They hesitantly followed after Ensis, climbing the stairs one step at a ti trying to get to the top. But the closer they got to the chamber the stronger the pressure beca. They were all struggling but none more so than the natives who could barely lift their heads.
Claudia saw that and called for Ensis and Rhisiat, "We need to work together, we can't make it alone. Lend your powers, all of you!"
Both of them extended their hands towards her to send over a large portion of their internal energies. She collected them in front of her chest and summoned the black book, directly depositing it all inside along with so of her own.
The book flung open and a semi-transparent bubble was erected around them, removing over half of the pressure in one go.
"Keep close, you will be fine as long as you stay inside the protection radius," Claudia inford them while slowly moving up.
But that intense pressure was just a secondary side effect, the main problem was the maelstrom of black lightning bolts gathering overhead. They were gathering their power, building up to sothing much worse.
And only the ones inside the chamber could feel its real strength. It ca with an impending sense of doom that could not be ignored or rationalized away. It was a matter of fact. If even one of those thousands of lightning bolts fell then they would all be evaporated into nothingness.
Nothing and no one could save them.
Jin Wang tried to pull himself up but failed.
"Looks like... it's all on you, old friend. What...will you do? Run? Fight? Or hide? You...might have a chance...if you leave now, leave...Hao Xuan and save yourself...because you can't fight...and continue the ritual at the sa ti."
He thought he had finally cornered the Emperor but the other party did not seem as concerned, only slightly bothered.
[I have prepared for this mont for eons. There is nothing you can do that can change the outco of this battle]
The Emperor pointed both hands towards the chamber floor, pouring a significant portion of his Spiritual Energy into so sort of a chanism hidden just underneath.
The sound of clicks and clacks of gears moving underneath could be heard for a few seconds while gradually getting louder and stronger. It sounded like a lock being opened.
Eventually, it got loud enough that it sounded like muffled explosions were taking place sowhere very deep down. It continued for a good minute before a powerful tremor abruptly shook the entire planet back and forth.
Nearly half of the people on the stairway outside were thrown off the sides, into the previously empty space between the pyramid and the cavern. But even before their screams could die out, a torrent of orange and red fla erupted from the depths and burned them into cinders.
"STAY AWAY FROM THE EDGE!" soone scread as the temperature rose tens of degrees within seconds.
Claudia's group pushed past the turbulence and finally arrived at the top of the pyramid. Peering back at the stairway they could see the fire slowly consuming everyone still foolish enough to be sitting there.
Many of the soldiers let out heart-wrenching screams before wisps of fla shot out of their mouths and burned them alive from the inside out.
But the strangest part was that a select few were uninjured by the fla. It touched them but did no harm, as if they had been judged and forgiven.
"Did you see that?" one of the natives kneeling over the edge whispered, "The ones that burnt up, they had a symbol appearing on their foreheads right before it happened."
Rhisiat tried to pull him back, "Oi, co back here, it might not be saf-" but froze upon seeing his condition.
His face was covered in blood that was leaking from the symbol which had been etched into the flesh of his forehead. He tried to scratch it, "Is there sothing on my head? It feels hot..."
He stood up and started taking off his clothes one by one while repeating, "It's so damn hot..."
"H-Hey stop, and co back here," Rhisiat yelled at him, "If you move back any more you will be out of the-" he tried to reach out and pull him back but Claudia stopped him.
"Don't!" she muttered in a daze, "That's the Mark of the Sinner!"
The man stumbled out of the protection bubble and imdiately started screaming at the top of his lungs.
"AHHHHHH!"
Wisps of red fla shot out of his mouth and he was turned to ash in seconds. The others could only watch in dismay wondering if they were next.
"What was that? Mark of the Sinner?" Rhisiat inquired in a barely audible whisper.
*TREEEEEMBLE*
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