Eliona's War 3: Lethal Healer

Ch. 1

Time Elapsed: 00:42:11

The second he stepped through the dark portal, Severance felt a shock of familiarity. All it took was a single glance to realize that this was the place where he'd first awakened as Severance.

It was where everything had begun.

When he turned in a slow circle, he saw an endless ocean of grass that sighed and rolled like waves beneath a deep violet sky. Countless stars smiled upon the meadow, illuminating pink butterflies whose wings flashed silver when they caught the starlight. Delicate yellow flowers hid within the grass, calling to the little insects and casting their sweet perfume into the night air.

Severance closed his eyes and breathed deep. He couldn't compare the scent to anything on Earth, really, because it had a distinct identity of its own.

"There used to be places like this all across Eliona."

The grave voice came from behind him. He turned, fingers trailing lightly through the waist-high grass, and observed the one who had spoken.

The other man stood several paces away, a dark figure with olive-cast skin and sable hair. At a glance, he seemed almost scholarly, with a sharp chin and a calm gaze without the slightest ripple of emotion marring their surface.

But Severance knew better. There was no such thing as a Veiled clan member without teeth, and Olen was no exception. He was just better at hiding it than the rest.

Even now, Severance could feel the weight of the man's gaze, and instinctively knew that he was being read like a book. He half turned, giving Olen a view of his profile rather than his face, and said nothing. His mind still hadn't stopped spinning since he'd been pulled through a portal and into this strange space.

"It's regrettable." Olen's gaze roved over the surrounding meadow. "What you've seen of this world is but a poor representation of what it once was. As your host, it shames me that I can only show you this illusion based on distant memories."

A deep furrow formed between Severance's pale brows. He watched Olen from the corner of his eyes, while he considered what he knew.

This place was only a fabrication. An instance set apart from reality, like a dungeon. They'd been in Olen's office just a moment ago, and with a simple touch upon the wall, Olen had opened a portal to this place.

"How long?" Severance asked quietly.

"Hm?"

The vague response had Severance narrowing his eyes. He didn't doubt for a second that Olen knew exactly what he was trying to ask.

"How long have you been a Keeper?"

"Ah. Seven years." Olen's mouth curved a little, but there was no joy in his eyes. "My predecessor was the one who fled into the Lost Lands with the other Keepers. A precaution, as we were uncertain whether any enemies still hid within our midst. Only Agadhi and myself were aware that he'd left his Tower behind, hidden amongst the rubble."

"So you waited until the coast was clear and then claimed the Tower as yours?"

The words came out a little brusquer than Severance intended. But he didn't really care. Olen lowered his chin, casting a shadow across his features. Yet that odd smile lingered.

"I suppose you could consider it that way. A Tower's intention can only end with its Keeper. To set forth something new, I had to wait three days."

Wind danced around them, its touch cool. Severance stood motionless, a chill in his heart. He didn't know what to say.

Three days? That was how long it took for the previous Keeper to die?

"It was part of the plan," Olen clarified. "If we wished to save our world, it was the only way."

He held out a hand, palm up, and a semi-transparent window appeared above it. It was very much like the System window Severance used to access his messages, Inventory, and other information. But that was where the similarities ended. In an instant, the windows doubled, quadrupled, and divided again until nearly two dozen blue panes floated before the Veiled Leader.

Severance moved closer so he could peer at the screens. Olen allowed him, remaining silent while Severance scanned over them. A lot of it was in the strange Elionan writing that he couldn't understand, but some held strange diagrams and formulas. Others had scrolling lists of words. He even spotted a map, outlined in dark blue lines.

"So you're running the game," Severance marveled.

It made a lot of sense. All this time, he'd wondered how this man seemed to know everything about the Outsiders, the skills, the classes; it was because he literally was the system administrator.

Severance drew back, having seen enough. Not that he understood much of it, anyway.
Olen's lips quirked. He lowered his hand and the System windows blinked out of existence.

"Not just that. I designed it, in accordance to the information I received from Asrani. He's the one who went to your world seven years ago."

Of course Olen had to design the System. Who else would possess a mind capable enough of weaving such complex web? Severance shook his head.

"This Asrani. If he's on Earth, how did he even send you information? The System wasn't even built then, right?"

"Correct. It was no simple feat, but I suppose you can consider Asrani as the first unofficial 'outsider' to register. He has access to the same messaging feature you are familiar with."

So the first Outsider wasn't actually an Outsider but an Insider who'd emigrated to the Outsider world. Severance grimaced, feeling a headache coming on. Was that even possible?

"Does he still send you messages? Even now?"

"He does," Olen revealed.

Severance suddenly had the burning desire to ask if they've been talking about him, but decided to keep silent. It wasn't relevant. The fact that Olen was even telling him about Asrani was a pretty big event; if people on Earth knew that an alien from another world was truly within their midst, they'd go crazy.

"It must take tremendous energy to send a message across worlds," he finally said.

"It does," Olen agreed. "Your world provides the gateway through its technology, but Eliona must bear much of the cost. Do you remember what I said about the Towers earlier? A balance must be maintained. If one thing is to be changed, then another opposing change must be made as well. You cannot create something out of nothing."

"Yeah, I get that much."

Severance remembered that part of the story. The whole reason the Lost Lands existed was because of the overuse of the Towers. They had to draw energy from somewhere and so sucked the very life out of this world.

"Right now, the System Tower is the only one that is active. And because our world is in such a fragile position, I've created a closed loop to try and maintain what we have. You've seen what happens when living things die."

"Death sparkles," Severance said immediately.

How could he forget about that? At one time, he'd thought it was really neat. To see bodies disintegrate into violet stars of pure energy, only to drift upwards into the sky; it was quite the way to go. But after seeing Rasin go in that manner, he no longer could watch the event without feeling sick.

His response seemed to catch Olen off guard, for the clansman actually paused to blink once before he cleared his throat.

"Well. That's one way to put it. When something dies, its essence returns to the System. It's like the dungeons. The artificial creatures you fight die, and return when the dungeon resets. Resources are recycled constantly."

"But what about the things we get in the dungeons? The Amaurite and stuff?"

"Good question." Despite saying that, Olen's expression took on a somber cast. He glanced at Severance then looked out over the meadow. "The artificial Amaurite and other items are created from excess energy that is gathered from Outsiders."

"What?" Severance stared at the other man, not sure if he'd just heard correctly. Gathered from Outsiders? From himself?

Olen looked a bit uncomfortable, and that set off warning bells in Severance's mind.
"Where do you think the power for your abilities come from? To be able to wield the elements and affect the environment? How do you think we can support your presence in a world where we can barely support ourselves? There are consequences for everything, Severance. Every time you set foot upon our world the System is drawing energy from you. It's the only way."

Severance's expression must have betrayed his shock, for Olen sighed.

"It's only a small amount. You've probably noticed that you're more tired than usual, or require more sustenance to feed your appetite. It's not enough to be harmful, I assure you. But that's why we decided on a four-hour time limit."

Faintly, Severance said, "I'm here for a lot longer than that."

"Yes," Olen agreed. "You are. I've adjusted your parameters to lessen the strain."

Which meant... what, exactly?

"What about when Maun and the others go into dungeons by themselves? Does the dungeon feed on them, too?"

"No. Those instances are designed for Outsiders, so there is no effect upon any of us. Occasionally, there's enough residual energy to produce the artificial Amaurite, which makes the effort worthwhile."

That was as long as no one got hurt fighting the dungeon creatures.

Mutely, Severance shook his head. He didn't like any of this. His clan put themselves at risk constantly, especially before he joined them. Now that he was here, he was able to take over the Amaurite collection from the dungeons. He was happy to help with that.
But to know that each time he set foot in a dungeon, it took something from him? That every minute he spent in Eliona, he was paying for it in what? His energy? His vitality? That was deeply unsettling.

It was a fact that he'd felt utterly exhausted the past week. No matter how much he slept in, he'd wake up feeling like he hadn't slept at all. Was this why, then? He'd been spending more time than usual in Eliona.

He folded his arms, pressing them against his chest. He felt a chill, even though the
temperature in this space was perfectly comfortable. It was great to get some answers, but he was starting to like each new answer less and less.

"I see. Are there any other disturbing things you haven't told me about?"

"You now know the worst of it." Olen was ever calm.

"Right."

How nice. Severance had no doubt that he'd get some kind of answer, but it was only just now that he'd realized how much those answers had been withheld. He understood the necessity for secrecy, he truly did, but he still couldn't help but feel frustrated.

These things were huge! If he'd know just what 'Eliona's War' really was, he wasn't sure if he'd been so willing to put on the VR gear in the first place.

"There is one more item to discuss," Olen went on. "This special dungeon. When you complete it, you—as the finder of the Key—will gain brief access to a Tower's location. You will not have long to collect it, so you will need to move quickly lest you lose the opportunity."

"Okay. So when we find it, what am I supposed to do with it?" Severance couldn't help but picture an entire building sitting in a lonely corner of a cold desert at night.

Olen's eyes creased a little at the corners. "Put it in your Inventory and bring it back."
Severance blinked. That hadn't been the answer he was expecting.

"Is that even safe to do?"

"For you, yes. Outsiders can't use the Towers. It'll just be an inanimate structure to you, so you can quite safely touch it."

"Huh." Severance scratched his jaw.

His head hurt. It'd barely been an hour since he logged on, but he'd learned so much that he could almost feel his brain expanding. The Veiled's history. The seven Towers. A betrayal. The crumbling state of Eliona. And the last-ditch sacrifice the Veiled made to try and fix it all.

Oh, and the fun fact Olen literally ran the game of Eliona's War. Except it wasn't actually a game, but almost no one knew that. It was a lot to process. And even more to try and keep quiet about.

Severance dragged a hand across his face. Then he drew in a breath and straightened. "Right. Okay. Thanks for telling me, I guess."

The System administrator smiled faintly, his eyes glimmering like the stars overhead. "If you have any questions later, you know where to find me."

Severance accepted that with a nod. He'd had enough. All he wanted to do was leave this eerie, unnatural place. Now that he was aware of what was going on, it made his skin crawl.

"Thanks. How do I get out of here?"

With a simple wave of the hand, Olen opened a portal of swirling grey-violet light. Suppressing a faint shiver, Severance hurriedly stepped through.