WIEDERGEBURT Act VI: Chapter 3

It didn’t take more than a day to prepare for our journey. I spent the second day before the dragons arrived with my family. I played with Raul, refined alchemy pills with Fay, and traveled around Nevaria with Lin. While the journey to and from the floating island would not take long, I did not know what would happen once we arrived. I thought it best to take the time I had now and spend it with the people I loved before leaving.

The next day, I found myself standing just outside of Midgard’s gates. I wasn’t alone. Siv and Kari were with me, of course, but there was also Raul, Fay, Lin, Meerand, Alexis, Erica, Rainere, Tungsten, and several other individuals whom I knew by name and face. They were acquaintances I had grown to know during the five years that had passed.

All of us were waiting for the dragons who would appear to escort me to the floating island.

“Which direction will they come from?” asked Lilac, shielding her eyes from the sun as she squinted into the distance.

Lilac Heiler was an olive-skinned young woman with purple eyes. She wore the robes of an Expert Alchemist, which suited her well. Standing beside the woman was an albino with white skin, red eyes, and silver hair. She was also wearing the robes of an Expert Alchemist.

“The dragons live around Westfang Mountain to the north of here, so they will be coming from the north,” I explained.

“Aren’t we on the wrong side, then?!” asked a shocked Lilac.

Sana sighed. “Are you an idiot?”

“Don’t call me an idiot!”

“I’ll call you what I want. There is only one gate in and out of Midgard. Everyone knows that.”

“You!!!”

I watched the two argue with a shake of my head. Sana and Lilac were members of the Heiler and Cansano families, which were the two most prominent families among the Four Great Alchemy Families. Of course, the reason for their rise to prominence was because these two were Fay’s apprentices. My wife was the third alchemist in the entire world who earned the title of Grandmaster alongside Feinrea and Cathrine.

“Are you sure you will be all right with just the three of you?” asked Alexis, frowning at me. “You don’t need more people for this?”

Alexis Mutig didn’t look a day over fourteen. She was another albino like Sana, with silver hair, red eyes, and pale skin, but unlike my wife’s apprentice, this woman who was over forty years old looked like a little girl. That didn’t mean I would underestimate her. This woman was the leader of the Battling Valkyries, the second largest battle oriented sect and a member of the Six Great Sects.

“I’m sure,” I said. “The Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain is far too strong for a normal Spiritualist to contend against. Having a bunch of people with us would just be a hindrance.”

“Well, if you say so,” Alexis muttered with a shrug.

“Ha ha ha. I believe we should trust Eryk and let him do what he needs to,” Rainere said with a guffaw.

Rainere Cohen was a big man with a head of short, black hair, amasculine jaw, and a missing left eye. He wore an eyepatch over the empty eye socket. His body was adorned with gleaming silver armor; a chestplate, shoulder pauldrons, gauntlets, greaves, and a longsword that rested on his hip. Like Alexis, he was a member on the Council of Six and leader for one of the Six Great Sects--the Paladin Sect.

“Must you always be so loud,” Alexis grumbled in complaint.

Rainere just laughed.

I never did figure out the relationship between these two. They were far more familiar with each other than two people who were mere aquaintances, but I knew their relationship wasn’t romantic since Rainere was into men. The only thing I knew was they had been acquainted with each other before either of them became Spiritualists. However, I didn’t think it was right to pry just to satisfy my own curiosity, so I never asked about it.

“Kari, please promise me that you will look after yourself, Siv, and Eryk,” Fay was saying to the blonde beauty by her side. Her eyes were imploring. “I don’t know how powerful the Great Overlord of the Seventh Realm is, but everything Eryk has told us suggests he’s more than powerful enough to destroy entire cities on his own. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

With a smile on her face, Kari reached out and grabbed both of Fay’s hands in her own. The pure joy shining in her eyes as Fay fretted over her couldn’t be masked even if she wanted to.

“Don’t worry, Fay. I promise, we won’t take any unnecessary risks. With luck, we will be able to defeat the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain before he has the chance to awaken.”

I turned away from the two, letting them talk in private, and looked down at Raul as he stood by my side.

“I’ll be counting on you to look after Fay and Lin while I am gone,” I said with a wink.

Raul looked up, his eyes wide, but then he gave me a brilliant smile and nodded. “I will, Father!”

The dragons arrived not long after that. The first one to spot them was Siv, whose eyesight was the best among us. Meerand also roared in greeting and excitement as three specks appeared in the distance, growing larger at a steady pace. Before more than a minute had passed, the three dragons became visible.

Like all dragons, these ones were large--larger even than Meerand. The smallest among them was about the size of a multi-story building and maybe twice as long. They had four powerful limbs, a long tail trailing behind them, horns adorning their heads, and wings that extended to several meters on either side.

The dragon in the center had white scales that looked softer than the others. Her more streamlined body was slender and appeared more feminine, but her muscles were still thick and powerful enough to intimidate a normal human. Pure white pinions protruded from her back, covered in feathers and spanning at least ten meters in length.

On her left was a dragon with midnight scales and a strange star-burst pattern. On her right was a dragon with deep green scales.

“My word,” Alexis breathed as the dragons began landing, the flapping of their wings kicking up a powerful gust that caused the people around me to cover their faces.

“I didn’t realize dragons could get so big,” Rainere mumbled.

While most of the people present looked like they were in awe of the dragons, I walked up to the trio with Meerand and Siv by my side. I think it was her drakvar blood, but she was not frightened by these massive creatures like she was humans.

“Mother,” Meerand said with a bow of his large head. “Thank you for coming.”

I couldn’t be sure, but I thought the white dragon was smiling.

“It looks like spending time among the humans has been good for you. I am glad.” Craning her long neck to look down, the white dragon stared at both Siv and myself. “Lady Siv, it is a pleasure to see you once again, and you, Lord Eryk.”

Because Siv was a drakvar, the dragons showed her deferential treatment, and because I was her mate, they also gave me respect. I think it helped that I defeated Dozziss in single combat when asking for their allegiance.

“Thank you for coming all this way, Vydet, Dozziss, Chiro,” I said in greeting to the three dragons.

“You need not thank us,” Dozziss said, his midnight scales glistening as he shifted his head. “This is the reason you asked for our alliance, correct? We are merely doing our part.”

“Indeed,” the green-scaled dragon, Chiro, said. “Besides, I believe it was time we dragons left Westfang Mountain anyway. I for one am excited by the prospect of traveling somewhere new.”

Since they were here, I decided to introduce Alexis, Erica, Rainere, and Tungsten to the dragons. I wasn’t sure how well it went over. The four Spiritualists seemed a bit too shocked about being in the presence of dragons to do much more than stutter. Oddly enough, the one who didn’t seem to be making a big deal out of being introduced was Lilac, who simply thought it was cool to meet a dragon in real life.

“Be sure to say your goodbyes now,” Vydet said to us. “We leave for the floating island in a few minutes.”

I nodded at her words and turned to face my two wives who would be staying behind. Lin looked unrepentant as she gazed at me, and I knew she wanted to go. The reason she wasn’t was because she hated flying. Fay accepted that someone needed to stay behind and watch after our son, but I suspected she wished to come with us as well.

“This princess does not like that you are leaving her.” Lin crossed her arms and pouted at me. “She wishes she could go with you.”

I smiled in amusement. “You know why I can’t take you with me.”

“This princess knows that. She is just complaining.”

“Don’t do anything reckless, Eryk,” Fay said to me. “Promise me you will do only what you need to and then return.”

“Don’t worry. I promise.”

After hugging my son, kissing my wives, and promising them I would be safe, the three of us--myself, Siv, and Kari--went over to the dragons. Vydet nodded toward us as she flapped her wings. Dozziss and Chiro also began flapping their wings, which kicked up a powerful gale that slammed into me. If I was not at the Fourth State of Spiritualism, I dare say I would have been sent flying.

“Come, you three. Let us be off,” Vydet said.

I nodded at her, then glanced at Kari and Siv by my side. They both nodded back. While Siv flapped her wings to gain flight, Kari and I merely channeled our Spiritual Power and used it to fly through the air. I noticed as we were floating there that motes of light would surround Kari and disappear into her skin as she absorbed energy from the light of the sun. Thinking on it, with her element, she had a practically unlimited supply of power now that she’d reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism.

We ascended higher into the air. I only turned around once. The last thing I saw before we took off toward the south was Raul, Fay, Lin, and the others waving at us.

***

In order to reach the floating island, our group traveled south, toward a large mountain range that separated the Northern Plains from the Rotfang Forest.

The mountain range was filled with tall peeks that ascended into the clouds and deep ravines that seemed to have no end. It was vast and sprawling, though it was not as large as the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Many of the mountains really did disappear into the clouds. A thick fog seemed to cover much of the mountains and ravines, and there were a number of flying Demon Beasts loitering around, though none of them came up to attack us. I assumed they were frightened by our dragon companions.

I felt nostalgic as I looked at the mountains. In our past life, Kari and I had traveled to this mountain range once before when we were members of the Explorers Guild. Back then, we had discovered the remains of a small group from the Mountain Sect. Their Spiritual Power and souls had been sucked out of their bodies to open a small gate that led a number of Sekbeist through. By the time we had found them, the Sekbeist were gone and the Mountain Sect members corpses were in the process of rigor mortis.

It did not take more than half a day to pass over the mountains, and it took even less time to fly over the Rotfang Forest, which looked like a tangled mess of trees and twisted branches. The Rotfang Forest got its name because of all the toxic plants and creatures inside. Very few people ever traveled there willingly, except for members of the poison sect.

I guess it was true that one man’s trash was another man’s treasure. At least in this instance.

It was late by the time we arrived near the ocean. The dark sky was like a velvet canvas with twinkling lights painted across it. Twin moons hung in the sky and provided gentle illumination.

“Let’s set down here,” I said to the dragons. “It’s late, and we don’t know what we will face tomorrow. I would like to be well-rested.”

None of the dragons disagreed, so we set down on the beach. While the dragons found places among the sand to rest their bodies, Siv, Kari, and I set up our tent and began cooking over a grill that we summoned from our storage rings. The scent of grilling meat caused the dragons to also wander over from where they were relaxing.

“What is that smell?” asked Vydet. “It is mouth watering.”

“Just a late dinner,” I said, then paused when I noticed how the dragons were all drooling. “Do you want some?”

“Can we really partake?” asked Dozziss.

I didn’t want to sound rude, so I didn’t say anything, but as the three dragons stood there with their tails wagging behind, I was reminded of some dogs I’d seen playing with their owners in Nevaria’s many parks. Of course, you couldn’t tell a dragon they were acting like a dog. I simply kept my mouth shut and nodded.

The grill we used to cook dinner was large enough to fit several dozen pounds worth of food on it. Lin and Siv ate more than twice their body weight in meat, so we needed a big grill to cook enough food. That said, adding three dragons to the mix was a tall order. If it wasn’t for the fact that we always came prepared with several month’s worth of food in our storage rings, I didn’t doubt that we wouldn’t have enough food.

“This is truly delicious!” Vydet exclaimed as she ate the seasoned beef I’d been cooking. “Now I see why you humans bother to cook your meat! I could never have imagined simply cooking something over an open fire could change the taste so much!”

“We do more than just cook meat over a fire,” Kari said with a giggle. “You can’t get this kind of flavor without adding a lot of spices and herbs.”

“So I see. I will have to inform my people about this. Can you tell me what spices you used to cook this dish?”

“Sure.”

While Kari began telling Vydet our recipe for grilled beef, I finished my food and wandered over to the shore, standing just outside of the water’s reach. The air was brisk. I felt a slight shiver as the coldness seeped into my skin.

Even though the moons provided ample illumination, I could not see the floating island from this distance in the dark. All I saw was a sea of stars and the ocean reflecting their light.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” asked Kari.

I turned around to see the woman walking over to me, smiled, and then turned back to look at the ocean. Somewhere out there was the floating island that housed the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain.

“I was just thinking,” I said.

“Care to share?”

“Hmm. I was thinking about how my journey to the past began here,” I said, then paused. “Everything that happened this time happened because of what transpired when the seal on the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain broke. He attacked our city, killed you and Kayli, and set me on the path for revenge. If it wasn’t for that moment, I would have never traveled back to the past. I often wonder what would have happened if the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain had never been unsealed back then.”

“I imagine we’d still be fighting the Sekbeist,” Kari said. “Kayli and I would still be alive, of course, but I’m not sure we would have been in a very good position. Our forces were stretched so thin back then. So many of our Spiritualists were dying, and more died every day. The people of the Northern Plains were being killed and enslaved in droves. If the war continued as it had… I do not think any of us would have survived.”

“Maybe,” I said with a sigh.

“That’s not all you’re thinking about, is it?” Kari gave me a look that said she had seen right through me.

“It’s not.” I took a moment to compose myself, thinking about what I wanted to say before I actually spoke. “I was just wondering if defeating the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain would end things. Now that I know more about the Great Overlords, I am aware that what we are facing is not the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain but the mind of the Sekbeist Overlord that had been sealed inside of him. We have already defeated Ask, but there are still six Great Overlords who have had parts of the Sekbeist Overlord sealed inside of them.”

“And you think the Sekbeist we have been fighting against are here to unseal the Great Overlords to free their leader,” Kari said with a nod.

I shrugged. “I cannot think of any other reason they might come to this realm. Miðgarðr is the smallest of the nine realms and humans are the weakest of the great races. What could they want with this place if not to free their leader?”

“I think you might be right,” Kari agreed with me. “In which case, even if we defeat the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain, we might still have to fight the remaining six.”

That was my biggest worry. The Great Overlord of the First Plain, Ask, had been a tough opponent. I could probably beat him now. However, the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain was on a completely different level. Now that I had reached my current level, I had a more clear understanding of the power difference between Ask and Ljósálfar. What’s more, I knew the other Great Overlords would all be more powerful than Ask, the weakest among the Great Overlords.

“We will just have to cross that bridge if or when we get to it,” Kari said in a voice that brooked no argument. “We have done our best to prepare for the Sekbeist’s invasion. Alexis and Rainere have reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism thanks to Fay’s and your alchemy. We also have you, me, Lin, Siv, and Fay. Even if we end up having to fight the other six possessed Great Overlords, I believe we can beat them.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I knew better than to argue when it wouldn’t accomplish anything.

We returned to our tent, where I found Siv dressed in a simple gown that was partially translucent. Her long hair, unbound by anything, descended like a silvery green waterfall down her head. She turned when we entered. I noticed the comb in her hand.

“Eryk, will you comb my hair?” she asked.

I smiled as I took the comb from her hand. “Of course I will.”

Putting my worries and fears for the future out of my mind for now, I spent the rest of the night combining Siv’s and Kari’s hair before falling asleep in the warm embrace of my two wives.

***

We woke up early the next morning and set out across the ocean. It hadn’t been that long since I’d visited the ocean. A few months ago, I took my family on a trip to one of the abandoned cities in the Demon Beast Mountain Range that was located on the shore. The city hadn’t been very big. There had also been a few Demon Beasts making that place their home, but once we cleared them out, we’d been able to enjoy a relaxing trip.

It was like when we had fun at the beach during our stint through the Endless Desert, but better.

What we were doing now was no vacation, however.

“I see the island up ahead,” Siv exclaimed.

“Me too,” Kari said.

I did as well. Floating several kilometers above the sea was the floating island we had come all this way to find.

There was no way to describe this island other than massive. It looked to be about one third the size of Midgard, which meant it was probably a couple hundred kilometers across. The top was flat, but the lower part was protruding and large, as if someone had sliced through a mountain, inverted it, and made it float. Sitting atop this floating island was an intricate city.

“So this is the island you spoke of,” Vydet hummed as she flapped her wings beside us. “I actually know of this place.”

“You do?” I asked, surprised.

Vydet nodded. “It is called Strahlend Isle. In the great war against the Sekbeist, this island was a floating fortress from which the Ljósálfar would rain destruction upon their enemies. I heard it was instrumental in defending numerous strongholds back then.”

The fact that it was something the Ljósálfar had used during the war explained why this was the resting place of the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain when he was sealed away. I guess the people who sealed him believed it would be harder to reach a floating fortress.

We were now floating over the city, and even though this was my second time seeing it, I could not help but admire the magnificent structures. Their aesthetic was similar to the many ruins built by dweorg hands, but the designs were smaller and lacked the dweorg’s ostentatiousness. Each building possessed a simple aesthetic that was nonetheless pleasing to the eye.

There were no Sekbeist loitering around this time. That was a blessing in disguise, as I had no desire to fight more than I had to. We set down before the palace--a majestic structure that did not look like it could ever be crafted by human hands. It appeared to have been carved from a single block of an unknown material. I was sure this material was something that could only be found on Ljósálfar.

“L-look at this magnificent structure!!” Kari squealed as she clasped her hands together. “This is wonderful! Do you see those columns, Eryk?! It looks like they grew straight from the floor! I bet you anything this palace was made by a Spiritualist of incredible power! They must have reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism--no, I bet you anything they had reached the Fifth State of Spiritualism. I can’t even imagine the kind of power someone must have needed to make something like this!”

Siv and I shared an amused glance at Kari as she began gushing over the architecture. I did not blame her. My wife was an explorer nut. All she really wanted out of life was to explore new places, see new sights, and learn new things.

“We shall remain outside,” Vydet said. “Should you need us, have Lady Siv roar.”

“Thank you,” I said.

I gestured for Kari and Siv to follow me as Vydet, Dozziss, and Chiro remained behind to guard us, even though I didn’t think anything would happen. Thinking on it, we probably didn’t need the dragons to come with us. I believed, however, that it was important to cover all of our bases. I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

As we traveled past the majestic entrance, I hardened myself for what was to come. One way or another, I would end the grudge between myself and the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain today.