Chapter 107: Bound or Unbound

  For what felt like an eternity, there was an awkward silence. Neither party said anything. Frankly, Parth didn’t know what to say at all. A large part of him considered this to be a part of the dungeon’s trap. But he couldn’t be sure. Especially considering the veracity of his visions and whatnot. Sure, this specter was not a part of his dreams, but this whole place was suspect.

  Parth observed his quarry keenly. Surprisingly, the old man seemed to be of Indian origin. His long hair was tied in a neat bun, the kind that rishis and yogis preferred. A long hair and beard were all white. The visible skin on his body was wrinkled. The old man was lean, but not emaciated. He didn’t wear any armored clothing of any sort. Instead, the old man was clad in a white dhoti and an angavastaram. Essentially, two long pieces of cloth, one draped across his waist and the other over his shoulder. All tied up in knots to facilitate smooth movement. It was simplistic and minimalistic. Choice of wear for ascetics and sages of old.

  All in all, he didn’t look like someone who was prepared to fight. The question was whether this man was a voyager or not. Given that he seemingly had the same artifact as Timmy, Parth didn’t know what to make of it.

  Moreover, the bastard of an illusionist, the Delusional Sleuth, had been slain by Parth’s own two hands. So this was something totally different.

  “You didn’t answer me, young one. You are real, are you not?” The old man asked.

  “To be frank, I should be the one asking that question,” Parth replied.

  “Hah, indeed. But you can relax. I’m not here to fight. In fact, I’m not here to do anything.” He said airily. The old man seemed to be in a very good mood, given that he was smiling ear to ear. And that unnerved Parth. Nobody was truly happy inside the dungeon.

  Parth didn’t lower his guard. In response, the man smiled and spoke again. “I’d recognize those gauntlets and flames anywhere. I presume you are the latest Pygilist. Go ahead, Chuck a small fireball at me. Just don’t damage the mana crystals. But go ahead.”

  “And what would that prove?” Parth asked, unsure of where this was going.

  “That you can’t hurt me. And likewise, neither can I hurt you.”

  “I suppose I can humor you. But that doesn’t guarantee anything. I can’t take you at your word that you won’t be able to hurt me.”

  “Yes. Honestly, if you finished removing those mana crystals, I’ll be the one benefiting greatly from it. I’ll finally be free. It’s just that I wanted to have a chat before I go. That’s it. That’s all I ask for.”

  Without warning, Parth chucked a tennis ball-sized projectile at the specter. And as advertised, the fireball passed straight through him and hit the wall on the far end of the Chamber.

  “Aha, quite a swift maneuver. With the size of your manna reserves. I wouldn’t expect such swiftness. I suppose this is not your first trial, then. Regardless, congratulations on honing your craft.”

  Parth let his frustration show on his face. This conversation wasn’t heading anywhere. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t have much time to play any of these games. I need to disable this trap. So, does it matter if you are immune to my fire or not? I’m gonna do what needs to be done anyway.”

  “I understand your predicament. Let me aid you, and please aid me in turn. I’m not asking for altruism from your part. And I can be helpful. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and remove all of these crystals, bar two of them. That should be enough,” the man said. His face was still covered with a bright smile. It was as if the man felt happy just talking to Parth.

  “Sure. Only if you take several steps back, please. Preferably, stay closer to the wall. And I can go ahead with my job.”

  “Of course, of course. Honestly, I’m very relieved. Leave two crystals alone. Or not, doesn’t truly matter. Whatever the case, I’ll soon be free.”

  Not making heads or tails of this whole situation, Parth waited for the specter to float away. Once he did, Parth moved closer to the grave once again. While keeping an eye on the specter, he began plucking the mana crystals one by one. The sheer proximity to the crystals was like a constant, blinding spotlight to his heatmap. So, unfortunately, he had to turn it off momentarily.

  Each time he plucked a crystal, there was a small pulse of mana. Just like the first trial. Only, last time, Emilia had removed everything altogether in the same motion, and the pulse was quite bigger as a result. And that had triggered a pseudo vision for a second in everyone.

  This time, it was just Parth here, and he didn’t have fancy telekinesis. So, one after another, he removed the crystals and placed them on the ground. Finally, there were just two remaining. He looked at the specter, and the man hadn’t moved an inch at all. Heck, Parth was sure that the old man hadn’t even blinked.

  He was still not sure if this spirit was a part of the trap or not. But he did need answers. And a sentient spirit, no matter how unreliable he might be, would have something to say.

  “I see that you have left those two alone. You’re not going to remove them, are you?” The man just seemed even happier at the turn of events.

  For a second, Parth wanted to pluck them out and mess with the guy, and be done with this nonsense. “Not immediately. But I’d really love some explanation. Preferably before the golems break into this chamber.”

  “Bah, don’t worry about those stupid things. They won’t make it inside the tunnel. They never could, even during my time.”

  “Once again, I’m entirely out of the loop. Regardless, those things are still out there, and so are my friends. So I’d really appreciate it if I could get some information before I remove these two crystals. Now.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Ah, companions? Then please go back. Destroy the golems if you can. You can right? Those things were tailor-made to take care of Pygilists. The fact that you are here inside this tunnel says a lot about how well you’ve fared against them.”

  Parth didn’t know where this man was getting his information from, but he sure would like to know.

  “I can take care of them, no problem. But they’ll keep spawning as long as this trap is active.”

  “Why do you say that? Can’t you sense it? The mana being transmitted is severely insufficient now.”

  “Can’t sense mana, old man,” Parth replied, frustration spiking in his voice.

  “Truly. That’s quite a shame. And quite surprising at the same time. No matter. What I mean to say is. The golems will keep repairing themselves, true. But the rate at which they do will not stay the same. You have disconnected almost the entire power supply after all.”

  It made sense. But Parth couldn’t take him at face value.

  “What do you mean to say? They won’t instantly spring back to life? We can keep the trap active as long as we want, and then we can just finish it off?”

  “Yes. The moment you remove these two crystals, of course, they’ll collapse for the last time. But as I said, before you do that, just a small chat. One lost soul to another.”

  They’ve intentionally sprung the trap anyway. It was all for answers. Maybe now they’ve stumbled upon something worthwhile. Or maybe it was a bigger trap. Before Parth took any such decisions, he’d need to check with his teammates. And also verify if this old man was telling the truth about the golems.

  “Sure, let me just get my companions first. I still need to clear the way for them, don’t I?”

  “Please go ahead. I have all the time in the world.”

  Parth glanced at the mana crystals littering the floor. He didn’t want to come back to a nasty surprise. But at the same time, he didn’t want to use flaming constructs to carry them right now. Couldn’t really guarantee their safety. If the flames went blue, then the crystals would explode right in his face.

  Removing the mana crystals had destabilized the trap for sure. Parth could tell that much. Because the mana density had gone down. The crystals had gone inert the moment they were removed from the gravestone. It reduced the density of manna in the air, which in turn reduced the interference to his heatmap. However, it was a gradual process, not instantaneous. And he didn’t have the time to wait and see. Therefore, he still needed to go out and check.

  “Why don’t you come with me and meet the whole team?” Parth asked. It was better to keep this man in his sights.

  “Alas, this accursed chamber is my prison. I can’t take a step out of it. Figuratively, of course.” He mentioned that as he stayed airborne, wriggling his toes.

  Clicking his tongue in frustration, Parth moved beneath the tunnel that brought him to this chamber.

  “For god’s sake, if I come back to see any kind of nonsense. I’ll torch this chamber to the ground. I’ll keep the flames burning until I run dry of mana. I’ll make this an oven. Your intangibility isn’t permanent. You do have to become physical at some point, don’t you? And when you do, you’ll burn,” Parth threatened, his gauntlets lighting up with flames that momentarily flickered blue.

  “Relax, there’s no need for such threats,” the man said. At the same time, he was now curiously looking at Parth’s gauntlets.

  “Just covering my bases. If you don’t do anything, then we are good. If you try to pull a sly one on us, then we’ll have problems.”

  “Youngsters these days. No trust in their elders. Go ahead, young one. But do come back soon. You won’t find anything out of place here. It’s not like I can touch anything. Haven’t been able to, for god knows how long.

  Parth quickly jumped up the tunnel and found himself inside the broken hut again. He flared his heatmap to its full range. Yet again, he was surprised. There was not a single golem standing. There were puddles of lava everywhere on the town square. As he monitored the temperature, he could see that these pieces were slowly moving. Presumably to reattach. But the movement was incredibly small and infinitesimally slower. This once again gave credence to the words of the old man. He was right. The trap was still active, but it had been effectively defanged.

  Moira and Kwame floated down and hovered next to him.

  “So, it’s done? The trap is disabled?” Moira asked.

  “Not really. Our lives aren’t that simple,” Parth sighed and said.

  “Come on now, no need for all this melodrama. What happened?” She asked.

  “Better if I show you. I don’t know how to explain it. Still, be prepared for a fight. We are not out of the woods just yet.”

  “Whatever you say, boss,” Kwame piped in.

  The entrance to the chamber was too big for the floating platform, so Parth had to once again carry Kwame on his piggyback. The three of them floated down to the chamber, only to find the old man still rooted in his spot. He hadn’t moved a single inch. The crystals remained untouched, and there was seemingly nothing nefarious going on. On the surface, at least.

  “Please tell me that I’m not hallucinating. You see that old man there, right?” Parth asked

  “I do.”

  “So do I,” Kwame said, his artifact buzzing in front of him aggressively, blades out and all that.

  “Thank god. I grew tired of being the crazy one, seeing all sorts of weird shit.”

  The old man began tutting at that. “Refrain from such uncouth language, young one.”

  “What’s happening here?” Moira asked.

  “I don’t know. He just appeared out of nowhere when I was about to disable the trap.” Once he was done speaking, there was once again a brief moment of uncomfortable silence that stretched on. Nobody knew what to say. Nobody except the old man, apparently.

  “Forget about all that for a moment. This is such a happy occasion. I finally get to meet other people. And I’m pretty sure that I’m not crazy. Never gone that far. And at last I’m going to be free.”

  “He keeps saying that,” Parth whispered to his teammates.

  “Some context would be helpful, please,” Kwame said out loud.

  “Indeed, indeed. In all my excitement, it seems I’ve forgotten all about my manners. I am Vyasadatta Gargeya. Extremely happy to meet you all.”

  Another beat of silence. Seemed to be a staple when conversing with this man. Or it was the situation at least.

  “Parth”

  “Just Parth?”

  “Parthasarathy Ulundurpettai Parandhaman.”

  “Interesting. Named after Lord Krishna, but preferring Arjuna’s epithet instead. Quite a puzzle. I’ve never heard anyone do so. Is there a reason for that?”

  “No interesting reason. It’s just how it is,” Parth replied. To which the old man just hummed in thought.

  “What about the rest of you?”

  “Moira Blueport”

  “Kwame Matumba. Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice indeed,” Vyasadatta said.

  “So you said you wanted to chat before you go wherever you want to go?” Parth asked, wanting to get this back on track.

  “Yes, I do. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter too much. But I just wanted to find out how long I’ve been stuck here.”

  “And how do we find that out?” Moira asked.

  “It’s quite simple, actually. Which iteration of the Centennial Challenge is this?”

  “The ninety-fifth.”

  The moment the answer left Moira’s mouth, Vyasadatta’s face sank. For a moment, he didn’t say anything. “So long? It has been such a cruel punishment. But I believe I’ve made my peace with it. And if you three would be so kind as to help me, I’ll have my freedom.”

  “How will removing those crystals free you? As far as I knew, only the dungeon’s traps are bound to these crystals.” Parth asked.

  “Then you don’t know much about mana at all. And I can’t really blame you, despite all my learnings and whatnot, I was as ignorant when I came here as well. It was only after these long, long years that I’ve grasped the depths of magic.”

  “I’m sorry, but how long have you been here? And who exactly are you, for that matter?” Kwame asked.

  “I suppose this will answer both these questions. I was the seventy-second unbound phantom,” Vyasadatta said with a sardonic smile.

  Parth’s face twisted in surprise, unable to believe what he had heard. The same was true for Moira and Kwame.

  “But then that would mean-” Moira began, only to get interrupted.

  “That I was trapped here upwards of two millennia, yes.”