The Above

-Epilogue-

Two weeks, three days and four hours have passed since Atlaster's death. Since that time, quite a bit has changed. The entirety of the Lux faction fell apart after being unable to piece themselves together after the raid. Most of the population flocked to the Haven, though the ones that settled at the camp with us didn't seem upset about the destruction of their homeland.

I made the wise decision that, if I couldn't handle one faction, I would sacrifice the Tenebris throne to Calyx. I trusted him enough, and my conclusion was correct; within the span of a few weeks, he had managed to entirely change the focus of the faction for the better.

Things seemed to be going well. Camps had tripled in size, smiles were strewn across faces, and worlds were made whole. Yet I couldn't say that I myself had that happiness that seemed to spread like a virus.

I would spend most of my days at the spot where Atlaster had taken me the night we kissed, and I would weep. When I wasn't silently mourning, I was working. While I didn't have Kaseko, Atlaster, or Pylia to comfort me, I still had Guinevere, Wren, and Katoka. They had lost him too, though they were far more composed than I. I relied heavily on them to keep me going, keep me searching and making discoveries.

Today, I was with the three. We were in the room hidden underneath Guinevere's residence. The topographical map I had been intently studying sat between me and the older earth user as my tired eyes flickered over the paper I had discovered after my battle with the Shadow King.

"There's nothing, Guinevere," I sighed, setting down the torn page and rubbing the bridge of my nose, "I told you once, I'll tell you again. We don't have enough information. We just need the proper translation."

"And how are we supposed to get that?" she asked, flipping her short gray hair and stuffing a scroll into the back cabinet. "I'm telling you, unless you were born speaking that tongue, the only way you can decipher it is through these characters," she gestured to a piece of paper filled with odd looking shapes. I had mesmerized them all after sleep became a rarity for me, my dreams haunted with the ones who had died.

"I...I don't know. But that's not going to stop me from figuring this out—I will figure this out," I assured myself more than I did her. "I'm going to..." As I spoke, an idea popped into my mind. Something I hadn't thought of yet, something that had escaped me between the stress and the sorrow.

If I could see the truth, if I could see what things really meant... Could I understand this? Drawing in a deep breath, I activated my mental ability. The world around me grew dark, and I turned my focus to the page resting on my lap. I was met with shifting words I could understand, coruscating and swaying slightly.

A sacrifice for the one who here established the land you tread, it read, and a smile graced my lips for the first time in weeks. Place where man meets all earth and end, and follow that which guides the darkest souls.

At first, the cryptic message made no sense. But as Wren handed me a quill and paper due to my request, I began to get an idea of what the words meant.

"Who established the Nexus?" I asked Guinevere, and she pondered the question for a moment.

"Well, multiple people. But if I had to narrow it down... A man named Artaxiad was the primary founder, I suppose."

"Do you know where his grave is?" I questioned. If I was right about this...

"Strange question," she scoffed, but she still pondered on the topic. "I believe I do." She pulled out a scroll from the back shelf and unfurled it, revealing a map. I sat up from my chair and rushed to her side as she pointed to a place on the map. "Right around there. It's hard to miss when you actually get there, it's quite an extravagant place. I'm surprised how little know about it. Why?"