Book 5 Chapter 23.3 - Treading on the Path of Return
Downwards.
Su's pretty face was already covered in scratches, lively blood continuously seeping out from his wounds, yet no way to reabsorb it. Even though he was covered in bloodstains and wounds, Su still looked just as beautiful as before, the only place that was still shining his green left eye. The eye-patch covering his right eye already falling off, revealing a jade-like eyeball, sparkling and translucent, yet devoid of life.
The pain would occasionally make his face distort, but one could see that Su unexpectedly began to smile.
He could cut off his senses towards his body's pain, but he couldn't block off pain that was directly applied to his central nerves. The suffering submerged him like a sea, but later on, the pain also gradually became numb. Over the course of his instincts' resistance and struggling, there were more large amounts of tissues that died, which was to say, Su's chances of returning alive dropped a bit further. Su's body's state had already reached a new critical point. If this type of war continued, Su would die before he even reached the exit at the top of the stairs.
Under the threat of ultimate destruction, his instincts were finally suppressed.
At this time, vague human voices sounded from above.
Su stirred up quite a bit of activity with his assault on the holy temple, the amount of time he spent fighting the elder not short either. After such a long time had passed, it should be about time the Holy Crusader's reinforcements arrived. With Su's current state, any great knight would be a true problem.
He sped up his movements, flipping his body over the railings, falling down onto an even lower staircase below. This method was considerably faster than walking down, especially when his legs have currently already lost their use. However, without his instincts' restriction, the rate of muffled striking sounds became quite a bit faster.
He finally reached the end of the stairs. Su already couldn't stand up. He used his hands to support his body, crawling into the deep and hidden passage.
The passage wasn't long, nor was it all that imposing, but it was extremely tidy and clean. The ground was covered with black, dark golden patterned natural stone bricks, untainted by even a speck of dust. The passage didn't have the slightest trace of dustiness, and from time to time, fresh and clean wind would blow inside. It was clear that people frequently passed through this place, and the ventilation system was quite excellent.
Su's hands moved one after another, moving his body, crawling along the passage. At this time, he instead became extremely calm, no longer thinking about anything.
After turning a corner, and then crawling up a dozen or so steps, everything before Su's eyes suddenly became clear. A strand of gentle and warm radiance full of a divine aura scattered down on his body like water.
Before Su was a several hundred square meter hall, more than ten spotlights' beams cast on the alternating black and dark golden stone platform. It was like a sacrificial platform, on it a crystal coffin that was at least three meters long. Through the semi-transparent coffin walls, he could see a beautiful woman resting within. She wore a pure white holy robe, her long blonde hair scattering down her body, skin gentle and fine like ivory. Her expression was calm, as if she was currently immersed in a beautiful dreamland.
This was a unique woman, not only because of her beautiful appearance, but also because she was three meters tall. If one neglected these absolute numbers, she could be said to be a woman with perfect body proportions. However, in Su's eyes, she was more like a vessel full of energy! Her body produced energy incessantly, the pure energy produced from nothing, filling every corner of her body. A small amount of energy spilled outwards, and for this underground hall, or even the entire Land of Rest's energy system, it was still quite plentiful. After the scattered energy was filtered by the crystal coffin, it was changed into energy that was rich with divine energy. This divine energy was then absorbed by the great hall, transported to the surface through transport channels, thus becoming a part of the domain's energy. Meanwhile, most of the energy was destroyed once more in her body, unknown as to where it dissipated to.
Unlike the holy images, Su couldn't sense the source of her body's energy at all, or where it disappeared to. However, the moment he saw her, Su's right eye suddenly throbbed, a piece of information entering his consciousness. As a result, Su knew that this woman was the objective he had been searching for, as well as a crucial part of solving the hidden dangers in Madeline's body.
She was in a rather bizarre state, alive, yet couldn't be said to be alive. She possessed an extremely powerful life reaction, yet was absolutely empty, with Su unable to sense the slightest bit of consciousness or will within her, as if she was a body without one.
In front of the sacrificial platform stood a dark gold monument. The cylinder was oval shaped, the top cut in a slanted manner, forming a smooth glossy surface. Even with Su's eyesight, he still couldn't tell what kind of alloy this monument was made of, only feeling that its rigidity was incredibly great, and that it had tremendous divine energy absorption and storage functions. The energy stored in this small cylinder was unexpectedly similar to a nuclear fuel stick. Its rigidity far surpassed all known alloys, unknown just how much power was needed to cut such a smooth surface at its peak. At the very least, Su couldn't do it, nor did he know anyone else who could.
The smooth, mirror-like surface had a few lines of text engraved on it:
Offering towards the eternal Serendela.
---- Gusglav