Chapter 422 Courage



As Linus and Kaizen stepped through the gap in the great colossal door, they were immediately greeted by a spectacular sight. They were now in a large underground room with a ceiling high enough to accommodate a small building. The floor was covered with a thin layer of white sand, which sparkled with the reflection of several torches scattered along the walls. Around the room were several marble statues of human figures in dramatic poses and intense expressions, ten statues in all.

In the center of the room, a shining object caught Kaizen's attention: a huge green crystal that emitted a dim but steady light.

Linus, for his part, walked in front of Kaizen, looking intently at the statues as he walked.

"These statues... They represent the ten legendary warriors who fought the Orc King millennia ago," he explained. "They were known as 'The Ten Heroes' and their stories have been told for generations. They were said to have been endowed with divine powers to face the hordes of orcs that threatened to destroy the world, and their weapons were so powerful that they could kill divine beings."

Kaizen was impressed. He had never heard of these legendary heroes before.

"What about that green crystal in the middle of the room? What is it?" he asked as he approached the crystal.

"Be careful with this crystal, Kaizen. It is very valuable and can be dangerous if not handled carefully," Linus warned.

Kaizen nodded and stepped back a bit, "And what might this thing do to me?"

"It is hard to predict exactly, but this is a mana crystal. These very rare magical stones have an incredible amount of magical energy. And if I'm right, it could be worth a fortune on the black market." Linus explained.

Kaizen looked at the crystal with even more interest. He knew that magical energy was very important and could only imagine how surprised the librarian Alina would be to see such an ore. As he stared at this large crystal of mana, he was tempted to touch it, as if the glow of the crystal was mesmerizing.

Cautiously, but subconsciously, Kaizen approached the green crystal, feeling the energy emanating from it. Kaizen raised his hand to touch it, but Linus stopped him.

"Psyker, don't touch it yet, we don't know what might happen. Considering your connection to the paranormal, it could be even more dangerous than ordinary people touching it," Linus said with a warning tone in his voice.

Kaizen nodded in agreement, pushing his hand away and deciding to look elsewhere for distraction, lest he be tempted to touch it again. He looked around again, trying to find some clue as to what this place might be and what Lucia was still looking for if she had already gained control of the Minotaur. It was then that he realized that the marble statues were all different, representing not only different people, but also different human emotions.

"Linus, what exactly do you think this place is?" asked Kaizen, looking at the statues with interest.

Linus scratched his chin and thought. "I'm not sure, but these statues don't just seem to represent 'The Ten Heroes', they also seem to represent them at significant moments in their lives. Maybe this is some kind of shrine or memorial."

"That makes sense," Kaizen agreed, studying the statues more closely. "But why would a memorial to these heroes be at such a deep point in this labyrinth, and why is there a Minotaur protecting it?"

"I don't know. We just have to keep looking for answers. Maybe there is something else in this place that can give us a clue," Linus replied.

Kaizen agreed, and they began to explore the room more carefully, examining every statue and nook and cranny for a clue. As they walked, they noticed that there was a pattern in the poses and expressions of the statues, as if they were telling a story, but there was no way to figure out what the story was from the expressions alone. This was probably a puzzle that required a prior mission and context to solve, which Kaizen did not have.

At that moment, the Psyker thought for a moment that it would be pointless to keep trying to find an answer, but before he could give up, he looked down at his hand and remembered the Guide Ring, the same ring that had led him to the Minotaur.

So Kaizen raised his right hand and said to the ring:

"Take me where I must go."

His command was a bit ambiguous and meaningless, except that as Kaizen spoke to the Guide Ring, a bright light began to emanate from it, creating a trail of green light through the air as it had before. The trail led Kaizen to a part of the room where there was a statue of a young warrior holding a spear. This warrior was smaller than the other heroes, and his spear was bigger than he was, but his statue had a serious face, unlike all the others, who were sad, happy, angry, and all sorts of emotions. And this statue of the young spearman was looking at a certain point on the ceiling with a serious expression and his chin up, bravely.

Kaizen approached the statue and noticed that there was an inscription on the ceiling where the statue was looking. Using the effect of the title Master of Languages, he deciphered the inscription in Elven and discovered not the answer to the riddle of the place, but the question, which was:

"I am a bridge to the other side, but only those who face fear can cross me. Who am I?" Kaizen read aloud to himself.

He thought for a moment, looking around and assessing the whole context, especially the expression of the statue before him, he answered:

"Courage".

The moment he said the right answer, the whole place began to shake and a secret door opened right in front of him.

While Linus was still examining the statues, he heard a noise and felt everything shake. Linus frowned, caught himself to keep from falling, and looked around. When he looked back, he saw Kaizen standing in front of a large passageway that had suddenly appeared, separating the statue from the young leader of the heroes.