After finishing his fight with Ocelotl the jaguar shaman and vanquishing the naless horrors with Nika's help, Uriel had already finished his last trial and was considered worthy of entering the last chamber where Water Warlock awaited. Yet instead of rushing in Uriel waited for Nika, not because she was his friend or because he needed her, but because of the information he received from the system.
[System notice] After defeating the physical body of the naless beings, Huntress Nika Garcia was chosen as the Dark Priestess.
"Congratulations." Uriel said when he felt the newly appointed priestess coming out of his shadow.
"I was expecting a thank you, but that works," She scratched the back of her head in confusion then looked him in the eye. "am I supposed to go with you?"
"By helping defeat the naless, you earned the title of priestess and the right to enter the last chamber."
"That's not an answer."
"It ans, if you want to go, then you can. But if you prefer, you can back away. I won't hold it against you if you decide to retreat. What I an to say is... you've done well." The last sentence Uriel spoke was precisely what Nika had wanted to hear for the longest ti.
She had put so much effort and sacrificed so much for the sake of that selfish young man who would rather stick his nose into a book than doing any work. She was rarely acknowledged for her efforts and scarcely compensated for the excellent results unlike any of her past jobs. Even when her employers took advantage of her because of the nature of her trait that ca with an emotional bind they paid much better than what she made with the Dungeon Raiders.
"I'm going in." She said after making up her mind. No amount of money could ever be compared to what she gained with Uriel. She didn't just gain friends, family and a purpose, now she also felt as if her entirely life had been cleansed from top to bottom. It was as if she beca an entirely different person by losing all the bad mories, yet remaining the exact sa person she was thanks to the growth she made.
The replica of Kukulan's castle in the chamber was fairly larger than the original but its disposition was exactly the sa, which ant they knew exactly where to go in order to reach the next chamber. However, instead of a secret passage that led to an ossuary, they found sothing more similar to a dungeon entrance.
"A dungeon inside of another dungeon? Are dungeons like those russian dolls or sothing?"
"No, it's not that they're inside one another. Whenever you cross this veil you're transported to a different location. You'll find out more about this in a second." Uriel said in front of the threshold that would lead him to the fated place and after steeling his resolve, he took a step forward.
Water warlock's chamber was a regular room. It had a bed, a table, chairs and so decorations too. There was nothing out of the ordinary even when compared to a human's room due to the fact that those items and furniture did not pertain to any ancient civilization but their current ti. Not just that, they weren't even expensive and just the kind of mass produced furniture a person would buy before moving into their first apartnt. If anything, the only remarkable fact about that room was the disproportionately large size of the items, decor and furniture, as if they were made not for humans but for giants.
Behind that room, a wide staircase popped out of the room opening the view to a throne that looked down on whoever entered the room. And in that throne, Water warlock in his original form sat, resting his face on a hand with disinterest.
"You finally ca." He sighed more tired than arrogant, then Uriel clicked his tongue.
"You're in my seat."
"Excuse ?"
"You're excused," Uriel walked upstairs and stood right in front of Water warlock keeping eye control until the awkwardness beca unbearable for the latter. "much better." Uriel said as he sat on the recently vacated throne.
"I have the feeling I've been to this place before, but..." Nika pondered.
"I made so renovations. I was sick and tired of the old place." Water warlock explained.
After kicking Water warlock out of his seat, the only thing left in Uriel's mind was to finish their pending business and get it over with. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea of becoming trapped in the mystical realm, but it was the only way for Water warlock to take over his body and do what needed to be done about the gods.
"Enough of that, you know why I'm here." Uriel's cold voice caused Water warlock to gulp down a lump of saliva and replied in a thin voice.
"I do, I know what it is you want to do, but that is not how things work. Only the strongest warrior is ant to wield my power and while you passed the trials, you are far from being the strongest."
"I know, I'm not the strongest, but I did pass the trials."
"You did, but that doesn't an you won't burst into nothingness after receiving it." Water warlock replied.
"That is not important, the only thing that matters is we have a deal and now I intend to fulfill my part completely." Uriel nodded to himself before starting what was ant to be his last rant about archaeology. "this world is old, it's been dated to millions of years which is already an unthinkable amount of ti for a single sentient species to live in it and yet, that is precisely the case. Only it wasn't a single sentient species, but rather a wide variety. From the first beings that were made of stone in order to adapt to the smoldering heat of the earth to us, humans."
"That much I already knew." Water warlock sighed.
"By choosing the strongest beings and bestowing them a part of their power, the titans managed to alter the balance of the different powers hence creating the following eras. Glaciations, eruptions, nuclear winters and more, sentient beings have always adapted and survived thanks to the gods. It may seem like a good deal for us, but in the end just as the gods want sothing from us, the titans wanted sothing from the gods. They need to infuse flux energy in the atmosphere of this planet to sent the conditions so they can fight each other in an endless battle for control.
"But breeding the most efficient species turned out to be more difficult than titans expected. The first beings were sturdy enough to survive in a world of fire, yet their hearts were cold and they destroyed each other. The sa thing repeated over and over for who knows how long. With every iteration the species beca more suited for the job and they were able to carefully manipulate the environnt to make it more welcoming for life, more balanced. But all civilizations ended up failing one after the other and whenever that happened, titans would cleanse the earth in one way or another. For instance, by tectonic plates shifting, burning up the planet or even flooding the earth with a deluge." Uriel finished the last statent with a glint of excitent in his eyes.
"Your words may be hold the truth, but also deception." Water warlock shook his head as he spoke solemnly.
"Quit speaking like that, you've been exposed enough to modern culture to speak normally." Uriel scolded and Water warlock had no choice but to admit it with a shrug.
"Fine, but you know what I an."
"I liked your other tone better." Nika blurted out.
"What you say is not the truth," Water warlock who resud his solemn persona for so reason, continued speaking. "the reason why the first humans were created was not so we could benefit, but rather... because of love. The love of my friends, Father of many nations and Dearest one."
"A love so primordial it made you jealous, because you too loved Dearest one. You grew envious and while you promised to deliver them what they wanted, a child born from their union, you gave them poison instead." Uriel rebuked.
"Lies! I did my best for them!"
"That is a lie, because if you did, you would not have hidden in this place. You make it sound as if you placed yourself in confinent because it hurt to see them together, when in reality, you actually hid from your sin."
"I don't get it... they wanted to have children and humans are still here. It doesn't sound like he did anything wrong." Nika defended Water warlock who seed to be on the verge of tears.
"You don't get it Nika, we humans are not the children of the love between Father of nations and Dearest one. Those are the cryptids."
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