Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 180 Two Doors 2

*Knock knock knock*

Some polite, gentle knocks landed on a door, but there was no response – as the occupant was fast asleep.

*Knock knock knock!*

Not to be deterred, the knocks became more urgent – however, as the knocker still did not hear any sounds from within (except snoring), he called out through the door.

"Guest Lars, please do be warned that if you do not wake up after the third set of knocks, I'll be forced to enter anyway."

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!*

"Y-Yes! Ah, I'm awake, I'm awake!"

This time, Lars was startled from his deep slumber and nearly fell out of bed, before he regained his footing and settled himself. Then he hastened over to the door, opening it up to see the steward, Ren, standing there.

Ren gave him a polite nod, before saying, "Young sir, please do get ready. It is now 15 minutes to 5 in the evening – we shall depart at 5 sharp for the barracks for the Truthstone test to be conducted."

The man then bowed slightly once more, before adding, "Would you need anything further, young sir?"

Lars looked around, then shrugged.

"No, I guess not…"

"If not, then I shall leave you to change and see you at the hall in 15 minutes."

With that, the steward turned and left.

* * * * *

The journey to the barracks was peaceful and brief; taking less than 2 minutes on foot.

On the way, Lars observed that there were not many young people or children in the city, mainly middle-aged residents, seasoned veterans and with nary a smattering of youths at most.

'Perhaps that is why they were so eager to have "another pair of hands"… Especially someone still young…'

Upon reaching the stone-hewn barracks, the guards bowed deeply to Ren per the custom of the homestead, placing their hands on their hips and bowing at the waist before letting them in – curiously without searching Lars.

They briskly walked through the simple, unadorned corridors before stopping at a large set of wooden double doors. The guards bowed briefly and opened the doors for them, letting the pair in to a high-ceilinged hall.

Lars scanned the hall and saw that it was roughly circular in shape with a lowered area in the centre. In the middle of the lowered central area stood a solid bronze pole about the height of a man with 5 arms extending out slightly from the central stalk. At the top of the pole, a transparent, colourless crystal as large as a man's head was affixed.

Ren then stood to the side, indicating for Lars to enter first.

Lars walked through the doorway and saw five people and a cat waiting for him, some of which were familiar faces, with two he did not recognise. Those who knew him gave him a nod while the other two men merely scrutinised him, evidently having their doubts towards him.

"Welcome, Lars. I hope your stay has been pleasant…?" Lady Zera gently smiled to him as she spoke.

"Yes, I am truly grateful for your kindness and hospitality."

"Indeed; Elder Mash'noth and Saint Ren have always been the most cordial of hosts. But let us get to the point; exchanging pleasantries is not what you or any of us are here for…"

In a smooth motion, Zera then took off a simple ring from the index finger of her right hand. She walked down the 5 steps to the lower central area and approached the central crystal, before placing the ring that was inlaid with a single, large sapphire onto one of the 5 extended arms of the pole, into a difficult to see groove evidently meant for the jewel to be slotted in.

"Council members, if you may…?" Zera spoke as she ascended the steps and returned to where she had been standing earlier.

Each of the other council members with the exception of Elder Mash'noth took off similar rings set with sapphires from their fingers and walked over to surround the crystal at the centre, slotting in their rings to the bronze pole's structure.

When the last sapphire ring was placed into its slot, Elder Mash'noth bounded down the steps before turning around and motioning for Lars to approach.

The actual Truthstone test was very simple – the Divine Beast raised one paw to draw runic formation patterns into the air, before infusing them with the same Divine energy that she had shown earlier. It was evident that drawing these runes took great concentration and focus, as her paw trembled slightly and her eyes were absolutely focused – perhaps even feeling stressed.

Lars was surprised when he saw the amount of effort it seemed to take from the Elder.

'Hmm… It's hard to make out the words without understanding clearly this world's power system… But… Those formations seem to be rather low-levelled despite the high power infused into it… Maybe level 6 or 7 at the most…'

As the process continued, it was clear that the formation was nearing completion as Elder Mash'noth's movements grew quicker and sharper.

Then abruptly, it was done.

The runic patterns fused into a single rune-word, albeit one that was highly complex and made up of multiple layers of lines overlaid one on the other. Once it was completed, she murmured a chant of solemn sounding syllables. Rays of dark-gold light began to s.h.i.+ne from her snowy white fur which were absorbed by the rune word. The rays continued pouring forth for half a minute before and were greedily swallowed up by the now solidifying rune.

"Now! Xiloth, Zera! Circulate your Earth Pulse and strengthen the rune together!"

The two closed their eyes and seemed to float slightly off the ground, hands at their sides as their lips moved, muttering softly under their breath. Then a nearly imperceptible s.h.i.+mmer rippled through the air in a halo around them as Lars felt a surge of energy connect with the rune word.

The flow of light beams and energy from the boy and girl only ceased when the rune word began to take a corporeal form.

Finally, her fur already pasted against her body from sweat, Elder Mash'noth cried out with a guttural voice as she directed the multi-layered formation of energy into the surface of the Truthstone.

The moment the rune touched the crystal, it was as though a miniature sun exploded within, causing the people in the room to cover their eyes from the glare.

"Boy! Come! Quickly, while the light is at it's zenith!" Mash'noth exclaimed hurriedly, the fatigue apparent from her voice.

It was then that Lars felt a push from behind, urging him forward. He looked back, and upon noticing that it was Ren, Lars covered his eyes and squinted, trying to make out the path before him before hastening towards the centre of the room.

To his surprise, with each step closer to the centre, he began to struggle as an invisible weight restricted his movement. Forcing his way forward, he lurched forward and managed to enter the central area, stumbling and nearly tripping over the last step.

To Lars' relief, the pressure let off slightly once he was actually near the crystal and he could spare some attention to look through the gaps of his hands at the s.h.i.+ning gem.

'It's… Beautiful… It doesn't seem hot at all… It looks smooth and cool instead…' Unconsciously, Lars began to reach out towards the Truthstone.

The others in room could probably be forgiven for not noticing his action; after all, it was glaringly bright and nearly impossible to make out anything that happened near the Truthstone, while the Divine Beast was too focused on presiding over the formation to notice what Lars was doing.

'I wonder what happens if I touch it…?' Lars fingers of his left hand unfurled as his fingertips neared the crystal. In just a couple of seconds, he would be able to touch it…

 "Okay, Lars. Now, under the light of the Truthstone, you'll – No! Don't touch it, you'll—" Elder Mash'noth's eyes finally widened in panic as she realised that the boy was about to touch a highly compressed core of Divine Light and power.

But her words came too late.

Her vision was consumed by pure golden-white light, before she heard a dull *Thump*, like the sound of flesh hitting the floor.

"d.a.m.n it! Lars, Lars! You better be alright!"

As their vision cleared over the next few seconds, Elder Mash'noth and the council members struggled to make out what had happened to Lars – and saw the boy knocked unconscious, sprawled across the floor and against the wall, 30 feet away from the crystal.