Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 317 Final reward, leaving Babylon!

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"Right now, what I need most is time." Dale said with a serious gaze as he looked at the masked figure

"Time to prepare, to stabilize the Village and its people, to understand my own powers, to grow stronger… But I can't ask for that, can I?" 

"..."

"Even if I could delay things… That is just that, delaying. If I'm fundamentally incapable of dealing with the problem, then things won't change no matter how much time I'm given."

'No matter how much time I'm given then... If it's a situation that cannot be defeated solely by power alone... Like the sealed creatures...'

'Maybe if I'm given years I'll grow stronger than the Commander, but would that be enough? Am I even that talented?'

'In the first place, I can't even tell how strong he was or what kind of problems he left behind before his departure, his death to this is a mystery to me as well.'

'His body wasn't in his coffin, but there was a hole in it as well...'

'Asking for time in this situation may be good, but what does "time" encapsulate?'

'It's too broad, so it's better to choose something else.'

"... Choosing power directly would be reckless also, as not only would it compromise my current training progress, it could also prove insufficient or even useless in the fights and issues that have yet to come."

"In a situation where I don't know what will happen, sitting with one incredible yet conditional power would not help me, it would instead hinder my efforts."

'Although, if my choice is limited solely by my creativity, there is definitely a power out there that can be summarized in one line that can deal with my problems while also enhancing my training efficiency…'

'But would it be right to ask for such a thing? Is it right to ask for a "cheat"?'

'Besides that, what is the limit of this creature's power?'

'Why did I assume it was all-powerful from the beginning?...'

"In that case, instead of power, instead of time, if I were to know what would happen in the future… Then I may be able to prepare and even avert it from the beginning."

'Knowing the future opens dozens of doors, problems created from lack of understanding and awareness can then be resolved before they even begin.'

'For example, if it was known to us that the Devil existed in the forest days before it happened, a punitive force could've been created to reach that place... Although I don't think that would've worked.'

'Maybe that wasn't the best example...'

'In any case, there has to be a reason why I was given two choices between an infinite number of possibilities and one defined reward.'

'It could be a way to direct my choice, it could be meant to confuse my mind… Or it's a suggestion, the creature's way of telling me what I need the most right now.'

'The opinion of a creature that cannot speak... Or refuses to do so.'

'But I can't help but think it's the most solid one.'

'… I'm assuming many things with this choice, and I expect some of them to be correct—hopefully only the good ones...'

"I would like to know the future… The path ahead?... The way you put it… Sigh..."

'I could be interpreting this wrong and I'm about to receive the worst wake-up call of all time.'

'But if that is to happen, I'll have to move on, as always.'

'If the future is known to me, I can focus on what's important... But at the same time, I have to be careful.'

'Many were the tales of Heroes and Gods alike that let themselves be consumed by the flames of prophecy.'

'Gods fell, fearful by their own demise, unknowly creating the situation that would lead to said death.'

'It is a tale as old as history, to be wary of wishing for what may be your own doom.'

"..."

/SNAP!/

The creature remained silent and motionless for a while before it raised its arm, snapping its fingers in the air.

/Shua…/

A wave of power washed over him, sending waves throughout this endless dark ocean.

"...?"

Dale waited for something to happen, for several minutes at that, but nothing changed...

He grew more and more restless as he looked at this creature, waiting for time to pass, so in the end, he asked:

"Umn… Did it work?"

/Crunk…/

The creature moved its large body, doing a motion akin to… A nod, this was the most expressive it had ever been from the moment they met, it was... Creepy.

Although nothing seemed to have happened, Dale had already received his reward, causing him to frown.

'Did I see the future perhaps? And I just can't remember it now?'

'Maybe this was the catch? The trick?...'

'If that's so then… This is useless… Should I just have asked to gain 20 stat points every Level instead?'

Pessimism washed over his mind as he frowned in frustration, but it seemed the large creature cared little for his sentiments.

Because soon after it nodded, it reached with its large hand towards the horizon, 'pulling' it closer to itself.

/RIP!/

"Guah!"

Space and the ground rippled furiously as it was forcibly torn apart, causing white light to gush out violently from within, almost blinding Dale momentarily as he raised his hands to protect his ever-so-aggrieved eyes.

After a while, the light receded, and an image appeared in the ripped space.

It was a bit hard to say what it was, but Dale recognized the sight… It was a bird's view of Resko, one he saw all too frequently while riding Caladbolg across the sky.[1]

/Move…/

The creature moved its arm again, this time, pointing at the image. It's meaning was clear.

It was time for him to leave this place… But Dale could not…

"Wait! Uh... I'm sorry to be asking more of you, but uh… Can you send me to the shop first?" He asked awkwardly with a cough as he looked at the side

"I have so much left to spend… I can't believe the Event's already over…" He mumbled in a low tone as he reached for his head

"..."

/Reach… Pull… RIP!/

The creature understood Dale's plight, or it seemed to at least as it immediately moved its arm in another direction, repeating the same motion of pulling and ripping.

Before he knew it, there was a hole leading to the shop, he even felt as if he could smell it.

The old wood and potions, the smell of leather and metal, stone and crystals, books and much more, all pilled up together under the sound of ticking clocks and other objects too complicated to explain in a few words.

"... Thank you."

A bit confused about whether he should thank the creature or not, Dale opted to do so as he politely gave it a nod before leaving the room in slow steps.

He stopped in front of the hole for a moment, trying to understand what he was even seeing…

The edges of the portal were wavy, trembling lightly as if fighting to maintain their shape.

It was faint too, but the longer he stared, the bigger the waves became, growing unstable every moment.

He wanted to take a step forward, but his body unconsciously froze, it felt the danger of this rift, locking his muscles in place in an attempt to prevent him from hurting himself.

/Push…/

But from behind him, he felt a pushing force, and in extreme surprise, he looked back to see the creature's arm.

It had… Pushed him?!

Alas, it was impossible to tell what this being was feeling or thinking, and maybe, just like him, its patience had long since reached its end.

And the last thing it wanted was to see Dale entertain himself with something as meaningless as a portal…

/Swoop!/

Before he even had the chance to react, the portal behind him closed as it spiraled into itself, vanishing as the space around him healed back into its ideal, stable shape.

Slightly agape and embarrassed at what just happened, Dale checked the time, only to realize Babylon had closed around half an hour ago and that he was extremely late.

There were dozens of messages from Ermin and also some other friends, mostly because he had promised to sit down with them and have a talk about what they were doing… Something he failed miserably to do.

Touching his head in a mix of frustration, confusion, and a bit of anger, Dale realized he was now wearing his helmet, feeling him with even more confusion.

'When did it... Whatever...'

So with a loud sigh, he walked to the counter.

There was much to buy with the wealth he had accumulated.

And although it was a shame that he hadn't received more Favor for the past mission he had done, there was no point complaining about it after what he had received.

And on that note, Dale was still waiting for his final reward to pop up, the fact nothing had yet to happen was somewhat pissing him off, causing him to frown.

Either way, there was no time to waste, he made his way to the counter and started talking…

…

/Later/

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Notes

From here on out will be the timeskip, I'll mention many, many things in passing quickly as I'll try to end this within 2 chaps.

The rest of the events will be mentioned as we go.

Is there anything you wish to see done in these?

Peace!

[1] Changed Caladgolg to bolg since that is the correct pronunciation.

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