Rozi retreated. Her instincts were telling her to stay away from the black mist. However, the monster dashed toward her, not giving her any chance to catch her breath. With a howl, the monster’s sword stabbed at Rozi's vital point.Right at that moment, another sword stabbed through the snake woman. Dragonbane dripped with green blood.The monster looked down at the sword and grinned at Adrian. "I told you I can't be killed. I'm the product of these souls and their grudges. You can't kill me."Her wounds swiftly healed over and she was back to full health once more, leaving Cian and the others shocked. They had never seen such a creature."I think I've killed one of her kind before."Watching the snake woman regenerate, Adrian sensed that he had killed one of her kind before, but he could not remember how he had killed the other monster who posed a similar threat as the one before him. Meanwhile, the snake woman charged toward him, and the latter fought back without hesitation.
"My master will never forgive you! Never!" the snake woman let off a final shriek before she was completely devoured.Cian’s group trembled at the sight of her being eaten. The souls then flew through the air before proceeding to disappear into the palace. "What just happened, sir?" Cian's eyes were wide with disbelief. Everything he had just witnessed could not be explained through science. Adrian heaved a sigh of relief and looked at his surroundings. "She was never a being from this world, but merely a seal.""A seal?" Cian exchanged looks with the others. These monsters were a part of a seal, existing in the real world based on myths. Adrian nodded. "They were sealing all those souls you saw. Those souls had suffered endless torment. When I struck her with her own weapon, the souls rushed out of the sword and feasted on her body. But strange… How do I know all this?"He was confused. Everything he said came out very naturally, and his subconscious was thinking the same.
Cian said, "Our ancestors loved their rituals. Maybe this is an altar? Were the oil lamps being used for some sort of ritual?"Adrian shook his head.Rozi replied, "This palace was built to tell future generations the truth about what happened. It’s highly unlikely for anything here to be related to rituals. There's a chance someone built this platform to send us a message.” She then scratched her head. “Hmm… Strange. How do I know all that?" Adrian said, "I said some things subconsciously as well, which means he may have exhausted a lot of his powers when he erased our memories. He failed to erase our memories completely during the last reset. Our memories are locked somewhere within our minds, but we can’t recall them for the time being. I believe we'll be able to subconsciously remember parts of our memories from time to time."Rozi took a deep breath, then circled the platform. "Let's analyze the platform first. I'm sure it's here to tell us something."Adrian nodded.Cian p
Cian and the others were taken aback. They grew even more confused about the seven oil lamps.Rozi, who was studying the platform, found a drawing on it. The drawing was complex, and it looked like someone had engraved some graffiti over it. Everything was so illogical that Adrian could not make any sense of it. "Do you know what this means?" he asked.Rozi shook her head. Looking at the drawing, she said, "It looks half completed. I can't tell what it is at the moment."One of Cian's men looked at the drawing and said, "Sir, don't you think this looks like human blood vessels?"Adrian repeated, "Blood vessels?"The man nodded. Cian said, "Sir, this is Padraig Fitzgerald. He was in a medical course and is quite knowledgeable about that field. I think you should hear him out."Adrian gestured for Padraig to go on."Look here. This drawing looks like a person lying on the platform. This thickest line here seems to be the blood vessels around a human's neck. These connecting th
"No.” Adrian shook his head. "Whoever built this definitely did not do it just for show. There must be some hidden meaning behind it. We just haven't figured it out yet. Let's take some time to analyze it."He then proceeded to compile all possible scenarios in his head. He looked at the brightest oil lamp and said, "The galaxy, the Big Dipper, the solar system, and a network of blood vessels… How do all these link together?"Everyone went deep in thought, each thinking about a possible answer.Suddenly, an idea flashed through Adrian's mind. He turned toward the platform. "I get it now. This isn't True North at all. What we're supposed to do is rearrange the position of the stars.""Huh?" Cian and the others were confused. "Is that possible, sir? How would we even know how to reposition the stars in the first place? We only know how the stars in the Big Dipper are positioned, not the others."Rozi added, "Are you sure about this, Adrian? Could that really be possible?""I'm su
There did not seem to be any flaws in Adrian's logic. First of all, the oil lamps were indeed an indication of the galaxy. Secondly, it was impossible for the answer to the puzzle to be to line them up in a straight line since literally anyone could figure that out. Moreover, the people of the past loved to twist and turn their answers. Hence, Adrian believed that the key to activating the mechanism was by rearranging the Big Dipper. In other words, he needed to locate where the Big Dipper should be pointing and shift the oil lamps accordingly.Rozi silently acknowledged Adrian's deduction. After observing her surroundings, she said, "Here comes the million-dollar question. We've lost our sense of direction, so which way is True North? We won't know how to rearrange the oil lamps if we can't identify this."She had brought up a very important question, one that stumped everyone. There were no ventilations within the palace, and everywhere without oil lamps was shrouded in darkness.
Cian nodded. "So, look for a sundial?"Adrian replied, "Yes. You guys split into pairs and search around. If you find anything, think of a way to alert the others. This palace is very echoey, so we should be able to hear each other from a distance.""Okay.""Be careful, everyone," Adrian said.He went in one direction, Rozi in another. Cian and his men searched in pairs.Shortly after that, a powerful explosion erupted inside the palace. Adrian ran toward the source of the noise. It turned out to be from Cian's grenade. About ten minutes later, Adrian neared the explosion site, where he saw Rozi and the others waving at him behind a pillar."Over here,” Rozi said so softly it was more like she was mouthing the words. Judging from her expression, something had happened.Adrian went toward their hideout. Cian and the others looked fine, prompting Adrian to ask, "What happened? Who caused that explosion?"Cian waved, gesturing that he was not the person in question. "It wasn't us,
The men intended to set up another round of explosives.Cian said, "Sir, I recognize their speech. They're Rondoniers.""Rondoniers?"Adrian, who had lost his memories, could not remember who or what Rondoniers were. Rozi, too, looked at Cian curiously.Cian replied, "Rondom is the most technologically advanced country in the world, but they're our enemies. They've been trying to rule over the world for the longest time. You killed a lot of them in the past, so it's surprising to see them here."Adrian had no memory of Rondoniers, but he could tell they were his enemies based on Cian's tone. Sworn enemies, in fact. "I don't remember them, but I recognize their speech.""You can? But I thought you lost your memories?""It's probably something burned into my subconsciousness. The memories from that part of my brain are still intact. It's the same as how I remember whatever I do about the world.""I see.""They're trying to blow apart some sort of coffin,” the sharp-eyed Rozi sai