Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"Nas'Korn, it's been a long time." Seth greeted the statue of the god.

"Everyone else may leave now." the god directed Manila, Kargo, and the others.

They waited for everyone else to leave before they continued their conversation.

"I'm glad you decided to come by. There is something I have to tell you. I time of great turmoil is upon us." the got finally said.

"That's nothing new, is it? I would not call the current situation calm." the blacksmith asked confused. A time even more tumultuous?

"It will become even more chaotic." Nas'Korn insisted seriously.

Taking Seth's silence as a question for it to continue, Nas'Korn explained.

"Roughly two years ago, when the system god reversed the apocalypse, our dried up world was connected to the Pathworks and fresh mana started flooding into Urth. Soon our world will be saturated and balanced out with the Pathworks. That will cause a paradigm shift." it made a dramatic pause.

"A paradigm shift?"

"The Age of Gods will begin. Although you have already met some gods and their chosen ones, the real deal will start then. Many gods will start choosing players and some might even choose saints and try to cut out a place for themselves on Urth." the god told him forebodingly.

"Try cut out a place for themselves on Urth..." the blacksmith mumbled.

Something clicked for Seth. This had to be at least one of the reasons for Chrona's Evaluation. If what the god said was true, maybe the empire was evaluating whether to compete for their territory on Urth and leave once the gods started playing their game seriously.

Just one Chosen could already cause major problems depending on their disposition. The Champion of Zarkon and Natina were just two examples of the kinds of damage these people could cause. But it did not end there.

"Exactly. Currently, Urth is very attractive to many people, thanks to the sprawling unclaimed land and the high population density in specific places. Whether they choose to start settlements in the wilderness or look for believers in the districts, who is to stop them?" Nas'Korn added

"Just like the Theocracy of Chains." Seth thought.

There was also the Undead Empire that took residence in Gamma. Or the maritime empire in Beta. Would there be more such people once the Age of Gods began? And this was only what happened in the districts.

He remembered his short encounter with people that hunted the stone giant. Who was to say how many foreigners were already running around on Urth? And there was also Hope, the city in the no man's land they had known nothing about.

They knew nothing about what was possibly festering on the continent, outside of their scope. People like that foreigner Al'Zalsar could simply walk out of the woodwork and pose a huge threat to them without any prior warning.

Seth did not worry so much about Delta. He was relatively sure that they had the Chrona Empire on their side, after the recent Evaluation. It did not look so good for Ypsilon. Y-City had insisted on its independence from foreign powers with an almost xenophobic reaction.

He couldn't blame them after their experience with the invasion of the maritime empire. But it meant they were open for these new power to invade and undermine them. Not to mention foreign invasion, who was to stop a native chosen from founding a new religious order? Especially if their influence will seem positive at first?

Similar to Yvette Marlow, who was trying to build a church for her god Samhach.

His thoughts kept racing, as he tried to assess the scope of danger these changes could entail. There was also the danger of legends just forcing their way in. Even Al'Zalsar would be unable to deal with someone like that.

As if it had been reading his thoughts, Nas'Korn spoke up.

"You do not have to worry about "legends". " the god said calmingly.

It explained to him about the treaty of most inter-dimensional kingdoms but here was more. It hinted that although the system god seldom interfered with, it did not allow foreign legends to enter the worlds with his systems. Foreign in this context meant, those who had no agreement with it. It was a rare insight into the system given by a god.

"Will you be okay?" the bard asked when his own worries finally calmed a little.

Nas'Korn didn't seem like a very strong god and the city of Mount Agra was far off either of the districts.

"Do not worry. I am not that weak and Agra still has a deal with the empire. It will only strengthen with the trade route you are trying to implement." the god calmed his worries.

After its warning of impending doom, their conversation slowly calmed and went in the direction of more mundane things.

"So that was how you managed to take possession of that magic tower. You were quite lucky to have someone like that at your side," it said as they were talking about the past.

"Talking about things of the ancient past, do you know anything about those two, Una and Tearlach, that arrived together with us?" Seth used the chance to ask about the two horned ones he picked up.

"hmm, yes, I can see them. I did not expect to see descendants of the green man in this day and age." the god pondered.

"Are they dangerous?" Seth asked outright.

"You could say they are offspring of a god of nature. They are strong, but they hold no malice. It's not in their nature." Nas'Korn told him.

"Do you think they could stay here in your city?" the blacksmith asked.

Although the god said they held no malice, it didn't mean that they could not accidentally bring trouble to him. It would be great if he was able to leave them here...

"There is no problem if they wish to stay," Nas'Korn answered accommodating.

They talked a little longer about the future and the trade route. The Chimeras would keep using Mount Agra as their main base while working on the further path toward Y-City.

"Will the one you call Karina also stay and help on the road, or will she return with you?"

"Karina will return with me. After all, she has people waiting for her." Seth said with a warm smile. If he made the dryad stay, Pip and the other child might start crying. Ruby and the Tijaahk children had also taken a great liking to her. Although she had a problem with adults, Karina had her way with children.

"I wouldn't mind having one of those trees up here, too." Nas'Korn mentioned in passing.

It tried to make it sound casual, but Seth had the suspicion that Nas'Korn might not be as confident, as it had claimed to be.

"I think we could stay a day longer, I don't think it will be a problem. We could grow one right here to give the monument some shade," he suggested.

"Oh, some protection from wind and rain would be nice. It has been so long since I saw a lush green tree..." it agreed longingly.

They were talking about less important things when two figures approached.

"I hope we don't interfere in your conversation," Una said with an apologetic bow.

"We came to give our regards to her Highness, Nas'Korn" Tearlach continued, also with a bow.

"I see you two." the god greeted them.

"I hope Sir Smith won't hold it against us, but we wanted to ask Lord Nas'Korn to let us stay here." Una asserted. She said with an apologetic smile.

Seth only had a hard time hiding his relief. When the two wished to stay, he wouldn't have to deal with them.

"Don't mind me. It's good if you wish to stay here. I will leave you with Nas'Korn and return to my people. I will speak with Karina about what we talked about. Until later, Nas'Korn" he answered with a smile.

With that, he left the three ancient existences among themselves. They stayed another day for Karina to grow another offshoot, before Seth and the Dryad finally used the home call function to return to Delta.

Team 3 would stay for a little longer, to give Azul the chance o catch up with her people.