novelraw Chapter 503: The Cake is a Lie
Chapter 503: The Cake is a Lie
Richard was, of course, a bad person.
But he wasn't a villain to the core, not an embodiment of pure evil that inspired such hatred you'd want to hang him from Belfast's long-abandoned gallows and leave his body on public display for a week.
This was tied to his goal—to gain the power to protect everyone.
Unfortunately, Richard chose the wrong path.
He didn't believe he was doing anything wrong, even after witnessing Lu Li's trials. He simply thought they were walking different paths. Only in the moment of his defeat, after all of Lu Li's words and actions, did Richard finally understand. Proudly accepting his fate, he chose to bury himself.
In any case, one of the threats to Lu Li's life had vanished.
Staggering, Lu Li stepped back from the edge of the abyss and, breathing heavily, sank onto the cold stone slabs.
Although Richard had been exhausted, his desperate struggle had still caused Lu Li considerable trouble—both physical and mental.
Gazing calmly at the blurred edge of the abyss a few meters away, Lu Li knew the key was lost, this door was closed, and there was no longer any reason to remain.
He decided to rest for a moment and then return the way he came. Anna was waiting for him outside.Speaking of doors... Lu Li suddenly remembered he'd forgotten something very important—about "the Door."
Richard had been the only lead connected to "the Door," but with his death, that thread was broken.
Lu Li was running out of time; he could feel that the next intrusion from "the Door" wouldn't be far off.
First, he needed to get out of here.
Feeling he had rested enough, Lu Li stood up, cast one last glance into the darkness beyond the abyss's edge, and turned to leave.
He didn't look back, feeling not the slightest regret for the key and Richard, now buried in that abyss.
It was difficult to navigate the gray fog, but the cracks between the stone slabs showed Lu Li the way—he just had to follow them, away from the bottomless chasm, and an exit was bound to appear.
Ahead in the mist, a wisp of fog coalesced into writing, unexpectedly elegant for such a place.
[You have passed the true trial]
In the monotonous, foggy space, Lu Li easily spotted the anomaly. He slowed his pace slightly and walked past, paying it no mind. The rush of air from his movement dispersed the writing, and the fog became uniform once more.
He had no intention of responding to the entity's words; after all, he wasn't trying to claim its power.
Suddenly, pitch-black darkness appeared before him. Traces of water were visible on the stone slabs.
Lu Li had found the way back.
Realizing he'd lost his flashlight, he simply stepped into the darkness.
Walking straight through the darkness, Lu Li was not alone. An ethereal light surrounded him, forming a glowing inscription before him, clearly visible in the gloom.
[Your exceptional qualities are worthy of praise]
Continuing to ignore the inscriptions, Lu Li walked on through the dark. After a few minutes, a light appeared ahead.
The stone walls replaced the darkness, and Lu Li found himself back at the entrance of the underground passage.
[I see in you, human, another possibility]
At the end of the passage, new words appeared on the curtain of water.
[And I am glad you did not choose to take the Ancient God's body]
The rush of water.
Stepping through the curtain of water, Lu Li disturbed the inscription, and it dissolved into the darkness, rising upward.
Lu Li didn't bother holding his breath. He was at an unknown depth, and if the water here was unbreathable, holding his breath would be pointless.
He began to paddle, but realized he was rising very slowly. When he stopped, he started to sink back into the depths of the underwater ruins.
After a moment of thought, he took off his heavy wool coat.
Freed from the excess weight, Lu Li began to ascend slowly.
The discarded coat sank slowly into the bottomless chasm. Its empty sleeves fluttered as if they had come to life, while Lu Li, kicking his legs, rose toward the surface.
[An enticing aroma conceals a deadly trap. It is merely a deception]
After rising a hundred, perhaps even two hundred meters, Lu Li caught a glimpse of an inscription on the nearest massive stone column, one he was able to understand.
He slowed his ascent for a moment, then continued upward, pondering the inscription's meaning.
He had a premonition.
The being that had arranged these trials, the one controlling the inscriptions, did not seem to be the same ancient god sleeping in the depths of the ruins...
[The stars are already aligned]
[An abomination waits in the abyss]
[The strange and the terrifying stir in the darkness]
[And the flame is about to be extinguished]
Over the next fifteen minutes, the inscriptions continued to appear before Lu Li in various forms, all foretelling a grim future.
Although some mysterious force had kept Lu Li from being crushed by the water pressure at this depth, he could still feel it, and breathing was difficult.
Now, that pressure began to ease, and Lu Li knew he was approaching the surface.
At some point, ripples appeared on the gently stirring surface of the water, and a figure broke through.
Lu Li greedily gulped in the fresh air, the sensation like waking from a long dream.
Suddenly, warm blood began to stream from his nose, dripping into the dark water.
He'd ascended too quickly.
Lu Li thought. He looked around. Perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps not, but two empty boats were just a few meters away.
Paddling with his arms and legs, Lu Li reached the nearest boat and, before the dizziness completely overwhelmed him, he hauled himself over the side. The vertigo lasted for about a minute before slowly receding.
[When the darkness envelops you, do not lose hope]
When his vision cleared, Lu Li saw an inscription formed by the clouds in the sky.
After two minutes, having collected himself, Lu Li fought against the weakness in his muscles, sat up, and began to look for oars. But he found that the boat was moving on its own, carried by the current.
[Take this. It will lead you down the path of awakening]
[Even a dying ember can be rekindled]
The inscriptions continued to appear as he drifted.
Rocking in the boat, Lu Li gazed ahead. On the horizon, a shoreline and a familiar hut came into view.
[And the gift you brought shall be returned to you]
Thump.
The boat ran aground, its bow digging into the sand where the water had receded from the shore.
Lu Li wanted to return to the downward passage, though he barely had the strength to climb the nearly thirteen-foot steps. But he suddenly changed his mind and headed for the hut.
The deep hole in the floor was gone, leaving only the faint smell of fish and a bit of silt on the floorboards.
[That was the trial]
The inscription appeared on the window.
Lu Li closed the door, slid the bolt, and lay down on the bed.
An inexplicable exhaustion washed over him, and he began to drift off to sleep.
Creak.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, the locked door suddenly swung open, and a figure in a black cloak entered the hut, holding a lit candle.
The figure seemed familiar, but Lu Li couldn't recall where he had seen it before.
The figure didn't smell of the sea. It walked to the table and set down the candle.
His heavy eyelids finally closed. Before sinking into sleep, Lu Li heard two quiet words.
"Good night."
"Sweet dreams."