The Achievement Junkie

Back to the vast chamber, Jack was surprised to now feel any added aching from using mana again. But Duorda rushed off without saying another word to Jack.

The white skeleton hurried to the remains of his other half, chuckling to himself. "Come on, don't waste any time now!"

White cloudy energy leaked out of the white skeleton, matched by a black murky energy oozing out of the ashes. When the two energies intermingled, Jack was left in awe. The conglomerate energy was returning to the ashes and the ashes were condensing to reform pitch-black bones.

"What… What are you?!" Jack shouted in question.

"This is my other half, so how can it be killed so easily?" laughed the skeleton. "Just give me a few moments."

Jack watched as the bones were being recreated at a visible speed. He didn't know what to say or think as Duorda's other half was back to its former self in just over a minute. As the two halves walked back into each other, they reformed the dark-grey skeleton that Jack had always known as Crypt Lord Duorda.

"That's much better! Now let's go!" Duorda grabbed Jack by the hand and began to drag him toward the door.

"Wait! What about the items and my tomb?!" Jack shouted.

"Oh, is that why you came down here?" tilting his head, Duorda asked.

Nodding, Jack replied, "Yeah, I can't leave without that."

"Then find you're tomb after talking to Daruun. Those items belong to my summons, so don't even think about taking any more of them. You should feel gracious that I'm allowing you to keep what you've already stolen from me," reasoned Duorda. "Either way, open the door already! I've wanted to visit home since the moment Kartonia came into existence!"

"You've been down here that long?!"

"Just hurry up! It took long enough to find someone strong enough to beat me. There's no reason for us to wait any longer!"

Jack retrieved the key and carefully placed it inside the large keyhole. He admired the workmanship of the small stairway and the tall doorway as Jack turned the key.

"... Click…"

When the lock was undone, Duorda pulled Jack's hand back along with the key. The sound of moving rubble filled the area as the doors gradually started to slide into the sides of the doorway. Their parting revealed a giant rift in space contained within the tall doorway. Spatial energy ebbed and flowed like it did for the spell Spatial Rift, only there were also streaks and flashes of bright green constantly mixing with the purple energy.

"A rift?" Jack turned to Duorda with a question.

"No, a gate. Now go!"

Not letting Jack waste another second of his time, Duorda slapped Jack's back harshly, sending the hero into the spatial energy without any choice in the matter. The skeleton followed closely as well and rushed into the spatial gate full of anticipation.

Once both persons had disappeared from the gate, the tall doors began to reseal themselves. In moments, no one would be able to know where Jack and Duorda had gone, let alone that they had recently been on the ninety-ninth floor.

On the other end, Jack continued his fall and landed flat on his face. His travel was instantaneous. There was no pause or moment of euphoria to give Jack time to stop his fall.

Duorda proudly stepped out of the purple energy, letting a similar pair of doors from the ninety-ninth floor close on the gate he just exited. "Stop fooling around, Jack. We shouldn't keep Daruun waiting, not when I haven't seen him in so long!"

A skeletal hand reached down and picked Jack up from the ground. Then, Duorda looked around the corridor of pure-white marble with pride. He admired the translucent crystals that were installed in the ceilings like chandeliers, lighting the entire space to the point that no shadow was present.

Jack followed the skeleton and was amazed by the craftsmanship and purity of everything around him. "So… this is Daruun's temple?"

"According to Kartonia, yes," answered Duorda, "but we've already left Kartonia so I'm not sure we should use its Kartonian name. Just call it what the rest of the district calls it, Daruun's personal office."

"WHAT?!"

"Is that too hard for you? If you don't call it an office, then what else could it--"

"We're not in Kartonia?!" Jack's shock was apparent as his questions echoed through the corridor. "How are we not in Kartonia?! Isn't this--"

'Shh! Please, Jack, don't yell so loudly! I'm with company at the moment so wait with Duorda in the lounge.'

'Daruun… How can--'

'Wait, Jack. I'm busy right now. Be patient,' Daruun added, ending the conversation succinctly.

"Come on, Jack. You heard him," Duorda stated, leading Jack by the arm yet again. "Everything will get explained if you just wait."

"But we're not even in Kartonia… I'm sure my friends and family are--"

"Don't worry about them, Jack, at least not while you're here," Duorda interjected. "Obviously, you've met Daruun before. During those meetings, don't you remember how Daruun would pause time while you talked?"

"Yeah… Are you saying that time is paused right now?!"

"Not exactly…" Duorda used his bony finger to itch his scalpless skull. "It's not that Daruun has paused time again, it's more like we've entered an almost timeless bubble. In here, time moves much slower, letting Daruun have as much time as he needs to run the Fate District and keep it running in tip-top shape."

"So… Time isn't stopped but we're currently in a timeless zone?" Jack tried to rephrase it in a way his brain could better process the information.

"Sure, close enough." shrugging, Duorda took the lead and began walking down the corridor. "Are you coming? If you can't keep up you'll get lost, then there's no telling where or when you'll end up."

Terrified of that thought, Jack darted to catch up with the proud skeleton while taking in the picture-perfect atmosphere that made up the giant building that Duorda simply labeled as an office.