Not (Just) A Mage Lord Isekai
Chapter 151 - Outer Halls of Final Rest

While I was definitely curious about what lay at the bottom of the Final Rest, I wasn't super excited about bringing Bevel along.

Not that I had much choice in the matter.

There was a reason I didn't try to force her to do anything, and the speed with which she was able to blast herself over towards the open tunnel, despite the many forest-raptors milling about between where we’d been standing and the entrance… yeah, that was a big part of it.

"Guess we're doing this now," I said, attempting to jog after her but not having any luck getting through the herd of forest-raptors that were milling around in confusion.

"I shall ensure the young lady's safety, master Percival," Calbern said, easily outpacing me, going so far as to dash across the heads of several of the raptors, who let out squawks of protest.

"It is good that your offshoot shows such enthusiasm. Walking the Forests is not always easy," Tender said as it followed us, not bothering to disembark from the massive triceratops. As I got closer to it, I realized the giant forest-dino was probably the same size as the Howling Defier, which wasn’t small. We were shipping close to a hundred people on board each flight without cramming them in like sardines.

Despite its size, the tunnel leading downwards was larger.

The apparently thin walls held back the waves of the lake with only the faintest signs of flexing, blatantly ignoring the furious force of the storm driving against it.

Other than the minor rivulets of water that dripped down from the entrance, pooling on occasion.

Bevel was already scaling the root-vine-leaf tunnel’s side, her hands finding purchase on the slick roots as she stared out through the transparent leaves into the deep waters. Calbern was just below on the root-like stairs, ready to catch her in case she fell. Or, considering how unlikely that was to be a problem, in case something that might hurt her showed up.

Which left me walking beside the forest-triceratops that served as Tender's mount, a surprisingly light stepping creature. Up close, it was easy to see how the vines expanded and contracted, similar to how the cables in a bike’s brake lines would.

"It will nurture her, to tend the roots," Tender said, its gaze following Bevel. Its voice was surprisingly soft, like a breeze through willow trees in summer as it said the words. "A forceful graft has stunted her growth, yet she remains unbroken, simply stuck. So close to breaking through the surface."

"Can see that much with just a glance, huh?" I asked, feeling unusual to be casually chatting while walking next to one of these things. They didn't tend to do either often. Then again, it’d hardly shifted atop the triceratops's back, so maybe riding a mount didn't count against the moving part.

"That and more," Tender replied, its head cracking as it shifted to look in my direction. "It has been a long time since Aeternia stirred in full, Magus Protectus. A long time since I and my brothers woke in truth."

"Sorry to wake you?" I offered, stepping around a puddle that had formed partway down the stairs.

“Have you heard the curse, ‘May you live in interesting times’?” Tender replied, holding its hand up.

“Might’ve, long time ago,” I admitted, though even with my enhanced memory, I couldn’t remember where.

“It implies that interesting times are the worst to live in, because they are full of change. My brothers and I, even before we were set to our tasks, would have disagreed. Interesting times are the only ones worth living through. There is no need to apologize.”

“Not quite as fun on our end,” I grumbled.

When Tender didn't immediately reply, my attention shifted to where one of the smaller forest-raptors darted upward, attempting to follow Bevel along the transparent walls. Its forelimbs clearly weren't meant for climbing, though even as we descended it didn't get discouraged.

Bevel hardly noticed, her gaze locked outwards on the many inhabitants of the lake.

It held all the splendor I'd expected to see when Calbern and I had gone under the ocean. Schools of bright colored fish swam everywhere amongst dark pink rock formations. I wasn't certain if the rock was actually coral, but it resembled pictures I'd seen of the stuff. Was freshwater coral a thing?

"It has been so long since true youth has walked these steps," Tender said, the whisper of a morning breeze through a field of lilies breaking me out of my thoughts. Its head was oriented at an angle, towards Bevel. "It nourishes my roots, to feel sapient life so full of hope once more."

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That had me raising my eyebrows. And for more than one reason.

"You can feel hope? And that… nourishes you?" I asked, my eyes shifting towards Bevel. While Tender seemed more benign than Keeper or Conflict, it was still their brother. Whatever reason it’d developed such senses… well, I’d rather it not get hungry.

"It is one of my gifts, yes. From before the great binding. The taste of hope lingers on the air," Tender confirmed, its green tongue flicking against dark wooden teeth nearly the color of blood. Which… not exactly reassuring. "When the masters enslaved us, they couldn't take all of our power."

"Do you remember them? The people who enslaved you, I mean?" I asked, clearing my throat. Neither Keeper or Conflict spoke of their original bindings much. Not that it was easy to have a protracted conversation with Conflict, what with its tendency to destroy eardrums at random. Or with Keeper, for that matter.

"As clear as the day they bound us. They looked much like you do today, despite the eons that lay between. A result of their tampering," Tender said, its voice like a rattling branch tossed loosely into the wood pile. Then the rattling eased, smoothing into a gentle percussion. "While they did so out of fear and hate, hate we returned in kind, it was a better fate than we had before. We have learned much in our years of imprisonment. It is not wrong to say that we have grown far beyond what we once were. An unexpected ambrosia blooming amongst a garden of ash."

I remained silent for a time, considering its words. And the implications. The beings were dangerous. I'd always known that. Conflict could erase everything I was trying to protect in days, strip the land clean, along with the people upon it, if it wanted to. Keeper was able to shrug off Balthum’s hydra-souled spells and then retaliate against Balthum without suffering any consequences.

And something told me Tender was just as strong.

"Do you wish to be free again?" I found myself asking, despite my concerns.

"That is a very interesting question," Tender said, its head shifting so its green eyes were able to look at me. "Do you wish to be free again?"

"What do you mean? I am free," I replied, dodging yet another puddle in the root like stairs.

"Are you, Magus Dominus? Even without your oath, would you be free to do as you please?" Tender asked, its head sliding towards me on its overlong neck, the bright green light within its eyes flickering.

"Considering I mostly am doing as I please, I'd say so," I replied with an easy shrug, waving around at the very cool tunnel we were currently exploring. “Meet interesting people, help those I can, explore magic and mysteries.”

"That is a fortunate pairing of your desires and duties," Tender replied, straightening out atop the triceratops, its eyes dimming until they were pale dots. "One my surviving brothers and I share. I suspect it is why we four are the only ones to have survived the years."

"Four? Think I've only met three of you so far. Where's the fourth?"

"Depths lies below," Tender said, drawing its sinuous neck back. "You have entered his domain twice already, though you are not ready to meet him. Not for many years, I suspect. Though perhaps…"

Thinking about which other old facilities I'd entered, I nodded. "Somewhere in the ocean then. Near the Golden Halls."

"We near the outer halls of the Final Rest," Tender said, its voice like the rustling of the wind amongst the trees during a summer rainstorm as it not so subtly swept away the topic. "Where you will find yourself without."

"That's a little ominous," I said, stepping around one of the forest-raptors that had stopped at the bottom of the stairs. The same one that’d been trying to reach Bevel, and was now following her as she dropped from above. She hopped over the uneven roots that lay across the stone floor to come stand beside me, Calbern only a step behind her.

While the wood and vines motif was still present in the hall we now found ourselves in, it was no longer the sole component. In addition to the stone floor, there were green flames burning on the ends of branches that stood over the dozens of doorways leading off the sides. Each of the branches grew out of the door frames, which appeared to be grown from different colored trees, getting darker the farther down the hall they stood. Beyond each doorway was an abundance of plantlife that was visible through the transparent walls of the great hall.

Despite the forests to either side, above us, the lake remained on full display, with a creature that looked like a manta-ray moving over the domed ceiling.

“Remarkable,” Calbern said, his eyes sweeping from side to side.

“Uh huh,” Bevel agreed, grabbing my hand as she gawked at the diverse collection of creatures moving all around us. “Look, it’s a tiny version of Neta!”

“Huh. You’re right,” I said, following her finger. Sure enough, in the branches beyond one of the doorways further down, a spotted cat of some sort lay there, watching us. It was missing the extra ropes that Neta used, and was half her size, but it still looked like the predator it was.

“Well spotted, lady Bevel,” Calbern said, nodding to a closer creature, one that looked a bit like a bull, except its horns had thin blue lines running along them. “Now, do you remember what that creature is called?”

“Thunder-bull?” Bevel asked, squinting at the creature.

“Close, its a water buffalo,” Calbern replied, gesturing to the pond the massive creature was standing on.

“Oh right,” Bevel said, chuckling weakly. She squeezed my hand, pulling me closer to several creatures as Calbern’s questions continued.

I smiled, but my attention started to drift to the far end of the hall.

While most of the outer halls of Final Rest were full of life, there was a door at the far end that…

Darker that the night sky under rain, it stood like a monument to eternity. Solid black stone without a single marking on it, so dark that even the surrounding foliage seemed less vibrant.

It had a weight. One that felt like it pulled on my very soul. The weight felt strangely familiar. It was only my enhanced memory that allowed me to place it. During the final hours of my first life, when I'd laid dying in the car, I'd felt the same. A tug at the very essence of who I was.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing at the door, fighting to keep my voice from trembling. Something about that door frightened me, to the very depths of my being. More than even the bathroom door had.

"That is the Repository," Tender replied, its voice like a leaf upon the wind.

The Repository.

My status said my soul had come from there. As I looked at the door again, I realized it wasn't as featureless as I'd originally thought. There was a crack. One that ran the entire length of the door.

And somehow, I knew, that crack was wider than it'd been several months earlier.