Chapter 1374 Drowned Temple

Chapter 1374 Drowned Temple

'Damned sword...'

Making his way into the ruined interior of the temple, Sunny was seething with dark emotions. What did the Sin of Solace even want? One moment, he was fanning the flames of guilt Sunny might have felt about how he treated Cassie in the past. The next moment, the wraith was reminding him of what had happened, and of how cruelly she had betrayed his trust...

Well, it was perfectly clear what the apparition wanted. The bastard wanted to drive him mad. And he was... Sunny was mad. No matter how much he understood why Cassie had done what she did, and no matter how many times he told himself that her actions had ended up saving Rain from being killed by Nightmare Creatures, and him from dying in the Nightmare Desert or becoming Mordret's slave... no matter how many things they had gone through together after the Forgotten Shore and how much their relationship had improved and deepened...

At the bottom of it all, Sunny was still hurt, resentful, and angry at Cassie. While at the same time caring deeply about her.

It was a proper mess... Updated from n0velb(i)n.c(o)/m

'What else is new?'

It had been for a while. "This place... is not creepy at all."

Jumping down from a pile of rubble, Sunny landed in shallow water. The interior of the lost temple was drowned both by stale water and darkness. Since the island-ship was tilted and partially submerged beneath the waves, the long corridors with high ceilings were tilted as well. The three of them had to walk awkwardly, stepping on the walls with one foot and the cracked floor with the other. Not to mention that there was rubble everywhere, forcing them to jump or climb over the natural barricades obstructing their path. If there was one good thing about the situation, it was that none of them was oppressed by the darkness. Sunny could see in it perfectly fine, Cassie did not need sight at all, while Nephis was capable of lighting her own path. "I think he is trying to say that this place is really creepy."

'It's alright to be afraid.'

He was sure that he'll feel better after putting down another one of these Defiled oracles with his own two hands.

"We are getting closer."

Cassie's words were sobering. Soon, they arrived in front of a huge, intricately engraved door. Its wood was wet and rotten, with illegible runes covering the dark surface. Sunny suspected that these runes were a part of a sorcerous seal once... now, however, they were damaged beyond recognition and lifeless, devoid of any kind of power. For a moment, he considered turning around and leaving the sinister temple the way he had come. But of course, he wouldn't. The Defiled sybil had to die... both for the future of Fallen Grace and for the sake of Effie and Jet. Sunny took a deep breath and wondered if his resolve to slay the abomination was the result of the creature manipulating the future, as well. Had she pulled forward only those of the possible futures where the three humans were adamant on arriving in front of the ancient door, with not a slither of hesitation in their minds?

The thought made him shiver. 'To hell with this!'

Gritting his teeth, Sunny glared at the door, and then delivered a devastating kick to it. Turning into a rain of rotten debris, the massive gate flew off its hinges and cluttered down, into the dark expanse of a partially flooded hall.

It was then that he felt it... a massive shadow stirring underwater, its slumber broken by the sound of the breaking door. There were countless smaller shadows hiding in the darkness of the drowned hall, too. And at the far end of it, an especially elusive one. A harrowing specter that made his hair stand on end. Sunny's entire attention was drawn to the enormous creature that had been sleeping in the heart of the lost temple, though. Belatedly, he remembered Cassie's words:

"They hunt in groups... and herd true horrors of the depths to use as war beasts."

One such horror, it seemed, had somehow found its way into the inner sanctum of the Defiled sybil's tainted stronghold.