Ultimus Thesaurus: The last Treasure (Era of Change Book 1) (29 page)

On the ceiling of the hall there were crystals resembling the one that I had seen in the hands of Mel, but these shone in a vibrant purple and it was as if they were resonating to the light of the throne. On the throne sat not the man I had seen, but a woman. Her gaze was not equal to that of the people on the square and so I assumed that she could truly recognize me.

“What is this place?” I asked her, but she did not reply to my question, which again and again echoed through the hall.

“Can you see me? Help me, please,” I begged of her and soon realized that with every word that I said in this place my strength was dwindling.

I sat down on the stages before the throne and looked at the crystals whose gloss captivated me, as if it pursued me. The radiation of the throne that was reflected on them lit up the entire hall in such a strong way that even a glance on the clear floor caused headaches.

I did not belong here and yet the she-wolf had sent me. And now I could not return without an answer. She had told me that I should ask the question to which she cannot give an answer, but what a question should this be? Do things exist whose actual meaning is nonsense? To formulate a question that no one would need to answer seemed not very helpful to me, and yet it was the only thing that these people could understand.

Since they could neither see, nor hear me, my only option was to help myself. This was the only way I could find the answer that no one was able to give me. 

My gaze wandered about and even if many people walked through the hall, the woman on the throne never looked at them.

She stared obsessed at the entrance to the palace and it was as if she was waiting for something that never happened. If this was the path of the spirits then these were probably the spirits of the people who were trapped in the gorge. Now they waited for their salvation or at least the understanding of what happened to them.

This was the only conclusion at which I arrived and yet it could not help me. I therefore stood up and examined the throne because it was also made from unknown materials. My skin shone forth in its splendour, as I only slightly touched it, and so I was sure that it was the key.

The ring on my hand began to devour the light which almost completely encapsulated it. The previously somewhat dull outer casing was now full of life, and the ring itself slowly turned around my finger. Only little time remained for me to focus on it, because my own strength decreased with every second.

It was probably the fate of a man like me, being forced to make a decision I couldn’t understand, after being forced to enter this place by fear and compulsion. Mel had told me that I had to be ready to risk my own spirit to save Isaac and when I looked at the entrance to the palace, I finally understood why I was here.

The woman on the throne did not wait for her salvation and also not to understand her condition, she waited for the spirit of Isaac, who now slowly wandered through the halls of the palace. All my calls and all my gestures just used the rest of my energy because he could not see me. Now it was up to me to understand how I could help him, but time was against me in this place.

If this woman was the origin of the curse then the crystals on the ceiling had to preserve her. I began to understand what price I had to pay to save Isaac and I was sure that I had to take the place on the throne. 

It was quite unlike me to act without thinking, but each step the spirit of Isaac took was a further second I lost and so I now grabbed the throne with both hands and its glow began to cease.

My right hand vibrated evermore, while the ring absorbed the light of the throne and turned quicker than before. Its power began to increase, but mine was now completely consumed.

The light of the throne was weaker and more and more the woman who was sitting on it disappeared. Until finally nothing was left over and the crystals on the ceiling lost their lustre and turned mat, just like the one I had seen in the hands of Mel.

As my gaze fell to Isaac, I was glad, because he did not walk towards me anymore, but now that he stopped and I did not know whether I could release the throne, I decided to just sit down on it. At this moment I froze in place and a huge shock seized the palace and slowly made it collapse. The debris fell down from the ceiling, striking down in close proximity to Isaac who still did not move.

My gaze now turned to the ceiling, where the crystals began to shine in all colours until they found their old lustre and the destruction of the palace stopped. In this moment the throne also began to shine again and its bright aura surrounded me like a shield.

Now I could move again and grabbed the arm of Isaac, who finally recognized me.

“Where are we?” he asked with a weak voice and crumpled, whereupon I supported him and helped him up.

“On the way home,” I told him and carried him in the direction of the exit.

He did not stay conscious for long and even if my strength in this place was limited, I regained enough in this moment to reach the window. As soon as we had left this place, the gleaming of my skin ended and everything felt as before.

While I traversed the window, I noticed that the radiating lustre of the ring had now completely vanished and its status had returned to the way in which I found it. Even if I still could not explain its benefits, so I was sure that Jasper had helped me to protect my friend.

The spirit of Isaac disappeared when I stepped through the window and I saw his body that was still lying on the ground while Mel conducted the ritual. But now, when I had returned, the crowd stopped their singing and sank down to their knees. The fog was compressed and the window disappeared.

Mel rose from the ground and slipped on his cloak, while I immediately ran to the centre of the field and checked the condition of Isaac. His breathing was very weak and his body weighed heavy, but something else seemed to have changed. His hair began to blanch and his skin was aging. Everything about him was different, until he eventually opened his eyes and stood up from the soil of the field.

This was no longer Isaac, who I saw before me, it was his father, Magnus Doyle. His gaze wandered around and then finally stopped on me. Nothing of this situation seemed to unsettle him and after all this time where he now had been a prisoner in the spirit of another person his first word that he said was: “Interesting”.

A strange moment, the first time that I saw the man, who was rumoured to change the world. I had thought that this crazy old man had no idea what happened around him and yet I had risked my life to check if it was true. I expected no thanks and still his reaction was anything other than usual. The crowd broke up, the ritual was finished and even Mel returned to the shadows. Now we both stood here, on the field of dreams and Magnus looked straight at me, but he did not know who I was.

“This is Jik'Zur, eh? I have read a lot about it. What happened here?” he asked me and started to slowly turn around.

“You and your son, you are connected. I cannot explain how exactly this happened, but he still lives on within you. This ritual that occurred here was done to save your spirit and now that you returned, you need to help me,” I explained to Magnus, who did not really take me seriously.

“You must be Jacob. I hoped that we meet someday. I cannot help before I have rested. It was a long day.”

He ran away and left me in the field. Nothing had worked out as we had planned it and now I was completely alone again. Lucia had warned me and even if I did not heed her warning at that time, so I slowly got the feeling that I could no longer defend myself. At first I thought of finding Mel, but he was the only one who could freely move through the shadows and therefore I had to wait until he returned.

My path brought me back to the tent in that Isaac and I had stayed and to my surprise Magnus was already there and read in the books that also had fascinated his son.

“Apparently you remember more than you want to admit. These books were in possession of your son, like this tent. Tell me the truth at last; can you remember the time back then?” I asked him and he closed the books and threw them carelessly into the corner.

“I do not need to remember, my dear chap. In contrast to my son, I am certainly able to formulate my own theses and evaluate them. This tent was secluded from the general population, it neither corresponds to the standards of these people, nor is it in any way a permanent residence. Also these books verify my assumptions, since only my son could believe that they are of value,” he said and continued to search our small property.

It did not take long until I understood why Isaac wanted to avoid a confrontation with this man and my own patience quickly ran out as well. I seized Magnus by his collar and looked him in the eye, whereupon he just laughed.

“Go ahead and bludgeon the friendliness into my old body. I should help you, right? What problems has my boy caused this time? All this time and I am still alive. Do you think that he is as strong as I am? My body was created by the spirit of science and the spirit of my son was only attached to it due to an accident. I will leave this place and you will have to help yourself”, he said and I eased my grasp, as I now understood what kind of man he really was.

“You remind me of my father. He also was a proud man and he did not know the value of a family. Experiments such as yours have changed me and now that I no longer know who I am, I just have the connection to your son left. If you would remove it too, then I do not know how I should move forward. The threat we face is so enormous that nothing remains unaffected. There is a book and with the knowledge in this book, we can prevent this world from disappearing. Without this knowledge you will also die, no matter how much you surround yourself with science.”

“Brave words and I understand what you mean. At that time I had found the solution and it was clear to me against whom you both have conspired to fight. This place, this book, these words. Everything had been just as bad as it is today. Believe me, if we keep the knowledge, the world will continue to exist. And if I die, then this is still better than translating even one more book. Some secrets should better never be revealed,” he replied and was already on the point of leaving the tent.

“Wait! I have sacrificed so much on this trip and learned even more. Giving up and hiding in the shadows will not change anything. We need to fight the prince and we need to understand what is written in this book. Only thus we can end all of this. Don’t you want to also help your son?”

He stopped and turned to me, but his opinion was the same as before.

“If you're correct, then my son is still well. I will find a way to help him, but I don’t need a book for this. Your path ends here, just like mine ended many years ago. Keep the knowledge you have gained and do not look back with the desire to go on. The risk of that you speak is only as real as you allow it to be. He would never destroy this world, not before he has finally uncovered the secret. 

His goal is the same as mine has been such a long time ago. He wants immortality. But, if you find out its price, then you see things differently. Young people dream, but the old care no longer. This is how it has always been and you can’t change it,” were the words with which he left the tent and disappeared into the darkness.

For me there was no reason that the prince would seek immortality because he already lived for many thousands of years. Even if his power decayed, so I was still convinced that Magnus was mistaken in the motifs of the prince. The glances Magnus shot at me confused me because he always seemed to observe my ring as if he knew what it was. Again I had met a man who knew everything about this world, but was not content to talk about it.

Now that there was no goal left for me and no hope to cling to, I was waiting for Mel and believed in my despair that he could perhaps find a solution. I sat in the corner of the tent and suddenly noticed it. 

The two books, which Magnus had tossed away without consideration, were gone. He knew what was hidden within them and his plans had more to do with them than he had admitted.

I ran as fast as I could, but without knowing in which direction he went, Magnus made it hard for me to follow him. At the beginning of the trip he distinguished himself by his chaotic, almost sick behaviour, but now he was cold and calculated. Therefore I decided to look for the easiest way to leave the town. He could not have come far, because the dense fog around the town made it difficult to find a suitable way out. This led me to the highest hill of the small town on which Magnus already waited for me.

“I expected you to find me soon,” he said and was just about to burn both books.

“What is written in these books? Why do you want to burn them? Do you fear what they reveal?” I asked him and he stopped for a moment.

“You do not know how this world works. I have seen how my wife died, how her dreams disappeared and how I was too proud to accept that I was at fault for her death. My own son hated me so much that he wished for my death, and all this because I knew more about this world than anyone else. Thousands came to see me, they bought my books, my knowledge and they supported my research.

The mystery which mankind faces from birth is seemingly simple. Why do we die? What is it that is lost with the times? It is easy to answer, and impossible to prevent. I found out that you could prevent it. This place is just one of many, but here the research originated. Not my research, because all of this happened thousands of years ago.

The shamans of these people had the gift to control the spirits of the dead and they could capture them. This is the largest spirit prison of the known world. Do you still think that coincidence brought you here? You said that people experimented on you and yet you trust this stranger. The prince, as you call him, is not an ordinary man. Even all this time ago he controlled the entire world and he only had one interest - the truth.

My talent is that I am able to understand everything, master everything, and hate it all. If you are like me, then other people mean less to you than the next book in your hands or the next research, because tomorrow everything could be different. My wife and I were particularly, because we understood each other only through competition. Unfortunately, I was the better of the two of us and so I lost her. My son was correct to hate me and I wish that I had reacted differently, when he told me about his fate.