[MGM]: 74 - Mystery

I would like to say that I had anticipated the silence, but that would be a lie, of course. Lost in the throes of pleasure as we were, it had never crossed our minds—the fallout we would have to shoulder. Though, perhaps even if it had, I doubted it would have made any difference.

Or so I would like to think.

The silence stretched on as we rounded one corner after another, led ever deeper. The Baron's solemn gait did nothing to ease the tension.

To distract myself, I fixed my gaze on the iron sconces lining the walls, their dim yellow glow flickering against the stone. There were no guards in this part of the Keep—only a grim silence seeping into the dark corners.

We walked for what seemed like hours before finally arriving near a set of doors. They were short and unassuming, meant to blend into the dank gloom of the corridors. The Baron paused in front of them and reached for the handle.

"Apologies for the inconvenience," he said. "There's a need to keep the chamber as deep within the Keep as possible. We don’t want our guests wandering where they shouldn’t."

I nodded with a quiet hum and glanced around. The winding corridors stretched in a confusing maze—likely designed that way on purpose. To my Mana Sight, I couldn’t detect even a single trace of mana.

Except for what lay beyond the door.

The Baron was the first to enter, and we followed after. Tania remained ahead of me, while Amara kept a cautious eye on our rear. Though the likelihood of this being a trap was about as slim as a cow falling from the sky, the possibility never truly reached zero.

I tried to fall in step beside Tania, but the dwarf quickened her pace, leaving me behind. Hearing the vampire behind me giggle at my predicament, I shot her a glare. She coughed and quickly looked away.

Last night had been... passionate.

And, needless to say, loud and attention-grabbing. My companions in the room next door had heard the entire ordeal, which had lasted well past midnight. The morning that followed had been the opposite.

Distant. Cold. Ignored.

I could understand Tania—even Pyra, to a certain extent. But Luna? Cassia? I sighed. It was clear they weren’t exactly mad at me—more like they were expecting some sort of compensation. After all, they had to have known this was an inevitable part of our relationship.

Yet, my efforts to get Tania’s attention had been met with... well, aloofness.

I flared my Mana Sight, taking in the lump of burning mana ahead. There was something unique about it—something familiar, as if I had come into contact with it before but couldn't quite remember. I frowned.

Glancing behind, I saw an expression of seriousness morph on Amara’s face. I stepped forward and took Tania's hand before she could protest—one glance at my face must have been enough for the dwarf to realize the severity of the issue, as she remained quiet yet alert.

In the end, the Baron led us down a set of stairs and into a chamber lit only by a glowing blue ball of energy floating above an altar. We stepped inside, scanning our surroundings before finally drawing closer.

"The core of your barrier, I presume?" I asked.

"The Rune Core, yes." He nodded. "You might not realize it, but looking at it this way, I can discern no harm. This has me puzzled beyond words."

Mana Sight, despite being a separate talent on its own, relied exclusively on my Perception attribute. Although it hadn't increased like my Agility, it was still sharp enough for me to spot flecks of crimson and gold floating within the energy ball.

I leaned forward, squinting. Each speck trailed a faint line behind it, connecting to another speck and then another, forming a web-like network with the specks acting as nodes.

"It's corrupted mana," Amara said, confirming my suspicions. "It's far less concentrated than in the End Forest, but it's present inside the Core."

"What exactly do you mean?" the Baron questioned.

Amara didn’t answer. Instead, she motioned toward Tania.

The dwarf was quick to pick up on the cue, stepping closer. Her hair darkened slightly, bordering on crimson yet still appearing brown. The air around her grew heavy, as if the world itself were holding its breath.

I watched in muted fascination as lines of blue stretched from the Core, floating, reaching, then twisting into a complex pattern.

"A rune..." I muttered, realizing this had to be her Runic Imprint and Hammer Heart talents working in sync—possibly even Forge of Eternity.

"It’s old," Tania murmured without looking up.

"Ah, yes," the Baron nodded. "The runes for these barriers were among the earliest inventions that allowed us to maintain strongholds in these dangerous parts of the kingdom. Without them, I doubt the kingdom would have retained its vastness."

No response came from Tania. Just when I thought she was completely absorbed in her observations, I saw the rune crumble into glittering dust. She closed her eyes, her breathing quickened ever so slightly.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked, leaning closer.

Tania gave a terse nod before straightening her back.

"I think I have a rough estimate of what exactly happened," she said, much to the Baron’s delight. "But first, a question—who exactly did you authorize to enter this chamber in the past couple of weeks?"

The Baron frowned, taken aback. "What?" He shook his head. "No one."

"Not possible," Tania stated firmly. "I'm certain someone was here not too long ago. There’s no other explanation."

"I'm telling you, no one besides myself, my daughter, Captain Aldrin, and Levi are allowed in this part of the Keep." He paused, looking between us. "And even if someone did come here, it would be nearly impossible to reach this chamber without triggering a trap—unless they knew exactly where each one was set.

"And I can assure you, none of my traps have been triggered in the past couple of weeks."

"But—"

"Enough." Before Tania could argue, I raised a hand to stop her.

"We can argue about that later," I said. "For now, Tania, why don't you tell us exactly what you discovered?"

"Right." She nodded. "The Rune is damaged, though not in the way you might expect. You need to understand that this Rune functions as an energy core for the barrier, but more than that, it's a link—a node that acts as both a receiver and a transmitter."

"Incredible," the Baron praised. "You managed to discern all of that in such a short time. Perhaps I underestimated you."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"The barriers between our territories—that is, Feylance, Erdwatch, and Rosenthal—share a network. It's unlikely that each of our territories would face equivalent attacks from monsters, so these Runes were designed with that in mind."

"Meaning?" I probed.

"Meaning," Tania said, "that they are able to share energy between themselves. This allows energy to be redirected to a territory facing greater pressure, balancing the load as needed."

"What she said," the Baron confirmed.

"Huh," I said in amazement. "That's a neat little arrangement you have."

"Or would have," Tania interjected, earning a curious look from me.

"Corrupted mana," Amara chimed in. Tania nodded. The Baron and I waited for an explanation.

"Right. You see, normally, the energy core is at full capacity, capable of recharging itself when idle," Tania explained. "The same is true for the other cores as well. During this time, they maintain a sort of equilibrium. But if the energy from one core depletes faster than the others, energy from the remaining cores flows into it, trying to restore balance."

She paused, and I took the moment to voice my doubts. "I reckon you're trying to make a point here, because I'm not following."

Tania shot me an impassive look, though I understood she was simply holding back her frustration. I’d have to fix that attitude, indeed.

"As I was saying," she continued, "the flow of energy moves from high to low. Now, someone or something came here in the past couple of weeks." The Baron's stare hardened at that, but he remained silent. "And they flooded this Rune Core with mana—very powerful mana."

"And that's what damaged it?" the Baron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Tania said, raising a finger before adding, "but! That wasn’t the only issue. You see, normally, if you pour water into a full cup, it overflows. But in this case, the cup was empty—or rather, its adjacent cups were."

"Because the monsters were attacking Erdwatch and Rosenthal County," I said, realization dawning on me.

"That's right," Tania answered with a smile. "Due to the mana overload, the transmitters within this core fried, taking with them its sensory array and the Rune responsible for activating the defense array."

"But that wasn’t all it did," Amara added thoughtfully, exchanging a look with Tania. "It also managed to corrupt the sensory arrays of the other two cores."

"What?!" the Baron cried in shock. "Are you telling me that my Rune Core is inadvertently responsible for the losses suffered by the other territories? That’s ludicrous!"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "It’s possible." Then, sharing a look with Amara, I added, "Because it’s the corrupted mana."

"So," Tania said firmly, "let me rephrase my question—who do you, Baron, think might be responsible for dooming you and your territory?"

Author's note: First of all, apologies for the delay. A couple days prior my exams finally concluded and I found some free time on my hands, which I should've used on this fic, but I have a tendency to get distracted. So, I started work on this fanfiction that I have been thinking about lately.

[If you must know, it's set in DC comic verse, with the main character the host of Celestial Forge. Yes, it's very exciting. Believe me, that's why I'm focusing on that. Title is Rust & Radiance.]

That said, I don't want to break my trust with you guys, so instead what I'll be doing is this: I will try (no, make sure) to write 32k to 40k words every month on this fic. This way, I will have a goal I'm committed to.

I have discovered in life that if you set concrete goals instead of arbitrary arrangements, you're more like to reach the end than get lost midway.

With that out of the way, I would like to thank you for being patient with me.