Gaya wasted no time, immediately darting through the portal with Daniel, Ricky, and Azazel trailing behind. Emerging on the other side, they found themselves in the underground training ground of the Awor continent. Despite being underground, the area was brilliantly lit with glowing orbs and runes, making it difficult to discern its subterranean location.
Within the hall, several undead warriors in black armor and alpha vampires were stationed. In the center, Dular was tending to Cindy, who lay on a table, her young form writhing in pain.
"CINDY!" Gaya rushed to the girl's side.
Dular couldn't help but shudder as Gaya approached.
"Sister... Gaya..." Cindy managed to say amidst the pain.
Despite her tender age, Cindy displayed remarkable resilience, refraining from shedding tears as she bravely confronted the agony.
Numerous empty vials lay scattered around Cindy, a testament to Dular's efforts to administer healing potions. Gaya's gaze focused on the blood seeping from Cindy's neck. She gently moved Cindy's small hands away, revealing the telltale bite mark on her neck.
"What happened?!" Gaya's voice thundered as she turned her fury towards Dular.
"The undead... it lost control... and bit her..." Dular mumbled, his voice barely audible.
Gaya didn't pause for a moment's consideration. Instead, she swiftly pivoted and delivered a devastating punch to Dular's chest. The impact was so forceful that it sent him hurtling through the air for a distance of at least ten meters. He crashed against the wall, coughing up blood before slipping into unconsciousness.
"It's not his fault..." Cindy tried to interject, but Gaya was consumed by her fury. She cast her gaze upon the surrounding undead. With a simple raise of her hand, she conjured fiery arrows that streaked through the air, immolating every undead and alpha vampire in their vicinity.
The scorching heat and the smell of burning flesh left everyone feeling queasy. Against Gaya's overwhelming power at the level 10 Immortal stage, the undead had no chance.
"Bring Olivia to me now!" Gaya bellowed as Ricky and Daniel produced a golden scroll and tore it open, generating a radiant portal.
Without hesitation, they plunged into the portal, their mission clear: to retrieve Olivia. Just as Ricky and Daniel departed, another portal materialized, and Elidyr stepped through.
"I heard what happened. Let me see her," Elidyr urgently requested. His voice conveyed deep concern and worry. Even Azazel appeared anxious, for in the Dark Army, regardless of how cold or distant its members might be, they all adored Cindy.
No one could bear to witness harm befall the young girl.
"You are not a healer," Gaya growled skeptically as she watched Elidyr examining Cindy.
"No, but I understand energy. If the healing potion isn't working, it suggests that something is obstructing it. Some form of energy," Elidyr explained. His words carried a weight that hinted at a deeper suspicion.
"Tell me she can be cured," Gaya demanded. Meanwhile, Azazel paid no attention to the conversation and gently applied a cloth to Cindy's neck to staunch the bleeding.
"Take her to my workshop," Elidyr instructed after closely examining the bite mark.
"You're going to be alright..." Gaya whispered softly as she cradled Cindy in her arms. The young girl, despite her pain, tried to muster a smile, showing her resilience and trust in Gaya. It tugged at Gaya's heart, burdened with the weight of responsibility.
"Stay here," Gaya instructed Azazel, leaving Cindy in his care as she followed Elidyr through the portal.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery shifted once again. Gaya found herself in a cluttered hall, strewn with countless books, scrolls, and scattered metal pieces engraved with glowing runes. It was Elidyr's workshop, part of their safe house provided by Nithroel.
"Place her on that table," Elidyr directed, indicating a sturdy mahogany table near a massive portal.
As Gaya gently laid Cindy on the table, Elidyr conjured symbols in the air, enveloping Cindy in a protective golden energy shield.
"What is this?" Gaya inquired from outside the shield.
"Just a precaution," Elidyr replied cryptically. His words hinted at a deeper significance - the shield was designed to contain Cindy's soul in case their efforts to heal her failed. It would not prevent her death but would preserve her soul within the shield for a limited time, serving as a last resort and safety measure.
"Please, don't tell Mom. She'd panic and never let me train again," Cindy pleaded. Her words weighed heavily on Gaya's conscience; it was her influence that had inspired Cindy to become a fighter like herself.
"I should've never let her train with those abominations," Gaya muttered, self-blame creeping into her thoughts.
"He never liked self-loathing," Elidyr remarked as he continued to search through scrolls and books.
"Well, he's not here, is he? He dumped everything on my shoulders and went off to do who knows what," Gaya vented her frustration and helplessness, scolding Michael in his absence.
"He left because he trusts us to handle things. And if I'm correct about this, we might find a way to contact him again," Elidyr responded calmly, surprising Gaya.
"What are you hiding, Elidyr?" Gaya inquired with a stern tone.
"The God of Necromancy," Elidyr replied as he approached Gaya, holding a glass orb engraved with several runes.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Gaya asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Look, this is the orb Aria stole from the Kethen temple. It was a temple where the Guardians set up their camps, a temple of Fourcrux," Elidyr explained, his tone deadly serious.
Gaya recalled Elidyr's involvement with Aria and Sadie in stealing an artifact from Kethen. She trusted Elidyr's judgment and didn't usually micromanage such operations, but she had never expected this artifact to be linked to the God of Necromancy.
"Ever since the Angels started appearing everywhere, I've been sensing strange anomalies all around us. One of those anomalies, I detected within the undead," Elidyr continued, revealing his growing interest in ancient artifacts since Michael's departure.
"You're not making any sense. What anomalies are you talking about?" Gaya pressed for clarification.
Elidyr elaborated, "This occurred when Dular requested my help in opening a portal to the Nether Realm without alerting the Skyhall. Initially, it should have been a straightforward task with our portal here, but when I engraved the runes for the Nether Realm, the runes in this vicinity started behaving erratically. These teleportation runes have the capability to pick up on unusual energies. What I sensed that day was a profoundly potent energy, much like the energy emanating from the Dark Lord."
He continued, "It was the energy of a god, entering the Nether Realm like a surge. Since then, I've received reports of space distortions from all over the Elon continent."
Gaya's expression darkened as she listened intently. "You still haven't explained how any of this connects to an undead biting my Cindy," she growled, her patience wearing thin.
"I took measures to safeguard our training ground from these distortions and believed my runes would protect the undead from being influenced by the energy of the Nether Realm. However, just before I witnessed an undead biting Cindy, I saw the runes around the training ground light up. At that very moment, this orb also began to emit a faint glow," Elidyr explained, gradually approaching Cindy while holding the orb.
As he moved closer to Cindy, Gaya noticed a subtle jade-green radiance emanating from within the orb.
"Take a look. How could an orb that we found in an ancient temple of Fourcrux react to these anomalies if it weren't somehow connected to the God of Necromancy?" Elidyr continued.
"I even consulted Nithroel about this, and she confirmed that the Nether Realm does indeed contain Fourcrux's energy. Before the previous Dark Lord sealed the gods off from entering the mortal realm, Fourcrux had performed his rituals there. That's why the Nether Realm is inhabited by undead and serves as the source of all undead."
Elidyr's explanation left Gaya in deep contemplation, her mind racing to piece together the implications of this revelation.
"Look at this orb," Elidyr said as he kept the orb above Cindy. To Gaya's surprise, the bite mark on Cincyd's neck slowly radiated a dim green light.
Bathed in the golden light of the protective shield with the mysterious orb nearby, Gaya and Elidyr could discern peculiar green lines coursing through Cindy's body. Their attention was fixated on the little girl as she suddenly tilted her head and gazed at them from within the shield.
"You foolish mortals," an evil and chilling voice emanated from Cindy. Her once-blue eyes now glowed an eerie shade of green, and her voice bore an entirely different tone. It was evident that someone or something else had taken control of Cindy's body.
"You've been tapping into my powers without my permission. This has gone on long enough," Cindy slowly rose, her hand resting against the golden shield. She tilted her head, regarding Gaya and Elidyr with an unsettling coldness.
"Who are you?" Elidyr inquired, while Gaya clenched her fists in readiness to unsheathe her sword.
"You can call me Zariel, the Reaper of Fourcrux."
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