The Amber Sword

“Tuman once told me that there was a conqueror in the north, known as Odin, that fought, with the help of his female companions, against the evil Devils from the Burning Hells who had invaded the surface, as well as the Evil Cultists that allied with them. As they were Master’s enemies as well, our Master decided to join in the battle that lasted several decades. And it eventually led to the massive war that raged across the world.

“It should be one of the final battles where he finally defeated the devils and cultists; while the Azure Knights bested the Twilight Dragon, demonstrating an act of good that triumphed over evil. Odin unified the entire continent, the blood of the ancestors becoming newborn hope. But never did anyone expect to see the birth of a new age of darkness.” Orthylss suddenly whispered in Brendel’s mind, a hint of sorrow laced in her words. “If such a thing did not happen, there won’t be the War of the Holy Saints, and there will never be us, the four Holy Saints. Due to one person’s ideology, countless lives were lost. The Darkness Dragon was once a hero; I don’t have the right to hate his actions, but I cannot forgive them either.” Brendel gave a silent nod. He knew this bit of history well: The following ten decades after the Azure Knights’ victory, the darkness only grew. It was said that Madara, The Witches, and the Miirna people were the remnants of The Darkness Dragon’s forces, and were also the main opponents he used to face last time. While he may be the successor of Odin’s legacy, he was not happy to receive it.

Orthlyss was reading Brendel’s thoughts and was surprised by the youth’s vast knowledge of history. The history that she spoke of were ones that were lost in the passage of time, and no one, maybe with the exception of the Wizards of Silver Alliance who were buried in the books studying them, will have read some records on the ancient books. However, he was unfazed even upon hearing it, making Orthylss question his origins.

Legend states that the Darkness Dragon is capable of incredible perception and foresight. As the Fortune Teller Witch, she had long noticed the presence of the Darkness Dragon’s Blood flowing in his veins. Was it really just a coincidence that he inherited the Dragon’s Legacy?

But Brendel had already known all the happenings of this war, so he raised his head to look at the arched ceiling in the dark, the curiosity in his heart growing by the minute.

Ina seemed to have figured out his intentions. But she hesitated to talk about what she was about to say until she remembered that Brendel was also approved by the Pendulum Golem as well, “ Little brat, if you wish to know more about this place, follow me please.”

“Yes?” Brendel looked back with eager eyes.

Ina stated that they would have to cross the tomb to the secret chamber behind it. But before they moved, she wanted to collect the remains of the Pendulum Golem. Brendel did not disagree with her decision and waited by the side. The Golem was the most unique enemy he had ever met and he had determined that anyone who held on to their beliefs like he did should be given respect.

Ina placed whatever was left of the Pendulum Golem on her back, and her actions graceful, as if any unnecessary movement might break the body even further. She stumbled a little due to the imbalance caused by the difference in mass of the two. The action was a little silly but it was clear that no one was in the mood to laugh.

As the two began to move, Brendel realized a problem: he could not carry the Golden Battle Flag away.

It seemed that the Flag was stuck to the ground, forming an unmovable barrier that leveled up everything that was within the range. And the range of effect was about one thousand meters.

Brendel felt a little embarrassed as he tried all sorts of ways to pull the Golden Battle Flag out.

“Boundary type Treasures can be activated in both ways: one is to attach it to an object where its effects will only target the user,  and the other is to bind it to the ground for it to have some effect in a certain radius. And the Golden Battle Flag falls in the latter category. And under such situations, you will have to wait until it returns back into your deck to reuse it once again.”

Damn…… But it’s not surprising. The game never had any overpowered equipment. The fact that  Planeswalkers being able to be defeated are proof of that. That must have meant that the Cards abilities are not limitless as well. He noticed this issue quite early, but there is quite a bit of restriction to use the Cards of Fate, like the number of Elemental Points required, or the requirements to meet for their usage–

Ina had also told him that there were a limited number of ‘Land’ Cards to be found. The factor was closely tied to the strength of a Planeswalker. She also added that he would understand once he becomes an actual Planeswalker.

Brendel heaved a relieved sigh. The limitations set on the Golden Battle Flag were not that strict. It cannot be considered to be one actually. That was probably the reason it was deemed as a Legendary Card.

Ina may not be a Planeswalker, she held a lot of knowledge in that department, “ The Golden Battle Flag will most likely be the core of your deck in the future, so you will have to find ways to efficiently shuffle it into your hands and let you play it earlier on in the fight. Normally, there are two ways for you to shuffle the Card into your hand. One is to obtain a Card that allows you to shuffle more Cards from your deck into your hands and thus increase the probability of getting the desired Card, like the Accelerated Thought that I tend to use. The other way is pulling a specific Type of Card from the deck into your hand. The Golden Battle Flag is categorized under the Treasure type.” [T/L note: Types include Creature Type, Treasure Type, etc.]

Ina paused to think for a moment before continuing, “The nucleus of Pendulum Golem’s deck, Desperate Trojan Horse(The Adversity of Darkness), was such a card. It was part of the Creature Types. This method is much more effective than other methods.”

As to how effective, she did not mention it, but stared at Brendel, saying, “ Pendulum Golem and I have recognized you as the heir to the deck Adversity of Paradise, that the Card would sooner or later be yours. But please let me keep the card for the time being.”

For her to be able to speak like this, it just meant that she’s slowly recovering from her sadness. Brendel sighed in relief.

As they conversed, they quickly found themselves inside an unchartered section full of natural stalactites. It resembled an underground cavern, with intertwining passages that made it really dangerous as a place for underground exploration. The Kirrluts called these sorts of places as the Enor’s Labyrinth. The Enor were a race of monsters with goat shaped ears and they loved to construct mazes to pass time. It was also said that they were the servants of Gaia’s servant. But even the most complex mazes would lose their sense of mystery after a few thousand years, and that fact was proven by Ina, who was striding in the place like it was her garden as she led Brendel cut through the underground passages.

And finally, they reached a section of the tunnels that looked man-made, where there was a spiraling stair leading to the bottom floor at the end of the passage. At the bottom of the flight of stairs appeared a cavern much larger than the previous one. And the sight that appeared left the youth at a loss for words. In that place where the walls were made of nothing but crystals, there were three people encased within them.

Brendel first noticed the Planewalker Kelsie. He wore a robe, and with the old features he had, he was indistinguishable from the other Wizards. Even if he still looked young, his skin was grey and his muscle slacked. His saggy skin seemed like he had lost all energy, like his body was totally spent.

But even with her haggard description, Brendel still felt the immense power that radiated from the body. At that time, Brendel did not know who he was looking at first, but he felt inferior compared to the entity encased in the crystals before him. And the respectful gaze Ina gave to the person made all the dots in his mind connect.

“This was your master?”

Ina nodded as she placed Pendulum Golem’s broken corpse on the ground near the crystals. But this time, she did not shed any tears.

At that moment, Brendel discovered some runes on the walls. And as he scrutinized further, he realized that he was looking at mithril. He raised his head to notice the runes had connected to the ceiling, and extended to the halls they just came out from.

And then he gasped when all the dots connected. The faint glow from the crystals showed that the magical runes were powered by the three figures before him. Dear Marsha, these three must be sealed on their own vocation! Just what was the cause that led these awfully powerful beings to sacrifice their lives?

He felt his throat go dry, and he touched the walls carefully. He then threw his gaze at the middle-aged man next to Kelsie. He was a swordsman, and with his definite features, he seemed to be one with a lot of dignity. Even with his eyes closed, Brendel could feel his powerful presence emanating from his body, which led l=him to ask curiously,

“Who is this?”

“This was the best swordsman I’ve ever seen in my entire life, as well as the leader of the natives ages ago.”

Brendel looked at the final member, only to find that his gaze was stuck and unremovable. He had never witnessed such a beautiful sight in his life before. The girl in the crystal seemed to be a goddess from the legends, wearing a plain white silky gown with a design that was rarely seen these days. It had the style that resembled the ancient Greek’s long tunic worn by girls, but with its excessive layers, it had an air of contemporary to it. The dress was spread out in the crystal, like a white lotus that was spread open when the wind blew.

Time seemed to stagnate for her. With her eyes closed, she looked around seventeen or eighteen of age. She had pale long hair and snow-white lashes. And her skin that was void of blood? It looked like it was encased in ice. Her body and her dress up formed a picturesque scene Brendel had never seen before, especially with that elegant air she had.

“She’s dead?” Brendel could not help but ask.

Ina nodded.

It was a silly question and Brendel knew it. All three of them originated from the same era and had been staying here for the past millennia or so. But something about her made him feel weird. He had a special -no, familiar feeling about her. He could not explain his feelings, but he was confident that he never saw the woman in both of his life.

This sort of girl, he was certain that he would recognize her even if he only had one glance before.

And in the spur of the moment, he thought of Aunt Jenny, then Little Romaine and finally Babasha, the old and ugly female witch. He was shocked as he finally realized the sense of familiarity he had with her,

“Witch!”

He recalled who the girl was, The Queen of Ice, best known as the first queen of the witches.

And in that moment, an echo resounded from within the crystal straight onto the surface as if it was calling for something.