After he had thoroughly inspected the details of both relics, he finally allowed himself a small, genuine smile. But there was still one final door.
'The Forge'. His curiosity about what lay beyond the golden door was the greatest since the red door was still unavailable to him.
Willing an exit from the Storage World, he reappeared in the central hall. He walked to the golden door, took a deep breath, and stepped through.
The Forge was unlike anything he had ever seen. The entire room seemed dipped in molten gold. At its center stood five objects that looked like altars, each covered in the same intricate, moving symbols that pulsed with a living light. He moved slowly around them, his fingers brushing the cool, elevated platforms at their centers. Beyond the altars, the space stretched into a featureless, golden haze. Using this forge was clearly going to be more complicated than he'd hoped.
He decided to inquire with the system. "System, how do I use the for-?"
Just as he asked, a tiny, high-pitched female voice startled him. "Ahem! So you're finally here. You really took your time."
Neo looked around, confused. "Who's there?"
"I'm right here, you weasel! I've been waiting forever. Who keeps a lady waiting that way?"
"A fairy....," he whispered. He spotted the source of the voice. A tiny figure, no larger than his fist, floated in the air. She had delicate, shimmering wings and wore a meticulously crafted white dress. She looked like a fairy from the stories he'd read.
"Don't compare me to those creatures!" she huffed, her pride evident as she fluttered her wings and settled on top of his head. "I'm Pandora, silly. The Overlord Creation Relic."
Neo winced at the title. "Don't you think that title is a little too big for your… little self?"
Pandora immediately flew down in front of his face, throwing a flurry of tiny punches that felt like raindrops against his skin. He couldn't help but chuckle.
"Alright, alright. Pandora, the Overlord Creation Relic," he said, a hint of mockery in his tone.
"Hmph!" She regained her haughty expression, crossing her arms.
"So… what's the forge about? I'm not sure I understand any of this," Neo asked.
Pandora fluttered back to her perch on his head, swinging her tiny legs. "Let's head out of my space first. Now that you've awakened me, I can explain when we're outside. Besides, your acquaintances are getting worried."
Neo blinked. "How do we get outside, though? I had to touch the cube to enter. Do I have to touch y—"
Pandora shot away to a safe distance, her face flushed a faint blue.
"Sigh… I don't mean anything crazy—" Neo began, but Pandora wasn't listening. She was busier muttering to herself, her tiny shoulders slumped dramatically.
"Seems like Pandora chose a pervy creator this time. Ahhh, my luck…" She looked genuinely disappointed.
Neo was left speechless for a moment. "Jeez. Just tell me how to leave."
"Just will it, you dunce!" she shouted, zooming back to tap his forehead with a minuscule hand. "The same way you move between my spaces! Focus on where you were before you stepped in!"
Closing his eyes, Neo did as she instructed. He focused on the ruins. The golden light of the forge dissolved around him.
He opened his eyes. He was back in the dim ruins, the bronze cube of Pandora's Forge hovering silently beside him. Richard and Helen were staring, the old man's eyebrow arched, Helen's eyes wide with concern and curiosity.
And perched invisibly on his head, he felt the faint, weightless presence of a very smug, very tiny relic of creation.
Neo opened his eyes slowly. Both Richard and Helen were staring at him, standing exactly where his relic had been moments before.
"Ahhhh… finally outside!!" Pandora screamed gleefully, making Neo flinch. He'd completely forgotten that Richard and Helen might witness a fairy emerging from the forge space with him.
She protested, her voice a tiny shriek only he could hear. "They can't see me or sense my presence even if they tried."
Neo breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring Pandora's continued grumbling.
His eyes widened as he looked to the side. "What's that?"
Richard hmphed. "I won't even bother asking where you went. I'll assume it's related to your relic. We've been waiting. She's our ride to the city."
He gestured toward a massive Savage Sky Hawk standing nearby—an impressive twenty meters tall, with rich red feathers and sharp white stripes that gave it a majestic, fearsome beauty.
"This is Peck. I trained her since she was little." The pride in Richard's voice was almost tangible following his words.
"Amazing," Neo muttered, taking an involuntary step back. He knew better than to get too close to something that enormous. Meanwhile, Pandora immediately zipped over to Peck, rubbing herself against the giant hawk's feathers and rolling around in apparent delight. The Savage Sky Hawk didn't react in the least, completely unaware of the tiny relic spirit's presence.
Neo, seeing this, held himself back, deciding not to attract awkward questions about who he might be talking to.
Richard moved closer, helping Helen onto Peck's broad back before mounting himself. He glanced down at Neo, who still looked stunned. "Are you coming?"
Neo quickly moved forward, climbing up with cautious movements. The hawk remained still, offering no resistance.
He settled in, acutely aware of Helen's gaze fixed on him. She had been staring the entire time without saying a word. Unlike Richard, who seemed to respect his privacy, her eyes were full of questions. Neo knew he couldn't give her the answers she wanted, so he simply acted as though her stare didn't exist, instead turning his attention to Pandora, who was now sprawled lazily across the hawk's back, muttering to herself without a care.
Richard's sharp whistle signaled the start of their journey. The Savage Sky Hawk launched into the sky, and Richard's spiritual energy coiled around them, shielding them from the buffeting wind.
"Where are we going, exactly?" Neo had to ask.
"The Blackstone Empire," Richard replied, his voice barely audible over the rush of air.
And with that, they soared through the sky, Richard, Helen, and Neo wrapped in their own silent thoughts, while Pandora lounged comfortably on the feathers of a giant hawk, smiling at the open sky.