When Cain wakes up in the morning to dim light and shouting from the market, something feels very different, but he can't place just what.
[Good, you are awake. Call Loser back so we can return to work.] The echo's voice sounds in his mind.
Cain is momentarily confused then notices that he only has one Echo active. What on this wide world could have even killed one, with all the summons and Mythic abilities that it can call upon to defend itself? Did they find an Immortal Awakened?
[Not just one, we found one each. Unfortunately, Loser ended his fight in a draw, dying two ticks before [Pestilence] finished off his target.] the Echo informs Cain with a smug tone.
[I will have to head out of town to summon him since you appear in your default form every time. What did you find in the quarry?]
The echo thinks for a moment about the best way to answer that. The quarry is no more, the summons melted the rock to a smooth sheet of lava that is still smoking and bubbling at the moment, as the echo enjoys the warmth, holding off on using ice breath to solidify the surface again.
[There is definitely a vortex here. But I can't see it. Nor can I touch it. It was drawing the Crazed to it, like a beacon, they had amassed by the thousand inside the quarry, and the duplicates that met each other managed to merge until two of them became Immortal Awakened.] The echo finally decided to tell Cain.
It is invisible and untouchable even by the Ancients? Putting aside the fact that Cain is certain he directly told them NOT to touch it, the implication is fascinating. No wonder others were stumbling into them, if they couldn't see or feel them.
[Watch over the area and don't let anyone else stumble into the vortex. Bury it in rock or something if you have to.] Cain instructs while opening his Spell Crafting book to see if there is some sort of solution in there.
[Got it, boss. Nobody will try to enter the vortex when I'm done with it.] The echo declares, now content to wait for its twin to return so that the unfortunate Echo could be mercilessly taunted for being the first to taste real defeat.
The battle gave them an incredible amount of experience in combat though. System experience as well, but the practice of fighting a target that could actually kill them one on one was an invaluable learning experience. When returned, the other will remember everything, since they share memories, and be an even more formidable combatant than he was yesterday as he adapts to his skills and learns new ways to do battle that Cain was unable to teach them, having never fought such an enemy in Ancient Form himself, or at all.
While Cain searches the Spell Crafting book, the Echo gets to work making sure that none would ever set foot on the spot where the vortex lays. Being an Ancient at heart, while sharing Cain's memories, the plan is grandiose on a level suitable to the Ancient Species. Cain is going to love it, the Echo is certain.
Cain finds that there are actually a few abilities that might help him out with the vortexes, with the easiest of them being the elementary sensory augmentation [Mana Vision]. It will allow him to see the Ley Lines, as well as active enchantments. That sounds like the sort of thing that might let Cain see a vortex, so he gets to work writing it down while the city slowly goes crazy outside.
At first, everyone thinks it is the normal Common Market morning rush, but slowly the topic of conversation becomes clear. An early departing group passed near the cursed quarry and found that it is gone, replaced by a field of lava and a thick fog that fully obscured all attempts to pierce it with sensory skills.
That has everyone's attention, almost causing Cain to fail his Spell Crafting attempt. The Echo is doing his best to block his thoughts from the Companions so they can't ruin his surprise, but they all knew he was fighting there last night. Once the book is finished, Cain grabs Nemu, puts Laura in his pocket, and takes to the air, jumping out his hotel room window to save time, and heads straight for the former quarry.
Coming towards the quarry from the air, Cain can see that the fog is unnatural, the effect of Ice Breath on a hot surface. But he can't see much more. He knows where the Echo is though, so he renews the spell, returning the clone to the survivor's side.
[If you come through the fog layer, I made a present for you. It's perfect, they will never find the vortex in here.] Knowing the echoes as he does, that sounds a bit ominous, but Cain lands anyhow, followed by Evangeline and Vala.
What he finds is a glorious temple built in the Ancient Greek fashion, except in obsidian black stone instead of a light-colored marble.
Walking through the front doors, Cain sees that the entryway is decorated with carvings of the Ancients, and then every pillar beyond that is of a different species group. The prominent member of each species is very clear though, the pillars honor the Companions. The last three are left empty for now, and there is a raised podium at the front, with the long-bearded and hooded visage that this world uses to represent the Laughing God taking up the place of honor, filling the wall behind the podium, separated by a recessed section and a large stone altar. Or maybe it's a table? Really, it could be used for either purpose.
"Care to explain the purpose of this?" Cain asks, wondering what the Echo is up to.
[It is perfect camouflage. The vortex is buried in the stone below our feet, where nobody would even think to go looking for it, and the world never had a temple to the Laughing God.] The Echo says proudly.
"But all the carvings are of us." Laura points out, flying out of Cain's pocket to check out her image carved into the pillar. It is her own Draconic form, but in the black stone, nobody would recognize it as her unless she was right next to it, and even then they might think she was just the model for the sculptor. The same goes for the others, they're vague enough to be nondescript, but recognizable by Cain as his own group.
[That's the best part. They are going to be SO confused.] The voice doesn't come from the Echoes, it is just a whisper of a voice carried through the temple.
"Laughing God? Have you come to see your temple?" Cain asks but receives no answer. That shouldn't be surprising. He has never heard of a God directly interacting with mortals, other than during the war between the Gods, plus it is the Laughing God. Giving Cain a direct answer would be way too boring for him.
"Alright, let's see that vortex. I got a skill to see mana, so I'm hoping to get some details." Cain insists, and the Echo shrinks down into an Elf and leads Cain through the hidden back rooms and down into the basement.
They turn a corner and Cain sees it, a mass of swirling Mana within the stone. The vortex is like nothing he has ever seen, and Cain can clearly see the differences between the natural Mana of the area, and the spot where the centuries-old spells intersect to create the unstable vortex of spell effects.
