Chapter 135: The Crystal Palace
Eight months had passed in a blur of motion as Lyris continued to climb the floors without any trouble, along with her new companion, Elyon.
After eight months had passed, passing through nothing but beautiful locations, she felt a lightness while completing the trial like no other person may have felt. Even she was confused. Why was she facing such kinds of trials? There was nothing challenging about this trial; she was just walking and walking.
On the 3rd floor, they came across a beautiful lotus garden with several lakes sitting beside each other, creating a picturesque view while defining the natural beauty, along with the calm environment and peaceful location.
On the 4th floor, they came across a street which was covered by beautiful cherry blossom trees. They just needed to walk straight down the street to find the staircase and climb it.
On the 5th floor, they came across a beautiful mountain area with a heavy canopy. They just needed to climb one of the highest mountain edges to look at the surroundings and find the staircase.
As they continued to climb through such floors constantly, Lyris felt like she was going on a tour instead of completing a trial. On each floor, she came across a different, new, beautiful location, which made her want to stay there rather than go.
But with a heavy heart, she made the decision to keep walking, as she couldn’t back down on her path.
As she teamed up with Elyon, she got more comfortable with her and got used to her excited personality. The trust between them had gradually built up as they traveled together for eight months, and whatever caution Lyris used to hold up evaporated. She also found out that Elyon was a ’priest’ who had deep faith in the goddess; her ultimate goal was to become a ’Saintess’ one day, and she was working hard for it.
Now that they had finally reached Floor 90, Lyris looked at the new surroundings around her, which were of course different from what she had seen earlier. With each floor, she had seen new kinds of beauty, which was exactly why she hadn’t gotten bored.
If the exact same thing showed up in every trial, she might have become frustrated or tired, as she would have to find the staircase in different spots on the same location. The trial might not have made it easy for her to have the staircase in the same location. But contrary to her worry, as new locations came along with exploring the beauty of this place, she almost started to feel an attachment with this world. But she shook those feelings away.
As they entered inside Floor 90, a beautiful hall made of shining crystals could be seen. The walls were made of transparent crystal, displaying a white background behind the crystal, which actually showed nothing useful that could help them see their actual location.
The hall was mostly empty. It looked less like a standard hall and more like a palace, or more appropriately, a throne room. Everything in the throne room was made of pure crystal. At the highest elevation of the hall, a large throne made of transparent crystal sat there waiting.
The throne was empty, as no one was present in the hall. The area around them was clear with no sign of any staircase.
Both of them looked around this place with immense confusion.
"Now then, where could we find the staircase? There is no sign of anything existing here..."
Elyon stepped forward with a confused look on her face. This place was much different than any floor they had passed, as this place was comparatively smaller than the vast areas they had gone through. And it was completely covered with no way out; there wasn’t even a door present in the hall. So there was no way out from here.
Lyris looked around; she also felt the exact same way as Elyon as she searched the perimeter.
’Is this an illusion? Or is the staircase hidden somewhere inside the spatial fabric? If it is, then it is not possible for us to find it. Even if we find it, we couldn’t break through the space. How can such an impossible floor lay here?...’
’No, there must be something which can lead us to the staircase. The trial couldn’t be impossible...’
Just as she was thinking, a sweet, melodic voice of a female suddenly rang out from behind her.
"Are you trying to find the way to get out from here?..."
Both Lyris and Elyon turned toward the sound immediately, finally sensing someone’s presence from behind them.
A few meters away from them, near a beautiful, crystalline, shimmering pond on the floor, a figure with unnatural beauty sat. She had blonde hair and wore an elegant white gown. She sat on the crystal floor while her beautiful white feet were dipped slightly inside the pond, feeling the cold water. Her figure looked like the very embodiment of purity.
Her beautiful gray eyes were staring straight at the shimmering water. She didn’t move or turn toward them, but she had already sensed them there the exact moment they entered this place.
Lyris narrowed her eyes in caution. She wasn’t able to see through her body and measure her power.
Elyon also looked at the figure with a shocked expression. They only noticed the figure in front of them after she called out to them herself, as if she had only just allowed them to finally see her now.
The figure stood up as she pulled her wet feet from the water. As she slowly stood up and smoothed out her beautiful gown, she turned toward them. Her face revealed no outward expression, but she didn’t look at them unkindly either.
As she looked at the two girls in front of her, she replied calmly.
"Oh, it seems you two are the shy ones, who don’t answer the other person’s question without thinking. But it is fine, I like the shy ones. At least they remain quiet and maintain the peacefulness..."
She walked past them with graceful steps, the long ends of her gown dragging behind her. She ascended the higher platform and sat gracefully on the crystal throne, acting as if she owned it—which she really did.
She placed both hands on the armrests of the throne and crossed her legs while looking down at them. A small hint of a smile finally revealed itself on her lips as she continued.
"So let me first introduce myself. I am Virelia, famous for the title ’The Goddess of Radiance’, and you are currently in my domain. There is no way I am going to send you out, not when I just got some companions to have some fun with. Hehe..."