Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Entranos’ Backstory

I listened to her story patiently and it went something like this:

Entranos was captured and sealed because she was a hindrance to other gods. They didn't like her possessing such profound strength and felt threatened. Of course, she had no intention of harming them unless they harmed her or her kin first. But alas, one day they finally lost their sense of reason and declared that she should not possess such power and authority. That she should give it to them since they were the true gods who managed this world.

After the fierce 'battle of divine will' started, the gods were being pushed by her and her kin's might… But a fraction of her kin betrayed her and she was forced to give up when she saw her kin in harm's way. On the condition that they will not harm any of her kin once she's gone. And thus they tried their best to extract the power held within her core but couldn't so instead they sealed her here. She waited and waited for her freedom. That one day someone from her kin, her family, her loved ones would come and save her. 1 month. Then, 1 year. 1 decade, 10 decades, 1000 years, 10000 years, and so on... Time kept turning but nobody came. She stayed that way for what she guessed to be 100,000 years. After a while, she lost her will and went to deep slumber slowly losing her memories and even forgetting her own name. That is, until today when I came.

"You, who somehow found this place where I laid in wait. You shall free me of my suffering. And in return, I'll offer you what those beings failed to take. Does that answer your questions?"

Those were her last words before falling into silence. Somehow I could imagine her being gloomy or reminiscent of the distant past but it was probably nothing more than my own speculations. Entranos

It somehow made sense since I now knew the true identity of the black crystal sitting in front of me. It was a sort of seal which held Entranos's soul.

"I get the gist of the story. I feel sorry for you as you were sealed here alone for such an insanely long time. Humans don't even live past 90 years most of the time so I can't fathom how long is 100,000 years."

The modern humans, or the Homo Sapiens as scientists refer to us as modern humans from Earth, supposedly first appeared in Africa around 300,000 years ago. And those guys were like the most primitive of the primitive, something akin to apes with less hair and more upright posture. The human civilization, which could barely be called "civilization" started around 10,000 years ago. I knew all this because I was interested in all things science, humanity, and the universe. Of course, I never dived in too deeply as things would always start to get highly complicated and a lot of things were still vague and unanswered. Science and related fields created more questions than answered in my honest opinion. But that was also what made them so reliable I suppose.

This person… or dragon or whatever was sealed for nearly one-third of the time Homo Sapiens existed. Wasn't that bizarre? It only affirmed that this being was not human. Only something like dragons (or viruses lol) could survive for that long in such a vegetative state.

I put aside my bewilderment aside since another doubt had surfaced in my head.

"Why is it that you're okay to give your powers which you wouldn't even give to those gods, even if they kind of look like douchebags based on your story? Wouldn't you have been able to avoid this whole thing if you gave them what they needed, regardless of the consequences?"

No matter what was the outcome, she could have avoided this punishment of seemingly eternal solitude. And if there were circumstances that prevented her from doing it then, what changed now? And why was I the receiver? Was there any hidden meaning or reasoning to it or was it just because she had finally given up and decided to give it to whoever came first and helped her and I happened to be the one lucky fellow?

I mean, surely she doesn't expect me to save the world or something lol. Coz I ain't the right guy for that.

"Hmmm, t is true yond I wast desp'rate. But I wouldn't just giveth these pow'rs to anyone unw'rthy. Thee has't been hath brought h're by cosmic fate. I believeth in the playeth of the prim'rdials. Thou art forsooth special." (Hmmm, it is true that I was desperate. But I wouldn't just give these powers to anyone. You have been brought here by cosmic fate. I believe in the play of the primordials. You are indeed special.)

I am special, you say?

How?

"How am I special exactly?"

I was honestly perplexed. I didn't understand why she thought I was special. I was the very definition of ordinary. The only unique thing in my entire life that could be attached to me was my current circumstances. I don't think anyone on earth might have ever found themselves in such a bizarre situation, where they talked to voices in their heads and witnessed dimensions that probably didn't exist.

The point is, ordinary wasn't special. Ordinary was… well, just ordinary.

"I can't answ'r yond questioneth I'm afraid, f'r I doth not knoweth eith'r."

(I can't answer that question I'm afraid, for I do not know either.)

Then don't you have no basis for saying that?

Her reasoning was beyond me so I gave up on it for the time being.

"If I can, I will help you out."

I decided after a while thinking that I will help this dragon.

"Thank you, Rio."

In the unfortunate case where she actually turns out to be an evil entity hell-bent on destroying the world, I'm sorry guys. My Otaku heart got the better of me. Don't hate me, okay? It couldn't be helped.

I went to the Katana having such silly thoughts and tried pulling it out along with the sheath. It was stuck and the hole was probably filled with dirt after staying still for so long, so it was quite hard to pull but after using both hands and all my strength, I finally managed to pull it out. But I also ended up falling on my butt after taking it out.

"Ouch..."

I stood up slowly and rubbed my rear to mellow the pain a little. And then I looked at the Katana which was now in my hand.

The sheath was black in color and seemed to be made with something solid and smooth. I couldn't tell if it was some hardened leather or something else. My knowledge of sheaths didn't go all that far. The Katana's handle had a beautiful design made of black and golden threads which felt smooth and silky to touch once I blew the dirt settled on it. The oval metal stopper was shining silver. It was a beautiful sword to look at just by looking at it sheathed due to the elegant yet stunning designs carved on its body.

I slowly unsheathed it after removing two small hooks which were probably there to lock the sword so it doesn't get loose or something when making rough movements.

When the blade came into view, I was rendered speechless. Pitch black. It had a beautiful obsidian-like black color blade that seemed to almost shine due to the luster even though it was supposed to be of a color that was said to absorb all light and look dull. It had one side sharpened which was the side from which one would slice and the other was the blunt part. The length of the blade reached from the floor to my waist and I had a fairly long and skinny build so it was by no means short.

I was so taken aback by the sword's beauty that I stood there, speechless, like an idiot, staring at the blade in the little light that poured from the top.

"Art thee done appeasing the sw'rd?" (Are you done appeasing the sword?)

"Huh? Ah, yes… It's a beautiful sword."

I was so engrossed that I couldn't form a proper reply at first. I could only express my feelings in that one single sentence, particularly that one specific word: Beautiful. The sword was beautiful. There was no other adjective that suited it more than this. Even though swords (Katana, in this case) must have 100s of proper adjectives specifically for them but at that moment all I could think of its nature was beautiful.

"Thanketh thee. I madeth t with a lot of eff'rt. T hast enow pow'r to slayeth coequal the divine. But looking at thee, thee seemeth not to beest someone who is't hast exp'rience with a sw'rd. But oh well, t doesn't matt'r. Doth whatev'r thee wisheth with t. If 't be true thee doth decideth to keepeth t, I assureth thee t'll beest thy faithful partn'r till the v'ry endeth. I guaranteeth its durability."

(Thank you. I made it with a lot of effort. It has enough power to slay even the divine. But looking at you, you don't seem to be someone who has experience with a sword. But oh well, it doesn't matter. Do whatever you wish with it. If you do decide to keep it, I assure you it'll be your faithful partner till the very end. I guarantee its durability.)

"I see. Thanks. I'm kind of happy getting such a beautiful thing, to be honest."

I released a small sigh. While I was happy to receive such a precious-looking thing, it didn't exactly come for free. I had to do what she asked me first.

"So then, should I do it?"

"Aye, prithee." (Yes, please.)

I took the sword and aimed it at the black rock. I wondered if the Katana could really cut this tough-looking block of crystal. Blades were great at cutting things but I didn't know of a sword or katana cutting hard crystals and rocks. But since she said it will work, I did as she said without thinking much. Regardless of the result, she owed me the way back home at the very least.

I might not get the katana in the case where it fails to cut the rock but oh well. As much as I like having one, keeping a katana on modern-day earth definitely requires proper paperwork. And I doubt she'll give me one. If I was found with a precious-looking Katana, everyone would think I must have stolen it from somewhere. No way anyone will believe a dragon deity gave me for freeing her.

Sigh.

I didn't even live in Japan where such things were primarily manufactured and popularized.

I took a deep breath, held the Katana tight with both of my hands, and did a diagonal slash on the rock hoping it will somehow work.

And much to my surprise, the moment the Katana hit the rock, it felt like I was cutting something semi-solid and easy-to-cut object, and the rock had a huge cut. It didn't cut it in two since the blade didn't quite reach till the very back due to my improper positioning. But the rock started to shake and all the dirt fell on the ground revealing the black rock which now looked more like a crystal in its full glory. There were red, yellow, green, blue, and other mixed colors along with waves of white and black, moving around and shining beautifully, and slowly their moments seemed to speed up.

The crystal also started to vibrate and cracks started forming from where I slashed. I took a couple of steps back in fear that it might explode on my very face and hurt me.

However, the crystal fell apart slowly and steadily and from it came light balls, each of a different color, which danced around each other before merging into one white ball. After that what stood before me was a woman who was about twice my height. I was about 180 cm tall to give you a perspective of her height.

What stood in front of me was definitely not human, even though her face and body features almost resembled one.

Apart from her beautiful and serene face and a grey dress which was somewhat erotic and somewhat divine, she also had two translucent black horns protruding from both sides of her head which seemed almost like decorations due to the way they shined. They had a similar blackish glow as the black crystal that had sealed her and her eyes were a beautiful shade of gold. She also had a long tail poking from behind which I didn't notice until they moved a little to come into the view from her lower left side. It had lustrous black scales which somewhat resembled the blade of Katana except they seemed more rugged than the polished blade that the Kanana in my hand. Yellowish golden spiky bone-like things were poking out. They must be the spines that appear as protrusions in most dragons' backbones and run till their tails.

At first glance, you would believe that she wasn't any ordinary human being. In the first place, she was floating in the air and she had a realistic-looking tail and horns. She was like a humanoid dragon. The only things that she didn't have were the wings but I assumed having wings in such a dress might not have been very feasible. Of course, that was just my presumption.

I would be lying if I didn't think for a second that an actual dragon will show itself but this was also a treat to the eye. And I'm not saying that in an erotic way. I mean, obviously, she was a thing of beauty. But she was a thing of beauty and dignity. One could stare at her for hours and not get bored. But looking at her didn't arouse me.

None of us spoke for the next few seconds since we were busy staring at each other.

She finally opened her mouth to speak after a while, breaking our silence. This time the voice was not directly spoken in my head but was coming from her to me like it normally happened in real life.

"Thank you, dear child. Because of you, I can now rest in peace. As promised I shall open the gates to the outside for you. Take this sword as a gift as I have no use for it anymore. And I shall also bestow upon you my blessings and authority. In time you will be able to Master them and make them your own. There might be people wanting these powers or the holder itself. So I hope that you shall make the wise judgment in understanding the true nature of mortals and immortals alike. One of my powers might help you do that. With this, I shall take my leave. Once again, thank you."

She smiled and pointed her finger at the back where the altar was located and there I saw, what I could only describe as a colorful portal, appear out of nowhere.

"That will lead you to the outside of this ruin."

"Wait, how do I check these blessings and stuff? And what exactly are they? Did you give me some superpowers? Also about the paperwork on this katana, do you mind signing me a proper document of the transfer? Also, you never really told me where I am…"

But she didn't stop to answer any of my questions and just smiled as she faded away right in front of me. As her whole body disappeared leaving sparkly light around, a plain white ball remained. That ball floated slowly in the air until it came within the reach of my hand. It didn't really have a "feel" while touching but I could still hold it and move around. I didn't know what to do with it. She didn't explain things properly!

I sighed.

She's gone, huh?

There was an ensuing silence after her disappearance.

"Rest in peace, Entranos."

That was my final prayer to her whom I had killed… or freed. I still wasn't sure.

I had definitely freed her from her misery but since she was now gone, in a way, I had also killed her. I had made her stop existing. I had mixed feelings about this whole thing.

I started at the ball of light that I was now holding in my hands not knowing what to do.

Think. How does one do it in novels and stuff? Maybe if I put it closer to my chest it'll assimilate itself? Or do I eat it? It's pretty big though. But it doesn't seem to have a physical form so maybe it's fine?

I performed the first method since I didn't feel like putting a strange ball of light in my mouth. To my surprise- I mean, as expected it just got absorbed on its own as I predicted.

Huh. That wasn't so hard?

I stood there for a while and tried to look at my body for any changes. But I couldn't feel any change.

Does it take time to take effect? I don't feel any different at all.

When nothing happened even after a while of waiting, I gave up on it and with the sheathed Katana in my hands walked towards the glowing portal.

The portal seemed to produce colors of blue, violet, and grey with white rings intermixed in between. The center of the ring-like portal with a diameter just slightly bigger than my own height was bright white. I couldn't see through it since the surface of the portal was opaque and didn't show the destination.

It's safe, right? Will this thing really take me back home?

I hadn't studied much physics but I knew from my shallow understanding of these things that real-life portals could be pretty dangerous. It could have been a black hole but those things were so massive and dense that they wouldn't even let light escape and easily bend the very fabric of spacetime. But this portal wasn't black and even though I was fairly close to it, I didn't experience any pull from it. So it was more like a wormhole that was said to take someone or something from one place in the universe to another.

"Should I touch it or maybe put a finger in first?"

No… What if it transferred just my finger? I don't wanna lose my precious finger.

I looked around and found a small piece of rock that seemed to be a piece fallen out from one of the pillars.

"Let's throw this first to test the portal."

I picked it up and threw it inside the portal. The portal made a zoop sound and the rock was gone. Going to the back, the rock didn't come out of the backside of the portal. I realized pretty quickly that I had no way to find where that rock came out.

Is the other side my room or somewhere close to it?

I sighed again. I didn't know where it would take me.

Guess I'll have to have faith in Entranos and go through it, huh? She probably knew what she was doing. Right? She wouldn't do anything bad with her savior, right? Right...?

… Yeah. Let's have a little trust in her.

As I was getting ready to go on, I realized something. I turned back and went to the place where a bunch of shattered black crystals remained.

I should take them as souvenirs and proof that I wasn't dreaming. I'm sure Entranos wouldn't mind. And these crystals could be made into some pretty pieces of jewelry. They might even be magical.

I was stuffing a bunch inside all the pockets of my pant when a message popped out of nowhere in front of me and scared the living hell out of me.

[The system has been installed.]

***

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Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Entranos’ Backstory

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