Chapter 248 247- Unexpected Realization
Kai was able to successfully reach the next part with ease since he had plenty of time to do so. However, just for the sake of curiosity, he stopped near the edge and looked back at the green tiles.
A few seconds later, the tiles turned red. So, Kai threw a coin at the nearest tile and looked carefully again.
When the coin landed, it immediately got swallowed by the trap and fell into the abyss. So, Kai quickly created a small ball of light from origin and threw it into the hole.
Falling threw the hole, the ball of light illuminated its surroundings as it slowly made its way down to the darkness.
A few seconds pa.s.sed in silence as Kai watched what would happen. He wasn"t really that inclined to believe that there was something worth investigating down there but it was at least something he could check nevertheless.
The ball of light remained visible till it reached a hundred or so meters before it suddenly got swallowed instantly.
Kai"s eyes squinted with confusion. He couldn"t see what happened before the ball of light vanished.
"Hm? I couldn"t see it." Humming under his breath, he stood up again and turned to face the next obstacles.
However, he didn"t simply forget what happened. In fact, now he was even more curious to know what was the reason for the disappearance of the ball of light.
The next part was the same except the change happened considerably faster than the first obstacle. Kai was able to easily pa.s.s it with his speed before stood again and tried the same thing he tried before.
However, this time, he made sure to basically bury his face into the hole to see closer than ever. He was ready to see what was down there. Unless there was some kind of unknown force that kept pulling those things instantaneously or it was as fast as the speed of light, he was certain he could see it.
With that in mind, he waited carefully. The ball of light descended silently till it reached a certain point before it suddenly vanished again.
"What…?" Kai blinked with a frown. The same thing had happened again.
He didn"t understand how the ball of light would be there one moment and then vanish completely the next moment. There was nothing that could move an object that fast.
But, Kai knew that he wouldn"t be able to find the answer like this. Unless he personally went down there which was something that he wasn"t intending to do unless he was a fool, of course.
So, he could only go with the only thing left, to continue the test and see where it brings him after they"re done.
The next few obstacles pa.s.sed swiftly for Kai. He didn"t find any particular hardships. But, he was noticing the difference with each part he pa.s.sed.
At first, it was 15 seconds and then it became 10 seconds and then 5 and now he was facing a 4-second obstacle.
Kai realized that the next few obstacles were going to be one second shorter than the one before them. The problem was that the distance between each safe zone was basically getting bigger and bigger.
"10 more obstacles which means that at some point I will have to move in fractions of a second." He thought to himself.
The feeling of worry he had at that moment was palpable. Kaya and Aria were probably going through similar things and could now be in danger for all he knew.
He had to quickly finish and reach them before anything bad happens that he would regret.
So, Kai quickly pa.s.sed through the next few obstacles and reached the last three which were interchanging colors almost instantly each time.
Kai has to focus on the changing colors with his eyes as he readied himself before he quickly dashed toward the tiles and leaped in the air crossing half the distance before quickly leaping again.
His feet gently landed on the other side of the obstacle before he quickly moved to the next one without stop. He didn"t want to break the momentum he created now with full focus.
The next one was so much faster than the previous one. So much so that a Norma eye would only see a mix of green and red.
Jumping over them, he pa.s.sed the two last obstacles and landed perfectly.
"Fuuh…" Exhaling a long breath, he looked ahead of him.
The next room was now merely a few feet away.
"How much more is left?"
****
With that, Kai found himself in an endless test that didn"t seem to end. Room after room, he found himself in front of different tests, each one harder than the one before it and each one carried a different set of skills required to finish it.
Some had poison traps in them, some were simply filled with lava or flames. Some were icy cold and some were warm.
He didn"t understand how all of this seemed to work. To bring all these different types of climates into one place and preserve them this perfectly was a mystery.
Eventually, though, after hours and hours of tests, Kai finally found himself in front of a door that didn"t look like anyone before it.
This one was made out of high-quality wood with beautiful engravings on it. Opening the door, Kai found himself in a place completely different from the medieval underground prison he was in.
The door opened to a beautiful and vast garden that expanded vastly as far as the eye could see.
Beautiful carpet of gra.s.s covered with a layer of flowers of many colors. Trees ancient and young, filled with delicious looking fruits. Small animals ran around happily as they ate and enjoyed that place.
It was the most beautiful garden Kai had ever seen in his life. Even more beautiful than even the one his father had created.
Looking around with awe, he suddenly noticed the presence of two people. Looking to his right, he saw two girls standing there, staring back at him.
The trio stared at each other in silence before Kaya finally broke the silence and smiled widely as she ran toward Kai.
"DARLING! Thank G.o.d you"re OK!" Jumping on him, she hugged him tightly with both arms.
Kai was still quite surprised as he felt her warmth wrap around him. Immediately, all of his worries and fear vanished as if they never existed in the first place.
His arms instinctively wrapped around Kaya as he hugged her back and closed his eyes.
"Are you fine?" He asked in a gentle whisper.
"Yes! I arrived here a few hours ago. That"s where I found Aria." She explained as she cupped Kai"s cheeks and stared at him closely.
The latter nodded his head before he finally turned to face Aria who stood there silently. He could see that she was tempted to approach him but seemed hesitant.
So, Kai simply asked her. "Did you get hurt?"
Aria flinched from the question before she quickly nodded her head.
"Y-Yes, ehem, I didn"t sustain any heavy injuries, just scratches."
"Why did you take so long, Kai? You worried me."
"Hm? I moved as fast as I could. There were too many tests." He shook his head.
Kai was the one who wanted to ask how they were able to actually reach this place this quickly.
He was certain that he moved through the tests with utmost perfection without wasting time at all.
"Tests? What tests?"
"What? The rooms that have tests in them? Didn"t you pa.s.s through them?" Kai asked back as if he didn"t understand what Kaya was even saying.
"No… I woke up and found myself in a small room like a prison and then I left it and walked for a while till I found myself here."
"So… you didn"t pa.s.s through any kind of traps? What about you?" he looked at Aria who quickly shook her head.
"No. I had the same experience as Kaya." She replied briefly.
"No? What do you mean, Kai? Did you discover something?" Kaya asked.
However, the boy didn"t reply immediately and instead fell into deep thought.
"So neither of them went through what I did? Why is that?" He asked himself.
He didn"t know how this place worked or why it worked like this. It was certainly to protect something. But, if it only makes one person to to through that then that means that it"s not a test and rather something completely different.
Kai didn"t know exactly what it was yet as things kept changing quickly. However, the fact that he was the only one to get tested then that means that this place saw something in Kai that it didn"t see in Kaya and Aria.
Kai"s mind went back to the engravings in the wall and the similarities he had with the drawing of the Progenitor. Somehow, that must"ve had to do with it. Or at least that"s what he wanted to believe to be the case.