Jason knew that there were a lot of things that he had to get to the bottom of, but the one thing that Jason was certain of right now was that he could not allow Rubik to get his hands on this piece of land, no matter what. Not only would Riyala be signing off on one of the most valuable locations in Radagan, but she would also give the Overlord free access to find Rumunaga’s core.
’But I also have to make sure I don’t tell Riyala about the core being here. Is it really going to be okay to keep this from her?’
This thought crossed Jason’s mind, and he let out a calm sigh and decided to just see how things went. But Jason was surprised when Gina suddenly spoke to him through their mental link.
’Jason, are you busy? There’s something I need to tell you right now.’
Gina’s tone sounded urgent, and Jason could immediately tell that this was something serious! Jason asked Gina what was wrong, and Gina quickly repeated the message that C’thlyanu had given her back to Jason. Jason felt his eyes widen in shock, and he could only wonder how the hell C’thlyanu knew anything about Riyad! From what Jason remembered, Riyad was the world that the system had traced that strange, magical voice to a few days ago! Does that mean that the voice was somehow related to all of this as well? Jason didn’t like how complex all these things were getting, and he spoke to Gina quickly.
’Where are you now? Is anyone following you?’
’No, I don’t think so. I think I’m safe for now. And it’s a neutral world, so C’thlyanu said they won’t try to attack me here. I’m using the shadows to get back to the others.’
’Good, make sure to stay with Riyala and the others, and don’t go anywhere till I get back. I’ll be there in a second.’
Jason knew that Gina would be safe in the Stone Catacombs, but he didn’t have a full picture of what was happening right now, so he just wanted to be extra careful. Gina acknowledged Jason’s words, and Jason quickly activated his powers before locating the Rook that he had left close to the Stone Catacombs, and in the next moment, he was gone.
....
[The Stone Catacombs]
Jason appeared through the Dimensional Tear on the stone platform in the Stone Catacombs, and he saw that same Faceless Keeper waiting there for him. The Faceless Keeper bowed and greeted Jason respectfully, and Jason nodded as he prepared to use [King’s Substitute] to go to Gina, but the Faceless Keeper suddenly walked closer to Jason and spoke in a low voice.
"Lord C’thlyanu has asked me to pass you this message. A petition has been submitted, and you will be branded as a Black Enigma within the hour. Lord C’thlyanu will try to delay the process as much as possible, but it is advised that you are not on this world or anywhere close by before the hour is over. Your presence will bring down calamity upon your allies."
Jason felt his eyes widen in shock, and a sudden surge of anger filled him once he heard this! Jason looked over at the Faceless Keeper, but the Faceless Keeper simply took a few steps back and continued to stand against the wall without bothering to say anything more! Jason grit his teeth, and he decided that he couldn’t waste any time here anymore. Jason gave a nod of thanks to the Faceless Keeper, and he made a mental note to talk to C’thlyanu sometime in the future before he vanished from the stone platform!
Inside a large room in the Stone Catacombs, Riyala, Gina, and the rest of the delegates from Earth and Radagan were talking in harsh, low voices as they tried to figure out what they would be doing next!
"What do you mean they’re after Jason? Did you hear them mention Jason specifically?"
Agiel spoke up with a frown on her face. She was already on her feet, and anyone who saw her then would know that she was more than ready to get into a fight. Gina frowned as she nodded at Agiel, and she relayed what she heard to the rest of the delegates. Agiel squeezed her hand into a fist, but Katarina spoke up from behind Agiel.
"Try to calm down. Remember that this is a Neutral zone. If you get into a fight, you’ll be arrested and imprisoned."
"Shut up. I already know all that!"
Agiel glared at Katarina in anger, and Katarina frowned as she turned away to stare at the floor. Riyala rubbed her forehead with a gentle sigh before she asked Gina a question.
"Did Lord C’thlyanu tell you anything else about Riyad? What exactly are we meant to be looking for on that world?"
"He didn’t say anything else. He just told me that the answers we’re looking for are in Riyad and Jason would know what it is."
Riyala frowned as she tried to search for any information about Riyad in the memories that she got from the past priestesses. It took a few seconds, but Riyala’s eyes widened slightly when she remembered something! Riyad was a war-torn world that had been one of the hotspots of battle during the Period of Lawlessness. The world had once been occupied by a race of creatures known as the Aquina! The Aquina possessed great architectural abilities, and this allowed them to build a massive floating city on a large ocean in the centre of Riyad! But an attack from a Primordial during the war had affected the rune formation that held their city up, and the entire city had drowned into the ocean! But even though the city was sunk, it is believed that the city was still very much alive, and some people even theorised that the Aquina had somehow survived the drowning, and they adapted their bodies so that they would be able to live underwater! But Riyala didn’t think that this theory was true at all because there was another theory that said that the Aquina had drowned their own city on purpose and killed themselves to protect their secrets from the Primordial that attacked them. No one really knew why the city sank or if the Aquina were alive or not!
But the thing that stuck out the most to Riyala at the moment was the fact that there were only two known ways to reach Riyad. The first was through the Eastern Corridor, and this would take you through the world of the Machina, and it was unlikely that they would ever give you permission to pass through their world. But the second route was even more difficult!
"Are you sure C’thlyanu wants Jason to go to Riyad? There is only one possible route he can take and the route will take more than a hundred Dimensional Jumps."
Everyone turned to Riyala in shock when she said that it would take more than a hundred dimensional jumps, and they all realised that this wasn’t just some quick journey across the Primordial Expanse! This was a fucking pilgrimage! How in the world was Jason going to make a hundred jumps just to reach another world?
"More than a hundred jumps? Are you sure about this?"
Gina spoke up with wide eyes, and Riyala was about to nod before she shook her head.
"No, it’s even more than that. I think it’s even more than two hundred. The memories I have are a bit fuzzy but—"
"It’s two hundred and forty-five dimensional jumps."
A voice suddenly spoke, and everyone turned to see Jason rising from the shadows. Gina immediately went over to hug Jason before asking if he was okay, and Jason gave her a small smile before he turned with a serious expression to the others.