CHAPTER 14: “THE LIGHT IT SOUGHT”

The slumbering beast who seeks the light.

What sort of light would this beast seek? He already ruled out sunshine out of the list. The beast had sought slumber here way when the elves still used it, the protective ruins on the doors were only put in place after it had settled in here, so the beast wasn’t really lured in here to be trapped, it came willingly. Could it be a specific artifact? Did it come here to look for one? Though, looking around the room, Ai couldn’t see anything that stood out.

Next, Ai observed the Vial of Peace. Bren had insisted that this was something that would help him...but what did it do exactly? It offered no description that might give him any sort of clue to its use. Could Bren be wrong about it…? No. Ai still remembered the look in their eyes when they gave him this. They were determined and so sure.

Vial of Peace….the light…

A wave of realization came over Ai, his brain connecting the two together. He knew what it was, what light this beast sought. He knew it all too well.

His eyes scanned the room once more, looking for anything out of place, anything that would tell him where the beast’s real body was. The room looked like a standard church, albeit small. There was nothing that stood out in particular, it all looked normal. Then, his eyes landed on the altar table. It was a big box made from polished wood, nothing special, but in all that tumbling around, the beast didn’t touch the table at all. Ai also realized that when the beast was slumbering, it seemed as though it was protecting it. Could the real body be….

The beast roared again, fully out of its stupor now. Its red eyes once again locked onto Ai. Angrily, it ran full speed at him, wanting to slash with his claws. Ai poured all his energy into dodging then dashing at full speed towards the door. Once his back was against it, he waited until the beast had come closer for what he hoped to be last time, and activated his skill.

[Intervene]: Step between the two opposing parties.

Chance to [freeze] up to two targets  for 15 seconds 

Cooldown: 30 Sec

Ai prayed deeply that the skill would work. No matter how small the chance was, this was his only way of getting into that altar without being slashed at. Of course it didn’t work, yet Ai kept activating the skill over and over and over again. Not only was he pushing legs to dodge, run and dash, but he was also using his energy to cast the skill. It had no MP use, but took a certain amount of energy with each cast.

Ai slumped over the altar table, the beast at the other side of the room. They were back to where they started, but this time Ai was exhausted. His legs felt heavy and numb, his lungs were burning, he felt like he could collapse at any moment. The beast however was still as vigor as ever, still looking at Ai with those red eyes.

One final push, Ai casted the skill once more. If it didn’t work then he would fail this quest, the beast would kill him and send him back to wherever, the inn perhaps...

This time, as if like magic, a magic circle appeared from beneath the floor. A blast of icy wind blew and icy crystals grew onto the beast’s legs, keeping him on the spot. Without a moment of hesitation, Ai pushed the altar table with all his remaining strength. Though it wasn’t too heavy, it was still a dense wooden table and Ai didn’t have much energy left. Once the altar was moved, Ai could see a small sealed hatch just underneath it. Mist seeped through the gaps, thicker and darker than the one around the mirage. Seeing Ai close to its true body, the beast struggled even more against the icy grips of his skill.

Quickly Ai used the tip of his dagger to open the hatch. Inside was nothing but clumps and balls of shadow and mist, the true form of the beast. Gently, Ai took the Vial of Peace from his inventory and stretched his other hand inside. The mist and shadow flinched away from his touch, afraid and agitated. It was like a small baby animal. Behind them, the beast roared again, finally free from his frozen status. Ai didn’t look back.

Gently, he gave the shadowy mist a gentle stroke, his hand moving slowly and carefully. 

“The light you seek,” Ai murmured. “You seek for peace.”

The shadow ball stopped moving around. It had no eyes, but Ai could feel it staring at him, gauging his intentions. Behind them, the beast had stopped its rageful rampage. It too stared at Ai. Slowly, the shadow in the small hatch curled its misty limbs around Ai’s fingers. He could feel the anguish in this creature, its grip didn’t feel like anything, but it felt like a child begging for love.

Ai looked at the vial in his other hand and casted another skill.

[Restore]

Cast on an [object] to restore [object] to the best form the [object] has ever taken. Cannot be used on quest objects.

Book of Language bonus: Removes quest object restriction.

Cooldown: 24 Hours

The vial glowed brightly in his hands, it's clear liquid looking even more pristine than before. It felt cool and exuded a sort of comforting power. Carefully, Ai took the vial down into the small hatch and used it. The liquid inside the vial evaporated, letting out a mist of cool air in his hands. The shadow relaxed its grip and floated out of the hatch. Ai could somewhat feel its emotions. It didn’t feel angry or anguished anymore, there was relief in the creature as it hovered above the hatch.

A shadow suddenly loomed over Ai, shocking him terribly. He looked up to see the mirage standing close to him, looking at him with its red eyes but now, Ai didn’t feel any aggression from it. The mirage nuzzled his head at Ai’s in a show of affection before slowly disappearing into more clouds of mist that slowly joined together with the little bundle of mist.

The now basketball sized clump of mist slowly grew tighter and tighter until it almost looked solid. When Ai reached out to touch it, the ball burst into more clouds of mist and then...took the shape of an owl. The owl looked like a normal barn owl you would see in the real world but its feathers were white as snow and it had a cloud of mist hanging around its body. The owl flapped its wings and flew around the room, Ai could feel how refreshed and unweighted it was.

After being satisfied with its flight, the owl turned back to Ai and slowly perched itself on his shoulder. It gently nuzzled its head on his cheek, making Ai chuckle. Ai stroked the top of its head with his finger.

A big wave of relief suddenly hit him. He was finished. Finally finished with this quest. He was tired, aching, and wanted to sleep on the Golden Suite’s bed for at least two weeks, but he did it. He didn’t know what ranking this would get him, but he smiled anyway.

Getting up from the dusty ground, Ai walked out of the prayer room, the owl still perched comfortably on his shoulder.

Once he reached the room at the start again, the priestly elf practically ran towards him, almost stumbling over their long robes. Their eyes looked at Ai’s disheveled form and then at the owl perching itself on his shoulders. Their eyes widened almost in disbelief and awe.

“Y-you’ve done it!” They exclaimed excitedly. “You’ve taken care of the beast!”

Only now did Ai realize the priest’s choice of words. They never once said they wanted the beast killed. Although he supposed that would be an acceptable outcome as well for them, the elf had given them a clue. There was more than one way to solve the quest. The right way. 

“You have our deepest gratitude, envoy.” the priest said, bowing multiple times. “We can now once again serve Aethera in this temple.”

Ai was confused for a brief moment. He had thought that the elves served under Tilvanette. By the way they so disdained Keygivers, people serving Aethera, he assumed that no one would devote themselves to the deity. Then again, this temple was located far in the forest instead of being close to the village. 

The priest bid farewell and excitedly entered the now beast free corridor, disappearing into the still dim but not as scary looking hall.

Meanwhile, Athiel gave him a celebratory pat on his shoulder with a proud smile on their face.

“Thank you, envoy.” they said. “Please rest for now. I shall summon you to give you your reward later.”