Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends
Chapter 604: Zach

Chapter 604: Zach

Changing Minds

Taking Roric back to the Academy took no time at all. Zach could open a portal to the Castle of Knowledge in the Ethereal from anywhere, and he had already anchored it to his Academy with a permanent portal.

After than, Naha and Zach returned to Dall’dvor, and spent two more days in the City of Invention. She was hidden from sight inside of his shadow now, leaving Zach appearing alone as he walked down the streets of the city. He kept his senses attentive on the state of the city. It was, despite his recent experiences, a better place for people to live in than most, he had to admit.

It was not called the City of Invention for nothing, there were many things that made life easier for people, in many ways it was a city far more advanced than even the one he had grown up in. At least as far as he remembered. But, the divide that was so apparent in the Infinite Realm was still present.

Zach made his way to toward the giant hole in the ground and one of the elevators leading deeper beneath the ground, into the Under. The city stretched all the way in a circle of the bore. Stairs, streets, all carved up into the sides of it spiraling down.

He descended several levels and stepped off the elevator on a large city square level. It was a tall floor, with the ceiling carved expertly and held up by thick columns. All along the roof lines of glowing material illuminated the floor, providing as much light as the sun would above. People walked about carelessly, approaching stands on the edges of the square, or seating on benches placed around small garden-like areas.

Zach didn’t spend much of his attention on the people, his mind was occupied by other things, his will focused inward as he pulled from the Plane of Knowledge and used his skill to analyze the information he obtained.

He made way toward the large building at the end of the floor. A giant entrance was framed by an elaborate archway, leading into the building that was carved into the mountain rock. It was made out of white granite, imposing and looming over the entire open floor.

It was the council building, the seat of the leaders of Dall’dvor. Zach walked up to the entrance and the two guards protecting the place. He could tell from just a glance that they were powerful, relative to everyone else, at least in the sixth tier of their Class. Both wore the same armor, deep sea green metal elaborately etched looking almost ceremonial in nature, though Zach could tell that it was fully functional. Each carried a tall halberd with a spike on one end and an axe head on the other. The weapons too were pieces of art, but no less dangerous for it.

Their eyes followed him as he approached.

“The council is in session, entrance is forbidden,” one of the guards, a winged drake said, as they moved they crossed their halberds to bar him entry.

Zach had already known that, he had waited for today to arrive because he knew that the council would be in session.

“I’m Zacharia Gardner, the Warden, I will speak with your Council.”

The drake guard’s reptilian eyes narrowed, his grip tightening on the polished wood of his halberd. The other guard, a stout human with a scarred jawline, scoffed. “The Council sees who they wish, when they wish, today is not an open day. You may come back another day.”

Zach met their gaze, his own expression unreadable. He could feel Naha, a comforting presence within his shadow, stir. He had hoped for a more… reasonable reception, he was known, though perhaps less than some others. These guards were used to being in place of authority, and they were just doing their jobs. They didn’t recognize him, though he wasn’t wearing his armor, which was probably the most recognizable thing about him. His exploits during the war weren’t as flashy as some others. He had mostly been a presence, seen but not often observed in combat. Summoning his spiritual instrument wasn’t something he wanted to do. Besides, he didn’t need it to make his will followed.

“I will meet with the council,” Zach stated, his voice calm but carrying an undertone that brooked no argument. He let a sliver of will bleed into the world, his Image flickering into the world. It was not the most overwhelming, but each Image had a weight to it that others could feel. It was not an aggressive display, but an undeniable pressure, like the sudden drop temperature.

The guards, surprised him, they were obviously affected, but they were standing tall, weathering the pressure.

Then the air thickened and darkened. The glowing lines on the ceiling seemed to dim for a heartbeat as Naha let her own Image into the world. The drake guard’s wings twitched involuntarily, a faint rasp of scale on scale. The human guard stumbled back half a step, his face paling beneath his tan. The self-assured arrogance drained from them, replaced by a primal fear. Their halberds, moments before a symbol of authority, now felt like flimsy props in their hands. Naha’s Image was a lot more ominous than his was, when she wanted it to be.

“You will inform them that Zacharia Gardner, the Warden, is here to see them,” Zach continued, this time emphasizing his title. His voice was still quiet but was now also resonating with the power he had briefly unveiled. “You may escort me, or I will find my own way to them. The choice of how this proceeds is theirs, but my entry is not negotiable.”

The drake guard, visibly shaken, swallowed hard. His companion looked like he might faint. Zach didn’t enjoy acting in this manner, but this was too important to him. He understood that sometimes he had to do things he disliked if he was to kick this world forward. His other plan, while still something he would pursue, would take too long, and there were people suffering now.

“I… I will inform the Council,” the drake managed, his voice now a strained whisper. He uncrossed his halberd with trembling hands and, after a hesitant glance at his partner, turned and practically sprinted into the depths of the white granite building, his armored footsteps echoing hurriedly.

The human guard remained, stiff and terrified, his eyes darting between Zach and the empty space where his comrade had vanished. He lowered his halberd, though he still held it in a tight grip. “If… if you would follow me, Warden,” he stammered, his earlier bravado completely gone.

Whether he had made the connection between Zach’s title and his status as a High Ranker or maybe just his affiliation with the now fallen organization, but it ultimately didn’t matter.

Zach gave a slight nod. The guard, clearly unnerved, began to lead him, not through the grand central passage the drake had taken, but down a side corridor. It was a circuitous route, Zach noted, winding through less opulent sections of the building. Administrative offices, storage rooms, servant passages. They were clearly trying to keep him from the more public or sensitive areas. He could tell from the way the guard twitched, the way Essence moved around him, that he was in contact with someone. A telepathic perk or ability likely. Zach didn’t bring it up, he was willing to give them some time, he needed some himself. It gave him a few more moments to center himself, to let the information he’d gleaned from the Plane of Knowledge settle, solidifying his strategy. He felt the subtle thrum of the city around him, the countless lives, the intricate web of power and ambition that defined Dall’dvor.

Trying to pull more precise knowledge from the Plane was difficult, but if he focused enough, he could get glimpses, enough that his skill could fill in the pieces and analyze, predict what he would need. The easiest knowledge for him to glean was written one. Perhaps because it was in some way more solid that the Knowledge that was just spoken into the world. And the knowledge he was looking for was easily available in this place. The council members were public figures, old, well known. The city had its own press, they had articles written about them often, but there were also the histories of the city, the books written about the people that were its leaders, founders, those who were powerful.

He couldn’t get everything, of course, not without Akashic Embodiment, but his Attunement helped enough that he got enough for his skill to fill in the gaps.

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Finally, after what seemed an unnecessarily long walk, the guard stopped before a pair of ornately carved wooden doors, inlaid with glowing blue crystals that pulsed with a soft light. The guard knocked, a hesitant rap that was barely audible. A muffled voice from within called, “Enter.”

The guard pushed the doors open, then quickly stepped aside, practically flattening himself against the wall, eager to be anywhere but near Zach. Zach stepped into the council chamber.

It was a wide, circular room. The walls were the same polished white granite as the exterior, but here they were adorned with intricate carvings depicting scenes from Dall’dvor's history – great inventions, battles won, moments of discovery. A large, circular table made of dark, gleaming wood dominated the center of the room. Around it sat six individuals.

To his left was a human woman with sharp features and silver hair pulled back into a bun. She watched him with intelligent, assessing eyes. Beside her, a male ravzor, his stripped fur was matted in places, clearly a remnant of an injury. He watched him and tapped a clawed finger on the tabletop, his cat-eyed gaze intense. Next were two drakes, a male with imposing crimson scales and a powerful build, and a female whose scales shimmered with hues of sapphire and emerald; both regarded him with unimpressed looks. Then, a karura man, his feathers a muted gray and brown, looking older and more weary than the other council members, his gaze surprisingly direct. Finally, a demasi woman, her skin a dark blue, her black hair intricately braided with silver threads, her expression a careful neutrality.

The air in the room was thick with expectation and a subtle undercurrent of apprehension. They knew who he was now. A single look had confirmed what they had probably feared when he arrived at their door. The Warden. A name that had spread across the Infinite Realm following the war with the Dome monsters.

The human woman spoke first, her voice clear and firm, though Zach detected a slight tremor. “Warden Zacharia Gardner. We received word of your… forceful request for an audience. Welcome to Dall’dvor. We confess, your presence here is unexpected. What brings the Warden to our city, and to this council?”

Zach walked slowly towards the table, his gaze sweeping over each of them. His mind cataloging the information his perks and skills got on all of them. Just being in their presence gave him more, informed his conclusions. Predictions on how they would react to certain stimuli flowed into his thoughts. All the while, Naha remained a silent presence, a comforting weight within his shadow. These people were all at the peak of their focus, all but one of them at the end or near enough of their Class. The last one of them was a Skill user, his Image waiting just below the surface to impose his will on the world. There were no Cultivators here, but that was to be expected. Still, with all of their power, none of them could detect Naha, none of them were anywhere near their power. It was a sobering thought, to realize just how above you were of even the strongest in the world.

“I have been in Dall’dvor for some time now,” he began, his voice calm, filling the room without effort. “Observing. Seeing.”

He paused, letting his words sink in. “This is a remarkable city. A beacon of innovation in many ways. Yet, it suffers from the same ailment that plagues so much of the Infinite Realm.” He met their eyes, one by one, seeing their confusion. They didn’t expect this, didn’t know what to say. “I have seen the strong prey upon the weak. I have seen talent stifled by circumstance, potential extinguished by desperation. I witnessed a young life taken, a life I had personally tried to aid, killed for the very Essence I had gifted him, by another soul equally desperate.”

A flicker of something—annoyance? Discomfort?—crossed the crimson drake’s face. The ravzor’s tapping finger stilled.

“It is my dream,” Zach continued, his voice intense, “to change that. To foster a world where such casual cruelty is not the norm. To alter the very nature of advancement in the Infinite Realm, so that cruelty of those willing to crush others to attain it is no longer the sad reality. I came here today to appeal to you, the leaders of this city. To ask you to be the architects of that change here in Dall’dvor. To help those who are weak, to nurture talent, to ensure that every citizen has a genuine opportunity to grow, to contribute, to live without the constant fear of being ground to dust. To help them not feel the need to trample over others to survive and advance.”

A heavy silence followed his words. The council members exchanged uneasy glances. The human woman was the first to break it, her tone smooth, placating. Insulting. “A noble sentiment. Truly. Dall’dvor has always tried to be a place of opportunity. We will, of course, take your… observations under advisement and consider your passionate appeal.”

The ravzor man grunted. “Consider, yes. But to imply we are not already doing our utmost for our citizens is… presumptuous, Warden. We have systems in place.”

The demasi woman added, her voice cold. “And while your ideals are admirable, Warden, the realities of governance are complex. Resources are finite. Ambition is a powerful motivator. One cannot simply stamp hardship out of existence.” Some of the council members nodded in agreement, a subtle wave of emotion spreading through them. The crimson drake leaned forward, his voice a low rumble. “And frankly, Warden, to come into our city, into our council chamber in such a manner, and essentially attempt to dictate how we should govern… it is not well received.”

Zach listened, his expression unchanging, but a familiar weariness settled upon him. Platitudes. Defensiveness. A fundamental unwillingness to see beyond their own established power. They were comfortable. The system, however flawed for others, worked for them. They were the strong, the ones who had climbed, and they saw no compelling reason to fundamentally alter the way people advanced, even if many suffered from it.

He was naive, yes, reality of Infinite Realm meant that no matter how much he wanted to change it, might made right.

He let out a slow breath. “So, that is your answer? You will consider it?” He looked at them, truly looked at them, and saw not leaders of vision and innovation, but gatekeepers. The same tyrants he saw on other thrones in this world, only ones that dressed themselves in less ugly clothes. “I see. I know that there were many different ways for me to do this. That I could’ve taken time, established more of a relationship. But… Time is something that I feel the effects more than most. I had hoped for more from you. I had hoped for allies.”

He straightened, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. The subtle pressure he had exerted on the guards returned, magnified tenfold, pressing down on the council members, stealing the air from their lungs as he used his Soul Aura to augment his Image. “Let me be clear then,” he said, his voice no longer pleasant, but cold and hard. A voice that spoke with thousands of years of experience, the weight of Time itself. “What I have seen in your city is unacceptable. The death of that karura boy, driven by the desperation your rule fosters, is unacceptable. You may believe yourselves strong, secure in your positions, the pinnacle of power in Dall’dvor, in the world even. You are mistaken.”

The crimson drake snarled, pushing his chair back as he started to rise. “Are you threatening us?”

“I am stating a fact,” Zach replied, his gaze shifting to the drake, and the councilor froze mid-rise, battered by the sheer weight of Zach’s will. The other members stiffened, fear finally breaking through their composed facades. He hated this, hated having to be this thing, but… he had to adapt to the nature of the world he was in. “Compared to what I am, what I can command, all of you are… fragile.” His power flooded the room, not destructive, but absolute, a suffocating presence of the Essence of Soul. They felt it deep in the core of their very being. “I could kill you, seize this city, and enforce the changes I desire. I could rewrite every law, reallocate every resource, and no one in Dall’dvor, the world even, could stop me. Do not doubt that for a moment.”

Panic flickered in their eyes. The human woman’s hand trembled as she reached to steady herself on the table.

Then, as quickly as it had come, Zach pulled back his power, the oppressive atmosphere lifting, allowing them to breathe again, though they now looked at him with undisguised terror.

“But I will not do that,” he said, his voice returning to a more even tone, though the edge remained. “I do not wish to be a tyrant. Forcing compliance breeds resentment, not true change. I need willing partners, not cowed subjects. I need you to want to change.” He paused, letting them absorb the shift. “So, I will offer you something in return. An incentive of sorts.”

He saw a flicker of confusion, then greed, in some of their eyes. They understood power. They understood threats. Incentives? That was the language of negotiation.

“You will implement the changes I desire,” Zach stated. “You will establish systems to truly aid the weak, to provide education, resources, and opportunities for all to advance, regardless of their starting point. You will ensure that what happened to that young karura boy, and countless others like him, does not happen again. You will make Dall’dvor a genuine beacon of hope and progress, not just in invention, but in all ways. You will be an example to this world of a different way.”

The drake female, who had remained silent until now, found her voice, though it was filled with caution. “And what… what do you offer us in return for such… extensive reforms, Warden?”

Zach allowed a small, knowing smile to touch his lips. “You are all powerful in your own right. High Rankers, leaders. But you have all reached your peaks, it is clear to my eyes. You’ve reached the limit to your growth, mysteries in your Class advancements you cannot solve, insights that remain just beyond your grasp.”

He saw the truth of his words hit them square on their faces. This was something that resonated deeply with people like them, whose existence was defined by the pursuit of power and understanding.

“I can see the paths of your powers, the potential you have yet to unlock. In return for your full and genuine commitment to transforming Dall’dvor, I will offer you that knowledge. Hints, guidance, solutions to push beyond your current limits. I will help each of you grow stronger, to reach heights you currently only dream of. I will give you the ways to learn the true secrets of this world.”

He looked at each of them, seeing the greed, the ambition, the fear, and now, even a desperate hope. “So, Council of Dall’dvor, make your decision.”