Chapter 65

  When the Blades Fall (II)

The bridge laid in front of them truly appeared to be built out of the stars themselves, the colorful shimmer blinding them temporarily as everyone except for Cain rushed forward, their faces flushed with excitement. It was a Skybridge, one of many, but Cain couldn’t help and feel slightly envious at their excitement.

“’cross the Staryway,” L’ksha spoke out. “Is the Palace. We not know its state, but we do know that the Construct, if nobody else, still lingers there, Human. Be wary,” the ante-Human warned. “It was a Guardian for a reason.”

“Yeah...” Cain mumbled, images of the ‘creature’ flashing through his mind as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Technically, they didn’t have to cross the bridge and clear the Palace, and could instead focus on other bosses that they could reach. However, not only did the Palace, as L’ksha said, hold the key to reaching the Ruined King, it also had a lot of secret chambers with fairly unique items, at least for the first floor.

Sighing, he was the first to step onto it, a ripple-like effect unfolding beneath his feet, colorful and tiny ring-shaped waves enhancing the beauty. It was fairly wide, especially for a Skybridge that were usually no wider than ten feet, and it extended into a thick, misty shroud.

Emma and others walked on right after him, while the ante-Humans remained on top of the platform, escorting them with their eyes.

It was fairly pleasant to walk on top of it, all quickly realized. It felt like walking on top of a feathered pillow, one that gave in under the weight of the body and cradled their feet gently. They made no sound as they walked, Emma and Jamal edging close to the bridge’s sides to peek overboard, while Diya stuck to the central line. Senna walked a few paces behind, though she was unable to hide the awe-inspired expression despite her best efforts.

“It--it won’t crash, right?” Diya asked as Cain glanced at her, noticing that she was shaking slightly.

“You ‘fraid of heights?” he asked.

“No--not heights... but this is a bit scary, right?” she asked, walking closer to him. “No fences... no protection...”

“What do you mean ‘no protection?” Cain protested. “Aren’t I right here?”

“...” a bright smile bloomed on the young girl’s face as she shook her head slightly, seeming to grow tired of his antics as well.

“So, how long is this thing?” Senna asked from the back.

“... who you asking?” Cain asked back when nobody replied.

“You, obviously!!”

“How the heck should I know?” he glanced at her, his expression deadpan.

“H-huh? You didn’t get a quest update or something?”

“Yeah-- it said ‘cross the bridge and fight your way through the Palace’,” Cain said. “Not, ‘cross the eleven miles long bridge and admire the view’. Wait-- I have the answer!”

“What is it?” Senna asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge once we get to it!”

“...”

“...”

“...” everyone paused momentarily while Cain raised his fist into the sky, striking a pose.

“I... I just threw up a little...” Jamal mumbled in disbelief.

“That... that has to be the lamest... joke you’ve ever made...” Emma commented.

“...” Diya remained silent, though her slightly pained expression spoke volumes.

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To Cain's surprise, however, there was no comment from Senna as he expected the biggest bashing to come from her, prompting him to glance backward. There, he saw the young girl with her back turned toward him, her shoulders dancing slightly, muffled sounds escaping. A grin rippled onto his face, as he smirked at Emma and Jamal, pointing at Senna.

“At least there is one person here who appreciates good humor!” he said. “Dadly jokes are Godly jokes!”

“S-Stop... please... it physically hurts!” Jamal cried out.

“Ha ha ha...” Cain laughed freely and sauntered forward, others following right after, glancing oddly at Senna who still had her back turned toward them.

The young girl only calmed down once they were a hundred feet or so from her, her eyes straying forward and toward the tiny-seeming back. Get a grip, she slapped her cheeks, huffing. You’ll be leaving right after the Quest. Remember that!

The group continued crossing the bridge, their eyes constantly glued to the sides, hoping to chance upon the few moments when the clouds beneath them would clear up and give way to the breathtaking world from above. It was equal parts a scary and exciting experience, not to mention completely new and eye-opening to everyone except Cain.

Rather, for the first time since they entered the Graveyard of Swords, nobody moaned about ‘how long until the end’, resulting in one of the more peaceful hiking experiences Cain had ever had. He largely focused on playing out the entire Palace raid in his head time and again, ensuring he didn’t forget anything. It was far from the hardest ‘raid’, even on the first floor, but it was one of the most annoying.

The labyrinth-like structure of the Palace made it easier to get lost, traps were virtually everywhere, glittering eggs were baits, the wild, plant life that grew there after everything else living died had inhaled all the fumes of the thousands upon thousands of decaying corpses, making their poisons so potent even Diya would have to suck out half her Mana just to dispel it from one of them, and all that without even the final boss of the raid -- the first-ever mechanical nuisance of the Tower.

The entire Palace was a byproduct of time and nature coming together to form a revenge group against any other living organisms, as even the flying animals would be ripped to shreds the moment they stepped into it. Furthermore, the Palace's age meant that its entire structure was fairly unstable and that rooms could casually collapse unto themselves if one stepped too hard on them.

Virtually the entire place screamed the ‘level in a game made too difficult on purpose to artificially inflate the gametime’ as every step had to be taken with care, and a room was not just a room -- it was a potential death chamber. Just the same as the seemingly-ordinary hallway was most definitely not an ordinary hallway, and instead a trap-infested corridor of doom.

Just thinking about it caused Cain a headache was his mood rapidly soured. And all of that was simply from watching five poor sods on the video experience the hell without ever actually experiencing it himself. The number of times ‘I’d rather be swimming in sewage’ was spoken during the raid was virtually uncountable, and the miserable screams -- even with the heavy editing -- were the most appropriate soundtrack to the whole experience.

He wasn’t looking forward to it, but at least he had the knowledge those five didn’t. Far from knowing all the traps that were there, if his group just stuck to the same path they took, Cain would roughly be able to point out the most traps and ‘doom rooms’.

Some five-six hours later, the mist in front of them cleared up and revealed another structure that had the four spiraling ever-so-slightly again -- a sky castle. It was a genuine construct hovering still in the sky, golden walls shimmering like the second star in the sky, and a dozen towers heaving even further up into the atmosphere shaped like swords piercing the heavens.

Even Cain found himself in faint awe standing beneath it, as the Palace was truly massive -- roughly three times the size of the Pentagon -- a scale that lost quite a bit of weight while translated onto the video.

Sucking in a cold breath, he dusted off the feeling of being overwhelmed quickly, looking around and noticing the ‘entrance’ -- a shimmering portal of silver standing at the very end of the Skybridge, a forty-feet-tall behemoth that looked eerily similar to the ‘artist’s depiction of a galaxy’.

“Sweet mother of God...” Jamal mumbled, feeling weak in his knees.

“That’s not a palace,” Emma commented. “But a whole goddamn city...”

“Yup,” Cain spoke nonchalantly, trying to drive away some of the dread surging in their eyes. “Didn’t you guys ever want to see what would it feel like if you could just ram your ass amok through the city, no consequences? Well, now’s the opportunity!”

“No consequences?” Emma glanced at him dubiously. “Why do I feel like that’s a complete lie?”

“Mostly because it is,” Cain chuckled. “Come on, it’s a dungeon within a dungeon. Sort of. I think. We just gotta head in there, blow shit up, kill the boss, get the key, and boomshakalaka -- we’re out!”

“Well if you put it that way...” Jamal rolled his eyes.

“Come on,” Cain said, walking up to the vortex. “We’ll rest inside.” I’ll have to make some shit up as a ‘leader of the party’ to warn them of the traps, he mused inwardly. Most of the starting ones are fine as they can’t one-shot... but once we’re past the courtyard... there will be no games to play...

He walked in casually, rapidly followed by the other four. A few moments later, the party found itself standing in front of the looming, silver gates with chains holding them tightly closed, a notification window popping up in front of them.

//Welcome to the Holy Palace of Blades!

A Sacred Site, it was used to store the Empire’s most precious Artifacts, as well as being treated as the Last Bastion should the Empire’s existence ever be threatened!

Explore the vast halls of the Palace in search of the Core! Only there can you conquer it!

Good luck!//