Chapter 583: Core Access Card
52nd Layer, Tower of Mirrors, Miracle City.
At that moment, Marvin and Arayn finally arrived at the 52nd layer of the Tower and soon noticed the endless ocean ahead of them.
After looking around, they realized they had reached the bottom of a cliff, and the shoreline they were standing on was the edge of the vast ocean. The water was dark and choppy, and waves crashing against the rocks echoed throughout the cavern.
Marvin felt a sense of trepidation as he took in sight. He had heard stories of dangerous sea creatures and treacherous currents in this 52nd layer and grew more vigilant. Arayn, however, seemed unfazed by the ominous atmosphere. She knew they had come much closer to the destined place and was determined to press on.
As they moved along the shoreline, Marvin and Arayn noticed a small boat moored nearby. The boat was made of dark wood and had a single sail. Without hesitation, they climbed aboard and set sail.
The wind was strong, and the boat was pushed forward rapidly. Marvin struggled to keep the boat steady as they passed through turbulent waters and battled against fierce winds.
On the other hand, Arayn seemed to enjoy the adventure and even sometimes made hoots to show her excitement.
"How many hours has it been since we came into this tower?" Marvin asked as he glanced around the endless seawater.
"It shouldn't be more than 3 hours. Well, we are already about to reach our destination." While speaking, Arayn turned her owl head towards the right side and added.
"There! It's the only way to enter my temple."
At that moment, Marvin also turned to the right and squinted his eyes. Strange dark clouds appeared around that area and let out thundering roars and flashes of lightning all over the place.
"Why do I see some sort of whirlpool over there? Should we move away?" Marvin asked stiffly.
"No. Proceed further." Arayn responded and quietly gripped Marvin's shoulder with her claw-like legs.
As the boat drew closer, the wind started to blow faster and even pulled it toward the center of the whirlpool.
Simultaneously, flashes of lightning came from above and stuck the surrounding waters. Marvin even saw a few sharks and jellyfish-like marine creatures electrocuted by the lightning!
He instantly knew what to do next. So, he moved his hand up and started writing a few strange symbols in thin air.
"Rune of Protection." He muttered.
A moment later, the mysterious symbols started to glow in reddish light, creating a force-field-like structure around the boat.
Meanwhile, Arayn turned her head toward Marvin and asked.
"You know about Astial language?"
"Astial? I don't know what language it is, but I found the strange inscription spells in one of the ruins I explored a few decades ago. Thanks to my unique class, I can cast some spells without understanding-" While speaking, he suddenly noticed a vague shadow of a horse-like figure within the dark clouds and squinted his eyes.
"What is that?" He couldn't help but get startled inside. At that moment, he noticed that the whirlpool had pulled the boat and made the boat circle non-stop.
"That's one of the guardian spirits of this Dungeon." Arayn flapped her wings and made a strange hood.
A second later, the white horse with wings and a strange rainbow horn on its forehead descended from the dark clouds and soon hovered a few feet above the water.
As it did, the lightning flashes also started to reduce and soon disappeared altogether. Following that, the whirlpool also calmed down and made the whole sea appear calm.
"U-Unicorn!" Marvin couldn't help but stare at the magnificent creature in amazement. Its long, slender legs soon stepped on the water's surface and started walking towards them, graceful movements like a dance. Its coat shimmered in the sunlight, a rainbow of colors that seemed to shift and change with every step.
Its gaze swept past Marvin and soon landed on the black owl.
Then, it lowered its head and spoke in a strange ancient rune language.
"May I know the reason for your arrival, Lady *******?"
"Oh? It seems someone still hasn't forgotten about me yet. Well, I came here to get the core access card from you." Arayn blinked her eyes and added.
"I hope you won't try to test my patience, right?" Even though no expression appeared on the owl's face, the white Unicorn stepped back subconsciously and asked stiffly.
"How did you know I have the 'Core Access Card,' My Lady?"
Suddenly, Arayn sharpened its eyes and spoke again.
"What did I say earlier? Don't test my patience; otherwise, this world will witness my wrath."
"But the successor hasn't even been born yet-" The Unicorn abruptly stopped talking, made a strange spatial crack through its wisdom power, and soon took out a unique platinum card with its mouth.
"It seems you now understand your position. Even if you are a being with power equal to a demi-god, you are still far weaker than me." Arayn said proudly and shook her head before asking.
"And, what's your name? You should be one of the Mirror Lord's pets, right?"
"Indeed. It's a great honor for you to remember our Mirror Lord, My Lady. Unfortunately, he was killed during the Great War of Chaos and lost his divine throne. At the same time, the Elder Plane completely consumed his divine kingdom, leaving all the remaining souls at the mercy of all the lawful faction gods. Some were chosen to follow other gods, while many entered the Eternal River of Life to reach eternal slumber."
"But what are you doing in this Tower of Mirrors? Moreover, why does this Tower looks almost similar to Nathen's Divine Kingdom?" That was the question even Arayn couldn't comprehend.
'These Towers' origin is even more mysterious than the Dungeons. Who created this Tower?' The normal Dungeon she had adventured in the past was the creation of World Will or Multiple World's Will. But these unique Towers seemed to be created by something else. The endless monster spawn was completely illogical.
What shocked her more was that the souls of the monsters or even this Unicorn seemed to be protected by some higher force and constantly manipulating them like puppets.
"I'm more shocked by this broken immortality power. Unlike the immortality you would gain by making some agreement with the World's Will, this one is completely different. Even a High-Rank God can't kill you by any means, right?"
"Yes, My Lady. Even I don't know how I became a Guardian. I only remembered talking to a strange black shadow and then blanking out. Before I knew it, I suddenly found myself standing in this strange Tower. Although I tried to get out multiple times, some invisible force stopped me from leaving this place." The Unicorn deliberated for a moment and revealed interesting news.
"The one who made these towers seemed to have been planning this for a long time. I think Abium might be this guy's pawn to confuse others about the towers' origin. Although his Miracle Coin might have played a crucial role in creating these towers, we all know these things can't be created overnight."
Meanwhile, Arayn went silent for a moment and spoke.
"That's indeed interesting news. This guy might be related to the one who put a shackle on mortals' souls. Anyway, send us out of this Tower. I have a lot of work to do."
The Unicorn made a loud neigh while approving and released a radiant light from its rainbow horn.
A moment later, Marvin and Anangu felt that the surroundings started to change and were soon replaced with an entirely new scene.
