Passing through the great gate beside the dam, Lucian finally beheld the full splendor of Nokstella, Eternal City.
Deep beneath the earth's surface, starlight suddenly unfolded before him.
Above, a vast black ceiling stretched into the distance. A false night sky draped itself across the underground world like a great curtain, yet the countless stars embedded within it illuminated the path ahead.
Specks of starlight appeared and vanished around Lucian, flickering in and out of existence.
A pale violet mist drifted through the city. The dense concentration of arcane mystery veiled Nokstella in an ethereal haze.
Magnificent structures loomed within the fog, appearing and disappearing like ghosts of a forgotten age, silently proclaiming the final pride of the Nox civilization to future generations.
Yet destruction had long since become their fate.
The grandeur remained, but only solitude endured.
Among the vast stretches of ruined buildings, Grave Gloveworts bloomed quietly. They had become the final resting place of the city's long-departed inhabitants, flourishing amid the ruins carved through by gentle streams.
Even knowing the night sky was artificial...
Even having witnessed the underground heavens before...
No matter how many times he saw it, Lucian was always captivated by the breathtaking beauty before him.
He could never resist stopping to admire it.
Whenever he witnessed these landscapes, places that once existed only within a game, he felt a sense of wonder that was difficult to put into words.
This was the world that had fulfilled every fantasy he had ever held about fantasy worlds.
And now he stood within it.
Not merely as a spectator, but as someone actively reshaping its future.
None of the endings he knew satisfied him.
The Lands Between deserved a brighter future.
A better future.
That was why he intended to devote everything he had to writing a new chapter, one that would finally bring true peace to the Lands Between.
When he first made that vow, he had not fully understood what it would demand of him.
The closer he came to achieving it, the heavier that responsibility became.
But weight no longer mattered.
The gravity of reality could no longer crush him.
The current Lucian was capable of carrying the burden of an entire world.
Whether viewed as an ambitious hero or a ruler striving to save a fractured realm from chaos, one fact remained undeniable:
He had been the one to rekindle the flames of war.
And this time, there seemed to be no one left on the board capable of truly opposing him.
The new player was only a few moves away from victory.
His ideals.
His ambitions.
One day, they would become the flame that illuminated a brighter world.
—
Standing at Nokstella's entrance, Lucian carefully surveyed the forgotten city.
Unlike Nokron, which had been almost entirely submerged, Nokstella still stood proud.
Although the flow of the Ainsel River was even greater than that of the Siofra River, generations of hydraulic engineering from both the Uhl Dynasty and the Nox civilization had kept it firmly under control.
Only peaceful streams wound through Nokstella, flowing gently beneath the eternal night.
Though Astel's destruction had scarred the city, a remarkable number of structures still remained.
Many buildings were even preserved in relatively intact condition.
Seeing Nokstella in such a state brought Lucian genuine satisfaction.
Even a small glimpse of the Eternal City's former glory was enough to excite him.
After committing the sight to memory, he finally decided to begin exploring.
Before setting off, however, he addressed Asimi within him.
'Asimi, do you remember anything about Nokstella?'
Asimi paused to think, her core slowly rotating.
'Not really.'
'I've always stayed in Nokron. There were people responsible for looking after me, and I wasn't allowed to leave.'
'I only know that despite being separated, Nokron and Nokstella shared an unusually close relationship.'
'There used to be waterways connecting the two cities. Travel between them was apparently very convenient.'
Lucian nodded.
It was a shame Asimi didn't know the city's layout. Otherwise, she could have led the way.
Reality differed considerably from the game's version. Numerous additional buildings made navigation far more complicated.
Still, it wasn't a major issue.
If he headed toward the grandest and most luxurious structures, he was unlikely to go wrong.
Important locations tended to cluster together.
He asked another question.
'Can you sense where the Tear Chalice is?'
'If you can, we might as well head straight there.'
The Tear Chalice had been cut content in the original game, existing only in fragments of text.
As a result, its location was completely unknown.
If Asimi could locate it, they could save a great deal of time.
Her core shifted slightly within him, as though pondering the question.
After a moment, she replied:
'Well... yes and no.'
'I'm not entirely sure.'
'If I get close enough, I'll definitely be able to sense it.'
'As for how far that range extends... I honestly don't know.'
Lucian shrugged.
'I see.'
'No matter. We'll just explore the city thoroughly.'
Recalling Nokstella's layout from the game, the first thing he needed to find was the enormous structure near the entrance with the long staircase.
In the game, that building connected most of Nokstella's major locations.
From there, he should be able to reach the resting place of Nokstella's hidden treasure, the Moon of Nokstella.
He was confident he would recognize the building once he saw it.
Following the gentle current of the Ainsel River, Lucian flew forward while gathering Grave Gloveworts growing along both banks.
The spirits of Nokstella's dead seemed to linger within them.
There were so many that they resembled a sea of flowers.
Grave Gloveworts were not particularly difficult to cultivate and could be found in graveyards throughout the Lands Between.
But a field of this scale was something Lucian had never seen before.
Such a sight was rare anywhere else.
Landing beside the riverbank, he collected only the higher-quality specimens.
Both their quantity and quality were impressive.
Most appeared equivalent to Grave Gloveworts [7] and [8].
Grave Glovewort [9], however, and especially the precious Great Grave Gloveworts, remained exceedingly rare.
Those would probably only be found hidden away in treasure chests.
Just then, a massive ant emerged from behind a nearby ruin.
Riding atop the giant insect was a Nox Swordstress.
The moment she spotted Lucian, she directed the ant toward him.
As the distance closed, the creature suddenly launched itself into the air with surprising agility, carrying its rider straight at him.
At the same time, the ant thrust its stinger forward.
Lucian sidestepped calmly, causing the sudden attack to miss completely.
Upon landing, the giant ant showed no hesitation and immediately resumed its assault.
Circling around Lucian at high speed, it carried the Nox Swordstress in a rapid flanking maneuver.
The flowing blade in her hand extended and shifted shape with every swing as she pressed the attack.
The fluid blade lashed out with the speed and flexibility of a whip.
Lucian raised a hand and caught it with ease.
The weapon was sharp enough, but it couldn't even scratch his defenses.
Realizing something was wrong, the Nox Swordstress immediately directed the giant ant to retreat, trying to overpower him through sheer leverage.
But how could they possibly compete with Lucian?
With a single pull, he yanked the Swordstress off the ant's back and sent her crashing to the ground.
Dragging her closer, he pinned her with one hand.
"Do you still have your own mind?"
No response came. She merely struggled mechanically.
That answer was enough.
Lucian lifted her veil.
As expected, beneath it was another gaunt, corpse-like face.
Realizing she was no more capable of conversation than the others, he reached for her throat.
A brief squeeze.
Her neck snapped.
As Lucian stood and turned toward the giant ant, intending to deal with it as well, he discovered that it had already disappeared.
Looking back the way it had come, he could just make out a distant shape scrambling away toward the tunnels leading out of Nokstella.
The ant was already far away, racing back toward its nest.
Lucian shook his head.
Since it had chosen to flee, there was no reason to chase it.
It seemed the Nox Swordstress had used some special method to control these giant ants. Now that the Swordstress was dead, the creature had regained its freedom.
Turning back toward the seemingly endless city before him, Lucian continued his exploration.
—
Thanks to its distinctive architecture, particularly the enormous staircase that dominated the area and its sheer size, Lucian found the building he was looking for much faster than expected.
Standing before the massive stairway, he confirmed that this was indeed the place he had been searching for.
As he climbed the steps, a pool of silver liquid suddenly appeared on the ground ahead.
It was an enormous Silver Tear, far larger than any he had seen before, and it seemed to be growing even bigger.
For a moment, Lucian was surprised.
This was the first time he had encountered one of this size.
Then he quickly realized what was actually happening.
The Silver Tear wasn't growing.
It was emerging from beneath the stonework through cracks in the masonry.
That illusion of constant expansion came from more and more of its body forcing its way out from underground.
Once he understood the trick, his surprise faded.
Large as it was, it was still only a Silver Tear, not a Mimic Tear or anything particularly extraordinary.
The moment it sensed an intruder, the massive creature reacted.
Its huge body spread across the width of the staircase before surging toward Lucian like a silver tidal wave.
Its form reshaped itself into a vast canopy, attempting to engulf him entirely.
As it transformed, countless spikes sprouted within its body. Anyone trapped inside would undoubtedly meet a grim fate.
Faced with such a straightforward attack, Lucian calmly stepped back.
To him, the Silver Tear's rapid charge looked almost slow-motion.
It was no threat whatsoever.
Extending a hand, he sent a small sphere of blazing fire into the path of the descending mass.
Lucian could easily react to the Silver Tear.
The reverse was another matter entirely.
Caught completely off guard, the Silver Tear swallowed the sun-bright flame into its body.
The results were immediate.
Its metallic silver surface began glowing red-hot, softening into something resembling molten metal before rapidly vaporizing.
The searing flames burned through its interior.
Jets of fire erupted from all sides.
Within moments, its internal structure was completely destroyed, leaving behind nothing but a puddle of glowing metal that slowly cooled and hardened.
These Silver Tears were the most basic and primitive kind.
They possessed neither intelligence nor a true core, and their movements were sluggish.
They were little more than mass-produced automated guardians.
Whether this giant specimen had been a special model or simply the result of multiple Tears merging over time, Lucian couldn't say.
In any case, he paid it no further attention and continued climbing.
Along the sides of the staircase stood several connected buildings.
One of them immediately caught his eye, a chamber containing a treasure chest.
Inside waited another mindless Nox Swordstress, yet another undead husk.
After dispatching her, Lucian opened the chest, curious about its contents.
In the game, many chests couldn't actually be opened.
Now, every one of them felt like opening a mystery box.
Nestled inside a layer of padding was a massive smithing stone.
It was a Smithing Stone [8].
The stone had partially vitrified over time, becoming exceptionally hard.
It would have been even better if it were a Somber Smithing Stone. Those were useful for a much wider range of his weapons.
Most of the weapons Lucian carried possessed unique powers and could only be strengthened with Somber Smithing Stones.
Still, while it wasn't an extraordinary find, it was a decent one.
With a few more stones of this tier, an ordinary weapon could be upgraded to near the highest level.
Turning toward the next chest, Lucian rubbed his hands together and continued his treasure hunt.
When he pushed open the heavy lid, the severed head of a giant ant stared back at him.
Unlike the others, this ant's head was broad, flat, and immensely thick, nearly as large as a person.
Anyone unfamiliar with it would probably wonder why such a thing had been stored in a treasure chest.
Lucian, however, knew exactly what it was.
The Ant's Skull Plate.
A shield crafted directly from the oversized head of one of the giant ants inhabiting the underground river systems.
Its unusual shape made it exceptionally good at deflecting incoming attacks.
Because giant ants were venomous creatures, traces of that venom remained within the shield itself.
Shield bashes performed with it could build up poison surprisingly quickly.
Naturally, Lucian had no intention of using it.
Setting aside whether it was even suitable for the level of combat he now faced, the appearance alone was enough to make him reject it.
He casually tossed the shield aside and moved on to the next chest.
Before long, he had searched every container in the room.
Aside from the Ant's Skull Plate, the loot consisted mostly of smithing stones and grave gloveworts.
Nothing particularly noteworthy.
After collecting everything of value, Lucian left the room and continued climbing the great staircase toward the heights of Nokstella.