"FOREIGNERS FROM OUTSIDE THE MOUNTAIN, THANK YOU!" they all screamed at the top of their lungs, their voices carrying varied emotions within their hearts.
While Orion was the one who had dealt the final blow to White Flame, the strength displayed by the other men and women beside him in holding off the formidable foe contributed significantly to their victory.
They were cautious not to let complacency seep into their expressions of gratitude.
Iris, in particular, gazed at Orion with intense emotion, as if she had made a resolute decision that grew stronger with each passing second.
Acknowledging their heartfelt appreciation, Orion nodded. "Alright, now that we're done, I want someone to give me a detailed explanation of what happened in the Primerian kingdom while I was away," he requested.
Upon hearing his request, Iris promptly took the lead, recounting the events that unfolded during Orion's absence in vivid detail.
She described how the King and Queen had taken special care of them upon learning of their success in the trial after confirming that they possessed the power to confront and defeat White Flame.
Iris continued to narrate the subsequent attack by the Gemheart clan, which resulted in the Castle's capture and the Crystalforge clan's devastating defeat. She also delved into the current predicament of the royal family, Princess Crystalia, Flintor, Maya, and the others.
Furthermore, she explained how they escaped the Primerian Kingdom, crediting the King's arrangements for their covert departure. This explained their mission to confront White Flame, devoid of additional forces, prepared to fight to the death.
After Iris concluded her detailed explanation, she fell silent, allowing Orion to process the information.
On the other hand, Fifi, Seth, and the rest of the warriors wore perplexed expressions, their brows furrowing in confusion.
Nevertheless, they decided to absorb the information and keep it at the back of their minds for now, trusting that Orion had promised a proper explanation later for them to understand.
Nonetheless, Orion's face scrunched up into a deep frown.
He knew things would be bad due to his disappearance; however, he never expected them to be this dire. The Queen was locked within the dungeon, and the King had his strength suppressed by a similar artefact that had been used against the Queen but was even more vicious, slowly eating away at his life.
Meanwhile, Maya and Merida had disappeared during the attack on the Castle and were now nowhere to be found. Princess Crystalia had an engagement with Zephyrion Gemheart.
After processing the information, he asked about Elysia and Madam Seraphina to understand their current situation.
Iris responded, telling him how Elysia had made their escape possible while Madam Seraphina and the rest of the Prismerian Healers Council were taking care of the individuals who had survived the fallout between the Gemheart Clan, the Castle, and the Crystalforge Clan.
Absorbing the information once more, Orion sighed before nodding in understanding.
"Okay, lead the way back to the Prismerian Kingdom. We will handle it ourselves now that we are here," Orion said.
Upon hearing his words, the Crystalforge warriors couldn't help but shiver with excitement. Iris immediately nodded and stood up from her kneeling position. The rest of the Crystalforge warriors followed suit, rising to their feet. Just as they were about to turn around and lead the way toward the entrance they could use to return to the Prismerian Kingdom, a slight tremble reverberated around the cave.
They all stopped, feeling the tremor beneath their feet before they immediately noticed a gaping hole, big enough for even Fifi to pass through without any discomfort, suddenly on the side of the cavern walls beside them.
The gaping hole was filled with a dense darkness that made it even harder for the warriors to see through, causing them all to become wary.
Fifi instantly arrived by Orion's side, guarding him with a frown appearing on her face as she looked at the sudden hole.
"Do you know what that is?" she asked with a frown as she stared at the Crystalforge clan's warriors.
Iris and the other Crystalforge warriors were also stunned before shaking their heads in response.
"Unfortunately, we don't know, as we have never encountered anything like this before," Iris responded, her face morphing into a deep frown.
She took anything pertaining to the mountain extremely seriously.
Meanwhile, Orion observed the gaping hole seriously. Although he didn't dare to approach it, unsure of what it was or where it could lead, he felt a familiar nagging feeling at the back of his mind.
Still, he remained wary and wisely avoided it, opting for another path.
"Let's ignore it and continue on our way," Orion suggested.
Despite their curiosity, especially among the Crystalforge clan warriors who had never witnessed something like this within the mountain, the recent events with White Flame's demise kept them sombre.
They all nodded in agreement, and the Crystalforge Clan warriors led the way forward.
After a few minutes of walking, the rocky cavern walls trembled again, and a gaping hole appeared on their sides again. Nonetheless, they pressed on, continuing to move forward.
It wasn't until the fourth time that they finally stopped after noticing the gaping hole had reappeared, and Orion decided to walk towards it.
Observing this, everyone halted their steps. They focused on the hole, wondering what Orion had in mind.
"What do you have in mind?" Fifi asked with a frown.
She was even more suspicious of the cave, especially since it seemed to follow them.
"I think we should check it out," Orion responded, looking at Fifi. "With our combined strength, I don't think it would be anything too much for us to handle. Besides, I still have this."
He gestured towards the crimson blade still in his right hand. To allow Aerialia to look around and follow him, he couldn't return the crimson blade within the crimson great sword mark without her doing the same, so he chose to continue holding onto it.
Fifi observed Orion for a moment, exhaled deeply, and nodded, understanding that it would be difficult for him to change his mind.
"Alright, we'll go together then," Fifi added, with a tinge of resolution in her eyes.
Orion nodded with a slight smile before grabbing Fifi's outstretched arm. As they prepared to walk through the gaping hole, with his hands clenching onto the crimson blade and Fifi, Orion silently gestured for the rest to follow.
Then, he silently took a deep breath and walked through the gaping hole in the cavern walls.
Their vision immediately turned blurry, causing them to snap their eyes shut as an immense headache hit them. Before they knew what was happening, it felt as if their bodies had been submerged in a dense, thick liquid before they suddenly felt free again.
Opening his eyes to look around, Orion observed his surroundings and was immediately surprised when he saw the familiar space they had entered before going into the trial.
He watched as they all opened their eyes one by one, taking in the scene before them and displaying the same emotion.
"Where are we?" Seth asked, having some clue about their current location as he remembered the explanation that Orion had first given them when he had woken, but he still needed confirmation.
"This is where we entered before we took the trial," Orion responded, looking around and pondering why Aegis of the Arctic Deity had summoned all of them here.
Suddenly, he felt Fifi's grip on his hands tightening and looked at her, only to find her eyes looking upwards.
Orion followed the direction of her gaze, and as he looked upwards, a pair of large golden eyes stared down at them. Everyone's gaze followed suit as they looked up, their eyes landing on the large pair of golden eyes staring at them from above.
Immediately, the other warriors were ready to activate their gifts and attack, but Orion noticed their actions, and immediately shouted, "STOP!" gesturing for them to deactivate their gifts.
Hearing Orion's orders, they instantly deactivated their gifts but held their guards up.
Suddenly, a loud ancient voice resonated above, shaking the space around them.
"It's good that you are all finally here. Although I understand your reason to be cautious, considering the current situation, I find it tiring," Aegis of the Arctic Deity spoke.
His pair of golden eyes swept across everyone gathered before landing on Orion again, lingering briefly on Aerialia before shifting towards the crimson great sword within his grasp.
"I understand you have some questions you'd wish to ask, but first…" Aegis of the Arctic Deity said, "Go to sleep."
Suddenly, a large wave of mana pressed down from the heavens above them, spreading across the space.
Instantly, every Crystalforge clan warrior dropped to their feet, falling unconscious as they landed on the ground.
The rest of the warriors knelt, struggling to keep themselves from falling unconscious.
Seeing Orion's worried gaze as he looked at the woman beside him, Aegis of the Arctic Deity said, "Don't worry, I am only putting them to sleep for a while so we can talk."
He soon snorted, noticing Seth was the only person left trying to keep himself from falling unconscious.
Aegis of the Arctic Deity sent another denser wave of magical energy pouring from the heavens like a tidal wave onto the space, immediately rendering Seth unconscious.
"Now we can talk," Aegis of the Arctic Deity said as he focused his attention back on Orion, "You can go ahead and ask me whatever questions you have in mind, and I will answer them truthfully," he added.
As the only one who wasn't affected by the wave of magical energy, Orion fixed his attention on Aegis of the Arctic Deity. He immediately asked the question that has been bothering him ever since he came to this world.
"Who is Naka?" He asked.
......
A/N- Please guys, there was a power shortage, so I couldn't finish the chapter completely. I will release the next one as a bonus chapter in the next six hours.
