With the previous success of his "Vision of the Unseen," Byrne finally understood why the animal hide on the stone shelf had appeared blank earlier. It wasn't that there was nothing on it; he simply hadn't been looking at it the right way.
Byrne walked to the stone shelf and took out the hide from the top tier. The two pieces of hide were identical in size and texture, and the jagged edges of the tear fit together perfectly—they were clearly one entity. Without hesitation, he closed his eyes once more.
In his mind, the ink-lined outlines of the two hides merged rapidly. The once blurry and severed edges began to shimmer, and the fragmented lines acted like awakened streams, flowing and connecting along their intended paths. Finally, a complete three-dimensional topographical map presented itself in Byrne's consciousness.
The area he had already explored was located in the upper-left section of the map. The good news was that the locations of the other three Elemental Stones were clearly marked. The bad news was that the area he had explored didn't even cover one percent of the entire map.
The pedestal in the southwest corner corresponded to Water—the Water Stone he had already found. The pedestal in the southeast corner corresponded to Fire, located deep within a fork to the east. The pedestal in the northwest corner corresponded to Earth, located in an underground grotto to the west. The pedestal in the northeast corner corresponded to Wind, located on a high platform to the north.
In terms of distance, the closest one was the Earth Stone in the western underground grotto. Byrne carefully folded the two hides, tucked them into his shirt, turned around, and walked out of the secret door back into the main stone chamber.
The area covered by the map was immense. Even for the closest Earth Stone, reaching that underground grotto would take at least half an hour on foot. Furthermore, the grotto contained dozens of intersecting tunnels, like a tangled ball of yarn.
It's a pity the map doesn't mark the Night Demon's location, he thought.
Although he held the Water Stone that could suppress the Night Demon, releasing the green light required a one-hour cooldown. This cooldown applied to his time spent in this dark space and had nothing to do with the real world. Based on his exploration time so far, he still had over forty minutes of cooldown remaining.
Time was tight. He had to get moving to reach that underground grotto as early as possible. With the Water Stone and the map in hand, Byrne headed toward the western part of the map.
Half an hour later, Byrne reached his destination without incident. Following the guidance of the map in his mind, the entrance to the underground grotto was hidden behind a depression in the western stone wall. The gap was only wide enough for one person to pass through sideways, and the exterior was covered in a thick layer of slippery moss. Without the map's precise markings, one would pass by it thinking it was just an ordinary crack in the rock.
Just as the map indicated, the grotto entrance split into three forks. Each path vanished into a deep, profound darkness, looking like the gaping maws of three lurking beasts. Byrne pressed his hand against the cold stone wall, his gaze scanning back and forth between the three paths.
The darkness remained as thick as ink. Even when he concentrated his "Mind's Eye" to perceive, he could only capture blurry outlines deep within the forks and couldn't sense the conditions further inside. The map only marked the entrance and the general location of the Earth Stone without detailing the specific tunnels; clearly, he was meant to figure it out himself.
There were still about ten minutes left before the Water Stone's cooldown ended. This meant that for the next stretch of the journey, he had no means of counterattacking a Night Demon. If he were attacked, he could only rely on his legs to escape.
Byrne took a deep breath, suppressed the sense of urgency, and crouched down to press his palm against the ground. The floor inside the grotto was no longer stone slabs but was covered in a thin layer of damp soil, smelling of crushed rocks and decaying plants. He looked toward the three paths in turn, searching for any clues.
The ground of the left path was exceptionally soft; his fingertips felt fine, sticky mud, and he could vaguely smell a trace of fishy stench similar to what he had encountered with the Night Demon before. The middle path was relatively dry with many loose stones, which would surely make noise if stepped on—an easy way to reveal his position in this silent grotto. The right path was somewhere in between, lacking both the stickiness of the mud and the messiness of the loose stones.
Which one should I choose?
After weighing the options, Byrne finally made his decision. "Alright, I'll take the right fork."
The stench on the left was too suspicious, and the middle path was too prone to exposing his presence. The traces of stone bricks on the right seemed more like man-made paving, making it more likely to lead to the storage site of the Earth Stone.
The interior of the grotto was much wider than the entrance, and the walls on both sides were covered in stalactites. Using his Mind's Eye, Byrne captured the surrounding outlines. The stalactites were bizarrely shaped—some like curled-up beasts, others like outstretched claws—casting sinister silhouettes in the darkness as if they could come to life at any moment.
After walking for about five minutes, the path ahead narrowed, only allowing one person to pass while hunched over. Once through the narrow passage, the grotto suddenly opened up, the space expanding several times over. Regular stone slabs reappeared on the ground, though they were covered in a thick layer of moss that could cause a slip if he wasn't careful.
Through his Mind's Eye, Byrne clearly saw a square stone pedestal standing against a wall not far ahead, identical to the ones in the stone chamber. However, this pedestal was more than twice the size of those he had seen before. In the groove at the very top lay a square stone.
"Found it!"
Byrne felt a surge of joy and instinctively quickened his pace. But after taking just two steps, he froze, his muscles tightening instantly.
Screeech! Screeech!
The familiar dragging sound echoed from the darkness behind the pedestal. The sound was much duller than during his first encounter, mixed with the heavy grinding of stone—as if what was being dragged wasn't an ordinary weight, but an entire boulder.
What made Byrne's skin crawl was that as the sound approached, he could clearly feel the surrounding air turning cold at a visible rate. A stench far thicker than before surged toward him like a tide.
Byrne immediately ducked behind a nearby stone pillar, pressing his body tightly against the cold stone, not daring to breathe. In the darkness, a massive silhouette slowly emerged.
The Night Demon's body was nearly twice the size of the first one he had seen. It was shrouded in dense black mist, with several thick tentacles swaying wildly within the fog. Each sway knocked loose stones from the walls, making piercing sounds.
There were still five minutes left on the Water Stone's cooldown. If he were discovered now, he would have no strength to resist and would simply become prey.
He slowly shifted his body, trying to move to the other side of the pillar to put distance between himself and the Night Demon. At the same time, his gaze locked onto the pedestal, calculating how to wait for the Night Demon to be distracted so he could rush in, grab the Earth Stone, and run.
Even if he couldn't outrun it, having the Earth Stone in hand would mean he no longer had to fear the Night Demon.
But just as Byrne was making his plan, the Night Demon, having reached the vicinity of the pedestal, suddenly stopped.