Chương 39: 38. The Voice Behind the Veil

There was a saying among veterans in the Grand Arcana: every first is the worst. The first trial, the first monster kill, the first day, the first month, even the first year. No matter how hard one tried to forget, those memories remained like scars in one's mind. Objectively, every year was worse than the one before. The monsters became tougher, the trials—more demanding, and the participants—more treacherous. Yet, there was something about the initial moment of facing the unknown that shook people to their core.

Standing in front of the massive entrance to the submerged palace, I felt the same sensation. In all my ten years of trials, I had never seen anything remotely similar. The doorway was too small for titans, but effectively large enough for almost anything else. There was no indication of this being a Scylla layer, and yet I got a creepy feeling about it. Why'd you stop? Serp asked. I took the divine swords out of my inventory.

The strength with which they pulled forward was great enough to suggest that the boss monster was at least as strong as the Blade Serpent.

"I don't suppose you know anything about the opponent?" I asked. There was little doubt in my mind that I would be facing a member of the nobility, possibly a royal. Unlike the governing systems on Earth, there were only two rules that established where a monster stood in the hierarchy: strength and ruthlessness. Probably some fish, the sword replied, confirming my suspicions. I can still slice it up. Five of Rings. I hardened my bones as I went up the short flight of stairs.

From there, I continued into the entrance chamber. The complete lack of guards increased my unease. In a structure this large, there were bound to be at least a few welcome monsters, if nothing else to give a little pomp to the situation. Two massive gems, the size of buildings, glowed on both sides of the chamber, providing light to all that entered. I didn't need light anymore, but had to admit it was a nice touch. A few hundred feet further, the chamber ended in a wide corridor leading to the middle section.

From what I had seen above, the palace could best be described as a series of interlocked circles surrounded by rows of smaller structures. The place this had been copied from must have held tens of thousands, possibly more. Now, it was reduced to a shell for a starting trial. All the time the blades kept pulling me forward. I went through the corridor, then into another wide chamber. The direction they kept pointing at remained unchanged.

Upon entering a third chamber, I heard the sound of laughter echoing from the distance. It was female laughter, high-pitched, mocking, vicious. Within my head, the dream pup growled.

"Not what you expected?" the voice asked.

"I thought you'd appreciate the calm. I took special care for you to reach me uninterrupted. Don't you like it?" There were no aether threads in the voice, and still it filled me with a sense of dread.

"It's too early to be scared," the voice continued.

"At least enter my chamber first. Then I can enjoy watching you shiver."

"You're a bit confident?" I yelled back. Even if I couldn't tell the nature of her ability, the trials had taught me that there was no natural way for fear to spread on sound alone.

"Why don't you show yourself?"

"You'll see me soon enough," the voice came from a different direction than before.

"Though I won't just let you use Harlequin's Sight on me for free." Damn it! She knew about my special. That meant that she had to know a lot more as well.

"And what's the price?" I hastened by step, moving onwards to the next large corridor.

"Skill, what else?"

"I have a riches card remaining. Will that do?" Laugher again.

"You're so amusing in your attempt to be insolent. You're pulling it off quite well, but it's forced. You're wondering whether the cards you have will be enough to defeat me. Quite an impressive collection, I must say. Most participants barely managed to get five by their third trial."

"I've seen people with more." She couldn't be invisible. I would have seen her if she were. She had to be using some other trick. I looked up at the ceiling. It was high and dome-shaped, with lots of places one could hide. If she were a crawler, no doubt she'd drop down from above. It was more likely that she was a swimmer. Unlike the pyramid, the palace was filled with water. If she were a sea-creature, which made sense, it would be the same as fighting a flier.

"I'm sure there are, yet none of them came down here," the voice continued, coming from further ahead.

"You were also given the choice to end the trial on the ship. Instead, you chose to continue."

"Just following a deity's request."

"Are you sure I am not a deity as well?" The question gave me pause. Was that a bluff, or was she telling the truth? According to Harlequin, deities had no right to interfere, but he had never clarified what that meant precisely. I had seen deities pretend to be merchants; I had witnessed deities possessing participants and monsters alike, using them as puppets as they went on a rampage. Twice, I had seen a deity step in and save participants from certain death.

What if there was some other loophole that allowed them to fight? The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"You can relax," the voice laughed.

"I might be a deity in my own right, though not the one you're thinking of. I remain locked within the trial, yet also have the power to see outside." There was a slight pause.

"Like your last few hours before joining the Grand Arcana. You so much wanted to remain with your parents, but knew you couldn't. Saying goodbye to your sister was especially touching. If I ever come across her, I'll be sure to let her know of your final thoughts." Rage replaced fear. I knew that this was also an effect of her ability, but I could no longer contain myself. Holding both blades tightly, I dashed forward.

The water slowed me down, providing all the resistance it could, but that didn't stop me from pressing on.

"Did I touch a nerve?" the voice laughed.

"Good. It would have been boring if you were to come to me half-heartedly. After all, it's all a spectacle both for us and those that watch." Green and orange light filled the next chamber, coming from massive crystals that covered the ceiling. Dozens of doorways led off to many of the other sections of the palace, yet the one I was following was straight ahead.

Ornate busts and detailed mosaics covered the walls, while statues ten feet tall stood in the center, on both sides of a red line of coral paths that led forward.

"You aren't going to use the statues?" the voice asked as I ran past them.

"You must have a high opinion of yourself."

"Won't be the first Grand Arcana I fight." I shouted back.

"Facing the serpent doesn't count. Besides, you had help, didn't you?" Two pieces of information hit me at once. The opponent seemed to know everything that had happened since just before the start of my current run. Yet, she didn't seem to know a thing about my past. That meant that if she were looking into my mind, part of my thoughts remained blocked to her. A staircase of red marble led up to the next room.

The number of jewels and sea metal ornaments on the walls suggested that this had to be the final chamber. I slowed my pace.

"There are no traps," the voice said, reacting to my change of behavior.

"It would hardly be fun if there were."

"That's what you say."

"Only the weak lie," never had I felt so much venom conveyed so softly.

"And I'm far from weak. But go ahead. Crawl up to me if you want to. Just keep in mind that if you try to run away, I'll come after you." Of course she would. This remained a survival trial, after all. The new rules he had added didn't invalidate the old. Not that I had any intention of running. As I climbed up the stairs, I felt a distinct sour taste in my mouth. Breathing underwater eliminated the sense of smell, replacing it with taste.

Hopefully, whatever she had put in the water wasn't fast-acting, otherwise I'd end up dead before reaching her. That was probably the one blind spot I had in my defense. I was confident in my physical abilities, and between my cards and the dream pup, I was reasonably secure against mental and dream attacks. Poison was an entirely different matter. The single resistance sphere I had consumed would hardly save me against anyone who knew what they were doing.

Two marble statues stood at the end of the staircase, "guarding" a large coral door. Seeing them so close, I hesitated.

"Go ahead," the voice invited me. It didn't seem to be coming from the closed door, but I knew that my enemy was there.

"I don't mind. Go, get more from the lower chamber if you wish." Ready for the unexpected, I returned my left blade to my inventory, then took a silver coin and slid it into the opening of the left statue's helmet. Unlike all previous statues I had seen, these had a fully human build. Everything from the size to the proportions, to the armor and clothes they wore gave the impression that they belonged more on the surface than down here.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" the voice asked.

"Some of my most valuable possessions. There were times when I thought I would never tire of them, but then someone like you showed up." My hand froze just as it was about to drop the second silver coin into the helmet's opening.

"They're participants?" I asked.

"Don't tell me that surprises you," the voice laughed.

"These are some of my former challengers. Just like you, they came to the depths to complete Harlequin's trial. They were so strong, so determined, and so I kept them." Brushing away my doubts, I kept on adding coins into the statue's helmet.

"They were a lot higher level than you. Participants don't usually come here before the twentieth trial."

"So, you're saying I stand no chance." I did my best to ignore her words.

"Everyone stands a chance. That's what makes things so exciting. Don't think poorly of yourself. Even with all their advanced cards and fancy gear, they showed a lot less character. Some actually begged me to spare their lives."

"You wouldn't do that." As the tenth coin vanished into the helmet, the statue came to life. There was no word of thanks, no mention of silver, just a nod acknowledging I was in command.

"You don't sound like someone who spares the weak." I went to the other statue.

"Only when they're pretty. It's always nice to have pretty things… like the pair outside my chamber." I paused for a moment once more. These were the failures? Harlequin's Sight didn't tell me anything about them, but they seemed rather well equipped. The breastplate and helmet alone were something that would generally only be available after the thirtieth trial, unless they had the good fortune to find them in a loot cache.

"Don't worry. You'll hold a special place among the collection in my chamber."

"How can you be sure I won't beg for my life as well?"

"I know you won't," the voice laughed, echoes bouncing off all parts of the staircase.

"You want something, and participants who want something only beg when they are close to getting it." Shit! What do you know about that?

"Can you tell me what I want?"

"Naturally. I see it as clear as day. You are seeing the person with the key, and yet don't even know what the key is." My hand froze again. I stopped feeding coins into the statue and turned towards the door.

"Tell me," I demanded.

"If you think I'll lose, what's the harm?"

"Passion," the voice replied.

"If I tell you now, your mind will wander off elsewhere, depriving me of the satisfaction of a good fight. But if you know you'll gain this knowledge upon victory, you'll do everything in your power to defeat me, going beyond what an ordinary participant is willing to do." She wasn't wrong, yet she underestimated how eager I was to obtain her card. Starting the fourth trial with two Grand Arcana cards would set me off on a completely different path than before.

Already, I had diverged so much from my previous run that I no longer had to worry about keeping events on track. The second statue came to life. Quiet, just like the first, it went behind me, waiting to be led forward. Whatever the two had witnessed beyond the door must have been traumatizing enough to scare them to such a level. Retrieving my second dark silver blade, I stepped in front of the door and knocked.

"And so polite, too," the door opened, moving aside so I could enter.

"Please." The taste of sourness in my mouth increased to the point I felt I was chewing rotten fruit. The water itself was significantly murkier than before, dark streaks floating throughout it like ink on a sheet of paper. If there were a way for me to close my nostrils, I would have. Once again I blanked my mind of thoughts and fears and stepped inside. Ten steps later, I stopped. Scattered throughout the room were the bodies of sirens and tritons.

All of them had been mercilessly ripped apart and left bloody on the floor. The wounds were too jagged to have come from a blade, suggesting hooks, claws, or even teeth. In the middle of it all was a single, circular bed. Veils fell from the silver frame that rose up from it, making it look like one enormous birdcage.

"Welcome, Greg," the voice said from behind the veil. It sounded just like before, just a lot more real.

"I'm so looking forward to fighting you."