Domeron noticed the strangeness with which Red was speaking and frowned. “What is this place exactly?”
“The less we speak about it, the better.” Red said. “There are people listening.”
Over all these years, the youth never forgot the warning the hawk gave him. The Empire had clairvoyants under their command that could read the threads of fate and divine information without having to hear it or read it themselves. He was given a protection against that kind of divination and although he didn’t know if it was ever called upon, the youth would rather be safe in the knowledge he had that to defend himself against such attempts.
The same, however, couldn’t be said of his companions. This was why Red never spoke about the inheritance or his underground origins to any of them, even if they suspected it themselves.
Domeron looked confused for a second, before his expression turned into one of realization. “I understand. Do you think it’s safe?”
Red hesitated. “… No, it’s not safe. There’s no way it could ever be safe, which is why we should make a decision on how to proceed once we get closer.”
The swordsman nodded. “You know this place better than me, so I will leave this decision up to you.”
‘There’s nothing I could do that would prepare us for what could be waiting for us.’
The youth left these words unsaid.
Before departing, Red replaced his tattered clothing with whatever remained behind in his bag, which wasn’t much. He also stored the pieces of the formation bone to study for later, interested in examining the necromantic runes carved on its surface.
Finally, a minute later, he led the way forward towards the cave with Domeron at his side.
His steps and countenance lacked much of his earlier confidence as they continued their trek. Every step brought him closer to that place, and although the forest was changed and this was the first time he visited the place in seven years, he could still recognize and retrace the path he made back then.
The pure white rabbit bathed by the moonlight and the owl that snatched it from the ground, the spot where he saw the smoke trail of a campfire, the place where he met Narcha, Eiwin and Rog for the first time before collapsing from exhaustion. It was all so long ago.
Memories Red never paid too much attention too, yet were now resurfacing with surprising clarity in his mind. He felt nervous and, in a rare occurrence, was second guessing himself after making a decision.
“I will warn you if I sense something out of the ordinary.” Aurelia said, as if sensing the turbulence in his mind.
The youth frowned and kept walking. If Domeron noticed anything out of the ordinary with him, he didn’t mention it, and followed behind him in silence and with a focused expression.
Soon enough, the sea of bones they were threading upon dwindled, revealing the forest floor once more. Around the same time, the sound of the rushing river reached their ears.
Red paused at this juncture. “We are close.”
Domeron looked over at him. “Where is this place?”
“Along the riverside. The path is narrow, and it’s very well hidden…” he hesitated. “I also don’t know what we will find there.”
The swordsman smiled. “That’s par for the course. Just lead the way, and I will watch your back with my life. This, I promise you.”
Red was taken aback by these words. Still, he nodded to Domeron and continued to walk.
From that point forward, the youth could already count how many steps it would take them to reach the cave. There was still no sign of the necromancer and his group anywhere, but this, he felt, was not their biggest concern at the moment.
They headed towards the riverside, determined to follow it towards their destination. The dead forest ended here, the death not affecting any of the vegetation on the other side of the river. In some ways, this large water body seemed to serve as the border between two completely different worlds in which life and death flourished.
For some reason, it seemed like the crimson mist had been uncapable of extending its absorption powers beyond the river. It was uncertain if this was because it simply did not have time to, or if there was something about the body of water that stopped the death from spreading.
Red looked at the lush thicket across the river with some longing, but he forced his gaze away.
The way forward quickly became precarious, as this section of the river cut across a great chain of hills. The duo was forced to climb steep and unsteady ground, though at the very least there was no living vegetation to further hinder their steps.
Before long, the sight Red was anticipating revealed itself to them as they crested a small slope.
A small hill, with a cliff side facing the flowing river. There was nothing special about it, even before having its greenery stripped away by the death swallowing this place. However, no one could imagine beneath this place was the entrance to another world.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
From this angle, the youth couldn’t see if the supposed entrance was still there. However, he showed visible hesitation as soon as this place came into view, which clued Domeron to the fact that they had arrived at their destination.
“Is there something on that hill?” he asked.
Red nodded. “An entrance… A cave. I don’t know if it’s still there.”
“There’s nothing out of the ordinary that I can see. No footprints, no natural phenomenon… Nothing at all.” Domeron frowned. “Are you sure the necromancer came through here?”
“I am… Not sure.” The youth shook his head.
There was always the possibility there was yet another strange place in this dead section of the forest where the necromancer and his group were headed to, no matter how slim it was. Yet, knowing what Red knew, how could this place not be involved? How could he not check here first?
If anything, he would be happy if he found nothing at all.
“I sense no gathering of undead energy.” Aurelia said. “However… my instincts are telling me not to approach that place.”
A cultivator’s instincts weren’t just random and baseless feelings. It was their own mind warning them of a strange and out-of-place factor in what they were witnessing, often before their own conscious self could parse through what exactly was wrong. Generally, this wrongness went beyond just surface level, and the instincts of stronger cultivators could sense oddities in the Spiritual Energy or even in the very laws of nature that governed a certain place.
These warnings were often to be taken to heart.
Yet, in Aurelia’s warning, never once did she advise Red to retreat. It was clear what her stance on the matter was.
‘It’s too late to back down now.’
He looked over at Domeron. “You need to stay here.”
The swordsman looked annoyed. “This again? I already told you I don’t fear whatever awaits for me in this place.”
The youth shook his head. “This is different. It’s not just the threat of corruption you’re facing here, or anything you can fight against, for that matter.”
Domeron frowned. “Then what is it?”
Red hesitated. “… I can’t tell you, but there’s nothing you can do against it. I can only guarantee that if you follow me, you will definitely die.”
The curse affected anyone who entered the Moonstone Mines. Not even his master, at the top of the cultivation world in his time, dared to venture into the place himself.
Without surprise, the swordsman seemed hesitant to heed Red’s warnings. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but… If it’s not safe for me, how is it safe for you?”
“It is not safe for me.” The youth shook his head. “But at the very least, there is a chance I won’t die.”
The curse wasn’t the only danger in that place. Even now, he remembered the promise he made to the insectoid - to never return to this place no matter what. What would happen when he went back on it? Were those creatures still there, watching and waiting for when the boy from back then would go back on his promise?
Of course, in the face of that other being lurking these tunnels, the threat of the insectoids was insignificant in comparison.
Red closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wiping his mind clear of those thoughts. A few seconds later, he looked at Domeron. “I don’t know how long I will stay in there, but if a long time passes and I’m still not out, then you can be sure that I am already dead. Do not come looking for me.”
“I can’t promise you that.” Domeron shook his head without hesitation. “Besides, what about the imperials? Won’t they all know where I am?”
“I thought you weren’t worried about that.”
“I’m not, but it’s a different matter if I have to stay in the same place for too long. They will definitely pinpoint my location that way.” Domeron said. “What I mean to say is that if you are gone for too long, I will go in there to search for you one way or the other.”
The youth hesitated. “… Just be patient. I will not risk my life in vain.”
The swordsman nodded with reluctant sigh. “Be careful.”
With those words, they parted ways.
Red started to climb downhill towards the narrow path between the cliffside and the river. Every step forward was like adding another weight to his back, as if the worries and weaknesses of the time when he was a slave were re-surging once more.
Even now, after all this time cultivating in the surface, he still didn’t feel strong enough to wander back into this place. In fact, as his horizons widened, the true terror of that world was becoming clearer and clearer in his mind. Even being as strong as Viran was back then, he knew that one insectoid was more than enough to kill him, and the creatures would be the least of his worries.
“Still nothing.” Aurelia’s voice reached his ears. “Take heart and keep walking. You don’t need to go in there. Just examine it from the entrance.”
Although the woman tried to assuage his worries, both she and Red knew none of this was as simple as that.
Still, just like the woman said, he didn’t see any signs of footprints. The pressure and anticipation the youth felt in his mind continued to increase as he reached the edge of the cliff-face. A meter to his left was the raging waters of the river, while to his immediate right the rather smooth stone wall stood, and a simple turn around the corner would reveal to him the truth.
Only the narrowest of paths was offered for him to walk.
Red took a deep breath, and with his heart almost beating out of his chest, walked forward. As soon as he turned around the bend and got a clear view of the cliff-face, though, he froze.
There was nothing there. Or rather, where there should have been a large opening covered by vines as he remembered, a smooth stone wall stood.
It wasn’t the case that the entrance was blocked by debris, but rather that someone seemed to have restored this cliff face to its original state, rebuilding a natural stone wall over its cavernous opening. Red even reached his hand forward, feeling the smooth stone with the palm of his hand.
It wasn’t an illusion.
“Did they close it?” The youth wondered out loud.
He was referring to the Imperials.
“Yes, but… That isn’t just it.” Aurelia said with a severe expression. “There’s something wrong with this wall. It seems completely natural, but I can feel a power hidden just beneath its surface. It blocks my senses from penetrating even an inch into it.”
“A seal.” Red followed her logic.
“Very likely. No matter what angle I approach it from, this power extends to block me. I only felt a seal this strong once before when I visited my sect’s vault.” she said. “The fact they placed something like this in such a remote location… They don’t want anyone entering or leaving this place.”
‘So that’s why the necromancer never pursued this entrance.’
Even in his weakened state, the lich was still one of the most knowledgeable cultivators in the world. If he thought that this entrance was ‘closed’, then it was obviously beyond Red and Aurelia’s capabilities to get it open.
The youth sighed in relief. “Then this means that necromancer and his group didn’t come through here.”
Aurelia grunted with some dissatisfaction. “I can’t imagine how they would get through this. Even if they somehow had a way to get past it, we can’t follow them in without a similar key or technique.”
Red nodded, turning around the way he came. “Then we can…”
He trailed off as his eyes caught something floating over the river, a few dozen meters away.
A human figure. A woman, with long, flowing white hair and a black dress. The most beautiful being the youth ever saw in his world, with features so sacred and perfect that they approached perfection.
Yet, the feeling she invoked in his heart was the exact opposite. Dread. Absolute and all-encompassing.
This was the face of death, and it was staring right into his eyes.