1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 90: The Enigmatic Path

"It’s not there," Noah observed.

"It definitely was, at least...We’re not imagining it," Lamore assured, lightly shaking his head as if trying to organize his memories.

For a moment, Noah questioned if any of it had truly happened, though his doubt was washed away as he looked at the floor. It was littered with burn marks, cracks, and even craters scattered across the gray tiles. A battle had occurred there; that much was undeniable.

"So, it’s gone?" Noah asked, looking at the wall. "There’s no way that’s the case."

"Well, there’s one way we can check," the centuries-old elf said, rolling his shoulders with a sigh deepened by age.

Taking a step back, he watched Lamore approach the wall, only to pull one fist back as the gauntlet was imbued with a rich influx of mana. An empowering breath was drawn into the elf’s lungs, sounding like a whirlwind amidst a brewing storm before–

With a thrust of his fist, the elf shattered the far-spanning wall of stone. The false end crumbled down, revealing the hollow truth it withheld:

"...What is this...?" Noah questioned.

The innards of the hidden tomb were unveiled to both adventurers; a vast, spherical chamber built of bleached clay. He walked inside of it with careful steps alongside his unexpected companion, surveying the enigmatic place.

There was a sensation he couldn’t quite explain the moment he stepped into the bare tomb; a feeling as though he was being watched from all sides, by a single presence. He stopped in the center, looking ahead at the furthest wall.

It was a sight that burned itself into his retinas; an anomalous existence.

"Kid?" Lamore called out, stepping beside him before looking in the same direction. "What’re you...? Huh..."

A silhouette was burned into the wall, like the outline of a colossal, humanoid entity of many arms. It wasn’t some abstract art, he knew that for certain–just looking at it left his body running cold.

"Let’s get out of here," Lamore quietly advised, stepping back.

"What–?" Noah looked over.

The usually stone-faced elf was as pale as snow, not averting his gaze from the silhouette burned into the wall. Rather than getting an answer right away, he heeded the advice, following the man back to the rubble marking the boundaries of the hidden tomb.

"What was that about?" Noah asked.

Lamore was clad in sweat, breathing heavily as if just running a marathon, "You didn’t feel its presence...?"

"Presence?" Noah repeated, recalling a sensation similar to that though not knowing for sure.

"There’s no doubt about it...A Primordial is there, or maybe was there, either way...We shouldn’t be in that place," the elf caught his breath.

"I’m lost here," he said, needing any kind of concrete answer. "What’re you talking about? A Primordial–what does that entail, exactly?"

By the way the silver-haired veteran looked at him while silence filled the space between them, the question itself felt like inciting heresy.

It took a moment for Lamore to regain his composure, slowly exhaling with his hand on his own chest as if calming his heart, "Primordials aren’t the sort of things you’ll find written about in books. They came before the Divine...Unlike gods, they’re nothing resembling "human"--they’re forces of absolute nature."

"Before the Divine, huh? I’m assuming they’re not allied with mankind, by the way you’re talking about these things," Noah inferred.

"I’m not sure what they are, to tell you the truth...All I know is that the Followers of Goetia have some sort of connection with the Primordials. They exist in a different realm entirely than us and can usually only vaguely manipulate–" Lamore continued to say before stopping himself, looking as though he’d seen a ghost.

Noah looked at him, "What is it?"

For a moment, the elven warrior was quiet, putting his gauntlet to his chin in thought while mumbling, "The Marquis mentioned something...Different realms, the Quantum Tomb being a method of opening the passages to those realms."

"You’re saying they’re trying to get to the Primordials? If that happened...?"

"It would bring catastrophe, to say the least," Lamore answered. "If they’re given a way to enter our realm, the scale of chaos would be unprecedented."

Noah gave it some thought, "Well, I came to Ballou as a stop on my way to the World Guild. I can inform them of what happened here–"

"Careful with that," the elf interrupted the idea.

"What?"

Lamore looked right at him, "I told you already, didn’t I? The Followers of Goetia have infiltrated every corner of society. I’d wager above all else, they’ve wormed their way into the World Guild."

By the moment, the issue seemed to grow, weighing on his mind as he considered what could be done.

"Then what do you suggest...? If the scale of this is as large as you’re saying, we can’t leave this to just ourselves," Noah questioned the thought process of the tenured adventurer.

"I wasn’t suggesting that, but care and caution will be needed. If you’re heading to the World Guild, look for someone that goes by the Record Keeper. Tell them what we found out," Lamore informed.

The vague name immediately rang a bell for Noah as he spoke up, "The Record Keeper? You know them?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I received a letter from them recently–that’s why I’m on my way there, actually," Noah explained. "What sort of person are they, anyway?"

Lamore’s expression was conflicted on how to answer that, with a brow furrowed by thought before he folded his arms, "Knowledgeable, to an annoying degree. But, they’re an invaluable ally to have."

"Right, then I’ll contact them first thing. What’re you going to do, though?" Noah asked.

As soon as he posed the question, he could already sense what sort of answer was on the elf’s mind. A lone wolf type; that much was clear as day, even if the circumstances hardly seemed applicable.

"I’ll do as I’ve been doing, and track them down. If I find any leads, I’ll send word to the Record Keeper," Lamore answered with an exhale. "Just what are they planning?"

"--"

He wished he knew the answer to that himself, though his best hopes lay in the very same mission he was on: finding the mysterious "Record Keeper." Alongside the elf, he left the tunnels, helping hide the false panel in the wall to keep what they found hidden from prying eyes. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

’So much for that quiet life,’ he thought.