Returning to the destroyed bridge, Amon peered down from the cliff's edge. It was clear now there was an entire ruined grand city down below. One look at it destroyed structure sent another wave of an uncomfortable feeling in Amon's chest. He just could not put his finger on it's pulse.
Looking up to examine the faraway walls, he grimaced. Tens of thousands of stony humanoid-winged giant bats like the one he just fought stood embedded in the rocky walls. They were all Source constructs, just currently inactive. If only a small portion of them came down, he is as good as dead.
Shrugging, he turned around and continued forward. In front of him was a half-destroyed watchtower, leading down towards The Desolate Capital. He stepped through its destroyed upper half and found a winding staircase inside the tower aligned around its circular inner walls, leading toward its bottom.
After a short trip, he departed the lower half of the watchtower and was welcomed by the ruined city. A dense aura of death assaulted Amon, and he finally knew the origin of the uncomfortable feeling he felt the whole time. He was no stranger to the law of death. He was raised around it after all. However, this felt different, vastly different from what he is used to.
Taking a step forward, he noticed that the ancient ruined streets are littered with stony, cracked statues around his own size. He walked towards a group of them, examining the different lifelike figures in front of him. They were depicting a myriad of Intelligent Races, Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, Goblins, and more, children, adults, and both genders.
They all had one thing in common. They shared a look of absolute suffering and horror on their sculpted faces. Amon observed what appeared to be an old dwarf with a long beard. The details were unnaturally real; even skin defects were incredibly sculpted. He knelt to take a closer look at the short dwarf.
The more Amon observed him, the more confused he became. They were too perfectly depicted to be sculpted by hand, no they felt more like a living being turned abruptly to stone.
Then it dawned on Amon why the dense death aura here felt vastly different from what he is used to. Death descended on this city without warning and somehow petrified everything with life.
The most crucial observation Amon made is that whatever brought this tragedy on this city was not the natural law of death. Life & death are intertwined in an endless cycle. Life ends in death, and death empowers a different life. When a creature dies, their corpses fertilize the land, feed many lives, and in the end, allow growth in the land.
However, the death here brought an end outside the life & death natural cycle. It was an abrupt, total, and complete oblivion that did not fertilize the land or nourish a new or existing life. Amon was sure this was not the Dragons' doing, it was something else, wholly sinister in nature. Its victims felt it coming, experienced it, then immortalized it with their petrified corpses.
Standing up, Amon continued his journey forward. The city was in complete ruin. There was only one semi-preserved path leading towards the city's center, housing a giant wrecked castle.
Three stony armed bats landed heavily in front of Amon, clicking loudly, and brandishing their gigantic rocky weaponry at him. He did not wait for them to rush him; instead, he drew circles with his sword in the air, getting in a familiar speedy stance then dashed forward towards his adversaries.
***
Green Hill City, Cai Palace.
"Welcome, honored disciple of the Eternal Rain Palace. My name is Tao Ming, Young miss Cai Yan's personal tutor, and adviser. May we know who we are graced by?" Spoke an old man with two heavily armored guards behind him at Cai Palace's gate.
"I'm Xia Qui, the Rain Banshee's eldest disciple and leader of the ten rain fairies. I request an audience with his lordship Count Cai post-haste. I carry with me an urgent letter for his eyes only from my master." Announced Xia Qui.
"Hmm. If you were to hand it to me, I will make sure to deliver it to his daughter, who should be able to enter his private quarters to deliver the letter if you are in a hurry." Answered Tao Ming.
Xia Qui sneered and brandished her twin swords. "Let me be clear, make way, or I will kill my way to him. My master's orders are absolute, she said to deliver it to him personally, and I will do it through you all if I must. Do not test me, old man."
"Aren't you being overbearing lady Xia Qui? This is Cai Palace, not the Eternal Rain Palace, have you forgotten whose lands you are standing on?" Cai Yan walked from behind the gate and stood next to her tutor.
Xia Qui softly flashed forward and appeared in front of the young miss. Her swords pressed at Yan's neck and her old tutor, the twin swords dripping water droplets.
"Time is of the essence, Count Cai, now!" Whispered Xia Qui in Yan's ears.
The brunette fearlessly stared at the veiled lady's eyes, both offended and astonished that someone would actually dare threaten the Count's only daughter.
"Very well. Do not blame me for my father's reaction to your insolence." Cai Yan turned around, leading Xia Qui towards her father's private quarters.
***
Cursing under his breath, Amon evaded another destructive weapon smash by one of the three giant four-limbed and winged bats. Every time he went for an opening on one of them, the other two would rush him, stopping him from landing a decisive hit by trying to smash him.
'This can't keep going. I will soon tire.' Amon turned around and started running away towards the half-destroyed watchtower. The rotten Source monsters sped after him. Amon abruptly pirouetted to the side, letting the leading gargoyle pass him with his forward momentum.
Pressing all his weight on his toes, with knees bent, he stabbed the dashing bat on its side. Filling the stony monster with his Source, then with a roar, Amon vertically slashed with his sword upward while it was deep inside the bat's side, forming a half-circle and destroying one of his three targets.
One of the remaining two crashed into Amon, sending him tumbling on the ground painfully. The other followed Amon's tumbles and tried to smash him while he is down. Amon rolled on his side and avoided a deadly smash aimed at his head. He saw an opportunity before the gargoyle could retract his heavy blunt weapon, Amon rolled backward, landed on his feet, kneeling low, and used his legs to shoot himself forward like a cannonball towards the gargoyle chest.
The sharp water sword struck true, penetrating the monster's chest. Amon immediately sent his Source towards its rotten Soul, breaking it, and forcing the Source monster to crumble to ash.
Panting heavily, he stood firm, eyeing the last gargoyle. He faintly heard the disgusting mummy cackling to herself, and two more new gutters humanoid bats landed in front of Amon, joining the old one.
"Bring it on!" Shouted Amon.
***
"Yan! What is the meaning of this? No one is allowed inside your father's private quarters." Spoke a middle-aged woman with her arms crossed, she was a beautiful brunette but lacked the grace of aristocrats.
"Mother, I had no other choice. This veiled lady from The Eternal Rain Palace threatened to paint our Palace's wall with our blood if I don't lead her to father post haste. She apparently carries a time-sensitive letter from her master, the Rain Banshee, to my father." Explained Cai Yan.
"You dare you wicked woman? Have the Eternal Rain Palace become so arrogant that they dare threaten a Count?" Yelled the Palace first lady.
"I did no such thing. Trash stood in my way from fulfilling my master's command even after I made it clear that I must see him urgently and deliver my master's letter immediately." Said Xia Qui.
"Oh?"
An oppressive, tyrannical aura forced Xia Qui to her knees. She could not breathe or utter a single word.
"I, Count Cai Shuren, lived long enough to hear a little girl call my precious daughter trash. Congratulation, you have just sealed your fate, pending the letter you are carrying out of regard towards your vile master." Count Cai regally appeared behind the now kneeling Xia Qui.
He walked to stand in front of her, not letting the veiled lady breathe or move an inch. He extended his hands towards her as her lips turned blue from lack of air. He was about to lessen his pressure on her so she may hand over the letter. However, a blue light shined from Xia Qui's chest, beneath her clothes. A water domain exploded outward from her destroying Count Cai's pressure and turning the tables on him.
Xia Qui stood up on her own, a smirk behind her veil.
Count Cai grimaced. "For your sect to give you one of it infamous, highly prized protective treasures is saying a lot about your status among them. No matter, it won't save your life from me when I want to take it. Now hand over the letter."
Xia Qui retracted her protective water domain and handed over her master's letter from her storage ring.