During the night, though sickly slender branches loomed over me, they could not shield me entirely from the gathering bed of snow that I awoke in. I quickly shook it off and continued making further progress, moving through minor towns that I had not heard of and didn’t bother to know now. With the road being eaten up by me, the time ate away at the path behind me as well meaning no time to relax would be given. I powered through the day and relaxed in short breaks roughly ten minutes long. All until I had finally reached where my dad had.
If I strayed onto the path right, cutting through the grasslands, I would directly travel through No-man’s Gorge. The weather was grisly and the snow poured heavier than I expected it to but I was still confident I’d make it.
My gaze narrowed down on the path and merged with my fathers recount of his journey. “Perhaps I shouldn’t. Those people could still be there…yet I feel the need to see them myself. I’m sure they sound familiar. If I could just get a glimpse of them, I’d be able to possibly gather a matching profile. Or do I go through Miners town?”
My decision was split. I know I had scolded my father for taking the shortcut, but I simply didn’t think that I would get myself into that kind of trouble, especially if I know to be wary of others unlike my father. I’d shorten my journey by at least half the time, directly cutting across the ravine I’d have to circle around.
I stood there pondering, my fingers scratching away at my beardless chin.
“I have nothing to lose, may as well enter.” I had not yet realised at that time what words I spoke. An irresistible urge that felt all too familiar drowned me in a stout, irresistible adrenaline that erased the thinking I had built up so far. The me of my past life would tear away the weak-willed me and focus on my own strengths and knowledge. My own benefit was only in sight for me.
Moving forwards, I cut across to the right, treading through the faint path that was nearly brimmed with fresh grass coated in snow. The path eventually narrowed to a limited path clinging to the side of the mountain once I had traversed into the actual gorge itself. Below me was a stream of bustling and fizzing fresh water, somehow undisturbed by the glacial temperature.
A cynical silence swarmed the No-man’s Gorge. I constantly walked on edge in the direction of the temple, hazily fading in and out of my vision through the flakes falling before my eyes, gripping the hilt of my sword, ready to withdraw it at all times. The cycles of mana constantly replied to me as I imbued my senses into them, extending my scouting prowess.
The stretching road eventually came to an end and spread into a platform. The temple stood, or at least parts of it, in quartz structure inscribed with strange carvings that I could not discern. Unfortunately, ancient texts such as these had never drawn my attention so I had not bothered to learn them.
I paused before the crumbling entrance. The pillar outside was still slightly warm, indicating a fire had been lit here and had only recently been blown out. I deliberated on actually delving in there and continuing to walk past it and getting out. “What am I thinking? I came here to see them. So let’s see them!” I reminded myself, gripping my sword's hilt much tighter and twisting my grip on it.
The inside was as crippled as the outside. The walls cracked and crumbled. Debris settled throughout as large chunks of quartz pillars and other decorations tumbled. What was this temple, I thought. In my mind, I hadn’t ever heard of a temple in the Gorge. So did this only appear recently? But the architecture is old and these texts are not used nowadays. At least anywhere where I had been. To add to that, mysterious people, or whatever they were, dressed in black performing mischief. This only sparks trouble and chaos.
They sound familiar but I can’t place my finger on what it actually is. I know there were a few events in the underground world of nobles about some black hooded group. But the topic was so rare I can’t seem to recall it now. Perhaps this temple will have what I’m looking for. Maybe even they themselves can still be here to explain this to me.
I ventured deeper into the temple, scrambling over the blocked doorways barricaded by collapsing structures. Many things seemed to be present in thai building, varying from statues, books, strange gadgets and even weaponry that I have never seen before. The metals, the design, nothing matched the history of weapons I knew and none of it looked like any of the Dwarven or Dragoon’s work. Blades made of an entirely black rusted silver in certain places. Indents in them, almost like veins, breathed through them dormantly.
“This is much too crazy. I’m getting distracted though. I only came to see if I can get a clue on who they are, not to find new mysteries and more unanswered questions to chase.” I turned away from the displays splurged in shatters, tiptoeing over the broken glass and side stepping through the congested holes.
“This is the room, huh?” I muttered to myself faintly, crouching down and tracing my fingers along the soiled floor embellished with dried crimson smears.
The room wasn’t actually a room. It was more or less a balcony. A double width entrance led to a semi-circle shaped room with a roof lifted up by supporting piers and now walls in between, nicely revealing the view of the horizon past the Gorge. The contents on the floor had a rubbed circle with some symbols painted on it. And in the middle, on a pedestal, a crate stood, illuminated with amethyst light.
“Hmmm…” I casually stepped to it and reached in, opening the box, but before I did, I examined it with mana sight. “Like I thought. It’s like on that beast. No mana signature.”
Upon opening the crate, nothing happened. It was empty. “Why is there an empty crate here? And why is it giving off that amethyst light thingy that doesn’t give off magic?”
As I said that, the light burst open and destroyed the crate, sending a powerful beam into the sky. The clouds began swirling berserkly and the snow cleared. The ominous amethyst dashed with incredible intensity, its incandescence germinating. The sky swivelled black and the lightning struck out in the same purple.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked, my scarlet eyes strangely drawn to the anomaly. Finally one of the lightning strikes whipped out of control and lashed out straight at me.
“AGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” I screamed in pain, blood coughed up as I clenched on my knees and supported myself with my forearms. The sparks sprang alive, sound my body and crawled from my skin, catapulting themselves at my chest where they began burning my skin in black.
Light around me seemed to fade and my body unwillingly dropped. “Am I….dying again?”
