Chapter 148: The Ancients
The ancient door remained stubbornly shut, its exposed metal glittering in the dwindling torchlight. Jack tried pushing, pulling, even sliding the door. Nothing worked.
Guess I have to break it, he concluded after a five-second analysis.
Oh, give me a rest, Nauja intervened. Raising her good hand, she wiped off some of the dust that had alighted on the door, revealing a line on the metal underneath it. See? she asked. Its engraved.
She then drove her open palm into the middle of the door. A gust of wind spread from ita skillclearing the door completely. The result was a dust cloud that enveloped them, making all three cough for a few moments. When it finally settled, Jack took another look.
Huh, he said.
Something had engraved the hard metal as smoothly as sculptors engraved clay. The door illustrated a battle. Humans, along with smatterings of other species, filled one side of the door. They rode crab-shaped starships, were surrounded by colorless aurasthere was no color in these engravingsand were drawn in a way that indicated both Dao and technology. There were hundreds of them, each the size of Jacks palm, filling up half of the large door.
The other half was occupied by larger creatures. Twelve of them in total, each completely different from the others. There was a smiling human at the very top, his body shackled by dark chains. A creature of pure darkness was in the middle, slightly larger than the rest. The other ten were all presented as featureless humanoid shapes, but their forms werent as solid as the topmost, shackled mans. They were fainter, expertly carved as to appear translucent. Each had differences compared to normal humans.
One was made of fire. Another, of stars. A third comprised of many small spheres tightly assembled into a humanoid shape, and a fourth seemed normal, but everything around it was warped, as if it was drawing them in. The fifth creature was made of lightning, the sixth of blue and red sparks, the seventh of explosions, and so was the eight, except fewer but larger ones. Finally, there were two creatures that only appeared as bodies of water, one resembling a rippling pond and the other a steady current.
Twelve large creatures. An army of humans and other species using the Dao and technology to fight against them. Galaxies as the background.
Wait, Jack said, taking a step back. Incredulousness creeped into his voice. This rings a bell.
Twelve gods Nauja said, voice shaking with awe, eyes scanning the engraving. The Old Ones
Then, these ones, Jack raised a hand to gently touch the army, are the Immortals?
Master Shol had talked about this once. The Immortals, the makers of the System, had waged the Immortal Crusade against the Old Ones.
I Nauja narrowed her eyes. I am not sure. The Immortals led the Crusade, yes, but they are supposed to be machines, not humans. These are probably the Ancients. She took a trembling breath. My ancestors.
Jack frowned. He thought hed heard something about the Ancients before, but he wasnt sure. So the Ancients were soldiers of the Immortals?
No! Nauja jerked away as if Jack had blasphemed. A moment later, she caught herself. No she continued, her voice lower. The Ancients were the first people to ever exist in the universe. They flourished and spread across the universe, spreading life to other galaxies as well. Every species you know came from the Ancients.
Jack frowned. He was pretty sure everything on Earth evolved from amoebas, but he let her go on. It took only one sentence for his attention to be rewarded.
Until they discovered the Old Ones, Nauja said.
Jack instantly homed in on her words.
The Old Ones feared the Ancients growing power. Using their divine powers, they eradicated them. She took a breath. But it didnt end there. The Old Ones turned their gaze away, but though the Ancients were gone, they had left a heritage. Descendant species across the universe. And, most importantly, the Immortals.
Jack listened with rapt attention.
The Immortals were machines dedicated to the Ancients. Their first children, before they discovered how to create true life. When the Old Ones destroyed the Ancients, the Immortals swore revenge. They forged the System, an existence based on the Dao, meant to facilitate the development of sapient species. The System quantifies and streamlines the Dao, serving as a guide for everyone who wishes to attain true strength. It makes the path far more accessible, creating a host of warriors to fill in the Immortals armies against the Old Ones. That was the primary directive.
When enough soldiers were ready, the ninety-nine Immortals went to righteous war, each wielding godlike powers. They were flanked by the strongest cultivators of all the galaxies, and that gave them the power to challenge the Old Ones. The war raged on for a millennium, destroying the Primordial Galaxy in the process. In the end, the Immortals pushed back the Old Ones, but couldnt kill them. Not a single God had fallen. But they had the System. The Old Ones were forced outside System space, and the Immortal Crusade remained inside, where their powers were greatest, and where the Old Ones didnt dare touch them. After that She bit her lip, frowning as if trying to remember. Balance returned, but the promise of eternal revenge still stands. In time, the Second Immortal Crusade will come, and the Old Ones will be shorn off the face of the universe.
Wow Jack said, eyes wide. I had no idea.
Maybe its not accurate, Nauja said, suddenly bashful. The legend has been in our tribe for countless generations.
Does everyone know this? Jack asked. The version I heard from my master mentioned nothing about the Ancients.
She shrugged. Probably. We dont freely share our culture with delvers, but they have gotten more valuable things out of us. Surely some people know.
I see
More secrets. More lies. More hidden knowledge.
He returned his gaze to the engraving. He had context now. He saw the Ancients and their children speciesthough that part was debatablestanding against the twelve Old Ones.
To be precise, it wasnt a battle. There were no attacks flying. This was the stand-off before the battle, where each side showed off their powertheir godlike power. A concept that made him and his struggles, even the entire Animal Kingdom, feel insignificant.
What level had the soldiers and generals of the Immortal Crusade reached, to be qualified to stand against Gods? C-Grade? B-Grade? Or, perhapseven stronger?
Jack turned his gaze to the twelve Old Ones. He had never been a religious man, but the System and magic existed. Gods belonged to the same domain. Suddenly, the awe and wonder that flooded him were strong enough to bring him to his knees, a sense of purpose flashing in his chest as some ancestral instinct urged him to devote his entire life to worship.
And yet, they were enemies. Jack wasnt a follower of the Gods. He was their opponent, walking the path of divinity himself, because how else could man stand up to God?
So these are the Gods he muttered, observing them, taking in their every detail and memorizing their individual shapes. He began drawing connections to things he knew. I recognize some of their powers, he said, narrowing his eyes. This one is electricity, this is fire, obviously, this ismagnetism? he tried, staring at the creature made of pairs of blue and red sparks.
The Old Ones represent the foundational forces of the universe, Nauja explained, still lost in disbelief. Everything else is a combination of these twelve powers. I know some of them, but not all See that one? She pointed to the topmost man, the one that had a clear humanoid shape but was shackled by darkness. That is Enas. He used to be the King of the Old Ones, but the others teamed up and cast him into a bottomless pit of darkness at the end of the world, where he will remain trapped for eternity. Nobody knows why. That oneshe pointed at the creature wrought of darknessis Axelor, the new King of the Old Ones after Enas. Im afraid I do not know the rest.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
There is always something greater Jack thought. These unfathomable heights of power should bring him a sense of fear, of futility, like all his struggles were for naught.
Jack grinned and turned to the door. The fist, he said, tuning out everything else to focus. With his recent increase in Will, it wasnt difficult. Lets see
There were twelve Old Ones. A shackled manthough the shackles didnt seem like part of his powera creature of death, then fire, electricity, magnetism, two creatures of explosions, stars, small spheresmass, maybe?one that warped everything around it, and the two water-like ones.
Channeling his Dao of the Fist, a few of those were immediately discarded.
The watery ones were a no-go. They felt completely unrelated to the fist. Electricity, fire, and magnetism were also out. That left seven.
What about the warping one? That could be gravity, or something similar, which didnt have much in common with the fist. Discarded.
The stars? He failed to see the connection. The small spheres? He didnt know what that was, but it felt unrelated, so also a no-go.
Eight down, four to go: the man, death, and the two explosions.
The explosions were the first he considered, actually. His Meteor Punch was the closest skill he had to the Dao of the Fist, and it was an explosion. However, why were there two of them? One was made up of many small explosions, and the other of fewer but larger ones.
Jack didnt know what fundamental forces of the universe those represented, or why they were so similar. Did the explosion match with the Fist?
To a degree, he admitted. But it wasnt the core. There was more to the fistor rather, his fistthan just exploding stuff. It wasnt just a weapon. It was a declaration of will, a way of life. It was the nature of his soul, and, as contradicting as it sounded, it involved way more than breaking things.
Reluctantly, he placed the two explosion Old Ones as a maybe.
Which left just death and the man.
Death he considered it. Death is a result of combat, but I dont think I aim at that. Its even farther than the explosions.
A no, then.
Which left only the human. If he could discard that as well, he would know that one of the explosions was the answer.
But the human Jack frowned. What exactly did it signify?
There was no discernible characteristic. Nothing supernatural about him. Just a human, a man, standing in space. His details werent clear, but he seemed to have a calm, steady smile, like he saw through everything and simply enjoyed reality.
Could he signify people? he thought. Simplicity? Life? Intelligence?
All those could be true. However, this concept was more complicated than the others. For everything else, he could imagine fitting Daos. But what Daos would fit the image of a human?
It felt like the door was cheating, throwing in a wildcard like that. So Jack ignored it. Instead, he focused inwardly, sinking into his Dao and all the insights hed gathered so far.
What was the fist? It was a path. It was freedom. It was battle. How could it connect towhatever this human signified?
Well, my path is the natural one, he thought, though everyone probably feels the same about theirs. I embrace my instincts without losing track of myself. I stand, laugh, and fight when I have to, and die when I lose. Thats how life should be. I feel complete in this path, happy.
Its how everyone should live, in my humble opinion.
But what did that have to do with being human?
Maybe this is all there is to it, he considered. I am simply who I am. This is what it means to be a human.
However, even he felt that this was slightly off the mark. A bit naive and overstated, even.
Hmm. What else? What is my fist?
Its all the things I mentioned before. However, if I abstract it, is it closer to explosions, or closer to being human?
When he thought of it like that, the answer came easy. Violence and battle was part of his Dao, but just that, a part, a manifestation. The true core of his Dao was the nature of the fist. He strived to make himself behave and think like a fist; steadfast, reliable, strong, honest.
In the end, the Dao was far more than just a weapon. It was a state of being, a way of life. The man he yearned to be.
Jack opened his eyes, gazing at the shackled human at the top of the door, and reached out to touch him. His Dao flowed in, barely a trickle before the vacuum was filled.
Nothing happened.
Told you, Nauja bragged. Now, lets
The cavern shook. The door shone, all twelve Old Ones glowedstarting from the human Jack had chosenuntil the glow illuminated the entire engraving from behind. Colors appeared. Suddenly, it was a work of art, one of mesmerizing beauty that lasted a mere moment.
And then, soundlessly, but with the tunnel still shaking, it swung open inward, revealing a patch of impenetrable darkness.
Nauja was left staring. So were Brock and Jack, but Jack was the first to recover.
Jack one, Nauja zero, he said, full of pride. Now come on. Lets go see whats behind it!
