Chapter 29 – This Is Not Ordinary
The air was thick with mystery… as if the fog itself breathed slowly.
The sound of rapid heartbeats echoed clearly, mingling with vague whispers, like the echoes of ancient souls. The air was cold, stinging Rojin's face as she stood before a door in a long, narrow corridor drowned in darkness.
Her eyes trembled, and her hands clutched each other tightly, trying to hug herself for a sense of safety amidst the fear.
Yet… curiosity outweighed fear.
With a single step forward—whoosh!—a row of floating flames ignited along the corridor, flame after flame, as if the passage had awakened from slumber to guide her.
Her heart thumped harder, but she gathered the remnants of her courage and walked slowly and cautiously. After several minutes, she whispered softly to herself:
Rojin (muttering):
"I've been walking for over ten minutes… is there no end to this cursed corridor?"
Suddenly… click!
Her feet pressed on a strange stone button in the floor.
She didn't think. Instinct took over. She leapt backward, landing in a defensive stance, fists clenched, eyes tracking every movement, breaths ragged… expecting traps, arrows, or even collapsing walls.
But… nothing. Heavy silence. No movement.
After a tense minute, she exhaled, wiping sweat from her forehead:
Rojin (whispering):
"Hah… maybe the traps wore out over time…"
She continued walking.
What she didn't know… was that this button was not merely a trap—but a key! A key that activated the entire pyramid system.
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Suddenly, she froze in the middle of the path.
She raised her head slowly… and her eyes widened as if she had seen a legendary beast.
Before her stood an armored stone statue, a giant three meters tall. A massive shield clutched in both hands, a great sword strapped to its back. It towered before a door twice its size, like an eternal guardian of this gateway.
Her body trembled… sweat poured from her brow, but as always, curiosity refused to let her go. She swallowed hard and stepped closer until she stood at its feet.
Rojin (whispering with a small smile):
"Incredible… who could have made something like this?!"
Her eyes sparkled with astonishment, her curiosity devouring fear. Without thinking, she placed her hands on the statue and began to climb!
It seemed insane… yet she did it. She scaled it skillfully until she reached its head.
Standing there proudly, she laughed aloud as if she were a queen atop her throne:
Rojin (laughing):
"Hahaha! I must take a souvenir photo!"
But suddenly… her eyes fell on a strange symbol engraved on the guard's helmet.
It was spherical, a fine network glimmering faintly, resembling a planet scanned by light 🌐.
She approached it, fingers trembling as if touching a treasure:
Rojin (awed):
"What is this…? It looks like a trea—"
Before she could finish, she touched the symbol… BOOM!
The ground shook violently beneath her, like an earthquake struck the place.
Rojin (panicked):
"What… is h… happening?!"
The walls shuddered, dust fell from the ceiling, but the real shock came when the guard's eyes opened… glowing a piercing green light that shattered the darkness!
The statue… began to move.
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Meanwhile, far from Rojin…
Iyas was fighting his own battle on the second floor of the Tower, in front of the castle.
The scene was at the gates of Poseidon Castle.
Strange creatures, half-human, half-fish, surrounded him, wielding sharp bone spears.
But to Iyas, they were mere playthings.
He smiled as he moved among them with agility, striking with hands and feet, occasionally enhancing his attacks with mental focus to make them faster and deadlier.
Iyas smirked, daring any "abnormal-level" monster to challenge him.
Dozens fell… yet their numbers did not decrease—they increased!
From dozens… to hundreds.
Iyas (muttering):
"If they keep multiplying… they might reach thousands… and then I'll be in real trouble."
While fighting, his eyes caught the castle gate in the distance.
He grinned, panting lightly:
Iyas:
"I've found my escape route!"
He unleashed his mental powers, boosting his body's cells, and sprinted at incredible speed.
But as he glanced back, his eyes widened.
Iyas (shocked):
"When… did they multiply to this number?!"
The monsters surged like a flood, nearing a thousand.
Finally, he reached the castle gate and opened it quickly… but stopped.
He noticed something strange.
The monsters halted at the foot of the stairs. None dared to approach further.
Iyas (smirking wickedly):
"Hehe… interesting… let's test this."
He descended step by step, slowly.
The monsters did not attack… yet they roared and raged, their sounds like a storm.
A crazy idea struck him.
He intertwined his hands, a strange smile forming on his face… the monsters sensed the terrifying energy radiating from him.
He closed his eyes, exhaled calmly… then planted his feet firmly.
One foot forward, the other slightly back.
His hands began to move delicately through the air.
Mental energy sparked across his palms like blue lightning.
Dust rose around him, the air thickened.
He was shaping… constructing something massive in the void above the monsters' heads.
Iyas (focused):
"Bigger… bigger…"
Until a colossal mental dome appeared, covering most of the crowd.
With a gesture of his hands, he pushed it forward, like a wave striking the sky.
WHOOSH!
The wave surged like a projectile, yet no monster was harmed.
It passed over them, rose above their heads… then suddenly transformed into a giant bubble, trapping them all inside.
The monsters thrashed against the dome, screaming madly… but no escape.
Iyas grinned cunningly and pointed downward:
"The real show… begins now."
He began to draw all the air from inside the bubble.
The monsters panicked, recoiled, then fell one by one, suffocating.
Their faces contorted, their cries faded… until silence reigned.
All were down… hundreds of corpses piled up.
The bubble exhaled for a moment… then vanished.
Iyas looked at the floor strewn with bodies, a strange smile on his face:
Iyas:
"Let this be my power points."
He turned toward the castle gate, opened it, and stepped in calmly.
Laughing a strange laugh—not the old Iyas laugh…
But someone else's.
Iyas (laughing):
"I'm at the peak of my excitement…"
He closed the door behind him.
Scene ends.