Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO ON KINDLE SEPT. 2)

Elijah laid his hand on the rune-inscribed stone gate, his eyes closed as he felt the currents of ethera rushing along his fingertips. As his senses had sharpened and his cultivation had improved, he’d developed the ability to distinguish between different types of ethera. Whether it was the vitality-infused energy of his grove or the mutability of the Chimeric Forge, every occurrence of ethera possessed a distinct flavor.

And the energy coursing through the gate was no different.

“What are you doing?” asked Oscar.

“Getting a feel for what we should expect,” Elijah answered. He’d already received the notification prompting entry into the Primal Realm, but he hadn’t accepted. Instead, he wanted to taste the ethera so he could prepare himself for what they might find on the other side.

“And what do you sense?”

“It feels like a snow-capped volcano in the middle of a raging blizzard,” Elijah answered. “But there’s a note of something else. Something steadier.”

“Steadier than a mountain?”

Elijah nodded. Then, he understood what he felt. It was the system itself. That underlying force suffused everything about their world, giving it structure and guiding the energy along predefined routes. He’d felt it before, though it was so ubiquitous that he rarely noticed it. Yet, Primal Realms – and towers, he suspected – were far more constrained by the system. They were artificial creations rather than a gentle guide.

And it was fascinating.

Idly, Elijah wondered what might happen if he extended his soul into the gate. Would it be like what had happened when he did the same thing to the tree in the center of Druid’s Park? That had been an overwhelming experience, and he knew that if the system hadn’t stepped in, he might have gone insane.

Something told him that trying something similar with a Primal Realm would push him much further, though in an entirely different but no less overwhelming direction.

“Let’s go in,” he said. “I’ll go first. Then the dogs. You bring up the rear.”

Oscar nodded in agreement. A couple of the dogs let out barks of consent. Then, Elijah acknowledged the notification and accepted entry. Instantly, he disappeared, and only a second later, he reappeared in a wholly different – but oddly familiar – location. He stepped away, his legs staggering as the weight of the local ethera crashed into him.

It wasn’t the most powerful atmosphere he’d ever felt, but it certainly wasn’t weak. More troubling was the overbearing feel of it. The notes of fire and ice were still there, but he was more concerned with the feeling of weakness that overcame him.

It was like he’d lost hundreds of attribute points all at once. Not enough to make him feel wholly human again, but enough that he knew it would take him a few minutes to adjust.

He tried to focus on Soul of the Wild, only for it to feel like he was looking through dirty glass. Certainly, he could still sense the things around him, but the results were vague.

And he didn’t like that one little bit.

After a few seconds, the dogs, then Oscar appeared. He was clearly affected by the suppression as well.

“What is this?” he grunted, glancing around.

“I don’t know,” Elijah said. “But he looks like he might know the answer.”

As he spoke, Elijah pointed across what appeared to be a wide plaza. Next to a huge pair of double doors stood a single fire giant. However, this one looked far more refined – or evolved, perhaps – than the creatures outside the Primal Realm. He wore an intricately decorated white robe and had arranged his fiery beard into a series of intricate braids.

He was still enormous, though – at least twenty feet tall, but probably more.

The giant was unarmed, but that didn’t negate the sense of power he radiated. With his senses muted, Elijah had trouble nailing down the giant’s level, but he knew the creature was powerful enough to cause plenty of problems.

“He doesn’t seem aggressive.”

“No. Do you feel weaker as well?” asked Oscar.

Elijah nodded. “It feels like a domain, but far more powerful.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Me neither, but there’s nothing either of us can do about it right now,” Elijah said. Then, he finally acknowledged the notification that appeared upon entry into the Primal Realm: