I dashed inside as fast as I could while making sure I wasn't followed, I turned and prepared to fight back, but the gate closed shut, allowing me inside the city that was surrounded by impenetrable walls.
I looked around, making sure that nothing was awry. I'm in a new area, I have no idea what's going on, or what those things are.
I was nervous, that was certain, I was in a strange land. Without a friend or rade, alone and not sure where to go or what to do.
Yet something kept bothering me…
Why am I acting like this, I looked at my hand and noticed that I was trembling.
'Fear? Why? Tension and stress? I didn't have that when I was fighting the Fire Lord…'
I thought some more then realized that something was very wrong right now.
I should under no circumstance feel fear, that's not in the books for me. I'm Shen Bao, not some random scared cultivator. But why can't I shake away this dumb feeling of helplessness?
Also, why did I trust the voice? Why did I e here?
I was pushed to do it… like a thought, guided and forced by circumstance and context.
I was first in danger in the tunnel, then I was offered a way out, and right before I thought of what was happening and the reason why I was called in, I was pushed to run away, distracted by the creatures.
Fearsome? Fuck no, I've seen far deadlier and more dangerous creatures in the Vast Expanse. But why did my mind race with the thought of me dying?
I was not given a chance to think, because the voice once again asked me to 'run' putting me in a more vulnerable mental position where I needed to focus more on running away than realizing what was happening. Then the moment I landed I was once again chased away, then given a lead where it was 'safe,'
And now I'm in this safe place, but my mind is currently reeling with confusion and fear.
Which shouldn't be possible…
I wouldn't fear death if it stared me in the eyes, why would I fear this?
"e, e," spoke the voice, this time far subtler and more weling, like the wele of a grandfather who hadn't seen his grandchildren in ages.
What impeccable timing and voice. Just as I was feeling worried and confused, someone with a gentle voice came in to invite me.
One would think they have no choice but to seek the safety of this voice.
The voice this time didn't sound inside my head but sounded from within the city's main palace.
This whole city looked like the one that Zhang Tian was trapped in, the only difference is this one was a dozen times bigger.
So finding my way to the palace was going to take some time, and the voice seemed to quiet down no longer calling for me.
Before I headed to the main palace I needed to figure shit out. I wasn't just going to agree with whatever this guy or thing asks, I need answers to the many questions I've asked.
Looking around, the ground, stone, and bricks of the entire city were the same as the material that was making the very earth of this crumbling celestial city.
The skies above, well I call them skies, when in fact it's just random pieces of brown golden lands floating about.
Some had mountains upon them, some had dead and withered trees and dried rivers. Some had villages and cities in their entirety only they were destroyed and ravaged. But the majority of these floating pieces of land were dead, and lit off, with the occasional sight of some of those creatures moving about.
This seemed to be the only place that had this 'light' on it, that prevented the monsters from corrupting it.
How e it survived when nothing else did? Perhaps it's the material making the city, it look stronger and more refined. While everything else looked far lower quality.
The palace was built atop an elevated hill. The palace crowned the hill and at the foot of the hill was another set of walls that spread all around it protecting the palace some more.
The city was a buffer and the palace seemed to be the main building of this entire city.
There was not a single soul in here, no one alive as it appeared. Not even bones were left, perhaps due to the incredible passage of time that happened even if people lived here, they'd be dead and their bones turned to dust by now.
However, the owner of the voice lives still, how?
More questions…
I continued moving forward and decided to enter some of the abandoned houses.
The houses were empty, there was not even dust on the floor or tables or any of the wears inside the house. Even the air itself was dead and stale.
As I was moving through the house I happened to nudge a shelf. The whole thing began crumbling down as if it were made of ash.
Testament of the ancientness of this place.
I walked out since there didn't seem to be anything useful here and moved forward toward the palace.
The gears inside my brain were working overtime, for what reason would the person here ask me to help them? They lived long enough to survive the passage of time, so what am I even going to help them with?
The wall around the hill's base had a gate in it which was opened wide. I crossed through it and went up the hill, atop the stairs that seemed in perfect shape no matter how long time had passed.
I continued moving up until I arrived at the palace, this one also had its gate opened wide.
The palace was pretty much a gigantic hall in the middle with four spiral staircases leading up, each staircase was in one of the corners.
Perhaps it led to the upper rooms of the palace. But that wasn't what caught my attention.
No, what caught my attention was the old man lying on a stone bed right in the middle of the hall.
"Closer child, closer!" it spoke
And I heard that voice this time ing from the old man's direction.
Warry and careful I approached, my eyes looking all over the place before finally resting on the old man's body.
"You're the one who called me?" I asked.
"Indeed," it said.
"And why is that?" I asked.
"Because I wish to die…"
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