Chapter 226: Anchor Point

Kaelen leaned down to look closely. This symbol looked very simple, almost minimalist, but at the same time very different from the symbols surrounding it. If it had not been pointed out, he might have overlooked it.

"The anchor point is the most important component of any spatial array." The old man said, his voice suddenly becoming serious: "It is like the anchor of a ship. Without it, the array will not know where to send you. And if the array does not know where to send you... then you will be torn into pieces in the chaotic flow between dimensions."

Finnick shuddered and hugged Chloe tighter.

"But an anchor point is not something that can be created arbitrarily." The old man continued: "Each anchor point is a fixed coordinate in space, established by a special ritual. This ritual requires at least three people — one person to draw the array, one person to provide spiritual energy, and one person to act as a ’marker’ — meaning the person who will stand at the anchor point’s position and use their very own soul to mark that coordinate."

"Using a soul to mark?" Sane frowned: "Sounds dangerous."

"Dangerous?" The old man smirked: "Of course it is dangerous! It is not without reason that there are so few anchor points. Each anchor point is a time someone volunteered to use a portion of their soul to anchor to this world. After the ritual is complete, the marker will not die, but will suffer permanent soul damage. Some people lose a portion of their memories. Some people lose the ability to feel emotions. Some people... lose themselves."

The entire valley fell silent. Even the birdsong stopped.

"So..." Kaelen spoke, his voice hoarse: "How many anchor points does the Golden Bull tribe’s array have? And where do they lead?"

The old man looked at Kaelen for a while, then suddenly bloomed a bizarre smile.

"That is exactly the problem." He said: "Our array has three anchor points. Two of them have been destroyed long ago. As for the third one..."

He stopped, as if weighing whether to continue speaking or not.

"What about the third one?" Sane asked.

"The third one... is located at the Northern continent Temple."

Kaelen and Sane simultaneously looked at each other, a bit of anticipation flashing in their eyes.

"But that was a matter of two months ago." The old man continued, his voice suddenly becoming distant: "Two months ago, the signal of the anchor point to the Northern continent suddenly weakened, although it can be used, there is no guarantee that it will arrive safely."

The old man’s gaze looked at Sane’s couple, as if seeing through everything:

"That is exactly your destination, right?"

Maxwell widened his eyes as if they were about to pop out, stared intently at Sane’s couple, and his voice suddenly boomed: "You guys came from the Northern continent?!"

Because he was so surprised, Maxwell could not control his volume. His shout made the ground shake violently, dirt and rocks cracking. The old man staggered and almost fell flat on his face, fortunately Sane was quick-handed and sharp-eyed and caught him.

As soon as the old man stood firmly, he grabbed a thick sheepskin book and threw it straight at Maxwell’s head: "What are you screaming for?! Trying to scream this place of mine down, right?!"

Maxwell hugged his head, his face twisted in pain but did not dare to utter a single sound. The old Sage snorted once, dusted his hands, then turned to look at Kaelen and Sane with a sharp gaze through the quartz glasses.

"You do not need to hide." The old man said, his voice as even as if reading an obvious truth: "From the moment you stepped in here, I already saw it. The stream of spiritual energy on your bodies is unlike anything on this Eastern continent. It belongs to another place. A place where the spiritual energy is thinner, but... purer."

Kaelen and Sane exchanged glances. Finally, Kaelen sighed softly and nodded.

"That is right. We come from the Southern continent."

"Southern continent?" Maxwell stammered, still not recovered from the shock: "But... but how did you get here? The black mist has blocked all the paths between the continents since thousands of years ago!"

"We did not go through the mist." Sane answered: "We were swept here by a spatial vortex. Purely an accident."

"Accident?" The old Sage raised an eyebrow: "Interesting. Very interesting. A natural spatial vortex? Or was it created by someone?"

"We are not sure." Kaelen shook his head: "But there is one thing I can affirm that we did not come here voluntarily. And we are trying every way to return."

The old man stroked his stubbly white beard, his gaze looking far away as if calculating something. A moment later, he turned to Maxwell: "What are you still standing there for? Go fetch me some water! Guests come to the house but there is no water to drink, what is that about?"

Maxwell gaped intending to say something, but then stopped. He shook his head and mumbled walking toward the hut. A dignified Chief being ordered to fetch water like a child, but it seemed he was too used to this.

The old man turned back to look at Kaelen and Sane, then pointed his finger at a few flat stone slabs nearby: "Sit down. What are you standing there forever for."

Everyone sat down sequentially. Finnick still tightly hugged Chloe in his arms, his wide eyes looking at the old man with curiosity mixed with interest. The boy had never met anyone as eccentric as him.

"Tell me about the Southern continent and the Northern continent." The old man said, his voice suddenly becoming dreamy like a child about to hear a fairy tale: "I have read about it in a few ancient books, but never thought I would get to meet people from there. What is there? What are the tribes there like? Is the spiritual energy there really that thin?"

Kaelen smiled. He told the old man about the Southern continent, about the vast magical beast forest, about tribes like Cinder, Fang, Bramble, about how Crimson from a tiny tribe had developed into a mighty faction. He told about sugar, about salt, about brick and tile, about paved stone roads and ox carts transporting goods connecting the tribes.

The old man sat silently listening, occasionally nodding, his eyes behind the quartz glasses sparkling like a child who had just discovered a new world.

"Oh so the new food crop varieties that we exchanged from the tribes along the Illusion Forest were discovered by you guys? Oh my, I like that white rice dish the most, an old toothless man like me can still chew it."

"Yes Sage, the vegetation in the Eastern continent is much more abundant than the Southern continent, moreover the soil is extremely suitable for planting staple food crops."

Recounting a series of interesting things that Crimson had discovered up to now, Kaelen circled back to the anchor point matter: "Sage, you just said that the spatial array at the Golden Bull tribe still has one anchor point to the Northern continent, but it has weakened?"

The old man nodded, but his expression suddenly became serious: "Correct. That anchor point still exists. But as I said, its signal has weakened a lot in the past two months. I do not know what happened at the other end, but it seems there was some event that damaged the anchor point."

"Edward." Kaelen whispered.

"The Temple Master." Sane said almost simultaneously.

The old man looked at them, his gaze curious: "You know what happened in the Northern continent?"

Kaelen remained silent for a moment, then slowly recounted. He told about the Northern continent Temple, about the Temple Master imprisoning people with Divine Energy, about the resurrection ritual of the God of Decay. He told about Edward. Their eldest son at that time was still a young cub not long out of the shell, had faced the Temple Master alone, had used his very own advancement heavenly tribulation to perish together with him.

"The boy died." Kaelen said, his voice hoarse: "His physical body turned into ashes. But his soul remains. He is inside the space of his younger brother - Ryder." He looked down at the little mouse sleeping soundly in his arms: "Every day, he can only borrow his younger brother’s body to come out for two hours. And we are looking for a way... looking for a way to recreate a body for him."

The entire valley was as silent as a grave. Maxwell had returned since who knew when, holding a terracotta water pitcher in his hand, but he stood rooted to the spot, speechless.

The old Sage looked at Kaelen then looked at Ryder in his arms. A long while later seemingly understanding something, he let out a sigh. He constantly muttered:

"So that is it... so that is it... the Mandate Bearer..."

"Sage, so... we cannot use that anchor point to return to the Northern continent?"

Sane spoke up interrupting the old man’s muttering, afraid he would blurt out something indiscreet.

"I did not say that." The old man shook his head: "The signal is weak, but still there. It can still be used. But as I said, there is no guarantee of absolute safety. You might reach the Northern continent, but might also get lost in the spatial flow. The probability... about six parts."

"Six parts safe?" Finnick asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Six parts dead." The old man answered, his voice as nonchalant as if talking about the weather.

Finnick stiffened and hugged Chloe tighter. Chloe vibrated a few tentacles, as if also feeling uneasy.

Kaelen and Sane fell silent.

Four parts alive six parts dead, this price was too great, they could not afford to pay it.