Chapter 520 A Snapshot Frozen In Time
[Hemera & Talila's POV]
The last two girls were thrown into a tunnel similar to that of Archer, Nala, and Llyniel. When they woke up, Hemera grew confused as she looked around.
She found herself in a dimly lit tunnel, the air thick with a musty scent. Made from rough stone, the walls seemed to close in on her, creating an oppressive atmosphere.
The dirt floor beneath her feet was uneven and scattered with bones, telling a grim tale of what might have occurred in this forsaken place.
Hemera tried using the tattoo it bracelet to enter the domain but it didn't work and she wondered why and came to the conclusion that it must be the tunnels they're trapped in.
As she cautiously moved forward, her eyes flickering across the shadows, Hemera noticed that the bones differed.
Some appeared to belong to beasts, while others were humanoid. Leaving her wondering about the events that had unfolded in this desolate tunnel.
The occasional water drip echoed, emphasizing the unsettling silence that enveloped the tunnel.
Hemera looked at the dimly lit tunnel, taking in the eerie atmosphere and the scattered bones on the ground.
Her yellow eyes caught, and she saw Talila asleep nearby. Approaching softly, Hemera knelt beside her niece and gently shook her awake. "Wake up. We're not where we were before."
The mixed elf stirred, her eyes slowly opening. Confusion flickered across her face as she took in their surroundings. "What... Where are we?"
Hemera replied, "I don't know, but we need to figure it out. The others are probably scattered, too."
The two girls stood up, glancing around the tunnel once more. Hemera couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and the faint echoes of distant sounds.
Talila rubbed her eyes, trying to make sense of their situation. "Do you think the others are okay?"
Hemera nodded before answering. "We'll find them. But first, let's explore and see if we can discover anything about this place."
As they ventured deeper into the tunnel. Talila took out her bow and some arrows, catching Hemera's attention.
She smiled while getting ready to cast a spell at any minute. They continued like this until they came to a creepy chamber.
Hemera looked around and soon noticed the walls were covered in a sticky substance, which intrigued her.
But before she could study it, they heard a chittering sound from one of the tunnels. That's when a sudden noise caused the two girls to become alert and start watching the tunnel.
They froze, exchanging wary glances. The tunnel echoed with a growing noise. Soon, an unsettling sight emerged.
Creepy eight-legged creatures with segmented tails poised scuttled toward them. They were a mix of a spider and scorpion, their armored exoskeletons glistening in the dim light.
Without hesitation, Talila released a mana arrow, which streaked through the air, piercing it with a crack before striking the nearest scorpion-like beast.
It dropped to the ground with a thud, but that caused the others to react and charge forward with rage in their beady eyes.
When Hemera saw this, she started casting Sun Blasts at them. Explosions rang out everywhere as the spells connected.
As the beasts got closer, Hemera dodged the stinger when it shot toward her. While she did that, Talila used her speed to avoid pincers.
They faced the beasts in a fierce battle, dodging and weaving to avoid the menacing stingers and pincers.
Explosions echoed in the chamber as Hemera unleashed powerful Sun Blasts while Talila skillfully shot mana arrows at them.
The synchronized dance of their attacks and evasions demonstrated seamless coordination, each move calculated to avoid the lethal strikes of scorpion/spider-like beasts.
Soon, the fight ended as the last beast dropped to the ground. The two girls caught their breaths and continued down another tunnel.
[Back to Archer]
While the girls continued searching, Archer walked down the tunnel and stroked the little snake still wrapped around his neck.
The beast woke up with a hiss and looked around before speaking. ''Where are we?''
He looked down and saw the small snake's white head looking around with a curious gaze in her violet eyes.
Archer answered with a smile. ''I don't know. We were teleported ancient magic and appeared here.''
That's when he thought to himself. 'I need to give her a name.'
He started thinking to himself and then came up with one. Archer spoke with a smile on his face. ''Your name will be Zahara.''
The little snake looked at him and gave him a happy hiss. After that, he ventured deeper into the tunnel.
The tunnel widened, revealing a massive underground city. The expansive space seemed endless, filled with the remnants of a forgotten civilization.
Archer noticed that the air was thick with the dust of ages, and his footsteps echoed softly against the ancient stones that paved the ground.
Dilapidated structures loomed like silent sentinels, remnants of a once-thriving civilization now frozen in the relentless grasp of time.
The city's skeletal remains whispered tales of an era long past, secrets buried beneath layers of history.
As Archer walked, he marveled at the architecture of a lost culture: crumbling spires and weathered statues.
Fragmented remnants of what might have been marketplaces or dwellings lay scattered throughout the expansive chamber.
Archer's keen senses absorbed the ambiance, sensing the echoes of life that once teemed through these streets.
The silence was broken only by his footsteps through civilization and its people forgotten by the world above.
Surveying the city's surroundings, Archer thought about its mysterious presence. Zahara hissed, drawing his attention to a distant crash.
Unable to detect anything with his Aura Detector, Archer felt uneasy. Another crash echoed behind him, unsettling him further.
Reacting quickly, he summoned Shadowspawn, summoning his shadowy entities to shield him.
The creatures merged with the shadows, vigilant in guarding him. Archer cautiously moved through the haunting streets of the ancient city, his steps echoing in the silence.
The dilapidated buildings loomed over him like silent sentinels, holding the secrets of a forgotten era.
As he delved deeper, a subtle feeling of being watched intensified. His instincts, finely tuned by countless adventures, warned him of a presence lingering in the shadows.
He stopped before turning around and was met with an unexpected sight—a rusty pot rolling along the ground with a faint clang.
Archer caught a glimmer of something unusual in the nearest building. As he approached, the thing became clearer.
A Dark and viscous sticky substance clung to the walls like a sinister web. He studied it with a furrowed brow, his senses tingling with caution.
He noticed it glistening eerily in the dim light, creating a stark contrast to the weathered stone of the building.
Archer reached out tentatively, running his fingers along the sticky residue, which felt strange.
It resembled sticky slime, and as he examined it, a sudden crash from behind prompted Zahara to alert him. "Something's here, master. They are surrounding us."
"I know. I can feel them," Archer responded.
The sound of scuttling reached his ears, causing him to summon his wings and take flight for a better view.
However, to his surprise, he collided with an unseen barrier as he flew above the underground city.
The unexpected obstruction left him puzzled. As Archer's senses remained heightened, he saw a dense fog enveloping the city below.
Puzzled by this sight, he descended and continued exploring on foot. Yet, as he approached the ground, an unsettling feeling crept over him, and he sensed a looming threat.
Reacting swiftly, Archer summoned a Cosmic Shield just in time for a bizarre humanoid creature to collide with it.
The creature resembled the ones in the account he read about Placidia. Realization dawned on Archer that these beings were likely connected to the Swarm.
He quickly cast the Crown of Stars, which instantly activated and started to shoot into the fog.
Archer kept casting the spell so it wouldn't run out. The violet motes took out many creatures that let out screeches as they started their attack.
Once the attack stopped, he examined the creatures. They were twisted beings, once resembling average humans, who had been mutated and turned into what they are now.
The figures had creepy, distorted features and emitted an eerie glow. Their movements were unnatural, and Archer could sense the dark energy surrounding them.
He sensed that they were marked by corruption. These twisted beings fixated on him with unsettling hunger.
Archer wondered if these creatures were the city's citizens who once called the city home when it fell.
But he shrugged and started walking while stroking Zahara, who was rubbing her head against his.
While he traveled through the city, he came to a large shop, which he spotted thanks to the sign above it.
Archer cautiously stepped into the old shop, his footsteps echoing in the silence that enveloped the place.
The thick layer of dust seemed to have settled on every surface, muffling remnants of life that once thrived within these walls.
Sunlight filtered through broken windows, casting a muted glow on the forgotten remnants of a bygone era.
Now decayed and withered, baskets lay scattered on the floor like the remnants of a lost market.
[If there are any mistakes, point them out, and I'll edit it. Thanks]
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