The wide halls of the temple, otherwise known as the central palace, were enchanting. The grandness of its architecture and the vivid engravings everywhere made Oscar think an expert craftsman carefully carved, chiseled, and shaped every single inch of the palace. The amount of time and effort to have created this place was beyond Oscar's understanding.

But not beyond Gol-4's. Oscar took out the familiar golem's head. Gol-4 woke up from its version of slumber and acted strangely. Instead of the usual outburst when it woke up, Gol-4 moved its eyes slowly and took in the beautiful hallways of antiquity. Oscar must have imagined it. He could have sworn he saw a hint of emotion flicker in Gol-4's mechanical face. That was impossible.

"Are we…in the central palace?" Gol-4 levitated out of Oscar's hand, rotating around slowly until it came face to face with Oscar. "Is this truly the central palace?"

"Yes. We finally reached it." Oscar answered. "The outside is covered in vines and lichen, but the interior is amazing. What kind of place was this in the past? How was it even conquered?"

Oscar didn't stop searching around for a token as he conversed with Gol-4. While he was curious about the history of this place, his mission remained to find a token and defeat as many of the enemies as possible. So far, the halls seemed endless. There were no signs of a token or doors, leaving him and Gol-4 to wander.

"How deplorable! The grand central palace, the center of the Divine Stone Clan's presence and power! All were reduced to naught but a wretched place overrun by the Forest Heart Clan's taint. Tragic beyond belief." Gol-4 said in a mechanical rant. "The halls look alright, but who knows what their poisonous hands have done to it."

"Sorry about your masters' home, but I need information," Oscar explained everything about the outer halls and sanctum.

"The central palace was set up with twisting corridors and strange pathways. Built by great crafters in the past. It encompasses a total of 300,000 rooms." Gol-4 informed.

"300,000 rooms?!" Oscar exclaimed. The central palace was indeed large. With so many rooms, going through the entire palace would be foolhardy.

"Yes, the palace is large. What other place would suit the Divine Stone Clan? The sanctum you mentioned should be where the Great Hall used to be. As for the outer halls, the Forest Heart Clan must have divided up the wards into three and set up barriers to separate the realms. If you can find a keystone slab left behind, I can learn more."

Oscar stopped. There was no use in wasting his Ein and Reis to keep running around. Retrieving a piece of blank paper and pen from his space pocket, Oscar turned Gol-4 around and asked, "Can you think of a map of the central palace and tell me?"

"That has been so long ago. My memories may be lacking in that regard. Besides, I am only a treasury golem. There's not much to my functions other than information about treasures and resources." Gol-4 shook its head. Oscar was unconvinced.

"Come on. I don't know what your goal is. I know you wanted to go with me for a reason and not Celestina. If I'm going to be of any help to you, then you should help me." Oscar turned Gol-4 to see his face. "Even if your supposed goal of seeing what became of the Divine Stone Clan is true, I can't do that unless you give me a map."

"...." Gol-4 went mute.

Oscar rubbed his forehead in frustration. He needed Gol-4's help, or else his time in the central palace would be harder. His attention was caught by the sounds of other steps tapping away in the halls. Due to the hall's marbling and large frames, sounds traveled far and clearly. Oscar tensed up, tied Gol-4 to his hip, and charged toward the source of the footsteps.

Judging from the sound, it was only one person. Friend? Enemy? The only way to find out was to meet them in person. Oscar suspected it might be an enemy and readied himself with the flow of Ein. His deer anima dipped its body lower to the floor, ready to pounce on his enemy.

Turning a slight corner, Oscar saw a person wearing a light-green uniform, a color representing the students from the Thousand Storm Palace. Since he was in the same place as him, he had to be a Middle Elite Exalt. The stranger seemed to have been waiting for him as well with his anima, a spear.

Without much motion or warning, the stranger thrust his spear several times, all within a fraction of a second of each other. Oscar was still far away, so the blade never reached him, piercing the air. Oscar was no fool. He felt his hair flowing back from a breeze and halted his steps. Behind his raised bulwark, Oscar endured several blades of winds slicing and crashing into him with a powerful impact.

'Not bad. His Anima is a Grade Four, same as mine. But he's older and has the experience.' His bulwark and deer anima was enough for anyone, including his opponent, to figure out his main focus as a melee fighter. Oscar peered from behind his bulwark. The opponent didn't make a single move, waiting for Oscar's response.

Oscar went through several options in his mind. The opponent was not as progressed as Regis from the Undying Flame Sect. He didn't need to go all out against him and risk being out for a whole day. Considering the small difference between him and the opponent, Oscar lifted his arm and released a Silver Star.

The Silver Star exploded in tiny shrapnels, scattering everywhere. His opponent was caught off-guard and wrapped himself in an armor of wind, a cyclone shaped to fit a man. Oscar did not let up. More of his Silver Stars flew from his fingertips. None of them exploded because Oscar infused Shattering Wave only into the first one.

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It was all a ruse, and it worked. His opponent revealed another spell. A fearsome swing from his spear released a blanket of fierce winds that blew away the Silver Stars. Oscar understood that an even battle between two Exalts came down to knowledge. Rather than run himself ragged from diving him, he decided to play it safer inside this place and not risk another precarious situation.

Using the Eirin would tire him out even without the use of the Demon Deer Eirin Mantle. Oscar intended to use it only in the most extreme circumstances. Oscar smiled slightly. His opponent had given up on maintaining a distance, charging with a narrowed gaze.

Oscar breathed in and strengthened himself with Adamasreis. He stared intently around his opponent's body. He had seen enough of his opponent's spells, movements, and spear anima. But where was the armament? Or was he a beast tamer like George?

As a test, Oscar formed a single Silver Lance wrapped by his deer anima's antler. He sent his deer anima to lead the charge. A Silver Burst from its hooves made it a speedy deer, turning into a blue blur. His opponent dodged to the side. Oscar's deer anima stomped and turned at an odd angle to impale the opponent's back.

Seeing the startled gaze on his opponent's face and the lack of proper reaction to his ambush, Oscar rushed in. His Silver Lance, together with Shattering Wave, impaled the enemy, rupturing his body as blood splattered all over. Oscar watched the light fade from his eyes and let him fall off his lance to the floor. The spear anima cracked and shattered into nothingness.

"Let's see." Oscar reached for the space pocket by the opponent's waist. How poor….There was not much inside except for some elixirs. The poor sap must have given up all his resources to someone else. Oscar put the space pocket away with the others and stood up.

"What the?!" Oscar leaped back. His blood ran cold. His eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the horrific sight. A spine-shivering event occurred. His opponent's body started to deteriorate. No, it was melting. The skin dissolved first, followed by the blood boiling into smoke and the flesh turning into goo. His bones were last and cracked all over until they turned into fine dust. All of it flowed down the thin crevices between the marbled tiles. How horrible. Only the clothes remained.

"That is not a good sign. Not at all." Gol-4 said.

Oscar moved the clothes to the side and traced his hand over the small crevice. He leaned in, closing one eye to peer closely within. Not enough light shone through for him to see clearly, but he knew it was a deep abyss. Where did it go? And why did he melt?

"I wouldn't recommend that, lad. There's something else happening here." Gol-4 warned Oscar.

He got back up, tapped his foot over the crevice, and shook his head. Too much was uncertain. It occurred to Oscar that it felt similar to the stone altar of the Grovekeepers. Were the two somehow related? The blood flowed down the altar to some unknown depths, the same as the liquified remains of this poor student.

Something was being fed and feeding on the dead.

"Snap out of it, lad. Let me help you with that map." Gol-4 raised his voice.

Oscar turned to Gol-4, startled by the sudden switch. "Gol-4, do you know anything about what's happening? The sacrifices at the Grovekeeper's altar and now this. There were other suspicious parts of how the Grovekeepers focused on capturing people and leaving them alive. Do you know anything?"

"No. This time's for real. No."

"Then why give me a map?" Oscar was still wary.

"Because the situation has changed. Whatever this is, it's not good. I thought we could piece it together as we traveled to make myself more useful and to alleviate your suspicions, but now we're in a rush." Gol-4 explained. He blatantly admitted to hiding what he really was.

With no other choice, Oscar sat down with the paper and pen. "Will you ever tell me what you really are? You're not some treasury golem. I can't trust you fully."

"Maybe later. I believe I've done enough to garner some trust despite your misgivings. Don't worry. This map is as the palace was thousands of years ago. I won't do wrong against my savior after all."

"I'll take your word for it…."

With Gol-4's instructions and descriptions, Oscar drew an expansive detailed map of the entire palace, using multiple pages for each of its layers. Its many twisting corridors, stairs, hallways, rooms, and more were drawn and labeled. It was an incredible collection of maps. Oscar tapped a certain large hallway near the edge of the palace by the walls. This resembled where he was.

"If your map is correct and the Forest Heart Clan didn't scramble the insides, we're here, and a stairway to a theater is this way." Oscar followed the map and ran ahead, not seeing anyone else along the way. This long corridor stretched all around the palace.

Oscar stopped in front of a large stone door with engravings of mountains carved within. He pushed it open and stepped inside. The room had a large stage, stone benches lined up, able to seat thousands, and crystal chandeliers radiating a soft light.

"UOOH!"

A shout resounded from the ceiling, and Oscar snapped his head up, shocked beyond belief. Was it really happening so soon? He gripped his bulwark and summoned his anima.

The vent shaft in the ceiling rattled, and the shout echoed from it. A large man dressed in the black uniform of the Earth Core Academy fell and landed on his knee. Oscar recognized the voice, the brown hair, and the imposing figure.

"Orden Aesn."

"Oscar Terr?" Orden lifted his head and let out a bellowing laughter. "It's been one or two weeks? I see Gol-4 is strapped to your waist."

Oscar didn't waste a moment and rushed in with Eirin Lances. Orden's hammer immediately melded with his anima and rushed in as well. Oscar and his deer anima exchanged several blows with Orden, employing everything he learned from sparring against Demon. One of his kicks swerved and slipped past Orden's guard and forced the giant back several steps.

"Seems you've mastered your movements." Orden cracked his neck. "Funny how you can do all that in a week or two."

"You've also gotten stronger. Your movements have improved. Didn't you say you weren't much of a fighter?" Oscar sighed. Orden used to use his brawn for power and his hammer to move him. In the span of one or two weeks, the giant made noticeable improvements in flexibility, movement, and power control.

"Not much to say here. I'm just a genius." Orden bragged.

Oscar's Ein rose as he smiled fearlessly. Orden smiled back and unleashed his Ein. Oscar froze and turned to the side, as did Orden. One of the doors opened. A beautiful woman with white hair and red eyes strode inside. Her eyes went bloodshot, and her lips curled into a devious smile.

"Seriously?" Oscar cursed.

"I've been waiting for this moment." Maia's Ein burned through the air, accompanied by the hissing of her snake anima, wrapped in flames. "Let's see you escape now."

"This looks fun. Let me join in."

Oscar couldn't believe what was happening. Why was everyone gathering here now? First him, then Orden, Maia, and now this stranger. A person was on the stage, humming and fanning herself.

"Hmm, Maia Claude, Orden Aesn, and someone from the Blue Ocean Pavilion. Interesting. I haven't gotten to meet anyone from the Pavilion because the Thousand Storm Palace went into the opposite portal." The woman flipped her head back, whipping her sky-blue hair behind her back. Her teal eyes shone with interest.

"I am Gail Wunther. Nice to meet you."

Oscar's gaze went from Maia to Orden to Gail. This was bad.