novelraw Chapter 236: Coming Out.
Chapter 236: Coming Out.
Walking inside the ancient door, Thoren felt as if he had fallen into a deep, endless ocean. His breathing became shallow, and heavy pressure fell on him from all sides.
He tried to stop moving but found it impossible because he was being dragged forward by an invisible force. Around him, the scenes shifted constantly and without warning.
Sometimes, he saw images of an ancient grand hall filled with towering pillars. Other times, he witnessed terrifying rivers of blood flowing through dark valleys.
Everything flashed past in mere seconds, giving him no time to process what he was actually seeing.
’What is going on?’ he thought, and his heart pounded heavily against his chest.
He did not know where he was or where he was going. He was simply being pulled forward by an invincible force that he could not resist. Realizing he could not change his situation, he concentrated on studying the scenes around him.
He saw devastating war on an unimaginable scale.
He saw terrifying beasts that would send shivers down the spine of any beholder.
He saw the complete destruction of entire worlds.
He heard cries of anguish from countless suffering voices.
He witnessed famine spreading across all the land like a deadly plague.
He saw people dying in hundreds of thousands, their bodies piled high like mountains. The world seemed to be completely filled with dead people everywhere he looked. Thoren was truly scared, and he closed his eyes tightly, unable to look at the dreadful scenes any longer.
’Are they real?
’ he questioned deeply in his heart.
He could not imagine his own world ever facing such devastating destruction.
’No,’ he shook his head firmly. ’They cannot be real.’
He tried to deny the thought, but deep in his heart, his gut told him there was a high chance that these visions might actually be real.
’But if this is real, where is this place?’ he asked himself.
’Why is the ancient voice showing me all of these terrible things?’
Various questions appeared in his mind, but there was no one present to answer him. Suddenly, he was jolted out of his thoughts when his body was slammed into a cold, hard ground.
Hmm.
A sharp grunt escaped from his lips as he blinked twice to clear his vision. He looked around and found himself lying on the ground, completely covered in sand.
’I know this sand,’ he thought with sudden recognition.
This was the familiar sand of the Bleeding Desert.
Seeing this familiar sight, a deep sigh of relief escaped from his tired lips. Just as he prepared to push himself off the ground, he heard the hurried sound of approaching footsteps.
It was then he realized he was inside a small, narrow passage that only allowed a single person to walk at a time.
More importantly, beside him there were several dead bodies lying motionless on the ground.
"What is this place, and what is going on?" he whispered under his breath with confusion.
Suddenly, he noticed a shiny pendant hanging around the neck of one of the dead bodies. Another corpse was holding two tight fists around dark reddish stones.
"What are these?" he reached out his hand and took both the pendant, which was made from an unknown material, and the dark reddish stones.
Just then, the hurried footsteps arrived directly behind him. Turning his head, he saw a young man and a young woman covered in bruises all over their faces. They were running as if their very lives depended on their speed.
"What are you doing?" the young man shouted, and his face was filled with confusion. "Run. The Dust Wyrms are coming."
Hmm?
Thoren widened his eyes, filled with even more confusion. While Thoren was still trying to understand what was going on, the two had already fled past him. He looked at their backs as they disappeared around a corner.
Howl!
Suddenly, a deep, terrifying howl came from the deeper part of the narrow passage behind him.
’Although I do not know what a Dust Wyrm is, I should not stay here like a fool,’ he decided quickly.
With that urgent thought, he chased after the young man and the young woman as fast as his tired legs could carry him.
Huh! Huh!
After running for ten exhausting meters, Thoren was already panting heavily. His back was completely drenched in cold sweat, and his feet were aching terribly.
’Dammit. This is so exhausting,’ he complained to himself.
This was the first time he had to run so much with his own two legs. With his undead mount, he never had to worry about traveling or escaping until this very moment.
’This cannot continue. I need to increase my strength and constitution,’ he thought decisively.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he pushed himself to continue running while his entire body protested loudly. Running through the narrow passage, he realized the passage was dividing into multiple parts.
The tunnels were arranged like a confusing labyrinth.
Without following the two fleeing figures, he guessed he would have probably gotten lost in the labyrinth forever.
When his body was almost at its absolute limit, he saw the two figures slowing down in the distance ahead of him.
"Thank goodness," he cried in his heart.
Any more running, and he would have to stop and allow himself to collapse.
Worse, he would have to take his chances against being lost in the deadly labyrinth alone.
Looking back, the young man and woman looked at Thoren, who was sweating like a lamb being led to slaughter. They could not help but crease their brows at his pitiful condition.
"You made it," the young woman said with the corner of her lips raised in a small smile.
"Hmm. That is good," the young man nodded with a faint smile on his face. "That means you have not lost your will to survive."
Thoren did not respond immediately. He simply stood there, looking at the two strangers who had helped him.
"Did you manage to find any Bloodstone?" the young man asked curiously, his eyes scanning Thoren’s hands.
Just then, they lowered their heads and saw the two bloodstones clutched in Thoren’s hand. Their gaze slowly moved to the shiny jade pendant that hung from his other hand.
Looking at the jade pendant, the young man and woman widened their eyes for a brief second, but they recovered quickly, hiding their shock behind neutral expressions.
The two exchanged subtle glances with each other, communicating silently.
"We do not need to wait any longer," the young woman said quickly. ’Let us leave this place now.’