A few days earlier…

Serif's eye traced a blue streak rushing through the purple mist above, one among many blue streaks running it.

The mist which was considered a terrible destroyer, the one thing the council feared even though they tried to hide it, and they did a good job, successfully deceiving most wielders, but for people like him they couldn't hide it.

He wondered if those blue streaks were creatures, perhaps aberrants so powerful, even one would absolutely decimate the world of wielders, or something else, a single being.

"Sir," a voice came from behind him, drawing him out of his thoughts.

The owner, a man with a bow strapped to his back, dressed in a black close fitted armour shirt with diagonal straps leading to the quiver, stood still, looking away as their eyes met.

"Sir Veymir is calling…" he said, voice low, head bowed and he quickly left.

Serif sighed, he couldn't blame them, just like the mist, he looked up again, he had his own dark story, he was once the boogeyman after all.

He sighed again, then all traces of emotion drained from his face as he looked at the dark expanse of the Netherveil, the obsidian rock with bluish hue, the glowing blue lava, ruins, a small black patch in the distance, the gishiki somewhere out there.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around and headed into a tower which had obviously seen better days.

The last remaining transport tower, there only ticket out of here, but until they found the Gishiki, none of them were leaving, he thought as he walked towards the tower.

As Serif stepped in, the light from a flickering flame from an ancient oil lamp illuminated his face.

The warmth replacing the lukewarm air of the Netherveil, the smell of dust and rotting wood replacing the smell of lava and ozone.

The rock floor was mostly empty, apart from the extreme end where discarded furniture were stacked, along with a rack.

Aside from that, the only other furniture in the tower were two chairs, a rack at the side with multiple scrolls at the side, a stairway winding over it, made of stone bricks, leading to a floor above.

The indoors screamed that ancient era vibe, except for the backpacks resting on the wall, along with supplies, a gas cooker and weapons sprawled around.

Serif glanced up the stair, catching the high tactical lace boots stepping into the door above, he sighed and followed suit.

The top floor was a huge contrast to the floor below, while the lower floor appeared to be for scholars, the floor above appeared to be an ancient blacksmith forgery.

The equipment had been shifted to the side, making way for a big table in the center, but the place still has that feel, ancient weapon racks to the side, failed samples of swords, spears, arrow heads and other things stacked at the side.

A forge which hadn't seen fire for centuries to the left, an anvil at the center, too big and heavy to be moved so a board was placed on it using it as a table the smell of dust betraying its ancient age.

Yet oddly occupying much of the room was a huge circular container, an elevator of some sort, glowing blue inscriptions on its metallic body, the inscriptions lining perfectly with inscriptions on the circular platform it rested on, all leading to a glowing blue crystal.

The last of the zenith conduits, the only way down to the Netherveil and the only way to escape, no that was wrong—The only safe way to descend and escape.

His eyes flickered from the machine to the unfortunate idiots who were forced to descend to this hell, all dressed in similar attire, black close fitted armoured outfits.

Light for fast movement, but effective defense, built for exploration, survival and stealth, although not all were similar.

Like that idiot who ripped the sleeves off, revealing sculpted muscle within, and him, Serif's gaze stopped on a man at the opposite end of the table.

Veymir, focused on the map sprawled on the table, his hand flicking the cover of his pocket compass open and close.

The only fool who actually volunteered to come down here himself, of course he couldn't say that aloud.

The base of his outfit totally different from the others, a jet black slim fitted collared shirt beneath double breasted waist coat, adjustable belts and harness leading to utility gear over tailored combat slacks, his outfit not for combat, more like to impress, a black tie adding to the aesthetic.

He looked up and smiled at Serif, the kind of smile that gave you chills, not reaching the edge of the eyes but wide enough to be considered abnormal, his slit-like eyes adding to the eeriness.

His presence alone made Serif uneasy, not to mention volunteering to go on a suicide mission, albeit he wasn't exactly normal, but still this was too abnormal.

"C'mon," he gestured to Serif, "I got something," he muttered.

Serif calmly walked towards the table, the map was detailed, but it couldn't be relied on too much afterall, it was made before the fall, no fool would risk trying to map this place again.

Veymir pointed to a spot, a jungle as indicated on the map, "I sensed an energy spike over here, and Milvona," he looked at a lady across the table, "confirmed she saw an energy explosion of some sort at this point."

His finger shifted to another spot, the lady nodding her head in agreement, "Now, I can't be certain, but two observations so close, it has to be something, right?"

The others nodded in agreement, and Serif could understand, after all they have been here for at least three days yet no progress, they would be willing to do anything to leave this place.

"We can't continue searching for the gishiki aimlessly, now we have a clue, or at least a place to start." Veymir continued.

"But how do we know it's the Gishiki and not an aberrant?" a man asked, arms folded.

Veymir's smile faltered a bit, "I was getting there," he glanced at the man briefly, then back at Serif.

"But since you asked, it's better to check these locations, this will be more like a scouting mission, even if it's not the Gishiki, we would at least know if it's something to be concerned about," he explained.

"But the issue now is," he looked back at the map, his finger landing on a circle.

"It's a bit far from our current position, I'd reckon at least two days away," he explained.

Serif looked at the map, the distance did seem substantial, so I'm guessing he's suggesting a split up, the best thing in this situation, but…

Serif glanced at Milvona, their gaze locking, she quickly looked away, fidgeting uncomfortably, He looked back at the map.

Something wasn't right.

"Now," Veymir looked up at Serif, "To get to that location would require all of us to ensure the highest chance of success, am I right," he stopped.

The others nodded in agreement, "but you will agree it wouldn't be wise to leave the tower, right."

"So you're suggesting we split up," a lady asked, her voice laced with arrogance.

Veymir clicked his fingers, "Right."

"But I don't see any reason why we should," the lady continued, arms folded.

Hmm, interesting, Serif observed her for the first time, most of them weren't worth his attention but to stand up to Veymir, not to mention that defiance in her voice, she had gotten his attention, her red hair standing out against the dark outfit.

"The tower has stood for a long time without any interference from humans, so I doubt there will be any need to guard it, and we all know the location of the tower, not to mention it's visible from afar, so there is no possibility of getting lost, if that's what you're worried about, so I don't see any need of splitting up," She said with a stern face, the team nodding in agreement.

Yes men, Serif scoffed internally, so annoying.

"And most importantly, being together increases our chance of survival, right?" She finished, face flat.

Serif noticed Veymir 's face tighten, his smile faltered, but the next second it went back to normal, perhaps only he caught that, but Veymir was definitely not happy.

"Right, good argument, miss…" he paused contemplating.

"Zhadra," she completed his sentence.

Zhadra, from Zha meaning fiery, fits her, her red hair and all.

"Zhadra," Veymir continued, "but the chances of getting lost in this place are a lot higher than you'd think, and you think this tower is safe? Why do you think no one was stationed to guide it." He asked, a smirk on his lips.

"Because, the presence of a human attracts the aberrants, aberrants that could potentially demolish the tower due to the essence of humans left here, even if we were long gone. Then what Miss Zhadra, what'll you suggest we do then?" a smile on his face, contrary to the tone of his voice.

Zhadra didn't answer, eyes locked with Veymir.

Veymir coughed and looked down on the map, "not to mention, it'll be easier to find your way back, in case the exploration team got lost, and we could provide reinforcement, just in case, is that not good enough reason, Miss Zhadra," he pressed on.

"Enough," Serif's calm voice echoed through the stone building, "we get it, right," he looked at Zhadra.

Zhadra locked eyes with him, her ruby eyes fixed on him, unwavering, that normal fear absent, then she grunted and nodded.

That eerie smile appeared on Veymir's face, "just explaining to her," he muttered to Serif, "any other questions?" He asked, his tone back to normal.

After a few moments of silence, he pulled his black combat gloves downward, letting it snap, the annoying sound ringing through the room, and continued, "I suggest we split into two, one focused on offense, scouting and stealth, and the other balance for defense and signalling."

"The defense team will remain at the tower, obviously I'll be part of it, while the attack team will search for the gishiki," he looked at Serif, "and we all know who has the most offensive power here."

Much to Serif's surprise, all eyes turned to the red haired woman, Zhadra.

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