Rise of the Living Forge-Chapter 404: Just like that

Arwin’s ears rung. The black gemstone in Necrohammer’s palm seemed to enlarge until it had swallowed the rest of the world and left no other direction for him to turn. There was no doubt about Necrohammer’s words. The dwarf was telling the truth.

This was the gemstone that had started everything. Even though it had been many days since Arwin had last seen its kind, he would have recognized it anywhere. The glossy black surface, the riveted angles, every single part of it was identical.

“You?” Arwin breathed. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the gemstone in the other smith’s grip. He could barely even hear himself think over the pounding blood rushing through his skull. “You made it? Why? What purpose—”

Necrohammer’s fingers closed around the gemstone, blocking it from view once more. The dwarf returned it to its storage within his armor and raised his other hand to forestall the flow of questions spilling from Arwin’s lips.

“A mistake made by a man who grew weary with the way things were,” Necrohammer said. “Perhaps it will be one that pays out. Perhaps not. Only time will tell. But, to answer the question I know you are dying to ask, I placed this within your armor to remove you from the grasp of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

A few dozen questions tried to force themselves out of Arwin’s mouth at the same time. He strangled them all back, practically physically fighting his own tongue as he finally settled for one…

Dozen.

“Why like that? Why the gem? Why did you wait until then? If you knew the truth, why not tell anyone else? How did the gem give me a new class? What is Sunset? Does it have something to do with Setting Sun? How did you get the gem into my armor?”

The corners of Necrohammer’s lips quirked up. “Many of my answers are one and the same. The risk was great, and I could not dare do more than what I did in the way I did it. I had to be certain that it was worth it.”

Arwin finally managed to wrangle his thoughts down for long enough to process Necrohammer’s words. His brow scrunched. “What do you mean, worth it? You were testing me or something? Back when I was still the hero?”

“In a way. This may sound grim, but I could not afford to risk revealing my hand for the sake of someone not powerful enough to make a difference. If I had removed you from the Guild while you were unproven or weaker, then years of preparation would have all been for naught.”

Arwin’s stare bore into Necrohammer’s skull. “Explain. It has something to do with the conditions to activate Sunset, right?”

Necrohammer smiled and inclined his head. “Yes. Specifically, you needed to reach the point upon which your class could begin the Sunsetting process. The gem I placed in your armor was set to wait and see if that would occur. If it did, it would activate.”

“And if not… nothing,” Arwin said. “Lillia and I would have just died on that day.”

“Correct,” Necrohammer said.

“How many others?” Arwin asked. “I’m not the first one.”

“No,” Necrohammer agreed. “You are not. Three, perhaps. Not all in the same position as you, but all summoned to this world. You and the demon queen were the only ones that managed to fulfill the conditions of the gem.”

“And the conditions? What were they? What does Sunset mean?”

“A Class may begin the Sunsetting process when you achieve a true understanding of both it and yourself,” the dwarf replied. “That is considerably more difficult than it sounds to achieve. You choose your class based on what the System knows to be most true for you. Beginning the process is extraordinarily rare. Completing it is even more so.”

“And… I completed it?” Arwin asked. “How? What did I do?”

“No. You did not complete it.” Necrohammer’s eyes darkened. “I stopped you from undertaking the Sunsetting process. That was the purpose of the gem. It detonated the moment you begun the process and ensured you were stopped before Sunsetting could be completed.”

“Why?” Arwin asked. Then he paused as the dwarf’s words continued to echo through his head. “Because of the Guild? Do they have some form of control over it or something?”

“No,” Necrohammer said with a shake of his head. “The process is beyond their control. But your class — that was not. Everyone in this world choses their class. Everyone other than those summoned to it. It was not your own. Obtaining true synergy with it would have been just what the Guild needed you to do. And yet, that moment of synergy was also what told me you could be saved.”

“Why?” Arwin asked. “What does the Guild get from me Sunsetting my class? And what do you get from stopping it? I thought I got my new class because of the Sunset gem. Is that not the case?”

“Did you know that the Mesh does not create energy itself?” Necrohammer asked. “It is simply a manifestation of power… but power comes from souls. From life. From magic itself — and the Mesh cannot create such things. It can only influence them. That is what the Guild wanted from you. The energy that would have been gained from Sunsetting a class as powerful as the hero is immense. It was a very valuable power indeed.”

“And you stopped it… to keep it out of the Guild’s hands?”

“Largely correct.” Necrohammer crossed his arms behind his back and started to pace back and forth. “When you managed to Sunset your class, it proved that you were worthy of interfering to save. My gemstone essentially killed you. It ripped almost all of the magic from your body to stop the Sunsetting process and preserve your life. The same happened to the Demon Queen.”

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“But she wasn’t summoned,” Arwin said, trying to juggle the pieces of the puzzle in his mind while putting them together.

“Not as far as she is aware,” Necrohammer corrected. “One does not have to be of a certain age to be summoned. I had not planned to save her because I did not have good access to the Monster Horde, but it seems that even the Mesh no longer likes the Guild’s actions. Everything worked out as perfectly as it could have.”

Lillia was summoned from another planet as well? Then… that would make sense, actually. She didn’t choose her class. She was just the Demon Queen. Just like I was just the Hero.

But what does Necrohammer mean by saying the Mesh no longer approves of the Guild? Does that mean it used to?

“Does that imply the Mesh did support the Guild at some point?”

“There is too much history for me to honestly know the full, unbiased answer. There was a time when it seems like the Mesh had no issue with the Guild. But now…” Necrohammer said with a shake of his head. “Organizations change. They grow warped. What was once a noble purpose can lose its way with enough time and desperation and corruption. Not even I know the extent of it. I just know that the Guild has grown increasingly vile in their pursuit of power.”

“And just what is it that the Guild is trying to do? Hell, what is the Mesh trying to do?”

“They are trying to survive. And that leads me to the reason I interfered with the cycle,” Necrohammer said. He stopped pacing to turn back toward Arwin. “Very few of those summoned here ever truly felt like they had to protect this world. The ones that did have all died.”

“Because the Guild killed them,” Arwin said with a grim nod. “To keep the war going.”

“The war… it is a piece of cork trying to hold back the ocean,” Necrohammer said. “For a time, it was enough. Now, it is just the bare minimum. The world is dying, Arwin. I do not know when it started, but something deep within it went completely awry. There simply isn’t enough magical energy to sustain it.”

Arwin stared at the dwarf as goosebumps raced across his skin. “Are you telling me that the Guild is trying to savethe world? They’re using all the energy that comes from people dying in the war and… what, feeding it to the Mesh?”

I already knew the world was dying from my talk with Koyu, but seriously? The Adventurer’s Guild are trying to help it?

“The Mesh harvests a portion of all lost energy in the world. That was the purpose of the war,” Necrohammer said quietly. “An ancient purpose started long before our time. But it didn’t last. There wasn’t enough energy. The world needed more.”

“So they summoned people,” Arwin breathed, realization finally settling in. “They stole energy from other worlds.”

“The dwarves. The demons. Countless more.” Necrohammer nodded. “Yes. They were summoned. They lived. They died — and their energy entered the cycle.”

“How?” Arwin asked. “Where are they being summoned from?”

Necrohammer was shaking his head before Arwin had finished the question. “I don’t know. That information is old. Lost to even me. But the mass-summonings are done. They have been for many years. They sustained the world for some time… but they were not sufficient. More energy was needed. The Guild realized that a more focused approach was better. When those who have reached sufficient heights fall, their strength can even hold the world aloft. And you kill enough of them…”

Arwin’s gaze darkened.

“The Hero and the Demon Queen’s purpose is to die,” Arwin muttered. “To get strong enough to feed the Mesh. Is that what you’re telling me? It’s necessary for us to die for the world to continue?”

“Such has been the cycle for a long time. Sunsetted classes provide more energy than any others. But I have realized that even that will come to an end. The cycle is repeating itself. The world will continue to die, and we will run out of corpses to feed it. The Guild and the Dwarven Council think they can just keep wasting lives, but this solution is flawed. They have completely lost their way. I support them no longer.”

“That’s why you saved me? To stop the cycle?” Arwin asked. He pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. “But… doesn’t that mean there won’t be enough power going into the Mesh because you stopped me and Lillia from Sunsetting and dying?”

“Yes,” Necrohammer said. He shook his head and slapped Arwin on the shoulder. “Fear not. The effects will not be so fast. The world will not die today. It will take many years. Enough for you to help determine a way to avert its fate. One that is not the travesty that we have now.”

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“Is that why you went through all that effort to save Lillia and I, even though it put the very world at risk?” Arwin asked, baffled. “Not that I don’t appreciate it… but how? What about us makes you think we can change the cycle? I’ve only just learned enough about my class to realize just how little I truly know.”

“You are not the only ones I have saved,” Necrohammer said with a shrug. “But you are the ones I was the most overt about. The Guild will not ignore me any longer — but that is fine. My soul can only remain bound to this body for so long. Its time runs thin. I had to take drastic measures.”

“Why? What about us is worth the risk?”

“To be honest? Nothing any more than the others I have interfered with. And I am not the only one. Others share my purpose. You were simply my most daring interference.” Necrohammer smiled. “I was just trying everything that I could. As my grip on my body has grown weaker, I have become more desperate to preserve the things I care about. This world stands among that number. I would have liked to tell you that you were chosen by some great magic and granted an easy way to fix everything… but no such thing exists. Perhaps the Mesh will aid you. Perhaps it will seek a different solution. It is a powerful existence. One that has no plans of ceasing quietly.”

Arwin stared at Necrohammer. “That’s it?”

Necrohammer chuckled. “Hardly. But that is the short version of it. Are you happier now that you know? Would you have preferred I say there was some ancient prophecy that ensured you and Lillia would save us all because of your birthright?”

Arwin scratched at the side of his neck. The revelations that had been just dumped on him were so immense that he couldn’t even be stunned anymore. All he could do was accept them.

“Eh. Would have been nice. But now that I know, I won’t just sit around. I guess I’ll just have to do it the same way I’ve done just about everything else as of late. If there isn’t an existing way… I’ll just make one.”

“Spoken like a true Dwarven Smith. Sometimes, it takes a new set of eyes solve an old problem.” Necrohammer hoisted his helm back to his head and set it back in place. “The Secret Eye will have noticed my interference with their observation magic by now. My time is up, but we will speak again. Be stronger the next time we meet.”

“Really? Just like that?”

“Life is rarely so easy as to have an answer. Do not allow the Guild to take you down. The world cannot continue on the path it currently walks. That much I know.” Necrohammer strode toward the door. He grabbed the handle, then paused to look back at Arwin. “And one final thing.”

“Yes?”

“I would seek out One. He knows more than most,” Necrohammer said. “I have never heard of someone Sunsetting their class twice. You and Lillia may be the only two existences in history who can attempt such a thing.”

And then Necrohammer was gone, and Arwin was left alone with his storming thoughts.