Death… And Me

While Kentucky and Kachia stayed outside, the rest of the group headed underground. It didn’t take long for them to find the warehouse and, shortly afterward, the hidden chamber the twins’ group had concealed behind the large containers during their previous visit. Unsurprisingly, the place had changed very little during all that time.

The warehouse remained filled with broken pieces of metal, shattered stone blocks, and thick layers of dust, while the underground chamber itself looked almost exactly the same as when the twins’ group had first discovered it.

As for Godly Creatures, only two Godly Spawns had settled there after the twins’ group left. They had apparently chosen the ruins as a nesting place, perhaps because very few creatures would dare approach the fortress itself. Unfortunately for them, Arcis and Haniala dispatched the creatures before they even had the opportunity to understand what was happening.

With the area secured, everyone’s attention immediately turned toward the teleport array.

The moment they entered the chamber, Thery, Haniala, and Sison rushed toward the array, their eyes shining with excitement. "This is it!" Thery exclaimed. "There is no doubt about it. This is one of the arrays connected to the Ancient Prison City of Woster!"

Rean and Flugel also stepped forward to take a closer look. They already knew it was a teleport array, but that was where their understanding ended. The runes engraved into the array looked completely different from modern ones, and even the methods used to circulate energy appeared foreign.

Rean crouched beside one of the runic lines before asking, "Do you think you can activate it?"

Thery and his companions immediately spread out and began their inspection. Every now and then, one of them would stop to observe a particular rune before exchanging a few words with the others. Sometimes they nodded, while at other times they frowned and shook their heads. Nearly half an hour passed before Thery finally stood up.

"Yes, it should be possible," he said. "As I mentioned before, we no longer possess much knowledge regarding the ancient arrays and their runes. Our race managed to preserve only fragments of the knowledge left behind by our ancestors. Even so, those fragments should be enough to repair the damage here."

He then pointed at several locations throughout the array. "Fortunately, most of the array remains intact. Only a few sections need to be repaired or replaced. As long as we proceed carefully, we should be able to restore it."

Rean looked surprised. "You sound quite confident."

Thery smiled in response. "That is because we possess something that should make the task considerably easier. As I told you before, we recovered many runes from another array connected to Woster. Although the array itself was beyond repair, some of the runes survived, and we have carefully preserved them until now. They should be enough to reactivate this array..." He then paused for a moment before adding, "As long as we have the key, of course."

Arcis nodded. "That won’t be a problem. The key found by the twins’ group during their first expedition is safely stored inside my Spatial Ring."

That immediately reminded Rean of something. "If the array your people found was similar to this one, shouldn’t it also have had a key? The fact that you know one is required means you found one as well, doesn’t it?"

Everyone immediately turned to look at Thery. The envoy remained silent for a few moments before eventually nodding.

"Yes, we did."

He then sighed.

"Unfortunately..."

*Zush!*

A stone tablet appeared in his hand. Unlike the one discovered by the twins’ group, however, this one was in terrible condition. Cracks spread across almost its entire surface, while some sections had broken away altogether. Several runes had become completely unreadable, and even the stone itself appeared unstable.

Rean raised an eyebrow. "That looks pretty bad."

"It is," Thery admitted. "We spent many years attempting to restore it, but our understanding of these ancient runes is simply too limited. Even so, we hoped it would still function if we ever found another array."

Haniala gently touched the tablet. "Many of our elders worked on restoring it. Unfortunately, every attempt ended in failure."

Sison nodded in agreement. "At the very least, we managed to prevent it from deteriorating further."

Thery then turned toward Arcis. "That won’t be necessary anymore. Your tablet is intact, so there is no reason to take unnecessary risks. In fact, if mine still functions at all, using it could destabilize the entire teleportation process."

Arcis crossed his arms. "And why exactly did you decide not to mention this earlier?"

"Please don’t take it personally," Thery replied. "This matter is simply too important to the Thousand-Script Race. Naturally, we have our reservations regarding outsiders. Or, more accurately, regarding anyone who isn’t one of us."

Arcis glanced at Roan, who nodded slightly. "I suppose that makes sense." Roan then shifted his attention back to Thery and asked, "Is there anything else you haven’t told us?"

Thery smiled bitterly. "If I said no, would you believe me?"

"No," Roan answered immediately, catching even Thery off guard.

The envoy could only laugh helplessly. "Then there is your answer. My companions and I have devoted countless years to investigating Woster and the connection between our race and these ancient civilizations. Naturally, we aren’t willing to reveal everything we know. Even so, I have no intention of deceiving you. You are free to accompany us or leave. My companions and I will continue regardless of your decision."

His expression then turned serious. "If you decide to return to Besgol, I only ask that you refrain from destroying the array after we cross to the other side."

Roan glanced at Arcis. Ultimately, the decision belonged to the Law God. Although the Besgol Region and the Natak Region had joined forces for this expedition, they still remained independent groups with their own objectives and responsibilities.

At that moment, Sister Orb’s voice echoed through their soul connection.

[Just tell him we should continue. A quest of this magnitude wouldn’t have formed if there were nothing there. I don’t know what we’ll find, but the possibility of discovering another Great Void Echo definitely exists.]

Rean and Roan exchanged glances before Roan finally spoke. "We’ve already come this far. Besides, you said it yourself. Besgol still has three Law Gods remaining. Everyone accepted the risks before leaving, so turning back now doesn’t make much sense."

Arcis pondered the matter for a little longer before finally nodding. "Very well. We continue."

Thery visibly relaxed after hearing that answer.

Arcis then turned to Rean and Flugel. "The two of you will help our friends from Natak build the protective array. Once it is completed, we will activate the array."

"Understood," Rean and Flugel answered simultaneously.

Work began immediately. Both groups intentionally selected a relatively simple design because a more complicated array would also make it easier for one side to secretly alter the array without the others noticing. Simplicity was undoubtedly the safest approach under the current circumstances.

The array itself would absorb Celestial Energy directly from the environment, while several smaller arrays distributed throughout the ruins would gather and redirect that energy toward the underground chamber. Although the concept was simple, implementing it was much more difficult.

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