Silence descended upon the ancient chamber.
The deafening roars.The explosions. The endless clash of steel and magic.
Everything had finally come to an end.
Only the ragged breathing of two exhausted young men echoed through the ruined hall.
Damien lay motionless in the middle of the battlefield, only a short distance away from the giant’s colossal corpse.
His chest rose and fell heavily as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
He didn’t even have the strength to sit up. On the opposite side of the chamber.
Noah staggered backward. His legs finally gave out.
His back struck the cold stone wall before he slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor.
He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Every muscle in his body screamed in pain.
His vision blurred. His eyelids felt unbearably heavy.
"...Cough..."
A mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.
’I...I think I still have a few potions left.’
With trembling hands, Noah reached into his storage ring.
After fumbling for several seconds, he finally pulled out a healing potion and a mana recovery potion.
He uncorked both bottles with great difficulty. Then drank them one after another.
Warmth slowly spread throughout his battered body.
The fractured bones began knitting together at a painfully slow pace.
His torn muscles gradually recovered.
Meanwhile, the exhausted mana core within his body also started replenishing itself little by little.
It wasn’t nearly enough to restore him to full strength.
But at least it kept him conscious. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
They simply rested.
Trying to recover enough strength to leave the labyrinth.
Eventually Damien let out a weak laugh.
"We...We actually did it, Noah."
A small smile appeared on his bloodstained face.
"We won."
Noah looked toward him.
Despite his exhaustion...
He smiled faintly and nodded.
"...Yeah. We did."
His breathing remained uneven.
"Let’s just...rest for a while."
Damien silently agreed.
The two closed their eyes for a brief moment.
Then
Tremble
A faint vibration spread through the chamber.
Noah’s eyes immediately opened. "Hm?"
Another vibration followed.
Tremble
He frowned. Something’s moving. He slowly turned his head toward the source of the sound.
His eyes settled upon the ancient stone slab engraved with the dragon.
It was trembling.
"Dammit. What now?"
Noah forced himself onto his feet. His entire body protested in agony.
Still he ignored the pain.
"Damien."
His voice became serious.
"I don’t think this is over. Get up."
Damien immediately opened his eyes.
Without asking any questions, he pushed himself upright, using his sword as support.
Meanwhile Noah cautiously approached the stone slab. An ice spear materialized within his hand.
He remained alert. Ready for anything.
His eyes narrowed. The dragon engraving had been stained with blood during the battle.
It belonged to Damien.
Now something unbelievable was happening. The blood covering the carving slowly began glowing.
Golden light spread across every crimson stain. Even the blood started to turn into golden color.
The glow became brighter with each passing second.
"...What?"
Noah whispered.
At the same moment. The towering stone pillars surrounding the circular hall began trembling violently.
Ancient runes hidden across their surfaces suddenly illuminated. Dark-blue mana pulsed through every pillar.
The entire ruin shook.
Damien, still leaning against his sword, slowly looked around.
"What... is happening?"
Noah didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t know. His grip around the ice spear tightened.
His heartbeat accelerated.
An uneasy feeling settled deep within his chest. Then the glowing pillars erupted.
Streams of dense blue mana burst from every pillar simultaneously.
Like rivers of light they converged toward the dragon-carved stone slab.
Noah instinctively stepped backward.
His eyes never left the altar.
There was fear, curiosity and confusion.
All three emotions mixed together. He suddenly turned toward Damien.
"Damien! Get out of the hall!"
Damien looked surprised. But seeing Noah’s serious expression.
He didn’t question him. He immediately turned toward the entrance of the ancient ruin.
Using his sword as support, he forced his exhausted legs to move.
Noah prepared to retreat as well.
Then space itself distorted.
A gigantic circular portal suddenly materialized above the stone slab.
Its interior was dark blue and black color.
"Fuck."
The instant it appeared a terrifying suction force erupted from within.
WHOOOOSH!!
The violent pull swept across the chamber.
Broken stones.There was dust as well. Fragments of shattered ice.
Everything was dragged toward the portal.
"No!"
Noah slammed his spear into the ground, desperately trying to anchor himself.
His exhausted body trembled violently. He had almost no mana left.
His muscles were barely functioning. He simply didn’t possess the strength to resist.
His feet slowly slid across the floor.
"...No..."
"No!"
His fingers tightened around the spear. The stone beneath it cracked.
But it wasn’t enough.
The suction only grew stronger. Across the hall Damien turned around after hearing Noah’s desperate shout.
His eyes widened in horror.
"Noah!"
Ignoring his own injuries...
He sprinted back toward him.
Every step sent pain shooting through his battered body.
Still he kept running.
"Noah!!"
Their hands came within only a few meters of each other.
Then
WHOOSH!!
Noah was ripped from the ground.
His body disappeared into the black portal before Damien could reach him.
"NOAH!!"
Damien’s body also started to get suck. Using the force he lunged forward. His hand grasped nothing but empty air.
The portal flickered once. Then it vanished.
The chamber fell silent once more. The blue light faded. The pillars became lifeless stone again.
As though nothing had ever happened.
Damien stood frozen. His breathing became uneven.
"Noah?"
He stared at the empty space where his friend had disappeared.
No answer came.
Slowly he walked toward the stone slab.
The blood that had once stained the dragon carving had completely vanished.
Damien clenched his fists. His frustration boiled over.
"Dammit!!"
He slammed his fist against the stone slab.
BANG!!
Nothing happened. He struck it again.
"Open!"
Another punch.
"Open, damn it!!"
Again. And again.
But the ancient slob remained completely silent. Leaving Damien utterly alone inside the final chamber of the labyrinth.
"Why? Dammit!!"
He fell on his knees.
Damien didn’t know what just happened. Where did Noah went? Was that portal took him to another floor of labyrinth? Or to another
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