User blog:DaWalkinWaffle/King of Steel: Part XLII

Only 8 more parts after this!

"NOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Deimos thundered.

"That's what I want to know." Winter said. Deimos stumbled back and he seemed to be shrinking in size. His armor grew less ornate and he lost some of the energy that crackled around him. He was no longer a giant but he was still taller than Winter, though most people where anyways. Taking advantage of Deimos's confusion, Winter slashed the robotic features of Deimos's face off and kicked him to the floor.

"AAAARGH!" Deimos yelled out in pain. Once the mechanical object was detached, Deimos's other eye flared blue like his other eye and he suddenly looked very confused. Then he was angry again.

"WHERE IS GAZIA!?!?" he bellowed.

"Not here!" Winter said. Deimos looked confused again.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Winter. You were trying to kill me and my friends."

"Was I? I'm sorry then. Anything I can do for you?" Deimos asked.

"We're trying to make it to Ryvern through the fairy portal here." Winter said. Deimos frowned.

"There are easier ways to Ryvern my friend." Deimos said.

"This is the fastest way. Do you know where it is?"

"I do. You'll need a lot of magical power to activate it."

"Don't worry, I've got it handled."

"Very well. Follow me." Deimos led them deeper into the ruins. Eventually they made it to a empty chamber with a large raised platform in the middle.

"Is that it?" Sefia asked.

"Yes. Stand on it and fuel it with your magic and it will send you to the Stokhelna Forest." Deimos said.

"Thanks, Deimos. We'll be on our way now." Winter said.

"Good luck. The Stokhelna Forest is...unpredictable." Deimos said.

"Naw. I came from there. I know its secrets." Winter said and stepped onto the platform with Sefia and Kikuri. Deimos said nothing. Winter could sense a hunger within the portal so he fed it. Instantly the platform began to glow and a hollow sucking sound started. The world blurred and suddenly Winter found himself in the Stokhelna Forest. It was a deeper part of the forest, one his caretakers had never allowed them to go to but Winter had gone anyways, much to their dismay.

"You lived here?" Kikuri asked.

"Not specifically in this area. The orphanage I was raised at is in a thinner part of the forest." Winter said.

"Do you know how to get to the Glowmore Hollow from here?" Sefia asked.

"I think so. We have to head south. Which is that way." Winter said and they began down the path.

"We should stop at Agni first. We could get cleaned up before we go to Zevalhua." Sefia said. Winter nodded.

"Right. Agni." he said thoughtfully. Sefia and Kikuri started with their usual banter so Winter retreated into his own thoughts. He concentrated on the dream Chaos had appeared in. He examined Chaos's appearance and tried to figure out where he was at that time. He narrowed down his options. When Winter had asked where he was Chaos had said he didn't have the time, meaning he was rushed. What could have rushed Chaos? If there were other people...but other people wouldn't bother Chaos if he was doing something. So if it was another person he must be hiding it. He also had been wearing nicer clothes, unlike his black attire. Perhaps some nobility? And the only places with nobility were Agni and the Sea Capital Almeria of Lanara. The clothing seemed thinner but that told him nothing. The sea was pleasant and Agni was hot. Finally he shrugged.

"Figure it out then." he muttered to himself. Sefia and Kikuri were arguing about who slew more demons so they didn't notice. They fought many minor mobs along the way so it gave Winter time to experiment with the ring Chaos gave him. From what he could gather, Chaos had used it to wield cosmic energy but Winter could now wield cosmic energy without the ring. The energy was similar to his steel energy but its aura was never the same color, it was a blend that was constantly changing but the energy itself was whitish in color. His steel energy had a slight blueish tint and gave off silver mist. He could balance between the two and it made a volatile combination.

"Well, this is the Glowmore Hollow then?" Kikuri asked.

"Yep, this is it." Winter said.

"How do we navigate?" Sefia asked. Winter dug through his bag looking for his map and found a stone. On it was a rune. He looked at it closely.

"Zara. Pathfinder." he said. The rune glowed and floated into the air and drifted into the cave.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Kikuri asked.

"Nope." Winter said and started into the hollow after the floating rune. Sefia grinned at Kikuri.

"C'mon! Let's get going!" she said. Kikuri sighed.

"How did I get stuck with this fate?" Kikuri asked the stars.

Naturally, they didn't answer.