When Nightin opened his eyes once again, he was back to the darkness and silence, the only thing about the surrounding which have changed, was the puzzle before his eyes.
The number "1" which represents water had turned dull and in place of it was the arrow pointing towards the number "2" which represents fire.
The b.u.t.ton which had sunk in previously, had also came back up once again, just one push and he would be in the second part of the puzzle.
The second trails would be on fire, the blazing flames which represents bravery and courage, pa.s.sionate love and even war. A complicated colour filled with the sweetness and bitterness of lives, all emotions of every human, were being pulled by the ear.
I have to do it no matter what, this isn"t just for myself, but for the sake of the water spirit who had perished for me.
Nightin thought to himself as his finger pushed down on the b.u.t.ton, a loud sound of mechanics clicking was last heard before the flames swallowed him whole.
In the meantime, Dark Fang was currently nearby and in just a few more twists and turns, he would soon arrive in the area where Nightin once stood at.
Realising that just the Samsara eyes alone weren"t enough, he activated his Samsara law to the fullest extent and was finally able to see whatever was going on.
The cold hard ground beneath his feet, was being replaced by hot molten rocks filled with cracks, the same applied to the walls as well.
Soon, he realised that lava was starting to form on the ground and collecting themselves, the temperature of the surroundings increased rapidly as Nightin tried to move from his immobilised state.
His feet were being rooted to the ground by a mysterious force and all he could do, was wallow in despair as the lava started to rise.
I won"t give in that easily to you! That was the only thought in Nightin"s mind right now as he circulated his firestorm spirit energy, releasing it out of his body to form a blast of energy wave, weakening the restraining force tying him down for that slight moment.
Making use of this short timing, he immediately leaped towards the nearest rock which was taller.
Huff Huff Huff
Nightin took in deep gasps of air, his chest was heaving up and down as he half bent down and placed his hands on his knees, just one step slower and he would already be consumed.
But still, would it be possible for my Firestorm flames to feast on these flames?
"Hoho, not bad young lad, you"re the first in a thousand years to have made it out of the first stage alive." The laughter of an old man resounded in the enclosed area of lava, his sinister laughter echoing into the ears of Nightin.
Another trail spirit?
"Since you"ve already arrived at the second stage, I shall begin the explanation of the game rules. Firstly, if you were to face death here, the same thing would happen to your body in the outside world and you"ll be erased from the cycles of reincarnation."
What? "I can"t afford to die here no matter what!" Nightin told the old man hurriedly as he raised his voice, hoping that it would catch the attention of the old man.
"If you truly want to live, then make it out of this ordeal alive, don"t pin your hopes on others to spare you." The old man explained impatiently as he continued.
"Alright, now onto the explanation. If you were to look around right now, you would realise that there are seven pillars, each taller than the other. Your task would be to climb up to the tallest pillar and retrieve the dazzling gleam orb."
"Now then, the test shall begin." When the voice of the old man faded alongside the final echo, the lava beneath him started to bubble and rise in height, its height was increasing due to the increasing volume surfacing up from the cracks.
"d.a.m.n you old man, let me out right now!" Nightin shouted as he took out his Samsara sword and sliced it towards one of the walls in rage, only to realise that his sword was reflected off easily and almost slipped off his grip.
As for the wall, not even the lightest of scratches could be seen on it, it looked brand new and one wouldn"t even believe that it was one attack.
"Young fella, don"t try me if you don"t want to die early without even attempting the trail." When the old man was scolding Nightin, the lava has already arrived at the sole of his feet.
Quickly releasing his wings of Chaos and Order from the back of his body, he flapped them as he made his way upwards, trying to generate maximum distance between him and the rising lava beneath his feet.
In just the time span of a few seconds, he realised that a group of fire bugs were hot on his tail, even though he wanted to speed past them and just make his way up to the next checkpoint, he was unable to do so.
It"s as though as they were communicating through telepathy and were one ent.i.ty, the formation was perfectly filled up without any gaps, their movements were flawless and precisely timed, the distribution of bugpower and strength was even more incredible.
The more Nightin tried to generate distance, the more they kept up the chase and forced him to go around in circles, everytime he tried to travel upwards, they would be in the way.
This is difficult, if I were to even decrease my alt.i.tude right now, they would definitely make use of the chance and force me into the lava.
Scanning around with his soul detection as a Soul Oracle, he realised that there was an aura which was much stronger than all the other bugs, it was unique on top of it and even gave off the feeling of chilling flames.
How could it be, could it be...