Coldharbour was never the same since that day, the scale of chaos that broke around the realm was unheard of ever since Planemeld was stopped and Molag Bal's spiky put was kicked. The Hollow City that broke out of Coldharbour's control was something out of the blue, green, red and all the concerned colors. Chaotic as it was, the inside of the Hollow City was quiet and silent.
The Soul Shriven saw the Sky they never saw in many years, some knelt down, some hid their eyes from the light and some basked in its warmth. The Decree that Jon created with the Elder Ones was beyond the forces of Oblivion.
Jon understood the Elder Scrolls to some extent, they always followed the rules of fair exchange. What the Moth Priests and the other people associated with the Elder Scrolls didn't understand was the relationship of Give and Take that the Elder Scrolls work with. They give Knowledge in exchange for things like Lifespan or the Sense of Sight. The Moth Priests employed they Mystic Energy of the Ancestor Moth and used it to give and take powers with the Elder Scrolls.
Also, the Elder Scroll had a very unique function. They were the artifacts that gather the Songs (events) of Nirn and bring them to
Jon did something similar.
In Order to have the protection of the Elder Scroll, Jon sacrificed Two Levels of his Cultivation causing his power to drop to 'Level 1, Ebonblood stage'. That was fair compared to protecting the Hollow City and getting back on Molag Bal. Jon also uses the Elder Scroll to enchant the staff exchanging 7 precious Heart Stones in the process.
One may wonder, how does this Elder Scroll work?
The Elder Scrolls are Artifacts of great power that can show the past, the present and the future but that was merely the tip of the iceberg. Jon read once that the Elder Scrolls are associated with the Chief of the Magna-Ge, Magnus.
[A/n: A reminder: the Magne-Ge are a group of Original Spirits that escaped Mundus during the times of creation. A Faction third to the Aedra and the Daedra. They reside in the Immortal Plane of Aethereus. Magnus is Chief of the Magne-Ge and the Architect of Mundus, the Staff and the Eye of Magnus are his.]
Jon knelt on the ground coughing out blood as losing two realms of Cultivation was just too much on his body which almost broke from the inside.
Was it worth it to protect the Hollow City?
Who knows! He just wanted to do so. Maybe his redemption for killing thousands, maybe his way to put salt in Molag Bal's eyes, maybe he just wanted to do so without any care about his Cultivation. He can climb up those realms in no time anyway.
Jon cleaned the place and put away the Elder Scrolls, Nefertiti reluctantly helped him up and the two looked at the Kyne's Shrine.
On its Altar, there float a staff.
It arrogantly floated around with a golden light aura come from it. Jon and Nefertiti looked at it and admiration filled their eyes.
Jon walked forward and stretched his hand to take the staff, as soon as he was about to touch it, the staff backed away from him.
Jon frowned hard.
He tried again to take it but the staff still moved away.
"Hey, get over here."
Jon was about to stomp the ground in anger but Nefertiti spoke.
"Hooman, I think it wants you to take it with style."
"Style? Like stand on my hands and take it with my feet?"
"Not acrobatic… you know, it is a prideful weapon." Nefertiti hinted.
"... Ahaaa!" Jon got the gist.
He thought for a second and then stood in a haughty pose and opened his palm.
"Come."
With that word, the staff flew in a beautiful arc towards Jon's hand and positioned itself as it saw fit.
Jon cringed in his mind but he barely kept a smile, it seems that a troublesome monkey has joined the circus. Jon grasped the staff tightly and the latter shivered from excitement as it immersed itself in its master's power. Jon carried the staff up and kept looking at its details left and right.
It surely was a gorgeous little thing.
[Pride] was not as large as other staves but it was something between a staff and a cane. Its end was covered with ebony and had a pointy heel fit for stabbing, its shaft was wooden smoothed to perfection with lines of ebony crossing each other and a white crystal inlaid at each crossing, its top was collared with an ebony handle that fit Jon's grip and the Sigil Stone on top of it with white crystals forming crown-like appearance on top of the Sigil Stone. If one focused on the shaft and the handle, one can see Dragon Runes engraved on them with the power of Jon's voice.
Jon took a deep breath as he admired his work, the enchantment of the staff was calling for him to just use it already.
"As you wish."
Jon tapped with the staff's heel on the ground only once and the Magicka of the surroundings started to react wildly. The Chapel of Light that was ruined from the inside started to vibrate and every piece of broken furniture, every strand of dust, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything started to come back together.
The Chapel looked as if it was fixing itself from the inside.
That was only due to the power of the staff fueled by Jon's Magicka and Will.
What sort of spell can put everything back together like that? A Time Spell? An Alteration Spell? Jon didn't know.
He only imagined the place getting back together to shape and told the staff just took the necessary amount of Magicka needed.
This is the enchantment.
The Sin of Pride, the [Elder Staff]. The Deadliest of Sins and one of the Strongest Staves in the World which has the potential to rival the [Staff of Chaos] and the [Staff of Magnus].
Its other names are the [Staff of Power and Fate], the [Staff of Magic Extremity] and the [Wish Upon a Star].
None of these names was called by Jon, he only called it [Pride] and the [Elder Staff]. These names were to be later recognized by the Elder Scrolls themselves but that's a story for another time.
Jon looked around at the interior of the chapel that got its beauty back together and all the dust out. It was truly marvelous.
"Hooman, does this mean I am not cleaning after myself again?"
"Nope, all the toilet paper your savagely murder is your mess to clean."
"Ugh! Meanie!"
Jon ignored the moody cat and his eyes landed on the staff again.
"Hooman, how many enchantments you put on it?"
"One."
"One?"
"One."
"How?"
"Here, hold it." Jon offered the staff to Nefertiti which was a bit taller than her. "The Staff was constructed by Fate Magic, an echo of my Voice and got enchanted by an Elder Scroll. It has a certain degree of intelligence to understand the wielder's will and create any magic with the right amount of Magicka available. To make it easier, it makes whatever I imagine."
"Like… anything?"
"Exactly."
"Shadow Magic?"
"Let's see." Jon held [Pride] and imagined some shadow projectile shooting out as magic.
And as he wished, several [Shadow Bolts] which Nefertiti usually shoots were cast towards the ground.
"Wow! Wind Magic!"
Jon cast Alina's magic and made the air around move gently.
"Fish Magic!"
"... You greedy little fluff, there is no such magic."
"Hooman, do it!"
"Here!" Jon took out a smoked fish from the [Cube] and handed her to Nefertiti.
"Go chew on it away, I think it is about time to see what happened out there."
Jon walked to the gate of the chapel and opened it for the warm light to go in carrying the warmth of life.
***
"I still can't believe Lady Meridia abandoned us, how sad! Even though we got on famously, such a charming lovely woman. What a shame!"
"I don't think your emotions alone would be enough, Sir Cadwell. Meridia demands love and people loved her not, her light will never reach them."
"Aye, I get you." Sir Cadwell nodded. "At least you returned to me with this."
In his hand, there was a White Crystal formed from the fragments he gave to Jon. Jon made sure to put them back for Cadwell.
"Anyway, you will be now mayor of this lovely place so cheer up." Jon said as he pointed out the New Hollow City.
Things have indeed changed. Now there was an actual sky in the sky, the air smelled better and the place was much warmer.
When Jon made a pact with Kyne through the Elder Scroll, Kyne granted the ground of the Hollow City her breath and it became a realm of its own. It was still in Oblivion and a pocket realm of Coldharbour but it was protected from any influence from Molag Bal.
The place was still accessible through Coldharbour but it was in Coldharbour no more.
The lands around the Hollow City were green and beautiful with a few creeks of clear water flowing and a mountain range surrounding the city but that was the end of the realm. It was just that, a place disconnected from Coldharbour and a safe haven for the Soul Shriven that will manage to reach it in the future.
Sir Cadwell looked around the place with Jon then shook his head.
"Tempting offer, Krilon my boy, but I will decline. If you ask me, it's a dreadfully dull place and a real eyesore at that."
"Suit yourself. So, what will you be doing?" Jon asked.
"Well as you know, I prefer my Coldharbour with a no Tamriel in it so I'll be returning there. Maybe I'll look after those who escape the eternal servitude thing and guide them here. A bit of salt in the Daedras' eyes if you ask me."
"Haha! My thoughts exactly. Farewell, Sir Cadwell."
"And Fare thee well, Krilon and lovely Anares."
Jon, Serana and Mr. Skittles took their leave and gathered around the Corpse of the Daedric Titan, Balzar.
"So, what now Mr. Krilon. This one has assisted you this far. Are you able to take me back to my home?" Mr. Skittles asked.
"Sure. I have obtained the mean back to Mundus. Do you know the place you want to go?"
"Yes, my home town Riverhold between the Cyrodilic Bravil and the Khajiiti Rimmen." Mr. Skittles said.
"Good, we will open a portal there after we finish one last errand regarding my friend Anares here but before we do that…"
Jon said and took out the [Black Star], the unbreakable soul gem that contains Xikil's soul.
He pointed the [Black Star] at the Lifeless Corpse of the Daedric Titan, Balzar. He let his Aura ravage Balzar's Vistage and Break it in the fight which means Balzar is no longer there and completely killed, this body of a Daedric Titan is but an empty shell right now. It would be a shame to let it rot.
Jon pointed his staff's head at the [Black Star] which was pointed at the Daedric Titan's corpse and said the magic word.
"Rise!"