Chapter 88: World of absolute zero

During the Archinsecutor’s travels, she had to go through many passings.

First she had to go through the regular passing of higher realm and the lower realm.

Then she had to go to the furthest northern port of Ormos that exists outside of the Nous Empire’s control. The Country that Controls Ormos is currently in the principality of Laqua’s control, which is a small country that has rejected the control of the Nous empire.

Granted, the matter of control is very slim, given that most of Laqua’s imports come from Nous empire, given that Nous empire is the majority of the lower realm, but still.

Laqua consists of very few cities that the Nous empire hasn’t taken control of, due to the support that Northolt has provided to the principality. That being said, the tensions are high between the empire and the principality.

Nevertheless, Archinsecutor traveled through the Nous empire, where the gate exists between the higher and lower realms, and traveled, with the authentication of Tiara, to the port of Ormos, so that she could travel to Northolt.

Granted, the ship to Northolt wasn’t exactly the one that traveled often from mainland to the Northolt, Archinsecutor had to wait for almost a month so that the main icebreaker ship could ship her to the place she was aiming for.

But when Archinsecutor saw the main icebreaker ship that would take her to Northolt, she was astonished by the size of the ship. No ship that existed in the higher realm was even close to the size of the ship that took goods from mainland to Northolt and back. The unpacking took days when the ship that traveled between the mainland and Northolt called Bj?rn was stationed on Ormos. Archinsecutor got a little bit impatient during the wait, but given the "importance of the mission" she had, she was ready to overlook the minor discomforts to not overtake her emotions.

When Bj?rn was ready to sail, Archinsecutor entered the ship with the authorization given to her from the holy church of Lutah. The inspectors were a bit confused by the ordeal, but didn’t make a fuss of the ordeal, even though it was a bit out of the ordinary.

Nevertheless, Bj?rn was able to pass through the ice that hardened almost instantly as it broke during the ship’s passing, to the port of section 0 of Northolt.

To be clear, section 0 was still placed on ice that was anchored to the "island" named Northolt, since due to the hardness and the mass of the ice was too much for humanity’s greatest icebreaker to break consistently. It could, but the board of Northolt made a decision that it was cheaper for the ship to stop at a certain stop and the goods carried to the "island" than brute forcing the icebreaker to break through the ice to the "island". Given that there were only a few icebreaker vessels that were constantly commissioned, the maintenance of one was already hard to bear in general to make minor advancements. The rest of the way was done by a few tamed beasts of Northolt that pulled the cargo back and forth that Bj?rn and its counterparts would traverse between the ports.

Port of section 0 was nicknamed "The Mouth of Northolt" There were people who didn’t get the reason why it was named that, given that the people in Northolt were more focused on the practical survival of the "colony".

Those being said, Archinsecutor had to travel from "the mouth" to the main settlement of Section 0, where most of the trade was done between Northolt and the rest of Lutah. Note that it wasn’t the only one, just that it was the most accessible one.

When the Archinsecutor was nearing the settlement, she had to enter through a cavern that was embedded on a huge patch of ice that never melted and was hard to cut. The settlement itself wasn’t even on any stony ground, but was built on the carved hollow that was the settlement of section 0. The materials that made the buildings of the section 0 were mostly from the days when that particular settlement was first being founded, but there were buildings that were built later from the continent of Northolt when the stone levels and the minerals inside them were found. The cavern of section 0 hence had generation 0 sector, generation 1 sector, generation 2 sector and generation 3 sector. Generation 4 sector was being built, but given how long the previous sectors took being built, it would take over few millenia for it to be fully completed.

That being said, the settlement was somewhere between a city and metropolis. Arthur Qilpos is the president of the company that handles the ons and goings of Northolt. The company name is Everwinter Company that was founded by Arthur’s ancestors, and many snow elves work in Northolt, due to factional disputes long passed between them and humans.

When Archinsecutor entered the settlement, she was awestruck by the technology that was on blunt display. The ship itself showed technological proves in itself, but section 0 showed that there was so much more that even the higher realm’s inhabitants would gladly learn from.

If it were Lud who had stumbled to this place, he would have said that the place was technologically the closest to Elysium by a mile. Even the dwarves weren’t close to this level of technology. Granted, there were dwarves on the mids in Northolt that didn’t have the same train of thought as their middle realm counterparts.

But back to Archinsecutor’s journey to find Lockman. She was given an audience with the top sect of Northolt, which caused some disturbance, due to section 0 not being the capital of Northolt.

Nevertheless, the top brass of the Northolt government went to greet the Archinsecutor in section 0 due to the wish given to them by the pope.

In the awkward meeting, Archinsecutor had to deal with the bureaucratic bullshit so that she could figure out the technology that gave Lockman his advantage during the banquet, and more importantly, meet Lockman himself again after all this time apart.

Archinsecutor was given a tour in section 2, where the technology that Lockman uses was first founded. There she found out that Lockman’s skin was first enhanced by one of the native wildlife, so that he could withstand a technology that allowed him to handle "tattoos" of sorts.

Those "tattoos" were more like some sort of circuit board that would be on computers, but they were much, much more intricate and had many nuances. (They weren’t exactly like circuit boards, but that gives a picture)

The tattoos would give superhuman strength to the one who had them on them, though not everyone could just wield them, since they put a heavy burden on the body. They were also generational, which unfortunately made it so that once you were given generation 2 tattoos, you could not be given any future generation tattoos henceforth, if they were not for specialized use.

Lockman was given generation 9 lv.5 tattoos, which were the maximum tattoos that could have been given during the time when Lockman was on the list.

What list am I talking about? There is a list of potential runners who would go to extended expeditions on the Northolt continent, where there would be dangers that even the abyssal creatures wouldn’t be able to deal with easily.

Due to the materials that could be gathered in Northolt, be it on the surface or in the deep, there is a need for runners that could deal with the hard weather of the surface and the creatures that roamed on it.

The rankings of the adventurers’ guild didn’t matter in Northolt, since the creatures native to Northolt were on another level. And even if they weren’t, the sheer coldness of the place would, if not hinder, then kill most of the brave adventurers who dared to venture to Northolt wilds.

Most of Northolt is unnaturally low temperature. So much so, that subzero temperature doesn’t give it justice. Otzal gave part of himself to make it so that this place would adhere the concept of ice, hence stillness.

Even so, Otzal wanted to give a chance for certain creatures a possibility to live in this unyielding stillness. Those creatures grew to be the most naturally powerful creatures that the whole of Lutah would ever know.

Then the Archinsecutor wanted to learn of Lockman’s eyes. Unfortunately, that was part of a very secret project that even with her authority as Archinsecutor didn’t let her know the secrets of those things.

Archinsecutor didn’t falter, and asked to meet Lockman as soon as possible. She was given the chance a few weeks later, after Lockman’s mission with company.

When the Archinsecutor finally met Lockman again at section 7, she said to him "It has been a while." To which Lockman said "Couple of months actually."

Archinsecutor asked Lockman "How have you been?" To which Lockman said "Nothing out of the ordinary. Though few minor hiccups have occurred."

Archinsecutor said "Good good."

Lockman responded "Good."

There was a slight pause. The guide of the Archinsecutor said to Lockman’s handler "Should we do something?"

Lockman’s handler says "I thought this would just flow like water as we went, but this seems way too stiff."

The Archinsecutor’s guide whispers "I heard that the Archinsecutor had a thing for Lockman or something."

Lockman’s handler said "Shit, really? Why would anyone have hots for this dude?"

The Archinsecutor’s guide whispers "It was just something I heard. Should we act upon it?"

Lockman’s handler answered "I guess we have time for that and we have nothing else to do."

Then Lockman’s handler whispered to Lockman "Why don’t you ask her for dinner or something?"

Lockman asked "Why would I do that?" To which the handler said "Just fucking do it."

With that, Lockman asked Archinsecutor for dinner, to which Archinsecutor answered "I suppose I haven’t had this region’s dining yet, so I’ll follow your lead."

With that, the date between the Archinsecutor of the holy church of Lutah and the Top Runner of Northolt came to be. Thus started the weird relationship between the two, that would inevitably end in the two marrying and having children. Lockman would live a surprisingly long life for a human due to the augmentations he had, but he would die long before the Archinsecutor would.

.

What yearns for nature, it hasn’t been told. For as long as it be, it dreams its woe.

I have shuttered and pondered, the wayward tales, it never occurred, the truth, the fate.

What is it that yearns, I haven’t a clue. For have I wandered too deep, or have I have not.

The bickers and scramblers have taken its toll. Soon it comes, the checker and pole.

Come, come, come little children. Come and go. I have gifts, both whimsy and woe.

This tale is done by a simple priest. It heckles and dime, your youth and grief.

Will the hero find its way to home. Will it find its way out of this hole.

Through circles and circles and circles and circles and circles and circles and circles and circles and circles it come and go, to the same ending it come and go.

Will the so called protagonist find its way, or will the will of desecration win the game of woe.

It goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on...

Please come and kill me, the champion of woe.

This ain’t a plea, it isn’t a request, for this journey to continue, I will pique your interest.

For if you won’t come, for if you will simply let go, it only will sully, your future of gold.

Gold. Gold? Gold is it not? Or is the counter god’s place, just torture or whatnot.

Why, oh why, have I done this flesh.

For it is only to become, your prison of red.