ULTRAMagic Interlude BC - Chapter 32
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Sometime after dinner, Dragoslava and Desislav were winding down for the night. The meal was nice and they were pretty happy with their progress for the day. Both of them relaxed in Dragoslava’s room as the calm night carried on. Desislav was lying in bed and watching television while Dragoslava was at her desk, writing. Things seemed too peaceful, however. It was not that something bad was about to happen, rather something interesting.
Desislav was enjoying a documentary about the Descendants of the far north when the television began to mess up. The channel had gone to static, as if the signal had been cut. He wanted to tell Dragoslava, but something kept him from doing that. A new scene appeared on the screen, depicting a strange sight. An indigo flame was bouncing about in a city he had never seen before. And just like that, the scene was over. Desislav was brought back to reality by the sounds of the documentary.
“Drago, did you see that?”
“See what?” she asked as she paused her writing.
“That… the interruption.”
“There was an interruption? All I heard was the documentary.”
Desislav got up. “No, there was a… give me a second.” Putting together what he saw was bothersome, but he managed to come up with something coherent. “It was a giant cavern, a colossal cavern. One that is too big to describe. And there were upside down towers, carved into the rock. All of it was suspended above a white void…”
“Stop, Desislav. Do you know what you just described?”
“Um, do you?”
She nodded. “That sounds like The City of the Abyss.”
“What’s that?” He wondered.
Dragoslava got up from her chair. “It’s an ancient city beneath The Iron City, that our ancestors used to commune with the gods. Obviously it’s a sacred place and we can’t just go down there… Unless… What else did you see in your vision?”
“An indigo soul fragment.”
“Alright then…” Dragoslava went to her closet and grabbed her pack. “Dad and Englehart aren’t going to be thrilled, but I think we just got an invitation.”
Dragoslava quietly led Desislav to a building near Corentin’s house that opened up into a great cavern. This was known as The Ancient Cave. It was noteworthy for where it led to and the glowing, purple crystals throughout it. The walk through the cold cave was peaceful, with the only other sounds being flowing water and cave critters scuttling about. Eventually the two came to a giant, stone door that was covered in runes and symbols.
“Amazing… how do we get in?” Desislav inquired.
Dragoslava began operating a series of rings, lining up the symbols. “This lock. It’s a riddle, with the question written in the language of our ancestors. It always changes, so you can’t just memorize the riddle. The king is the one responsible for teaching the language to certain people among us, so you need to talk to him or someone he trusts. It’s not the easiest to learn, but it’s very similar to Descendian…”
“You’re not speaking English?”
“No, but I have been learning it for a while now.”
“What? Then how are you…?”
“Magic…” Dragoslava took a second to cease her translation spell, confusing Desislav. The words she spoke sounded so close to English, but were completely unrecognizable to him. “Don’t worry, most Descendants speak English. I’ve just been lazy.”
Desislav took a second to process what he had just heard. It was incredibly surreal for him. “I see… so what did the door say?”
Dragoslava giggled as she finished. “I can’t tell you, you silly goose. It’s a secret. I can say it was pretty funny, however.”
The great doors scraped and grinded against the stone floor, revealing exactly what Desislav had seen in his vision. The television did not proper justice to the utterly breathtaking, stone city. It was grander and more complex than one could ever imagine. Of note was that it was completely deserted. Dragoslava explained that no one was allowed to live there since it was a holy place. Plus the last thing they needed was someone like Milosh trying to set up shop below them.
Desislav followed Dragoslava down a winding path that took them to the main square (or what was deemed the main square by The Descendants). He looked over the edge of the platform, becoming filled with a great sense of awe. A strange, ambient hum loudly rang out in his ears as his vision began to distort. Dragoslava pulled him away, warning him of abyss madness if he stared too long into it. Continuing on, Desislav marveled at the buildings and rooms. The architecture was incredible, with fine details etched into the rock. How someone could build such a city boggled his mind.
“Alright, this should be the place…” Dragoslava said as she looked around.
Desislav noticed a stone altar before them. It resembled a tower mixed with a pyramid, and there were what looked like platforms for someone to stand on at the four corners of it. “What is that?”
“The Deep Altar. Whoever invited us should appear here, hopefully.”
They sat around and waited, as wind whistled throughout the empty city. Eventually a great rumbling shook the two as a giant head manifested in the air before them. One half was that of a woman while the other side was crystalline. Desislav was startled, but did not sense any ill-intent from it. Dragoslava on the other hand stood firm. She had a good idea of what was going on, but that did not stop her from being nervous.
“Desislav, Dragoslava! So glad you two could make it!” The entity had a female voice, yet its mouth did not move.
“You know our names?” Desislav questioned.
“Of course. You come to know everyone once you’re at my level… barring Bizarre Gods, but we don’t talk about them.”
“Right…” That weirded out Dragoslava. “So who are you, blessed one?”
“I am the God of the Abyss. Do not worry if you do not recognize me. I moved in recently due to certain events you two are all too familiar with…”
Dragoslava smiled, knowing all too well what the issue was. “Let me guess: Milosh, right?”
“Threrth has been meddling in the affairs of man for some time now, worrying me and the other Pure Gods. Sadly we cannot do much as he is an Old God.”
Desislav nodded and lightly kicked a loose stone. “Since I’m assuming you sent me that vision, what’s up?”
“Simple, I have a present for you, Desislav.” An indigo flame appeared in the air and floated down to him.
“A soul fragment, for me?”
The God of the Abyss nodded. “Indeed. I figured you could use the help.”
“Jeez, just like that… Now I know how Blood felt.” Desislav took the fragment into him. He felt his being become energized as he floated into the air and emanated a flash of light. “Haha, that felt good.”
Dragoslava patted him on the back. “Well thank you, God of the Abyss… but surely you didn’t just invite us down here for that, correct?”
“Very shrewd, Ms. Raynot,” she answered. “Aside from wanting to show Desislav the basics of ULTRAMagic, could you two have King Englehart come down here when he has a moment?”
“Sure, but why not just ask him yourself?” Desislav wondered.
“Desislav, don’t be rude” Dragoslava chided.
“No, no, it’s a fair question” The God of the Abyss responded. “There’s a Bizarre God masquerading as a Rogue God, calling herself The Sludge God. She seems to be in the Cosmos to help, but I’d like to keep my activity to a minimum while I confirm that.”
“That is unsettling,” Dragoslava asserted.
Desislav felt the same. “Fair enough, your divinity.”
“Fortunately this place is isolated from the Cosmos proper, so we should be safe.” The God of the Abyss then noticed that the pair were rubbing their necks. “Hold on, let me shrink down so things are more comfortable.”
Dragoslava was impressed by the half crystalline body. “I have to say, you are a beautiful god.”
She giggled. “Thank you. I’ve been quite worried about my manifestation since my true form resembles a 10th dimensional Ophanim with an uncountable amount of rings. Now Desislav, I have some important things to say in regards to your ULTRAMagic.”
He took a seat on a nearby bench. “I’m all ears…”
The God of the Abyss started out with a brief history of ULTRAMagic. At some point during the Epoch, a man discovered he could empower his soul with the fragments of others. He would go on to become a god-like entity that taught his knowledge to anyone willing to learn. This led to many gaining the trait, including the ancestors of The Descendants. Oddly the trait vanished for a time, but it popped back up when The Descendants hit their prime. This story was very fascinating to Desislav and Dragoslava.
“Amazing,” Desislav noted. “So this ULTRAMagic entity took it upon himself to seek enlightenment despite being someone who was not supposed to exist in the first place. A real rags to riches story, aye, Dragoslava?”
“Yeah, definitely. It’d be neat to meet him someday.”
“I hope you’re able to,” The God of the Abyss said with optimism. “The other gods were leery of him, but I always found him sweet and endearing. Sadly the last ones to see him were the Arbiters of Droom and they have no idea where he disappeared to. They were his previous students, but even that was a long time ago, going all the way back to the Epoch-transition phase of the Cosmos.”
“Well that’s a slight bummer” Desislav concluded. “So about my ULTRAMagic then?”
“Right! First things first: do not overexert yourself. Your ULTRAMagic can easily damage your mind and body if left unchecked. This is not a ‘no pain no gain’ situation: You will actually hurt yourself.”
“But what about Blood and Aureolus though? They’ve done some pretty crazy things…”
“Those two are unique cases, finely tuned for their ULTRAMagic.”
“And throwing my hat into the ring, I was born with it,” Dragoslava added. “I instinctively know my limits.”
Desislav processed all of that, wondering what his limits were. “Alright then. What else is there?”
“Sustenance,” The God of the Abyss answered. “Your magic will leave you hungry and drained, so stay well fed… but don’t go overboard. Another thing is don’t be afraid to learn all the magic you can. It will be intimidating, but you can do it. As an aside, two mages that will join The ULTRAMagic Guild, Ludwig and Rostislav, will show you examples of mages having trouble accepting their ULTRAMagic.”
“Well that’s not good. I hope we can help them when the time comes…”
“It’ll take them a while to join the guild, but you’ll get to meet them sooner than you think.”
Desislav got up and stretched. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens then. Anyways, enough talk. I want to see what I can do now…” This was followed by a yawn.
Dragoslava chuckled. “I don’t know, Desislav. You sound pretty tired.” She also yawned.
“Oh dear…” The God of the Abyss snapped her fingers, causing a nearby home to light up. “I often forget that entities like you follow lower dimensional time and need to sleep from time to time.” She led them inside the basic, yet cozy dwelling. The furniture was also made of stone, but the god had adorned all of it with things to make it more comfortable.
Dragoslava inspected the bedroom they were brought to. It was like the rest of the home, but it would do. “Eh, I’ve slept in worse,” she remarked as she got into bed.
Desislav followed her, noticing that the mattress was incredibly fluffy and soft. “Not bad, not bad at all.”
The God of the Abyss smiled. “Good night, you two. If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room.” She then left, gently shutting the door behind her.
“I like her” Desislav commented as the city outside the window opening darkened, mimicking nighttime.
“Yeah. I’ve heard that the Pure Gods are pretty cool like that. They’re pretty rare to encounter, however.”
Desislav went quiet for a moment, thinking about his magic. “I’m kind of nervous, not going to lie.”
“Don’t be, I’m here for you. And so is everyone else. We’ll make sure you don’t go overboard.”
“Thanks.” He then had a thought. “Drago, did Ethor ever consider gaining ULTRAMagic?”
She yawned. “Well, he was amazed by my ULTRAMagic. I guess my answer to that is what do you think?”
Desislav thought about it and laughed. “Whoops, looks like I already answered that question…”
“Exactly.”
“Now I kind of see why we don’t remember our past lives immediately. It would mess everything up.”
Dragoslava yawned again. “Uh-huh. Now off to bed. We need to be ready for tomorrow.”
“Right. Good night, Drago.”
“Good night, sweetie…” And with that, they both fell asleep. The soft bedding kept them warm from the cool abyss air as they dreamt peacefully.
Next: Chapter 33
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Sometime after dinner, Dragoslava and Desislav were winding down for the night. The meal was nice and they were pretty happy with their progress for the day. Both of them relaxed in Dragoslava’s room as the calm night carried on. Desislav was lying in bed and watching television while Dragoslava was at her desk, writing. Things seemed too peaceful, however. It was not that something bad was about to happen, rather something interesting.
Desislav was enjoying a documentary about the Descendants of the far north when the television began to mess up. The channel had gone to static, as if the signal had been cut. He wanted to tell Dragoslava, but something kept him from doing that. A new scene appeared on the screen, depicting a strange sight. An indigo flame was bouncing about in a city he had never seen before. And just like that, the scene was over. Desislav was brought back to reality by the sounds of the documentary.
“Drago, did you see that?”
“See what?” she asked as she paused her writing.
“That… the interruption.”
“There was an interruption? All I heard was the documentary.”
Desislav got up. “No, there was a… give me a second.” Putting together what he saw was bothersome, but he managed to come up with something coherent. “It was a giant cavern, a colossal cavern. One that is too big to describe. And there were upside down towers, carved into the rock. All of it was suspended above a white void…”
“Stop, Desislav. Do you know what you just described?”
“Um, do you?”
She nodded. “That sounds like The City of the Abyss.”
“What’s that?” He wondered.
Dragoslava got up from her chair. “It’s an ancient city beneath The Iron City, that our ancestors used to commune with the gods. Obviously it’s a sacred place and we can’t just go down there… Unless… What else did you see in your vision?”
“An indigo soul fragment.”
“Alright then…” Dragoslava went to her closet and grabbed her pack. “Dad and Englehart aren’t going to be thrilled, but I think we just got an invitation.”
Dragoslava quietly led Desislav to a building near Corentin’s house that opened up into a great cavern. This was known as The Ancient Cave. It was noteworthy for where it led to and the glowing, purple crystals throughout it. The walk through the cold cave was peaceful, with the only other sounds being flowing water and cave critters scuttling about. Eventually the two came to a giant, stone door that was covered in runes and symbols.
“Amazing… how do we get in?” Desislav inquired.
Dragoslava began operating a series of rings, lining up the symbols. “This lock. It’s a riddle, with the question written in the language of our ancestors. It always changes, so you can’t just memorize the riddle. The king is the one responsible for teaching the language to certain people among us, so you need to talk to him or someone he trusts. It’s not the easiest to learn, but it’s very similar to Descendian…”
“You’re not speaking English?”
“No, but I have been learning it for a while now.”
“What? Then how are you…?”
“Magic…” Dragoslava took a second to cease her translation spell, confusing Desislav. The words she spoke sounded so close to English, but were completely unrecognizable to him. “Don’t worry, most Descendants speak English. I’ve just been lazy.”
Desislav took a second to process what he had just heard. It was incredibly surreal for him. “I see… so what did the door say?”
Dragoslava giggled as she finished. “I can’t tell you, you silly goose. It’s a secret. I can say it was pretty funny, however.”
The great doors scraped and grinded against the stone floor, revealing exactly what Desislav had seen in his vision. The television did not proper justice to the utterly breathtaking, stone city. It was grander and more complex than one could ever imagine. Of note was that it was completely deserted. Dragoslava explained that no one was allowed to live there since it was a holy place. Plus the last thing they needed was someone like Milosh trying to set up shop below them.
Desislav followed Dragoslava down a winding path that took them to the main square (or what was deemed the main square by The Descendants). He looked over the edge of the platform, becoming filled with a great sense of awe. A strange, ambient hum loudly rang out in his ears as his vision began to distort. Dragoslava pulled him away, warning him of abyss madness if he stared too long into it. Continuing on, Desislav marveled at the buildings and rooms. The architecture was incredible, with fine details etched into the rock. How someone could build such a city boggled his mind.
“Alright, this should be the place…” Dragoslava said as she looked around.
Desislav noticed a stone altar before them. It resembled a tower mixed with a pyramid, and there were what looked like platforms for someone to stand on at the four corners of it. “What is that?”
“The Deep Altar. Whoever invited us should appear here, hopefully.”
They sat around and waited, as wind whistled throughout the empty city. Eventually a great rumbling shook the two as a giant head manifested in the air before them. One half was that of a woman while the other side was crystalline. Desislav was startled, but did not sense any ill-intent from it. Dragoslava on the other hand stood firm. She had a good idea of what was going on, but that did not stop her from being nervous.
“Desislav, Dragoslava! So glad you two could make it!” The entity had a female voice, yet its mouth did not move.
“You know our names?” Desislav questioned.
“Of course. You come to know everyone once you’re at my level… barring Bizarre Gods, but we don’t talk about them.”
“Right…” That weirded out Dragoslava. “So who are you, blessed one?”
“I am the God of the Abyss. Do not worry if you do not recognize me. I moved in recently due to certain events you two are all too familiar with…”
Dragoslava smiled, knowing all too well what the issue was. “Let me guess: Milosh, right?”
“Threrth has been meddling in the affairs of man for some time now, worrying me and the other Pure Gods. Sadly we cannot do much as he is an Old God.”
Desislav nodded and lightly kicked a loose stone. “Since I’m assuming you sent me that vision, what’s up?”
“Simple, I have a present for you, Desislav.” An indigo flame appeared in the air and floated down to him.
“A soul fragment, for me?”
The God of the Abyss nodded. “Indeed. I figured you could use the help.”
“Jeez, just like that… Now I know how Blood felt.” Desislav took the fragment into him. He felt his being become energized as he floated into the air and emanated a flash of light. “Haha, that felt good.”
Dragoslava patted him on the back. “Well thank you, God of the Abyss… but surely you didn’t just invite us down here for that, correct?”
“Very shrewd, Ms. Raynot,” she answered. “Aside from wanting to show Desislav the basics of ULTRAMagic, could you two have King Englehart come down here when he has a moment?”
“Sure, but why not just ask him yourself?” Desislav wondered.
“Desislav, don’t be rude” Dragoslava chided.
“No, no, it’s a fair question” The God of the Abyss responded. “There’s a Bizarre God masquerading as a Rogue God, calling herself The Sludge God. She seems to be in the Cosmos to help, but I’d like to keep my activity to a minimum while I confirm that.”
“That is unsettling,” Dragoslava asserted.
Desislav felt the same. “Fair enough, your divinity.”
“Fortunately this place is isolated from the Cosmos proper, so we should be safe.” The God of the Abyss then noticed that the pair were rubbing their necks. “Hold on, let me shrink down so things are more comfortable.”
Dragoslava was impressed by the half crystalline body. “I have to say, you are a beautiful god.”
She giggled. “Thank you. I’ve been quite worried about my manifestation since my true form resembles a 10th dimensional Ophanim with an uncountable amount of rings. Now Desislav, I have some important things to say in regards to your ULTRAMagic.”
He took a seat on a nearby bench. “I’m all ears…”
The God of the Abyss started out with a brief history of ULTRAMagic. At some point during the Epoch, a man discovered he could empower his soul with the fragments of others. He would go on to become a god-like entity that taught his knowledge to anyone willing to learn. This led to many gaining the trait, including the ancestors of The Descendants. Oddly the trait vanished for a time, but it popped back up when The Descendants hit their prime. This story was very fascinating to Desislav and Dragoslava.
“Amazing,” Desislav noted. “So this ULTRAMagic entity took it upon himself to seek enlightenment despite being someone who was not supposed to exist in the first place. A real rags to riches story, aye, Dragoslava?”
“Yeah, definitely. It’d be neat to meet him someday.”
“I hope you’re able to,” The God of the Abyss said with optimism. “The other gods were leery of him, but I always found him sweet and endearing. Sadly the last ones to see him were the Arbiters of Droom and they have no idea where he disappeared to. They were his previous students, but even that was a long time ago, going all the way back to the Epoch-transition phase of the Cosmos.”
“Well that’s a slight bummer” Desislav concluded. “So about my ULTRAMagic then?”
“Right! First things first: do not overexert yourself. Your ULTRAMagic can easily damage your mind and body if left unchecked. This is not a ‘no pain no gain’ situation: You will actually hurt yourself.”
“But what about Blood and Aureolus though? They’ve done some pretty crazy things…”
“Those two are unique cases, finely tuned for their ULTRAMagic.”
“And throwing my hat into the ring, I was born with it,” Dragoslava added. “I instinctively know my limits.”
Desislav processed all of that, wondering what his limits were. “Alright then. What else is there?”
“Sustenance,” The God of the Abyss answered. “Your magic will leave you hungry and drained, so stay well fed… but don’t go overboard. Another thing is don’t be afraid to learn all the magic you can. It will be intimidating, but you can do it. As an aside, two mages that will join The ULTRAMagic Guild, Ludwig and Rostislav, will show you examples of mages having trouble accepting their ULTRAMagic.”
“Well that’s not good. I hope we can help them when the time comes…”
“It’ll take them a while to join the guild, but you’ll get to meet them sooner than you think.”
Desislav got up and stretched. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens then. Anyways, enough talk. I want to see what I can do now…” This was followed by a yawn.
Dragoslava chuckled. “I don’t know, Desislav. You sound pretty tired.” She also yawned.
“Oh dear…” The God of the Abyss snapped her fingers, causing a nearby home to light up. “I often forget that entities like you follow lower dimensional time and need to sleep from time to time.” She led them inside the basic, yet cozy dwelling. The furniture was also made of stone, but the god had adorned all of it with things to make it more comfortable.
Dragoslava inspected the bedroom they were brought to. It was like the rest of the home, but it would do. “Eh, I’ve slept in worse,” she remarked as she got into bed.
Desislav followed her, noticing that the mattress was incredibly fluffy and soft. “Not bad, not bad at all.”
The God of the Abyss smiled. “Good night, you two. If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room.” She then left, gently shutting the door behind her.
“I like her” Desislav commented as the city outside the window opening darkened, mimicking nighttime.
“Yeah. I’ve heard that the Pure Gods are pretty cool like that. They’re pretty rare to encounter, however.”
Desislav went quiet for a moment, thinking about his magic. “I’m kind of nervous, not going to lie.”
“Don’t be, I’m here for you. And so is everyone else. We’ll make sure you don’t go overboard.”
“Thanks.” He then had a thought. “Drago, did Ethor ever consider gaining ULTRAMagic?”
She yawned. “Well, he was amazed by my ULTRAMagic. I guess my answer to that is what do you think?”
Desislav thought about it and laughed. “Whoops, looks like I already answered that question…”
“Exactly.”
“Now I kind of see why we don’t remember our past lives immediately. It would mess everything up.”
Dragoslava yawned again. “Uh-huh. Now off to bed. We need to be ready for tomorrow.”
“Right. Good night, Drago.”
“Good night, sweetie…” And with that, they both fell asleep. The soft bedding kept them warm from the cool abyss air as they dreamt peacefully.
Next: Chapter 33
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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