The stairs descended to considerable depths before reaching the destination Orion had been directing her toward during the silent walk.
They arrived at a area that was very wide. A chamber that had been excavated to unblock the enormous door of the ruin the surface structure guarded.
Selphira hadn't felt trapped during the descent because she recognized she could simply destroy the castle walls or stairs to create escape routes if the situation worsened to the point where dodging or flight beca necessary.
They were standard constructions; her power could fracture them without serious difficulty. And Orion also hadn't seed to want to attack her during transit. Behavior consistent with the declaration that negotiation was an option he was willing to seriously consider.
It was compliance with the implicit truce making the situation slightly less tense than it could've been if both had been continuously attacking.
But the atmosphere began changing dramatically now that they'd arrived at this underground chamber.
The tension that had been manageable intensified to the point where Selphira had to resist the impulse to preventively manifest the fusion.
First, there were a few dozen tars of good level waiting in the chamber. Positioned around the periter providing coverage from multiple angles.
They were all Gold-rank, without exception of inferior ranks that would dilute the average quality of the force Orion had congregated.
And there were even so dual-beast tars among them. mbers of various families from the factions Orion led. Many of whom were acknowledged leaders of their respective lineages.
It was an impressive show... A concentration of power representing a significant portion of the rebel faction's total military strength. All gathered here, guarding while waiting for Orion's command. A signal that would begin the violence everyone knew was coming.
Still, Selphira didn't feel genuinely threatened being completely recovered thanks to the potion she'd consud.
Those Gold-ranks couldn't compare with her fusion even operating collectively. And they hadn't received the ability to fuse from Ren because only those she and Julius had chosen after exhaustive political investigations were permitted to learn the techniques Ren had selectively shared.
It was an advantage providing considerable edge in any confrontation where fusion could be deployed. Superiority coming from access to power that enemies didn't possess regardless of how many numbers they could congregate.
It would be like a bunch of children against an adult…
She could kill them, all of them if it ca to that. The fusion would let her operate at basically Platinum levels. But killing them would take ti. Would drain her reserves even with the potion boost and would leave her vulnerable to Orion while she was occupied with his subordinates.
It was better to avoid that blood shed for both sides…
But that was probably the point. They weren't here to defeat her, they may be here to hinder her. To force her spending power fighting them instead of focusing on Orion. Yet it didn't seem to be the case, at least not yet… No blood thirst could be felt.
What she did feel in a manner that was impossible to ignore was the "presence" of the ruin itself.
Not simply a physical structure but sothing more fundantal. An emanation suggesting the ancient systems remained active beneath the layers of rock separating this chamber from technology that the previous civilization had deliberately buried or that had been consud by ti when sothing on the surface collapsed.
It was like standing next to a sleeping giant. Sothing vast and powerful yet dormant.
They were installations that maintained themselves through chanisms modern civilization couldn't replicate. She could feel it humming beneath her feet. Energy flowing through conduits that ran through stone like veins through flesh.
That was more threatening than the Gold-rank tars. Because she couldn't destroy it.
Fighting tars was familiar. But ancient technology? That was unknown... Could be anything. And that uncertainty was what made it truly dangerous.
Orion stopped in front of the enormous door marking the ruin's official entrance.
The portal being considerably more impressive than the ordinary doors that surface structures employed. It wasn't just large but impossibly smooth. No seams or joints, nor visible chanisms. Just a solid surface that sohow opened when pushed with enough strength to never close again
It was a construction directing toward the first chamber where, according to information very few knew, they'd fought against a beast from which Kassian had inherited the white egg in the final chamber.
Selphira knew the first chamber contained a guardian beast. Defeating it granted passage deeper… Standard ruin configuration that repeated across multiple sites.
Orion ordered half a dozen of the most capable tars to follow him. A selection excluding the vast majority but specifically including those whose capabilities he valued most highly.
And he ordered the rest to guard the enormous door. Positioning that would prevent Selphira from easily escaping if she decided retreating when recognizing whatever the trap's nature was that probably waited inside.
Forward was the only option... Advance or abandon Victor. Selphira felt a bit more trapped now.
Recognition that the walls of this enormous chamber were indestructible for her according to ancient civilization design. Resistance that would exceed what even her fusion could overco through brute force.
It was a limitation reducing escape options in a manner making the situation considerably more dangerous than it had been monts before.
She'd relied on knowing she could break through normal construction. That certainty had provided psychological safety even when walking into obvious danger. But ancient materials like these didn't break. So retreating through walls wasn't an option anymore. And retreat through the door ant fighting through dozens of Gold-rank tars while Orion attacked from behind. Also not a viable option unless she was willing to abandon Victor completely.
Which left only forward. Into whatever Orion had prepared. Into the trap she could feel closing around her with each passing mont.
Orion advanced to the entrance of the stairs descending toward the first challenge chamber. Position providing him control over access to the ruin's deeper sections.
And there he changed the situation in a manner revealing exactly what type of trap he'd been preparing during all this ti.
User Comments
0 comments from readers