Chapter 19: The Molten Sentinel

Xior walked out of the first room alone. His injuries had all been healed but his clothes were barely hanging. Despite being of the highest quality, without any enchantments they were useless.

He moved his hair back and stood in front of the second door. He put his hand on the door handle and turned it. As the door opened a wave of hot air and magma hit him. His body burned but he stood still, the handle still in his hand.

A system screen popped up in front of him.

[Hidden Piece #1]

Perform a dance like the ancient dragons who used to rule this place used to do. Collect the gemstones and place them inside the mouth of the skeleton of the last ancient dragon.

He read the system message while his body healed. He entered the room and the whole environment changed. The floor was shimmering brightly because of the natural pattern on obsidian.

The walls were rough and jagged, magma flowed down from them into the pool in front of him. On the far wall a big dragon skull lay, its mouth open and magma flowing out of it. Its eyes were the same, magma flowed down out of them.

Every step burned his body, the air was hot but he could endure that much. Xior looked at the platforms in front of him. Before he could start, a low voice which felt like a breath of flame, rolled across the room.

’To dance in the fire is to survive, feed me….or burn’

The first gemstone gleamed on a tile three steps away, a ruby the size of his fist. He thought it was easy and stepped forward.

With a click the tile under his foot shuddered under his weight but held. His second step was not forgiving.

As his weight pressed on it, numerous cracks split across its surface and heat surged upwards. He leapt back just as a stream of magma erupted from the opening, splattering his body and eating through his right arm.

’The tiles are changing’ Xior thought as he looked around and analyzed the room. ’I have to be careful’

A grinding sound rumbled from below. The entire floor shifted, some tiles sank while others locked into places. Safe paths blinked in and out of existence.

He inhaled and closed his eyes.

’The rhythm…the pattern…remember it Xior’

The tiles glowed before moving again, twenty seconds. That was all he had before they changed. His boots stuck one tile, then another.

Never pausing more than an instant, his body fell into a rhythm which felt familiar and was soothing.

To anyone watching, it would look like a dance. Swift turns, sudden leaps and fluid spins to avoid the jets of magma bursting from unstable tiles.

But to him, it wasn’t an elegant dance. It was survival, each step of his was a calculation. He reached the ruby and snatched it from the floor.

The second gemstone was a sapphire which lay across the room. The tiles shifted again, the new path was narrower.

Xior exhaled sharply and ran. His boots skimmed the tiles now, his balance and momentum carried him forward. A jet of magma roared up beside him and burned his cheek. But he paid no heed to it.

His mind was locked in the tempo, the same tempo the dragons once followed when dodging fatal attacks mid-flight.

By the time he reached the last gemstone, a black opal glowing with a fire inside sweat poured down his back. The floor was now akin to a death trap.

But his movements far exceeded it, they had become art. The tiles flashed again, and he leapt spinning midair and landing on the final tile before vaulting towards the Dragon’s mouth.

He jumped and threw the gemstones in his hand into the Dragon’s mouth. The chamber shook and the Dragon’s eyes flared like two suns.

When the light ended, two objects revealed themselves inside its mouth. A black curved scale and a black rune the size of Xior’s palm.

Xior grabs both of the items and looks back, the floor reverts to normal creating a safe path for him to leave through.

He got out of the room and saw the nameless offspring waiting for him there. He threw it the scale and the runes and turned towards the third and final room.

*****

In a dimly lit basement, a huge man stood in front of a pulsing portal. His arms and neck were covered in black scales, two horns came out of his forehead and massive wings were present on his back.

The portal pulsed hard and a figure stepped out of it. She was tall and was draped in regal silk, her face was ever-changing, cycling through different visages all insanely beautiful women.

Her eyes were a deep pool of mirrored glass, reflecting everything. Her presence was intoxicating as she left behind the smell of a perfume made of old parchment, incense and something sweetly dangerous, drawing mortals and immortals in with ease and comfort.

She was the 71st Demon King of the Abyss, The Veiled Duchess of a Thousand Faces, Dantalion.

“Is the boy you speak so much of the one who killed Andromalius?” Dantalion asked as she sat on a chair.

“Yes, I’m pretty sure the boy is the same. He is cunning.” The man, chief of the Dragon Tribe replied to her.

“Skorrn, I don’t care if he is cunning. I was to see him, and eat him so I can take his face.”

“Since Andromalius died there have been no demon soldiers sent to help. How can my tribe handle nine other tribes without any help?” Skorrn retorted.

“Don’t act like a kid Skorrn, if not for someone higher I would’ve ripped you apart by now and taken your face. It’s nice but I feel like the boys face will be tastier.” She said as she put a finger under Skorrn’s chin and lifted his head up.

The continued the talk and multiple faces popped out of Dantalion’s hands. Each of them materialized into a body, some were elves, some dwarves and majority were demons.

She had given him two hundred soldiers to utilize in the battle, she got up from the chair and walked towards the portal.

“Remember Skorrn, this is your last chance. If you fail the nameless will step in themselves.” She said before disappearing into the portal.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep