Chapter 76: Arcanist
Ansel shivered. He tried to breathe, but his throat felt painfully dry. Parched. There was no air here. Nothing left for him to take in. The thick shroud of fog wavered across him. Upon the throne that loomed at the head of the table, the mysterious statue that never once moved in the short time since he became a part of this assembly finally showed signs of life.
What a terrifying presence!
He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the notification that blinked before him. That had never happened before. The others told him that the System couldn’t see this space-in between. They were somewhere in the Spiritum, the so-called Spiritual World that once belonged to the ancient beings.
I’m… trembling.
[You are in the presence of an Ancient One.]
The words were painted in dark, rich crimson, gleaming like blood recently spilled from a fresh wound. Slowly, they began dripping down from his sight, drops of it merging into the ground underneath his feet, sending a silent tremor across the hall.
Don’t look. Don’t move. Don’t do anything!
He was nothing. As a mere Pretrial Mage who chanced his way into this assembly through sheer luck, he was a fly compared to the other members of the group.
Who would’ve thought the medallion he found buried under his parents’ old house would happen to be an ancient Cursed Artifact? The moment he touched its rusted surface, he found himself seated in this dark hall, surrounded by four others who seemed surprised at his arrival.
That was a month ago… And they all told me the statue of the Surgemasters has never moved in the last hundred years. Last. Hundred. Years!
Why now? What happened?
At first, the fifth and the most famous member of the group, the heretic who tried to uproot Sun’s Church from Melton’s rule, the benevolent Healer who had a cult following across all kingdoms, suddenly returned claiming he was saved by an ancient presence. The man was a legend, a myth whose name was known to all Caligians!