Chapter 126: A soul?
I watched the tiny fragments disappear into the air.
Then I turned toward the staircase.
My true objective still lay beneath my feet.
The underground laboratory.
I hope that’s where the true secrets of this place are hidden.
From the arrangement of the furniture, it was obvious that the wardrobe had originally been built into the wall, serving as part of the house’s structure.
However...
A massive crack ran across the stone wall behind it.
I slowly approached.
I ran my hand along the opening.
I could soon make out a hidden passage on the other side.
I examined the deep marks surrounding the fissure.
The stones had been broken from the inside out.
There was no doubt.
That passage hadn’t originally existed.
The Brown Snake had forced its way through during its escape.
I firmly gripped one side of the wardrobe.
With a single movement...
I pushed.
GRRRRRRRR...
The heavy wardrobe slowly slid across the wooden floor.
Behind it, a staircase descending into absolute darkness was revealed.
— Biochip... activate night vision.
[Beep!]
Instantly...
All the darkness vanished.
My vision took on a greenish hue.
Every detail became perfectly visible.
I began descending.
Clang...
Clang...
Each step made my metal boots produce a deep sound that echoed throughout the tunnel.
The corridor seemed to have been carved directly into the rock.
Numerous walls intersected, forming completely independent sections.
After walking for several minutes...
I began finding identification plaques.
The letters were ancient.
Extremely ancient.
I stopped in front of the first inscription.
I examined it carefully.
Despite the wear...
I recognized part of the linguistic structure.
This looks a lot like the Nark language...
It was one of the ancient languages I had studied during my time at the Tower.
I continued walking while reading each section.
[Data Section.]
[Experimental Garden Section.]
[Incubation Section.]
[Potion Section.]
[Herbology Section.]
When I finally arrived before the sign reading Incubation Section...
My eyes immediately lit up.
I pushed open the heavy metal door.
It slowly swung open.
Numerous oval glass capsules occupied nearly the entire room.
There were dozens of them.
Perhaps hundreds.
Unfortunately...
Almost all of them were broken.
Cracked glass.
Liquids that had completely evaporated.
Residual mana scattered across the floor.
Inside the capsules...
Lay eggs.
Hundreds of them.
All dead.
All long since rotten.
I remained silent for several seconds as I observed them.
Then...
I gave the order.
— Biochip, check for biological signs.
[Beep!]
[No living organisms detected.]
I nodded.
I approached the nearest capsule.
Using the armored metal glove, I carefully picked up one of the eggs.
It was heavy.
Its shell was gray in color.
It looked almost like a piece of granite.
I held it up before my eyes.
— Analyze.
[BIOLOGICAL REPORT — BIOCHIP]
[Object: Fossilized egg.]
[Status: Dead.]
[Genetic Comparison]
[Giant Brown Snake — 99.2%]
[Enormous Cobra — 40.0%]
[Forest Fish — 15.8%]
[Conclusion: Biological material belonging to the same bloodline as the Brown Snake found in the cave.]
I let out a deep sigh.
So you were all siblings of that serpent...
For a brief moment, I imagined the scene.
If all of those creatures had survived...
I probably wouldn’t have been able to escape that laboratory without suffering first.
I continued investigating.
A few minutes later, I found something much larger.
A gigantic incubation pool.
Its shape resembled an enormous glass sphere.
There was a shattered circular opening on its surface.
Around it...
Only fragments of eggshells remained.
I stopped in front of it.
I slowly ran my hand along its edges.
It was here...
The Brown Snake was born right here.
I continued examining the entire room.
In the end...
There was absolutely nothing.
I tossed the dead egg back onto a workbench.
Then I continued exploring the rest of the laboratory.
[Data Section.]
Completely empty.
[Herbology Section.]
Every shelf had been cleaned out.
[Potion Section.]
Not a single vial or reagent remained.
[Garden Section.]
Nothing but dry soil.
It was obvious.
The Grand Mage had taken away absolutely everything of value.
My hope of finding some legendary artifact faded with each empty room.
After nearly an hour of exploration...
Only one door remained.
I looked at its plaque.
[Dissection Room.]
I slowly pushed it open.
CLANG!
The heavy steel door swung open.
At that very instant...
A chill ran through my body.
The atmosphere was completely different.
A dense concentration of radiant energy still lingered in that place.
Even after more than a century.
Moreover...
It felt as though faint whispers echoed through the air.
Extremely weak laments.
Almost imperceptible.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
The echoes of the souls used here still remain...
I immediately remembered an old saying attributed to the Grand Mage Redof.
— You should fear the mage who has nothing left to lose.
I carefully surveyed the entire room.
At its center stood a massive experimentation table.
Covered in ancient dark stains.
I approached it.
I ran my finger across one of them.
The blood had all but turned to dust.
I collected a small sample.
— Biochip... analyze.
[Beep!]
[LABORATORY ANALYSIS]
[Collected Material: Blood residue.]
[Status: Completely sterilized and devoid of biological activity.]
My expression fell completely.
Then...
Unable to contain my frustration...
I lashed out with a kick.
BOOOM!
The old workbench trembled.
Dust fragments fell from the ceiling.
For a researcher mage...
There was no worse feeling.
It was exactly like following a map for months...
Finally reaching the spot marked with a giant "X"...
Digging for days...
Only to discover that someone had taken the chest long before you arrived.
I slowly shook my head.
It’s true...
The Tentrix Engineering Manual alone had already made the entire journey worthwhile.
But...
This was the laboratory of a legendary figure.
I had expected much more.
After all, we’re talking about the Grand Mage Redof...
A Mage who had probably reached at least Level 5.
And yet...
I had found practically nothing.
It was deeply frustrating.
However, after a few seconds...
My rationality returned.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
This was probably just one of Redof’s earliest laboratories.
Perhaps it had been built when he was still only a Level 1 Mage...
Otherwise...
I would never have been able to enter this place.
If this laboratory had truly belonged to the peak of his career...
A single rune would probably have been enough to completely erase my existence.
Thinking about it made the situation a little less frustrating.
It was at that exact moment...
BOOOM...
The table I had kicked began to vibrate.
I immediately frowned.
A gust of wind rose from the floor.
At first, it was small.
Then...
It grew larger and larger.
The dust scattered throughout the room began to swirl.
A whirlwind formed directly in front of me.
My right hand automatically slid toward the pouch fastened at my waist.
I gripped a potion and an alchemical bomb.
Every muscle in my body tensed.
The cyclone continued to grow.
Until...
Slowly...
It began to take shape.
Arms.
Legs.
A torso.
Finally...
The face of an old man appeared before me.
His body was completely translucent.
A soul.
Or something very close to one.
The figure looked utterly exhausted.
He looked straight at me.
Then...
In an ancient voice, burdened by the weight of countless decades, he spoke slowly.
— It has been... many years...
He paused briefly.
His spectral eyes swept across my armor.
Then they settled on my face.
— Since a soul... inhabiting a physical body... has entered this place once again...
...
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