76 76 Sacrifice (1/2)

The giant room was filled with sounds of rushing water and flowing mana. The echoes of the waterfall fought against the constant humming of the whirlpool of mana in front of them. It was beautiful, the mana moved slowly and gently, taking care to not disturb even the air around them.

An ingot was situated in the middle of the altar which was placed atop a protrusion from the runic walls. Ancient writing dotted the walls giving them a mystifying feel, urns placed ceremoniously inside the indents in the walls further accentuating the temple look.

Donis moved his eyes from corner to corner and saw that there were statues of a being. Tall, strong and it held a weapon that resembled a trident, but with far more of a menacing look. The tips were flared out to make them seem like a hook, almost rake like. Long flowing hair and a small garb to cover the lower half of the body.

The statues were all the same being, but in different positions. His body resembled those the ancient Greeks would consider gods. Perfect physique, and an aura of grandeur. One could tell just how much awe the creators of the statues had for these beings.

Donis considered them beings, for they resembled men, except for their oversized arms, and titanic bodies. The statues depicted scenes of battles, where they stomped, stabbed, or tore men that were of an insignificant size.

The room was perfectly lit, with dark brown walls free from the grasp of the moss that infected the hallways behind them. It was like walking into a temple that was kept daily, yet the same feeling of it being an ancient place never strayed from the palate of the room.

”Wow,” sighed Rona, Cypher and John in unison.

”Cypher, anything to report?” said Striga, snapping her out of her reverie.

She quickly collected herself and began a careful inspection of their surroundings. Though no matter how much she looked, she could see nothing out of the ordinary. There were none of the ancient Hran traps, nor were there any signs of damage to the walls or even signs of ageing anywhere. It was like someone just up and left here yesterday.

Donis also relied on his keen senses and his [True Inspect]. Though there was nothing to see. The room itself seemed plain, though it couldn't be so.

'System, what is this place?' thought Donis.

Yet, for the second time since his inception in this world, the [System] did not reply.

'System?' he asked again.

The only thing in his mind was an eerie silence that he had only felt once before. When he met Variis. Realisation struck Donis like a hammer. He must be in a separate space that the [Systems] AI cannot access.

He couldn't tell Striga anything, but he needed to tell them that this isn't a normal space, nor can they consider it safe. He looked at the metal ingot in the middle of the room and realised that it must be something to do with that. He had no information but it was the only thing that made sense to him right now.

He quickly whispered for Striga to come over, not certain what to tell her, but he knew he couldn't stay entirely silent, this could be too big for him, or even for them.

”Slowly spread out and look for clues, by no means approach that giant pool of mana. We don't know enough about this place to start touching things randomly. That means Jimmy you stay where you are and don't even breathe too hard,” commanded Striga.

”Yes cap'n!” saluted Jimmy.

Striga walked over to Donis, and sat down. He followed suit and sat beside her, lowering his voice as much as he could.

”Something's horribly wrong.”

”Are we in danger?” she replied.

”Not sure, but my uh... abilities don't work here. I've only experienced it once before, and lets just say, it was not of this world.”

Striga looked at him, confusion rippling through her demeanor. She could feel the bridge of her nose and temples needing a rub.

”Fuck, okay, I don't know what that means, but it's definitely not something I wanna try and deal with,” she sighed.

Standing up, Striga commanded the crew to be even more careful than before, stressing that something seemed off about this whole thing. Herself and Jimmy decided to set up a camp a little bit before the room, inside the hallway they came in from.

A few tents to house the crew, a self contained fire to heat up food and themselves, and some cushioned seating.

After a few hours of scouting the room, Cypher and Rona came back with a few pieces of information.

”So, the room is clear, and there seems to be no traps that are known by the Hran, nor are there any traps that could even be seen,” said Cypher.