Eren found himself inside what looked like a castle.
After entering the space tunnel, he reached this location. He couldn't see the castle's exterior because he had been summoned right inside its giant hall. And he had found it impossible to get outside. This is even though the hall seemed to have multiple entrances and exits as well as glass windows that let the starlight in.
The giant windows were at least 50 meters tall. Their premium-looking curtains were the same size. The curtains weren't drawn completely. As a result, the hall had a soft ambiance that added to its elegant vibe.
The interior of the castle was a fine balance between sophistication and lavishness. The oddly shaped pillar had golden detailing. There were white stone statues of many stallions with their front limbs raised in the air. It looked as if these stone statues would stomp the ground and charge out of the hall at any time they wanted to.
There was a long blue carpet spread in the middle of the hall that stretched across the entire length of the hall. Its one end led to the inaccessible entrance while its other end led to the front of the hall which had stairs.
The stairs would separate from each other after a certain height to lead in two separate directions. They would circle back and intersect with one another at galleries located at a certain altitude from each other.
The hall's ceiling was high enough for Eren to take a stable flight with his Wind-Fire Wings. The air inside the hall was stale as if nobody had visited or lived in this castle for a long time.
The entire castle was enchanted to withstand the presence and pressure of high-ranking entities. It is unlikely that participants would cause damage to this place in any way even if their restrictions were lifted.
Step. Step. Step.
Eren started walking around the hall to see if he could find something of interest. He wasn't sure of the exact time but he could feel that it had been an hour since he had entered the hall. It was not the butcher's style to spend his time idly.
Eren started exploring the hall's nooks and crannies. He could feel that this was Sage's abode that he had been summoned to. After all, he had seen how Eliza lived despite centuries of isolation from the real world.
The place didn't have the same haunting touch as Eliza's. However, the feelings he received just by being inside both castles were the same.
"That's right. It's my home. Or more correctly, it used to be... when I lived here."
Eren's suspicions were confirmed by someone. The latter turned around and looked at the front of the hall. A figure had appeared at the intersection of stairs that served as the gallery.
Nira Nightshade.
The castle was owned by the seductive night elf. She had light blue skin and light blonde hair. Naturally, her eyes glowed with crimson radiance, as if she had been born for nighttime hunting.
Nira Nightshade was seen carrying a quiver on her back with a bunch of arrows in it. There was a bow in her left hand which would disappear from her hand and materialize in its previous position in the next moment.
Nira Nightshade had long ears that poked out of her raised cape over her head. She had a sharp oval face, a relatively small nose, and bluish ivory lips.
This Sage was as seductive as she was mysterious. Her prominent bust, slim waistline, and shapely posterior gave her an hourglass figure.
Despite her alluring looks, Nira managed to maintain a certain elegance about her. An elegance that was mixed with a lethal edge only a Sage could manage to project. Nobody would dare to notice her physical features when she was staring at them right in their eyes.
Nira stood casually on the ledge, looking down at Eren. If one looked really carefully at her, they would be able to see things through her. Her appearance was like an apparition from a live array-based communication call, only more intimidating and real.
Ever since he met Eliza, Eren would start drawing comparisons between her and his opponents or some of the prominent figures he would meet. This was the kind of power scale his subconscious had created for itself to perceive the threat level of his enemies or potential enemies.
Eren's subconscious judged that Nira Nightshade was not as much of a threat to him as Eliza was. Still, he didn't think this was a comfortable conclusion for him.
Nira was still a Sage- an entity that had risen further than him as a ranker, far beyond him in the past and current timeline. She could hurt him at any time she wanted to. This was true even if what he was facing was nothing but a vestige of her soul. He still kneeled where he stood and bowed his head to offer his respects to the Sage.
"It's an honor to be graced with your presence, Sage Nira Nightshade. My name is Eren Elijah Idril. I was wondering where the rest of the participants were..."
Eren asked about the participants who were supposed to be present with him. After all, the other teams had their representativesâ€" someone who had been sent inside to win rewards for the entire group.
However, for some reason, Eren couldn't find any of them here with him. He would rather face multiple opponents at the same time than get surprised by the sudden appearance of unknown participants.
Nira chuckled and waved her hand as if swatting a fly before commenting.
"Most of them were kicked out by me as soon as they entered the tunnel. The remaining ones are going through... let's say preliminary assessment.
You are the only one among them who doesn't need to go through such an assessment. I wanted to see you personally as soon as you entered through the spatial tunnel. So I kept you here."
