The tale of the Lost King was long forgotten, and to many who knew the story, it was only a myth. Some even considered it heresy, and many extremists wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who dared spread the tale.
However, being Divine was not merely a title, nor was being named God a small feat. The King did not fight them alone. Star knew it all too well—more than that, he remembered the story of the Lost King in great detail.
And he knew for a fact that in the hooded man's words was a single lie.
Enmer-kael was no feeble ruler.
In the darkest ages of humanity, he was perhaps the most competent King of his time, and he proved that nonetheless. But even if he did have prior knowledge of all that, as he stood in front of the ancient, ruined, and nameless temple, his life slowly being drained away, he knew that their problems were only beginning.
As he and Kate bent forward and grabbed their abdomens, groaning in agony, the hooded man grew silent and took another step forward. After a moment, he turned back and glanced at both of them.
The two teenagers were now visibly pale, with Kate in a far worse condition than Star. Her vibrant tail had grown still, and her entire body was visibly trembling. It looked like she could fall over at any moment.
Trying as hard as she could to endure the life-draining pain she was going through, she barely heard any of the hooded man's words from a moment ago, and it was clearly the least of her problems.
As for Star, he was hunched over, his eyes narrowed and his lips twitching. His vitality was at the pinnacle of anything a human or beast could ever dream of, so the strange effects of the ruins didn't have much of a physical impact on him. If anything, his biggest problem was the gut-wrenching pain.
If only he could somehow get through it.
He barely had a proper grasp on his Vital Force at the moment since he wasn't yet awakened, and unless he did something soon, his vitality would be completely drained, and he would end up in a possibly worse state than Kate.
The young Felyrian was faring quite well.
Though not refined, her grasp on energy was still better than his. That was the reason she was still standing, and just when it looked like things were about to get dire for her, she felt a cold hand gently placed on her shoulder.
And in that moment, Katerina's voice echoed.
"The pain is merely an illusion. You will be alright."
Kate shifted slightly and forced out an awkward smile as she looked up at her lady. Though Lady Night's words had been said to comfort her, whatever illusion she was currently being put through was a rather strong one.
Looking over at the ruins that loomed ahead of them, every one of them had a faint idea of where their current troubles were originating. In the distance, the ziggurat was the only structure that—even though slightly worn—still remained intact.
This soul-annihilating pressure they were feeling was coming from somewhere within it, and getting there would prove to be rather difficult.
Or so he thought.
As he remained hunched, taking glances at the destroyed structures before him, the blue torches illuminating the area suddenly flickered—and then everything grew dark. For a while, the five of them lingered in silence, and thereafter the lights began to come alive once more.
However, after the area where they stood was illuminated again, he realized that the ground they were standing on was no longer the same.
All around them, shadows spread across the floor, stretching into the desolate ruins and lingering around the base of the ziggurat. The shadows stretched and moved like they were alive—but more than that...
He released his abdomen from his grip and stood up straight, his eyes slightly widened in awe.
The gut-wrenching pain he had felt a while ago had suddenly vanished, and he felt the same as he had when he began descending the stairs earlier.
And around the hooded man, the shadows seemed darker—almost like they were pulsing with life around his feet. And as he moved, the shadows stretched.
As he faced Katerina, he reached out his hand, and in the blink of an eye, a sword with a shadowy hilt and black scabbard appeared within it. He gripped the center of the scabbard and then pointed at the ruins behind him with it.
Soon after, he directed a few words to her.
"We will hold off the perimeter. You should head on with the vessel."
Star wanted to sigh at the sound of his words. This was the point where he was finally going to be put to great use—the very reason Katerina wanted him. It was time for him to head into the ancient temple.
Katerina slowly walked forward and glanced at him, then looked toward the ziggurat. She took a few more steps forward, and then her voice resonated.
"Follow me, Star."
Resisting the urge to sigh once more, he followed quietly behind Katerina. They moved further and further away from the other three until they finally arrived at the foot of the ziggurat, stopping just at the edge of the hooded man's shadow.
In front of them lay a stairway that led upward to the entrance of the structure. Without a moment of hesitation, Katerina raised her leg and began ascending the stairs, Star following slowly behind her.
******
Behind them, Kate was finally able to fully recover from the effects of the life-draining pain she had suffered a while ago. Her tail was slowly coming back to life, her cheeky and playful smile gradually reappearing on her face.
Just like the hooded man had done, she reached out her hand and watched as a rigid chain blade appeared in her grip. It shimmered in the dim blue light, and with a flick of her wrist, the rigid blade extended into a whip of metal, stretching across the shadowy ground.
The elf summoned a simple golden bow and carefully nocked an arrow against it. Afterwards, the three of them circled one another, awaiting a common foe.
And their enemies weren't about to keep them waiting.
At first, it was only a faint rustle coming from all sides of the ruins, but then the stench of dried sand began to grow intense. Kate scrunched her face, while the elven lady frowned slightly in discomfort. Their male partner was as stoic as ever.
As the three of them lingered, keeping their eyes peeled on all sides of the Nameless Ruins, the pillars suddenly shifted and debris began slowly rising from the ground. They began to merge together, molding into something they all knew—yet couldn't make sense of.
More debris continued to rise from the ground, the mold quickly growing bigger, and in due time, multiple familiar hulking figures lingered all around them.
Within the sockets where their eyes should have been, ghostly blue flames ignited—pale and flickering.
The ruin guards had awakened.