Once behind the wall, Adam and Risha saw the rebels' hidden place beco as strong as possible.
The Magma Plateau.
Large crystals resembling dense mirrors rose from the ground, reflecting the surroundings in their red, smooth surface. There were only a few crystals, each shaped like a pillar and dozens of tis larger than a man.
If Vorx took his monster form then even with his great body it would be difficult for him to completely encircle a single crystal.
There were rare lava lakes below, after all, the Magma Plateau was located near the Fallen Ring Castle and was part of the middle floor of the Red Zone, where fire dominated.
Here and there, glass shards peeked out like fragnts of mories shimring in the light of the red pillars and lakes. The broken mirrors were next to crystal paths leading to the red pillars and rare whole mirrors emitting a dim, ghostly light.
In the very center of the plateau was a separate field, a mist of a million tiny shards slowly descended to a flat surface, completely dark creating a strong contrast to the bright surroundings.
At the very top, just above the dark field, hung an irregularly shaped crystal with many bulging sharp corners, as if dozens of stars had crashed into each other, turning into sothing new: beautiful and terrifying at the sa ti.
Adam nodded weakly. He saw a shadow pass through the star-crystal. It was the physical form of Radiant Mirage.
Step. Step. Step.
Adam walked around for a while, looking curiously at the working mirrors, and the red pillars, and walking along the hard paths connected.
He stopped in front of a dark field, looking over his shoulder at Heret, Grita, and Torz.
"And? What are we going to do here? Vorx said I could open the fourth lesser gates or maybe even the fifth one.'
Heret smirked, glaring at Radiant Mirage.
"Don't be in a hurry. We may not have much ti, but a few minutes won't decide anything. What's more, you can consider the training going on right now."
In response, Adam tilted his head. "Hmm?"
Step.
Grita stepped forward, slowly swiping her hand through the air. Small particles of light, like a stream, followed her movent.
"You should have felt it by now. The energy density here is simply overwhelming. All the energy that Radiant Mirage collects stays here and continues to condense."
Adam nodded weakly. He could see that so of the crystals on the walls were large and shining brightly, and there were small ones nearby, but they were actively growing.
Then, he turned towards the dark field.
"What is that? I'm sure the huge red crystals and whole mirrors have so purpose as well, but this field... It's the main reason why we ca here, isn't it?"
With a slight smile, Heret nodded.
He walked over to Adam, took him by the shoulder, and led him straight to the dark field.
As soon as Adam stepped over the crystal threshold, he felt his breathing beco heavier.
He turned to Heret who gave him an understanding smile. With each step forward, closer to the center, the pressure beca more intense and their steps slower.
Adam felt as if there was a mighty monster ahead, unleashing its aura upon him. It wanted to crush Adam, make him collapse to the ground, and break his bones.
Heret was in the sa situation. The fact that he was a monster didn't give him much of an advantage.
"Good..." Heret whispered as they approached the center. "Now, I suggest you just relax."
"That's it."
He slowly sat down on the ground, his sturdy back pressed against the dark as an abyss field.
Before repeating after him, Adam glanced upward.
The slowly falling crystals resembled myriad snowflakes, but instead of cold and frost, they brought only an endless stream of energy. He could catch only a drop, but over ti, the drops could grow into sothing larger and even fill an entire ocean.
Heret patted the ground, his breathing slow and heavy, trying to get used to the pressure.
"Co on. Stop gawking around. You'll have a few weeks ahead of you to savor this view."
"Sure..."
Adam nodded weakly, lying down beside him.
"I take it only you, the top rebels, know about this place, right?" he asked, beholding the star hail.
"Not exactly true, but generally right. We don't hide the Magma Plateau from our allies. However, it is , Torz, Grita, and Vorx who co here most often."
With a heavy sigh, Heret continued.
"It's not that my leaders and they are subordinates. It's just that they're not strong enough."
"Argh...? Didn't you have an arrangent with Radiant Mirage? That guy is pretty annoying, but since you made a compromise, you managed to carve out your access here."
Heret laughed briefly. "So that is the guy? Hah, he didn't make direct contact with us. Only communicated with the help of strange knights."
"By the way... Where are the mirror knights?" Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I once encountered the External Artifact, and I had to fight my way through hordes of monsters to get to the main hall."
Heret shrugged, watching the floating crystals. No matter how many tis he'd been here, this was a sight he couldn't get bored with.
"Well, what you saw at the entrance, that knight. I think that's the ability of the Radiant Mirage. He created the knight to scare us. Not that we didn't realize it, but we had to play along. We needed this place.
"Over the past few weeks, we've all grown much stronger. The weaker serpents can't stay here too long. I'm not even talking about the dark field. The pressure here is so intense that many of my allies would be seriously injured on the first step."
After a while, Adam nodded deeply, raising his hand, wanting to touch the imaginary snowflakes.
"When does training start?" he asked in a low voice. "Lying here is good, but... Much more I want to win. For that, I need power."
Heret smirked. "Like I said, we've already started. Resisting the pressure was the first step - now it's ti to absorb the energy."
"Hmm?"
"I know. Humans usually aren't capable of this, but... we're in an unusual place. Just follow my instructions, and there will be a storm of energy raging in your inner space. If you can handle it, of course."
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