The ruins loomed. The eeriness was palpable. This was a place that had seen its fair share of battles.
Auryn dismounted. His horse wouldn't go further. It was trained for battles but even warbeasts knew where to draw a line.
He tied it to a dead tree. Checked his supplies. Sword, water and bandages.
The troll's blood vial pressed against his hip.
He took a deep breath and stepped forward. Fingers trailing the cold feel of the amulet on his chest.
The entrance yawned open. A broken archway carved with dragons devouring each other. The stone was worn from the effects of time and ash.
The air changed immediately he entered. It suddenly became colder and heavier. Tasting like copper and burnt stone.
Silence pressed down hard. There was no sign of life. Just the weight of ancient death.
Auryn's boots echoed loud with each step. He entered into the stretching corridor. Torchlight would have helped but he had none.
But Auryn's Eyes adjusted. It saw faint outlines, allowing him to move deeper. Navigate the enthralls.
He saw petrified corpses lining the walls. These were not statues. Bodies locked in stasis, Frozen mid-scream. Flesh turned to stone centuries ago.
Dragon fire did this. Instant petrification. Preserved their terror forever. A reminder not to tread this path.
This is where legends died.
Auryn kept walking. Thirty paces in and his boot almost landed wrong.
He stopped. Crouched and examined the floor. Pressure plate. Disguised under dust and debris. Barely visible to eyes.
Chapter 52. Nika's expedition triggered this. Lost three fingers to the dart volley. He thought.
Auryn stepped left. Moving around it without breaking his stride.
Ten paces later, another.
Floor tile slightly raised. One millimeter difference. Margins too tiny to notice. Easy to fall for.
This was a collapsing section. Ten-foot drop onto spikes.
A mage fell here. Broke both legs. Had to be carried out. He recalled everything from the novel. This was his confidence for coming here without much thought.
Auryn jumped over it. Landed on solid stone. He kept moving.
The traps came faster. More dangerous than ever but it was ineffective against an Effective reader like Julien.
A swinging blade came from the ceiling. Timed to the second. Auryn ducked as wind passed overhead.
Wire trap at ankle height. He simply stepped over it. Poison dart panel. Wall trigger. He hugged the opposite side to evade.
Each trap was bypassed with precision.
Not luck. Knowledge.
I've read about the ruins, ten times. Memorized every trap. Every failure.
Nika lost two party members here. Wasted energy fighting through.
I won't. He concluded.
His mind worked like an architect examining every inch of the structure. Every trap was a puzzle and every puzzle had a solution.
He moved through the gauntlet like a ghost. Not even a scratch on his being.
Saving his energy for what's to come.
He approached a wall, using his left hand to pull himself over the gap. Suddenly his palm burned with pain and his grip loosened. He was about to fall.
Quickly, he readjusted his grip. Tightened it and scaled the wall.
Damn. He thought. Looking at the bandaged palm.
---
The corridor on the other side of the wall opened into a vast circular chamber. Above was a domed ceiling held up by six carved pillars evenly spaced.
At the center, a stone pedestal. And on the pedestal, a sword.
Cinderfang.
Auryn's breath became shallow. The blade was beautiful. Silver steel. Elegant leylines. Ancient craftsmanship.
And burning.
White flames danced along its length. Eternal and pure. Auryn approached slowly. Each step deliberate and calculated.
Twenty feet away.
Fifteen.
Ten.
The ground suddenly rumbled and he stopped.
The earth groaned as spider webbed cracks ran across stone.
Then the pedestal split open. A figure rose from beneath, still cloaked in dust. It unfolded and grew.
Twelve feet tall. Humanoid looking but made entirely of blackened stone. No face. Just a smooth surface where features should be.
Its chest was hollow. A cavity. And inside that cavity—Cinderfang. Embedded. The core and blade were fused.
Molten veins ran through the creature, glowing orange, pulsing like a heartbeat. Slow and steady.
The Ember Sentinel.
Golden text appeared like an alarm.
══════════════════════════
[DANGER ALERT]
[RANK 3 GUARDIAN DETECTED]
[EMBER SENTINEL - CORE TYPE]
[GOAL: CLAIM ARTIFACT]
══════════════════════════
The golem's head turned to track him. It had no eyes. But still saw.
Auryn took a deep breath and drew his obsidian sword. The steel felt inadequate but it was all he had to work with.
It looks scarier in person than in the books. He thought.
The golem stepped forward. Stone grinding on stone. Its fist came down like a hammer.
Auryn moved, rolling to the right. The stone ground cracked where he'd been. The impact crater three feet wide.
Quite strong but slow. He deducted.
Auryn surged up and forward, closing the distance and slashed at its knee joint. His blade bit deep as sparks flew. The golem's leg buckled slightly.
Not enough. I have to hit it harder.
The golem swung horizontally as a reaction. Massive arm sweeping too close to dodge completely.
Auryn dropped flat, belly on the floor. The arm passed overhead. The air above roared as his cloak tore.
Auryn kicked off the ground. Creating distance between them and took another battle stance.
Target the joints. Limit mobility. Then I can go for the core. He strategized.
The golem advanced with a relentless hunger for its target.
Auryn circled left and kept moving. Forcing the golem to turn. Creating a predictable pattern he could take advantage of.
Seeing an opening. Auryn lunged in and struck the same knee with the sword. The slash was deeper this time. The stone cracked causing the joint to seize up.
The golem stumbled slightly.
It's working. He thought.
But the molten veins pulsed brighter. Orange light spread. The cracks sealed. Stone reforming like they never took damage.
It heals. And so fast too.
He was analyzing when the golem's backhand caught him amidst its healing. Auryn raised his blade to block and the Impact jarred his entire arm. And sent him skidding back.
His shoulder screamed. The wound from the chimera rearing its ugly head.
It's quite strong. I can't afford getting hit again.
He circled toward one of the pillars, a few feet from the golem. The pillar was quite thick, supporting the ceiling.
If I can lure it here. Make it hit the pillar.
Bring down the ceiling and bury it. That should expose its core.
Auryn's mind raced, formulating alternatives as the golem charged. Each step shaking the floor.
Auryn waited. His sword gripped hard. At the last second—he dodged left. The charging golem couldn't stop. Momentum carried it forward.
CRACK.
Its shoulder smashed into the pillar. Stone splintered. The column still held despite the damage. The ceiling groaned. Not enough to collapse yet.
Again... His thoughts flared.
Auryn circled around the golem, trailing his sword on the ground to bait it. He moved around and back to the weakened pillar again.
The golem charged at him. Fist tearing through the air towards Auryn. He dodged and the fist struck the pillar base.
BOOM.
The pillar cracked further. A massive vertical split ran through its length. Ceiling stones shifted with a grounding sound.
The golem turned faster than expected. Its other hand shot out and dragged the dodging Auryn's sword arm. Stone fingers closed up like a vice around his arm.
"Fuck…." His distressed voice echoed.
Auryn pulled and twisted but the golem's grip persisted. He panicked and drove his blade into the golem's wrist. Trying to pry it open. The bones on his hand buckled. If he were human then it would have been crushed already.
The sword sank deep. Lodged between stone plates. Auryn pulled hard but to no avail.
The golem's other hand came up even as he pulled harder.
"No—"
SNAP
The sound rang in Auryn's ears, breaking his heart. His sword shattered, steel breaking at the lodged point.
The broken blade stayed in the golem's wrist. The hilt and half the blade came away in Auryn's hand.
The golem released him. And shoved hard as Auryn flew back. He hit the ground hard and rolled as the broken sword clattered to the side.
The golem advanced. No rush. Its presence inevitable. Auryn scrambled up. Grabbed a rock and hurled it. Desperation eating at his confidence as he tried getting closer to the broken blade.
The fist-sized rock struck the golem's chest. Bounced off harmlessly. Auryn's eyes narrowed as he threw another rock.
Nothing happened.
He backed toward the chamber edge. Eyes scanning. Debris, broken stones. Nothing useful.
Think. THINK.
The golem's fist swung low. Auryn jumped instinctively barely scaling it. He landed awkwardly twisting his ankle.
Damn it. He winced. Lack of training in his old life was getting to him now.
His eyes went blank not from pain but something else. He suddenly lunged without planning. Like a man possessed. The desperation and pain sparked pure draconic instinct.
His hands—claws? No, fingers—raked at the golem's chest. Trying to reach the core cavity.
Stone scraped his bloody palms that missed their mark. The golem backhanded him agauin. Sending him crashing into a wall.
His ribs cracked. Air burst from his gaping mouth. He slid down gasping.
His vision blurred, ears ringing and still the golem loomed. Fist raised.
Am I going to die here. After everything?
Auryn's eyes fixed on Cinderfang. Still embedded in the golem's core. White flames mocking him.
Yeah, I didn't think this through. He admitted but he wasn't quitting yet.
He forced himself up. Legs shaking. The golem's fist descended, casting a shadow over Auryn.
He quickly rolled just as stone exploded where he'd been. A shrapnel nicked his cheek.
He circled fast towards the damaged pillar. The same one.
One more hit. Just one more should be enough. He thought.
The golem charged and Auryn didn't move. He bided his time and in the last second threw himself aside.
The golem's momentum carried it straight into the cracked pillar.
CRASH.
This time the pillar shattered completely. Ceiling stones fell. Massive blocks that buried the golem. Dust exploded.
Auryn covered his head as debris fell, his face bent down.
Auryn slowly lowered his arms after a few seconds. A mound of rubble lay before him. The golem buried beneath.
His chest heaved. Every inch of his body aching.
"Did it work?"
He limped forward cautiously.
Suddenly the rubble shifted and a hand burst through. Stone fingers. Molten veins glowing. It grabbed at his injured ankle.
"Fuck!" His voice echoed.
He got pulled towards the rubble. His head bounced off the ground while the golem emerged. Half its body still buried and yet functional.
Its core exposed through the debris. Cinderfang visible with white flames glowing bright. The golem's other hand rose. Positioned above Auryn's chest. Fist clenched.
Talk about unlucky. He thought.
He wasn't sure what to do next, then he remembered. His hand fumbled at his belt. Fingers found glass.
The vial. Troll's blood.
"Borin. You sweet bastard. Thank you." He whispered.
He gripped the vial while the shadow of doom casted over his body.