Azaroth laughed so hard that even the cracking of the black world crumbling around them could not cover it, the sight of the molten magma and wilting vines once again returning to view.
Portman, Octavia, and Zarethul watched as their master shook his head in amusement, his eyes falling on Aaron Grimstall, who stood firm with his sword in hand.
"I'd like to see you try, pawn of Heaven's Prisoner."
He moved his hand downward, and a gateway of liquid darkness opened next to his hip, tearing through the world, just big enough to allow him to reach inside.
From the pit, he removed a small ceremonial dagger, one embedded with a single rune that glowed a deep bronze.
Gripping it tight, he raised his arm, closing his eyes and exhaling hard.
「Vortex of Tears」
There was a pause as if the room itself was holding its breath, and then, as the blade streaked through the void, a pitch-black scar ripped through the very fabric of space.
There was a deafening roar behind the newly constructed portal, the horned man smiling without care.
Summoning a ball of fire into his hand, he burned the ceremonial blade to ash and turned to face Aaron with one final message to leave behind.
"When this dimension is devoured by the very being who ensnared it in a triangle of blood, I hope that you will change your mind on who you should truly be serving. Perhaps one day I could grant you the power that Nautilus carries, for, after all, it would be the fate that he would hate you to have the most."
After finishing, he snapped his fingers, and the tiny body of Esme Blair suddenly flickered into existence beside him.
Then, with a grin across his face and an arrogant tip of his tophat, he stepped into the gateway, vanishing from the cavern completely.
His three followers disappeared soon after, similar veils of darkness falling over them as they left the chamber in tandem.
And with that, Aaron was left alone alongside the heavily wounded Sea King, who barely clung to life using a technique that preserved his lifeforce in exchange for a future loss of mana.
Struggling to move, the blond boy turned towards where the orange-haired man sat, his footsteps slow and shaky as he traversed through the cavern.
His legs were weak and his eyelids heavy as he walked past the seal at the center of the room, its form resembling a large tooth wrapped in chains, and its intimidating aura seemingly beckoning for the boy.
It wished for him to protect it, the power of the Ghostship within him triggering an odd response unlike anything another King would experience in his place.
Hmm?
He flicked his eyes towards it and noticed an odd silhouette standing beside the floating chains that bound the seal.
The runes marking the tooth's surface turned a bright turquoise as that same silhouette approached it, the blond boy's brow furrowing downward as he made out the shape.
Mr. Crab?
His peg legs clattered against the floor, his two beady black eyes taking in the sight of a barrier nearly as strong as the ones once placed upon him.
At that moment, Aaron's own mind felt an unusual sense of connection with the creature that stopped by that seal, an understanding that completed the puzzle of something as ancient as the Architects and their schemes.
It's like Apollis at the top of the mountain…
He frowned, his head tilting downward as he closed his eyes.
A living creature bound to a region to contain its effects.
Silently listening to the hum of the sentient heart of the chamber, he felt a new sense of appreciation for the being locked within.
Centuries of guardianship over an object with enough potency to bind a beast so vile that it could disrupt an entire dimension, left alone, abandoned after its mission began.
Opening his eyes and about to turn towards where Cauron Thorn rested, he was stopped by an odd clicking sound.
Click!
Mr. Crab gestured for the boy to come closer.
Albeit confused, he did as the crustacean asked and hurried over, his wounded hand and busted leg hindering him at every step.
Eventually, as he stood before the animal, he watched as it jumped twice, then vanished into a puff of turquoise smoke.
Was that all it wished me to see?
Groaning quietly to himself, he took one final glance at the mystical seal before returning his attention to the Sea King.
If I don't help him soon, then it's possible that he could—
The sound of something rolling across the stone floor filled the chamber, Aaron's gaze instantly locking onto the cause of the noise.
He paled, a jolt of shock running through his body as he leaped forward to prevent what was about to happen.
The egg he had brought from within the Vault of Nautilus rolled gently towards the seal beside him, its movement obviously spurred on by some external force.
Dammit!
All he could do before it collided with the barrier was jump forward, an action that, while valiant, was far too late.
Bzzt!
The moment the egg grazed the edge of the seal, a bolt of lightning shot out and slammed into the scaly ball.
Closing his eyes and curling on the ground to protect himself, Aaron prepared for the shockwave; however, to his surprise, there was nothing.
There were no further sounds or reactions after the collision, yet when Aaron looked towards the seal, the previously gleaming tooth had vanished, the chains lying lifelessly on the ground.
Checking on the egg, he noticed that the formerly perfect orange surface now had one gleaming gold crack over it.
I-It cracked!?
Rushing over like a father checking on his newborn child, he scanned its surface carefully, concluding with relief that the shell had not been broken.
T-thank the—
He stopped himself, coming to a slow realization.
No… It was him… He's the only one who could've done it!
Sweeping around the chamber with his eyes, he noticed the same blurry crustacean-like figure that had previously lured him towards the center of the room now split into two, one of the clones standing right where the egg had rolled from.
H-he manipulated me so easily… How terrifying…
As the tiny creature vanished into a blip of turquoise, effectively leaving the boy alone, Aaron acknowledged the result of its actions.
The seal has relocated to the egg, and it also absorbed all the energy accumulated within that tooth-like thing… What happened to the spirit within it? The barrier is still operational, so what the hell is even going on?
Focusing on the massive tooth that remained chained by the bolts that now glowed with a ferocious orange, he sighed, rubbing his temple in slow circles.
This is too confusing!
Taking a sharp breath, he stood up while sheathing the complaining Penelope, who was as baffled as he was.
Then, he picked up the egg and cradled it between his arms, which was a bit difficult with one of them being severed at the wrist, but it was still doable.
It's warm and cozy… I wonder if it would make a good pillow…
Shaking off the idea as he thought of what Eleanor—or rather, any sane person—would say, he finally returned to the dying man in the corner.
While he had abandoned him for a decent period of time for his miniature sidequest, the injuries didn't seem to have worsened anymore; only his consciousness had faded out.
"Can I even carry him without him croaking?"
As he rubbed his chin, pondering, an idea came to him quickly, his eyes scanning the room for the objects he needed.
Perfect!
Locating the piles of torn vines produced by the Sea King's Eden spell, he made his way over, examining them carefully.
"Yes… Yes… This'll work great!"
Placing the egg at his side, he worked fast, sweat dripping down his forehead as the magma beside him bubbled away.
Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into nearly an hour as he crafted the only tool capable of transporting both the Sea King and the egg at once through the rocky caverns.
Standing up and observing his handiwork, he smiled, nodding his head in satisfaction.
I'll call it… The vine stretcher!
With his less-than-inventive name, he stared down at the platform of vines tightly woven together by more vines to create a bed of sorts.
Using the egg as a pillow—something that many would label him insane over—he maneuvered Cauron Thorn's body carefully onto the lift, then tied his body down with even more vines.
Strapping the entire thing to his waist and hanging the mover onto his back like a long board, he stood up for the first time since securing the King's body to his creation.
"W-whoa!"
Nearly stumbling over from the weight, he rebalanced himself, looking towards the long cave passage that he had entered from.
O-on the way here, it was downhill, but to retrace that path backwards…
He groaned loudly at the thought of the long journey ahead, one far more rigorous than he had ever planned to take on.
Taking one last look over the massive cavern that housed the seal, which had now been moved into the egg, he shook his head once more, too exhausted to analyze the events of that day any further.
The damp conditions of the cavern clashed with the blistering heat of the molten minerals, the entire room steaming.
Only from this angle could he make out the destruction that had been caused by the intense battles that had been waged within the room.
Whether it be the bloodstains from Cauron's duel against that mysterious illusion or the broken vines that were slowly dissolving on the ashy soil, it led to a single thought being formed in the boy's head that did not leave until he made it to the surface.
I never want to end up in another cave ever again!