Chapter 136: 130: Sanctuary

"You passed out for a moment. Luckily the wound on your back wasn't serious," Seraphina said.

Oh, right. Ryu stretched his hand to feel his back from where the Leviathan shot him. It must be due to his ability to deflect mana attacks that he was still alive. His clothes were torn, and his muscles were sore, but besides that, everything was working.

"Where are we?" Looking over at the place, Ryu asked. 

The area they were in was like an old ruined temple likely to be used as a place for worship in its time. But now, its once majestic grandeur was lost. Webs hang thick on the corners. The decayed strips of dull fabric hanging on the wall may once have been bright tapestries. Although faded, Ryu could somehow make out the scenes from the moth-eaten ancient tapestries.

Antique potteries lay smashed on the jagged stone floors, and statues of nameless gods were broken and defiled.  A patch of stonework had decayed and crumbled, leaving fragments scattered on the floor. A speckled discoloration on the uneven floor appeared to be long-dried blood. In contrast, the crimson smear of fresh blood on the stones spoke of some recent violent act.

There were long dead skeletons of previous explorers wherever he looked, their bones gnawed and yellow. From a small pile in the corner emanated the pungent stench of dung. An overwhelming odor of decaying dung and waste swept across Ryu's senses. The thick, acrid odor of stale sweat and musk was almost enough to make him gag.

Sensing Ryu's predicament, Seraphina covered his head with a thin layer of waiter veil that would repel the foul smell as she did with hers. 

"I don't know. It seemed some kind of a temple from long ago," Seraphina said and helped Ryu stand from his feet.

Ryu looked at their company and found at least more than ten beings from different parts of the realm. Their faces were ghastly, and their bodies beat. Ryu didn't know any of them, but he knew they were together in the first Islet based on the familiar faces of those who successfully entered the portal before.

The temple they were in was fifty by fifty meters in space—three tunnels branch off the front wall, each locked by metallic doors. The best chance of deciphering what lies beyond the doors was the barely legible carvings on their frames under the dust and grime of centuries.

There was another door on the left side of the wall that was different from the rest. There were no carvings on its rusty metal frame, and it seemed like it would crumble to dust with one push.

Before Ryu could make a complete map of the temple's interiors, the sound of the tinkle of bells rose everyone to their feet.

"Congratulations on making it out alive from the first islet!" Pink puffed out of nowhere and flew in the air with a grin on its face, showing its toothless mouth. "Before you take your deserved rest, allow me to explain what this place is first."

Coughing on its tiny paw, Pink said, "This place is called a sanctuary."

More like a pig cage. Ryu thought.

"The Sanctuary becomes available to offer rest to your weary bones whenever you came out on an Islet. You can rest here forever if you want. In here, you won't be attacked." Pink then snickered. "But that only applied to the creatures and beast in here. I don't know about your fellow explorers, though."

Everyone stole a glance at each other before they focused their sight on the creature.

"After I'm finished talking, the doors will open," Pink continued, "and it'll lead you to the next Islet. Depending on your choice, it might lead you to the land of barren ice, to the maze jungle of the lost forest, or directly into the arduous path of eternal fire!"

Pink giggled, and one of its eyes widened as its small sharp teeth appeared in its once toothless mouth. "Want to know which is which? Easy! Just read the carved runes!"

Pink laughed and twirled in the air while everyone's face contorted in anger and helplessness. Of course, no one could read runes! At least not the beings present in here.

"And last but not the least." Pink's voice faded together with its body. "Don't, in under any circumstances, conduct yourself poorly in front of the collector. . ."

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And with a poof, Pink was gone.

.. .

.. .

".. . Collector?"

Everyone was confused at what the tiny creature was saying, but it disappeared before they could even ask.

The moment of short silence was broken by the dull squeal of rusty hinges. The low moans of complaining pivots cried out before a pop and grinding on metal against stones opened all doors. 

The three doors unlocked, revealing a mouth of darkness stretching into the unknown. And out from the shadows of the left door, a creature in ragged robes emerged. Neither anyone could identify what it was. Maybe a combination of human and goblin. In either case, it was very old, like it would fall and turn to dust without its staff supporting its weight.

"Do not be alarmed. .. I am merely a poor creature stuck in this dimension. .. but you might be interested in my items that I collected for years. . ."

Ryu and Seraphina looked at each other, both alert and in their fighting stance. The others were the same.

The creature ignored the mistrust on the explorers' faces. Its cloudy eyes eagerly accessed each and every one before it motioned a twisted finger to follow it up the stairs of the left door. 

.. .

.. .

No one moved even when the creature vanished on the stairs. 

"What should we do?" Seraphina asked.

Before Ryu could answer, one or two beings made up of demons and elves went into the upper stairs of the left door. The others merely scratched their head and sat on the ground.

"I think it's best to wait for them to come out before we take a look upstairs," Ryu said.

Seraphina nodded. "A good idea."

The both of them then slumped on the floor with their backs on the wall.

"I hope Kai and Jane can make it out and reunite with us here," Seraphina mumbled as she closed her eyes.

Staring at the enclosed place with nothing but the four doors as means of exit, Ryu could only hope that they weren't the last person to make it out of the Leviathan's lair and the last who appeared in this sanctuary.

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