After what felt like an eternity of maintaining the gateway, I had molten through several floors and the air was burning hot outside my barrier as I didn't regulate the heat as I did inside. I collapsed the gateway to get a clear view of how far I had cut so far. I had molten through 7 floors so far and it seemed to know no end.
I jumped down the holes, through the 7 floors, and sent out another pulse. There were another 5 floors to go through before something changed. While reopening the gateway and resuming to melt through the last few floors, I sent more pulses to get a clearer picture of what if was that came after those 5 floors.
There seemed to be many bookcases, filled to the brim with... well, books, Once I arrived at the floor above what I presumed to be a library, I closed the spatial bypass and started looking for the way furthur down, as I didn't want to damage the books. Afterall, it is hard to read burnt books.
I was glad to find out, I was wrong about about this place's creator not wanting anyone to make it to the end, but before I would have to get through a suspiciously large room.
When I had found the suspiciously large gate to the suspiciously large room, I felt slightly annoyed at the gate, since it appeared to be made of the same material as the entrance the this entire structure. I didn't want to melt the door for another hour.
Therefore I was very relieved at the sight of the door opening automatically upon my approach. Not only did it open for me to pass through, it also closed itself off once I had reached the other side.
To my surprise there was nothing in this room at first and what I found even more baffling was that a automata similar in design to the ones from the first few floors raised from the ground. Not only that, but the walls also revealed spheres with crystals inside them, which reminded me of turrets.
Then the presumed to be turrets and the automata started moving and attacking. I, unimpressed as ever at the powerlessness of this weaponry, suddenly realized that this automata was also made from that mysterious material, the door was made of.
I didn't want to lose any more time in this building and swiftly dismissed of the automata by using telekinesis to cause direct damage to it's internal core. The machine instantly collapsed, but the turrets remained active.
I grew tired of this farce and in a short burst of anger and frustration at this waste of time, the doors connecting to this room were slammed in and the turrets were flattened. From behind the door, on the side opposite to the one I entered through, a sickly old man came up the stairs behind the deformed door.
Old Man: "I was sure that the door wouldn't open in the next 1000 years and yet here you are."
I snapped back to reality and calmed my rage the moment I heard the voice.
Old Man: "Please, follow me... if you understand me that is."
I complied with his request to follow. He seemed surprised my, apparently early, intrusion and at my compliance to his request. I was sure he expected me to be a wild animal but quietly followed him through the deformed door into the library I had seen before.
Old Man: "You don't seem to have any mana, so how did you get so far? Your body doesn't seem strong enough to force your way through the entrance."
Old Man: "You know, I had only just finished this dungeon a couple days prior to your arrival. "
Old Man: "My name is Tozun, what's yours?
In an attempt to answer, I made a barrier and tried to emulate speakers.
Eclipse(Me): "Eclipse"
Tozun: "Oh, you can actually talk... I must say, I have never heard of a creature like you in Aziral."
Tozun: "How did you get through the entrance gate?"
Eclipse(Me): "I... melted... it..." I had to construct the full sound patterns before using them.
Tozun: "You melted it? How did you do that?
Eclipse(Me): "Heat." Seriously? What kind of answer did he expect?
He remained silent as if embarrassed by his own question. We were moving through a library, one could easily find themselves lost in. The Bookcases were easily 5 meters tall and filled to the brim with... well guess what. After long silence he started asking questions again.
Tozun: "Why did you come here?"
Eclipse(Me): "You tell me."
Tozun: "Right, usually well guarded places have a reason to be guarded so well."
Eclipse(Me): "What. is the. secret you. are. hiding?"
Tozun: "No use hiding it anymore. This place wouldn't fulfill its purpose anyways now that you have already wrecked it."
Tozun: "I was hiding the prototype of my masterpiece. The Oracle. Unfortunately someone else took the finished version but I wanted to preserve the original for future generations."
Eclipse(Me): "What does it do?"
Tozun: "It reveals the past of a place."
I got slightly wary for a moment, before confirming that there was no temporal destabilization in the area.
Eclipse(Me): "What is the difference between the prototype and the finished version?"
Tozun: "Calling it a prototype is a bit of a strech, since the finished one predicts the future."
Eclipse(Me): "I want it." I mean, it is a device able to reconstruct information from past events, at least to a certain extent, without causing temporal destabilization.
Tozun: "It was intended for those who make it through my dungeon anyways. We have to get there first though."
We continued to move through the city of bookshelves for another while.
Eclipse(Me): "What is this. mana., I keep hearing about?"
After a short pause and with a slightly confused look on his face he answered me.
Tozun: "Well, mana is... mana is a invisible form of energy that is expended when seomeone uses magic. It flows throughout the universe but its ultimate source is unknown."
I saw a, almost ceremonial pedestal. "Almost", because it was surrounded by a mountain of loose books.
I sent a pulse but it didn't go all the way through, which was odd in a number of ways. Upon receiving the feedback of a second pulse I sent, I understood that the it was not the pulse that was struggling, but rather my mind was struggling to comprehend this indefinitely complex device.
Eclipse(Me): "How does it work?"
Tozun: "Believe me or not, but it is too complex to explain." Oh, I believe you.
Tozun: "Anyways, since you completed the dungeon, I'll get you out of here and remove the dungeon island, as it serves no further purpose now. Oh, and take the prototype with you, you're gonna need it."
Wait, what?
The next thing I saw was a blinding light while I felt space switching around me.