The rest of the walk to the Neverfall Clan was mostly silent because Raze was deep in thought, wondering what would come out of all of this, and what was exactly going to happen next.
Meeting with a Clan Head, if things went wrong, did Raze have enough power right now to deal with them? To best them in combat if he used everything at his disposal?
With no help at all from others, he wasn't too confident about that, and even if he could best the Clan Head, from the sound of things, there were others that were by his side. Dame's brothers that were just as strong as him; getting out would be next to an impossibility.
"But the device from the Dark Faction Founder, was found in the Neverfall Clan treasure room. At the same time, even the Noctis Clan's Dark Edge Sword Arts were at the Neverfall Clan base as well.
"It's quite clear that there was a relationship between the two of them at some point. If things go bad, there might be a way to steer it so it doesn't have to be that way."
Raze wasn't quite sure if he was imagining it or not, but the moment they could see the large wall that surrounded the deep Abyssal base of the Neverfall Clan, his body was shivering slightly.
The placement of her steps, Raze could tell the Qi control was different from before. She, a middle stage warrior, was scared, worried about going back to her own home for some reason.
Just before entering, Raze still had his iron mask and blazer on. Rayna had turned around.
"It would be best for you to keep your best equipment on you. While we are in the main areas of the base, you can keep that iron mask on, but you will have to show your face when we get down to the lowest levels, when you are to meet him. Otherwise, it can be quite disrespectful," Rayna commented.
The blazer was the strongest piece of equipment Raze had, but in terms of his weapon, it was currently in the hands of Alba. He had the lightning blade equipped to his side, and on his back, the wind-enchanted blade.
"The way you're talking, it's like you're expecting a fight to happen?" Raze said. "I thought you said he just wanted to talk."
"It is just a talk," Rayna replied.
Entering the first floor of the Abyssal base, Raze had to head to a certain room to grab a temporary clan badge. It was round and about the same size as one's fist with the Clan's emblem on it.
If for one reason or another Rayna and Raze were split up, this would avoid him getting into trouble with the other members. While in the reception areas, Raze noticed that he was getting quite a few stares from the others.
He wasn't wearing a robe like the Dark Magus did, but the blazer stood out. It was clear that the Neverfall Clan was a place that followed more traditional rules. Every single one of them was wearing soft cloth-like fabric that the martial artists would wear.
Some would have shoulder guards or pieces of armor covering them in certain areas, but the cloth was clearly visible underneath. With his clothing and the iron mask, he was standing out quite a bit.
When turning around, they were ready to descend across one of the giant chains that led to different areas of the base, and just before jumping down, someone had managed to catch the two of them.
"You? What are you guys doing here?"
Rayna turned around and immediately saw who it was, she settled down a bit. "Fixteen, now isn't the time, alright."
Fixteen had noticed Raze's new blazer from a mile out since he had seen it before. He hadn't seen the strange iron mask before, but he was surprised to see him at the base.
"It seems your Clan Head wants a meeting with me," Raze said quietly. "What about the requests that I made?"
"Everything's sorted; I left crates of the stuff at the Inn you've been staying at."
"Good, because once this is done, I'll need to leave as soon as possible."
With that said, it wasn't Rayna who had taken the initiative; Raze took the initiative and jumped down, landing on one of the giant chains. He remembered some of the shortcuts they had taken from last time.
"Looks like he's quite keen," Rayna replied. "Even though, I don't think he should be."
She soon jumped down after Raze, landing on the giant chain, and now the two of them were continuing as they descended further and further down.
"If Dame knew what was going on right now, I wonder how he would feel about this," Fixteen thought to himself.
Each time Rayna jumped from one chain to the other, she took a moment before leaping to the next chain to head further down. She would look over her shoulder to look at the Dark Magus and wonder how he was taking it.
Because, the further they went down, the more heat was emitted. It was unbearable to many, to the point that those at the very top wouldn't even be able to focus or move properly due to the intense heat.
So far, everything seemed to be fine, and since Raze had been this far before, she thought it would be okay. Then she jumped down, going further onto another chain.
"This area is where the Middle stage warriors of the clan train. The heat is too intense for those at the Initial stage, especially if they spend a long time here. He might be putting on a brave face, but I hope he's okay," Rayna thought, as she jumped down again and waited.
It was this reason why Dame surviving in this type of place was a little tougher compared to other Initial stage warriors. He was close to breaking through to the Middle stage, but hadn't done so yet, which was an embarrassment in their father's eyes.
Raze soon followed, and when he landed on the following giant chain, he could feel the heat magnifying at least by double. His mind was a little hazy, and even looking around, he was unable to tell where the edges of the walls were.
"When my body reaches a higher stage, it should affect me less as well, but If I use a bit of magic, this should be okay."
Using a small trace of Ice Magic, Raze was coating the outside of his skin. Not thick enough so it would melt from the heat, but just enough to cool his own temperature and his body from working.
He was getting the perfect balance.
"Are you okay?" Rayna asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
After using the Ice Magic, Raze just had to adjust its power output the further he went down, and he was dealing with it well. Rayna was surprised to see him not stutter or fall to the ground.
She was half expecting him to collapse. Then finally, jumping off the last chain, they had reached the bottom of the floor.
"If it gets tough, you need to activate your Qi, to try to help strengthen your body," Rayna advised.
"The consistent use of Qi helps with the control and strengthening and refining of our Dantian. Which is why there is such extreme heat in here, and up ahead."
Rayna looked toward two large double doors. "It's even hotter inside, and it's exactly where we need to go."
