—Urrgh…
"Haaah…"
Die? Here…? I… I can't.
In a battered field where flowers once bloomed, a youth clawed the ground. He mustered all his strength to drag himself forward. There was a sword ahead. Its light was faint.
The once pristine blade was cracked all over, its magic barely holding it together. And much like the blade, the youth was barely holding on by sheer will. A trail had stained the flowers in his blood.
"Aargh!"
The youth cried, reaching for the hilt.
But like a brittle crystal, the majestic steel shattered. A Dark Armor rubbed its heel over the broken blade. Shrapnel didn't just graze the youth—part of his ear was cut off, skin cleaved to the bones.
"Do not kill him."
A stern voice echoed throughout the world.
Alum gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. Resentful golden eyes glared at the Dark Armor, a harbinger of calamity. For it to listen to a command only meant that something akin to a god resided in this ruin.
Mana resonated ominously—AS YOU WISH, MY LIEGE. The voice was artificial and cold.
Alum looked around. Viona had completely broken and was on her knees. Resigned to fate. Her red-haired elf friend Soliette had been reduced to confetti; her other comrade Ottah was at war with the dark longsword in his chest, trying to pull it out. And her Captain? Desecrated to a cripple.
Then, a crimson rift tore the space before Alum. A Death Spirit crossed over. It had the appearance of a man. Long black hair. Red eyes and a lean, exposed upper body.
Dark Armor knelt before it.
"A Demigod?"
Alum murmured, struggling to push air out of his lungs.
The godlike spirit chuckled. "You've got talent. Too bad you weren't born my age, brat." He clasped Alum's hair and pulled up his limp body.
"Ptch." Alum spat on the spirit's face—saliva mixed with blood. "Now… what? Kill me?"
The Dark Armor tried to cut down the youth who insulted its lord, but it couldn't get up from its Master's gravitational well. Alum briefly glanced at it. To think the being before him rendered it to something pathetic.
"Kill a vessel this precious? Do you take me for a fool, brat?"
The being smiled ominously. And seeing the realization in Alum's eyes made it laugh. He quickly activated the toxin in his blood, but the spirit wasn't letting him die that easily. His body began to heal, restoring him fully. And yet, he was unable to move.
"And as I've guessed. Your body does handle divinity. Hm-mhahah—AHAHAHAH!"
"…"
Alum closed his eyes—Ba-dump. The once broken psychic core stirred. It had fully snapped back together the moment divinity grazed it. Divinity was rapidly converted to massive amounts of psionic energy.
"!!?"
Sensing that a tiny fraction of his divinity had been drained, Hilos released Alum, pushing him away.
I can't rival a demigod. But I'm desperate. Sinister, get me out.
With Alum's last thoughts, his consciousness faded. In an instant, his already dark hair turned pitch black. Behind the slowly opening eyelids were molten gold eyes. In an instant, Hilos crashed into the false sky that cracked like glass—Dark Armor almost became pulverized metal before teleporting far away from the youth.
"Hmph. Would you look at that?"
The Death Spirit mused, unbothered by the destruction.
Alum grinned, having approached Hilos in an instant. "So you're my playmate this time?" His fist dug into the spirit's solar plexus.
Hilos phased through him, but the punch shattered the false sky, creating a hole into another chamber.
"This brat." Hilos sounded annoyed, but a smile tugged at his lips. "Sure, we can play."
…
..
A few days have flown by since they set up a camp. Today was the first day they'd be stepping inside the ruins. This expedition team consisted of the Citrine unit, Night Ouen, Phantom Dusk, and the Elite Squad Aurora, assigned by Commander Letisha as a precaution.
"Woah…" Emerine gasped.
The moment they stepped inside, there was nothing but endless darkness.
"It's really as they said," Ethym added.
He looked for a ceiling, but the pillars stretched endlessly. The only source of light was the lightbloom arrows and lamps set up by the Advance Team that had explored ahead.
"It's quite scary, isn't it?" another researcher joined in.
The others nodded, then turned toward the adventurers and soldiers. "But we've got reliable guards," they added as they chuckled warmly.
Sarah, who had switched to work mode, looked around.
"Let's go. Our destination is east, right?"
Roswall, the lead researcher for this team, nodded.
"That is correct, Ms. Sarah, just follow the road mapped out by the Advance Team, and we'll reach a temple."
In total, there were 3 leaders within the excavation team. Alum, Roswall, and Sarah. To some, the security might seem excessive considering how the Advance Team already paved the path and cleared out any hostiles.
But considering that two members from the Ilis house were on this expedition, it was to be expected.
Alum turned to Aurora and gestured for them to take the back, Citrine on the left, Night Ouen on the right, and Phantom Dusk at the very front.
The chamber was dark, and there wasn't much to do. The only noise was the echo of their footsteps. The golem carried their luggage, and Lyn was on its shoulder, illuminating most of the surroundings.
But despite increasing the range of their vision. The dark seemed endless. No matter where they looked, it was just darkness and stone pillars. It was a place one could easily get lost.
The outsides of the ruins were just the size of a small town, but the space inside was clearly distorted. A classic trait of ancient structures. After a few hours of wandering in the dark, a temple came into view.
There was a sky above it, and plants grew around it. Seeing it for the first time would confuse anyone, and this expedition team wasn't an exception.
Alum was the first to break the silence. "Alright, we'll set up a camp." He looked at his unit. "You 3. Stay here." He then turned to Aurora. "You four will inspect the area with me."
"What about us?" Sarah asked.
"You'll have to ask your employer."
Roswall nodded upon meeting Alum's gaze. "Hmm, I'd like you to stay, Ms. Sarah. But if Mr. Alum needs more people…"
"Got it. Ai—Mr. Alum, would you mind bringing Lyn?"
"Yes. That would be much appreciated."
"What about Night Ouen?" Alum inquired.
"Sure, but it's probably best if Nuli stayed."
Nuli nodded. "Mm-mm."
"Got it."
And so, Alum went with Aurora and Night Ouen to inspect the place. The temple reminded him of those found in Ancient Greece. The pillars and walls were inscribed with both text and hieroglyphs.
Multicultural? Alum pondered as he saw the scriptures on the walls.
"For the All Mighty Sovereign…" he murmured the spelling aloud before shutting his mouth.
It's not some incantation, is it?
A while has passed since they entered the temple. There weren't any traps nor magibeasts around, no hidden compartments or anything. That in itself seemed suspicious.
"There doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Still, be vigilant."
"Yes, Sir!" the soldiers replied.
On the other hand, Night Ouen and Lyn nodded.
..
After their return, tents were up. Nuli was cooking alongside Ottah and Soliette. The researchers had unpacked their instruments. Sarah jumped down the golem's shoulder as she was the first to spot them.
"Oh, you're back. How was it?"
"Nothing."
"Really?" She furrowed her brows. "That's odd."
"It is. Either way, it's safe for now."
"Alrighty." Sarah grinned. "Good job."
Alum sighed inwardly. "You too," he replied, bumping her fist.
Usually, such a sight was nothing to bat an eye at. But since it was Alum, Sarah's party, Aurora's members were taken aback. Citrine had already gotten used to their Captain, little by little, and knew he could be impulsive at times.
Alum materialized a watch in his hand. 5 hours had passed since they entered the ruins, and more than 4 had been spent walking to this site.
He looked up at the sky above the temple. And according to the Advance Team, it should mirror the sky outside 1:1.
Roswall walked over to Alum and Sarah. "I was thinking that we have dinner and rest for today. Is that alright?"
"That's alright." Alum nodded.
"Same here," Sarah agreed. "How about a 2 and 2?" she asked.
"That's plenty sufficient. Can my group rest first, then?"
"Sure. And by the way, Lady Emerine and Lord Ethym seem to want to talk to you." Sarah gestured with her head, her eyes pointing toward the Ilis pair.
"?" Alum nodded. "Got it." He then turned to the Aurora Squad. "Get some deserved rest."
"Yes, Sir!"
Just like that, the four quickly headed over to the others for dinner.
Though unsure of what his future in-laws wanted, Alum headed over to them. Ethym was fiddling with some magic sentry while Emerine rested a hand on her chin, reading something.
"Did you need something?"
Emerine was the first to look up. "Oh? Al! How was the temple?"
"It was quite ordinary. At a glance, there are quite a few different languages used."
Another researcher nearby nodded as if to say, "I see. I see."
"Is that so? Hm, for that to be the case, this ruin might've belonged to a union of sorts?" Emerine pondered.
Ethym peered up from his work. "Did any of it say something interesting?"
"I don't know," Alum replied. "But I won't read anything aloud."
"Huh? What would the point of you being here then?" another researcher cut in.
"I have my reason."
Alum's calm reply made the researcher click their tongue. 'This is why military…' they murmured something before shutting their mouth.
Ethym and Emerine didn't look pleased by how their colleague treated Alum. But as fellow researchers, they too understood the frustration. But to them, Alum was justified in being cautious.
"Don't take his words to heart, dear," Emerine said as she comforted Alum in her embrace. "There there." She stroked his soft hair. "Hehe, so fluffy~." She added, perhaps enjoying herself too much.
"…"
Ethym could only chuckle when seeing how Alum's demeanor screamed, 'Why am I being treated like a kid?' before going back to working on the sentry.
When the brief exchange ended, Alum went to Citrine and ate with them before quickly falling asleep by the campfire.
…
..
—Hic… sob… hic…
In the dark, small whimpers echoed. Alum opened his eyes to look around. But there was something strange.
What? Where am I?
It wasn't where he'd fallen asleep. He could barely see, but ahead of him were metal bars. His ankle was shackled.
Am I inside a cage? Why? How? Huh?
He looked down at his hands. They were smaller. His whole body itched, and he could feel hair running all the way down his back. Not to mention. The stench. Excrement, blood, sweat mixed with the damp air. It was suffocating.
There was light in the distance. It slowly approached, and his surroundings were slowly revealed. Many were in cages like his, but none he recognized.
The people barely had clothes on; they were all in tattered rags—but one girl seemed omnimusly familiar.
—Luna?
Alum's eyes widened in horror.
—CRING!
Suddenly, her cage was kicked by a man holding a lantern. "Sob this sob that! Shut up, will you!" He continued to kick the cage.
Luna covered her ears. Her expression filled with terror. But no matter how much psychic energy he tried to draw, nothing happened, and neither did his mana stir. He desperately tried to get to her, but the chains caused him to fall flat on his face. He couldn't even reach the other side of the steel bars without rolling over the cage.
Alum now caught the man's attention; he was clearly annoyed as he grabbed the whip by his hip and began to beat Alum relentlessly. It stung. It burnt. But Alum endured.
"Stupid fucking brat! How many times do I have to beat you before you give up!?" His face was red in anger.
Luna's teary eyes met his. She desperately cried and pleaded. "Please! Please stop! Don't hit him, I beg you!"
He'd never seen her despair so much. The ugly cry, the bruises all over her body, and her eyes devoid of light.
His mouth moved on its own. "Ruela… don't worry about me."
Ru…ela? I see—
"Haaah!"
Alum's eyes flung open as he gasped; his heart raced. Cold sweat ran down his neck. He looked around the campfire. The others were resting soundly. And Sarah, who was atop a golem's shoulder, gestured to him that it wasn't time to swap yet.
"…"
What… was that?
Alum clasped his head, confused by it all. He forced his eyes shut again, but the dream did not return.