Hints of Calamity
[Arius POV]
As quickly as it started, it ended. One moment, I was still in the S.T.A., the next I felt myself being flung around, the next I find myself in Duargeinhelm. Standing in the middle of a familiar platform, I see the fog in front of me parts to bring me the sight of the massive monolith. Walking forward, I look around to try and find someone.
"Dakria? Are you in here?"
"I'm here."
Hearing a voice coming from the fog, I glance over to see Dakria's body slowly co"ming out of the fog. Her outfit had changed instead of the long dress, she was wearing a t-shirt and jeans.
"By the way, how can you freely move into the fog, when I try, the fog feels like a solid wall."
"It's simply a barrier masked with an illusion spell, you can't enter because you don't have access, I do. It's as simple as that."
"How do I-"
"Become a creator first."
Through our discussion, we arrive in front of the monolith, still so dark and cold. Placing my hand on the handprint, the clicks and clanks of gears start to sound as the veins appear and glow on the monolith. Seeing the area become lit up, I raise my head to see a massive circle on the monolith had lit up. A blue screen appears in front of me, clear and empty.
"This is the Monolith of Millennium, it goes by many other names, but no matter the name, this monolith is one of the dwarf's most important items. When I introduced myself as the medium where all dwarven knowledge is stored, it was not entirely true. All dwarven knowledge is stored within this monolith, only I have complete access to all the knowledge and have the ability to add to the monolith."
"How can this help with making the potion of Big Brother Jaque? I need to be a creator for all of these things."
"Not wrong but not entirely right. Your predecessors have already foreseen this, the general knowledge of the monolith has been split into 5 categories. Alchemy, Crafting, Engraving, Creation, History. They allow anyone to have access to the most fundamental knowledge of the first three."
Looking back at the blue screen in front of me, a simplified image of the monolith appears. On it, the monolith is clearly broken into 5 sections. Tapping on the Alchemy category a vast image of the night sky appears with countless stars on it with different constellations marked out. None of the stars were lit except for a single one in the middle of the screen not connected to any constellation.
Tapping on the start again, it zooms in showing the names of countless books. Opening the one that was remarked as #1, the screen suddenly disappears as I feel my surroundings blue and move. Then I found myself sitting in front of a table with various boards and equipment in front of me.
"Dakria, what's going on?"
"Reality Simulation, you're currently in a simulation of a dwarven classroom. Here you'll learn all that you need using simulated materials. Not using any actual material, but gaining the same amount of knowledge."
"Where's the stuff that I need to learn?"
"They should be coming in soon."
Right on cue, the door of the classroom opens as a bulky man with a thick beard comes in with a white coat on.
"Hello, younglings. It's time to begin your journey of curiosity, creation, and discovery. Alchemy is often regarded as the fundamentals of life, while you might think of alchemy as the art of combining different materials to make a potion of extraordinary effects. In reality, alchemy happens all around us, inside us. Potions can be made naturally too. Think of the mana corrosion properties of the venom from a..."
"Dakria, who is that!?"
"It's your instructor, part simulation and part recording. You can ask it questions and you'll get answers back. It's the first time seeing another dwarf right?"
"YEAH! So that's what my kind looks like. Why don't I look like that?"
"He's one of those traditional guys. Trust me, most younglings look just like you."
"Woah!"
"Ok, enough of that. Focus on learning."
With that, Dakria disappears leaving me to focus on class. Man, a dwarven school! It's amazing!
...
[Dakria POV]
With Arius now occupied with learning, I too had to learn and uncover what was happening. There is nothing in my records about this box or the monster. Taking the mechanical heart of the monster in hand, I arrive at one of the many control rooms of Duargeinhelm. Sitting down, I examine the heart, looking for a specific thing.
"There it is."
With every dwarven invention, even the mass-produced ones, it is considered tradition always to put the name of the creator somewhere on the item. Looking carefully, inside the heart I could see the name, Erlium.
Father Erlium, one of the dwarfs with the highest authority when I was created. Looking at the design, I've seen something similar but those were only ever used to power machines and golems.
"Father Erlium, your genius knows no bounds, capable of even infinitely extending a monster's life."
Just before teleporting Arius to Duargeinhelm, through his eyes, I could tell that the body of that monster was long overdue, it was mechanical primarily at that point but the small pieces of its original body instantly disintegrated when its heart and essence were removed.
Seeing a very unique opening on one side of the heart, I place it on a specific table in the room. Various cables drop from the ceiling, before connecting themselves to the heart, raising it into the air and sending mana into it. A blue screen opens up in front of me and on it is a picture of the monster. Its form was a lot different from what it was in the real world, it had the appearance of what you would describe as stone people.
"I know you can hear me. While your soul has already left, having this heart inside you for so long would naturally trap some of your mana and sentience inside."
As if responding to me, the image starts to move and talk.
"Indeed, I wanted to talk to you after my passing. I have one request before you are free to question."
"I'll try to fulfill it to the best of my abilities."
"Please take the essence and place it within a rock or metal of your choosing. It's the last of my kind."
"Consider it done."
The rock person gives me a thankful smile of gratitude before asking me what I wanted to know.
"What do you wish to ask?"
"What is that box?"
"I don't know what the box is, I was simply told to protect is hand it to the dwarf with the key.
"The key to Duargeinhelm?"
"While that is one of its functions, I believe there is more to it. More that I do not know."
"Hmmm, when and how were you placed in the S.T.A.?"
"S.T.A.? You mean that dimension. That was my race's dimension. My dimension had collided with others resulting in great instability. The dwarfs one day appeared and they contained my dimension, saving my people. When wanting to give them compensation, they simply said that they only wished to test out their new invention. Being the leader of my people, I personally offered myself to serve them, over the decades of contact, the end of my natural lifespan came near so one of them offered to replace my heart and limbs to allow me to continue serving. I agreed but they left not long after, not before giving me the box."
"Don't you know that all that's in your dimension are monsters and beasts?"
"*Sigh* There was no hope when it arrived."
"What it?"
"Our dimension became unstable again, but the dwarfs were no longer here. Instead of total annihilation, they... appeared...por...l..."
"What? Urrggg! The residue mana ran out. Something or someone came. As predicted in the prophecy. Ugggg. This is becoming such a headache."
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Father Erlium: A dwarf considered to be a genius on the level of the founding fathers. Chief inventor of the dwarfs. During his era is where our presence and pride spread through the continent. My creator and my father, he was the last dwarf I ever saw before I went to sleep.