The world shifted and I was returned to the original chamber. Before I could relish the small victory burning agony spread throughout my body. I looked down half expecting to be on fire but there was nothing. Another pulse of pain forced me to scream. I passed my mental gaze over my body and saw the problem. The chains from earlier had somehow dug into my soul and were now trying to rip me apart. The chains were a bright golden color and radiated a weird Tao. At first, I thought it was a Tao related to light or maybe the sun but it wasn't. This was more like arrays?

  The chains pulled and I was forced out of my thoughts. The pain forced me to my knees. My attempt at circulating my energy caused a fresh wave of agony to spread through my body. Panic rose in the bit of my stomach as I tried to figure out what to do. A familiar caress brushed against the back of my mind and a wave of relief passed through me. The path forward was obvious. I called on each of my Tao to fight against the first chain. I alternated each one starting with Adamance and ending with Compression.

  By the time the first chain crumbled my soul had started to show cracks. I shifted focus to the second chain and popped a healing pill. The pill's effect on the soul was lacking but at this point, I would take whatever I could get. Even the pain relief was welcome. I took a moment to scan my surroundings. I hoped there would be something in the environment. Something that would help me alleviate the pressure but there was nothing.

  Another pull and a fresh wave of agony shot through me. I bit back a scream and doubled my efforts. The second chain shattered and the restriction on my energy weakened. I circulated the Ethereal Codex and portions of the chains began to fall apart. Fresh energy entered my Dantian as I fought against time. The third chain collapsed as tears started to well in my eyes. I maneuvered myself into a seated position and focused on the task.

  Now that the array had lost sixty percent of its power the pain was much more manageable. I could think clearly. I pushed a small amount of energy into Intellect Fortress to help me fight through the pain but there was little my other spells could do. This was a test of Tao and endurance both of which I had plenty of. The fourth chain collapsed and the array reached a tipping point. Its ability to hurt me was greatly diminished and now the array was collapsing.

  I shifted my energy to maintaining the array. Not to stop its collapse but to slow it down slightly. I wasn't sure what would happen if an array collapsed around my soul and I didn't want to find out. Despite my efforts the fifth chain shattered and the array rebounded. For a moment it felt like a vacuum had emerged in the center of the chamber. I gritted my teeth and stole as much energy as I could but I hadn't gotten more than ten percent before it dissipated. Despite that, I had achieved my goal. Between all the arrays in this tomb, I had leveled up. I placed my freebie points into Perception and then took a moment to assess the damage.

  My fear was unfounded. The damage to my soul was relatively minor from what I could tell. Not only that but it looked like it would be a bit stronger when it healed. The small cracks reminded me of that pottery that you would break and repair. It wasn't enough for me to think that this was some sort of reward and part of me wanted to go and blast that king for not warning me. I took another moment to calm down. Even if he had warned me I would have come.

  I also wasn't sure how I was supposed to leave this place. As far as I could tell the System wasn't on this world nor did I have a teleportation token. I had to assume the System wouldn't let me go back until I accomplished the goal. When I felt ready to continue I opened my eyes, stood up, and cracked my knuckles. "I guess we should see what's next."

  "Are you sure you don't want to rest first? It seemed like the array took a lot of you. Your aura isn't as stable as it used to be."

  I hesitated for a moment before I shook my head. "It's hard to know how long we've been in here but people have likely noticed that we are both missing. I don't want to leave Amara without my presence for too long. Hopefully, we don't have to deal with anything too dangerous." I gestured for Xerxes to follow as I stepped up to the door. My mind drifted back to the man from the vision or illusion. I couldn't be sure but he had to have been two or even three realms above me.

  The giant had been frightening but he was also proof of concept. Proof that my current strength wasn't enough and that I could go much higher. The thought made me grin and I pushed the door open. As the door opened braziers on either side of the hall lit and bathed the hallway in blue light. The walls were empty this time which made me think we were about to enter the burial chamber. I nodded to Xerxes and then expanded my Tao Field to cover us both. Each step filled me with anticipation. I wasn't sure if we were marching toward a treasure trove or if we were about to enter some Roman gladiatorial arena.

  I couldn't tell which one I wanted it to be. When we got to the end of the hall we found a chamber that was twice as big as the last one. The central component of the room was a statue and coffin in the center. The statue was of the giant from the vision only it lacked his power. There was no array or even spiritual energy in the statue but that didn't stop me from staring at it. The craftsmanship that went into it was insane. Part of me wanted to take the statue and put it in my ring.

  Further, I was pretty sure that would end in disaster. The same thing was true for the coffin. It was made out of black and white wood that looked like it was carved by a god of crafting. I looked at the coffin for another few seconds before I focused on the rest of the room. The only other thing of importance was a crown that sat on the head of a mannequin-like statue. This statue lacked any identifying characteristics and was clearly there to hold the crown. I reached out with psychokinesis half expecting some trap to trigger Indiana Jones style.

  Sure enough a wall to our right opened and another of the golems stepped into the room. This one looked much stronger than the one we fought earlier. It also had its array spread throughout the inner parts of his body. I waited to see if any other arrays would activate but when the machine raised a stone hammer I shrugged. "I guess the final part of this is a fight."

  Before I could begin my attack Xerxes shot forward like a cannon. The oversized Qilin crashed into the creature like a runaway train. The expected sight of the golem slamming into the wall behind it didn't happen. Instead it swung its hammer at Xerxes with enough force to split a mountain. My companion was knocked nearly ten feet out of the way. For a moment I worried the attack had broken his neck or at least cracked his skull but I was wrong. Xerxes unleashed a blast of imbued fire that slammed into the golem's side.

  Fire licked at its stone but like something out of the terminator the thing kept going. I formed six blades of compressed spatial energy and shot them forward to meet the thing's charge. The golem must've sensed the attack because it abandoned its attack on Xerxes and shattered all six blades. Its hammer glowed with spiritual energy a second before my danger sense screamed at me to move. I divided to the ground just before it launched the hammer at me like a bullet.

  The hammer embedded itself into the wall with a resounding thud. I was about to get back up when the golem's array pulsed and a second scream danger filled my mind. Suddenly the hammer shot out of the wall and back into its hand. The whole thing reminded me of something from an action movie. "Ok that was pretty dope." I laughed and activated Psionic Rain.

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  Dozens of psychic blades fell onto the golem like a heavenly judgement only for nothing to happen. The lack of response from the stone warrior made my mind blank. Xerxes took the moment to ram into it. The creature tried to withstand its charge but clearly Xerxes took offense to the idea. He imbued himself with enough spiritual energy to wipe out a building and the golem was forced backwards. The creature didn't stop until it was half embedded into the wall.

  "It doesn't have a mind." Xerxes snarled into my mind just before he opened his mouth and unleashed another blast of crimson fire. The heat from the flame was intense enough to melt the stone behind it but it wasn't enough. The golem dropped its hammer, lifted Xerxes into the air and launched him at me. My eyes widened as I braced myself for the impact. I infused my legs with spiritual energy and expanded my Tao field to slow down his impact. He still hit me like a truck.

  We were both nearly thrown across the room before I stopped us. "Alright, I don't think this is working."

  "Mental attacks won't work on this one. Use your Tao and cover up my weak spots."

  Before I could respond Xerxes roared and charged toward the warrior who once again held its hammer. I sighed and formed another six blades. I fired them and the golem was forced to make a decision. It prioritized the blades over the Qilin and swung its hammer. Three blades shattered just before Xerxes arrived. The Qilin lowered his head as if he intended to charge through the golem and not into it.

  He knocked its hammer free and slammed into the ground. Before the golem had a chance to recover he unleashed a point blank blast of fire. This one was much more effective. Half of the stone warrior's face began to melt but Xerxes wasn't done. He savaged every part of its body it could reach with its claws. The golem held out a hand and its array began to activate. This time I reached for the hammer with psychokinesis and pulled against it.

  We began the strangest game of tug of war I had ever seen. I gritted my teeth as the hammer inched ever closer to the Xerxes and the golem. I split my focus and tried to form another blade of compressed space. It felt like I was splitting my mind in half. Just when I had decided to give up on the idea something popped. The blade of space didn't so much as form as explode into existence. It wasn't so much as a blade of space but a crack in it. A crack that I could aim and fire. I grinned and released my new attack.

  It would be impossible to describe what happened as "cutting" the golem. Instead it was like the space where its right hand had been simply ceased to exist. Bits of stone fingers fell to the ground and Xerxes roared. Another blast of fire and the golem stopped moving. I scanned the room with the Eye of Heaven. Half expecting another challenge to appear but thankfully nothing did. The golem shattered into harmless pieces of stone along with its hammer. I took a seat ground and laughed while Xerxes let out a roar of triumph.

  The array practice was great and was probably the real treasure of this place. The battle was definitely the most interesting part. I took a moment to cultivate the energy in the room before I turned my attention to the crown. Now that the battle was over it floated right over to me.

  I took a moment to examine it but no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find anything interesting in it. Even to the Eye of Heaven it wasn't all that interesting. I shrugged and tried to put it into my ring. Only it didn't work. I tried twice but either the crown wasn't able to be stored or the ring couldn't take it. Either way, there wasn't anything I could do about it. I decided to hold levitate instead of taking the risk of putting on. I wasn't sure why but that felt like a bad idea. "Alright, so do you think we should just go back or should we look for some door?"

  "Why would the back of a tomb have a door?" Xerxes asked as he turned and started to walk back.

  I rolled my eyes and interlaced my fingers behind my head. "So will you let me ride on your back? You should be big enough for it now."

  "And why would I agree to that? You are just as fast and I am not a pack animal."

  I laughed and shrugged. "Who knows? It might look cool a king on the back of Qilin would be stuff of legends and what if I can't walk? It might be the only way for me to survive."

  "If something like that happens I will carry you but I won't be a mount so you can show off." The irritation in his voice made it clear that he was not interested in continuing the conversation.

  "On the off chance the quest doesn't end once we get back do you think we should support that king? Or should we go and see what the other person has in mind?"

  "We already got the crown. As far as I am concerned that is the extent of our participation. If we don't have a choice then we should focus on whichever is easier."

  "How utilitarian of you. I suppose it's fair though. It isn't like we have any knowledge of the situation here and the System teleported us in front of these people so I guess it was the System that favored them. Either way, it isn't our problem."

  When we exited the tomb we found the group had shrunk. The king was still present but he only had three guards with him. The guards looked a bit stronger but not by a significant margin. The group's stares as the door shut behind us were a bit uncomfortable. Their lack of facial expressions was weird. "Greetings honorable hero—" He began but his words faded when I lifted the crown up. I floated it over to him and he took it reverently.

  I wasn't sure if they had some way of silent communication because they just went silent. After a few awkward moments, the king placed the crown on his head. In the next moment, the crown emitted a pulse of energy and melded with the king's head. A hollow image of the giant from before formed that emitted a hair-raising aura. It wasn't as strong as the pressure that pinned me but it was enough to give Xerxes and I run for our money. I braced myself for a battle but I needn't worry. The image disappeared and the king's aura fell.

  I was about to ask if that was all when a floating stone appeared behind the king. The stone was about the size of a basketball and had the symbol of the System on it. I glanced over at Xerxes to confirm that he saw it as well. When he did I shrugged. The king and his knights were leaving which I guess meant our job was done. We made our way over to the stone and I placed a hand on it. No sooner had I touched did I find myself back in Amara. The guards in the room gripped their swords a moment before they realized who we were.

  "Good job everyone. Did anything happen while I was gone?"

  "Not that I know of sir." The first guard, a tall man with a two-handed sword on his back replied.

  I nodded and was about to leave when the package appeared at my feet. I picked it up and sent it into my ring. It wasn't that I didn't want others to see the quest reward. No, it was more that I wanted to limit the possible eyes on me. The fewer people that knew things the fewer captives someone could take. Also if the Herald was keeping an eye he wouldn't know as much about me. Of course, it also made me a bit more mysterious.

  "Alright, so let's take a day to rest? I will check in with everyone to make sure nothing needs my attention and then we can make our next plans."

  "Agreed. Can we go back to the Tower first?" Xerxes asked as he stretched in a way that was too reminiscent of a cat.

  I nodded and activated Apportation. The portal opened and we stepped through. I let Xerxes head into the cultivation chamber while I took a seat in the former council room. I sent messages to the rest of the council but they didn't have much for me to deal with. Instead I decided to do a little shopping. I pulled up the System shop and paged through what I had access to. Amara's population was on a steady incline which meant we would gain access to more shops. I still wasn't sure if I wanted that or not. More shops would give us access to more things but it would weaken Azariah's position. It would also weaken my own indirectly since I invested in her.

  I settled on buying infrastructure. I bought a few more machines that would let us convert the spirit water into spirit stones. Chief amongst them was a device that kind of reminded me of an industrial water filter only it compacted and froze the liquid. Despite the description, I still didn't really understand how it did it. After that, I purchased a few more settlement defense arrays to protect the other settlements. Thankfully the Commonwealth's former HQ was already defended so that saved me a pretty penny.

  From there I left a portion of my credits for the council to spend. I didn't want to get too bogged down with the various arrays I could buy. Since they were all incredibly expensive. The sooner we could manufacture our own arrays the better. I closed down the menu screen and summoned the box from my ring. It was time to check my reward.