Azekiel understood what Lia was trying to say. It was like a double-edged sword. It could be beneficial for them, making their team stronger. At the same time, it could also make them weaker by hurting Raphael.
In any case, it was something that they couldn't be hasty with, especially with the fragmented memories of Raphael.
Ultimately, it was decided that they weren't going to force anything. For now, the focus was on the task at hand, which was to find the Stone of Time. After they had the stone that could control the time, which could give them a safety net, they could attempt this.
After finally having a plan of action, Azekiel asked Raphael to carry them to their destination. Since Raphael could touch him, it was an easier mode of travel. Especially since it was his idea.
Raphael also didn't mind it. The faster they reached their destination, the more time they were going to have.
Raphael grabbed the right hand of Azekiel with his left. He grabbed the left hand of Lia with his right. He held their hands firmly since a single fall could mean their death, especially Azekiel's.
"Are you ready?" he asked as two black wings spread behind his back.
In the back, the young princess looked at Azekiel weirdly. She was sure that he was a mad man. Throughout the time, he had been talking to a tree.
Since she couldn't see Raphael, all she saw was the tree that was behind Raphael. She further saw Azekiel raise his right hand.
"I'm ready."
Raphael started rising in the air, holding onto Azekiel and Lia.
The young princess came out of her hiding. She saw Azekiel flying away, which made her a hundred percent sure that Azekiel was a dark Mage.
As Azekiel disappeared into the distance, the young princess walked to the map that Azekiel had carved on the ground.
She observed the things Azekiel had drawn. Looking at the map, she couldn't find much since the map was just a bunch of circles and crosses. However, she had heard Azekiel speak as well. She knew where he was going. Moreover, the direction he flew at also confirmed her conjunction.
****
The Tomb of Gods... The Entire Third Floor was called the Tomb of Gods. It was supposed to be a graveyard of the Gods. It was said to be the place where the Gods were buried. However, only a few people knew that there was more to it.
The Tomb of Gods had a special Temple inside it, which encompassed an entire world on the inside. The Special World inside the Temple was a vast world that had many strange and bizarre places like the Heavenly Prison and the Eternal Rainstorm Forest.
However, while it had some bizarre places, what was more bizarre was that there also existed an ordinary Empire in a place like that. It was normal for a place as strange as the Tomb of Gods to have bizarre sites. However, having an ordinary Empire with humans was what stood out the most.
However, no one knew why that was the case. No one knew what mysteries laid beneath the surface of the Temple, including Azekiel.
All he knew was where he needed to go and what he needed to find.
The Empire covered a vast amount of land. From the map, Azekiel could only find one Empire in the entire world. Most of the cities in the Empire were occupied by humans, except one... The city which was right on the border of the Empire... The city of Abaddon.
It was a city that had long been abandoned, and not a single person dared to enter the city. It was said that the city was cursed. Whoever entered the city never came out alive. Even the Empire didn't dare send anyone into the city.
There were also some rumors that the city was the domain of Demons, who were forever cursed to stay there.
It was the city where Raphael was going.
*****
In another place, the young Princess found her horse outside the forest. Getting on the back of the horse, she went back to the Royal Capital to inform her father about what she saw.
****
A young lady had already reached the entrance of the city of Abaddon. A peculiar mark graced the forehead of the lady. Her eyes remained with focus, only momentarily gaining their focus before losing it again.
From inside the city, many screeching noises could be heard. The strange noises could easily send chills down the spine of people. However, Lenora didn't seem to fear.
She stepped closer to the City, soon entering. As soon as Lenora entered the city, the screeching intensified.
A three-meter-wide formation circle appeared around Lenora with her at the center. From the formation circle, thousands of black vines came out, shooting straight to her.
Lenora raised her hand. A sword made purely of energy appeared in her hands which she used to slice the scary vines. However, no matter what she did, she couldn't get rid of them. The more she cut, the more they came. Vines even kept multiplying.
Lenora realized that she couldn't keep going on like this. She needed to get out of the formation. She jumped; however, before she could even rise a few meters, a vine grabbed her feet, pulling her back to the ground.
Another black vine came, wrapping the wrist of Lenora, making her unable to even use the sword. Three more vines wrapped her left arm and her other leg.
More and more vines kept wrapping around Leonora, trapping her more and more with each passing second.
The ground under Lenora's feet also turned pitch black, slowly pulling her inside the ground. It was as if the ground around her had turned to quicksand. Her body kept entering the ground, being pulled by the vines.
She couldn't even move her hands to fight back. If it was one or two vines, she could've broken them, but there were hundreds of vines wrapped around her. Moreover, each of the vines had the strength of the Statues that were at the entrance of the Temple.
*****
Three hours later, Raphael also reached the city of Abaddon.
He landed just outside the entrance of the City. He could've flown straight inside, but the strange screeches made him stop. It was as if they were warning them to not enter the place.
"The city of Abaddon... On the map, this place is marked as the Tomb of Gods. That would mean that this is the real tomb... The place where real gods are buried... If it's where Gods are buried, it's evident that this place will have some strict safety so no one can desecrate the Tomb of Gods..."
