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Chapter 18 - A Familiar Place

Kyrios strolled casually along the pathway until reaching a curve, causing the corridor to light up, and the ember glow emitting in the dark shone onto the ground, illuminating his path. With a faint swish, he picked at the hem of his shirt to test its fabric before pinching his wrist gently. An elated expression broke out as he fiddled with it with fascination. He ran his hand over each surface and tugged on a piece as he observed its resilience. From his pocket, a lizard crawled out, staring at Kyrios with beady eyes. When his eyelid drooped down again, the lizard licked at his finger and scuttled onto the tip, sniffing the air.

"Ha-ha!" Kyrios beamed. He grabbed the tiny reptile, watching it lick his face with fervor. It had cooled down quite a bit since leaving the volcanic chamber. With care, he stroked its side gently while nuzzling the lizard to his chin, even allowing it to sit comfortably in one of his pockets. "I forgot you were here. I'll take you with me, I guess."

And just like before, he wandered quietly across the tunnels and caves while admiring the natural decorations within the realm's core. All around, beautiful, uncut crystals reflected in rainbows, with a lustrous diamond gleaming at every turn. There were shiny minerals scattered over the floor, waiting to be taken, and countless caverns throughout the underground passages—the authentic treasure-filled dungeon experience.

Further in, sweat coated Kyrios' face and neck. His boots squashed the warm surface against the grooves, and moisture soaked into his hair. His right thigh was a sauna from the lizard's warmth. Each breath he expelled heated the air around his lips, only adding to the discomfort; each and every breath reminded him he couldn't keep this up indefinitely without water.

He grabbed his scarf and shirt and laid them out on the scorching ground before settling down on top of them to avoid the heat. "Maybe I should try that."

His jaw stretched wide as a smile, making ample room for the sharp fangs about to emerge. As if responding to some primal call, the canines pushed forth, breaking free from the confines of his gums. Well, not that he knew whether they came from the gums, the teeth, or even out of nowhere. It didn't matter.

His fingers reached out with a gentle touch, delicately plucking them off without any discomfort. The fangs came off smoothly with a click as if they were never meant to be there in the first place. One end was blunt; the other, tapered like a needle. No blood dotted his mouth where the tooth once protruded from, and the small hole in his gums had already healed and vanished with time. The process didn't appear as esoteric as other things, but still, it astounded him nonetheless.

Now, what was left in his hands was perfectly clear and, hopefully, edible ice. Tentatively, he brought one of the fangs to his lips, feeling a tingling sensation as the icy surface made contact with his skin. With a deep breath, he took a small nibble, a gelid smack spread across his taste buds as his eyes lit up. Although terribly bitter, it was refreshing, like the first sip of a chilled beverage on a scorching day. Encouraged by his thirst, he took a more substantial bite, relishing the soothing sensation with a bright smile. "I should probably relish these moments, not holding back my dump childish nature," he cackled while gazing at the reptile, resting his chin against his fist. "Dad told me to be grateful for the smallest things in life. So even though we're stuck in this hellhole, we can still smile."

The lizard crawled down on his sleeve, biting against his trousers. Kyrios pulled the lizard upward from his ankles and dropped him back to the floor as he stared into the tunnel's light and dark dance. "What am I doing, talking to some random animal? Keeping my sanity? Gettin' used to be down here? I would've probably killed myself if it wasn't for my now cured disability." He slouched back, snacking on the last pieces of his fangs. "Okay, Kyrios, time to put on a smile," he muttered to himself, trying to muster some semblance of positivity. "A few more months stuck in this purgatory, and I'll probably never smile again, so I might as well enjoy it while I can."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

After a brief rest, he trudged on despite the walls of the narrow tunnel appearing to close in. All the twists and turns, yet nothing about the maze appeared to be any different from the first leg, which gave him a gnawing feeling that he was still stuck in the middle of some endless labyrinth, going nowhere. The temperature shifted anywhere from a necrotic desert to a balmy summer day, staying inconsistent at all times. The mainly upward-dominating paths certainly didn't provide much relief from the heat either.

But fate favors the patient—or at least for now—and eventually, a glimmer of light pierced through the thick obsidian abyss. He quickened his pace, the anticipation building with every stride. His breath quickened as the temperature continued to rise, and his arms moved along as he scuttled through the open caverns.

And, at last, he stepped out of the passageways, setting foot on the searing stone: the burning orange light, the bubbling of lava. "Wait, we're back? This enormous crack again? Don't tell me it was her doing?"

As he looked around, he confirmed with a sinking feeling that he was back in the same place where he had narrowly escaped from the clutches of the stone golem. Memories flooded back, and he shuddered at the thought of facing that monstrous creature again. Well, it was dead now, but what came out of it was arguably far worse. Anyway, he had no time for staring at walls; there were other people here. It was vital for him to learn more about his abilities—otherwise, he feared he'd eventually become vulnerable in some way and be doomed to rot at death's doorstep. Besides, human interactions were essential for his sanity, whether he was introverted or not.

"Okay, okay," he breathed. "The Caretaker creature told me she'd give me an estimate. I'll have to look for the weird moss that could hear my heartbeats. Wait, I forgot to ask how that even worked—" he trailed off, patting against the wall. As suspected, the peculiar limbs sprouted among the walls, the same texture as he had once touched, although more fragile. "Perhaps it couldn't handle the heat."

Slightly relieved that his worries subsided for now, he continued searching for other ways out, trying to locate any unique markings, but nothing worth taking note of. Although the terrain was unstable, the overall features remained the same—flowing lava, burning rocks, and a lack of humidity that irritated his eyes, which could eventually affect his vision if they deteriorated enough.

At his feet, small glowing flocks flew like gnats as far as the eye could see. The heat emanating from the ground distorted them; sometimes, the tiny spots almost appeared like blurry clouds from where he stood. This wasn't far from where he found the lizard, yet it appeared nothing like what he had remembered, but instead as a scorched desert. "To think I even considered this a possible hideout to flee from the golem. The cold must've gotten to my mind. Or was there something that altered the landscape while I was gone?"

Thoom... Thoom-thoom.

And as if his thoughts had summoned it, a distant, terrifying rumble caused perspiration to bead on his forehead. His eyes shot wide open in fear, painting a vivid image of precisely what the booming sound meant. He felt his heart beating in sync with the far-off rumbling, and as the sound grew louder, his pulse quickened as well. For an agonizingly long minute, he kept a perfect stillness while listening out for any slight change in the reverberating thumps before slowly getting down, motioning as he crept toward the nearest cavern in sight. His breath escaped him ragged; his throat parched at the heat, and thoughts eventually exploded into his mind.

"If I was lucky, I had a minute or two to flee, but even then, my smell might expose my location. If I hid in an enclosed area, the colossal creature wouldn't be able to catch me, but that's assuming it couldn't obliterate the hideout. Shit, I'll leave it up to luck!"

For the briefest instant, the footfall stopped before an earthquake rippled around Kyrios, and a mighty impact of dust erupted behind him, followed by a deafening shriek. Globs of saliva drizzled across the ground as Kyrios stood horrified in sheer terror, fixated on what was once known as the ground. Now, it lay broken beneath an enormity of an object—hiding behind the dust was a silhouette standing on a pillar of what appeared to be volcanic rock. Two mammoth eyes peered down at Kyrios with crazed bloodlust; every hair on the body shivered under the withering gaze of the hulk-like being before him. Even its breathing sounded like the grinding of blades.

It peered down as his heart quailed with an ill premonition. The immense size made its beady eyes appear no smaller than human fists. And without any hesitation, it struck.

[https://i.imgur.com/OBFfyzE.png]

Shattering the air with its speed, the dragon's legs sent the shattered shards flying above Kyrios, cleaving a ravine cleanly down the center before launching from the air and hurtling straight toward him like a falling meteor. The sound was already like thunder roaring in his eardrums, and only an abrupt shock of pain against his left cheek jolted him back to reality; all of it had happened faster than a single blink of an eye.