The time passed by quickly enough, and once Epsilon fully recharged his Soul essence, he was able to force open the door once more. Anvil's hunch was right, as only one more attempt was need to widen it for a regular human to be able to fit through.
'Its a good thing anyway. We don't need the Chimera queen following us further down.'
The job was done, but he still needed to recharge his reserves again just in case anything were to happen later on, so he still needed to rest immediately after. In that time, Anvil was studying the array as much he could, and even made a new discovery about it. At some point, he took out his notebook and began to copy it down as much as he could.
"It extends past the physical door and encompasses a wide area almost like a net. I'm not sure how far it stretches, but it seems to go beyond this city."
What did the net do? They had no clue, and it was only going to take even longer to figure out. It was time that they simply did not have, so setting their curiosity aside, there was a new issue that they needed to tackle.
"What exactly is on the other side?"
The door itself opened away from them, which would suggest that it was meant to keep things out, rather than lock things in. It was something Epsilon had once wondered before.
Its sheer weight made it all the more obvious, and the lack of an altar with runes, or even another fake lever on the other side confirmed it even more so.
Unsurprisingly, there was writing on the other side of the door too, but rather than another Runic array, this was the common language. It was just one simple word, engraved in writing so large that it left no negative space on the door.
Anvil read it aloud,
"Protect."
Ki Song looked at it curiously.
"Protect? Protect the city? Well whoever was in charge of that obviously failed."
Apart from that, there was nothing on the other side. There was the stone floor surface that continually advanced further ahead into the ever encroaching darkness, but aside from that there was nothing of note. Epsilon tried to use his senses to feel any sources of light, but there was none either.
They all universally agreed,
"It'll be best if we wait for everyone else before we explore further."
After Epsilon finally recovered his Soul essence, it was time for him to go. He asked Anvil,
"Will you be fine on your own?"
"Yes, I just want to study these runes a little bit more and then I'll head back home. You may not understand, but runic array's that still exist after all this time are quite the rarity, and this array specifically is quite complex. The vast amounts of learning material here will contribute greatly to new runic sorcerers."
Although he wasn't able to understand it properly now, in the future they would become a valuable teacher for him, as well as many others.
Turning towards Ki Song, Epsilon hesitantly said,
"It's time to go."
And to his dismay, she looked at him confused. He already knew what to expect next.
"To where?"
Sighing, he replied,
"Just follow me."
**
The journey to the stone castle was frustratingly unbearable, as throughout the whole trip, Ki Song continually asked questions about where they were going, to which Epsilon ignored.
"Can you please just stop asking me questions? It'll make sense when we get there, I promise."
She had a doubtful look on her face, but then she quietly let it down.
But as they drew closer and closer towards the castle, her eyes would occasionally fall down upon it by accident, prompting her to speak once more.
"What? Was that always there?"
It seemed that constantly reminding of her the presence of the castle in short intervals, allowed her to remember it somewhat, but since she didn't have the same resistance to it like Bob did, she quickly forgot too.
"What? Was that always there?"
And every time, she would forget she asked her own question, dooming her to ask it again, and again, and again..
"What? Was that always there?"
'BOBBBBBB! Please tell me there's a way to fix this?? I can't bear it anymore, my ears are going to start bleeding!'
And to his disappointment, the spirit of the dead king replied,
"Nope! The only reason you're safe is because we are connected through the contract, even then, I am unsure as to why I'm resistant to its effects either."
He could only grumble at that answer. But just then, another concerning question sprouted in his mind.
'What is the contract anyway?'
Thanks to it, he was able to use Bobs powers through a connection akin to his and Nero's, but how did it work exactly? Was it another form of sorcery like how Anvil had explained earlier? It sounded like it fit the bill, as it did not come from his Aspect, nor did it extend from any of Bob's powers. But if all it took was a simple agreement, then anyone would've been able to do it.
"I have no clue. When I saw you, I just knew I could make one. A sort of spiritual instinct, if you will."
'What?'
"It's like how baby's cry when they're born. It's just that sort of thing."
So it was an inborn type of sorcery perhaps? Could he initiate his own with other spiritual beings to gain their powers too? Where would he even find anymore though..
'He came out of nowhere so others could appear like that too I guess.'
"What? Was that always there?"
Completely ignoring her, he screamed while pulling on his hairs,
"What kind of a king lives in a castle that people forget when they look away anyway!?? Did people even know you lived in it!? How did you receive mail?? What kind of a crap king were you!?"
"Hey! No need to throw insults just because you decided to bring an outsider. And besides, I don't remember my castle ever being like that. Someone messed with it, clearly."
'Aren't you the Amnesic one?! How will you remember.. gah! Whatever.'
The two continued to walk side by side down the quiet street, their footsteps echoing softly on the pavement. Periodically, Ki Song kept repeating that phrase over and over again like a broken record, Epsilon tiredly stared straight ahead, pretending not to hear. The words kept coming, rhythmic and relentless, until it was eventually broken once more.
Bob called out his name,
"Oi, Epsilon."
'You broke rule 1.. it better be important.'
His voice came out softly, almost hesitant, carrying both curiosity and a quiet ache.
"What's the outside world like?"
The question was surprising. He had almost forgotten that Bob was an ancient human from the dream realm, but the way he spoke just made it seem otherwise. At some point, Epsilon even began to think that maybe he was lying about his identity.
'I'm not native to this world, but I do know that everything is either dead or corrupted. Not too nice a place to live in, or to build a kingdom really.'
"Alright then, what's your world like?"
The sudden interest made him concerned. All of his old people was dead, but he moved on that quickly??
'Hang on, hang on. You aren't planning on conquering my world are you??'
But after a few moments, he perished that thought.
'Well, it sucks. Everything is almost dead on that side too, most people in the place I lived in fight for scraps, but if I survive this, my life will get better, I think..'
If he truly was a supreme, and Bob were to gain his power back, humanity would benefit tremendously from him. But just as easily they could suffer just as much.
A concerning question unintentionally popped in his mind, which Bob read instantly.
'Are you a tyrant?'
"Huh!? What kind of a person do you think I am?? I'll have you know that I was very much loved by my people..! I think..."
Helping Bob isn't a mistake.. is it? That idea seemed a little bit scary, as there was nothing Epsilon could now to stop him other than die.
Abruptly Ki Song asked,
"What? Was that always there?"
Tired, Epsilon responded,
"Yes.. yes that was always there."