The turtle's body dissolved into dust and flew away with the wind.
"Woah!"
As they saw what was under the turtle, it suddenly occured to them that this was perhaps the reason why these turtles never moved.
Under the turtle was a circular metallic plate, resembling a manhole. The moment disappeared, the metallic plate was lifted up slightly and a small gap was opened.
But that small gap was more than enough for a level 9 Body Awakener like Varian to notice the underground path beneath the metal plate.
Enigma noticed the mysterious runes on the metallic plate. They're completely different from the ones she saw at the Deva Ruins but for some reason, they didn't give an alien feeling.
'Are they related?'
Sarah, on the other hand, had a grave expression. She didn't care about the Underground tunnel or the mysterious runes. "They're coming! Are we going out or in?"
Right after her words finished, dozens of terrifying auras shot into the sky and locked onto the three.
The surroundings mountains 'woke' up. They're still shocked that one of them died. As far as they could remember, this was the very first time such an event happened.
Even the one Sovereign that escaped this place long ago did it because of the precious treasure.
But now…
A murder of their brethern was unacceptable! It evoked a deep fear in the psyche of the great turtles that had long thought of themselves to be immortal.
This man who shattered the belief they held since their inception. Even the cruelest of torture would be light against him.
"We better go outs—"
Varian grabbed Sarah and Enigma to teleport out of this damnn place when he felt the space outside solidify.
"What?!"
Dozens and dozens of walls, made of potent golden soil, materialized and blocked their way out.
Since these walls were reinforced by the turtles, even if they wanted to break the, it'd take some time. By that time, the turtles' attacks would reach them.
'I can't teleport, can't break through, then what…'
Varian sighed. "We're going in,"
The space around them twisted before they disappeared.
A second later, dozens of rock weapons blasted the place and created a deep crater.
But the metallic plate on the ground, which closed right after Varian's trio entered the tunnel, had closed at some point. And despite being at the epicenter of these attacks, not a single scratch appeared on its surface.
— — —
"Wait, wait, this isn't underground." As she looked around at the glowing walls giving off different colors every second, Sarah suddenly exclaimed.
"You can tell?" Enigma raised a brow and continued walking forward.
This place was colorful and bright. The ground was strewn with colorful rocks. The walls were filled with ancient carvings. There was no ceiling and the sky was clearly visible.
They weren't in the Underground but another space. Like a Dungeon of sorts. The entrance to this place was under the turtle.
"Why is the turtle guarding this place? What's the secret here?" Sarah muttered as she walked forward and followed behind Varian.
"There's only one secret I can think of," Enigma joined her and pointed to the air. "Feel it,"
Sarah frowned and focused her senses. "…Sorry, I can't sense anything except that something's weird."
"The vitality and death," Varian, who was walking in front answered. "Try injuring yourself here."
"Huh?" Sarah was bewildered by his words but out of curiosity, she pointed her finger at her palm and slashed down.
The skin of her palm cut open. But the blood didn't come out. Sarah nodded her head in understanding and continued walking forward. But even after a few seconds, the injury too didn't start healing.
Only then did she realize this place was weirder than she thought.
'System, I can feel something similar to you. Don't tell me your twins are here? I don't want to raise y'all.' Varian clicked his tongue as he followed his instinct to that 'place'.
[The slivers are with the great powers. What Host is sensing here aren't the slivers. But they are related.]
'Oh?' Varian was curious but didn't ask more.
Thanks to his instinct, they easily picked the right route out of the dozens of passages, passed through a couple of rivers and avoided many dangerous traps.
Strictly speaking, this place was a maze. There were dozens of paths after every few miles.
Even though this place had no living or Undead creatures, it had many trap mechanisms that could still be triggered.
If you pick the wrong route, you could end up in a poisonous swamp that could kill a Sovereign in seconds. Or in an illusion that would fool even a peak level 9.
If it was anyone else, even the team of Prince Shak, they would've met with a bad end. Only celestial rankers could survive the wrong paths.
As they advanced forward slowly but confidently, Varian began to notice the dangers of the wrong paths.
The more he realized the danger, the more he felt that the makers of this maze were a bunch of psychos or geniuses.
'If it's intended to be a test, then it's impossible difficulty. If it's intended to be a security to fend off invaders, then you get 6/5.'
After a few minutes, they entered a room made of black and white walls and the answer came out.
"Um, what?"
First of all, the room didn't feel 'normal'. Just by standing there, it felt like they were facing something grand beyond comprehension.
Even though the room seemed millions of years old, it still felt fresh. As if it couldn't be something that could age.
But the mysterious atmosphere of the room was completely dwarfed by something else.
It was the thing quietly floating in the middle of the room. Two shining strand of green and ash.
Just by standing in its light, a deep pressure fell on the souls of Varian, Sarah and Enigma.
It was as if it was blasphemy to watch that thing with naked eyes.
'S-System, what is this?'
[The whim of a god long dead.]
