Swordsman's Regression: Reawakened as a Necromancer-Chapter 46: Five Cardinal Slabs

The journey began in earnest.

Thimoses, the Lvl 145 Priest, gathered the volunteers and set out to retrieve this ancient power.

Soon, they were deep beneath the tectonic plates of the world, far below the bustling mines and forges of the Dwarf Kingdom, and in the Under-Earths of Dranarg.

It was like a whole new world, completely made of rocks and the occasional mosses.

Massive stalactites pointed downwards from a ceiling lost in shadow, while sharp, uneven formations of slate and granite tore at the boots of the travelers.

Here, there was no dwarven engineering. No smooth tunnels or reinforced pillars. Just the raw, suffocating weight of the earth.

Despite how deep they were, light spilled in from strange sources, signalling to them that this cave under-earth was accessible in various other places.

The expedition moved quickly. Or rather, the survivors did.

The twenty Warriors King Alfred had requisitioned were gone. They had been torn apart hours ago by a pack of Fanged Lizards Demonspawns.

Only the Priest and the five high-level Awakeners from Elderis Stone Academy remained.

"Just imagine," a Druid muttered, stepping over a fissure. "An ancient power deep in Stonehold. If we secure this, the Crown will grant us titles. Perhaps even a fiefdom."

"Forget the titles," the Elemental Mage scoffed. "Think of the power itself. If it rivals the Demon Lord, imagine what it could do for our Levels. We could break the cap."

"Focus," a Knight in heavy plate armor grunted, his hand resting on his greatsword. "No one said the power was for us. Besides, we aren’t there yet."

Despite his words, there was a swagger in his step.

They were the elite. Chosen by the Academy. The weakest among them here was the Healer Mage, and she was a Lvl 89.

The death of the Warriors was unfortunate, but they were fodder. These Awakeners were the true partakers of this expedition.

At the front, the Priest was calmer than the rest of them.

He didn’t look at the rocks or the corpses they had left behind. He only stared into the darkness, his lips moving in a ceaseless, silent prayer.

Right... left... deeper... yes. I hear you.

"Are we close, Priest?" the Summoner asked. Despite having the second highest level in the group, he was the most nervous.

The Priest stopped.

They had arrived.

"Yup," the Healer Mage muttered. "An ancient power is certainly going to be in a place like this."

Blocked into the end of the cavern was a door.

A monolith of a door.

The Awakeners gazed up. It was like the door had no beginning. It stretched high up into the gloom, carved from a black stone and had engravings covering his surface.

Trying to read the carvings gave the Awakeners an immediate migraine.

"What language is it?" the Elemental Mage asked, squinting.

"I don’t know," the Knight replied. "It’s certainly ancient. Predating the Dwarves and history."

The Druid, who was a Dwarf, stepped forward, staring with reverence.

"Holy beard," he exclaimed. "I don’t think anyone in my kingdom knows that this exists down here. Just how deep into the earth are we?"

SKREEEEE!

A shriek tore through the silence from the tunnel behind them.

The Knight spun around, drawing his blade. "They found us."

From the shadows, glowing green eyes appeared. Dozens of them. The sound of claws scrabbling on rock grew louder, a frantic, hungry cadence.

The Lizard Demonspawns. More of them.

"Hurry up, Priest!" the Elemental Mage shouted, spinning a fireball in her palm. "Open the door!"

The Priest was already there. He had pulled a thick, leather-bound tome from his robes. He ran a finger over the engravings on the door, his eyes feverish.

"The dialect..." he murmured. "It is pre-tongue. It is the language of the gods."

"Hurry up!" the Druid screamed as the Demonspawns leaped into the light, its maw dripping with acidic saliva.

The Knight slammed his shield on the ground. "Shield Projection!"

A massive projection of the metal aegis extended, slamming into the approaching pack, sending bodies tumbling off the narrow rock path into the abyss below.

"I can’t hold them all! There are too many!"

The Priest ignored the screams as he read the engravings in sounds that made no sense. Then, he uttered the final symbol.

"ESTH-O-PHE-YA!"

KA-THOOM.

The black stone groaned. Dust fell from the unseeable ceiling as the massive doors split down the middle.

A blinding violet light pulsed from the engravings, and the slabs slowly ground open.

"Inside! Move!" the Knight roared, bashing a lizard aside with his shield.

The Priest entered first and the Awakeners scrambled through the opening, stumbling into the dark.

As they crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut with a BOOM, cutting off the shrieks of the Lizards as they crashed against the stone.

On the other side of the door, however, it was dark. Completely, utterly dark.

"Is everyone alive?" the Healer’s voice trembled.

"I’m here," the Summoner replied, fear in his voice. "Priest? Priest, where are you?"

"Light it up," the Knight ordered.

The Elemental Mage summoned fire on her palm. But the light didn’t reach the walls. The space was too vast.

Only the center of the chamber was illuminated.

They saw a slim slab of stone, pointing upwards like an accusing finger.

The Mage turned with the fire, and they found another one. Then another. And another. And... another.

Like the fingers of a buried giant, were five tall, slim slabs of stone.

They pointed upwards, tilting slightly inward, and they were arranged in a perfect circle.

"What is this place?" the Elemental Mage whispered.

The Healer Mage stepped into the light. "These... these look like altars."

"Where is the Priest?" the Druid asked, spinning around.

"I am here."

The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. It drifted through the dark like a ghost.

The Awakeners pivoted at once, staring into the darkness. The Elemental Mage waved her flame around, searching for the old man.

"Uhm... what’s going on?" the Summoner asked, pressing closer to his team.

"Priest, where the hell are you?!" the Druid demanded this time.

"But I am here. With you. I always have."

"What the fuck?"

"Show yourself!" the Knight barked, brandishing his sword.

"You have been told lies," the Priest’s voice echoed, calm and melodic. "You were told there were only five Gods. Azrael, Beltharion, Lilithis, Mothiree... and Azazel."

"We know our theology, old man!" the Mage shouted, scanning the shadows with her fire. "Come out and stop messing around!"

"You were told Azazel was cast down because of his desire to rule," the Priest continued, ignoring her. "But Azazel was not cast down for this reason. Azazel wasn’t cast down at all."

"He descended. He fell from the heavens of his own accord not to conquer you... but to rescue her."

"Rescue who?" the Summoner asked with a hitching voice.

"The Oldmother."

The Priest’s shadow swept through the firelight. They all jerked, turning in a circular formation, paranoid.

"You see, your precious god, Azrael, had a twin," the Priest continued. "Her name was Asmodea. Goddess of Creation and Damnation."

"Never heard of her, old man."

The Priest chuckled. A haunting sound.

"Oh you will. Asmodea was the one who formed the very concept of life. But because they held hatred in their hearts for her creations, the other gods turned against her and locked her and her children in an everlasting cage called Purgatory."

His voice became angrier.

"And then they built you on top of her."

The Awakeners spun again, at the center of the slabs, the firelight their only aid.

"The Dwarves first," the Priest spat. "Then the Elves. Then the Humans. Do you not understand! You are living on the grave of a Goddess."

"Enough of this!" the Knight roared. He regarded the Elemental Mage. "Mary, use your full power and illuminate this place."

The Mage nodded. She closed her eyes.

"Ember Illumination!"

She lifted her hand, and the simple firelight exploded outward, forming torches on every corner of the chamber until there was no room for darkness.

It was a room built with well placed stones, creating what resembled a temple... or a shrine.

The floor was carved with a massive, intricate circle, and the five slabs sat at the cardinal points of the seal.

The Summoner gasped. "Look!"

A short distance away from them was the Priest.