Solana waited for a long time...
But even after a long while, Theresa still had not emerged.
The surrounding environment grew increasingly eerie. The setting sun slowly dipped below the horizon, casting a blood-red shroud over the sky.
The already gloomy, secluded alley now felt even more ominous, and the hollow, pitch-black eyes of the stone statues seemed to grow creepier by the second.
From time to time, bizarre thorns would sprout from all directions, enveloped in an ominous bloody light as if weeping drops of blood.
Suddenly, a cluster of blood-colored thorns brushed past Solana's arm!
Rip!
A few drops of blood splattered instantly.
“Ugh...” Clutching her arm in pain, Solana warily scanned her surroundings.
Yet there wasn't a soul around her. Only some thorns remained clinging to the walls, looking as though they had naturally grown there.
What is with these thorns? Is this the Sister's ability?
Solana's expression grew solemn. She raised her hand and swept it forward.
Whoosh!
Strands of black fire instantly erupted, burning fiercely along the thorns.
Before long, the thorns were entirely reduced to ashes.
Only then did Solana ease her mind and prepare to head down into the cellar.
Tap, tap, tap...
The sound of her shoes stepping onto the stone stairs echoed repeatedly in the hollow cellar, making the space feel even more silent and desolate.
Soon, Solana passed through the passage and arrived at an underground chamber.
Looking around, she saw the room was packed with tightly piled corpses. Their faces were twisted in agony, as if they had experienced unprecedented despair before their deaths.
Moving further inside, Solana saw a blood-soaked corpse collapsed right at the entrance of a corridor at the very front of the chamber.
Carefully rolling him over, Solana took a closer look. It was none other than the cloaked man she had seen earlier!
A massive amount of blood was seeping from his chest as well.
It really was him? And he also died of a bleeding chest? But wasn't he with the Abyssal Order?
Infighting... Solana suddenly thought of this word.
He deliberately spread information about the Abyssal Order. Was he intentionally guiding us, wanting us to wipe out the people here? Was that collective death meant to draw our attention?
But something still doesn't feel right. If that were the case, he should have known the ins and outs of this incident very well. He shouldn't have died so easily!
Could it be that he wasn't from the Abyssal Order, and this was a revenge killing? But that doesn't make sense either. If so, why didn't he just tell the Sister directly? And that wouldn't explain the collective death!
Wait... is this incident really the work of the Abyssal Order? Could another faction be involved?
Realizing something was amiss, Solana immediately quickened her pace. She swiftly traversed the corridor ahead, heading deeper into the cellar.
The further in she went, the more she noticed a hazy mist drifting outward. It grew thicker and thicker, gradually obscuring her vision.
For some reason, a strange sensation welled up in Solana's heart, as if she had also stood in such a deep, deep darkness long ago...
But she only hesitated for a brief moment before continuing forward.
Then, she saw various bizarre crimson plants growing on the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. These plants were surrounded by blood-colored thorns, constantly pouring out corrosive liquid. The liquid repeatedly clashed with the black mist and suddenly exploded, as if the two forces were locked in a fierce struggle!
Soon, however, a tear was ripped through the black mist, allowing Solana to see the path ahead clearly once more.
Walking all the way, she arrived at a wider, circular secret chamber.
Right in the center of the chamber stood an ancient stone altar, piled high with black crystals covered in purple veins!
Slumped against the stone walls on either side of the chamber were two figures. On the left was a Sister, her white robe already torn to shreds.
A large patch of blood was continuously spreading from her chest, while several vines repeatedly tried to wrap around her, as if attempting to stem the bleeding.
It was Theresa.
How did she end up like this?
Amidst her confusion, Solana glanced to the right.
Sitting on the right was a man clad in a tattered black robe, blood also flowing from his chest.
Upon seeing Solana, both of them instinctively looked toward her.
Solana awkwardly averted her eyes, her gaze falling back onto the crystals atop the central stone altar.
Yet the moment her eyes landed on them, she could no longer look away.
These crystals... why do they feel so familiar?
It feels like I've seen them somewhere...
No, wait. It isn't that I have seen them. It must be that Solana has seen them...
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her head, as if some memories were trying to force their way out, and her consciousness began to blur.
Just then, the black-robed man suddenly moved. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to manipulate the black smoke to creep toward the stone altar inch by inch.
Seeing this, Theresa endured the pain in her chest and released plants to block him.
She had originally intended to scout ahead first, but happened to run into a Rank Two Devourer of the Demon pathway, and the two had clashed unexpectedly.
Generally speaking, even if she encountered a Rank Three Beyonder, her weathering and plant manipulation abilities were enough to help her escape quickly, and her regenerative ability could even allow her to survive most fatal wounds.
Yet at some point, both she and her opponent had suddenly begun to bleed from their chests, even though she hadn't drunk anything recently!
What was even stranger was that no matter how she utilized her regenerative ability, she couldn't heal the wound even a single bit.
It was as if she were under some sort of curse...
Regardless, she had to stop that Beyonder from getting the magic stones on the altar right now, or everything would be ruined!
She hastily shouted at the newly arrived girl:
“Quick! Take all those crystals away! He wants to use those magic stones to force an advancement to Rank Three of the Abyss, the Apostle of Calamity!”
Apostle of Calamity...
Magic stones, advancement...
Hearing these terms, Solana felt her headache grow increasingly splitting.
These things... I feel like I've heard of them somewhere...
Where was it... Where...
Suddenly, a fragment of unknown memory surged into her mind!
Her consciousness gradually blurred, and the surrounding scene began to collapse rapidly. It twisted and reorganized until it revealed an even darker secret chamber.
It was a place very similar to this one, with the same cold stone walls, except the black mist surrounding it was denser and even more bizarre...
Rate on N.U.
