Time slowly passed by as I felt nothing. I slowly opened my eyes as I saw that I was in a room. The room was full white. The walls, the roof, the floor, everything was white. I started feeling uneasy as this place gave me the feeling of a prison.
Then I noticed that I was floating like a ghost. My body had a slight tint of transparency that confirmed my doubts. "Yup, I'm dead", I thought as I felt disappointed.
Suddenly, my Grimlock appeared before me and on it was a strange notification;
• [You have died]
Then suddenly the book started to glow as another notification popped up;
• [Hidden condition for the soul-bounded relic has been fulfilled!]
Bright yellow light started to shine from my Grimlock as it started to take shape of a figure. After the light went away, I could clearly see the figure.
It was that of an old man, with a long silvery beard, wearing an antique robe and a pointy hat. I recognized the figure at once. It was Zodiac, founder of the Elden Institute, the creator of the 6, no 7 Zodiac emblems and the person who locked away the Hell's gate.
I was awestruck, he was my role model, standing before me in the flesh. However, something was off. He had a worried expression on his face.
He was brushing his long beard with one of his hands, pacing back and forth while mumbling something to himself.
Zodiac spoke, "No… What I feared actually happened". I asked with a puzzled expression on my face, "W-What do you mean Mr. Zodiac? What is this place? W-Where am I?"
He replied, "The fact that you're here means that Hell's gate has been opened once again".
"Oh…", I said as I remembered what had happened a moment ago. Zodiac looked tense. "This should've never happened. Hoo… Calm down…", said Zodiac as he took a deep breath and faced me.
He said, "As you know young man, I am Zodiac. The founder of the Elden Institute and the person who locked away the Hell's gate. And you are...". I looked at him and replied, "My name is Aiden sir. And I am a level 151 dark mage".
He looked at me with confusion, flicked his glasses back and said, "Level 151? That's fine and dandy but just by looking at you, I know that you possessed great potential. You should've been at level 200 by now".
I looked down in embarrassment. The reason for this was that I started late as initially I didn't want to become a Grimwalker. The situation forced me to. But now looking back, I think becoming a Grimwalker was the best thing that could've happened to me.
Zodiac said, "Well, enough of your past. Let me tell you about mine. As you probably know I ended the war that had been going on for thousand of years between the residents of Hell and Velaria, which I achieved by locking the Hell's gate and breaking the key into 6 fragments".
He took a small break to let the words sink in and then he said, "Then I used the 6 fragments to create 6 Zodiac emblems. The main reason behind that was the fragments themselves would emit a dangerous aura effecting things around them and were also very easy to track".
After a brief moment he said, "Now, on the book it says that I used my soul to build these powerful artifacts. But truth to be told, they weren't the reason I used my soul. The reason I used my soul was this…"
He said that and the same golden pocket watch appeared in one of his hands. He said, "This is, the Zodiac's 7th emblem, Chronical Vortex, my masterpiece which took my soul to build".
He continued as I was still looking at the watch, "This artifact has a mind of its own. I simply was able to design it so that it would appear once the Hell's gate would open again. As to why you were chosen…"
He took me by the shoulders and said, "This artifact chooses its owner by itself. It chooses that individual, who has the capacity to change the fate of this world, to crown above fate, and to protect it…"
He let those words sink in as he said, "Now, listen to me very carefully young man…" Zodiac had a very serious expression on his face.
He said, "I know what happened young man. I looked at your memories. With the help of this artifact, you will be sent back into the past. You must collect all the 6 Zodiac emblems before they get into the hands of Demonic generals or the Crimson Cult".
I was visibly shocked. I couldn't believe what I was listening to. He continued, "Now, don't think that you will get another chance after this. There will be no more after. Once this artifact is used, it is removed from all further timelines".
Then suddenly the white room started disappearing. He said, "Looks like my time has come. Young man, use whatever methods necessary. Protect the world. And be careful of the-". However, before he could finish, he vanished.
Now all of my surroundings went pitch black as I started falling into the darkness. Suddenly, I felt an extreme jolt of pain and I lost my consciousness.