He walked towards the entrance, the sun already gone from the sky, leaving the incoming darkness of the cold night settling in, like a shroud.
The air grew cold.
And colder.
shadows deepening.
He approached the cave mouth.
walked closer.
Gaze focused deeply inside the dark cave.
Darkness seeming to swallow him whole.
As he walked inside, he was repelled by an invisible transparent wall, soft but unyielding, like a sheet of ice.
He pushed it.
it refused to budge.
He pushed again.
It repelled.
He stopped.
some writing on what seemed to be a digital screen materialized out of nowhere, right in mid-air.
Strange language etched on it.
The words a mess of hieroglyphs and runes.
The air was heavy with the scent of ozone, and the flickering light of the screen cast eerie shadows on the walls.
"Kurgi yequm yedasuma yukit futko titmayameya rihikoniha kururanhiko gaplaru. Werihuya Kumon tumna yokura yonyona sikuvera urekuni gaplaru yeduse farikon,"
The words seemed to dance on the screen, like living things.
"What kind of language is that? It looks quite ancient,"
he thought to himself.
Mind racing with possibilities.
"Affirmative. It is Elven language," Orion said. Mechanized voice spoke in his mind, with calculated precision.
"What does it say?" he spoke.
voice calm.
curious.
gazed fixed at the red etchings.
Eyes narrowing with interest.
"Linguistic protocols engaged. You have been granted access to read the text," Orion replied. tone flat and efficient.
"You... AHHHH!"
A surge of pain coursed through in his head, like someone had just punched him with every meager strength they possessed, without holding back.
Pain was like a knife twisting in his brain.
His eyes watered.
"Installation complete. Elven language module now online. Pain response due to neural interface adjustment," Orion spoke, tone unyielding and mechanical.
"What the...!" he began, his tone one of frustration and annoyance, his expression twisted in a scowl.
"Restrictions apply: Elven language comprehension enabled, vocalization restricted," Orion said.
tone unchanged.
He then raised his head and looked at the Elven language one more time, as the weird words started making sense slowly, reading a warning.
『BEWARE, MORTAL, FOR YOU STAND AT THE THRESHOLD OF A REALM BEREFT OF HOPE. THE SHADOWS THAT LUISE HERE ARE NOT FOR THE FEW, NOR THE BRAVE, BUT FOR THOSE WHO DARE TO CONFRONT THE ABYSS. ENTER, IF YOU DARE, BUT KNOW THAT THE SANITY OF THE WEAK SHALL BE CONSUMED BY THE VOID, AND ONLY THE RAVENOUS, THE RESSURECTED, AND THE DAMNED SHALL EMERGE.』
The words etched themselves into his mind.
A hot knife through wax.
He stood there, his gaze transfixed on the warning, a shiver coursed down his spine as he read the ominous message.
"I've come too far to retreat now. I will not yield to fear,"
He declared.
Pure resolve.
He's hand moved. reached out to the invisible barrier once more, channeling a surge of crimson aura into his hand.
The transparent wall yielded.
Allowing him to pass through with a struggle, as if he was navigating a viscous fluid.
He entered the cave. Boots to the ground echoed.
Something moved.
He moved.
Without walking.
A disorienting sensation that washed over him, like being displaced in space.
Disorientation gave way to nausea.
senses recalibrated.
Upside-down became right-side-up.
A dizzying tilt followed, almost like reality was being rewritten.
The distortion subsided.
He surveyed his surroundings with swift, hawk-like glances.
Right.
Left.
Front.
Eyes widened something stood ahead.
A colossal structure, akin to a skyscraper, loomed before him, set against a sky, grass, and air that felt eerily like another world – or dimension.
The atmosphere was thick with the scent of pure aura, leaving him with the unsettling feeling he'd crossed a threshold into the unknown.
Without a visible end, he couldn't see the top, even when he craned his neck to look up, the sound of distant thunder rumbling through the air.
The building reassembled a wide skyscraper, pulsing with power that he could feel deep in his bones, like a heartbeat.
A majestic site that would normally replace surprise with awe.
Enough to make one feel small and insignificant in comparison it's massive size,
He couldn't help but feel a sense of awe,
He looked up, his mind reeling with possibilities and questions.
"All this in a cave?" A thought.
Followed A deep breath.
He took a step forward, eyes fixed on the building
Gaze intently fixed on the entrance, a huge door with black iron holding its joints, and used as designs, the ironwork like twisted serpents, wrapping around the door.
He walked closer
Closer and closer to the huge door.
A expression of a guard with with their senses on high alert.
His footsteps echoed through the stillness. Like a death knell.
5 steps more before contact with the door.
He stopped.
A digital screen etched warning appeared on the door.
Elven language.
The words almost like a slap in the face.
『BENEATH THE WHISPERS OF THE KHRA'GIXX ARBOR LIVES AN ANCIENT DARKNESS. YOU SEEK THE ASCENSION KEY. TO CLAIM IT, CONQUER 100 FLOORS OF DESCENDING MADNESS. EACH HOLDS GUARDS OF SHADOW, TRIALS OF MIND, AND DEATH'S WHISPERED PROMISES. NO EXIT TIL ALL ARE VANQUISHED. EARN THE EXIT. IF YOU DARE』
Cyan then spoke.
Voice echoing through the stillness.
Gaze intently focused on the words.
"There is no going back" he muttered to himself.
He placed both hands on the door and pushed.
A strong and loud, eerie
"CREEEEEEAK!!!"
Metal scraping against metal, wood groaning, and dust puffing out. Decades of neglect, all coming alive in that one slow swing open... from a single push.
The door swung open In protest, revealing a darkness that seemed to pulse with malevolent energy.
something made it out.
A terrible aura energy burst forth, like a tidal wave, almost knocking him to his knees, so thick it came out in the form a forceful gust of wind.
Strands of black frenzied on his head.
Submitting to the force.
Horror etched on his face, an almost inhuman expression.
Eyes widening in shock.
He stood for a moment.
A prosperous moment to catch his breath, The way he took a deep breath seemed like it had been extracted from his lungs, as he tried to fight for each breath of oxygen.
He placed his palm on his stomach almost like he'd been punched in the gut with absolute fury.
ORION: The aura inside is menacing. I would suggest you proceed with caution.
Orion's voice spoke.
Tone flat and efficient.
"Out of the question. I need to get stronger and regain my master's stolen honor," he yelled, followed by a deep breath.
He stood up, as he surveyed his bearings.
Everything seemed to spin around.
A moment of hesitation took hime, he gripped his sword tightly, the leather creaking in his hand. He took another deep, long breath and walked inside.
With every step air seemed to be pulling him down, like a gravitational force.
The moment his leather boots touched the inside of the building, a Red digital screen materialized in front of him, in a flash of a red blur.
Displaying:
『ACT 1: MIDNIGHT RECKONING - THE HUNT BEGINS
AS CLOCKS STRIKE THE DEAD HOUR, THE ASHENSPIRE AWAITS. YOUR MISSION: SURVIVE THE RAVENOUS HORDES AND SLAUGHTER 500 BEASTS OF DARKNESS BEFORE YOU PENETRATE THE FORTY-NINTH THRESHOLD. THE PATH TO FLOOR 50 IS PAVED WITH THEIR ENTROILED SOULS... AND YOURS.』
"How ominous... 100 huh, that's a daunting challenge indeed, but.... Thats nothing compared to the monster that...?" he thought to himself, he didn't finish.
Gaze at the digital screen.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyways. One hundred. Two hundred or five hundred or a thousand. All will be distroyed. I will survive and kill the witch of Chaos," he spoke, as his red eyes started glowing a pale crimson, like embers in the dark.
He stood there, staring at the message, at first it didn't feel real, The challenge was daunting indeed but when he remembered the monster he saw in Ranon, even that new challenge didn't compare.
He gripped onto his sword.
Almost as if he was going to break the hilt, his other free hand curled into a fist, the start of his journey began with a single step.
He stepped forward, eyes fixed on the cave-like path ahead, he knew he stood in grave danger, inside a dungeon where survival was far from guaranteed.
He walked, the air inside the dungeon grew thicker and more ominous. "This place really is ominous. I can feel it...." he thought.
"I going to have to trade careful not to get too consumed by this ominous aura around me. it might toxic" he thought to himself.
Mind preparing for any outcome.
After a few more minutes of walking, he came to a stop, looked around, trying to get his bearings, and saw a long corridor stretching out before him, with doors leading off each side, the darkness seeming to swallow everything whole.
He stood for a moment, wondering which to choose.
Senses on high alert.
"Orion, where should I go?" he asked, his voice echoed through the corridor, the sound bouncing off the stone walls.
"I am not a map," Orion's voice spoke, like a cold wind, devoid of emotion.
"Tch, asshole," he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing with frustration.
"I might be lying to my self but.... there's a chance each leads to a different challenge, so I shouldn't choose to hastily either. Not that it matters. The Hardee the challenge the stronger I get." he thought to himself, he headed left and placed his hand on the huge door, the metal cold to the touch. He pushed. The door creaked open. Dust fell. Wind rushed in.
He walked in.
END OF CHAPTER 26