The Mountain
Donovan introduced the samurai to the client Barriston Mors, an adventurer and tech genius. The samurai shook his hand and felt some dark and familiar presence around him.
An Omen.
The bad one.
The three men were at the pub, discussing about their journey. Mors have too many words trying to describe his job for the two of them. He made it clear the very important one first. "This is a secret. No one knows about this expect me, you, and whoever keeps these secrets in the first place."
The samurai and the knight nodded, understanding what he said. Keep their mouth shut.
"Good." Then Mors gave them the details. "Items of interest are called the Infinities. Six precious gemstones. Six power sources of six gods. Gods you have never heard of."
The samurai got curious. He too was curious about the gemstones. What are these things and what made the dark entities like Oblitus and Idea want them? "Who are these gods?"
Mors went to his journals but the only god he has full information on is the Red Giant. He even has the picture for it captured by his own camera that he built.
The samurai and the knight looked at the picture and saw the Red Giant hovering above the sky, appears to be going towards the Sun. "That's a god?" Donovan was amazed at the picture.
"I took that picture yesterday. Fascinating entity." Mors said, excited to know more about it.
When the samurai took another look at the Red Giant, he recognized its form and its unusual helmet and staff. He remembered the crimson entity who punished the dark entity Oblitus. The samurai remembered.
Mors continued. "This Red Giant owns one of the six gems. The red gem of Power. The Sixth Stone. The keepers called it the Heart of Pyralis."
The samurai got the red entity's name. Pyralis.
The knight Donovan wanted to know about the journey and not the treasures Mors seek. "Just tell us about this quest. Maps. Where are these gems? Are they locked in a secret temple? Castle?"
"Ruined Castle."
"Okay. Where is this ruined castle?"
"Inside the heart of the mountain."
Donovan wanted more detail. "Which mountain?"
Mors showed them the map to Mount Lychinus.
As the island temple burned down, Idea and her heroes won. The blue entity pulled the jade from its current keeper and her gunslinger and spearman were just finished with the remaining warriors who tried to defend the jade.
Idea looked at the jade and can sense the souls inside of it. "Hello, little one."
Then her twin sister Dilek asked her. "Are you satisfied at what you have done?"
She scoffed. "Oh, please. These people are not real. This world is not real. Everything is nor real, Dilek. And you know it."
"But what you did to them-"
"That doesn't matter. This world and other worlds. Realities. Timelines. Everything! Everything is not real. They are not Original. They are just copies of the universes that they visited." Idea said as she leaves the island.
Her sister defended its existence. "It is a Garden, sister. Their Garden of Worlds that they love and care and grow. And you wanted to destroy their Garden just for what?"
Idea looked at her sister, straight into her eyes. "I want to take over."
Dilek felt her true desire. Her goals. Her dreams. Everything she ever wanted. "You wanted to rule the Garden."
"No." Idea grinned. "I wanted to change their stories."
The gunslinger and the spearman approached their goddess. "Where to go now?"
She grabbed her sister by the neck and commanded her. "Now take me to the next stone, sis."
Meanwhile, in a different world and timeline, lounging on top of the tallest tower of the city, Aki watched the army of Overmen rampaging across the burning city through the wide glass window. Their red power blasted military soldiers like ants against a magnifying glass. The daughter of Aku was fascinated that a mortal man like Mors has acquired an unstoppable army.
"Where did you get this army?" She asked.
The one armed man showed her his gauntlet, emitting the red stone's light. "I had it borrowed to a German friend. He made the army for me."
"And where is he now?"
"Doing business with another client." Mors said. "He doesn't share about his work. But he only mentioned about doing business with an organization."
"I see." Aki went back to the window and enjoyed the view. "I want one."
"Miss Aki... you don't have to worry. You'll get an army soon. But let's enjoy the view for a moment." He moved a bit closer to her. His hand caressing her shoulder.
The assassin stepped aside, away from him. "No. I want to know what you are planning."
Mors can tell she was serious about it. "Fine. I'm setting the playing field... for our dear friend. She already has three stones. I have two. I bet she's coming here any second now and I'm ready to face her."
Aki remembered important detail back home. "If Idea has three stones and you have two, why not get the last one before she gets it?"
His expression changed. "Do you know where the last one is?"
The demon girl smirked. "I know who has it."
The samurai, the knight, and their client arrived at the foot of Mount Lychinus. Barriston Mors, carrying a large black suitcase, looked at the map again to make sure that the path they are taking will be the old mines. He started walked to the path and the two followed.
The samurai whispered to the knight Donovan. "Did you know about this castle inside the mountain?"
"Just legends about it. " The Knight said. "The most popular one is the old King Daros who predicted that the Sun will die and fire will fall from the sky, burning the lands and oceans dry. That's what it was written. Strange tale."
"Does it relates to this six gems that he speak of?"
"No. This is the first time I heard these things, Jack." The knight said. "Of all the years as a White Knight, I have seen, used and even documented all the enchanted and supernatural artifacts in the world. But not these gemstones. Not in history books or legends."
Mors heard the two and he gave them an answer. "Because those things are not from this world."
The samurai dared asked. "And how do you know of their existence?"
The man smirked at them, keeping it a secret. "I just know." He pointed ahead, showing them the entrance to the mines. "I believe you brought torches."
The three ventured inside the large mouth of the mountain and into the darkness. Mors brought three torches that he built for the trip. He lit one for himself and gavethe others to the samurai and the knight. The samurai then gave the torch to the knight but Donovan rejected it. He then conjured fire from his armored gauntlets and formed into a solid sword and light up their surroundings. The samurai watched in awe by the knight's power.
Donovan bragged. "Solidified Flame. Hardest skill for pyromancers. My little sister tried it but failed."
The samurai chuckled. "You did not mention anything about being a pyromancer."
"You didn't ask." The knight said. "Do you have something to tell me about you, Jack?"
"Well, I can say that I'm a married."
"That's great! Who is she?"
The samurai hesitated to answer, as he remembered that Ashi has gone missing.
As the two were having a conversation, Mors found mine rails that lead to the Ruined Castle. He turned to see two steal mine carts. He told the two to share one. Mors puts the black suitcase in his cart and climbed inside. The knight and samurai shared one small cart and followed the mine rail. They went first. Mors was at the back, following them. "Feel free to destroy any debris that blocks out path." He said.
"What?" The samurai could not hear him but Donovan saw a boulder up ahead.
"Jack, get down!" The knight morphed his flaming sword into a javeline and threw it to the boulder. The debris was taken care of and they continued their descent to the heart of the mountain.
"How deep is this place?" The samurai asked.
Mors gladly answered. "We're almost there." When he saw a lantern ahead, he grabbed the breaks of his cart before he told the two of their destination. The samurai and the knight crashed into the end of the rail and into the ruined wall of the castle. Mors' cart slowed down and he got off easily without a scratch. He took the briefcase out and dust off any dirt on it and continued walking to the castle.
The knight was alright and he protected the samurai from hitting the wall. "Are you alright, Jack?"
The samurai grunted, knowing that Mors doesn't care of their presence. He started to think Mors doesn't need their protection. But here they are. "Is this the place?"
Mors nodded. "Yes. This is it. We are here."
Donovan helped the samurai get up and dust off the dirt on his white robe. The two warriors looked up and saw the ruined castle and its former glory. The samurai speculated that there was a big battle happened with catapults and battering rams, breaking into the castle. He felt an ominous feeling around it like they should not be here.
But Mors did not care and walked forward inside the castle, ignoring the corpses around the place. "Do not fear. They are no longer with us."
The samurai followed him, curious about him and his black suitcase. Meanwhile, Donovan checked on the corpses and their weapons they carried. Mors hurriedly pass through numerous empty rooms and into the great hall where hundreds of fallen warriors slaughtered each other. The samurai avoid stepping on the corpses or move anything. He looked around and noticed Donovan was not with him.. "Donovan? Where are you?"
No answer.
The samurai has no time to find the knight. He continued following Mors. It appears the client doesn't any of those protection or they were hired just to destroy debris on the rails. If that's the case, the man is a lazy bastard. But the samurai can feel Mors has ulterior motives.
Back outside the castle, Donovan discovered something form the corpses. Half of the corpses who defended the castle were killed by the weapons that Donovan feared the most. The knight knew they got into to a pretty bad situation that no mortal has ever encounter before. He ran inside the castle, trying to warn the samurai. "Jack! Do not enter the castle!"
But his warnings did not reach in time.
The samurai saw Mors entered the king's throne room and shut the door. The samurai slowly and quietly opened the door and took a peak. He saw Mors approaching the pedestal where the corpse of King Daros lies. The samurai then looked up and saw all six gems glowing bright, hovering above the dead king.
Mors was speechless when he saw it but he did not take time to look at it and immediately puts down the black briefcase and opened it.
The samurai gasped as he saw Mors took out a golden gauntlet from the briefcase and out it on. He remember the design and the engravings. It is the same gauntlet that he used when he searched for the gems. "I remember." The samurai knew what he must do.