Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The leprechaun death counter had updated: Desiccated Leprechaun Scouts (20/25)

The next Notifications gave Ruwen the bad news regarding the Guardian.

Leprechaun Scout deaths have accelerated the Guardian awakening by 150 minutes.

Disappearance of the Solar Plexus Vault has accelerated the Guardian awakening by 60 minutes.

The timer now showed forty hours remaining. That left plenty of time to collect the remaining crystals before confrontation became inevitable. He went through the last of the Notifications.

Shing!

You have advanced a skill!

Skill: Multitasking

Level: 95 to 112

Effect: Increase all Skills by 56%

Skill: Mining

Level: 277 to 280

Effect: Increase extraction speed by 560%. Increase extraction yield by 280%. Decrease gem and mineral damage by 280%.

Skill: Prospecting

Level: 629 to 646

Effect: Increase chance of discovering plants, gems, ores, minerals, and other collectibles by 646%.

Skill: Taxonomy

Level: 1,112 to 1,120

Effect: Increase identification of plants, gems, ores, minerals, and other collectibles by 1,120%.

The last thing Ruwen wanted to do before leaving was glance at the loot he’d taken from the leprechauns he’d killed in front of the volcano. He’d collected fifteen more cards, none of which he could read. He had twenty-one now.

Name: Sun's Heart Medallion
Quality: Epic

Description: A medallion forged from the core of a dying star, bound to this realm by the will of a Ceardai master craftsman.
Effect (Passive): Willpower +200
Effect (Triggered): Corona Flare -- Once per day, emit a pulse of blinding light that dazes all enemies within line of sight for a duration based on Willpower.

Name: Mote Concentration Set
Quality: Epic
Components: 7 bone needles, 3 specialized combs, 1 threading wheel
Effect (Passive): Mote Weaving +250
Effect (Triggered): Conceptual Clarity - Increase the potency of all woven concepts by 35% for 1 hour.
Description: Tools crafted by the master weaver Finorian, capable of distilling abstract concepts into their purest forms before weaving.

Name: Ceardai Clan Resource Map
Fragment: 3 of 7
Description: A partial description of hidden Ceardai Clan treasures in their Creation Realm lands.

The third map fragment joined the others in Voyager's Weave and Ruwen left the two epic items in Inventory. He’d never heard of Mote Weaving or distilling abstract concepts. He’d show it to Hamma when he saw her again.

Ruwen created a gate rune portal back to Earth and stepped through, emerging in the humid Brazilian jungle where he'd started this mess. The acrid smell of sulfur still hung in the air, and steam rose from the new lava lake that stretched to the horizon. He pulled up his map and studied the remaining markers.

The gem locations were no longer nestled conveniently in this one country. The leprechauns had packed their vaults up and scattered them across the planet to slow or stop Ruwen’s progression.

The Heart vault glowed green fifty miles northwest, nestled in the Andes Mountains. The blue marker for the Throat vault had traveled to the Caribbean, while the Third Eye vault's indigo symbol pulsed from somewhere in the Arctic. The Mind vault displayed as rich purple in what looked like the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He didn’t immediately see the location of the Divine cache.

Ruwen turned in the direction of the closest gem and jumped into the air. Survey updated his three-dimensional map as he flew northwest, his Divine Domain carrying him silently through the sky. The jungle gave way to rolling hills, then steep mountain slopes covered in dense cloud forest. Mist clung to the peaks, and the air grew thin and cold.

The green marker led Ruwen to a massive sinkhole carved into the mountainside, its edges lined with emerald moss and flowering vines. Thousands of streams dropped into the opening and down the rocky sides creating a pleasant crashing sound that reminded him of his first real weapon in the Black Pyramid, the Staff of Chimes.

Ruwen summoned the three gems he’d already gathered and channeled Harmony through them. Their combined resonance pointed to a similar vibration deep underground. No leprechauns waited here in ambush. He guessed they wanted to see if their rearranging would fool him and didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to the locations.

Ruwen descended into the sinkhole and eventually shifted into using Melt and Dig to carve a direct path through solid rock. The geological layers described the familiar story of ancient uplift and erosion, and his Mining skill automatically catalogued the various mineral deposits he passed through.

Four hundred feet down, Ruwen broke into a natural cavern system where underground rivers had carved smooth tunnels through the limestone. Despite the utter darkness, Harmony revealed the simple harmonies of the surroundings, giving the space shape. The temperature compared to the outside had dropped forty degrees here and the air smelled stale.

Ruwen’s three newly Activated chakras sensed the Heart gems and led him through a maze of passages that eventually opened into a vast underground chamber. In the center of the lake, a small island held a cluster of rose-colored crystals that pulsed with warm light. Stalactites hung like frozen waterfalls from the ceiling, and a mirror-smooth lake reflected their formations.

Ruwen didn’t detect any leprechauns or traps but decided to approach the island without flying just in case. He waded into the cool water, ripples spreading outward from his passage. When the water reached his armpits he reconsidered flying, but a quick glance with Survey confirmed the lake didn’t get any deeper.

The Ceardai Clan Mark of the Thief debuff meant the leprechauns would know his location and that their hiding had failed. They were likely on their way and would probably come with more than fifteen this time.

Ruwen stepped onto the small island and approached the five-foot oblong cluster made from hundreds of gems. The Rose Quartz of Compassion whispered to his chakras and the gem at the base of the cluster emitted a pink glow. It called to his Dormant Heart chakra, and while he couldn’t understand the communication, it felt like encouragement and acceptance.

The longer this took, the more likely the Ceardai Clan would arrive and cause trouble, but Ruwen sat cross-legged anyway, just inches from the glowing gem. He shivered and his skin prickled as invisible energy ghosted across his head, chest, and arms.

Ruwen had avoided all thoughts about this chakra because it worried him the most. Not because he saw himself as uncaring or apathetic, but because his Heart chakra seemed the most underdeveloped. His experience with balance had taught him the further something deviated from the center the more powerful and sudden the correction.

Ruwen filled his thoughts with those he loved—his parents, Hamma, Rami, Tremine, his friends, Fractal, his internal family, the Addas, and so many more. The size of the list surprised him. He even found Blapy had made the list, as did Grandpa Pine who he’d just gotten to know, and Echo who might still want to kill him.

The seventh step that Ruwen had taken during his Bamboo Viper Master’s trial had highlighted his desire to save this Universe and everything in it, and forced him to accept and trust the beings in his inner Universe as well. He’d given them all free choice and honored his word even when Nameless had made doing so dangerous. Maybe his heart had developed than he thought. He’d changed a lot in the last few years.

Unlike the violent confrontation with the Citrine of Will, when Ruwen touched the Rose Quartz of Compassion it simply dropped into his palm.

Warmth spread outward from Ruwen’s chest, much different than the fiery Activation he'd experienced with his Solar Plexus. The gem didn’t force his Heart chakra open, but he could feel it stirring. If he sat here another ten minutes, his Heart chakra would surely Activate.

Ruwen summoned the gem’s details.

Name: Rose Quartz of Compassion (Pristine)

Type: Primal Heart Crystal

Quality: Legendary

Resonance Bound: Ruwen Starfield

Description: The Compassion stone is the fourth of the eight pillars of enlightenment, representing the bridge between physical and spiritual realms through unconditional love and empathy. This crystal has been infused with heart energy by the Ceardai master crafters. Effects are amplified when in proximity to other Ceardai crystals.

Effect (Passive): Heart Resonance - when held, attunes to your Heart chakra, accelerating Activation, Awakening, and Chakra Leveling by 25%.

Effect (Passive): Harmony Aura - when held creates a 10-foot field that reduces hostile aura interactions by 10%.

Effect (Passive): Open Heart - when held establishes a direct link to emotional energy sources within 500 feet.

Effect (Passive): Empathetic Restoration - when held increases healing of non-physical damage by 20% including emotional trauma and mental injuries.

Effect (Passive): Bonds of Gratitude - when held all allies within 100 ft. gain the benefits of Harmony Aura and Empathetic Restoration.

Effect (Triggered): Move On - once per day flip all debuffs into buffs for all party members within 50 feet.

Effect (Triggered): Love’s Mercy - once per day create a protective barrier of pure compassion that converts incoming damage into healing energy. Effectiveness equal to Charisma times Heart chakra level. Duration equal to Heart chakra level in minutes.

Instead of exploring the gem further, Ruwen dropped the Rose Quartz of Compassion into Inventory and scooped up the entire crystal formation with his Void Band. He had four more gems to collect, and another leprechaun battle would delay that. In addition, the longer he stayed here, the more preparation the Ceardai Clan could make at the other vaults.