"Let the undead lead the way. Observe what’s inside."
Jeneviv nodded and summoned the dead barbarians. They slowly straightened and walked staggeringly into the castle.
Jeneviv closed her eyes and a small spell revolved before her.
We all turned to look at her while she observed through the corpses as we waited for her response. A few monts later she opened her eyes and nodded.
"There is nothing threatening inside, it’s just a normal castle but there is sothing off about it," she stopped as her face scruched up as though she was thinking about sothing difficult, " there is sothing in the main bedroom. "
Her face beca hesitant as if trying to co up with a plausible explanation. She bit her lip in concentration.
"Stop dallying Jen just out with it."
Kianah said and patted Jeneviv on her back.
"It’s shaped like an egg but it’s not normal, I’m not really sure what it is."
She said hesitantly. I nodded.
"Let’s go in."
Her information was too little and vague. I walked through the door while circulating my mana ready for any fight.
We were welcod into a pristine hallway filled with blurry drawings that resembled a large ball of exploding fire.
The paintings were painted so differently that despite all of them being the sa drawings.
It felt as if I was watching so form of different fire family. That wouldn’t co as a shock to with all the magma flowing outside.
Whatever had left this pocket world mainly practiced fire magic.
I hadn’t even noticed as we walked in but the air in the house was cooler than outside. An added relief.
"This place is bigger than I had imagined."
Kianah said breaking the comfortable silence. The hallway opened into a large sitting area which was still as pristine and looked unlived in but it had remained surprisingly clean.
I hadn’t co across any servants but the nurous cleaning spells around the house confird it.
"Where is the egg?"
I asked Jeneviv. She pointed at the stairs. One of her undead was quietly standing there waiting for us.
The egg, that Jeneviv had ntioned might just be the key to this place.
With how hot this place was, there was one thing that was going through my mind.
Incubation.
This place might just be an incubation centre and the only thing I could think of was a dragon.
The sacrifices and the hidden valley spell might have been preplanned by soone or we had just accidentally entered.
What made my suspicion more concrete was the beast tide.
This egg that just seed to be incubating might be a dragon’s child.
The thought of it made greedy. Dragons were fiercely protective of their children and always raised them until adulthood just like humans.
I wasn’t suicidal enough to take a child from its mother, that would be a death wish.
It wasn’t like there were any dragons on the continent anymore. Most of the people would have tried to kill one if it ever appeared.
"Its the third door down."
Jeneviv pointed at a black door. It was different from the others which were plain wooden brown.
I stopped at the door and activated my magic.
’Detection’
I pushed my mana inside but I couldn’t perceive anything. It was as if sothing was blocking .
It seems I didn’t have a choice but to enter.
I pushed open the door and stepped inside. What was revealed was another abnormally large room with only one piece of furniture in the middle of the room.
A bed.
But that wasn’t the most outstanding part of the room.
"Look, it’s the magma it’s flowing under the bed."
Seraph said and squatted down.
The floors of the room were transparent and the magma rivers were all flowing towards the bed.
Whoever had built the room clearly needed to observe the magma rivers below.
What was even more fascinating was what was on the bed.
An egg.
A red egg with orange web-like veins.
A large one at that. It could reach my waist in height. Whatever was inside was bigger than a five-year-old child.
"What in the world!"
Nixie swore as she studied the room then the egg. I wondered who the egg’s parent was to put so much care into its incubation.
"Don’t step forward, my senses are being bounced off by the egg."
I said consciously. While the counterattack had been curious at best it was better to be cautious.
"The egg, it’s absorbing the flas."
Jeneviv said the obvious thing but no one said anything. I had expected Kianah to shoot back.
"Send one of the undead to touch the body."
I commanded. Jeneviv nodded and sent Baros’ body to the egg.
Baros had been a little bit strong so her choice was correct.
The dead reached the bed and paused befor tying to touch the egg.
"There is a pressure preventing contact, I think whatever is in the egg isn’t aggressive but it doesn’t want to be touched."
Jeneviv said. I could see the orange aura surrounding the egg. It looked like burning flas.
" I’ll go."
Greater power ca with greater risk. It was a wide know fact that hatchlings took the first person they saw as their parent and whatever was inside that egg was already sentient.
This was a gamble I was willing to take. If I could manage to form a soul contract, that would be even better.
Sentient beasts can form a contract with other species as long as they co to a common agreent.
This was a beneficial thing for both parties since it led to a massive power boost if both of them are strong.
"Be careful!"
Seraph said behind . I nodded. I took out the two orange gems I had gotten from the statue and held each in both hands.
I wasn’t really sure about their use but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Sothing in my mind was saying it would be useful sohow in the long run.
"If sothing happens to , use mothers token."
I seriously said to Luna. While the other situations we had gone through might have turned out dangerous or fatal, they had not caused my heart to skip.
I had been very confident I would co out on top, but this, this was very different.
There was a mixture of excitent and an underlying uncertainty as I approached.
"Lucian, we can find another way to leave."
I stopped and turned my attention back to Seraph.
"How? This is a completely independent world that none of us know the basics and chanisms of. Pray tell, how are we supposed to get out?"
I said harshly. Seraph flinched. I wanted to comfort her as her face fell but I couldn’t. She had to accept that this was the only way before she went ahead and did sothing stupid.
"We could...uhm.. "
She tried but couldn’t co up with sothing concrete. She squatted down and covered her face avoiding everyone’s gaze.
"You know that’s useless right?"
I said softly. Seraph nodded.
"I’m worried thats all. You’ve never acted this seriously before, it scares us. You seem to be predicting your doom before it even cos to you."
She whispered to herself but I still heard it.
"Don’t worry, I love myself too much to accept death. Death is what scares the most, why would I throw myself into it?"
I reassured her and turned to look at the glowing egg.
I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or not but the egg seed to be glowing brighter.
I had no way to compare my findings.
My steps took to the edge of the bed where the egg lay peacefully. I could feel the power radiating from it in a regular rhythm as though it were a heartbeat.
I swallowed and internally prayed to myself before touching the egg.
The reaction was imdiate.
The two gems I had been holding suddenly slipped out of my light grip and floated into the air above the egg.
The aura around the egg extended up and wrapped around the gems.
I pulled my hand back the mont I felt my mana start to get absorbed.
"Is sothing wrong?"
Luna asked and stepped forward. I shook my head preventing her from stepping forward.
"It’s just absorbing my mana, nothing much."
I answered carelessly and placed both hands behind my back, my gaze on the two floating gems.
The two gems suddenly lted in mid-air and dripped down onto the egg which subsequently absorbed them.
I waited for the fascinating process to end then placed my hand again on the egg and started to push my mana inside in a regulated potion.
The egg absorbed it as though it were starved. I smiled. Getting whatever was inside to get used to my mana increased my chances rather than waiting for it to hatch on its own.
This was a form of pseudo-contractual stage.
Despite the fairly easy approach, I still couldn’t let my guard down on sothing that seed ancient.
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