Ascension of the Nephilim

Kyros was still in a daze at what he saw. The vision was so outstanding that he was stunned in shock. Even the sight of all the Golems kneeling towards him didn't seem to have brought Kyros out of his shock.

"Calaminus... Did you see it?"

"If by it, you mean, the psychedelic acid trip were we saw strange, powerful beings that surpassed the gods and fallen, that war and the cryptic message... then yes..." Calaminus trembled.

His soul could be sensed by all those large beings who looked down on them and judged them.

"That place... It felt like it was beyond the heavens. Where was that?"

"West Virginia."

"Where is West Virginia?"

"I don't know where that was! I was being sarcastic! Wherever or whenever that was, it was something I haven't seen or been through! It existed outside of our time. That place where we have defied the very laws that this entire universe was built upon!"

"It existed outside of our time?!"

"Yes. The truth was, you only survived in that place because of your Time Surge status! What that Golem King said was true! If you lied, you would have died in that place!" Calaminus explained.

"It had to be me! It knew! This place knew about me! This isn't just about the powers of Ancient Fate working to help us fight off the Greater Gods and the Fallen! There is something so much more about me and this entire trip!"

"Right. It's too coincidental. Just who or what are you?"

"Awaken O Nephilim, and conquer Forward. Awaken O Nephilim, and preserve Today. This verse is something that defines who I am! I conquered Forward by going back! And now I have the chance to preserve today!"

"You mean it was talking about your time travel?"

"Yes. I can preserve today and save the present now. I was called to struggle. Besides, the next line sounds suspiciously regarding Fate and Destiny. Arise and challenge what it is to Be. Arise and challenge what is to Come."

"Now that you mention that..." Calaminus nodded.

"But I can't understand the last part. Whatever or whoever made this and destined me with such Fate and Destiny wants me to face them and become End?"

"That's something that even I don't understand. Kyros, I suggest leaving that out for now. We might find more clues the more we unleash more parts of the Temple and even this mountain."

"I guess so. For now... I have to understand more about this city." Kyros turned towards the large glowing orb. 

He reached out and touched it and could immediately feel the link with it.

[Soul Link Complete. Control over the City of Golems is available. Merging data with Nephilim Sealing Temple.]

Kyros could feel information regarding the Temple enter his head.

---

City of Golems

Powered by the Gigantes Earth Core, the City of Golems is the bastion of defense to keep the monsters within the Nephilim Sealing Mountain from emerging to the world beyond.

Gigantes Earth Core Energy- 14% remaining.

Upkeep:

Soil Golem- 0

Clay Golem- 192

Rock Golem- 68

Iron Golem- 29

Elemental Golem- 2/4

Estimated time of Energy Depletion- 182 years.

---

Golem King Petra

Race: Golem King

Level: 93

Strength- 2812

Magic- 386

Dexterity- 910

Vitality- 3961

Intelligence- 131

---

Golem King Spells:

Bestow Life to Soil (Linked to Gigantes Earth Core)

Upgrade Golem Class Linked to Gigantes Earth Core)

---

Kyros read through the information and then turned towards the King.

"You are Petra?"

"You truly are the Awaited One. Indeed I am. I am Petra, Golem King of this City of Golems. We are charged to prevent any creature in the Nephilim Sealing Mountain from escaping by an ancient decree. We were ordered to wait, even unto death. Our duties were to aid the Awaited One, which is you in defending or conquering the Nephilim Sealing Mountain." 

"Alright. First things first! I want your golems to help carry my family and bring them into a certain place. There is another place beyond this city that can heal and restore my friends. Send your Golems to bring my family there." Kyros immediately asked.

"Apologies. But that is not within our duties. We were created with great magic that binds us to an oath and purpose. Unless we are to guard other exits other than this, or if we need to send golems to hunt those that have trespassed beyond this city, we cannot send those golems out."

Kyros frowned.

"I sort of expected this, though." Kyros turned towards the knights and took a closer look at their condition. The group that needed the most aid were the newly turned vampires. They looked pitiful and even had various parts chopped off from the battle. But despite this status, Kyros confirmed that they were in no immediate danger of dying.

The rest of the knights, including Aron, remained unconscious. But they were stable, nonetheless.

"Hrm?" It was then that Kyros noticed Avary returning. He had ordered Avary to meet with his father and only return once that was completed.

"They are still a bit far from the Temple. I guess it's better if we just wait here for them." Kyros decided.

"Things would have been so easier if you managed to store the Temple in a pocket dimension, you know. You could have brought it out here." Calaminus chastised.

"What use would that be?"

"What do you mean?" Calaminus frowned.

Kyros sighed and willed the information of [Carrier Has Arrived!].

---

Carrier has Arrived!- Allows access to Dimensional Magic to carry the entire Nephilim Sealing Temple and the Trial Grounds in a pocket dimension. Kyros may enter and exit temple grounds for 50 magic points. Grants access to Nephilim Inventory and the Temple Storage Space.

---

"First, if I tried to do that, it would do more harm than good. I can carry the Temple, but it doesn't say if I can put it out. Maybe in the higher levels of the Temple, but not now. And look, I can enter the temple ground for 50 magic. It doesn't say if others can. Besides, when Fate began to interfere, it teleported us out of the way so fast that I wouldn't have the opportunity to do that if I could." Kyros explained.

"Oh. So until you level it up, you intended to keep that Temple there?"

"Yes. That's why I planned to only do it after tricking the kingdoms into helping us! I wanted to level the Temple up first so that [Carrier has Arrived!] would improve. After all, the temple spells that have been unlocked change in terms of power as the temple level increased." Kyros explained.

"That makes sense. Hopefully, you could merge the Temple and this City when you level up."

"That'll be something to consider in the future. Now, time to have a little talk to the Golem King and see if my assumptions and guesses about this City are correct." Kyros stood back up from checking on the status of his family and walked back to the King.

"Golem King Petra, I was also linked to this Gigantes Earth Core and saw the information about this. Please confirm my understanding. This Gigantes Earth Core is the one that constantly provides energy or life to all golems in this city. But I think this excludes you, correct?" Kyros asked.

Petra was startled at Kyros's statements.

"As expected of the Corner Stone of Golem City! You are indeed our savior."

" It is as you have deduced. This Gigantes Earth Core provides life and energy to all golems here. It continues to fuel us."

"And the more Golems awake, the more of the energy that this Gigantes Earth Core you spend. Is this why two of the Elemental Golems are inactive?"

"That is correct."

"Could you please elaborate more about this? I noticed that as King, you are given the means of how to divide this energy. And going by the previous conversations that I had with Stoph and that idiot Mardock, you seemed to have created some form of reward system for the golems. And it seems that you don't allow the weaker golems to recharge their energy here."

"That is correct. The Gigantes Earth Core is an amazing magic artifact. It harnesses the souls that we offer it and allow the creatures to be reborn as golems. Of course, it can also just turn the souls and make it fuel. Because of this, each golem is a unique individual. When they are summoned, they have an average of two years to live. I do not allow the Gigantes Earth Core to constantly recover their lifespan but enforce them to fight and kill. If they are able to kill monsters, they are able to add their lifespan. The Gigantes Earth Core can also not only increase the lifespan of the golem but make them stronger."

"You mean your established system in this city is to make your golems kill to not only save themselves but also to level them up?"

"Yes. Of course, only a very small percentage goes to their experience as the current rules of exchange prioritize the lives of the Elemental Golems and the Iron Golems. If a golem manages to become an Iron Golem, then he has proven to be strong and worthy of being among my elites. Clay Golems that are level ten can rank up to become a Rock Golem. And when they reach level twenty, they may rank up to be an Iron Golem. I designed this reward system to push my golems to fight with their lives at stake and force them to grow stronger. If I wantonly use the dead to increase the level of all golems, it would give me high leveled, or even ranked up golems that are not good fighters." Petra explained. 

"Wow. For a rock, you sure are smart. No wonder your intelligence exceeds the hundreds." Kyros praised.

"But we may have to tweak this setup moving forward slightly. As I said, the Lizard Lords are coming. So let's talk about that first. What exactly lies deeper in this Nephilim Sealing Mountain?"