Chương 262: Chapter 261 - Let There Be Light

The heavy current dragged Lucid downward into the dark abyss. The golden liquid did not behave like ordinary water. It possessed the thick viscosity of melted lead. The violent undertow pulled him past jagged rock formations and smooth subterranean walls. He tumbled endlessly through the crushing pressure. The ambient temperature of the fluid spiked, burning his skin through his clothes. The substance filled his boots and soaked entirely through his protective layers.

He fought the overwhelming current with desperate, thrashing motions. He kicked his legs and propelled himself toward a flat, solid surface he spotted in the gloom. He breached the surface and gasped loudly for oxygen. He dragged his heavy body onto a solid bank of dark gray stone. The remnants of the frozen town were completely gone. The ancient marble architecture of the previous corridors had vanished without a trace. This new space felt deliberately hollowed out from the deep, bedrock crust of the earth.

The massive alcove stretched endlessly into the darkness ahead. The ground sloped gently upward, away from the liquid hazard. The golden river flowed silently behind him, glowing with a dull, unnatural light. The air smelled of heated brass and stagnant sulfur. Lucid pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He coughed up a mouthful of the bitter fluid. He stood up slowly. His joints popped loudly in protest. He surveyed the barren cavern. A wooden handle protruded from a shallow pool of the golden liquid nearby.

He walked over and pulled the object free from the muck. It was a standard steel shovel. The metal spade was battered and heavily scratched. The wooden shaft felt rough against his bare palms. The presence of such a mundane tool in this divine labyrinth made absolutely no logical sense. He already possessed his chains of envy. He decided to carry the shovel anyway since that citadel. A heavy, blunt instrument always held potential tactical value in unfamiliar territory.

'What is the ultimate goal here?' Lucid wondered silently.

'Do you regret signing up for whatever mission you have accepted?' He sighed loudly and continued walking forward into the darkness. The cavern eventually widened into a massive stone hall. The oppressive shadows retreated, replaced by a soft, ambient glow radiating from the floor tiles. Figures materialized in the empty space ahead. They were not solid entities. They appeared as translucent projections woven from bright, glowing threads of Fate Essence. Lucid stopped walking immediately.

He gripped his shovel tightly. He watched a woman cross his path. She held the hands of two small children. Other figures appeared behind them in a steady stream. Men carrying heavy wooden tools walked past him. Women balancing woven baskets on their heads followed close behind. Tall angels with folded feathered wings walked alongside ordinary looking angels. They moved in absolute silence. They smiled warmly at one another. They enacted a peaceful, mundane existence perfectly preserved in time.

Lucid stared intently at the face of a specific woman walking near the outer edge of the spectral crowd. His chest tightened painfully. A sudden, sharp ache seized his throat, making it difficult to swallow. He refused to blink. A single drop of moisture escaped his left eye and slid down his bruised cheek. He wiped the tear away instantly with the back of his hand.

'Do you know them?' Alice asked. Her divine voice echoed directly inside his mind. Lucid ignored the question completely. He tightened his grip on the shovel handle. He kept his eyes focused straight ahead and walked directly through the translucent projections. The glowing embers of Fate Essence swirled harmlessly around his shoulders as he disrupted the visual illusions. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Port Vexis is currently a part of Celestia," He blurted.

"This is not a random memory trap. This is a highly specific vision. The entity governing this domain is deliberately choosing to show this."

"Are you referring to the Monolith?" Alice asked aloud. Her voice sounded hoarse and weak in the vast, echoing cavern. Lucid continued his steady march. He needed to find the exit to this hall. He needed to understand the hidden mechanics of this ruined domain. He had to determine the ultimate trajectory of the frozen town sitting directly above them. The actual meaning behind this elaborate vision clearly rested beyond the phantom-filled room. A colossal stone gateway dominated the far end of the cavern.

The architectural structure reached incredibly high into the dark ceiling. The double doors consisted of thick, dark metal forged with exact geometric precision. A narrow vertical gap existed between the two massive plates. Brilliant white light poured through the slight opening and sliced cleanly across the cavern floor. Lucid approached the gateway. He pressed his palms against the cold metal and pushed forward with all his remaining physical strength. The heavy door did not budge a single inch.

He stepped back and inspected the gap. A massive, jagged boulder was firmly wedged between the lower mechanical hinges. The stone barrier physically prevented the doors from swinging outward. He summoned his chains. The ethereal metal links materialized around his forearms with a familiar, heavy rattle. He attempted to snake the chains through the gap to dislodge the boulder. The individual links were far too thick. They scraped loudly against the door but could not wrap around the obstacle properly.

"That shovel of yours might prove highly useful right now, Lucid," Alice suggested calmly. Lucid looked down at the mundane tool resting in his left hand. He dropped his chains and gripped the wooden shaft with both hands. He approached the illuminated gap again. He jammed the steel spade directly into the narrow space between the boulder and the metal door. He wrapped a short length of his chain around the neck of the shovel to reinforce the makeshift fulcrum. He planted his feet firmly on the rough ground.

He leaned his body weight backward and pulled the handle with massive, sustained force. The wood groaned loudly under the intense pressure. The metal spade bit deeply into the jagged rock surface. The boulder shifted slightly to the left. Lucid gritted his teeth and applied more leverage. A loud crack echoed sharply through the cavern. The stone split into two distinct halves. The broken pieces tumbled away from the hinges and splashed into a nearby puddle of water.

"Good job, Lucid," Alice noted. A rare hint of genuine surprise colored her mental projection. He wiped a thick layer of cold sweat from his forehead. He looked at the cleared mechanism. He did not fully understand his own underlying motivations for completing these tasks anymore. He primarily wanted to exact brutal revenge on the magistrate who had tortured him, that now turned good out of nowheres. However, he also felt a bizarre, undeniable obligation to prevent the total structural collapse of the town above.

He simply needed to survive, and moving forward remained his only viable option. He caught his breath. He pressed his shoulder against the massive metal plate. He drove his legs forward. The heavy door groaned loudly. It scraped across the stone floor and swung outward, revealing a massive new environment. Back at the main entrance, Lucid stepped through the newly opened threshold. The sheer scale of the environment forced him to halt his advance immediately. He stood at the central border of Celestia.

The forgotten lands stretched out endlessly before him. This was the mythical heaven of the scattered realms. He had read extensively about this exact location in dusty academy archives. The historical texts claimed the Monolith and the original eight clans had inhabited this magnificent city long before its catastrophic collapse. It was supposed to be hidden safely within the divine barrier. The architecture overwhelmed his visual senses.

Towering pillars of flawless white marble supported elevated stone aqueducts. Grand monuments spilled clear water into expansive circular basins. Masterful sculptures of mythical beasts and legendary warriors lined the broad, perfectly paved avenues. A dense golden mist hung heavily in the air. It coated every single surface in a warm, ethereal sheen. The entire city sat in absolute, pristine silence. It was undeniably beautiful, yet it felt entirely dead.

"This is..." Lucid started. He could not find the correct words to finish the sentence. He walked slowly down the main avenue. His boots clicked softly against the polished paving stones. The mist clung to his face. He approached a large central plaza. A flat stone pedestal sat exactly in the middle of the square. Two lifelike statues of elegant sculpted female statues stood beside the pedestal — both meeting ther forehead together. Lucid stepped securely between the two statues.

He looked down at the flat stone surface of the pedestal. A series of deep, precise engravings covered the entire top plate.