Chapter 27: The Serpent's Bargain
The blood-soaked earth trembled.
Shen slowly rose to his feet.
Dark Mage Form 2 surrounded his body.
The darkness was no longer wild.
No longer uncontrollable.
It obeyed him completely.
Every movement felt natural.
Every breath carried power.
Ryulga looked at him and nodded.
"Now you finally look like a Mediator."
Shen clenched his fist.
Dark armor covered his arm.
The power felt different.
Before, he borrowed darkness.
Now, the darkness belonged to him.
The map beneath their feet suddenly changed.
The wound marking Chicago began to expand.
Cracks spread across the giant blood map.
A deep rumbling sound echoed through the island.
BOOOOOOM!
The earth split apart.
A gigantic black gate slowly emerged from below.
Ancient runes covered its surface.
The gate looked older than civilization itself.
Shen frowned.
"What is that?"
Ryulga's expression became serious.
"The entrance."
"Entrance to what?"
Ryulga looked directly at him.
"The place where the First Arcane War truly began."
Shen's eyes widened.
"The First Arcane War?"
Ryulga nodded.
"The world only knows half the story."
"The truth was hidden."
"The First Drifters sealed it away."
Dark energy flowed around the gate.
The atmosphere became heavy.
Even Shen could feel countless presences sleeping behind it.
Something powerful.
Something dangerous.
Something ancient.
Suddenly—
A voice echoed from inside the gate.
A voice neither human nor Arcane.
"You have finally arrived..."
Shen immediately entered a fighting stance.
His new armor reacted instantly.
Dark spikes emerged across his shoulders.
"Who are you?!"
Silence.
Then laughter.
A deep and terrifying laughter.
"Hahahahaha..."
The gate shook violently.
Cracks appeared across its surface.
Ryulga's eyes narrowed.
"Not yet."
"He's awakening too early."
Shen looked toward him.
"Who is awakening?"
Ryulga remained silent.
For the first time since meeting him...
He looked worried.
The laughter grew louder.
The sky darkened.
The ocean surrounding the island became violent.
Then everything suddenly stopped.
Complete silence.
A message appeared before Shen.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
NEW MAIN OBJECTIVE
Investigate the Chicago Gate
Difficulty: Unknown
Reward: Unknown
Failure: Death
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Shen stared at the message.
Then a grin slowly appeared on his face.
"Unknown difficulty?"
He cracked his knuckles.
"Sounds fun."
Ryulga sighed.
"You'll never learn."
The black gate continued to tremble.
And somewhere deep beyond it...
Something opened its eyes.
To Be Continued...
Next Chapter: Chapter 28 — The Grave Beyond the Gate