Note: Innocence - Part 2 - Origins and Curiosity: "I even made an extra point to place soul poof wards around your room!"... Yeah, I meant SOUND proof. Not soul proof. I thought I corrected that but apparently, computers are a fickle thing. Auto correct can be relentless sometimes. Especially on mac.
Oh well. Anyways, this chapter takes content from the chapters, "Innocence - Part 3 - The Consequences to Curiosity and Desire" by the 1 (me) and "Spellcasting" by iWTBAT. Some things might be removed, altered or added. Think of this chapter as a combination of "Innocence - Part 3 - The Consequences to Curiosity and Desire" and the second half of "Spellcasting".
Here is the original writer's note for "Innocence - Part 3 - The Consequences to Curiosity and Desire":
Note: Opps. I just realized that the ring of purity was originally supposed to channel the deity of purity's power. I reread the chapter, "The Ring of Purity" by iWTBAT and I think the original idea was that the ring was too small to channel the deity's power at the time. And I kinda turned the ring into a vessel for the deity of purity to posses. Sorry about that iWTBAT. I admit I made a mistake. But I guess that's the wonders of an evolving story were more then one writer is involved. The original intention may have changed but it's too late to rewrite the last few chapters now. I guess the only thing I can do now is just roll with it and keep moving forward. I hope the next couple of chapters works with the lore iWTBAT has written.
With that said, this chapter takes content from the chapters, "The Mysterious Professor", "Deeper into the Cave" and "Even Deeper, Even Darker" by iWTBAT. The content taken from those chapters are used as plot points and is credited to iWTBAT. In addition, a certain section of this chapter is inspired by the chapter,"Sphere of Mystics" by Dragonman.
I hope you enjoy the chapter.
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The next memory started with everyone around Isaac in a state of panic. Either they were casting spells or cowering in fear, and some were even fleeing from the room. Whatever was happening at that time, it gave Isaac a feeling of dread as his hands gone cold.
...
“Hope! Run back to your room!” a voice called out for her. Hope only turned to see one of Crawnav’s assistants, who was casting spells left and right, mixing words and syllables from incantations with warnings for Hope.
“Where’s Daddy?!” Hope asked them.
“I don’t know! But you need to go to your room now!” he kept casting warding spells. The thing which the wizards were fighting against or repelling came from the hallway going down, so Hope couldn’t see what made everyone panic. And soon, she felt like panicking as well.
“But I need to know where Daddy is!” she pleaded, almost on the verge of crying with everyone else who cowered in the corners.
“Ghh… get out now! I’ll seal this room to prevent the corruption from spreading!”
Hope wasn’t getting any answers, but she finally acquiesced as she ran to her room to hide under her bed. She shut the door behind her, the warding runes working their magic as she couldn’t feel the strange magic in the air. However, she could only hear music coming from her music box and the sounds of her toys. Yet, she was crying profusely and wishing for her father’s comfort.
Time didn’t seem to pass in the shut room. Hope tried to listen through the door but the magicaly sealed door was sound proof. Everything was silent. It was like nothing happened. Her room was jus as peaceful as when she left. But she knew something terrible was happening right now. But something inside of her was telling her to NOT open the door. So she locked it instead. Hope, with her mind numb, has went to bed. It took hours but the 10 year old girl finally fell into a restless sleep.
The next day, or rather, when Hope woke up, her room was exactly as it was the last time she woke up. Except that Pipi wasn't with her anymore...
Taking only an old wooden staff that her father used to use, she peeked outside her room only to see— no, feel something had gone terribly wrong.
The walls were covered in purple fibers that almost looked like veins. They spread everywhere save for the warded door, which was why Hope was able to open the door without difficulty. The floor was covered in the grotesque fibers as well, and it… pulsated as Hope shivered from the sight of it. Part of her tells her to NOT go outside. Maybe she’ll just wait until her father comes back…
The days after that event were always filled with anxiety and worry for Hope. There was enough food for her to go for weeks, but she worried on what she’ll do when there was no more food anymore. As she sat in the room for hours, she wondered if her father would come back home, but she was sure that he would never leave her side. Everyday, she prayed to all the deities she knew to bring her father back, safe and sound. Everyday, she tried to save whatever food was left, trying to eat smaller portions per day.
However, the day came. She had run out of food, the chest containing their preserved goods and treats devoid of anything. Hope felt hungry as she needed to eat, but the black fibers outside her room were still there. Worse, they discolored the ground and walls as it all looked like stone. It was almost as if the fibers were eating the walls and floors.
‘I need to find food… and Daddy as well,’ she thought to herself as she took the staff again and a satchel to gather food while venturing out the corrupted caverns. She took a deep breath as she stepped down on the corrupted fiber outside her room.
She gasped in surprise as she touched the ground outside her room.
…
The memory only stopped there, and Isaac was left confused to what was the memory about.
Isaac tried to piece together the events. The wizards were fighting off… something. Hope couldn’t see it, and he couldn’t as well. From Grevialus’ letter, he knew that Crawnav worked on some teleportation spell, but it required going into another dimension, one which was a world similar, if not Hell itself. It was cut off as well, so he must’ve written it during the event… but where did Crawnav go? He must’ve had time to go to his study room from the letter there when Isaac found the ring. Did he flee or did he perish?
Isaac had a feeling that Calmach didn’t have a direct connection to the corruption, but a small part of Isaac tells him that Calmach's invention of magic must’ve led to the spread of corruption. The Ring of Purity must’ve been created to fight off the corruption, though if that was the event when the corruption spread all throughout the caverns, then how did Crawnav forge the Ring of Purity? If the Ring’s purpose is to prevent corruption, then surely they must’ve had a problem like the one he saw in Hope’s memory. So, the question is “When did that memory occur?”. The Dark Knights used corruption for their own gain; then, the Paladins succeeded them and fought against it, so corruption must’ve existed for a long time.
“I see you’re trying to figure out this puzzle that plagues your mind,” Angela said as she observed Isaac’s hypothesis. “The creation of the Ring must be perplexing for you to understand, but all of that should be explained in the next few memories."
"How many memories are you planing on showing me? My friends needs me."
Angela simply smiled. "Not too much longer. Time flows differently in the dreamscape then in the real world. The flow of time here is very random. A few minutes here can be a full day in the real world. But the exact opposite can happen as well. A whole week could pass here and a minute would pass in the real world. It all depends on your perception."
"Id's still rather wake up as soon as possible. But answer my questions first? What happened to Hope?” Isaac only asked. Angela didn’t answer.
“Hope was left in the room but had to leave due to hunger. Did she…?”
“No, she didn’t die,” Angela quickly answered, sensing Isaac’s thoughts.
“But where’s she now?”
“I think it’d be best to leave that piece of information vague for now,” she said. To his chagrin, Isaac’s questions were left unanswered. The caprice of a goddess was quite annoying.
“I don’t think it’s caprice,” Angela replied to his thoughts. “I’d rather keep some facts from you because it would impede you on your mission.”
"You mean my mission to purge the material plane of corruption?" Isaac asked.
"Yes, but you also have duties as the deity of purity. Let me ask you this, would you willingly give up your life as a human? Would you give up your identity to become a comepletly different person?" Angela seems to be passionate about her questions.
"Of course not. Giving up who you are is the same as killing yourself. That's why I prefer to be male. I wouldn't want to lose my identity as a man. I'm a man at heart." Isaac proclaimed.
Angela looked sad. "But what if you had no choice? What if you were changed against your will?"
"So as long as "I" am still around, I would fight for my identity to the bitter end. You remember when Azaviel tried to take me over? I held on to keep from losing myself. I won't bend over to other people's wills and give in to temptation." Isaac said proudly.
Angela seems to agree with Isaac. "Very well. I shall show you the rest of the memories I want to show you. But be prepared for any twists and turns you might see."
Before Isaac could respond, he was engulfed by another memory.
---
Hope opened her eyes, Today is a new day.
As she sat up from her bed, she looked around to see the status of her room. Her room was by no means baren when she first moved here but now if feels like Hope has a house all to herself. Over the two years she lived here, she found herself enjoying living in the cavern more then her old house. Oh sure, playing in the snow was fun, but everyday, there is always something new happening!
She looked around the room. It was dimly lit by floating mechanical orbs. Her father has salvaged some mechanical orbs from the the artifacts his co-workers has found and repurpose them into lights for Hope's room. She no longer needs torches to light the room. All she needs to do is clap her hands and think about how bright they should be and they would follow her orders.
She remembered how her father, Crawnav has told her to touch a bunch of soul cores before he installed them into the metal orbs. The cores all looked like white pebbles.
He told her that touching them will establish a link between her soul and the floating mechanical orbs. But at the end of the day, she doesn't really care nor completely understood what he meant. She just know that these knows that these orbs are somehow moving without the help of magic and and she can control their movement, position and how bright they are at will.
In fact, her room has gotten a lot more homely ever since she moved here. From what started as a large room with some basic furniture became a real playground for Hope.
Whenever Crawnav finds a harmless artifact, he would repurpose it for Hope's needs. He managed to refined a old rusted frying pan into a shiny new one. Perfect for Hope to cook her dad some breakfast. He also found a old spinning top, and recreated it into a self-moving one.
But Crawnav's most greatest gift to Hope was his first one since they moved in with Grevialus. And that was her pet.
"Pi pi pi!" A mechanical orb spoke.
Hope got out of her large and fluffy bed to greet a particular floating mechanical orb. This specific mechanical orb was painted blue, and it's moving without Hope's commands.
"Pi pi pi!" The mechanical orb blinked happily. The blue orb is special. Crawnav has given this one sentience. It was the first mechanical orb he has given Hope. And It was only a month after they first moved. She named it Pipi due to the funny sound it makes.
"Good morning Pipi! Or is it good night?" It's hard to tell night and day when living in a cavern for two years. Luckily, the king sends Grevialus's men a consistent supply of food every month so Hope never needed to go shopping for food.
But everything does feel a little claustrophobic and cut off from the outside world sometimes. It doesn't help that Hope's room is both sound proof and magic proof. And apparently, soul proof, but Hope never understood why Grevialus would say that. He probably just meant sound proof but that slip up in words has always stuck out to Hope. Even though Grevialus only said that once.
Hope peeked outside her room to see if it's night time or day time. Luckily, it's easy to tell the difference between night and day outside her room. If there are researchers walking about, it's day time. If there is almost no one around, then it's night time. It looks like it's night time.
Feeling wide awake, Hope decides to walk around. Sometimes, she leaves the cavern to watch the night sky.
As she walked around, she noticed Grevialus's door was wide open. And Grevialus was no were in sight.
Hope let out a playful grin. Sometimes, whenever a researcher is not around, she would go into their rooms and plant a prank item in their room. Be it a slug on their pillow or to switch research notes with another room. Sometimes, her pranks would lead to disasters and explosions, which in turn leads to Hope getting lectured by her father, but everything goes back to normal the next day. The researchers really does a good job in repairing the place with their magic.
It's not every day she gets to go into Grevialus's room. So she snuck in and closed and locked the door.
So what should she rearrange today?
As she looked through Grevialus's stuff, she came across a long sheet of parchment in between one of the books. Hope looked through the paper, but she got bored of it pretty quickly.
---
But Isaac was very interested however. Through Hope's eyes, he read the note completely. It helps that Hope took her time to look at all the words.
The note reads:
“This cavern is such a wondrous sight. Other than being a perfect place to retrieve some materials that can only be found underground, it’s also the perfect place to test out dangerous spells and rituals. I’ve been risking getting apprehended by the citadel guards just to test out for my studies… apparently, they think that it’s endangering the other citizens."
"And yes, they were right. That’s why I needed to search for a new place. I’ve searched for a nice, secluded area to do my experiments, but I couldn’t find a place that would fit the king’s decreed order. He wanted me to be a hundred feet away from any residence or citadel within his kingdom, but with the sudden rise in population, it was impossible to find a suitable place. The king supported my studies, but he didn’t want to have concerned citizens coming up to his throne to have me exiled."
"All wasn’t well until I found these caverns. They had been previously inhabited by another culture, as I couldn’t understand the inscriptions on the walls. I had someone from the citadel inspect it, but as I ventured downward, I came across this beautiful, vast space for me to work on new magic spells and rituals. The room was vast, around fifty by fifty. The ceiling was probably thirty or so feet high, around six times my height. The strange fungi lit up the room as I also saw a small pool of water at one side of the room."
"After telling the king I’ve found my new laboratory of sorts, he sent his men to bring all my materials there. It took some time to bring everything here, but it was worth it. All I have to do is send the king new discoveries until I either get dismissed or the king dies."
“I’ve also started taking in my fellow students who wanted to have their own experiments. Crawnav was a splendid student of mine… back when I traveled to that mountainous city, I admired his studious attitude. He had so many ideas, but the laws on using magic kept Crawnav’s innovation from bursting forth. When he joined me with my other students, he was always industrious in enchanting items. I even feared he would take things too far and die from exhaustion.”
The parchment ended there as nothing else was tucked in between the other book.
Isaac found that note to be very interesting. It seems to be written after Grevialus discovered the cavern. I seems perfect, and what Isaac could tell, has a lot of spacious caves in the area to act as rooms for his colleges. But it still doesn't explain what kind of experiments Grevialus is working on.
---
Hope found another note in one of the drawers. It seems Grevialus seriously needs a journal. It seems to Isaac that he just writes his thoughts out on lose sheets of paper. This paper seems more recent then the last one.
It reads:
"Crawnav's work is just astounding! He's a miracle man when it comes to figuring out how items work. No matter what kind of artifact my assistants would uncover from below the temple, he would always figure out how to use it and how to repurpose them to suit our needs. Just the other day, we discovered some weird metal orbs that doesn't have a ounce of magic in them. Yet he figured out how they work and repurposed them for his daughter's use."
"He's might just be my best student. He can even refine and enhance items to be stronger and have different uses. He even used methods I don't remember teaching him. When I asked him, he told me he has been studying all kind of forms of item enhancements. From smithing, mechanics and a strange lost art known as Alchemy. His knowledge on handling items is astounding. It doesn't mater if the item is magical, possessed or mechanical, Crawnav can figure it out in record speed. Thanks to him, our studies has sped up at a tremendous rate. I'm glad I invited him to this research facility!"
"For example. One particular method he used stucked out me. Crawnav called it a form of Alchemy. It was a method used in an ancient civilization. Apparently, a researcher from that long lost civilization has figured out how to transfer souls into rocks and use them as cores for his machines. More specifically, his mechanical orbs. According to the inscriptions we uncovered, his faithful dog has died and he wanted to bring it back to life. He spent years of researching way to bring him back to life until he made a startling discovery! Apparently, spirits and gods can poses ordinary rocks and turn them into a comply different type of mineral that reflect the poseser. For example, if a evil spirt possess a ordinary pebble, there's a good chance that it turn into a valuable onyx. If a god or deity possesses a rock, it might turn into a gem like a diamond. Crawnav referred to these possessed rock as soul gems. He also said they can apparently be used as a power source. Apparently, the researcher who discovered the phenomenon of soul gems has successfully transferred his dog's soul into a pebble. The pebble became a soul gem represented as a white pebble. But his dog needed a body, so he created a mechanical floating orb to hold his dog's sprit. Crawnav was able to savage the reserver's dog and the researcher's prototype orbs and repurpose them to his daughters use. If I recall correctly, Hope named the dog, Pipi due to the sounds it makes."
Hope stopped reading for a moment as she looked back at Pipi who was floating next to her. So Pipi is the ghost of a dog? That's so sad!
Hope passionately hugged the metal orb. "So you have been alone for years? That must be so lonely! I promise that I will never leave your side Pipi!" Hope passionately said.
After wiping away her tears, she continued scanning through the note:
"But not every artifact we found had a heart warming story like with Pipi. Another artifact we found was a golden jewry box with greek engravings on it. Inside it was a simple silver ring. Only one of my assistants could read grease and he was a little rough around the edges. According to what he could read, the inscriptions on the side of the box speaks of a multi-headed monster and how important it is not to wear the ring. When we found the ring, it seems someone before us has already opened it. So to not to risk any of us getting cursed, we closed the box and put it in storage. In case Hope finds it and tries to open it, we put powerful magic wards on it to prevent anyone from opening the jewry box. Even Crawnav agrees that we should leave the silver ring alone for now."
Hope stopped reading the note. Now she is curious. She's got to see what box the old man it talking about! To the storage room!... but.... she can read a little more before she leaves. This note she found was starting to get interesting.
She continued reading: "Another artifact we had found was a strange sphere-like relic completely made out of reflective glass. The material was not unlike the oracle ore royal oracles use. We found it in a ruin area full of rocks and debri. The sphere relic itself looks like a spherical mirror. I remember when Crawnav figured out to activate the sphere like it was yesterday. The boy has a gift for figuring our relics. All he did was place his hand on the mirror sphere and concentrated."
"Suddenly, everyone in the room was surrounded by a dark void. It was as if the sphere was speaking to our minds! Then a figure appeared of a wizard, a young man wearing goofy blue wizards cloths with yellow stars stitched on them."To whom ever sees this message, you have chosen the sphere of mystics, a metaphorical tome of sorts. As you see, this relic is specking into your mind. My name is Calmach, and I'm the soon-to-be father of magic. I was recently gifted the knowledge of magic by miracle ore. Recorded in this sphere made of miracle ore is a copy of all my knolede of magic. This relic is created for others to learn the wonders of magic when I am dead. May the legacy of magic on the material plane continue. End recording." The vision of the wizard managed, and in it's place was the image of a thirty year old warlock. It looks like he was in bad shape. He was covered up in scratches and his cloths was ripped up. He was missing a arm and he was covered in blood. In fact, he was laughing up blood as he speak, "Cough, cough. This is a update to my tome of knowledge. I have learned a lot in my short life and not all of it was as wonderful as I'd hoped. I have learned a valuable lesson. And that lesson is that desire has consequensences. As desire with selfish intentions will always have ill effects on someone." Calmach paused as he was hacking up a storm. When he got his bearings, he continued. "I have just recently fought my best friend to the death. And now I have nothing. My friend is dead and this mining facility is collapsing as I speak. After this recoding, I will transfer my soul into this sphere of mystics. Perhaps it's best if I bestow the knowledge of magic personally. But you must prove to me that you are worthy of my knowledge." His straight gave out and he collapsed. "End recording." The warlock vanished, and so did the void in a blinding flash."
"We were back in the lab, and the image of that same thirty year old man was projected from the sphere of mystics for all to see. He looked to be in a lot better shape then when we last saw him. He even has his arm back. He was yawning as if he just woken from a long nap. When he was done yawning, he looked around the room as saw us. "Hmm. So these are the people who wants the infinent knowledge of magic bestowed upon me... but are you worthy?" Calmach questioned us."
"To my astonishment, Crawnav was the first to speak. He said, "My name is Crawnav. I pursue to test the limits of magic. I'm already an expert in figuring out how an artifact works. I'm the one who awakened you.We are a team of researchers who conduct magic experiments and salvage ancient artifacts. We had no idea what this relic was until we seen your messages. It's a honor to meet you father of all magic. To think I would be meeting the legendary Calmach. I'm not sure I'm worthy of your knowledge, but my reasons for pursuing knowledge is out of curiosity. Is that ill will desire to you?" That incident may have been months ago but I still remember Crawnav's words to this day. But I also remember Calmach's response: "Curiosity? I suppose that is not as power corrupt as greed. But be aware Crawnav. Curiosity is still a dangerous desire. But I may be swayed to disclose some of my knowledge. What is it that you are curious about?" What Crawnav said next, sparked our next big project: "I want to know if it's possible to travel to other worlds. According to your recorded theories, you said that magic is the product of another world's laws of nature. If we can borrow the laws of physics from another world through magic, then is it possible to use magic as a catalyst for inter-world travel?" I remember Calmach rating a eyebrow to that. He responded with, "Perhaps. But it is a unexplored concept. Why do you desire such a thing?" Calmach questioned. And Crawnav respond with, "For years, I have been studying what other civilization left behind. I also been studying how other civilizations work and how they are different from ours. But I want to go beyond traveling the world. I want to know the different cultures from other world. I want to know how different laws of nature effects different cultures and races. Is the pursuit of that kind of knowledge harmful?" I recalled cal mach bowing his head in thought. He responded with, "Yes Crawnav. Even the pursuit of knowledge can be corrupted into something much more sinister. But you have me swayed. I myself, has wondered were the power of magic came from. But be prepared for the consequences. If my desire for magic could change the lives of many people, then your desire to travel to other worlds may do the same. But the effects of inter world travel might have an negative effect on the future. Are you sure you are willing to shoulder the lives of many?" The great Calmach has questioned. And my dear assistant, Crawnav has responded with a simple, "Yes." "
"And thus we have been working on inter world travel ever since. There were many set backs, but with the help of Calmach, we were able to make steady progress. It seems this "miracle ore" can channel the power of other worlds into this one. That was how Calmach got his vast knowledge of magic in the first place. So it stands to reason that miracle ore, or rather oracle ore has the potential to allow inter world transport. But the only piece of pure oracle ore that we found was the sphere of mystics. No mater how much we searched, we couldn't find that mirror ore mining facility Calmach spoke of. Either way, it was a miracle that we found Calmach's spirit when we did. Who knows what kind of havoc would be caused if the wrong hands got their hands on Calmach fist. But luckily, he is in good hands now."
"But something has been bothering me. Ever since Crawnav started working with Calmach, he has started getting... more intense. He keeps pouring himself into his work more often. He seems more dedicated to the transportation project then any of our other projects. And he and Calmach works well together. They are like old friends. I swear, he probably sleeps with that mirror ore sphere. But I wonder just how long has Crawnav been keeping his dream of inter-world travel a secret? I hope his dedication doesn't effect his health. He hasn't been sleeping very well lately..."
"Either way, I have been working on long-distance transportation spells that can help with trade. I haven't have very much progress on the many years I worked on it, but perhaps Crawnav and I can help each other. If I can combine my project for long-distance trade with Crawnav and Calmach's project for inter-world travel, then I'm sure we can come up with a break through! Though even I'm starting to worry about the implications of inter-dimensional travel. I hope the boy knows what he is doing..."
The note ends there. It appears Grevialus has ran out of space to write on the paper...
But Hope was exited now. She no longer wants to prank Grevialus anymore. She wants to find the next note! All this this talk about travel to other worlds sounds so cool! She wondered what a fire planet would look like. Or a water planet. Does the people who live there has to live differently if there is only water or fire? Where is that next note?!
Pipi beeped as hope started searching the room for any more information on this "Transportation Project".
---
Isaac mentally slapped himself. He started his journey searching for Calmach's tome and to think it was under his nose this whole time! And to make matters worse, he actually laid eyes on the Sphere of Mystics in the same room he found the ring of purity. But he didn't paid much attention to it because he was too focused on the ring at the time. But Isaac has since changed his goals. He no longer just wants to find Calmach's tome. The real priority is to find the source of corruption and end it for good. But the more Isaac learns about the nature of corruption, the more questionable that goal seems to be. What did they mean by mirror ore having the ability to transfer energy from other worlds? And how did mirror ore teach Calmach about magic? From what Isaac has seen so far, the bigger picture seems to focus on mirror ore. What exactly IS mirror ore? Isaac always pictured the source of corruption to be one big boss monster. He can sense the corruption coming from everywhere in Calmach's Crypt. But what if the source of corruption is not one single thing? What if it's the mirror ore? Were did the mirror ore came from? Why is it only found in Calmach's crypt? When Isaac returns to the material plane, his first priority is to go back and find the Sphere of Mystics again. He need to talk to the spirit of Calmach and learn just what mirror ore really is! But first, he needs to wake up from this dream. It appears Hope's memory is still going...
As Isaac watched Hope's memory, she picked up a book from one of Grevialus's book shelves. On the front of it was the title, “Research Notes of the Summer of the Ninth Year under King Vernus’ Reign”. Even the length of the title bored Isaac.
In between the thick pages of the book was a terribly drawn map drawn by Grevialus himself. The crude, charcoal drawings on his notes proved he was the crappy cartographer, though at least it was understandable. It seems Grevialus and Crawnav was working on a transportation spell to hasten interregional trades, though the research notes abruptly ended right before the experimental stage. Grevialus must have stopped writing the notes recently.
“Odd…” Isaac said. The book was the latest of them all. At least according to the memory being showed to him.
The memory continued.
...
Hope was busy digging through Grevialus's stuff when Grevialus himself entered the room. He looked like he just had a argument with someone.
"Hope?! You naughty girl! Do you realize why I always lock my door?! It's so naughty girls like you won't disorganize my room! I had everything in a specific place! How am I'm to find my research notes now?!" The old man shouted.
Hope couldn't help but notice that he is more stressed out then usual.
Hope knows when she is caught. Whenever she is caught while setting up her pranks, she is always honest with herself and the people around her.
"Sorry daddy's friend. I was just trying rearrange your stuff to make to make your work harder for you." Hope said bluntly.
Hope's honesty didn't make Grevialus feel better. "Arg. You're just as irritable as your father. A little word advice Hope. Don't take shortcuts. The risks are just too great. Remember that girl." Grevialus lectured. When Grevialus was done speaking, he noticed Hope and her pet was trying to sneak away.
"Oh no you don't young lady. You're going to stay here with me until you're father comes see me. I need to speak with both of you on your behavior." He said.
He locked the door to keep Hope from escaping. "Sit on my be and be quiet. I have a letter to the king I need to write." He commanded.
Hope did as she was told. She was too ashamed to do otherwise. Pipi sat on her lap.
On the other side of the room was a desk with an lit lantern. A chest was placed next to the desk, and the rest of the room was filled with so many books.
Grevialus sat down on the desk and pulled out a blank piece of paper and a ink pen. He quickly started writing. Hope can tell that Grevialus is venting his stress into his letter.
A few moments of silence passed and Hope was starting to get bored.
She got off of Grevialus's bed and peered around Grevialus's shoulder. He was in the middle of writing his letter. Hope was pretty good at reading so she was able to catch up to Grevialus's writing pretty quickly.
The letter in progress reads:
“Good heavens, that boy is going to be the death of us all!"
“He had gone mad, trying to tell us that there’s a much better way to do this ritual. The techniques I’ve been practicing were good enough, but while his suggestions made them much quicker, at least my ideas weren’t as dangerous and life-threatening as what he’s saying!"
“We needed to find a way to make transport easier. We’ve done that with warping spells and rituals, but they would last for mere seconds. Sure, they could work for small trades, but interregional trades need much more time than that."
“Crawnav had been suggesting that we travel through an existing dimension and then to the destination. It would be much easier and quicker than to conjure up a possible route, and it would be much more stable. But my god, the only other dimension that we can travel to is an evil, corrupted world! It’s basically Hell for all I know!"
“Crawnav wasn’t deterred by my words. He was so damn sure that his method would work, and while I still admire him for that, this is being too reckless! I fear that he would mess up and-”
He was interrupted by Hope.
"You take that back! My daddy is a good guy! If he thinks going into another world is a good thing, then it is! Why don't you trust him?!" Hope shouted.
Grevialus held the bridge of his nose.
"Young lady. It's impolite to be looking over someone's shoulder like that."
"But I'm too short to look over your shoulder. That's why I looked around it." Hope pointed out.
Grevialus was getting too old for this...
"Young lady... the point I'm trying to make is that your father is too damn reckless. I don't nessasary disagree with his methods. Your father is a brilliant man, and his method of traveling to another plane in order to reach another location on this plane is brilliant. But even with the help of the mirror ore and Calmach, our magic is only powerful enough to reach the plane closest to ours. It's a world that has close connections to ours. It's a world very similar to what we humans image what hell is. Calmach called it the demon plane. I doubt that even if all the magic users here were to combine their strength, we still won't have enough magical energy to reach the second closest plane. But your father won't listen to reason. He wants to perform the ritual now! I can see it in his eyes that he will do anything to lay his eyes on another world. Perhaps Calmach's warning is true. Desire can blind and corrupt the soul. Yet, I can't stop the man. He's just so darn sure of himself! So I decided to do the next best thing. I was just writing this letter to request the king to send us more powerful magic users to this facility. Perhaps if we have enough magical power, we can test the ritual on a safer plane. Something other then the demon plane. But I can see madness in your father's eyes. We just had an argument that didn't end very well and I haven't had the chance to tell him that I decided to help him. I just need to make the necessary preparations first in order to perform the ritual safely. There is no telling what he might do until then. He's so close to achieving his dream of going to another world. I just hope he waits just a little longer... But I suppose you don't understand half the things I'm telling you... Thank you for listening though. I needed to tell someone." Grevialus said tiredly. He looked relieved to speak his mind to Hope. If only he knew that Hope understood him perfectly...
Hope started to feel dread build up in her gut. So that's why she hasn't seen her father in the past few days. He has his own room so he can work. But for some reason, he hasn't visited her room in days. She was starting to get worried. Her intuition is telling her that something horrible is going to happen...
While Hope was thinking to herself, Grevialus was strangely quiet.
"Young lady. Do you feel that? There's a build up of magical energy near by...' Grevialus's face quickly showed panic.
"Oh gods... He's actually doing it... THAT FOOL IS GOING RELEASE DEMONS ON THE WORLD!" Grevialus shouted.
He quickly unlocked his door and ran out of his room.
Hope and Pipi followed suit.
...
Isaac remembered reading that letter back at Calmach's crypt. Things makes more sense now that he has more context.
Isaac now has a more complete picture of what happened. Grevialus started work on transportation magic to improve trade. Crawnav and the spirit of Calmach started their own project for travel to other worlds. At some point Grevialus and Crawnav combined their projects. It seems that Crawnav is about to make a fatal mistake that will effect future generations to come. What happened afterwards is what Isaac assumed to be the first time the corrupted came to the material plane. Isaac watched the memory with interest. He watched as Hope, Pipi and Grevialus entered a large testing room...
---
Hope's fears were confirmed. Standing before her were Crawnav and Calmach. Crawnav was standing in front of the circle, chanting complicated phrases. The sphere of the Mystics was in the middle of the summoning circle. From above the glass relic, the spirit of Calmach being projected from the sphere. He was chanting his own words as he drawled out power from the sphere made of mirror ore.
"No! Stop! It's too dangerous! I don't want to lose you daddy!" Hope shouted. She may wants to see other worlds too, but as soon as she placed eyes on the ritual, she intuition told her that something terrible is going too happen.
"Are you mad Crawnav! There's too much risk! What if the demons escape into this world?! And were's your assistants?! Shouldn't they be here in case something goes wrong?!" Grevialus shouted. The only ones in the room were Grevialus, Hope, Pipi, Calmach and Crawnav. No one else was in the room and that implies horrible things if monster escape without any reinforcements.
Despite Hope and Grevialus's protests, the two men wouldn't stop chanting. If they did stop, the build up of magical energy will be realesed and explode. But it's better for the ritual to fail and blow up the testing room then if the ritual succeeds. The risk is too great.
Grevialus knew this and prepared to fire powerful magic at Crawnav. He really doesn't want to hurt his friend, but he must stop the ritual for the sake of mankind.
...but he was too late.
The ritual reached it's peak, and suddenly, right in front of Calmach's spirit, a hole in space and time opened up.
Hope stared in awe as she fearfully witnessed for the first time, a portal to another plane of existence.
But something was wrong. Very wrong.
As soon as the portal opened, a black, gooy arm reached through. Strange black sludge fiends started pouring out.
The two men imeadily broke out of their trances.
Calmach, Grevialus and Crawnav were imeadily firing offensive magic at the intruders.
"I told you this ritual was too risky! If you were going to do this behind my back, you should had woken up the other assistants to help you at least! They could have acted as reinforcements if something like this were to happen! The world is going to pay for your selfish desires!" Grevialus shouted.
But instead of arguing, Crawnav gave a command. "Cover me! The portal is drawing energy from the mirror ore that makes up the Sphere of Mystics! I need to help Calmach cut the connection!" Crawnav left no room for argument.
Crawnav stood behind Calmach and Calmach's sphere stood in front of the portal. They began chanting to cut the connection. The idea is to properly redo the ritual, and then to abruptly stop chanting before they complete the ritual for the second time. It's not the most proper of ways, but it is a way to break the energy connection. Another was was for Crawnav to break the Sphere of Mystics but he is not willing to kill a freaind like Calmach.
But Grevialus could only do so much to fend off so many sludge fiends. A sludge fiend eventually snuck up behind Crawnav's back. Be before the otherworldly monster could convert him, Pipi charged in and tackled Crawnav out of the way. Unfortantly, Pipi's angle and momentum has knocked both, Pipi, Crawnav and the Sphere of the Mystics into the portal.
With out the Sphere of the Mystics on the other side of the portal, the portal had no power to feed on. So it disappeared out of existence, locking Crawnav, Pipi and Calmach's spirit into another world.
Hope could stared in shock. She stood stock still as she processed what she just saw. But her daddy and her pet/BFF has disappeared in front of her very eyes! This can't be real. It has to be a nightmare. It has to be!
But Grevialus wasn't having any of it. As soon as he saw Hope just standing there, he suddenly knew what to do.
"Hope!!! Get back into your room and lock the door! It will be safe there! I will come for you later! I must evacuate my other assistants!" Grevialus commanded.
He snapped Hope out of her shock. She started running out of the magic testing room and back to her room. Grevialus smiled at the fleeing girl. He's not sure if he's going to survive any of this, but he's confidant that his wards will protect Hope's room. He put his heart and soul in those wards to keep that little girl safe. He hopes that it will be enough to fend off the corruption.
As Hope ran, she saw Grevialus's assistants and Crawnav’s assistants wide awake and running about.
“Hope! Run back to your room!” a voice called out for her. Hope only turned to see one of Crawnav’s assistants, who was casting spells left and right, mixing words and syllables from incantations with warnings for Hope.
“Where’s Daddy?!” Hope asked them.
“I don’t know! But you need to go to your room now!” he kept casting warding spells. The thing which the wizards were fighting against or repelling came from the hallway going down, so Hope couldn’t see what made everyone panic. And soon, she felt like panicking as well.
“But I need to know where Daddy is!” she pleaded, almost on the verge of crying with everyone else who cowered in the corners.
“Ghh… get out now! I’ll seal this room to prevent the corruption from spreading!”
Hope wasn’t getting any answers, but she finally acquiesced as she ran to her room to hide under her bed. She shut the door behind her, the warding runes working their magic as she couldn’t feel the strange magic in the air. However, she could only hear music coming from her music box and the sounds of her toys. Yet, she was crying profusely and wishing for her father’s comfort.
Time didn’t seem to pass in the shut room. Hope tried to listen through the door but the magicaly sealed door was sound proof. Everything was silent. It was like nothing happened. Her room was jus as peaceful as when she left. But she knew something terrible was happening right now. But something inside of her was telling her to NOT open the door. So she locked it instead. Hope, with her mind numb, has went to bed. It took hours but the 10 year old girl finally fell into a restless sleep.
The next day, or rather, when Hope woke up, her room was exactly as it was the last time she woke up. Except that Pipi wasn't with her anymore...
Taking only an old wooden staff that her father used to use, she peeked outside her room only to see— no, feel something had gone terribly wrong.
The walls were covered in purple fibers that almost looked like veins. They spread everywhere save for the warded door, which was why Hope was able to open the door without difficulty. The floor was covered in the grotesque fibers as well, and it… pulsated as Hope shivered from the sight of it. Part of her tells her to NOT go outside. Maybe she’ll just wait until her father comes back…
The days after that event were always filled with anxiety and worry for Hope. There was enough food for her to go for weeks, but she worried on what she’ll do when there was no more food anymore. As she sat in the room for hours, she wondered if her father would come back home, but she was sure that he would never leave her side. Everyday, she prayed to all the deities she knew to bring her father back, safe and sound. Everyday, she tried to save whatever food was left, trying to eat smaller portions per day.
However, the day came. She had run out of food, the chest containing their preserved goods and treats devoid of anything. Hope felt hungry as she needed to eat, but the black fibers outside her room were still there. Worse, they discolored the ground and walls as it all looked like stone. It was almost as if the fibers were eating the walls and floors.
‘I need to find food… and Daddy as well,’ she thought to herself as she took the staff again and a satchel to gather food while venturing out the corrupted caverns. She took a deep breath as she stepped down on the corrupted fiber outside her room.
She gasped in surprise as she touched the ground outside her room. Before she touched the corrupt fiber, they seemed to burned away with in a 6 inch radius of her body. Hope made a point to close her door as she walked through the corrupt hallway. As she did, the fibers seemed to burn away around her.
She searched high and low for any survivors or food, but all she found were fiber. She was almost tempted to eat the corrupt fibers, but that would be disgusting.
After a entire day of searching, she started to feel lonely. She hasn't found any survivors or any food... She's starting to fell lonely...
'You are not alone...' And mysterious voice said.
"W-who's there?" Hope asked. No mater were she looks, she can't seem to find the mystery person.
'In the storage room...'
Hope did sash was told and the corrupt fibers seems to burn away from the door knob as she opened the storage room door.
She looked in dismay as even the inside of the storage room was covered in pulsating fibers.
'In the box...'
Hope took a second look to see that the cursed box Grevialus mentioned in his letter was untouched by the firers. The golden bow was still shiny and untouched,.
When Hope tried to open the box, she felt some resistance. But for some reason, the box open pretty quickly. Unknowest to Hope, her powerful aura of purity has broke the powerful wards placed on the box, easily.
Inside the box was a plain silver ring. 'Put it on...' The voice whispered.
Desperate for company she can talk to, she did as she was told.
But as soon as she slipped the silver ring on her finger, she felt a powerful, oppressive presence forcing it self into her mind.
'...Become one of our immortal sisters and you shall never be alone...'
Hope fought the evil spirit with all her might but then it started flashing painful and dramatic memories in her mind.
She was forced to watch as her father, Calmach, and Pipi were knocked into the portal and she couldn't do anything to stop it.
'You're all alone... They are all dead... Become our sister of purity and your suffering will wash away. You will be reborn...
"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Hope shouted at the top of her lungs. Desperate to fend off the cursed ring.
Her red aura of purity flared out and briefly expanded to the entire cavern, destroying all the corrupt fibers in the processed.
The battle has been won for now... the multi-headed spirit has be suppressed by her power of purity... but the evil spirit was right... she was alone and she will soon be forgotten... Her will finally gave in to desperation... She accepted that she was alone... No one survived... She was the only one left... And she is going to starve to death...
With her energy exhausted, Hope finally gave in despair.
She only had enough strength to whisper one last word.
"Daddy..."
She lost all hope...
Hope was lost...
Hope blacked out.
...
The girl has been wondering the caves for days. She has been walking non-stop without food or sleep.
Her mind was numb of all thought.
That was until a squad of Royal Knights saw her while patrolling the perimeter of the formaly corrupt cavern.
"Sir. There's a little girl walking out of the cavern. Is it safe to approach her? What is she doing here?" A knight said.
"I don't know Merice, but it looks like she is on the verge of collapsing. She doesn't look corrupt so of course it's safe to approach her. We must help her." The squad captain said.
The squad of royal knight walked up to the little girl.
"Are you alright little one? Ever since those strange black sludge fiends appeared, a epidemic of corrupt creatures has been plaguing the kingdom. The king has ordered us to rescue anyone from Grevialus's team. But we couldn't get anywhere near the research facility because the cavern was covered in corrupt fibers. Touching it will guarantee instant corruption. We tried fire, weapon and anything else we could think of, but nothing worked. We couldn't get anywhere near the cavern for days. We were lucky that the corrupt fiber cleared up when they did. Are you the only survivor?" The Knight Captain asked.
The girl wasn't really paying attention. She was just staring off into space.
"Maybe she has amnesia?" Another Knight theorized.
"Perhaps..." The Kight Captain muttered to himself. The knight captain couldn't help but notice she was wearing a silver ring...
"Girl. I understand that what you been through has been traumatic, but we must know... Is it safe to investigate Grevialus's cavern facility? Is it safe to even enter that place? Up until recently, the entire place was covered in corrupt fibers. But now the cavern is completely clean. Are you from that cavern? How did you escape? Who released the corrupt upon the world?" The Captain demanded.
The traumatized girl couldn't remember anything. But a image did appear in her mind. I was a thirty-something year old man floating in front of a portal...
The girl muttered a single name. She spoke so softly, the knight captain has lean his ear to her mouth.
The hopeless girl repeated herself.
"Calmach..." The captain could hear her mutter.
"Calmach? You mean the warlock who introduced magic? Are you saying that Calmach released the corruption onto the world?" The knight captain said out load.
There were murmurs among the knights. "Calmach? But he's long dead. Is she saying that Calmach's ghost has arisen and decided to have his revenge on us by summoning monsters after us?" A knight speculated.
The Knight Captain was getting tired of hearing these wild speculations.
"Enough. We don't know enough to jump to conclusions. Let's take her to the king. It appears that she is the only survivor of Grevialus's research team. Besides, it looks like this little girl hasn't eaten for days. Look at how thin she is!"
And so the knight squadron carried her away.
---
Isaac was brought back to the red void.
Isaac couldn't believe what he just saw.
But a lot of things don't add up. If Crawnav, Calmach and Pipi were transported to a different plane, then why did Isaac see evidence that Crawnav was on the material plane after the corrupt were released? That message that was attached to the ring of purity implied that Crawnav has created it in response to the corrupt getting released. And what about Calmach's Sphere of Mystics? It fell through the portal along with Crawnav and Pipi. So why did Isaac saw it in the same room he found the ring of purity?
Did Crawnav, Calmach and Pipi returned to the material plane at some point? And if so... when?
There's more puzzle pieces missing...
But the part that bothered him the most wasn't Hope's tragedy... it was the cursed ring she was wearing... It looked exactly like the Ring of Purity when Isaac first found it. Except the cursed ring didn't have the engraving of Angela on the sides. But even without the magic seals, he can tell that the cursed ring Hope found looks exactly like the ring of purity Isaac found. If so, then the implications are something to take seriously.
"Show yourself Angela!" Isaac demanded.
Angela appeared in front of Isaac. Now that he thinks about it, Angela looks like a adult version of Hope...
"What can I do for you Isaac?" Angela asked with a smile.
Isaac wasn't amused. "There's more to the story isn't there? Crawnav and the others must have returned to the material plane to forge the ring of purity at some point. But that doesn't explain why I seen such a diverse assortment of creatures living in the material plane now. Those sludge fiends couldn't have been the only creatures who came to the material plane."
Angela nodded. "You're correct. When Crawnav and Calmach opened to portal to the demon plane, it weakened the boundary between worlds. In the years following that incident, portals to many plans have been randomly opening everywhere. But that's not your only question, is it?"
Isaac shook his head. "No. I don't know what you're trying to show me, but you should have told me that the ring of purity was a cursed ring sooner. Is that evil spirit still inside the Halo of Purity?"
Angela bowed her head in shame. "Yes." She admitted. "I was sealed in this soul gem by Crawnav in my free will. But my soul gem needed something to channel my power. I need a vessel. Some kind of item that can be used. Like a pen or a ring. Something capable of channeling my power... He chosen the cursed ring as my vessel. When he affixed my soul gem to the cursed ring, he made a point to place seals on the ring to suppress the evil spirt of the ring. But as you know, he didn't finish magically sealing my ring. I have been fighting off the evil spirit ever since. For many years, pieces of my spirit was being chipped away from the powerful monster spirit. By the time I chosen you to be my weirder, only half of my spirit remained. I was too weak to help you..." Angela looked sad.
"So that's why you merged with me. You weren't just doing it to keep me from decaying, you were also trying to prevent yourself from fading away..." Isaac said in awe. To think that even a deity could dye. That must have been one powerful spirit. "But why did Crawnav chose the cursed ring to be your vessel? He had to know how dangerous it was before you were attached to it." Isaac inquired.
Angela had her eyes closed in thought. "I'm not going to explain why he chosen the cursed ring as my vessel. You don't need to know that right now. Just know that I needed to choose a partner to fulfill the prophecy."
"And what prophecy is that?" Isaac asked.
"Before Calmach was born, a prophet from another world came to speak with the king of that era. He said his name was Malbur, The Grief Star. He told the king of a prophecy that involves many worlds. After he delivered his prophecy, he disappeared. Possibly to another world... The prophecy went like this:
Seeds of power shall be planted, a cancer of desire may reflect itself onto many worlds.
-------------------
Kings and Queens will be blinded by the dark tides of arrogance, a spark of passion shall ignite the twisted curtain of ignorance.
-------------------
Heroes and gods, kingdoms and worlds, must unite under one banner... for the fires of truth and ideals shall collide, and only one will burn away.
-------------------
Be it the world or the mind, only one shall be written.
Angela recited.
"What does it mean?" Isaac asked.
"It's meaning isn't completely clear. But I can tell you how some people interpret it. When Calmach was a young man, a ordinary cave made of stone suddenly turned into a cave made out of mirror ore. When the king of Calmach's time was informed of this, he feared that the mirror ore was the "Seeds of power" and "Cancer of Desire" from the prophecy. So he sealed the mirror cave away by building a temple dedicated to me, the deity of purity over it. You probably can still find the ruins of the mirror cave somewhere in Calmach's Crypt, but is's probably blocked away by debri." Angela explained.
"When Crawnav heard of the prophecy, he interpreted the line, "Heroes and gods, kingdoms and worlds, must unite under one banner." in his own unique way. After the incident, Crawnav was trapped in the demon plane until he figured out how to travel to other worlds using mirror ore. During his travels, he discovered that there are many different deities who lives in many different worlds. He also discovered that mirror ore has been forming out of nowhere in many different worlds. And no one knows were it came from. He believes that some kind of other-worldly force has been planting mirror ore in many worlds so it can corrupt people with power lust and cause misery to many. Many powerful villains has arisen thanks to the power provided by the mirror ore. He dedicated his life to finding deities and convincing them to transfer themselves into soul gems, in hopes of finding their chosen partners and heroes. He believes that the line, "Heros and gods, kingdoms and worlds, must unite under one banner." means that heroes and deities from many worlds must unite to fight a greater evil... a powerful entity who has been the source of the mirror ore... " Angela paused for a moment.
"Isaac... You are my chosen champion. We are to team up with other chosen heroes and deities to stop whoever or whatever has been spreading mirror ore across the multiverse. The mirror ore is the cause of the corruption. If it wasn't for the mirror ore that made up Calmach's Sphere, then Crawnav wouldn't have enough power to open a portal to the demon plane. The magic, the dark knights, the paladins, the corruption... the mirror ore provided the power to start all of that... the mirror ore are the seeds of power foretold in the prophecy. Your mission is to destroy the source of the mirror ore." Angela announced.
Isaac processed the information...
To think he started his journey searching for Calmach's Tome... and then his mission changed to destroying the source of corruption... but it seems his mission has evolved once again. It seems the mirror ore is the indirect source of the corruption... and some unseen force has been creating the mirror ore in many different planes. Not just the material plane... but there are still more lose ends to this ever expanding puzzle...
Angela sensed Isaac's desire for answers. "The next few memories should answer some of those questions."
Before Isaac could ponder any longer, he was engulfed by another memor- "STOP!" Isaac screamed.
The memory shattered before it could form.
"What's the matter Isaac?" Angela asked.
"You're stalling! There is a evil spirit hiding somewhere in the Halo of Purity and Ilivir and Dark Isaac doesn't know about it! If I don't warn them, the evil spirit will attack them off guard! The next thing you say better be about the evil spirit. Otherwise, I'm waking myself up! I can't stay here, wasting my time when I know my friends are in danger!" Isaac shouted.
Angela was taken aback but decided to stop beating around the bush. "Okay... but knowledge of the ring's origin still remains a mystery to me. I don't know much about the evil spirit myself but I do know it's been sealed in the ring long before Crawnav attached my soul gem to it. The ring's spirit is a fearsome monster. A reptile with 20 heads." Angela said.
"You mean a hydra?" Isaac asked. He is little familiar with greek mythology. Not very much though.
"Yes. A Hydra. A powerful spirit who's possibly more powerful then some of the deitys. It's nothing like the other monsters you encountered before. It's the reason why I didn't speak to you when you put the ring on for the first time. I was too busy fighting the hydra spirit to greet you. If I didn't stop it, it would have consumed you like it tried to do with Hope. It seamlessly disappeared after we merged. But I'm sure it's just hiding and waiting for the right time to strike..." Angela said neverously.
"Speaking of Hope, what happened to her and Grevialus after the incident? And how did Hope get those powers of purity?" Isaac asked.
"I'm not sure what happened to Grevialus. I think that was the last time I saw him... As for why Hope has my powers... The next few memories should explain that..." Angela said cautiously.
There were a lot things Angela just said that sounded suspicious. What did she mean that SHE was the one who last saw Grevialus? And what did she mean by Hope having her powers...
The way Angela worded herself sounded like she was referring to herself as Hope... Is Hope and Angela the same person? How is that possible? I seems like Angela can read his thoughts because she looks like a deer caught in headlights.
But Isaac didn't dwell on the implications. He needs to wake up.
He closed his eyes and... "Wait!" Angela shouted.
"What now?" Isaac asked. He's growing very impatient.
"If you're not interested in reliving Hope's memories, then how 'bout training with me? You're the deity of purity now, meaning you have all my duties and powers. If you stay, I can teach you on how to use my powers of purity. You can even use my power to reverse certain corrupt transformations. Don't worry about running out of time. Time flows differently in the dreamscape. A week here can translate to a few minutes in the real world." Angela offered. Her eyes tells Isaac that she is desperately lonely. He can feel her loneliness. That feeling of loneliness reminds Isaac of Hope's loneliness when she couldn't find any other survivors in the cavern..
"Hope was your reincarnation." Isaac stated. It took awhile, but he finally figured out why Angela has Hope's memories.
Angela was still. She was caught red handed. "Yes. She was my past life. You were reliving my memories. You must understand that life as a deity is a fickle thing. I'd never planed on reincarnating into Crawnav's daughter. It just happened. It was one of the main reasons why I willingly let Crawnav seal me in the soul gem. My soul gem required a vessel compatible with my spirit to channel my power... and the cursed ring was the only thing we could find that was capable of channeling my soul gem's power. You can't imagine how hard it was living the rest of my human life after the incident. To uncounceincly seal away my memories in order to seal away the hydra. The hydra was using my traumatic memories to temp me into joining her. I had to seal away my memories to prevent the hydra from absorbing me. As I grew up in the following years, I couldn't remember my childhood because I was uucouncienly surpressing the ring's power. That ring was stuck on my finger for many years and it refused to leave. It was horrible Isaac. The Hydra could still speak to me and replay my worst childhood memories while I'm asleep. To grow up having nightmares of my past. To have the Hydra whisper to me overtime I go to sleep. I could explain what happened to me after the incident, but you don't have the time, right? You need to stop the Hydra." Angela started tearing up. Her adult form changed to look like Hope as a little girl, from right before the incident happened. "There is no guarantee that you will reach this state of mind ever again. Once you wake up, you might never see nor speak with me again. We are the same spirit now... It's hard to force yourself into a coma just so you can speak with yourself..." Angela admitted.
Isaac listened... and then he hugged Angela. Or rather, he hugged Hope.
"I will find a way to communicate with you again. I promise. Your offer to train with you is enticing but it's also possible that a few minutes here may be a day in the real world. I can't afford to risk losing time with the Hydra soul on the loose. But I hope you can accept me as your older brother Hope..."
The memory of Hope wiped away her tears. "Do you really promise you'll see me again?"
"Of course." Isaac confirmed.
"Do you pinky swear?" Hope asked. She held up her pinky.
"Pinky swear." Isaac wrapped his human pinky with Hope's.
Isaac and Hope maintained their embrace.
"See you later... big brother..."
"I'll come back... little sister..."
Isaac and Hope opened their eyes.
________________
Note: I know I said I'll post more parts to the "Innocence" Sub-Series, but I realized that Part 3 pretty much has almost all the ideas I want to express for now. I feel like I have been keeping Isaac asleep for far too long already. But before he rejoins Nat and the others, there is one more story arc I want to get out of the way first. So look forward to the hydra arc next. It won't take nearly as long to write as the Angela arc did, I hope. And before anyone asks, I currently have no dream or memory flashback plans for dark Isaac. I kept him asleep in case there are things you want to do with him. You can have him not appear in later chapters for awhile and say he was training off screen. Or you can write chapters about his training with Sir Ederic or write more memory chapters with Dark Isaac. Since Dark Isaac has a connection to Isaac and Hope, he can technically relive their memories.
Dark Isaac is up for grabs. I might use him every once in a while but I don't have any plans on waking him up anytime soon.You can also write more memory sequences if you want. But I don't plan on touching Dark Isaac right now. I'm interested in what other writers can think of for Dark Isaac and Ederic.