Adam paused for a moment as he was both familiar with the location historically speaking from the real world.
And also familiar with it from the many games that took inspiration from it, may be from the charcthers it portrays or the location itself.
But seeing the complexity of this situation, he had to asked.
"Camelot... like the Camelot were king Arthur reside?"
Priscilla gave a slight shrug, scooping the final bite of her fifth sorbet with imperial detachment.
"Yes, that Camelot. The one with the swords and saints and self-important kings. A bit more bloodstained than the fairy tales would have you believe... King Arthur was a blood thirsty fucker I tell yah, not some noble being of golden light and the likes most people would assume him to be."
"You talk as if you personally know him?"
When Priscilla heard this she smile at Adam making him open his eyes with astonishment as he said.
Priscilla slightly chuckle to herself as she said.
"I worked in the castle, briefly. As an assistant magus, though I was a common-born girl. Arthur never cared for noble blood, most of his Circle were commoners. Unpolished gems, he called them. My role was to instruct basic spellcraft, mostly."
"But in truth, I spent most of my time studying the fundamentals of Space magic, the theory of folding distance, conjuring through anchor points, slipping through veils."
"At the time, we believed the firmament to be layered, not infinite. Our work was... primitive, but it laid the groundwork for dimensional theory, in a way, well atleast for me further down in the future, it’s because of my experience and potential I was sighted by Vlada you could say."
Adam’s jaw slackened at this as he said.
"You’re telling me you were born in the capital of Arthurian legend? No fricking way, why didn’t you tell me this earlier big sis?"
She hummed casually as if discussing the weather.
"Why would I? As I told you, the past is the past. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, Camelot was never some shining ideal. Long before Arthur claimed the throne, it was already rotting, slipping into theocratic lunacy masked as divine order. And now? Hah... Now it’s the Holy Empire. A city of halos and hypocrites, polished clean for the modern world."
On the other hand, if king author was a king back then. What of the Overlord for that reason Adam asked.
"Was King author the Overlord at the time."
But that question made Priscilla laughed as she said.
"Heavens no, before the Overlord he might as well be a common man."
Her reaction confused Adam leavings him to think in wonder as to why.
Her reply however suprise him.
"If you are curious it is because Camelot was an outlier nation. That what they called nations back in the day that refused the Overlord’s rule. Human kingdoms built by rebels, dreamers, and runaways."
"They broke away, you know. All those little nations, tribe, or settlements, they carved themselves free of the Empire in hopes to be free from Overlord’s rule. Settled in forgotten corners of the world, thinking distance would grant them mercy, and protection."
"But the Human Empire is not that simple. The royal families saw every defection as heresy, every independent human as a defect to be reclaimed, or destroyed outright."
"And Arthur... he paid the ultimate price for that ideal. Despite being born into a position he did not ask for... Till the bitter end he fought on believing his way was the right way. What an otter fool that boy was. It hurt me when I heard what became of him years later."
Priscilla explain, and Adam sat quietly just listening, at this point she seems comfortable talking about her past.
It would seem the ice cream made her more open. And that was very good.
And Adam would be lying if he said he was not enjoying her stories.
"What happened to King Arthur then?"
"Do I have spell out the obvious boy."
Priscilla replied slightly annoyed.
"He was Killed by the Overlord of that era. Publicly too according to Vlada."
"I see... Damn that is kind of sad."
Adam said, as he lay back into his hand that were now behind his head.
"Well Artur no better than anyone else that facing an overlord is basically akin to suicide, especially if you yourself are human. He made his choice crystal clear when he went against the Overlord."
"Still kind of sad though, but that just how things are I guess nothing much you can do about it."
Right after Adam said these words Priscilla began to take a napkin and wipe her mouth elegantly.
Her voice flat in her response, but they were true.
"Beating an Overlord in the human world is basically next to impossible."
She said these words like a simple truth, not worth dramatizing over, and in a way she was right.
"The human world is a place were the Overlord is akin to God almighty, if an Overlord is to meat their end, it will not be by the hands of another Human, that much is for sure."
Priscilla said as she got up from her seat, and grabbed Adams hand while saying.
"This shop charm has long worn thin... Shall we go now?"
Adam asked still wanting to go other places with Priscilla.
"Not that I am in a rush, mind you. I simply think it’s high time we began our little experiment."
She glanced at Adam, eyes gleaming like a cat.
"Those horns of yours... I’ve half a mind to see what they’re really made of."
"I’ve indulged your endless curiosity without complaint, entertained every ridiculous question you’ve flung my way."
She folded her arms while looking down at him with a serious look as of to say pay your dues.
"It’s only fair you return the favour, don’t you think?"
Priscilla made clear, causing Adam to sigh with a smile as he reply back saying.
"As you wish big, so tell me where do you wish to go?"
Priscilla of course just grabbed his hand, and said.
"Come on boy I will lead the way."
Right after both Adam and Priscilla left Blister, this time however both Priscilla and Adam was walking till they reach a sky bridge.
Seeing that no one was around.
Priscilla began to open up a portal.
Using the Space Warp spell.
With those words, Adam and Priscilla stepped into the portal, and in an instant, the beauty of Celestine vanished behind them.
What replaced it on the other side was a barren wasteland.
The shift in atmosphere was immediate.
Cold and equally oppressive.
And as soon as they arrived, Adam was already glancing around with unease.
"Um... where exactly are we, big sis?"
Priscilla didn’t stop walking. She barely glanced back.
But she explained as she dragged Adam with her.
"Welcome to Dark Valley."
Adam echoed, the name completely foreign to him.
They continued walking through the unsettling terrain, and the deeper they went, the more his expression twisted into quiet horror.
The sky overhead was coated in thick, storm-like clouds, dark, heavy, and unmoving.
Around them were tall, crumbling structures, clearly once human-made, but now abandoned and ancient.
Skeletal remains from creatures and human alike scattered this place in some areas.
The ground beneath was worse.
Choked with mud, twisted dead trees jutting out like broken limbs.
It resembled a clearing from a horror game, eerie and silent, as if nature itself had stopped trying bare life.
They walked in silence, until Adam’s eyes caught something ahead.
Pulsing faintly in the distance. Its walls were lined with the flags of the Human Empire, barely moving in the dead wind.
That was when Priscilla finally spoke again.
"These lands lie outside the Empire’s domain. We’re no longer in human territory. This is a Black Zone."
Adam frowned, still processing what that meant.
"Black Zone... ummm care to explain, I am a little lost here big sis."
Priscilla nodded, her tone calm.
"To sum it up we are basically outside the borders of the Human Empire."
"Out here there is no rule of man."
"Just as their is no protection, either...Think of it as blight or cancer on Mother Gaia itself... Created from the different energies exuding from the different dark creatures of the supernatural world to make it habitable for all the dark and eerie beast that is out here."
"So don’t be suprise if you see monsters, demons, celestials, creatures from the different supernatural worlds."
Priscilla informed Adam as she continued walking, her voice steady as it was calm.
"Of course, many supernatural beings slip into the human world all the time. The Empire’s defenses are strong, but not perfect. The most common invaders are demons... which means out here, you’ll find mostly demonic beasts, rogue monsters, and other things far worse."
Adam glanced at her, then back at the looming barrier in the distance.
He didn’t like how the air tasted here.
He could sense Miasma but it polluted with other negative energies he was not fully accustomed to as yet
"...Right. So I’m guessing this isn’t a sightseeing trip, or mere experimenting."
Priscilla smirked, just faintly, as she turned around and commented.
"Fufufu... Well I want to see how capable you are with those horns of yours, so I am going to find you a decent creatures to play with."
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