Chapter 1152: The Place Where It All Began
Chapter 1152: The Place Where It All Began
Orion and Nadia entered a wide passageway lined with glistening white tiles and towering pillars. The mysterious woman was no longer in sight, but with only one path ahead, they continued forward.
After a few minutes, they spotted a large wooden door in the distance.
The woman was standing beside the door as if awaiting their arrival. Without a word, she slipped through the narrow cracks in the centre of the door and disappeared inside.
When Orion and Nadia reached the door, Orion frowned, scrutinizing it momentarily before stepping forward to push it open. However, it didn't budge. The door had no locks or handles, making it impossible to figure out how to open it.
After a brief hesitation, Orion clenched his fist and sent it hurtling toward the door.
BANG!!
The entire hall shook as vibrations rippled through the air, and cracks appeared where his fist landed. Seeing that his punch had dealt some damage, Orion pulled his fist back and punched again.
BANG!! BANG!!
BANG!! BANG!!
After several more punches, Orion had only managed to create a hole large enough for a head to fit through. He frowned, stepping back. Despite using his full strength, it felt like the door absorbed his attacks, reducing the damage he could inflict.
Nadia frowned as well. The sheer force behind Orion's punches had sent shivers down her spine, yet the damage was minimal.
At that moment, Orion and Nadia realized something was wrong with the door.
Orion thought momentarily, then stretched out his hand and summoned his crimson greatsword, shrinking it to about 1.2 meters. With the sword's appearance, Aerialia also appeared.
Aerialia glanced at Nadia before focusing on the door. Orion had already informed her about the situation in the pocket dimension, so she was aware of their current predicament.
"Be careful. There's something strange about this door and what lies beyond it," Aerialia warned, her expression serious.
Orion subtly nodded in acknowledgement. He stepped forward, placed the tip of the crimson greatsword against the door, and pushed it in. As he expected, the blade sliced through the door like a hot knife through butter.
With a swift motion, Orion swung the sword horizontally, then vertically, carving a wide entrance into the door.
Nadia's eyes widened in surprise at the sharpness of the mysterious artefact Orion had just summoned.
'It seems the Supreme Leader is even more formidable than I thought,' Nadia thought as she glanced at Orion.
From his ability to impregnate a race like the tree nymphs to ruling such a vast empire at a young age and possessing such strength and numerous treasures, she couldn't help but
marvel at the many secrets she had yet to uncover about him.
Obviously, she could tell this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Noticing Nadia's curious gaze from the side, Aerialia frowned. She hoped she was mistaken, that a race with no concept of male and female relationships wasn't developing any inappropriate thoughts.
"Let's go," Orion said, gesturing for Nadia to follow him as he stepped through the newly created entrance.
Nadia nodded and swiftly followed after him.
They stepped into a dark room and halted, attempting to look around. However, unlike the outside darkness, their gazes couldn't pierce through the shadows to see even a short distance ahead.
It felt as though they had reverted to the senses of mere mortals.
"There's a powerful restriction here," Aerialia muttered, directing her words to Orion.
Orion frowned at her remark. This place seemed abandoned from his perspective, yet such a potent restriction was still active and working.
"What is this place?" Nadia asked, her voice filled with a mix of anxiety and curiosity. Her body tensed as she scanned the room, searching for the source of the restriction that restricted their vision. Even without being told, she could sense the strange surroundings. "I've analyzed it, and it seems it doesn't affect magical weapons," Aerialia added.
Orion nodded subtly in understanding. He stretched out his hand and attempted to cast the Celestial Amber Forged technique, hoping to create a ball of fire to light up the room, but nothing happened. His celestial energy was sealed.
He then checked the Vylkr energy stored within his Vylkr container and activated his gift, producing a brief spark of lightning that flickered across his fingers. It seemed the restriction only affected other forms of energy, leaving the Vylkr energy untouched.
Though he was tempted to transform into his lightning form to illuminate the room, he was cautious. They didn't know what lurked within or the true purpose of the mysterious water woman bringing them here, so he refrained from acting rashly.
Fortunately, Nadia also had raw Vylkr energy flowing through her, so he wasn't concerned about her safety.
"Stay close to me. Let's explore this room and, hopefully, find her again. We'll ask who she is and why she brought us here," Orion said, glancing at Nadia.
Nadia nodded. "I'll follow your lead, Supreme Leader," she responded.
They moved forward cautiously, sticking close to one another.
Before long, they arrived at a table cluttered with alchemical and experimental tools. Orion scrutinized the room with a growing sense of foreboding in his heart.
Meanwhile, Nadia curiously examined the contents of the table.
As they continued to walk forward, they encountered numerous small and large tables filled with similar and even stranger alchemical and experimental tools. They were empty and appeared abandoned, but somehow neatly kept without a speck of dust on it as though whoever had once used this place had taken all the materials with them, leaving only the equipment behind.
Suddenly, a flood of memories surged within Orion's mind, and he abruptly stopped. He clenched his fists, gripping his crimson greatsword tightly. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he looked around.
"This place..." Orion muttered, his voice cracking as if he couldn't finish the sentence. Even Aerialia, floating beside him, widened her eyes with the same emotions mirrored in them. They recognized this place from one of the memories of Aegis of the Arctic Deity. No matter how much they wished to forget it, they couldn't. After all, this was where everything that tied intrinsically to their current selves began.
This was Naka's laboratory!
Nadia was about to ask why they had stopped when she saw the expression on Orion's face.
"Supreme Leader, is everything okay?" she asked, her tone filled with worry. He looked as though he had seen a ghost, though all she could see were tables and equipment.
"I'm fine. I just remembered something," Orion replied, reassuringly nodding.
Nadia nodded. While curious about what memory had caused him such distress, she didn't press him for details since he hadn't elaborated.
"Let's keep going. We might find her soon," Orion said, gesturing for Nadia to follow him as they moved forward.
Before long, they reencountered the mysterious water woman. This time, she stood before another door. Without hesitation, she pushed it open and walked inside.
Seeing this, Orion sighed in relief. At least he wouldn't have to break down another door.
Orion and Nadia approached the door and walked through it. Unlike the outside, this room was illuminated by soft, luminescent white light. There were fewer tables and equipment
here.
Near the far edge of the room, at the centre of the room, was a cylindrical containment chamber about seven feet tall. It was made of reinforced, glass-like material with a faint green tint. Thick metal bands wrapped around the top and base of the tube.
A faint mist clung to the glass, obscuring what lay inside. Once again, their senses were restricted, preventing them from seeing clearly through it.
The mysterious water woman stood beside the containment chamber.
Orion and Nadia approached her.
"Who are you?" Orion asked instantly, wasting no time. For the woman to know this location,
lead them to Naka's laboratory, and move through it so freely, he realized she was no ordinary
figure.
Contrary to his expectations, the mysterious water woman didn't respond. Instead, she turned her head upward, past Orion, and looked directly at Aerialia. Her expression suddenly
became cautious.
Orion's expression stiffened. This entity could see Aerialia.
Aerialia, whose gaze was now locked with the woman's, was equally stunned.
Does that mean...
"Orion, leave this place immediately," Aerialia ordered, her voice authoritative and serious.
However, the moment her words fell, the mysterious water woman's body began to expand rapidly, transforming into a massive body of water that blocked the entrance to the door and surrounded them. Only the three of them and the cylindrical containment chamber remained untouched by the water.
Nadia, who had been trying to peer through the faint mist to see what lay within the chamber, was taken aback by the sudden change in the atmosphere. She was shocked that the mysterious water woman had attacked and felt they had entered a trap.
"Supreme Leader, what do we do?" Nadia asked, her voice tense as she turned to Orion, who
remained calm and composed as always. She sensed that he might have a way out of their current dilemma for some reason.