Reign and Lilith stood before a massive circular stone structure at the end of the passage. The stone was weathered and ancient, but both of them could tell that it was extraordinary.
Strange, intricate carvings spiraled around its outer edge, each symbol etched with the precision of hands long forgotten by ti.
Despite its solid stone fra, the center of the structure was an empty void, completely transparent, allowing them to see straight through to the other side .
"Can you feel it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, breaking the heavy silence that enveloped them.
"What is this thing?" he asked.
"It's the gate," she explained.
He could see her breath quicken, and her eyes shone with an intensity that made him worry—not entirely from anticipation, but from a nagging apprehension.
'What if this was all a mistake? ' he thought.
"Can you read the symbols?" Lilith hurriedly asked, her voice urgent and excited all at once.
She was getting agitated—a sure sign they were close to the thing they had been chasing.
"I can try," he said, narrowing his eyes at the strange carvings.
He focused and activated the system, ntally asking it to decipher the symbols. To his surprise, a ssage flashed across his mind.
[Translation available. Language detected: Matches data shared during angel form construction. ]
'So this thing is really related to the divine,' he mused inwardly.
As he concentrated, the carvings on the stone began to shift in his point of view, rearranging themselves in his mind like a puzzle coming together.
The unfamiliar symbols slowly transford into words he could understand, their aning unraveling before him.
"The path is hidden beneath plain sight," Reign murmured, his brow furrowing.
"It is a path of truth, one that begins with clarity but stretches into the infinite, where no end can be found. It is not ant for those who seek answers, but for those who seek without ever finding. Only the fearless may step forward, for the journey reveals more questions than truths."
"Speak the the word with the key in your hand, and the gate will answer, but know this—once opened, the path offers no return, only endless revelations."
"What's the word?" she quickly asked,
"Ilhara … Thvraal….Orsathai "
She quickly took out the key and and utter the words.
"Ilhara … Thvraal … Orsathai," she whispered, the words tumbling from her lips like a spell.
As she spoke the final word, a sudden warmth radiated from the key, enveloping her hand in a white glow.
For a brief mont, she felt invincible, as if the power of the portal itself surged through her.
But then, as the last word of her incantation faded into the air, the key started to fall apart.
It crumbled in her hand, disintegrating into shimring dust that scattered across the stone like tiny stars.
As the dust settled into the stone, the atmosphere shifted again.
A low hum began to rise from the structure, , as if it were coming alive after ages of silence.
Next, the intricate carvings along its edge glowed faintly, their light intensifying with each second.
The hollow center, once transparent, now rippled like the surface of disturbed water.
Reign and Lilith exchanged a glance. There was no turning back now.
Slowly, the rippling in the center of the structure settled, forming a swirling golden liquid like portal.
Lilith's breath quickened, her eyes darting from the portal to the stone structure
"Well," Reign said, a half-smile tugging at his lips, "I guess this is it."
"That's right," The corners of her lips also curved upward, unable to hide the excitent bubbling within her.
Both of them walked forward, ready to enter the portal. Lilith stepped through first, but Reign suddenly felt sothing hold him back.
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He reached out, but it was like hitting a wall.
"Wait!" he shouted, but she only turned to face her with a neutral expression.
"I'm sorry," she broke the silence.
"Are you betraying ?" Reign asked, his voice dangerously low.
The tension hung thick in the air. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was feeling used.
She shook her head, biting her lip as she struggled to find the right words. Lilith was fully aware that the current situation painted her as a traitor.
"I'm not betraying you," she insisted, "I just didn't ntion that only the holder of the key can enter this place."
"Bullshit! Do you expect to trust your words?" Reign let out a humorless chuckle.
He couldn't even trust his own system, the one he owed everything to. Now she wanted him to believe her?
"I don't expect you to believe , but you'll understand once I'm back."
"Listen here, Lilith. I don't just trust anyone, but I held up my end of the deal, rember?" he said with a calm tone.
"But the mont you lied to ..." He paused, letting the threat hang in the air. "You're fate is sealed. I'll kill you myself the next ti we et, and you will regret backstabbing ,"
Lilith sighed and shook her head. "Don't worry. After I'm back, I'll spare you even if you tried to kill ,"
Reign's eyes narrowed as he studied her. She really believed she would beco more powerful than him, and that thought unsettled him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried
"But if you want your chance for revenge, you need to survive first," she said while turning away from him, and stepping into the portal.
"Survive?" he repeated.
Then he heard multiple sounds approaching—the hunters, the ta-humans, and, to his surprise, a demon king stepping into view.
They had completely blocked his only way out.
"Would you believe if I said that woman actually fooled ?" Reign said, scratching his head and putting on a victim's act.
"That's right—we should combine our powers and go after her."
ZZZZZZ!
Before he could finish, a dark red beam shot toward his head. He quickly tilted his neck, and the beam was absorbed by the portal.
"Guess that's a solid 'no' from you then?" he joked, trying to keep his cool despite the mounting pressure.
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