After saying those words, Zenith left and never looked back. The Sword Saint could only watch his back in silence as many thoughts ran through his mind. When the young man's figure finally left his vision, he let out a sigh.

"I leave her in your hands," said the Sword Saint with deep emotions before turning around.

The world around him suddenly turned dark. A small gate made from the bones of powerful gods slowly arose from the ground. When the gate finished forming, he walked towards it with slow and steady steps.

"What kind of change will you bring forth into this tower, Zenith Victor?" the Sword Saint couldn't help but wonder to himself. "Will it be salvation or destruction? Or perhaps, it will be someone else that will bring forth that change."

Just as he was about to enter the gate, he stopped in his tracks and looked in the direction that Zenith had gone onto for the last time.

"Either way, the era of great change is upon us— the paths, seeds, and skills will clash and undergo a qualitative leap. All the gods in heaven who cannot adapt to that great change will be eliminated.

"Thus, the era of a new beginning is coming."

Only after he finished his thoughts did he enter and disappear into the gate. And with his departure, the world finally turned back to normal.

This would be the last time the two would see each other in a very long time.

...

It didn't take long for Zenith to reach the peak of the mountain. Upon getting there, he got a spectacular view of a majestic temple with a huge moon shining brightly in the sky behind it.

[https://i.imgur.com/fnoxsj4.png]

Now that color had finally returned to the world, Zenith could see why so many tourists and hikers came here to climb the mountain in the past. The view at the peak was definitely breathtaking. There was an endless sea of clouds below, while above, the sky seemed to be so close yet out of reach at the same time. It created a mystical feeling within him.

Zenith spared a few minutes of his time to admire this picturesque scenery. At the same time, he reviewed all the information he had about this mountain in his mind, specifically this temple.

No matter how much he tried, he couldn't recall anything about this temple at all just like the staircase from earlier. The most probable reason for this was that this temple wasn't here 8 years ago. However, it also didn't look like it was constructed recently. Though the temple looked majestic, upon closer inspection, there were many signs of aging that could be seen in its pillars and walls.

"Was this temple moved here by the Sword Saint?"

With his abilities, this idea didn't seem too farfetched at all. If this temple wasn't here originally but was only transported here by the Sword Saint from somewhere else, then that would answer many questions in his mind.

After he finished his analysis, he slowly made his way toward the temple. As he got closer to his destination, his entire body suddenly froze.

"This..."

Sweat formed on his temple as he looked at the huge stone doors in front of him with an indescribable expression on his face. This was because as he was about to touch the door, he felt an extreme danger from within!

He didn't know what was inside the temple but his instincts had never failed him before. He would usually only have this kind of feeling when facing a hostile and extremely powerful enemy— one so powerful that he had no hope of winning against it!

Zenith didn't dare take his feelings lightly as they had saved him numerous times in the past. If his instincts were telling him that there was something very dangerous inside, then there was something very dangerous inside.

He composed himself and stood in front of the huge doors silently. A minute had passed— ten minutes— twenty— and then half an hour later— Zenith was still standing in his original position without moving an inch. He was trying to figure out what was waiting for him inside the temple by piecing all of the information he had that was related to this place.

"Could it be...?"

Zenith sucked in a deep breath and made his decision.

The Sword Saint wouldn't have sent him here only to die. As pathetic as it was to admit, the former could've killed him as easily as crushing an ant. There was no need to go through so much trouble when he could've just done the deed himself by merely lifting a single finger. He wouldn't have been able to resist.

Of course, he couldn't completely disregard the possibility that this might indeed be a trap. That was why he was going to take a risk. If his judgment turned out to be wrong and this was indeed a death trap...

"So be it."

He steeled his mind as he pushed the stone doors with both hands. He didn't use much of his strength but the huge, heavy doors were easily pushed without any resistance. The ground trembled and a loud rumbling sound could be heard as the doors slowly opened on their own to welcome him in.

A blinding light escaped from the opening of the doors, forcing Zenith to close his eyes. The light enveloped his body and suddenly swallowed him in. Everything happened in a split second. When he finally came to, he found himself inside a very dark place.

"Is this inside the temple?"

Zenith could feel his Nu being suppressed in this place just like when he first arrived on the Silent Mountain. However, it didn't last long as his body glowed for an instant before the suppression on his Nu disappeared.

"Sword Saint..."

He was a bit relieved. Since the Sword Saint got rid of the suppression of his Nu, it meant that he wasn't intending on having him killed in this place.

Suddenly, several torches on the walls lit up one by one, revealing a long hallway in front of him. Zenith turned around to the stone doors behind him which were now shut close. He tried to push it open, but it wouldn't even budge a tiny bit.

He could only move forwards at this point.

Zenith followed the hallway. A while later, the hallway split into two different directions. He could either go left or go right. After thinking for a moment, he placed his right hand on the wall and turned right.

A few minutes later, he saw another path to the left. He ignored the left path as he went straight ahead, faithfully following the wall that his hand was sticking onto.

This went on a few more times with the path in front of him branching off several times. Zenith then realized something; This hallway wasn't just an ordinary hallway.

It was a labyrinth.

"A labyrinth inside a temple. For what reason was this place constructed exactly?" he wondered.

Whatever the reason was, it couldn't have been as simple as keeping a mere seed. Furthermore, there was that feeling of danger that he felt earlier.

"This temple is even more mysterious than the forest and the mountain."

When Zenith reached an intersection, he turned unhesitatingly to the right. However, he paused when he saw a huge figure standing on the path ahead.

The figure had its back turned against him, but it soon turned around, revealing its true appearance to him.

"That is..."

It was a hideous creature that stood on its two legs, holding a huge ax in its right hand. Its face was like that of a bull while everything under its neck seemed to be that of an extremely bulky and hairy man. Its nose was misplaced and one of its nostrils was much bigger than the other. It also wore an eyepatch over one of its eyes, and its horns were of different sizes.

The creature was ugly and full of imperfections, however, it radiated an intense murderous aura that could freeze a common man.

[https://i.imgur.com/B12ogsB.png]

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Zenith suddenly received a piece of information from his System Seed.

[Minotaur]

Rank: +D-Rank

Description: One of the guardians of the labyrinth.

Preliminary Test Subquest:

Eliminate or evade the guardians and find the exit of the labyrinth.

Reward:

1,000 Exp