- Okay, so what do you all think that the next king may be? Nature? Earth? Ice?- Samukai started asking questions, trying to break the silence that followed Chaos during the further exploration of the labyrinth.

- Does it even matter? Major weakness will probably not work, and we will have to check everything else- Phantom replied slightly irritated.

- And that's why I'm asking. I mean what are other elements that are good, for let's say, ice? I think that earth will do fine if fire won't work

- You know Samukai, that's actually a great idea. If we will prepare, even a little, for the upcoming battle, I think that we will do better than the last time- Noktum suddenly joined the conversation.

Demon then stopped, making the rest of the team bump into him.

- What's now?- warrior asked with hands ready on the Izanagi.

- Another fork in the road

This room was similar to that one before, but this time it had ways going in every direction, making it look like someone just took a circle and made holes everywhere, leaving only a little place between one another. Samukai slowly started to hate those who designed this place. Why couldn't it be three ways, why must it always be something to complicate their lives?

- Which one now? If we will have to check every one of them then we might spend quite a lot of time there. I mean, they could lead to other parts of the maze, and who said that they will lead to the kings?

- I say that we go straight and if there will be a dead end, we either backtrack or use abbadon to quickly go to the way near us

- Huh, you are actually talking with sense. The construction sure seem to endure an abbadon so we might as well stick to your plan

- While it is an option, I think that there should be some kind of pattern in this maze. After all, those who built that needed to somehow move around this place. So there should be a way to find out which ways lead to the rooms with Exodus or something similar, and which are dead ends or lead to other rooms like this one- Noktum stated with his arms crossed and eye closed.

Shadow then came closer to the one of many entrances. He carefully checked all of the surrounding area, even the ground, to see if there was anything that could let them tell the ways apart.

- Samukai, do you mind lifting me up? I would like to check the upper part

Warrior joined to the magician and kneeled, letting Noktum to climb onto him. Samurai then stood up, noticing how light shadow truly was. Magician on the other hand started to search for more clues. It took him some time, but he has finally noticed that there was something curved in the wall above the entrance. He carefully wiped out the dust and let the writings once again see the light of day.

Above the entrance was a simple word, or rather a simple rune, ᛚ.

- And what do you see there?- Samukai asked with curiosity.

- Laguz, if I remember correctly it meant water

- A water you say, could be the attribute of the next king?

- Does it really matter? At least we know that there is something down this road- Phantom then said from the second end of the room- So come on, we have already wasted enough time

Chaos was once again in the dark corridors of the maze. Warrior made a guess that maybe all the corridors were devout of any light and pretty narrow to drive insane anyone who dared to go into their depth. The lack of feeling of time flow and nearly identical look of the entire sections of this labyrinth could only confirm his theory.

- Say, Phantom- Samukai started a conversation to make the travel slightly more pleasant- you are pretty strong ain't you? Doesn't this, you know, bore you? I mean, I couldn't imagine hardly getting any challenge

- Believe me or not, it kinda does. But that is the reason why, while I am on earth, I try to find someone who could be on my level or even surpass me. Chances are slight, but what else can I do? If everything else fail then I can always fight with some angels

- But you do kinda kill everyone we've met so far. You know, they might have been weak now, but after a certain amount of time, someone could rival you, I guess?

- I don't like waiting for my opponents. They can always call some higher angels. I still don't know why they treat them like some kind of last resort

- You know, I think that some dominion or what else do they have, casually wandering around the towns, might have been a little disturbing- Samukai then felt something wet under him- a puddle?

Warrior took a glance at a nearby wall and saw that one of them had a slight crack from which water was leaking.

- This won't flood us, right?

- What a mere water can do against me? Beside if it hasn't broken down yet, it probably won't for a few more years

- I only hope that you are right

As it turned out, samurai was partially right about the flood. The further they went into the corridor, the more water was filling it. Soon it was at the height of the warrior's hips.

- I swear, if this will make my swords rusty, I will find that guy who've build it and kill him

- Samukai, the water isn't even reaching them, so stop bitching

- No I won't. You spend all your time taking care of your swords, treating them as your own kids, and it all for nothing, 'cause some dungeon is flooding

Then Chaos heard something that none of them expected. It almost sounded like something was cracking.

- I'm not the only one who's heard that, am I?- Noktum asked, looking at the walls.

- Don't tell me it's the floor

- I don't know what it was, nor do I feel the need to stay there long enough to know

- I've told you to stop bitching!- demon then summoned his scythe and hit the floor with it, using his entire strength to do so- see? It hasn't collapsed, so could you two just move

Yet the sounds continued, and Samukai had a feeling that the ground under him was getting lower. His next step confirmed it, as water now reached his torso. As if it wasn't enough, loud rumbling combined with quite a strong quake, made most of the Chaos rather disturbed.

- We haven't pissed off any gods, have we?- samurai asked while curling down and covering his helmet with hands.

- I don't know if I had a chance to do so yet- Phantom answered, looking at the ceiling, on which cracks started appearing.

- I think that the pillar in the dome might've been related to that- Noktum added as he did the same as Samukai. Fenfir also tried to stay as low as it was possible for him.

Samurai noticed that the floor also started breaking. Soon it was seconds before collapsing.

- Brace yourselves!- warrior screamed.

- Oh shit- Phantom muttered as he felt the ground under him disappearing. The entire corridor collapsed and Chaos was falling into the pit which seemed to have water at its bottom.

Demon spread his wings, trying to ease the fall, yet it only slightly decreased the speed . While the water made the fall less painful, it wasn't deep enough to prevent more major injuries, and Phantom felt as few of his bones cracked, mostly those from wings.

- Is everyone okay?- Samukai asked, as he recovered the fastest from all of them, with only a few dents in the armor and one of his swords on the back broken.

- I shouldn't have a visible bone coming from my leg, right?- Noktum looked at the warrior, trying to get, but quickly regretting that decision due to lack of balance.

- Let me help you- samurai went closer to the magician and offered him a piggyback ride.

Meanwhile Fenfir was baring his teeth and growling at something or someone.

- What is it boy?- warrior asked as he tried to calm the hound. Yet, the wolf continued to growl, acting as if he hadn't heard the samurai.

Hell hound slowly started to advance to the source of his disturbance.

- You feel it too, hound?- Phantom asked as he felt a rather powerful aura coming from where the wolf was going.

- What do you feel? Artifact? Beast?

- I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem to be alive

- Leader- Noktum said as he looked up- the floor collapsed, right?

- Yes, why?

- Then why is it in perfect state?- Magician then pointed up.

The rest of Chaos followed his finger and saw that the floor indeed looked as if it never broke down.

- What in the actual fuck?- demon couldn't believe what his eyes has shown him.

- And the worst thing is, this isn't an illusion magic- the response from the shadow made Samukai slightly shiver- it doesn't even feel like magic at all

- I don't what you think about this, but I'm saying that we should get out of there right now

Hell hound seemed to understand what warrior had in mind and already stood on the rocky shore, awaiting the rest of the team.

Soon everyone followed him and now the wolf was leading the way. It didn't take him long before finding an entrance to what could've been called a cave. The cave was dark blue inside and filled with many light blue crystals that slightly shone in the darkness.

- Say Noktum, after we get out of there, could you blow this up?

- Let me guess, revenge for the blade?

- Damn right you are!

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

- I don't get it. Why is just a normal blade so important to you?- Phantom asked, trying to understand the motivation of samurai.

- It's not just some blade, it's my blade

- And what makes it different from the rest?

- There is something called sentiment, you know?

- A sentiment...Is it also a trait of a good leader?

Samukai was quite shocked by that question. He didn't expect demon to ask him about being a good leader.

- Well, I can't tell you per se, but I guess it might be? Like many feelings and emotions, all that matters how it is being shown or used

- Hmph, I will make sure to remember that. After all, I can't let myself be worse. How would that make me look after all

The cave's ground started to slowly turn into stairs leading up. Halfway through the way, the blue color of the cave changed into the yellowish shade that was familiar with the maze.

Chaos's surroundings were once again composed of those narrow corridors that were devoid of any light. Those hallways led them to the giant room, in which the only thing that saved it from being empty were grand metal doors.

Warrior and wolf started pushing on the doors, opening them and discovering what they hide from the world.

Inside was an equally big room that could fit hundreds of men, with an enormous mechanism that none of them had ever seen. It looked like a giant sphere made of many copper rings, most of them covered in rust. Those rings had carved symbols and words in a language that none from Chaos could understand. Inside the sphere rested a small globe that seemed to hide something in itself. The entire structure was held on many axises that formed a globe. The main axis then connected with a giant stone block that was full of veins like carvings that linked themselves to many holes that looked like those from the red room.

- Do any of you have an idea what this might be?- Samukai asked, having negative feelings about this room.

- The only thing that this reminds me of are thrones. It only lacks eyes and doesn't want to kill me, but overall it's a throne- Phantom said as he tried to move the rings by using force.

Warrior then took his time to take a better lock at the stone block. Those carvings made him uneasy, but at the same time intrigued him. He then found a carving that looked like something bigger could be placed there. Something like a book for example.

- I think you should see that- samurai called to the demon.

- I'm a little busy!- Phantasm shouted, still trying to budge the rings, even for an inch.

- That's something more important

Demon slithered to the warrior and saw what the samurai was talking about.

- You took that one book, right?

- Yes, do you think that it might belong there?

- Let's try, we have nothing to lose- warrior then called over to the magician- Noktum! Hand me over that bag. Shadow did as he was told and the demon was now searching for the Necronomicon. After finding it, he placed it down.

Everyone could've sworn that they heard a faint screech coming from the book. The said book opened by itself. They were quite shocked and when it seemed like that would've been all, rings slowly started rotating. With each spin they gained more and more momentum, with more of the symbols glowing.

- What is happening?- Samukai asked, not fully understanding what was truly going on. Truth to be told, no one from Chaos has truly known what is happening right now.

Phantom could only guess that it had to do something with the pharaoh. And there was one way to make sure of that.

Demon concentrated to see once again that alien energy. It took him a while, but when the entire world turned gray, he saw what he wanted. Chaos flowing from the book through the veins like carvings to the sphere. The color of the energy still messed with his head, but at the same time it was mesmerizing. He couldn't took his eyes from this sight.

There was still one question left. Why was all of this happening? Why did chaos make this mechanism move? Besides, the amount of that energy was growing at an alarming rate, and yet the pharaoh seemed to not react. Did he want the demon to do something more?

- Noktum, hand me the crystals- demon demanded.

Magician took both artifacts from the bag and gave them to him.

Phantom then put them in the nearest holes he could find. This gave rings even more momentum and soon chaos filled the entire room.

That's quite the work you did there Pharaoh's voice echoed in his mind.

Well, I promised to spread chaos and you promised me power. It's time to complete the deal

Oh, you really think this is all? Believe me, you have only started to do your part of the deal

What!? You bastard, you didn't say how much you wanted. You will either give me at least part of the power you promised me, or will have to find someone else to your dirty work

Doing dirty work? You're one to talk, but worry not. Just come to the book and I will give you a small reward

Phantom did as pharaoh told him, hoping that this reward will be suitable for the work he did.

He carefully approached the book, not knowing what to expect. He placed one of his six hands on the page and tried to read anything, hoping that it would give him the reward that pharaoh spoke of. Yet when he tried to read, he noticed that something was wrong. Very wrong. The words and letters seemed to, no, they were moving. The cluster of letters started to climb and coil onto his hand just like a snake coils onto the tree branch.

Demon was shocked to say at least, but even more words started to coil around him, coming out from the book. Soon the demon's skin was full of black letters that were still moving, making space for even more coming.

Samukai then retreated with Noktum still on his back and Fenfir was growling at the mechanism, as if trying to scare it and stop whatever it was doing.

Phantom stood still with his eyes black, not reacting to anything around him. Yet inside his mind he saw many colors appearing and disappearing quicker than he could see them all. When he finally regained his consciousness, or when thought he did so, demon saw that he was somewhere completely alien to him.

It was no longer a room with a mechanism, but something that resembled the dessert. The sky was covered by gray clouds that didn't let even a single ray of sunlight pass through. When Phantom turned around to have a better understanding of his surroundings, he couldn't believe what his eyes showed him.

Behind him stood a building taller than anything he had ever seen in his entire life. Their tops vanished in the thick veil of the clouds. The weirdest thing about those towers was that they were made of nothing, but glass and steel. His mind couldn't comprehend how anyone was able to build structures so big with only those two materials. The other interesting thing was the pharaoh's aura that seemed to come from everywhere in this place.

- Come pharaoh, come and grant me power- demon has called to clouds above him.

- And what is the power that you seek?- pharaoh's voice appeared from the left side of Phantom.

- Grant me anything that you can

- Then I shall grant a sight for that which exists between realities, you don't mind, do you?

- What sight? I can already see chaos. Teach me some spell or something

- No, I shall give you something much, much better than that- Pharaoh then touched the demon head and mumbled something in a language that the demon had never heard before. Phantom felt a sting but other than that, nothing seemed to change. He gently massaged the place which stinged but couldn’t do anything about it. It stopped after a longer while.

- So where is my power? What is it?- demon asked, looking at the Pharaoh who just grinned. He only pointed at the far building that rose over the mountains of sand, Then the demon noticed something that he probably shouldn’t have seen. Over the building was something. Or were? Demon couldn’t tell. All that he saw were a bunch of great tentacles coming from the dark clouds. They were slowly moving, no passing though the buildings as if they weren’t even there. Finally he saw a glimpse of what probably was the creature's body. He could only make out an eye before turning away from the sheer headache that it gave him.

- What is that?!

-This is a sight beyond all sights allowing you to gaze upon those who shouldn’t be seen . And those beings have existed far longer than your fragile minds can imagine. For they are far beyond anything that you had ever met

- Far beyond anything...? Never mind that, what about the crystals? The king said something about the power. What did he mean by that?

- Ah, you see, those crystals have many traits that do make them useful. One of them is them being a great storage of enormous chaos energy, which will be needed in my further gifts for you- pharaoh then chuckled- of course, if you will be strong enough to handle them

- What do you mean by that?- demon asked, but the Pharaoh was no longer there- I demand an answer, Pharaoh!

Back with the Chaos, Samukai was busy waving his hands before the Phantom's eyes. Noktum was now laying on the ground, his leg nearly healed.

- He's doing those black eyes again- warrior called to the magician.

- I would rather not come close to that thing, I get a weird feeling about it

- I too, but I think that we should get him away from it- samurai was now shaking the demon, trying to get him out of this trance that he was in. Yet before he was able to even do something, some kind of force threw him across the room, making him crash into the Noktum.

- Could you get off me?

- Oh, sure

- So what do we do?

- I have no idea. Maybe you could help me?

Noktum stood up and followed Samukai. Warrior stood from the right of the demon and Noktum from the left.

- Grab his wing and try to pull him away

- Got it

When both of them touched the wings, they felt like they'd been hit with lightning. They fell to the ground, with an image of a desert with weird buildings in mind. Yet that image lasted only a few seconds, before they regained consciousness.

- That didn't work- shadow said, still a little dizzy from the shock.

- Hey Fenfir! Be a good hound and take him away from it

But before the hound was able to drag the demon away, Phantom returned to them. It took him a while to get a proper understanding of where he was now, but after a few seconds he slithered away from the mechanism.

- You fine now?- samurai asked.

- As fine as ever, now where do we go from there? I mean I can try to find a corridor, but I don't know how well this room will take it

- I guess it is our only way out, so give it all you got

Phantom was preparing abbadon even before the warrior ended his sentence. First abbadon didn't find anything. Neither did second, third, even fourth.

While the demon was busy firing spells, Noktum took spell books from the bag and started to search for something in them. This caught the attention of Samukai.

- What are you doing?

- Looking for any teleportation spell. As for now, nothing

- Alright then- warrior then went to the mechanism and took the crystals with him. Mechanism stopped immediately. And when he did, another quake shook the room.

- Samukai what did you do?!- Noktum asked, covering his head.

- I don't know, but I am starting to think that this place hates us- warrior said as he glanced at the ceiling, on which cracks started making something akin to a spiderweb.

When parts of the ceiling started falling down, shadow casted a barrier to protect himself, warrior dodged the chunks of the rocks with grace, and Fenfir casually took three massive chunks on himself, not even showing that he felt a hit. Phantom simply casted abbadon to destroy any rock that dared to go near him.

- Seriously, that's a second quake in such a short time, and I don't remember pissing Gaia off. I swear that this world holds a grudge against me- demon commented as the quake finally stopped.

- At least we can somehow get out, but how will we take Fenfir with us?

- Noktum, can you cast a barricade? The simple one, not spherical

- Yes, but what about it?

- It's simple, just make some kind of platform with them

- I must admit, that might be a good idea- warrior complimented the demon.

- Of course it is, after all it's mine

Phantasm then casted aspect of the sky: free bird and flew up to see if there is any corridor to even traverse through. It did appear to be one, but it was hard to say where it could lead to.

Noktum meanwhile casted as many barricades as he could, making something that looked like stairs. First hound jumped onto them and joined the demon upstairs. After him samurai with the grace of a cat walked on the path of light red, square like barricades. At last shadow followed the rest and the spells broke.

- Well then, shall we get going?- samurai asked, ready to get out of the maze as soon as possible- I get the feeling that the longer we stay here, the more quakes will appear

- With our luck so far, I say that we get at least three more of those before we find an exit- Noktum added as he followed the demon, which started to traverse through the hall.

It didn't take long before the cold breeze hit them. Warrior rushed, following it, hoping that it would led them out of this place. When he saw that corridor was becoming brighter with each step he took, he could've called himself the happiest alive. Or rather, the happiest man no longer alive.

After he was finally outside, he noticed that the exit from the maze was pretty much a normal cave. But a change of surroundings, from the tiny halls to something that looked like a grassland close to the woods, basking in the moonlight, was a welcome one. Warrior did a little spin, spread his arms wide open and fell flat to the ground as trying to hug it.

Soon the rest of Chaos joined him, but samurai still remained on the ground.

- I've never thought that I will miss the surface so much! There is no way in hell that I will comeback to that maze any time soon

- Yes, a little break from this would be nice- Noktum agreed as he and Fenfir sat down near the warrior. Phantom went a little further and found another stone road that probably led to the next king.

- I say that we spend night here and for the king at the very sunrise

- Seems good to me- Samukai gave the demon a thumbs up.

- Well then, get yourself ready, 'cause I'm sure that this battle will be harder than the previous one- demon said as he sat down close to his team leaning against the hounds fur, relaxing and awaiting the upcoming challenge.