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MAZE - Chapter 1069 - The world pushes you away
🕑 Added 2025-06-07 20:55:09 +0000 UTCAfter leaving that meeting, Hera quickly rushed to talk to Shane and the rest of the Royal Explorers that went to Spiral. She was very upset at Insomniac for ambushing her like that. It was one thing if he had explained why he was coming here, but to just show up unannounced with someone else asking for a favor was very annoying.
She considered that maybe the man just believed that she had nothing better to do than to get his back and call, even though she didn't really believe that was the case. It was more likely Valera's fault, as the woman seemed to have some sort of hold on the fighter. Still, that didn't do anything to appease her annoyance. And the best way she had to deal with that was to go to the Deakoshara and start to explore.
That's exactly what she called Shane to do. Bonnie and a few of the other people who went to Spiral, like, Callena and Farica, said that they were not in the mood to go there right now. After all, they had just arrived from the continuous dungeons runs and needed a couple days to rest. But Shane, the always excited explorer, was ready to go. They went to the Naga homeland, hoping to find something that they had missed before.
Once they arrived, they found themselves facing a torrential raining. And it was still a poisonous rain. One that while Hera could take it in stride, Shane couldn't. Which meant that the poison was still too powerful for someone, even with a poison resistance set. Just to confirm what was going on, Hera sent Nimbus on a mission to check the lake while she waited with Shane by the entrance. They were trying to see if the rain was going to stop that way they could at least check the laboratory together.
During that time, the enchantress told her about everything they discovered in Spiral. First, more than just about magic, Shane was learning a lot from Darni about her legacy. Which was something that she really didn't expect to work. But apparently the key was to ask him about enchantments in general and not enchantments as part of a legacy.
Because if she announced that she was the new legacy holder, Darni would realize that he was inside of a dungeon and would shut down. Any attempts at talking to him would result in the Naga just walking away and refusing to have that conversation. Not necessarily because he was upset he was part of a dungeon or something like that, but it seemed like the dungeon would overtake him and make him step away from Shane.
This was likely something to do with the legacy. As the only time they could generally get advice from someone who used to have a legacy was if they knew that person personally. Hera wasn't entirely sure if she liked that or not, but it was nice knowing that even if she were to find the previous holder of the court of blades in a dungeon, she might be able to learn something as long as she was cryptic enough.
But aside from all that, Shane's attempts to learn were not in vain. Not only did she gain some insight on her own abilities, but they also gained very big pieces of information about how Naga cast spells. Specifically, that while there were spell circles that were simple and just could be viewed on a surface level, there were those who were much more intricate.
For it wasn't just in writing where the Naga used their infrared sight to hide their secrets. It was also possible to do that with spells. As a matter of fact, one of the first things that Casks told them about was how to cast the spell on herself to see the world through that infrared light the same way Hera did.
It was a spell that the Empress quickly learned and tested, but things became very strange when she tried to use it. If she was using her natural eyes, she could choose how to see things. Either in a pure infrared light or a mix of natural color plus the temperature focused sight. But using the spell would lock her in the temperature focused one.
Everything would be permanent in those shades of blue, greens, and reds that represented various degrees of temperature. Which was exactly how Shane was using to see things. Meaning that Hera's version was still superior, but now at least there were more people who were capable of doing that kind of thing.
They were very lucky that the Altar held no secrets using that technique. Then again, larger structures would likely not have something like that since it would require a more physical representation of the runes and the lines for the spell. But it was something they would need to take into account going forward. As even within the Naga, not everybody was used to using that kind of writing and magic. Only those people who were more secretive or, alternatively, more advanced in their studies could use those types of writing and spells without any problem.
Another thing that Shane learned, but this time was from Darni again, was how to make some permanent enchantments on weapons that could be placed on weapons that already had their own enchantment. It would be a kind of secondary buff that unfortunately would be much weaker than the first, but she could complement things with another element or an extra bit of power if she wanted to.
Hera was thankful that her idea of not having her new weapons necessarily be enchanted could be working. After all, if King Stonebeard would send her unenchanted weapons, she could have the dwarfs from her settlement finish the enchantments and then maybe Shane could add this new layer of power to make them even stronger.
Nimbus eventually returned to the pair, only to say that there was a storm incoming, as the rain near the lake was getting very intense. And the lake itself was still very much green. The shade had changed. And Hera could confirm that when the Sentinel showed the pictures he took when he got there. They compared with what the Ophidianite had seen before leaving to find the Wendigo, and yes, the lake was much clearer now. But it was still far from being completely void of poison.
Shane argued that maybe she could reach the laboratory without having to worry about the poison and then just use the impervious version of the set to get back, but Nimbus and Hera didn't like the idea. They would be risking too much, and if Shane wasn't feeling very well inside the lab, they had no idea what could happen in case they got stuck there.
Shane then picked up a piece of glass and used a different type of enchantment than she was used to. Not one that would just increase power or command something to do a specific task. But she enchanted the glass with a specific type of spell. A weather prediction spell. It was a one-off thing and the piece of glass was going to be consumed by the effect, but she managed to check how the weather was going to be in this room in the foreseeable future.
To her dismay, for the next week, the storm would still rage on, stopping anyone who wanted to stay here. She showed it to Hera and there were a few moments of calm during that storm, but the Empress wasn't entirely sure she would be able to withstand the poison. Not just the poison, but the winds were going to be nasty and they could even see a tornado forming in the distance. Which was not ideal, to say the least.
Shane wasn't even sure if this was going to last just one week. After all, her spell could only see one week in the future. They paused and just stared at the room for a moment and Hera asked, "Do you think I should call the guide to see when the storm is going to pass?"
Shane shook her head right away. "That's just stupid. I know I really want to explore this place, but calling the guide just to know the weather? C'mon, you are better than that."
Hera nodded, and the two went back to Zaxalam, feeling dejected.
Just as they were getting back to the city, Hera saw Insomniac and Valera walking out, and with a groan, she stepped towards them. She still didn't like the woman and felt that the offer of giving an entire army to her was stupid, to say the least.
Especially considering the events that happened less than a few months ago. Still, Azure Chain was a good person that was killed by bad people. Or killed by the Centaurs, she couldn't really remember the timeline of things. It was only fair that she honor his memory and try to help his family. Especially since Insomniac was the one asking for the favor. The man wouldn't have brought Valera all the way here if he wasn't vouching for the woman.
With a bit of an annoyed expression, she approached them and said, "Hey, are you leaving already?"
"We are," Insomniac replied. "I'm not going to let Valera go back on her own. She can handle herself, but still, I would feel much better if I were with her."
Hera nodded, being a bit understanding about that, and said, "Any chance you can wait until tomorrow?"
"And why would we?" Valera asked.
"Because apparently what I wanted to do is going to be delayed. There's a storm in the room I wanted to go to and I can't really handle that."
"You can't handle a simple storm? What's the matter? Are you afraid to get wet?" Valera scoffed, and Hera just gave her a deadpan look.
"It's a storm of poison that's strong enough to kill me and a poison Spirit. So yeah, no, I'm not going to test my luck on something like that."
"A poison spirit can't handle that?" Insomniac gasped.
"Yes, even a poison Spirit can't handle that," Hera replied, her voice flat.
"Oh, okay. That makes sense. But why would we wait?" Valera asked.
Hera rolled her eyes, feeling already tired from these games. "Look, I'm saying I'm going to go to your house and open the vault. Or try to, at least. Do you want my help or not? I'm not going to be begging you to help you."
Valera nodded. "I would very much like your help, yes. I don't have a problem with waiting, especially for this. And how about you, dear?" She turned to Insomniac, who gave a nod.
"I'm fine waiting, too. Especially if you're going to be able to get the vault open. But why wait for tomorrow? Couldn't we go today?"
Hera held back yet another annoyed sigh, considering that it was Insomniac asking that, and said, "I just crossed over two doorways. We could cross one more and get stuck."
"Sorry, I didn't even think about that," the fighter quickly replied, and Valera shook her head.
"Why didn't you? You're supposed to be one of the strongest people in the MAZE? You really need to think a bit more before you speak."
Insomniac crossed his arms. "I think before I speak. It was just a momentary lapse. I'm more concerned with other things, too."
"Doesn't matter. Your position doesn't allow you to be anything less than perfect," Valera turned to Hera. "That applies to you too. Keep making mistakes and no one will take you seriously. And I'm starting to see that's the case."
The Empress just rubbed her eyes and said, "Look, I'm really trying here, but if you're going to be acting like that the entire time, I'm not going to help. I'm sure that there's a way for you to break that vault open, but it's probably going to damage whatever is inside. So how about you treat me with the bare minimum of respect and I'll do the same?"
Valera sighed. "My bad, my bad. Just not used to being in this position. Asking favors with no leverage."
"That's fine. We can just do this and move on with our lives, okay?" Hera sighed.
Valera nodded, and the three went back into the city. Hera was feeling very upset right now. She worked her ass off and rushed back here just so she could go back to Deakoshara. Only to be met by a storm that stopped her from moving forward. And now she was going to have to go to yet another place and do yet another thing that had nothing to do with what she really wanted to do.
It was almost as if the system was trying to stop her from exploring the Naga homeland. But she knew that was just a coincidence. The system wouldn't do anything like that.
Right?
Comments
DrDankness
The system by itself? Nawwww The system fucking with silver lining because its funny? Absolutely
