Chapter 101: Chapter 96: The Hall of Forgotten Kings (Part 1)
The tower did not feel like a building.
It felt alive.
The closer John walked toward its entrance, the more he noticed subtle changes in the air around him. Mana drifted through the streets like invisible mist, brushing against his scales before disappearing into the countless glowing runes carved into the black crystal walls.
Behind him, the expedition moved carefully.
Even Lythriel had stopped making jokes.
The silence pressing down on the ancient city was unlike anything they had experienced before.
It wasn’t the silence of abandonment.
It was the silence of something waiting.
The enormous gates remained open behind them, pouring golden light across the polished road that led to the tower’s entrance. The ruined districts they had crossed earlier seemed insignificant compared to what now stood before them.
Kar’Dum was impressive.
Greenwood was ancient.
But this place belonged to an entirely different age.
John slowly climbed the final staircase leading toward the entrance.
Each step was taller than a dwarf.
Each platform was wide enough for dragons to stand upon.
Whoever built this place had expected giants.
Or perhaps they had been giants themselves.
Sylvara knelt beside one of the crystal pillars.
Her fingers hovered above the glowing symbols without touching them.
"They’re still active."
Thargrum looked genuinely confused.
"After thousands of years?"
She nodded slowly.
"I don’t understand it either."
One of the younger dwarves whispered to his companion,
"Maybe the tower repairs itself."
The older warrior frowned.
"I wish it wouldn’t."
Several dwarves quietly agreed.
John couldn’t blame them.
Every instinct he possessed told him that the deeper they entered, the less control they would have over what happened.
Yet something inside him continued pulling him forward.
It wasn’t the system.
It wasn’t curiosity.
It felt older.
A feeling buried somewhere deep within his blood.
Like hearing a familiar voice from a forgotten dream.
He reached the doorway first.
The golden barrier rippled gently before him.
Without warning, the light spread across his body.
Dark scales reflected gold.
For several seconds nothing happened.
Then the barrier disappeared completely.
A deep voice echoed throughout the entrance hall.
"Access recognized."
The words were calm.
Neither hostile nor welcoming.
Simply factual.
The rest of the expedition exchanged uneasy looks.
Lythriel folded her arms.
"I don’t like how many doors keep opening for you."
John glanced backward.
"I don’t either."
Aerion stepped beside him.
"Stay alert."
Everyone nodded.
Then together they entered.
The hall beyond dwarfed everything they had seen so far.
Columns stretched hundreds of meters into darkness.
Crystal chandeliers floated without chains.
Their pale blue flames illuminated murals carved across the walls.
Sylvara gasped.
The entire expedition stopped.
The murals weren’t decorative.
They were history.
Thousands of figures marched across the stone.
Four-armed beings wearing elegant robes stood beside creatures John immediately recognized.
Dragons.
Not statues.
Not symbols.
Actual dragons.
Gigantic dragons with wings that covered entire cities.
Black dragons.
Silver dragons.
Golden dragons.
White dragons.
Some flew through the sky while others rested beside towers identical to the one surrounding them.
No battles.
No chains.
No signs of conflict.
Only cooperation.
John stared quietly.
The image felt strangely comforting.
Lythriel noticed.
"You’ve been looking at that one for a while."
She pointed toward a mural showing a massive black dragon standing beside four-armed scholars.
The dragon’s head was lowered.
The scholars appeared to be speaking with it rather than worshipping it.
John narrowed his eyes.
"It feels familiar."
Sylvara slowly approached the mural.
"There are inscriptions."
She carefully brushed away centuries of dust.
Ancient symbols emerged beneath.
The system activated immediately.
**[Translation Available]**
The symbols shimmered before John’s eyes.
He read the first line aloud.
"When knowledge sleeps, memory guards the gate."
Silence followed.
Another sentence slowly became clear.
"The children of earth and sky shall preserve the flame until the stars return."
Nobody understood the meaning.
Not even Sylvara.
She copied the inscription into a notebook.
"We’ll study it later."
John nodded.
His gaze remained fixed on the murals.
There were hundreds of them.
Entire civilizations carved into stone.
Scientists studying crystals.
Children playing with floating constructs.
Dragons soaring over impossible cities.
Then everything changed.
Further along the wall, the peaceful scenes disappeared.
Armies appeared.
Enormous crystal guardians marched into battle.
Flying machines filled the skies.
Entire mountains collapsed beneath weapons unlike anything the modern world possessed.
One mural showed the tower surrounded by millions of lights rising into the heavens.
The faces of the ancient people remained calm.
Hopeful.
Not frightened.
As if leaving had always been part of the plan.
Thargrum stared for a long time.
"Our oldest records speak of gods descending from the stars."
Sylvara shook her head.
"I don’t think these were gods."
"What then?"
She looked around the impossible hall.
"I think they were simply... people."
The thought settled heavily over everyone.
If ordinary people had built all this...
What had happened to them?
The voice echoed once more.
"Historical archive available."
A circle of light appeared in the center of the hall.
Floating images emerged above it.
The city came alive.
Crowds filled the streets.
Children chased glowing birds through crystal gardens.
Merchants traded shimmering stones.
Scholars floated through the air using platforms of light.
Everything looked vibrant.
Peaceful.
Then the image shifted.
Warning sirens echoed through the city.
Constructs activated.
Citizens looked toward the sky.
Something unseen approached from above.
The recording distorted.
Static covered the image.
Only fragments remained.
Flashes of enormous shadows.
Explosions beyond imagination.
Then darkness.
The projection disappeared.
No one spoke.
Even Lythriel remained unusually quiet.
Finally Aerion broke the silence.
"Whatever happened here..."
He looked toward the distant corridors disappearing into darkness.
"...changed the world forever."
Before anyone could respond, the floor trembled beneath their feet.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
One of the crystal chandeliers flickered.
The mechanical voice returned.
This time it sounded different.
Urgent.
"Warning."
"Unauthorized entities detected."
"Archive sector compromised."
Every floating crystal in the hall turned crimson.
Ancient doors slammed shut behind the expedition.
Metallic echoes rolled through the tower.
Then came the sound.
Heavy footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Drawing closer.
John spread his wings.
Dark mana gathered around his claws.
Around him, dwarven warriors raised shields.
Sylvara lifted her staff.
Aerion drew his blade.
Lythriel twirled her spear once before planting its tip against the crystal floor.
Her usual grin returned.
Smaller this time.
But still there.
"I knew the sightseeing wouldn’t last."
The corridor ahead grew darker.
Then two blue lights appeared.
Then four.
Then eight.
Soon hundreds of glowing eyes stared back from the shadows.
And somewhere beyond them...
Something much larger took a single step.
The entire tower shook.
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100 ps = 1 extra Chapter
200 ps = 2 Extra Chapter
1 Golden ticket = 3 Extra Chapter
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