Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

After continuing for several more minutes, carefully weaving around tangled roots and ducking beneath low-hanging branches while narrowly avoiding tripping over the uneven forest floor more times than they cared to admit, the group finally arrived at their destination.

However, let’s just say it wasn’t what any of them had expected.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Veyrath wasn’t someone who resorted to profanity often. Yet the sight before him left him with no other way to adequately express the sheer multitude of emotions surging through his mind.

His voice dripped with astonishment, bewilderment, agitation, and even the faintest trace of indignation. His face itself became a veritable kaleidoscope of emotions, shifting between disbelief and disappointment, frustration and utter incomprehension within the span of only a few heartbeats.

Anyone observing him would have struggled to determine which emotion dominated the others. Yet, had they stood where he was now, they would probably have reacted the very same way.

Standing before the nine of them was a cave. In fact, simply calling it a cave hardly did the place justice.

It was more accurate to describe it as an enormous crimson boulder whose weathered body had been violently split apart by a colossal, jagged fissure, leaving behind a narrow opening that only vaguely resembled the entrance to a cavern.

Untold years of erosion had carved deep grooves into its scarlet stone, giving it the appearance of an ancient relic forgotten by time itself. Thick vines coiled across its surface like serpents, while patches of moss clung stubbornly to the rock as though nature had long ago begun reclaiming it.

Twisted roots snaked over the stone before disappearing into the darkness beyond the entrance, lending the entire structure the unsettling illusion of a colossal beast with its maw forever frozen open.

The entrance itself was crooked and uneven, neither symmetrical nor remotely inviting. Beyond it, darkness swallowed every trace of light that dared venture inward.

At irregular intervals, an icy current drifted from the depths of the cavern, carrying with it the scents of damp stone, ancient earth and something impossibly old.

High above the opening, clusters of jagged stalactites hung like enormous fangs poised to impale anything unfortunate enough to pass beneath them.

Rather than resembling a refuge, the place looked like the waiting jaws of some primordial monster slumbering beneath the earth. If anything, the entire cave radiated an atmosphere that was sinister, oppressive, and profoundly baleful.

Looking at the dilapidated cavern before him, Veyrath rubbed his temples before speaking again, his voice heavy with exasperation.

"This?" He started, pointing toward the cave. "Tell me this isn’t the place you’ve been leading us toward for nearly four hours."

His expression twitched as he continued. "I mean, after everything we’ve been through, this is seriously what you wanted us to see?"

Standing several paces before the entrance, Aelric turned around calmly before giving a simple nod.

"Where else did you think I was leading you?" He looked toward the cave before looking back at Veyrath. "Of course this is the place."

His voice remained as calm and even as ever. Yet somehow, Veyrath couldn’t help but feel there was the faintest trace of derision hidden beneath those words.

Perhaps it was merely because exhaustion had clouded his judgment or perhaps he had imagined it entirely; but for one brief moment, it genuinely felt as though Aelric was quietly mocking him.

The failed alchemist looked as if someone had landed an invisible blow squarely against his chest.

He slowly shifted his gaze from Aelric back toward the cave and then sighed deeply.

"I honestly don’t know whether to laugh or cry."

His reaction wasn’t without reason.

Ever since arriving within the Crimson Forest, caves had become an almost recurring nightmare.

The first cave had become their home, a place where survival first began.

The second, however, had been the Breeding Nest. Even now, merely recalling that place sent chills racing down his spine.

It had nearly become their grave, and it was there that they first encountered the mysterious Sauryean race.

The third cave had hidden the waterfall sanctuary, only for that sanctuary to conceal an ancient crypt beneath it.

And inside that crypt, ancient Terracotta Guardians had nearly buried them alongside its forgotten dead.

Truthfully speaking, almost every significant encounter they had experienced with caves since entering the Nether Lands had ended with them standing one step away from death.

Even their first cave hadn’t been entirely safe. As for one particular cave, it had nearly claimed their lives on three separate occasions.

By now, Veyrath had developed something bordering on an aversion toward caves. Whether one wished to call it trauma or simply instinctive caution hardly mattered anymore. The very sight of one now filled him with unease.

So hearing that the place supposedly capable of allowing them to break into the Etheryean Realm was in fact another cave left him utterly speechless.

Naturally, he wasn’t the only one whose expectations had been shattered. The only difference was that Veyrath happened to be the first person vocal enough to say it aloud.

Truthfully, when Aelric had spoken of a place capable of aiding their breakthrough, everyone had unconsciously painted an entirely different picture within their minds.

Something mystical and something breathtaking. Perhaps another place like the waterfall... Only grander, more ancient, and more ethereal.

Instead, they found themselves standing before what looked like nothing more than a forgotten crack in an oversized rock.

Kaeloris adjusted his glasses before speaking, unable to completely hide the disappointment coloring his voice.

"I’ll admit, when you spoke about a place capable of helping us advance..." He looked toward the cave. "This isn’t exactly what I imagined."

Aelric raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what exactly did you have in mind?"

Before Kaeloris could answer, Caelestra spoke first. "I was expecting something like an ancient sanctuary..."

She folded her arms thoughtfully. "You know, perhaps ruins left behind by a civilization far more advanced than ours..."

Before she could continue, Vaelorin interjected. "Or maybe a mountain overflowing with Aether... Or a sacred lake."

"Honestly..." He pointed toward the cave. "Anything except... This."

He grimaced as he said. "Truthfully, this place looks like something creatures would crawl out of in the middle of the night."

"They’re right."

This time, Regaleon finally spoke.

The silver-haired knight observed the cave silently with his golden gaze for several moments before shifting his attention toward Aelric.

"I’m not trying to underestimate your judgment..." His voice remained calm. "But I also expected you to bring us somewhere..."

He searched briefly for the right word before speaking. "...remarkable."

He smiled helplessly as he continued. "Now, don’t misunderstand as I know better than to judge a book by its cover. But, on the other hand, I honestly expected something far more impressive."

Aureleah remained silent throughout the exchange. Even so, the faint glimmer crossing her silver eyes revealed that she shared many of the same thoughts.

However, there simply wasn’t any need for her to repeat what everyone else had already said.

After listening patiently, Aelric merely smiled.

Then his expression gradually grew serious.

"I understand your disappointment."

His gaze swept across every member of the group. "But there’s something you should all remember. The Nether Lands rewards observation and punishes assumptions. Also, it has absolutely no obligation to satisfy your expectations."

His words settled heavily upon the group.

They sounded less like an explanation and more like a lesson carved from years of harsh experience.

After a brief pause, he continued.

"Besides.." He looked toward Regaleon. "You were the one who said not to judge a book by its cover."

His smile returned. "So tell me, you’ve only seen the outside of the cave; then why not wait until you’ve seen what’s inside before deciding whether your disappointment is justified?"

Those words caused several brows to furrow but none of them immediately found a response.

Without waiting for one, Aelric simply turned toward the entrance. He gestured casually over his shoulder as he began walking.

"Come. No amount of standing outside is going to reveal what’s hidden within. So let’s go and you’ll see for yourself whether this place is worth it or not."

Without another word, the green-eyed youth stepped into the darkness and his figure was quickly swallowed by the shadows lurking beyond the cave’s entrance.

The remaining eight exchanged uncertain glances. Although skepticism still lingered within their hearts, curiosity had already begun to outweigh it.

Surely, Aelric wouldn’t play games with them nor would he try to deceive them. Therefore, one after another, they tightened their grips on their Soul Essences before silently following after Aelric.

And just like that, the nine figures disappeared into the oppressive darkness of the cavern, leaving only silence behind as the ancient cave slowly swallowed them whole.

However, the moment they entered the cave, a black figure suddenly appeared at the cave’s entrance like a phantom. The figure observed the cave for a few moments but rather than walking into it, it simply vanished into black smoke....