The nameless young man didn’t respond at all. He just kept walking, never looking back, as if he couldn’t hear a word or was deliberately shutting out any sound around him.

“Bro!”

“Dude!”

“Hey! Don’t ignore me! I’m talking to you!”

The nameless young man stopped abruptly, unable to ignore the call any longer. He turned to face Kairav, his expression as blank as ever. “It would be better if you stayed quiet,” he said in a calm tone.

After saying that, he turned away and continued walking quickly, leaving Kairav behind, muttering under his breath.

The fair-skinned young man was grumbling, venting his frustration at the cracked watch around his wrist. Though broken, it still worked, its hour hand now pointing at six, signaling that sunlight was nearly fading.

“It’s nearly dark again, and we still haven’t found anything here!” he complained, tapping the watch. Distracted by his grumbling, he didn’t notice where he was going until he bumped into the nameless young man, who had suddenly stopped in front of him.

“Damn it! Why did you stop so suddenly?!” He cursed, his heart still pounding. “If I weren’t lucky, I’d have tumbled down there to a nasty end!” he protested.

The calm young man didn’t say a word. His dim gaze showed that he’d just remembered something important in this place, where there seemed to be no difference between day and night.

“Why are you covering your face again?” Kairav’s irritation shifted to curiosity as he watched the nameless young man pull a silver mask from his belt, covering part of his face with it.

Avoiding the question, the nameless young man simply said, “We’re almost there.”

And sure enough, when Kairav looked up, he could make out the final step in the distance, positioned within a gate that seemed to be a welcoming entrance, flanked by two massive statues on either side.

As they walked closer, the young man observed the details of the two statues, which had vastly different forms. When he finally reached the gateway, Kairav could see the statues up close. To the right was a creature with a primate-like face and sharp teeth, with a pair of broad, bat-like wings spread wide.

To the left, a massive statue depicted a giant in a half-kneeling position. The bulky figure had a fearsome face, big eyes, sharp fangs, long dreadlocked hair, wore ornate jewelry, and held a club—a weapon resembling a mace with a large, spiked ball on one end.

Kairav immediately recognized the giant statue. “Isn’t this the Dwarapala statue?” he asked the nameless young man, who nodded in agreement. “His form is familiar to me; he’s one of the legendary beings often mentioned in mythology.”

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His attention shifted to the other statue. He walked closer to the winged primate on the other side, furrowing his brow in confusion. “What creature is this? I don’t recognize it,” he said, pointing to the statue.

The nameless young man glanced briefly at it and answered in his usual, flat tone, “From its form, that would be an Ahool, a creature from the Deepshadow Realm.”

“An Ahool?”

The sharp-eyed young man nodded. “Yeah, it’s a kind of hybrid monster, a giant bat with a primate’s face, living in mountainous areas.”

“Have you ever encountered one in person?” Kairav asked.

The nameless young man shook his head. “No, but I’ve heard about it from a friend of mine. His town’s mountains were terrorized by one of these creatures.”

Kairav’s curiosity grew. “Who was it?”

“Galen.”

“Is he also an Astral Conjurer? Where’s he from?” Kairav asked, pressing for details.

But the nameless young man, looking indifferent as ever, simply stared back at him without emotion. He turned away and strode through the gateway. “Save those questions for later,” he said.

With no other choice, Kairav followed, a touch of irritation simmering within him. However, his annoyance gradually faded as he took in the sheer grandeur of the vast room before them.

“Whoa, I didn’t expect to find such a massive room inside the stepped pyramid,” he remarked in awe, his gaze sweeping across the space.

He observed the room’s vast expanse, almost as large as a stadium. The area seemed split in two: the section they were standing in and a mysterious section across the way, separated by a wide chasm. Each section had a pair of massive banyan trees marking the boundary.

The room was built with black rectangular stones forming the walls and floor, creating a dark, eerie atmosphere. Vines and rusty chains hung down from the ceiling, adding to the ominous feel.

Above, a colony of bats flapped noisily across a natural bridge made of intertwined roots from the twin banyan trees, connecting the two sides and providing the only way to cross the gorge below.

Yet, the mysterious area across the chasm exuded an even denser aura of dread—a dark territory impervious to the light of Sunfire Gaze, concealing dangerous creatures in the shadows.

“Why is it so hot in here?” Kairav complained, wiping the steady stream of sweat from his face.

The nameless young man glanced at him and simply said, “Follow me,” before heading toward the root bridge.

It took them a few moments to reach the bridge, and as they stepped onto it, both young men couldn’t help but peer down at the gorge. They were stunned by the sight of the bright red magma far below, boiling at the gorge’s base.

“No wonder I’ve felt like I’m inside an oven!” Kairav exclaimed, his eyes widening with horror at the molten rock below.

“Let’s keep moving,” the nameless young man said, continuing onto the bridge with Kairav following close behind.

As they carefully advanced, the hazel-eyed young man’s focus was repeatedly interrupted by the popping sounds from the magma pool below. The high-pitched cries of bats flapping above them made him uneasy, giving him a sense of impending disaster.

And indeed, their bad luck quickly manifested.

From the ceiling, thick black smoke began to descend, signaling the start of the peril they would face. The smoke quickly transformed into a blast of dark light, spreading in all four directions. Both young men tensed up immediately.

Anxiousness was clear on Kairav’s face. The nameless young man gripped the hilt of his Sambara sword tightly as an alarm of impending danger echoed in his mind.

“Should we run?” Kairav asked, seeking the young man’s advice.

The nameless young man turned to him and calmly said, “It’s too late; we’re already surrounded.”

Kairav’s gaze darted around, realizing the dark smoke and blasts of shadowy light had formed the beginnings of a dark magic barrier, encircling them from all directions. The barrier blocked their exit points on the bridge, trapping them with the magma gorge on either side.

“Do you have a way to break it?” Kairav asked.