Li Yue narrowed her eyes slightly. She gently raised her left hand, preparing for battle. The empty corridor remained silent for a while, and just as everyone began to breathe a sigh of relief, the violent sound of earth being torn apart erupted from all sides.
Li Yue scanned her surroundings. She felt no presence of life. She focused her senses on the source of the commotion, but aside from the noise made by these unknown creatures, she couldn't detect any living beings.
Dead things?
This is a bit troublesome. Dead things aren't exactly my forte...
Li Yue let out a sigh and stepped out of the protective magic circle Sharon had just drawn. As she moved forward, she slightly opened her blood-red eyes, which looked as though they might weep blood. Her Death Abyss immediately surged out, covering the earthen walls.
What on earth is all this... I didn't come here for a dungeon crawl...
In an instant, she suddenly sensed something she had previously overlooked—skeletal remains buried deep within the soil. They had long been dead, yet somehow, despite being inanimate objects, they were being driven to fight.
“Let’s go. They won’t be able to crawl out,” Li Yue said calmly. She quickened her pace, walking at the front and moving rapidly toward the direction she sensed.
“What are these things?”
“Likely the remains of people who died a long time ago. I’m just not sure why they can still move.”
Occasional creaking and scratching sounds echoed from within the walls, as if the skeletons were trying to break through the seal of the Death Abyss. As they moved forward, Mende marveled at Li Yue's God's remains. This black tide could scout, attack, defend... and likely possessed many other abilities they were yet to discover.
This was definitely the core part of a powerful deity. Although he couldn't identify which one, it was undoubtedly a formidable object. Could such a thing truly exist without altering a human’s perception, personality, or other internal aspects?
All I kept was a hand bone, and yet I’ve been so timid. Did this lady hesitate before choosing this piece of God's remains? Perhaps she did, but she must have made her decision very quickly. What does she need this God's remains for? Power? No, that doesn't seem like her...
“We’re here.” Li Yue stopped. Before them was a vast expanse of wall. If they had been lost in a labyrinth, they would have turned back immediately, for this looked exactly like every other dead end—a solid wall of stone covered in a layer of dirt.
Li Yue stepped forward and tapped on it. Behind the thick wall, there seemed to be a small room. Her Death Abyss slowly permeated the surface, dissolving the locking magic.
Sharon felt a bit useless. She was dejected; although she was nervous, she felt an inexplicable sense of loss.
“It’s fine. I knew from the start that you two wouldn't be much help,” Li Yue said without looking back, her hand resting on the wall as her eyes opened slightly. Her attention wasn't on the two behind her, but she was still very sensitive to their emotions.
Perhaps it was because she lacked a certain emotional depth herself that her perception of others' feelings was so acute. At least, that was what Li Yue believed. It certainly wasn't because she was some kind of empathetic person... after all, no one would call a mind reader empathetic.
“To be honest, I also thought you might be better off alone. After all, we can’t even see the threshold of becoming a Great Mage yet. That’s why we were so anxious to graduate,” Sharon said with a bitter smile.
“Just think of it as training. If you ever have to protect a town one day, you’ll have to face many things,” Li Yue recalled. “All sorts of emergencies, the schemes of conspirators, things that could completely overturn your combat capabilities...”
She felt a pang in her heart.
“Besides, I don’t actually like being alone that much...” Li Yue thought for a moment. “Even if you might be dead weight, having two people along gives me a strange sense of security.”
Li Yue smiled, and the uncomfortable feeling in Sharon's heart eased significantly. She suddenly felt that this powerful girl shared a subtle, inexplicable similarity with her.
The reason I feel this way is ultimately because of a fear of loneliness, isn't it? Even though I've lived alone for so long, I've only grown used to it. I haven't actually adapted. Is it because I've experienced what it's like to have company that I can no longer handle the solitude...
Before she could find an answer, the dirt wall ahead disintegrated. A bronze door appeared before them. It felt like something caught between illusion and reality, a very strange sensation.
Li Yue reached out and pushed the door open. Before them was a massive hall. The walls and vessels inside were all made of bronze. On various stone tables lay all sorts of items, decayed beyond recognition.
Had this place already rotted to this extent before I found it... Li Yue remained silent for a long time. In the center of the hall sat a coffin, which seemed to hold something inside.
God's remains... and God's remains placed inside a coffin at that. This is the first time I've seen such a well behaved piece of God's remains. Still, the necessary seals must be applied. Those skeletons in the walls were likely influenced by it.
Necromancy? It doesn't feel like it, though. It’s different from the descriptions in the books... She pondered for a while before slowly approaching the coffin alone.
Mende and Sharon stayed where they were. They didn't dare to step forward blindly; at a time like this, they needed to give Li Yue space to fight.
Li Yue recalled the scene when she absorbed the Death Abyss—a frozen sea of ice above a bottomless black chasm, filled with the wails of countless souls, extreme hostility mixed with extreme kindness, a mess of incredibly complex emotions, as if the feelings of countless dead had been kneaded together.
The sensation before her now wasn't nearly as eerie or complex. In fact, it was almost too calm. To be safe, she let the black and red Death Abyss wrap around her hands like a pair of thin gloves and sleeves.
This was a coffin made of pure wood. It was surprising that it hadn't rotted after all these years; it must have been treated with some special process, Li Yue thought.
She reached toward the coffin, preparing to lift the lid.
Suddenly, with a loud bang, a decayed hand that was nothing but bone grabbed her wrist. Sharon let out a sharp cry of alarm. Li Yue's brow furrowed. In that instant, she felt a sensation that was both familiar and strange.
Vitality... I’ve always been the one draining others' vitality. This time... this thing is actually draining mine.
Rate on N.U.
