Ep 160. I’ve Been Here Before. (6)
‘…Didn’t this pce take like, at least two hours to get through?’
Aymeia bleakly thought to herself as she walked through the empty hall that was once filled with numerous twisting walls. sidering all the devices Letherien had devised to plicate the maze oain turns, an oblivious thief may just as well end up a skeleton withiricate structure.
But for the first time sihe temple was built, Aymeia had takehan ten mio reach the maze’s end.
Though, to be fair, the maze itself was quite literally erased from existence during the first minute.
“Well…here we are.”
Finally ing to a halt before the doorway to the final chamber, Aymeia gnced downwards. The lod s that should’ve been firmly bound around the handles were on the floor, shattered and lying in pieces.
Serenis likewise made note of the breakage. But unlike Aymeia, it didn’t take the dragonlord long to ast the former deity, holding a firm grip on the chamber’s entrance.
Then, with a firm push, the chamber’s door creaked open.
“…”
Frankly, the chamber’s interior was nothing like the rest of the temple.
It was hardly as grand in scale, and its bck obsidian walls were hardly parable to the marbled architecture they’d seen above. The runes and drawings engraved unto the walls were likewise nothing luxurious; rather, they seemed like they’d belong on a chapter of an old history book.
Of course, none of them ed the dragonlord.
Serenis’ eyes simply darted left and right, trying to pinpoint the ominous presehat was nearby. But no matter how hard she looked, the Reaper’s physical self was o be seen, his mana a mere hazy shade.
‘Has he already…?’
Soon, Serenis’ eyes focused on the opposing side of the chamber.
Although it wasn’t the Reaper, a peculiar obsidian statue rested on the opposite side: a lone warrior standing firmly, hands resting on the hilt of a massive greatsword buried within the chamber’s floor. Behind it was anate, firmly closed and seemingly being guarded by the statue itself.
“I suppose the Archive’s beyond those gates, then.”
“…Mhm. You should be fine, but…if you go too close without expining you’re a deity, the statue will attack you.”
“…”
Hearing the former deity’s reply from behind her, Serenis studied the statue from head to toe.
From what Aymeia had said earlier, it seemed reasoo think that this sculpt was the gatekeeper itself. But if that were to be true, and if Felicir had indeed gone past it and into the Archive already, theatue should’ve been broken and shattered like the lock outside.
‘In other words, he must be nearby still. But where…’
Screeeee!!
“…?”
Serenis looked to the source of the sudden high-pitched her feet.
It didn’t take long to spot the 8-legged critter that was at her feet, waving its two forearms in a frantiner before the dragonlord.
“A spider…?”
“Eepl”
Just as Serenis made verbal note of the critter, Light immediately pranced back several steps, bag off into the chamber’s er. Evehe dragonlord locked eyes with her, the half was frantically shaking their head.
A pair of disdainful eyes stared into Light’s.
“…You’re not afraid of deities, but you’re afraid of spiders?”
“This isn’t being afraid. This is being disgusted.”
“…”
Although Serenis had lots to say, she elected to keep her mouth shut oter. It was better Light stayed away in case there really was a trap of sorts id out here, anyways.
Soon, the dragonlord returned her gaze to the spider who was busily nibbling and pulling at her cws.
“Are you hungry? Still, perhaps you should find prey your size…”
“Screeeee! Screeeeeeeee!!”
After just a few seds, Serenis realized that the spider wasn’t trying to eat her; it was trying to move her fio point upwards.
When she raised her eyes towards the dire the spider was gesturing, a pair of blue eyes was glowing from the chamber ceiling’s obsidian surface.
And soon, the eyes eerily curved into a smile; an equally eerie voice soon apa.
“Xargon. Through my authority as the Reaper, I hereby request entrao the Archive.”
“…!”
As Felicir’s voice filled the chamber, the unmoving sculpt showed an immediate respos unlit eyes had suddenly obtained a greenish hue, the mass of stone seemingly stirring awake.
“Reaper…Felicir…firming…”
If the spider wasn’t enough to freak Light out, a talking obsidian statue, was.
“What the heck, it talks?! Is it alive?”
Before anyone could even ahe half, a series of rumbling noises filled the entire viity as Serenis raked at the ceiling where Felicir was.
Bits of broken bck stones crumbled unto the floor from the sudden impact. The Reaper likewise took physical form once more, forced out of the ceiling with two huge wounds across their arm.
He quickly hid behind the obsidian warriiving off ay ughter.
“Hasty, aren’t we?”
“…Reaper.”
Before Serenis could tihe statue fixed its grip on their on with a loud, grinding s glowing green eyes were locked onto the dragonlord’s moving figure.
“Identity…mismatch…warning. Intruders will be executed. Leave at once!”
Serenis kicked her tongue, shaking her head in dismay.
“…Even a talking piece of stohinks it best me now.”
Raising one hand into the air, rings of shimmering starlight formed around a prismatic orb, levitating above the dragonlord’s palm. Her eyes remained locked onto the statue, and the gate that was behind it.
“Dragonlord, wait! The sculpt is-“
“Iructible?”
Aymeia trailed off the dragonlord’s familiar choice of words.
‘…Oh yeah…that didn’t matter to her.’
It wasn’t the Archive Serenis had e here for; the main goal was retrieving Raizel’s lost soul. She was curious about what lied in the beyond, but not enough to tolerate the Reaper’s existend jeopardize her kin’s safety.
So instead, she raised the glowing orb. The densed mass of mana began to sizzle and , as if ready to explore in any sed.
“Disappear, Felicir. You, the keeper, the beyond…everything.”
A massive white pilr erupted sideways from Serenis’ hand, engulfing the entire room before her.
The sculpt fixed its grip on its bde, only for the obsidian to dissipate like ice exposed to fire. The flood of starlight ed its body entirely, as well as the Reaper and the gate that lied beyond him in bellowing smoke.
But in the nick of time, Felicir’s shadowy hand shot out from the uled dust, snatg the spider away from the dragonlord before pag towards the destroyed remains of the formerly sealed gate.
“Ha…cough, cough…haha. Take it easy, will you, dragonlord? Thank to you, there’s hardly a dozen souls left in this poor monster’s possession to feed on.
“…”
“Though, I’m sure I could use yours as a meal food decare or two.”
Serenis paid no mind to the Reapers’ insults.
Instead, she’d caught, a peculiar sight had caught her gaze: beyond the gates her spell had just broken, she could see that the area beyond was much more spacious thainy chamber they were in. Shelves upon shelves of books were lined after another, even from the cursory look she could get from her current position.
Turning abruptly, Felicir rapidly made his way to retreat depeer ihe opened gate.
And there was no way the dragonlord would leave him to run.
“Going somewhere?”
She leapt forward, cws pulled bad hissing in high-pitched echoes of g mana.
Even as Felicir hurried to erect a barrier, both of them khat it would provide little fainst the dragonlord’s ining attack: one rake forward, and Karas’ body would wind up as diced meat.
Unfortunately, her cws came just short of reag the fleeing Reaper, ing to a full stop midair inches away from his face.
“…?”
Fortunately, the Reaper likewise froze in pce, seemingly stu a position where he’d be stru any sed.
“…!”
Of course, her could move even in a single inch closer or further.
‘What just-‘
Both Serenis and Felicir tried their hardest to move their limbs, but to no avail.
With the two ing to a full stop, only slow, quiet steps echoed throughout the odd space, growing louder and louder as they approached the two.
“Iing. Guests that are keen on killing one another…”
From behind one of the shelves emerged a lone figure. He made some final adjustments onto the book in his hand before closing and putting it aside.
“Dragonlord, Serenis.”
“…”
“Reaper, Felicir…and Monster of Mire.”
“…”
“And aside from you two, we have Aymeia, who’s lost her divinity…Light Torin…and…a rge-turned-small critter.”
Serenis couldn’t even mao move her eyes or blink.
But even so, the marked entrance made it quite clear who the speaker was, even if she couldn’t look at them properly.
