VII

  As Monivas stepped through the gateway, she was immediately thrown off by the lack of mana density in the Realm. It seemed like the Realm that they had warped to was far lower in their levels, it gave off the impressions that the area was more of place for the ones who were starting off their journey, and also the Realm was still in its developing stages, likely in the lowest Stratum. In all honestly, that was perfect for her situation, and it was a safe environment for her little Kazimoriel to grow up in. She looked at the town in the distance, as tall walls greeted her past the edges of the forest.

  The rest of her party went through the gateway, and Rienreva closed it immediately, fearing that an enraged Emperor was going to come flying in. They all had to take a moment to adjust to the lower density of mana that filled the air. It felt like they were starved off their power, and it weakened them greatly. Monivas checked in on her son, and he was still knocked out, but his skin was returning its to slightly pale color. She stroked his silver hair gently and took a moment to get over the adrenaline that was still coursing through her body. She can’t remember the last time she was challenged so she was grateful for the rage that blinded her husband, as no one on their realm could come close to a collected version of himself.

  Monivas gathered her thoughts and began instructing her team, primarily Dammi, the Eyes of the Shadow. She was a rogue who specialized on gathering information and staying out of sight. She felt confident that she wouldn’t be discovered, especially in a low leveled area. She instructed, “Dammi, could you please go investigate the town there in the distance? Please find out the general status of it, any potential threats, and locate a well kept orphanage.” Dammi nodded and disappeared into the shadows.

  “Monivas, I hope you don’t mind me imposing, but could you explain the situation to us with more information? And also, please let us know your plans for here, and for when we return,” Phonve gently prodded.

  Monivas took a deep breath, and nodded, beginning to recap the story. She explained the Divine Vision that the Oracles told Konriel, her husband, around a year ago. She illustrated the paranoia that overtook her husband, to the point she wasn’t sure at times if he was the same person she was married to. She explained the spies that he planted on each of his sons, and even his daughters, as they might be the ones who could influence their brothers. He watched Kazimoriel like a mountain hawk, not letting him out of sight if able to. Then the incident happened in the throne room, where her son got upset with his toys being taken away and using her husband’s Divine mana that was already leaking out and striking the poor servant.

  She then began revealing the plan that she had, stating, “After Dammi completes her sweep through the town, I will take Kazimoriel to the orphanage. I may have to veil some illusions into him, and hope they never wear off, as I doubt there will be any presence of Celestials on this realm. Once that mana draining process is completed, we will have to return to our realm, but we may have to lay low until my husband returns back to a relatively normal state. If he decides to execute me, I will do my best to escape, but I do not regret what I have done.”

  “That is good plan of action, let us hope this town and area is safe enough for the little one. Once we return back to our realm, maybe we can get the group together again like the old times and hop between realms to complete missions, there must be some missions for our levels,” Phonve suggested.

  “I do like the idea of that, Phonve. I have been missing the thrill of a mission. We have been sitting around for too long,” Rienreva chimed in tiredly, feeling the effects on her mana for such a distance she has taken them to.

  Phonve laughed, slugging her friend in the shoulder, “I agree, it’s starting to take a toll on us all. I even see the weight you have been gaining in your time of inaction.”

  Monivas chuckled a bit, some of the tension leaving her. She truly hoped everything would pan out, especially for Kazimoriel. And for once since that Divine Vision, she hopes it does become reality.

  ? ? ?

  Hours later, Monivas was gently woken up by Phonve, who was keeping guard throughout the night. Dammi has returned and had a little grin on her face. Dammi wasn’t the most talkative person, but her facial expressions always said more.

  “I inspected the town, and it seems to be all good. It is a relatively small town, I am guessing in the few hundred thousand. The building qualities are above average for their levels, as are their products. There didn’t seem to be many criminals, just the average bandits and thugs here and there. The surrounding area seems to be quite scarce in monsters, but seemed mostly in the very low levels, assuming first ten levels. I did find an acceptable orphanage near the middle of the town. It seemed to be run by a relatively high leveled Healer for this area, and most of the children seemed happy, for being from an orphanage,” she informed Monivas and the group.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Thank you for the information, Dammi. And can you tell me about the Races you came across? I doubt there were any Celestials present in this town,” asked Monivas.

  Dammi sadly nodded to her, confirming, “Yes, there were no Celestials in this town. The present Races were Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, and Gnomes. Elves and Gnomes were a bit more rare than the other two Races.”

  Monivas nodded, trying to think what to do.

  “If I were to recommend something, due to the height of yourself, the Gnomes and Dwarfs are around the same height. But the builds of the Dwarfs are stockier than you, whereas Gnomes are closer, albeit they are still a bit more rounded out,” Dammi added.

  Monivas gave it some more thought and nodded. “I am assuming you collected a few samples of blood for me to conduct my illusion?”

  Dammi nodded and handed over the small vials filled with drops of blood, pointing out one vial that she believed was from the most average looking Gnome. Dammi knew she would require the blood of the Race, as she used to create visual illusions for themselves for their missions on other realms to help them blend into their environment.

  Monivas put down Kazimoriel, who seemed back to normal but just sleeping in her hands. She then took out a mana potion from her ring of storage, as she was still feeling a bit too low to complete her runic ritual, and drank it.

  She then began her illusion, casting one of her higher Ranked abilities, [ Living Veil Form ], and she started etching the runes into the chest of Kazimoriel. She set the conditions to alter his appearance to be seen as a Gnome, he would also have his hair color changed from silver to brown, but he would remain the same size of a Celestial in height and weight, and his eye color would remain the same bright silver. If she wanted this runic ritual to last long enough till he reached a mature age, and for it to not be discovered by someone under her level, she couldn’t be too specific in her terms. She finished the runic terms, and dripped the Gnome’s blood from the small vial onto the runes. She then poured her mana from her fingertips, and the mana, blood, and runes fused together in a bright purple light. She felt her mana stores utterly drop, and she kept feeding the runes until her mana reached the single digit of 1.

  She cut off the mana flow, and the runes flared bright purple, pulsing, as Kazimoriel began morphing in their eyes. Gone was the perfectly shaped angular face, as if it was sculpted by an Artist, and it morphed into a generic face of a Gnome. His once bright whitish silver hair, turning to a light brown, turning thinner and curling into a mess. Once his transformation was complete, the runes turned to silver, and then disappeared into his skin, as if nothing was ever present.

  Monivas immediately passed out, Phonve catching her before she hit the ground and set her down gently. Rienreva picked up Kazimoriel and bundled him up, trying to calm him as he started crying. He would continue crying sporadically until the sun came up.

  ? ? ?

  The next day, the group made their way slowly to the town, and before they reached the edge of the clearing, they inspected the town’s walls. They seemed sturdy enough, but the lack of craftsmanship and material quality was easily distinguishable. It wouldn’t compare to their own walls back in their own realm. They then monitored the gate, examining each person that came into and out of the town, which seemed abnormally high for the size of the town. The Guards seemed to possess the levels that exceeded the common person, so that erased her worries of crime or possible monster invasions that would occur. As the sun settled, they finally decided to make their move. Being Celestials, except for the Phonve, who was Human, they would stand out in this crowd, so they waited till the night to make their moves.

  They approached the walls, following Dammi who knew which shadows gave them the most coverage. One by one, they jumped on top of the wall, and waited until all of them were on top. It was then the rest of them got their view of the town, and Monivas was impressed. For a town that hosted many low levels, it was quite well designed, with several buildings that could rival some back in their realm. With wood being the main building material, which was no surprise due to the forest nearby, it gave the town a warm feeling to it.

  But what really stood out was a grand building at the very center of the town. It’s white marble and gold could rival their own palace back home. But what attracted her more was the presence of Mana of the Originators. She could feel their power coursing through the channels, feeding into the town. This was her final affirmation that this will be the town that her little Kazimoriel would grow up in.

  Dammi led them to the orphanage, taking them through alleys and rooftops. No one noticed them, except for a young Rouge who was up to no good. Dammi quickly knocked him out with a chop to the back of his head, and Monivas casted a quick [ Mind Altering Illusion ], to make sure he forgot he saw them. They approached was seemed like a large house, but was very well taken care of, and seemed to be built better than the houses around it. The others spread out, making sure there would be no interruptions and also privacy for a mother who was about to give up her son.

  “This is not goodbye, my sweet little Kazimoriel. Grow strong, and come find me, I will be waiting for you,” she whispered to him, kissing his forehead. He giggled and his eye shone a bright silver.

  She approached the door and knocked on it. She heard someone approaching the door with very light footsteps, her heart pounding, with anxiety and also sadness. Then, a young Human lady opened the door, her eyes the color of liveliest hazel she has seen. The Human lady speaks to her, questioning her presence here. Monivas, not understanding the dialect of this realm, extends her hands upward with Kazimoriel on them. The lady takes the little boy into her arms, and then questioningly looks at Monivas.

  With tears in her eyes, she bows the lowest she could go. She then straightens up, and looks up dead into her eyes, pleading her to take good care of her son. The lady nods her head and hugs the boy into her chest. As she is about to turn around and head back inside, Monivas speaks up to her, tears streaming down her cheeks, she points to her son, and whispers, “Kazimoriel.”