Another Card

Magnus was shocked to see another identical bronze card again. From its square shape to the multitudes of engraved patterns, it all looked the same.

However, upon closer inspection, he realised that it was not totally the same as the card in his ownership.

The difference lay in the fact that there was a small, gleaming ruby at this card's centre.

"Wait…" Magnus then just realised a problem.

His original body was the one carrying the Bronze Card. And said original body had perished to that mysterious shadow at the centre of Gallery.

That meant that he did not have the bronze card on him right now. It was likely in the hands of that mysterious shadow.

Of course, Klaris could just steal the Storage Scroll it was stored in or steal Magnus's original body back to regain all those lost items, but what about the bronze card in the shadow's possession?

Would that mysterious shadow do something with it? He did not know.

In the end, after worrying about it, he decided not to care.

"Eh," Rie shrugged under Magnus' control, "This world is practically a virtual one anyway. Nothing that is left behind here will affect anything."

Magnus paused, "…Right?"

A few ominous thoughts ran through his mind just then. Some were scary to imagine while some were things that Magnus wanted to see.

Shaking his head, he forced those thoughts out. There was still another bronze card waiting in front of him.

Magnus took it into his hands and a light flashed.

Instantly, Magnus found his mind consumed by a certain power.

Memories flashed by and it was then that he witnessed the life of a young man, similar to him.

"Greco Fiam," Magnus couldn't help but mutter the name of this person, "One of those who came before me…"

Magnus watched as Greco Fiam was born into an average family, went to school, had friends and fights, and did what any normal child would do.

As a desert lad, his skin was a beautiful bronze colour, accentuating his deep golden irises. These colours grew ever more vibrant as Greco Fiam grew older.

His life was normal. Up until he was challenged to explore an abandoned building with his friends.

There, he stumbled upon the bronze card, and his life changed forever.

His planet was transported into Thare's atmosphere. Gigantic obelisks embedded themselves into Aodis' crust as the Otherworld Trials began.

Greco Fiam slaved away at his Trials, barely holding on to life each time. He fought and he fought and he fought.

He went through a different set of Trials than Magnus did as Aodis triggered a different kind of Event.

Instead of Gates, they triggered an era where any random object can turn into a powerful artefact at any time possible.

It created a time of chaos.

But Greco Fiam lived through it. He continued fighting for his life with a group of comrades he trusted while keeping his identity as the Spark of Apocalypse a secret.

They went through several more phases of Trials until finally the day came when they could earn the right to have Aodis appear on Thare as a continent.

They eventually won a place for themselves, and thus came an era where they prospered. They started with the city of Aosouru, and allowed it to develop as they invited many of Thare's Otherworlders to come and gather.

And it was at that point the memories ended. Magnus watched as Greco Fiam enchanted his Bronze Card with something special, and left it within an artefact.

It was then,

Just as Magnus thought that all he would witness that day would be memories of one of his predecessors, he heard a voice.

It was the deep baritone voice of a man who had gone through a lot to get where he currently was. A man whose turmoil was already great and yet had no end in sight.

"Hello." Greco Fiam spoke to Magnus. "Seeing as you have triggered this mechanism, you are likely someone like me. A Spark of the Apocalypse, going through one of the Trials that bring you back into Thare's past."

"I am recording this message simply because a fortune teller had warned me of a great calamity. I doubt that I would be able to survive it, so all can do is wish that you could do better. I received gifts from our predecessors as well, so it is only right I leave some for you too."

A stream of energy flowed into Rie's wrist at that moment. Magnus' nonexistent eyes flashed as he realised what it was. He guided the energy into Master of the Hivemind and observed the changes that were occurring.

"I hope it suits your needs." Greco Fiam said, "And I hope you can do the same for those who come after you."

Whooooooooouuuuum…

A low reverberation shook the air around Rie as Magnus felt the change in Master of the Hivemind. It was swift and it was great.

"Six… just like that…" Rie muttered.

That is right.

Magnus was gifted with energy that somehow strengthened his Blessing. And this time, he was gifted enough power to bring his member count up to six. From four to six!

Magnus had only expected it to go up to five! Thus, the smile on Rie's face right now reflected the joy in his heart.

"I have room for a spare Klaris or another person with a 5-line Blessing." muttered Magnus as he controlled Rie to pocket the card and descend the tower. "That is… if I can even find another one…"

Sighing expectantly in his heart, Magnus thus Rie move back through where she came. A set of winding stairs that led straight to the bottom of the tower was available to her now. Restiel was going to be revived some time in the future.

.

.

.

Near the giant portal.

The real Rie and company were still standing shock as Javelin playfully licked his paws.

"Mreow~" He let out a lazy purr as he curled up in Rie's arms and fell asleep.

The expedition group had no choice but to shake themselves out of their stupor.

"As long as it is on our side, I'm fine with it." One of the members said.

"Same. But are we really just going to leave it without… you know, proper supervision?" Another asked.

"Then who will do it? You?" The first speaker said.

"…."

Silence.

"Kuhum," Cavrien cleared his throat. "My Blessing tells me that it's alright to keep Javelin with us. I sense no hostility from it, and the beast isn't a mindless one."

"Right," Laura chimed in, "Since it can talk, it is smart enough to recognise what teamwork is right? I'm with Leader on this."

Just like that, Javelin was accepted into the group, albeit slightly unwillingly by some. On the opposite spectrum, it was Rie who was the happiest about this development.

Having a companion animal capable of speech was one of her dreams.

That said, Magnus was afraid that his Vow of the Lonely would be triggered— which it did.

The moment he was accepted, he felt a weakness slowly creep in.

'I can't stay with them for long,' Magnus thought to himself as Rie and her companions arrived before the giant portal.

It was even bigger up close. The expedition all felt like ants in the presence of this massive construct.

They spent the next hour or so walking around it, looking for an entrance.

What they got was a small stairway that lead upwards. They followed this staircase and found themselves within the insides of the portal's base.

Corridors appeared left, right, and centre.

"Where do we go now?"

Everyone glanced at Cavrien, waiting for the man to activate his Blessing.

"Let's go straight," Cavrien said after a moment's pause. "There's something that's calling out to me, and I want to know what it is."

Magnus wasn't the only one who experienced being called upon by certain artefacts. It seemed to be a trend that one could encounter at random. And it was only through a series of tests would they receive the ability to wield them.

The group knew of this, and thus they silently nodded. They followed their leader through the dark corridors, carrying light sources and magic lanterns. Only their footsteps could be heard over the minutes that they spent walking around, going up and down the different slopes.

By this point, they had no idea where they were.

Only Cavrien, with his Cracked Intuition, had a vague sense of things.

More time passed as the group realised something on the way.

"We're no longer inside the base of the portal,"

The corridors had changed in architecture. At first, it had been a construct of sandstone, with silver metals lining its walls and somehow helping in holding everything up. Now, they were walking through a hall of solid steel created with more advanced technology.

Technology that they were more familiar with.

"We're here," After a while, the group arrived before a small door.

The door was wooden, looking very different from the steel hall that bore its doorway. It was rusted and seemed brittle— like a single touch was all that it would take to turn it into dust.

Shockingly, when Cavrien pushed it open, it did not crumble. Instead, a heavy creak rang out from its hinges.

Cavrien grunted from the force that he exerted, surprised by the fact that it felt heavier than a steel door. He heaved a great breath as he forced his way through with his 1.9-star strength.

It was only when he completely opened the door that he was greeted by a great empty room.

"Hm?" Cavrien saw the lights that lit up far above his head and wondered where the artefact that was calling him was.

That was when he realised that his senses told him to look behind him. Which he did.

He discovered that he was suddenly left all alone.

Behind him was the rest of the great room. There was no doorway, no hall, no comrades. Nothing.

Cavrien felt a surge of emotion in his heart which he quickly calmed down.

There was a chance he could easily see everyone again if they all walked through the same door, right? Those were Cavrien's thoughts.

But after a while of waiting, there was no one appearing magically out of thin air.