Rise of the Devourer

Book 2: Chapter Epilogue: Drakonias

Twenty-eight… Twenty-nine… Thirty… Noah set the heavy bar back on its stand, the metal creaking and groaning under the weight. The Celestian guild had a training area/gym. Naturally, Noah had decided to make use of the facility. Over the last three days, his attributes had mostly settled, and his body had finished its rapid changes. His muscles were as dense as rocks now, and after he had gone to test his strength, it averaged 1500 lbs of weight for over 30 sets.

If there was ever a doubt that I had gained superhuman strength, then this clarified it.

When Noah had seen Raesar using the same weight as a dumbbell, lifting it with casual ease, it was almost as if the further he progressed, the more he truly got to experience how monstrous some of the people around him were. But instead of feeling despair, that only pushed Noah to work harder and strive for even more. Wiping the sweat off his brow, Noah sat up. The soreness in his body from the workout was already fading away, his abilities healing him rapidly. A moment later, a spell activated below him, cleansing his body entirely of all sweat and grime.

You have been [Cleansed].

Noah smiled. He could see why the adventurers here loved this place.

The door cracked open, Aurelia peeking in. “You are still not ready? We are going to be late.”

“Sorry, lost track of time. I will be ready in a second,” Noah said. A moment later he jumped into his Cosmic Vault. The changes to the ability had made it into a much more solidified space, and Noah had decided to decorate it, turning it into a room of sorts. The swirling spaces of the fraying astral planes had become more stable, expanding the area within which he could keep things. Noah had decided to put in a wardrobe, some chairs and a table, alongside a small sleeping and resting place for Bun Bun, where the dragon spoilt currently slept peacefully without any care in the world.

Walking to the wardrobe, Noah picked out an outfit for himself. He and Zax had gone on a shopping spree, and Noah had been surprised to learn just how rich the dragon was. At one point, he had taken out an A-grade mana crystal to try and pay for clothes, and the shopkeeper had almost fainted. Afterwards, they had been treated like some form of nobility, being shown around and guided at all times by an attendant. Noah did not mind the treatment, although it did get stifling after some time.

Picking out the most free and expensive-looking clothes that he had, nothing too expensive, he’d made sure to keep Zax in check, he put on the clothes, switching into them. The shirt was white with golden embroideries set on it, alongside similarly designed pants. It really did not suit him.

“Definitely would’ve been nicer if it was all black,” Noah said.

Tony shivered, the abyssal symbiote's body flowing out from Noah, covering the dress. A moment later, the design changed, turning the clothes black while giving them a sharp edge. Red, black, and silver mingled together, matching Noah's hair and eyes. He smiled at the change. “Yup, much better. Thanks, Tony.”

Using Arcane Step, he went out of his Cosmic Vault, appearing next to Aurelia. “The others?” he asked.

“They are all ready; we’ve been waiting for you,” Aurelia said. She was also wearing a dress for once, something he had never seen her wear before. Up until this point, her attire had always been that of an adventurer, and the change in looks took Noah by surprise.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Aurelia asked.

“Nothing. Just, you look good,” Noah said. “You should wear dresses more often; it suits you.”

Aurelia’s cheeks flushed for the slightest of moments. "Thanks,” she whispered.

Noah smiled, offering her an arm. Aurelia looked down at the offered arm, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“In my world, it is customary for the man to escort the lady. Since we have all dressed up anyway, we might as well play the part too,” Noah said.

“You have strange customs,” Aurelia said, as she put her arm through Noah’s.

Using Arcane Step, Noah teleported the two of them across the guild, arriving in front of the chamber where the meeting was held. Erwest, Snow, and Zax stood nearby. Snow was dressed up in a shirt and pants that accentuated her tattoos and horns, Zax wore robes typical to a mage, though these were more refined-looking than his usual attire. Meanwhile, Erwest simply wore his Paladin’s armor as always.

“That’s disappointing, man. I was expecting to see you all dressed up,” Noah said.

“We’re not here to play games, Noah," Erwest said.

“You really need to relax sometimes, you know? Don’t be a tightass all the time,” Noah replied.

“We have to enter now. Stop arguing,” Aurelia said, letting go of Noah's arm.

Moments later, the gates opened in front of them as the party members walked in. Together, the four of them bowed. Zax did not, but the dragon still dipped his head in acknowledgment.

“Please, raise your heads,” a woman's voice said. Noah looked up to see Lord Krios's wife, Ayra, sitting at the center. She looked tired, the joyful expression once seen on her face replaced by exhaustion and sadness. “We have heard of your contributions to our city. Though my husband is no longer here to see this, I would like to thank you in his place, for heeding our call and protecting our city. We are in your debt,” Ayra said, dipping her head once.

Noah noticed a few of the Lords frowning at the gesture. He also noted that members of the church were not present. He had heard of their prejudice against Snow, even after everything she had done.

“We did as we were supposed to. As adventurers do. Nothing more, nothing less,” Aurelia said.

“Even so, you are all heroes and the city would like to thank you for your contributions. Ideally, we would hold a celebration, but given the circumstances, we decided it was best to keep matters private,” Ayra said, before glancing sideways with a nod at Ekira.

The muscular woman stood up from her position, taking a tray from an attendant nearby, and walking up to them. “This is a medal given to those who have contributed significantly to the kingdom. If you show this anywhere, they will know that you are a friend of the Melior Republic.”

One by one, she placed the medal on all five of them before stepping back.

“We have also prepared a reward for your Quest as well,” Nae said, stepping forward. “For successfully preventing an abyssal rift from opening, and saving an entire city, your party has been awarded 5 A-grade mana crystals. And for Noah and Aurelia, both of you have had your ranks increased to Silver-I and Silver-II respectively. As per the prior agreement, you also get to keep the equipment the guild has provided you.”

An attendant walked closer, with one more tray holding five glowing crystals on them. Noah felt the mana within them, at least five times as much as he had within himself, and found his eyes captivated. Gently, he touched it, putting it into his Cosmic Vault.

“For Snow, hereby, we would like to grant you the offer to choose. You could become a citizen of the country, or you can join the guild as an adventurer. Either way, you will be officially recognized by our jurisdiction, and the past that has happened will not repeat,” Nae announced. “There were some who did protest your existence. But the guild has decided to protect you as one of ours. No matter where you go, we will make sure that you have somewhere to belong to.”

Snow gave a nod, tears glistening in her eyes. Noah smiled.

“For the lightning mage Zax. We would like to invite you to join the guild. Even with the shackles, there are very few A-rank mages present. Your presence alone will be significant in our battle against the cults,” Nae said.

“We will consider it," Zax replied.

Nae nodded.

“With the rewards done, we would like to discuss something regarding the events surrounding this incident. As the five of you may already know, the cults are working together to try and obtain the shards of a dead god. We do not know who this god is. The church has refused to speak on the topic. But we know that it represents something the cult wants. And we cannot let them have it,” Nae said.

“To cut the discussion short. How did you come to possess the shard, Noah? We know that you’re an outerworlder, but was this god from your realm?” Ekira asked.

All eyes rested upon Noah now; he could feel a spell working around him. “Truthfully, I have no idea either. The memories from my death are vague. All I know is that it has something to do with the old goddess of War, Raelinah. And that it is in part because of her that I am here.”

“The old goddess? How is she involved in this?” Ekira asked.

Noah shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s part of what I’m trying to find out.”

“Alright. Can you separate the shards that you have?” Ekira asked.

“No, they are a part of my soul. As far as I know, they cannot be taken out.”

“Then, what do you intend to do when you have all the shards? Do you intend to become the new god? We have not seen one since the dawn of the astral systems.”

“Not really, no. The shards… hold pieces of my soul. I realized this after finding this one. And finding the shards will likely give me the answer to what happened when I died, and why I am here at all in this world,” Noah said.

The room looked at him in silence, before Ekira stepped back.

“If any concerns remain regarding Noah’s possession of the shards, I would like to present the points that so far, he is the only one who has been able to absorb them,” Nae said. “From the accounts of the astral rifts, Noah is somehow tied to this dead god and its shards. And the cultists did not just want the shards; they want him too. As such, keeping him with us will ensure that the shards cannot fall into the cultists’ hands.”

“One of the church’s claims?” one of the Lords spoke up, looking at Noah.

“I have permission from my goddess, and will stay by Noah's side, making sure that he has not gone off the wrong path. And if he ever does, I will be ready to kill him,” Erwest replied.

Silence once more. Another lord spoke up a few moments later. “Are you not a member of his party? How can we trust you?”

“My only allegiance is to the goddess Hellion. I am bound to my duty,” Erwest said. And Noah saw a crystal shimmer in the distance, shining, hidden behind the counter where the Lords sat.

Ah, so that’s how they catch lies.

“We also have guild members with him, and his actions so far have earned our trust,” Nae said.

“I can vouch for him. I know a man who deceives and lies. Noah is not that. We have fought, and we have sparred. There has been blood and sweat shared. I have taken him under my guild. Should anything happen, I will be prepared to take responsibility,” Raesar said.

Whispers came from within the seats of the Lords; moments later, Ayra spoke up. “We would call the matter settled. Noah Brown is a trusted individual. We would like to spit in the face of his contributions to the city.”

“There is one concern remaining. We apologize to ask this of you so soon after your previous mission, but we have found information on cultist movements from one of our neighboring kingdoms. The lunar cultists have been active there recently, and we are suspicious that perhaps there might be another shard present there. We would like you to go there and investigate.”

“Where exactly is this place?” Noah asked, curious.

A map’s projection appeared in front of him, showing him the location. Off the coast of the continent, on an island nearby was a place marked, with a familiar silhouette. One even people from Earth would recognize.

Noah heard a chime of a Quest go off in his head as Nae spoke.

“The lost kingdom of dragons: Drakonias.”

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