Training for days now, he finally got the hang of the atmosphere around him. His training was splited into two set and this he loved the most, having a free time with the woman he cared about the most. 

He was given a free day to refresh his brain and also relax himself but instead he decided to go outting with Virote then they got into the mystic sanctuary not far from the Tribune.

 The sanctuary was a little quite with no humanoids within except them, the room was spherical with tall shelves that reached to the concrete ceiling occupied by medium and bigger books. 

The shelves were arranged specifically around the room leaving a wooden entrance door in the middle wall. 

In the middle of the room were scattered chairs and tables occupying different books while some books were suspended in the air immovably.

 Virote sat on a chair with her legs placed on a table filled with little books while at the other side of the table sat Pat with a paled flat book in his hands.

  "This is taking forever Druidmaster." Virote said frustratedly and bored because the reading idea was Pat's intention to get her attentions.

 Pat disconnected his concentration "my name is Pat Lee not Druidmaster and, reading stretches the brain muscles...besides, who doesn't love reading?"

  "I don't." She replied instantly.

 Pat sighed then dropped the book on the table but another book caught his attention at it floated right over his head, it has black coverings and blank appearance. He took the book then swiped it open.

 Virote on the other hand was playing with an energy orb in her right palm, seems not interested in Pat's enlightenment. Her duty as the royal prestidigitator made her as hard as stone but the latter was beginning to soften her up, she took a slow gaze at his serious face and back at the orb in her palm with a smiling thought.

  "Who are the devourers?" Pat asked indulged in the arts drawn in the book pages, no writings.

  "You're the one reading, not me." She replied icily.

  "Its just drawings, no actual writings." He turned the book at her, she collected it and swiped through all pages but they were all blank with black paint drawings.

  "Guess they don't deserve any history."

 She dropped the book on the table "they're just malevolent and all hearing when their names are spoken of, so let watch our tongues."

  "What are they?"

  "I learnt they were beautiful three witches that worked for the elder gods eons ago even before the rise of lesser gods but their thirst for vast knowledge made them sacrifice their eyes for infinite knowledge in return for just one." 

She paused "They're all-knowing, intelligent and extremely powerful enough to see the past, future and the present. They're one of the illegal ways some councils in the Tribune seek out knowledge and wisdom about their pasts or futures for something in return." She explained.

  "What's that?"

  "Mystical gems."

  "They answer questions? Because I've questions to ask them since they're all-knowing." Pat asked thoughtfully.

  "Are you crazy? I said they're malevolent, that doesn't mean they're emotional or sentimental against lesser creatures! In case you don't know, this witches feeds on gods, deities, mystical beings, demons, angels, virtually anything...without a mystical gem, you're as dead as meal." 

Virote voiced out.

  "Who said we don't have a mystical coin?" Pat smiled, he opened his left palm and a golden coin materialized. It was plain and simple.

 Virote sighed heavily with fear, she looked down and hit her head on her palm angrily. She regretted ever been the Druidmaster's watcher.

  "What do you wanna know, perhaps i could help with that." She asked raising her head at him.

  "Who're the ethereal gods?" He asked.

  "The what?"

  "That's what I thought." He rose on his feet " Astrapi protues" he chanted with his right arm sideway causing a lightning portal to appear out of nothing forming a wide concentric circle infused with energy sparks.

  "Are you coming or not?" He asked her.

 Virote folded her arms taking a regressive breath and walked towards Pat "you don't even know where the portal leads." She said. 

  "Its a wish thing, I wanna see the devourers and it's will lead to their domain...easy." He smiled.

  "my death is on you." She grunted with a slam on his chest.

  "Affirmative my lady." Pat smiled as he watched her walk into the portal. He walked into the portal and infinitesimally, it vanished.

☆☆☆☆☆

 Armagnac

 A lightning portal appeared in the middle of the dark land, Pat and Virote walked out of it and it vanished immediately. The land itself has some trails of horror in it, Pat felt fear grabbing onto him but Virote turned out to be calm and ready for any attack.

 The land was vast and endless, the sky was dark like it was night with dark clouds, mountains ranged up into the dark starless sky as dark lightnings circled the zenith of each mountains. The land was littered by decayed bones particles, skulls and decayed creatures. Bugs and insects buzzed around feeding on the left overs.

 They walked for minutes until they got to a stop at the edge of a circular trench, with the hot stench coming from the dept of the trench, Pat could tell the trench was probably where bodies were decomposed.

  " This place is a deadland." Pat said aloud but Virote made no response.

 They turned but were taken aback as to the three women before them.

  "What do we have here?" A screeching voice occurred from the trio.

 Pat was flabbergasted with fear and disbelief, they were nothing compared to beauty. They both looked alike with woollen hairs, swollen rough faces, no eyes, flat nose and wide mouths in shaggy worn out black woollen chitons, smaller bones were arranged cordially as necklace around their necks and in the middle lady was holding in her clawed hand an eyeball inwhich served as their one sight.

  "I thought you referred to them as beauty." Pat muttered to Virote in a silent tone but she ignored him after shushing him.

  "Zuella, look what the universe brought us." The left witch said to the middle witch holding their sight.

  "The Druidmaster and his queen, Qrydella." The middle said back to the first witch.

  "These is going to be an almighty feast, Hysmine." They both said to the last witch as they burst into a loud guffaw that echoed through and beyond the land.

 Pat brought out the mystic coin and the smiles on the witches vanished immediately, they were disappointed. They knew the Druidmaster wasn't in their domain to be devoured but for some questioning and answers. 

Unlike other beings aware of the Druidmaster's existence, the devourers weren't surprised because they knew this was inevitable and was going to happen but they never saw him been devoured.

 So they were accurate with time flow.

 He tossed the coin at them and Zuella caught it "I'm here for a swift question."

  "You seek the truth behind the ethereal gods." Zuella cut him short.

  Amazed but sincere, Pat nodded positively "Yes! Everyone keeps saying they changed my destiny into becoming the Druidmaster, so I want to know how they did that and who they are."

 The witches stared at each other with crippled fear "your question is a very cumbersome one to answer Druidmaster."

  "And why's that?" Virote asked.

  " It's a matter of revealing the hidden to the unworthy but we've a short answer for you." Qrydella cut in.

  "They're agents before and after existence." Hysmine chipped.

  "That's not an answer." Pat responded acidly, he clenched his fist but Virote held him back. Was he even going to attack witches thousand times older than him, with vast knowledge and experience against higher beings including angels?

  "If you wish to know more Druidmaster, then come closer." Hysmine said.

  "Closer?" Pat asked in disgust and they hummed in approval, he looked at Virote with face disgusted to the dept. He couldn't last a minute nearing the disgusting beautiful witches.

 He moved closer and closer to them until he could feel their breathe on him and even smell their appalling odours. Not closer enough for the witches, then Qrydella drew him closer to the extent he could now feel their slipping lotion on his body which almost made him puke. 

She placed her left thumb on his forehead and at once, Pat's eyes sank into a narrow dept of an endless abyss and his conscious drifted away beyond the dept of oblivion, nothingness and existence.

 ☆☆☆☆☆

 Outerversal Zone

  He found himself in a void vicinity, it was nothing compared to space or even a confined universe. 

It has a blue bright light in the middle of the void brightening the oblivion within and beyond, the light has an unpleasant disposal that Pat could feel unlimited in potentials. He could not even tell where the energy derives from, it has no finite potential except for boundless uniquenesses.

  "Hello!" Pat shouted but there was no respond.

  "Anyone there?" He added effectively but now a heavy gust of wind invaded the void that almost swept Pat away like a needle. The wind wasn't just normal, it was as a heavy breathe of a gigantic figure he couldn't even see it's face nor appearance. It took him few seconds to know he was he technically standing before this gigantic figure's face like a dust swept around by the breeze.

  "Oh my God!" Pat awed.

  "Be gone, Druidmaster!" A voice thundered within the void then from the voice came an enormous wind that sank his conscious back into the vacuum of reality drifting him back into oblivion like a vacuum cleaner.

☆☆☆☆☆

 Armagnac

 With a huge intake of air, Pat dived back to reality before falling on his knees.

  "Pat!" Virote came to his aid.

 Pat breathed heavily, he felt like his heart was going to rip out of his chest. 

For some minutes, he couldn't feel his body but with Virote's support, he was back on his feet "What did you do to me?" He asked.

  "You asked for an answer and we gave it to you." The witches said in unison.

 Pat knew what he saw was too much for him to apprehend psychologically, it was meaningless but also felt real.

  "You saw them." Zuella smiled.

 Pat nodded positively "I do."

  "They choose you Druidmaster, if they wanted you to see them, they would have done that from the beginning."

  "But why me?" Pat asked.

  "Because you're who you are, not fake." Hysmine responded but they felt something else entering the domain, it was chaotic and madness induced. 

The devourers knew what it was which brought a heavy smiled on their faces.

  "What's happening?" Virote asked.

 Reality in the domain tore open like a vortex giving way to a figure as he walked into the domain glowing with green energies, they couldn't see his face but they could see his glowing green eyes blazing like the morning sun.

  "Goblin force." The witches called in unison as they turned behind to witness the unwelcoming intruder.

  "Step aside witches, I only came for the Druidmaster." He replied with an offensive tone the witches found not lovely.

  "You came into our domain goblin force, in here uou abide by our rules." Zuella warned but it was obvious the latter wasn't paying to their instructions.

  "Once again, step aside witches." Goblin force warned.

  "Where is your mystic coin?" Hysmine asked.

  "Step aside witches!" Goblin force finalised then raised his arms amagamating a destructive green energy in his palms into a gigantic ball.

 Knowing a battle was going to ensue, Virote casted out a teleportative wave of energy around themselves which shrank them infinitesimally into a ball until they were nowhere to be found.

 On seeing this, goblin force was angered then he decide to tail them but a retreative force drew him backward like a magnetic pull. He turned at the witches as they giggled to devour.

  "Off me witches!" He growled releasing an anti-pull force that struck the witches sliding back a little but it was harmless against them but only angered them the more.

  "Prepare to die." Goblin force assured.

  "Not in this time Goblin force!" Qrydella laughed like a maniac.

 Goblin force stretched out his arms releasing a widespread wave of apocalyptic force that swiftly dominated the endless land annihilating every life in seconds but it took a wide turn as the force was countered like time was totally reversed and the gigantic destructive wave was now formed into a tiny ball in between Hysmine thumb and middle finger.

  "We never saw our death today goblin force, we only saw yours!" They said in unison.

 Goblin force eyes opening in awe, he has finally seen his match. Perhaps his thirst for chaos has driven him into the den of the devourers. 

A telekinetic force drew out the force from the host like separating a upper skin from the lower skin. 

The figure fell down near unconscious but he knew if he stays any minute in Armagnac, he would end up been devoured by the witches but he watched in regret as the goblin force screeched in pain broken and been caught by the witches. They separated it region by region siphoning its energies like fluids.

He couldn't watch then a flaming portal appeared beneath his feet, not from his doing but from something else and as the flames died down, he was gone.

  "Cryptor!" Zuella smiled taking the last energy fluid into her mouth as it expanded as large as a shark's jaw.

☆☆☆☆☆

 Unknown Location

  He fell on his knees exhausted, it was like his life force was almost hindered during the extraction of the goblin force by the devourers, he should have thought it accurately before taking the hunting task. He had no idea the Druidmaster would pay the devourers a visit.

  "You failed me again!" The voice behind the door boomed like an echo.

 He shivered in fear with his hooded face bowed "I'm sorry!"

  "You shouldn't have gone into Armagnac, you fed my greatest weapon to the devourers." The voice shouted causing a minor tremor.

  "Forgive me master, I made a mistake and it will never happen again." He spoke.

  "I wish!" The voice calmly said "now find me the gateway key, I'm sick and tired of your puny service...I'll have everything demolished myself, not even the ethereal gods would dare confront me."

  "Yes my lord, I promise I won't stop until the key is attained." He assured and with a blink, he was gone.

  "Good!" He finalized.