Chapter 88: Beneath the Crimson Highlands
Darkness swallowed Kael.
For several seconds, there was nothing.
No sound.
No light.
No sense of direction.
Only falling.
His body continued dropping through the collapsed chamber.
Kael immediately reacted.
Ice!
A thick sheet of ice erupted from his palm.
It struck the wall.
CRACK!
The sudden resistance slowed him.
Kael kicked away from the wall and created another ice platform beneath his feet.
Then another.
Then another.
Each platform shattered under the force of his descent, but each one reduced his speed.
Finally—
BOOM!
Kael crashed onto solid ground.
Dust exploded around him.
He rolled several times before stopping against a stone wall.
For several seconds, he didn’t move.
Then he coughed.
"...That hurt."
He slowly pushed himself upright.
His armor was damaged.
His shoulder throbbed.
His sword was still in his hand.
That was enough.
The Hidden World
Kael looked around.
His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.
He wasn’t in the mine anymore.
He was somewhere far deeper.
Massive stone pillars stretched toward a ceiling he couldn’t see.
Ancient carvings covered the walls.
Some depicted warriors.
Others showed enormous creatures.
And one...
Made Kael stop.
It showed a group of strange creatures standing beneath a massive black symbol.
The symbol looked almost like a crown surrounded by flames.
Kael approached it.
He touched the carving.
The system appeared.
Ancient Language Detected
Translation beginning...
...
Translation incomplete.
Known phrase:
Kael frowned.
"The War Beneath the World?"
He looked at the surrounding carvings.
There were more.
One showed humans fighting creatures with horns.
Another showed enormous monsters fighting beside humans.
Another showed what appeared to be a group of dragons descending from the sky.
Then—
A final carving.
It showed a single enormous dragon standing before an army of demons.
Kael stared.
The dragon was unlike anything he had seen before.
Its body was covered in enormous scales.
Its wings stretched across the entire carving.
Behind it stood countless other dragons.
The image appeared ancient.
Very ancient.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"What happened here?"
No answer.
The Heartbeat
Thump.
Kael froze.
He felt it.
The same sensation he’d felt from the mysterious egg.
Except this heartbeat wasn’t coming from the egg.
It was coming from beneath his feet.
Thump.
The ground trembled.
Thump.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Kael slowly stepped backward.
"...That’s not good."
The system appeared again.
WARNING
Unknown energy source detected.
Depth:
4,812 meters
Energy level:
Increasing
Classification:
Demonic
Secondary energy detected.
Classification:
Unknown
System analysis unavailable.
Kael stared at the final line.
"Unknown?"
The system had failed to identify something again.
That was becoming concerning.
A deep rumble echoed through the cavern.
Then another.
Kael drew his sword.
Night Aura gathered around his legs.
He wasn’t going to wait for whatever was coming.
The Ancient Guardians
Stone statues suddenly moved.
Kael turned.
There were six of them.
Each was shaped like a warrior.
Unlike the Guardian Champion from the trial...
These statues had no faces.
Their weapons were ancient.
One carried a spear.
One held a massive axe.
Two carried swords.
The final two had enormous shields.
Kael raised his sword.
"So that’s how it is."
The first statue moved.
BOOM!
Its spear came forward.
Kael stepped aside.
The spear struck the ground.
He used the weapon as a stepping point.
His body rose into the air.
He twisted.
His sword struck the statue’s neck.
CLANG!
A small crack appeared.
Kael landed.
The statue turned.
Fast.
Too fast.
The spear swept toward his chest.
Kael created an ice wall.
CRASH!
The wall shattered.
The impact sent him sliding backward.
Kael wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Stronger than they look."
The six guardians advanced.
One Against Six
Kael didn’t attack immediately.
He watched.
The spear warrior stayed in front.
The shield warriors protected the sides.
The two swordsmen remained behind.
The axeman waited.
Formation.
Not random.
They were fighting like an organized unit.
Kael smiled slightly.
"Fine."
He lowered his stance.
The spear came first.
Kael moved left.
Shield.
He jumped.
Sword.
The shield blocked.
The axeman swung.
Kael ducked.
The sword-wielding warrior attacked.
Kael twisted.
The blade passed inches from his face.
He planted one foot against the shield.
Then pushed.
BOOM!
He launched himself backward.
Light gathered around his feet.
Night Aura followed.
He accelerated.
For one instant...
His body became a blur.
Kael passed between two guardians.
His sword struck the rear-sworded warrior.
CRACK!
Its arm fell.
The guardian didn’t stop.
It continued fighting.
Kael frowned.
"No pain."
No hesitation.
No fear.
They weren’t living creatures.
They were constructs.
He needed another approach.
Breaking the Formation
Kael looked toward the floor.
Ice spread beneath the guardians.
The statues continued forward.
Then—
Kael snapped his fingers.
The ice suddenly rose.
CRACK!
The spear warrior lost balance.
The shield formation broke.
Kael charged.
Blood magic activated.
Five crimson needles formed around him.
He launched them.
One struck the axeman.
Two struck the shield warrior.
Two struck the sword-wielding warrior.
The attacks didn’t penetrate.
But they distracted them.
That was enough.
Kael stepped through the opening.
Night Aura exploded around his legs.
He accelerated.
His sword came down.
BOOOOM!
The spear guardian split in half.
Stone fragments scattered across the floor.
One down.
Five remained.
Kael’s breathing became heavier.
Night Aura was consuming him.
His muscles burned.
He couldn’t keep fighting like this indefinitely.
He dismissed the Aura.
The remaining guardians attacked together.
Kael blocked one strike.
Then another.
The third hit his shoulder.
CRACK!
Kael staggered.
Pain shot through his arm.
He gritted his teeth.
"Again."
Ice formed around his injured shoulder.
It stabilized the joint.
Light surrounded his eyes.
His vision sharpened.
Blood floated around his fingers.
Five drops.
Ten.
Twenty.
Kael stopped trying to overpower the guardians.
Instead...
He began dismantling them.
First the legs.
Then the arms.
Then their weapons.
One by one.
The battlefield became a pile of broken stone.
Finally...
The last guardian fell.
Silence returned.
The Door
At the end of the cavern...
A massive door opened.
There were no guards.
No traps.
Only darkness beyond it.
Kael approached cautiously.
Ancient writing covered the entrance.
The system translated it.
Kael stared.
He immediately understood.
The door wasn’t meant for an army.
It was meant for one person.
He stepped through.
The Chamber Below
The room was enormous.
At the center...
A massive circular platform floated above a bottomless pit.
Chains stretched from the walls toward the center.
Thousands of years old.
Some had already broken.
Others were cracked.
And beneath the platform...
Something moved.
Kael slowly approached the edge.
Then he saw it.
A gigantic eye opened in the darkness.
Kael froze.
The eye was larger than his entire body.
A deep voice echoed through the chamber.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Almost exhausted.
"Another human..."
Kael tightened his grip.
"Who are you?"
The eye slowly closed.
Then opened again.
"I am..."
The creature paused.
"...the last prisoner."
Kael stared into the darkness.
"Prisoner of what?"
The chamber shook.
The creature answered.
"The same thing..."
"...that your ancestors failed to destroy."
Kael’s expression hardened.
"Where is it?"
The enormous eye opened completely.
Far beneath them...
Something screamed.
The sound shook the entire mountain.
The creature whispered:
"Below us."
And then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Crimson Highlands erupted.