Whispers of Metal: The Forge of the One Mage

well a new chapter, to be honest I didn't think I would upload anything today my computer was damaged and I will take it to be repaired tomorrow and my phone is not the best so it was a torment to write this, which makes me have some respect for those writings who use their phones and create very good works. Anyway, I feel like I've already released enough frustration with this comment, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

The Pillar opened spectacularly with a small blinding light, revealing weapons.

A collection of swords, spears, axes, and hammers. Each weapon was very well made; more than weapons, they looked like works of art you'd use to decorate a room.

"Wow," exclaimed Nora as she observed the weapons.

"They look like good weapons," said Adrián while taking a closer look at the artifacts, "but they're not truly designed for combat," he pointed out as he kept talking.

"For example, do you see that sword over there? The rapier," he pointed to one of the finest and thinnest swords I've ever seen.

Nora and I nodded.

"Well, although it looks good aesthetically, the decorative lines on it make it very fragile and more rigid than it should be. It's not suitable because if you strike with too much force, it'll bend and break very easily," he explained, using what I believe was an illusion to illustrate why it couldn't be used as a weapon.

"So, they're mostly art pieces?" I asked curiously.

"They might be, or they could have other purposes. I'm not an expert in Gem culture," he mentioned and then gestured toward Nora.

"I think they're art pieces too. Some Gems like to collect or make things like this. For example, Pearl has a collection of swords and spears in her room," Nora clarified.

"So, is this all there is here?" Adrián asked.

Nora simply shrugged, or at least tried to, as one of her hands was restrained by the control.

"I don't think so. There must be more things," said Nora thoughtfully, and an idea crossed my mind.

"Maybe if… hahaha," she began to speak, but I tickled her to see if my theory was correct.

"Why did you do that?" Nora asked me with fake annoyance.

But when she calmed down, the Weapon Pillar closed, and a new one opened, now revealing armor.

"That's why," I said, pointing at the armor and the new Pillar.

"Oh, that's why," said Nora, now a little less annoyed.

"Well, that answers my question," Adrián mentioned before following my example and pinching Nora's nose, also opening a new Pillar.

Nora looked like she wanted to hit us both—me for the tickling and Adrián for the pinch.

At that, I laughed a little, and Adrián stepped away from her, out of reach of her arms.

We continued with the same dynamic to make the other Pillars appear and disappear.

Sometimes they revealed strange things, like a one-cent coin, which seemed funny until Adrián said something that left us thinking.

"If this is an old Gem base, it must be at least a couple of centuries old, and the coin looks quite ancient. According to what my magic tells me, it's even older than America," he said, referring to how the coin predates the country.

"That doesn't…" Nora was about to respond but thought about it and didn't know what to say.

As for me, I was having a few thoughts involving the Gems, the government, and world control.

"Well, let's keep going," Nora said nervously for some reason.

"There's something you're not telling me," I thought to myself as Nora opened another Pillar.

What appeared next were some pink cannons made of what looked like crystal. Nora briefly explained that they were her mother's cannons but that she didn't know there were more here.

And so, we continued for a while longer, revealing different things.

This time, what appeared was a flag with a rose as its symbol. It had a very geometric design and was crossed by thorns. The entire flag was in different shades of pink and looked very old.

Nora immediately seemed to recognize the flag.

"It's a resistance flag against… her," she said, first with enthusiasm, but then her voice slowly faded away. However, she seemed to recover her usual tone quickly and said, "Well, guys, it's good that we know about this base now, but we should go watch the movie," she said in her usual tone but also with some nervousness. Worry? I'm not sure.

I just nodded, and Adrián spoke.

"Well, you're right. After all, we've been here for almost five hours," he said while looking at his left arm, where a wristwatch appeared that I knew he didn't have.

"What!?" Nora and I exclaimed at the same time upon hearing that.

"We need to leave if we want to watch that movie," Nora said, and I nodded.

"León!" She called her pet, who had been sleeping this whole time and didn't seem to pay her any attention. "It seems you want your training to be tougher," she said to the lion, who seemed to understand those words.

But for some reason, a new Pillar opened, not with the familiar pink light of the previous ones but with a red light.

"Shit," Adrián said as he moved me from where I was with his telekinesis and Nora broke the control restraining her with her free hand, moving away from the place, which was incinerated by a laser.

After I could take in what was happening, I saw that what had emerged from the Pillar were floating robots without arms, legs, or hands but equipped with cannons.

Instinctively, I said the same thing as Adrián, "Shit."