monsters and situated between the Southern Continent and the Necroleonic Federation."
Twelve gates, Kojo tallied, a low whistle escaping his lips. That's a lot of potential headaches.
The book continued:
"All gates, with the exception of the one in the Dead Sea, Ignis, and the Sea of Serenity, are guarded either solely or in tandem with the Glory Knights."
He turned the page, moving to the section detailing the Beings Beyond the Gates. The descriptions were chilling.
"Beyond the Gates are 'Spectres.' These are remnants of Variants that have undergone Incursion, sentient energy storms, or abominations that must not be named. They are not simply creatures of malice, but parasitic entities that feed on negativity – despair, anger, hatred, and fear. They do not merely consume; they corrupt, twisting mortals from within and feeding off the soul's corrosion. Their aura is described as a chilling emptiness, a void that seems to drain the warmth and hope from a room, leaving behind a residue of gnawing dread. They are insidious, capable of turning even the most fearless to darkness."
Corruption? Kojo thought. What did these things have to do with corruption? Weren't they just existences like all others? Yes, they were trying to breach into this world and feed. But corruption?
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Kojo blinked.
Something just rang in his ear and disappeared as soon as it had appeared. He blinked but instantly forgot about it, distracted by information on a page.
"There are various types of these creatures due to how long they were exposed to energy and how they interact with it.
Horrors are grotesque, animalistic abominations with deformed bodies that defy physical description. Their aura caused nausea and discomfort. They lack the ability to reason and possess the terrifying ability to warp space and time, those strong enough being able to defy conventional magical wards."
"Twine were multi-limbed humanoid creatures, capable of manipulating reality on a subtle level. They weave intricate illusions and possess the power to influence thoughts and perceptions. Their aura is a hypnotic shimmer, a deceptive beauty that promises untold wonders but hides a predatory hunger for consciousness, subtly draining the minds of those ensnared by their charm."
"Finally, the Void-Born, the strongest, are entities that seem to be made of pure nothingness, like living black holes, leaving behind a trail of absolute silence and profound cold in their wake. Their aura is a crushing pressure, an oppressive weight that paralyzes the will and induces an overwhelming fear, often leading to madness in those exposed for too long. They are the embodiment of oblivion, seeking to expand their emptiness."
The book then briefly touched upon the phenomenon of spatial breaches that could occur even without a fully opened gate, often due to extreme magical fluctuations or rituals gone awry. Kojo's eyes scanned the text, finding a passage that described an incident in Adonis.
"An unfortunate incident occurred in Adonis four years ago, where a cult, disillusioned with their treatment by the state, sought to escape to another world. Their leader, a mage heavily tattooed with arcane symbols, was attempting a forbidden ritual involving the exchange of his soul to 'budge' the gate slightly open. A scuffle with Glory Knights had ensued, disrupting the delicate ritual. Instead of a controlled passage, the released souls and chaotic energies caused a violent rift, inadvertently pulling one unsuspecting individual from another world into Gaia. She, Astra Galileo,would later become the Glory Paladin, Astropunk."
"So that's her name, Astra."Kojo thought. He made a mental note to ask her about the details later, knowing her version would be far more entertaining than this dry academic account.
The book then shifted to the Obelisks.
"There are seven immense, ancient Obelisks scattered across Ezkanur. These colossal structures are designed to stabilize the planetary ley lines and, more importantly, to act as prisons for both criminals and otherworldly beings that had breached the Gates in the past. The Obelisk located in Eldrida serves as the primary nexus point for the surrounding six, positioned at the very center of the continent, and it is explicitly noted as housing some of the most dangerous entities and people from across the world."
Kojo squinted at this, a subtle shiver of suspicion running down his spine.
Prisons? he thought.
For beings from other dimensions, that is somehow understandable, but why would they need prisons for criminals in a Holy Land? And why were they being kept together with monaters? There's definitely more hidden here than is being let on. The very idea of containing such entities, rather than sending them back or destroying them, raised unsettling questions. What was the long-term cost of such containment? There was a map of the continent with the locations of the Obelisks marked around the inner fringes of the continent and the one in Eldrida at the center.
Kojo narrowed his eyes, the vague map sparking more questions than answers.
Finally, the text delved into the tools used in this cosmic defense. It distinguished between Relics and Artifacts.
"Artifacts are powerful tools crafted by mortals, often by master artificers or mages of exceptional skill. They are strong, capable of feats beyond normal magic, and are often tailored to their user's abilities. For instance, the Archsaint's armor is a prime example of a powerful artifact, designed not just for defense but to give off an aura that subtly affected the minds of all she faced, instilling awe or fear, and subtly influencing their perceptions. Artifacts are products of ingenuity and Arcana manipulation, but they are still fundamentally human-made."
"Clever."Kojo mused.
"Relics, however, are on an entirely different scale. They are divine tools, or at least, tools of higher beings, left over from the Age of Prosperity and maybe even before that. Their power is immense, primordial, and often incompatible with current divine magic. Some relics can even act as pseudo-keys that can temporarily open or destabilize the Gates of Sephirot by channeling vast amounts of energy through the planet's ley lines."
Kojo paused, his eyes scanning the explanation of ley lines.
"Ley lines are an intricate, invisible network of Arcana currents flowing beneath the surface of Gaia, akin to the planet's very circulatory system. They are conduits of raw magical energy, connecting powerful magical sites, ancient ruins, and even the Obelisks themselves. Channeling a relic's power through these ley lines can create immense localized effects, including forcing open or destabilizing a Gate, or amplifying the power of beings already present."
The book then mentioned a few specific, legendary relics.
"Among the most renowned is the OmniBlade Escalibur, which had belonged to the First Hero, Estelle Leicester, a gift from the gods. This singular, immensely powerful blade had been split into three smaller, yet still potent, blades: the Time Blade Ascalon, the Reality Blade Caliburn, and the SpaceBlade Durandel."
Kojo's eyes narrowed. He had Caliburn. And he knew those who possessed Ascalon and Durandel, the weilder of the latter being closer to him than the former wielder. Eyes were bound to be drawn to them because they carried pieces of a legendary weapon, a relic that could potentially be reassembled, or perhaps used to manipulate the very fabric of time, space, and reality in close proximity. The implications sent a shiver down his spine, a mix of exhilaration and genuine concern.
He touched his temples. His migraine already a small, throbbing headache.
(That's enough for one night.)
Kojo sighed, then lay back on the bed, staring at the intricate patterns on the ceiling. His mind was a whirlpool of thoughts, but he shook them all off and closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall asleep.