Chapter 81: Shift Optics

Chapter 81: Shift Optics

Sofia and Alith cautiously advanced through the main hall. This was a dungeon. So there had to be something in there. Something hostile. And since everything was still intact, it probably wasnt a Phageid, so their best bet was : the owner.

Though it was dubious how anyone could be alive for so long. Maybe the owner is a skeleton. Or will become one.

That being said, they hoped that it wasnt actually it. Because why would a potential owner of this place not return to the real world if they had access to a key-ring? So either they guessed wrong, or the potential owner had no interest in leaving, or worse yet : they had no way to leave.

Sofia and Alith had already discussed what they would try next if there was no way to leave to be found in there. They would break the one ring they had to study it and whats inside. Like this they could hopefully manage to replicate it But they knew nothing about the making of magic items, so that was a huge gamble and their last resort option. Of course they had tried obvious stuff like pumping the ring full of mana from the very start but that did nothing to restore its uses.

Now that they were inside, observing the lavishly decorated hall, its tapestries, its wooden cabinets, its non-blue stone sculptures This felt extremely human. So far the city had been empty of all but bare walls and ceilings. The palace did look normal from the outside, but all curtains were closed so it had been impossible to see inside before entering. Now that they were there, it was very obvious that this had been a human city. I don't know if that's reassuring or a disappointment. At least if we're stuck here we can actually use the stuff in the castle...

The paintings were all vague scenery of forests and plains, in hard unmixed colors. This kind of art style only survived in the old records of the Church as far as Sofia knew. And information about this was exactly the kind of useless educational books they would give the orphanages, when it wasnt glorious tales of paladins and dragons.

Im no historian but these paintings have to be at least a thousand years old. If not more. Honestly Aurelias were better. So this was a human city... But why is it in this void? And why full of Phageid?

They kept sneaking through the castle like robbers, though they didnt actually touch anything. Sofia was firing [Identify] left and right, but the results were middling. Some stuff here was worth good money but what use would that be of now? Behind the seat of honor were two doors, they entered the left one. Corridor.

A corridor leading to the servants quarters and the kitchens, a familiar layout. No point in exploring this way. She gave a sign for Alith to turn back. The right door led to yet another corridor, this one however deserved all kinds of interesting rooms. But they didnt want to bother with anything that didnt look like a way out, they kept their eyes peeled for another key-ring, but didnt go through everything. They would comb the place when they were sure it was safe.

Until then, they left after a glance in each room. Climbing the first set of stairs they found. The important stuff had to be up there on the higher floors. Such had always been the hubris of man.

The second floor was still relatively harmless, more random rooms, though these felt more assorted to each other, more private. Probably where the family who lived there actually spend their days. Unlike the first floor that was for servants and guests. It was interesting that they could still see clearly despite the closed heavy curtains everywhere, since the lighting was still the same otherworldly uniform thing it was outside. But they did find candlesticks and wall mounted light rocks, though everything was off. That would confirm this place wasn't always a part of the void.

They hoped to find something akin to a treasury there but not luck. The most interesting thing they stumbled upon was a family portrait painting. Though the art style was dated, it looked like a happy family of five. With the father being a scrawny man in violet robes, three kids with rather delicate features and the mother An elf?

This cant be, right? No no. Im positive the elf that had the ring was male One of the kids? A descendant? Ah, whatever. Pareth was a chicken now, anyway. The elf's skeleton long lost to the depths of the sea.

It was weird the state this place was in. It was clean and in perfect condition. No dust, no disrepair, no mess anywhere. But it was all empty of life. As if someone cleaned the whole thing up then disappeared. There were no traces of it being recently lived in.

The tension they had felt was slowly dissipating. The palace lacked any kind of protection or traps beyond the outside shield, no one was here to berate them for entering their sacred place or anything like that. Besides, the previous occupants were humans. They had even found books written in the common language. Though they had no time to read them.

They entered the third floor. This was nothing like anything they had seen before. Every room was dedicated to science, and labeled as such with a plaque above the door. Alchemy, mineralogy, herbology, entomology, each room its own subject, displays and equipment. It was harmless at the start but the deeper they progressed through the maze of connected science rooms the weirder it got.

Optics.

Power cores.

Sinkholes.

Realms.

Shield Matrices.

This was a real dungeon after all. There had to be a boss.

*No danger. Door closed.*

*Shield matrix. Same outside.*

*You will locked inside*

Alright. It's maybe really the human from the painting. Lets try to communicate. Could still be a trap too. But what are our options even? Alith gestured that Sofia should do the talking.

Who are you?

*Hero. Built Zangdar. Past.*

Oh. Probably explains all the weird shit in the science rooms. Heroes.

*What year is now?*

Thats what hes curious about?

3210.

*Aaaah. So long. Finally.*

Can he only talk in strings of four words?

*Glad you reached me*

*Stuck far too long.*

*Lost. Aliens took over.*

Aliens?

*Everyone died. Eaten alive.*

Ah, this. Well. I am not surprised.

*Sorry, you cannot leave.*

*Now. Please. Kill me.*