Chapter 478: Sealed Door
Standing before an imnse black stone door, embedded deep beneath Vorah, Strax studied the inscriptions carved around the archway. Ancient letters, incredibly well preserved, pulsed with a faint glow, as if breathing slowly.
He frowned. He could read them… but he didn’t understand their aning.
“They’re words. Clear. But they don’t make any sense.” His voice was low, almost a whisper, as if he feared awakening sothing just by speaking.
“How did you find this?” he asked, without taking his eyes off the door, directing the question to Beatrice, who stood a little behind him, arms crossed and a serious look on her face.
“During the search for survivors,” she replied. “One of the houses near the Duke’s mansion collapsed completely. When I went to lift the rubble with telekinesis, I realized that the ground was hollow. The path we followed to get here was hidden under the foundations.”
Strax nodded slowly, absorbing the information. Behind them, Samira and Rogue watched in silence, their faces illuminated by the blue light emanating from the inscriptions. Cassandra approached with a frown, her fingers hovering over the symbols.
“They’re ancient. Very ancient.” She ran her hand carefully over the inscriptions. The mont her skin touched the stone, the runes reacted—they lit up with an intense light and then faded as if they had fallen back asleep.
“We can read them… but the words have no real aning. It’s as if they were echoes of a forgotten language or an… illusion of language.”
Daniela took a step forward, her eyes narrowing. Her gaze changed—her pupils sharpened, her irises glowed a deep golden hue as she concentrated mana into her vision. The lines on her skin seed to light up from within.
“Runes,” she murmured. “These inscriptions aren’t just text. They’re dwarven runes.”
Cassandra turned in surprise. “Are you sure?”
Daniela nodded slowly. “Yes. They’re disguised under a false linguistic structure. This is a dwarven language of concealnt. It serves to hide the true purpose of the door… and to seal what’s inside.”
“So Daniela’s eyes are more refined than mine…” Strax smiled and approached more closely now, studying the lines with a new perspective. His tone was grave:
“I figured as much. I can feel the aura… sothing is beyond this door. Sothing ancient. And dangerous.”
Samira, who already had her hand on the hilt of her sword, reacted to the comnt with a tense smile.
“Sinister is an understatent. That energy gives chills…” She made a smooth movent and drew her blade. The tallic sound echoed briefly through the underground corridor. She pointed the tip of her sword at the door.
“Well, whatever it is, we’re not going to find out standing here. Let’s open it and take a look, shall we?”
Rogue looked at her, raising an eyebrow. ‘You talk as if it were just a locked wine cellar.’
“Maybe,” Samira replied with a mischievous smile. “There might be so millennial dwarf wine hidden back there.”
Samira planted her feet firmly on the damp floor of the underground chamber. The pale glow of the newly unsheathed sword reflected off the carved runes on the door as if the tal recognized the ancient magic dormant there. She twisted her wrist, causing the blade to vibrate with a red aura, concentrating magical energy on the blade. The sound around them seed to fade for a mont.
“Let’s see if you understand the language of brute force,” she said, and then lunged forward.
The blow ca like thunder. The sword ca down in a wide arc, enveloped in destructive energy—a cut catalyzed by mana, physical strength, and the very will to break seals and secrets. The blade struck the center of the door with a burst of light.
For a mont, ti seed to stand still. The stone did not yield. No cracks. No chips. No scratches.
Then, with a sharp, ominous crack, all the energy of the blow was absorbed by the runes. The light gathered in each symbol as if it were being swallowed. The door pulsed once—and returned the impact.
A rumbling roar filled the chamber as a wave of brutal force was reflected back. Samira barely had ti to widen her eyes before she was thrown backward like an arrow.
Her body flew across the chamber and slamd violently into one of the stone walls, cracking part of the structure. A sharp sound, like armor hitting stone, echoed loudly. A groan of pain escaped her lips as she slid to the floor, dizzy and gasping for breath.
“Samira!” Rogue rushed to her, eyes wide, knees sliding across the dusty floor as he held her.
“I… I’m okay,” Samira whispered, coughing. ‘I think…’ She grimaced and brought her hand to her ribs. “…not so okay.”
Beatrice approached the door, her eyebrows furrowed, analyzing the now slightly incandescent runes.
“It’s a defense system. The door isn’t just sealed—it’s designed to punish any attempt at direct violation.”
“Full impact reversal,” Daniela murmured. “Those runes channeled all the force back. It’s a reactive barrier. Classic dwarf work… but elevated to an almost divine level.”
“You could have warned us about that,” Samira grumbled, her voice hoarse.
“I was going to… but you were already smiling with that look on your face that says you’re going to do sothing stupid,” said Daniela, kneeling beside her and beginning to conjure a light healing spell.
Cassandra crossed her arms, staring at the door with a colder gaze.
“This isn’t just an old gate. This is a seal. Made to last forever. And whatever is inside, they didn’t want it to be found. Not even by other dwarves.”
Strax walked slowly to the center of the room, stopping in front of the door again. His eyes glowed brightly in the dim light. There was sothing there. Sothing beyond the stone. Sothing that seed to call to him.
“This won’t open with force,” he said. “We’ll need to understand what these runes really say. And maybe… who wrote them.”
He turned to the group, his voice deeper now.
“Set up camp here. We’re not leaving until we find out what’s behind that door. If it survived the dragon invasion, then it may be older than this entire conflict. Perhaps even more dangerous.”
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