Chapter 11 - Eclecia [1] - The Cardinal Sky

"Ack… my head. What the- where are we this time…?" Noah scratched his head and stood up.

"We aren't out of this damn place yet?" He muttered in a depressed tone, hands shaking from the life-and-death situation a moment ago.

"Unfortunately, no." I stood up after waking up a few minutes before him.

Noah has been through many horrible situations before going to Arcadia.

Discrimination, assault, betrayal, and tense circumstances changed him over time.

But trapped in an unknown dimension in fear of eternal imprisonment while grotesque monsters chase us?

Yeeeaah… It's no surprise he'd be traumatized from such a freak show.

What? Just because I'm making fun of him doesn't mean I'm any different. I nearly shit myself when we entered the Middle Alephs through a portal.

One more and I'll crash out, questioning my life decisions.

I expected a coffee break, not whatever mindfuckery a few minutes ago was.

The thought of Noah perishing here pumped my adrenaline through the roof, prioritizing his life with his soul intact at least.

It's good that the Eldias showed up when we were about to escape rather than encountering one from the start.

"This appears to be the lower stratum of the Aleph dimension." I brushed the weed off my clothes.

We fell into a grassy plain after falling through the portal. Comforting that the grass was something we recognized on Earth, the difference was that the weed's colour wasn't green, but blue.

"Once we get out of here, we can go back to Earth." I assured Noah and stood up after resting.

—Zip!

I opened my backpack and took the Exitium stone to see where we were supposed to go.

The exit portal was in front of us back then, so I didn't need to have it in my hand at all times; it would be a nuisance having one arm occupied.

—Vooom… Vooom…

'Did the colour change?' The stone that used to emit a crimson red glow was now blue, pointing to an ancient structure.

No, the term ancient structure is too vague… It's way more complicated than that.

"Where on Earth is this place…? This looks… incredible." Noah's eyes widened in awe, unable to believe that such a place existed.

Unlike the Middle Alephs, which embody the incomprehensible, this place was as if medieval times progressed to what the modern world offers today.

An ancient civilization in the past era that ruled the world before Demiurge and Morze.

A nation with a history regarded as a myth, a legend passed down as the greatest civilization.

"Welcome to Eclecia." I revealed to Noah the name of the nation, the country that almost reached the realm of the gods.

"Excelia…? What's that?"

"…You don't know what Eclecia is? The country that… y'know, brought birth to mana and left behind priceless artifacts that rulers in this world directly govern?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

“…”

"Never mind."

"H-Hey! Come on, man! At least tell me what it is!"

"I don't want to."

Noah is, as you guessed, oblivious to the world's history beyond Demiurge. He only cared about avenging his ancestor's wish and resealing Xelthatl.

The existence of Eldias is not widely known yet, so Noah didn't think to learn anything about Eclecia's origins or its relation to Eldias.

Still… This city is hauntingly beautiful.

It wasn't obvious, but deep down, I'm celebrating the fact that I get to see what Eclecia looked like, despite the gravity of this situation.

Eclecia was so advanced that the relics they left behind were priceless artifacts, accessible only to the highest authority.

Everything else screamed sci-fi, while above us was another city upside down. How does that work?

The number of citizens who lived here must be astronomical, considering that Eclecia was the largest nation, past and present.

"…Hehe." I groaned and covered my face with my palm.

My eyes were sparkling like crazy, trying to hide it and at least act presentable in front of Noah.

Imagine the craziest ideas you've ever concocted come to life. This must be a writer's wet dream, and I completely agree with that.

The glaring issue was that I couldn't decide what to bring to life. Mesmerizing or not, this was an area in the novel that's infested with monsters.

"Hey, you okay? You've been acting all weird ever since we came here."

"Heh, hehe… wait, was I that obvious?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Ahem, it's nothing. Just caught up in the moment."

"…Hmm. Well, whatever you say." He rolled his eyes around and didn't believe what I said.

Noticing his eyes turn red to see if I was lying or not, I made a run for it and left him behind to avoid that.

"Anyways I'll check this place out you stay here okay bye!" I spoke really fast, so he couldn't comprehend it.

"Huh? W-Wait for me!" Noah tried to catch up, but couldn't when his legs were still recovering from shock.

From a distance, a giant tower stood out, connecting the two cities from below and above.

In a desolate place where dim blue and white lights cover the city, the tower was bright, a beacon telling us something.

'If I knew I was going to come here, I could've made it more lively, not the bottom of the abyss.' I deeply regretted my decision.

Eclecia will forever wander endlessly down here, never to see the light of day.

It was only when Noah and the others accidentally took a specific artifact upon arriving at the tower.

Like us, for example.

'Artifact…'

...

'Wait, artifact?' My eyes sparkled, and I thought of a fantastic idea.

"Right, if we are here… then the artifact is here too… hehe."

"Are you really gonna leave me in the dark while you're mumbling to yourself?"

Noah placed his hand on his side and clicked his tongue, restless about how I've been keeping everything to myself.

"Change of plans. We have to do this. No, we MUST do this to survive."

"D-Do what, exactly?" Scared by my overly enthusiastic face, he moved an inch away from me when he felt something was wrong.

—Ziiip!

I tuck the Exitium stone back into my backpack again. We won't be needing this anytime soon.

We aren't going to escape this place, not with our current combat power. We need something to turn the tide and increase our chances of survival.

"Let's go steal an artifact~!" My eyes were filled with greed, and I pointed at the tower from a distance.

"Respectfully, no thank you." He flatly objected.

...

"…Hm."

I didn't expect him to disagree like that.

Even though there were barely any artifacts left in this place, there was one that Noah took for himself.

Noah visits the Aleph Dimension twice throughout the story: the first was when Noah and the gang were sucked into the Aleph during their 2nd year as students, and the second was in the last arc.

Noah found the artifact when they were 2nd years, which led to a massive power boost to fight the Eldias.

With near-unlimited potential, if he obtained the artifact this early on… then he'll be magnitudes stronger than the novel counterpart.

"…Huehehe."

"You're really starting to creep me out."

"What? Not thrilled to be in an ancient city that dates back countless years?

"No, not really. I wanna go home." He shook his head.

"..."

Said the one who looked around Eclecia with curious eyes.

"Haaa... fine, let me explain this in words you'll understand." Despite the urge to run back home and escape, he kept willingly following me.

"Remember the Eldias we encountered? What if I tell you that it was only a mere fraction of them that will soon invade Earth?"

"…What did you say?"

Noah took a step back, unable to believe what I said. Even if he didn't, he knew I wasn't the type of person who lies when I know about his ability.

"Those Eldias that we speak of are here too, by the way, yet much stronger."

I tried to scare him off, telling him nothing but the truth.

"We were lucky since one appeared alone. If not, we wouldn't be able to do anything but accept death."

“…”

It took us everything to flee from one. Anymore than that… It made him sick in the stomach.

"The only way to survive was to hide. Getting caught is inexcusable due to their ability to call their own."

—Vooom…!

I tried to use magic and call forth a strong gust of wind, but couldn't when the buff we received in the Middle Alephs was gone.

This means that we no longer have an infinite supply of mana to fend for ourselves.

At this point, obtaining the legendary artifact was our only chance of fighting back, even if it's minuscule.

"So what you're trying to tell me is that we need the artifact to fight back?" The light in his eyes returned despite our dreaded situation.

No matter how much despair he was in, as long as he sensed a glimmer of hope… he wouldn't stop and move forward to seize the chance.

"Correct. So are you with me or not?" I extended my hand towards him.

"..."

Noah was still hesitant, reflecting on whether he should take my hand.

He looked at my face and saw that I was confident about our next goal, my eyes filled with conviction.

What Noah didn't know was that it wasn't conviction, but greed, happily dancing around internally that I hit the jackpot and potentially sped up his growth exponentially.

"…Yes, let's do this." He reached out his hand to mine, and we shook hands.

'Hah, so you do have some balls after all.' I noticed his resolute gaze.

It didn't belong to the timid Noah a moment ago, nor the one shaking in dread, scared by his superstition.

This was from the protagonist I knew, the hero of the story.

…

"Muehehe, glad to have you here, Noah."

"…I'm beginning to regret all of this."

"What? I solemnly swear to speak no falsehood. We shall escape from here and leave with treasu… an artifact to fight our adversaries."

"You just said treasure, didn't you?"

"Artifact."

"Treasure."

"Artifact."

"Treasure… fine."

=======

2 hours later. The Capital of Eclecia, Celia. Entrance Gate.

It took so long to reach the tower that my legs were sore. We still have a long journey ahead of us, a third of the way before we make it to the tower.

"I think it's best if we take a break before pushing on."

"Are you sure it's safe for us to stay down here?"

"It'll be fine, there won't be any Eldias that can catch us if we sleep in one of the houses."

I looked around and saw countless abandoned houses. Windows were shut tight, and no light was coming from them.

Eclecia was abandoned and forgotten, hence why it's at the bottom of Aleph.

Because Lower Aleph is one out of the infinite layers of the dimension, there are barely any Eldias when most of them are in the Middle Alephs.

"Hmm, if you say so." Noah nodded his head and kept wandering around in the city.

It's thanks to his resilience and his special eyes that he was able to go on the same wavelength as me despite my shallow answers.

It couldn't be helped; I've already interrupted the flow of the story. Any more could lead to irreversible consequences.

—Tak Tak Tak….

Our footsteps echoed throughout Eclecia's paved roads.

We finally made it inside the Capital, turning the medieval atmosphere into a bona fide, futuristic civilization.

A gradient of blue and white illuminated the space that encased everything in Eclecia.

"I'd love to live here if it weren't in such a dark and gloomy place." Noah muttered all of a sudden.

"Oh, yeah… me too. Ah, ahaha…"

…

I absolutely cannot tell him who thought of destroying a nation in the first place.

We walked for another few minutes until we found a suitable place. It didn't take long to find a secluded house to serve as our temporary shelter.

"Here's a good place to sleep in for now."

It was neither big nor small, a perfect size for a family.

The only issue now was to pray that everything inside was at least intact.

"So how do we open this door…" Noah looked at the door or wall that stood out from the rest.

—Ziiit!

"W-Woah!" He touched the door with a graze of his finger, revealing a cozy home that people used back then.

"There's still power running down here…?"

The first time Noah and the others came to Eclecia, there was only pure darkness.

No bright lights, no intact houses that had room for shelter, and the lights illuminating the Capital didn't exist.

'Was it because we arrived sooner than expected?" I pondered and tried to recall when they arrived here.

'…Hmm, I'll think about this later.' I shook my head before I overflowed with too much information.

Pretty confident that the house was safe, we walked inside.

Judging by how the door opened by itself from an unknown energy source, Noah and I tried to find a contraption similar to a light switch.

"Is this the power switch?"

—Click!

Flipping the switch on, the lights revealed light-blue walls, decorated with belongings and full of memories of those who lived here.

"This house seems… lonely," Noah uttered.

He was right. It looked like it belonged to a happy family, the photo frames all dusty and forgotten.

"I'll go upstairs and see if there are any beddings for us."

"…Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

—Creak…!

I went upstairs and discovered a hallway lined with doors leading to various rooms. Despite the futuristic design, the layout felt familiar, like a typical house you'd find anywhere in the world.

Some things don't change after all.

I decided to go to each door in hopes of finding a mattress and drifting off into a deep sleep. Any more of this and I'll go crazy.

"Oh, hey! There they are."

—Fluff…

I dove into the bed immediately, squeezing it with my body to see how it felt.

"Hmm, they're a bit dusty, but I'm sure I can deal with this."

I can clean it, no problem. However, the bed is… super fluffy, even for my standards. It's surprisingly comparable to the Historia resident's bed.

For someone who lived in a village, secluded from the outside world until a few months ago, something like this would freak him out, heh.

"Hey, Noaaah! Can you even hear me? Noah…?"

…

"Noah...?"

...