Chapter 118: Horror from the Past

Chapter 118: Horror from the Past

Flashbacks of Dallions encounter with the chainling passed through his mind. That had been the first time he had gone into the wilderness, and the first time he had seen actual death. One thing about awakened battles was that despite the hardships and danger of having ones abilities sealed, they were still too much like a video game. Death wasnt real death, especially when emblems were involved. Fighting in the wilderness was just that. The hunting party Dallion was in had come across a whole caravan of corpses, not to mention lost a substantial number of soldiers when facing the beast. It was mostly through luck that Dallion hadnt joined them.

The creature that was in the chamber brought all those memories back, along with the corresponding fear. It appeared far smaller than the chainling Dallion had seenno bigger than a standard wolfsemi-merged to the body of a much larger creature. If Dallion was to guess, hed say that the real guardian had attempted to fight the chainling and had lost. Chainlings, as Dallion had seen, had the ability to merge with and transform both living and non-living matter; thats what made them such a threat.

No wonder the shelfeys kept growing until they filled up the levelthe chainling compelled them to.

Janna and Kallan didnt seem in the least worried. Rather the opposite, they dashed at the black silhouette like hawks at a rat. A series of red walls zigzagged from their blades through the creature several times.

Seeing that it was outnumbered, the creature attempted to scurry towards the nearest wall, but it was already too late. Before it could take a step, Kellan had landed half a dozen hits. Moments later, he was joined by his sister.

Stacks of red rectangles emerged in the air, each indicating a five percent health reduction. It all seemed so effortless. Three passes were all it took for the wolf silhouette to go out of existence, as if it were a common item creature.

Dallion could barely believe what he had just seen. The nest of cracks had been tougher. Even he would have managed to defeat the guardian alone. For several seconds, he held his breath in disbelief that the battle had ended. A blue rectangle soon confirmed it.

KALEIDERVISTO Level 2 has been cleared!Visitt novelbin(.)co/m for the latest updates

Continue on to fulfill the KALEIDERVISTOs destiny.

The entire level lit up. There was no denying it now, the guardian had been destroyed and just as easily as Kallan had said. No question, they had been lucky, and yet something weighed on Dallions mind.

That was a shelfey? he asked.

Annoying creatures. Very easy to get rid of, though, the boy replied.

Thats because theyre locked inside a realm, Dallion thought.

Was that how his grandfather had made one during the war? Possibly, it also meant why the Order of the Seven Moons considered the practice dangerous. The bigger question, though, was how had the creature entered the item in the first place. There had been a previous guardian that was plainly visible, and even so, the chainling had entered and gotten trapped inside. Or maybe it hadnt become trapped, but was just resting? Growing, perhaps? For all Dallion knew, maybe this was how they were bornthey would infect an item, and slowly mature inside until the moment they emerged in the real world again and started causing chaos. They were awakened creatures too, after all.

Whats wrong? Kallan asked.

Just thinking. Dallion tried to get the images out of his head. You say you meet these things often?

Just sometimes, Janna shrugged.

And also get to have some guild food, Kallan added.

Right. I meant what happens with the artefact? Dallion clarified.

Oh, that. It goes to the crafters who determine what it does, then its kept or sold off. Usually sold off. Theres no point in keeping things just for the sake of them. Of course, everyone in the guild can buy them out before they hit the market. The captains have first choice, but after that anyone can bid. Even you.

That sounded like a nice perk. It also meant that the least equipped members could take advantage of the work of others. Granted, they had to have earned the funds to actually buy the item.

Even gotten anything good?

Yes. Kallan didnt go into details. Lets go.

To Dallions surprise, the siblings put the weapons they were carrying on his pack.

This is the last one, so once in the chamber, you can drop everything on the ground and join in, Janna said. Just dont get in the way. If you can pull off some music, do it, but otherwise wait till were done or killed and then have a go. It takes one of us to win for everyone to get paid.

Well still get paid for the first two levels, right?

Yeah, but the big money is for the fulfilling. Everyone can do a few levels. The trick is getting it all done.

There was no arguing that. Adjusting the gear he was carrying, Dallion then nodded.

The three entered the chamber slowly and cautiously. Kallan was first, followed by his sister a few steps later. Dallion was last, carrying all the lanterns with him. Light covered half of the chamber, but there was no guardian in sight.

Do they have to hide? Dallion wondered. Things were much simpler in the dagger.

Kallan made a sign for his sister to move along the right section of the chamber while he continued along the left. That left Dallion in the awkward position of having to continue straight forward. So much for playing it safe. Whatever the guardian was, chances were it would attack the light source in the middle of the chamber.

Do you feel anything, Nox? Dallion whispered. He could feel cracklings unease. Yea, I know what you mean.

A few hundred steps in, most of the chamber was lit up, and still there was no guardian to behold. Dallion glanced over his shoulder to the tunnel through which they had gotten here. It was barely visible.

Dallion removed one of the lanterns from him and put it on the floor. After a pause, he continued forward. Options raced through his mind. The first level had a firebird, the second remained a big unknownnot much information to speculate on. Looking at the structure of the levels, though, the second one was made entirely of mother-of-pearl, and which was of crystal. Assuming each level was somehow an embodiment of its guardian, that would suggest that this guardian was linked to crystal?

Get back! Kallan shouted.