Taking a deep breath, Lieren gazed at the regal-looking door made out of pristine white marble, unblemished and unaged by the passage of time. It was unlike the rest of the tomb: splendid and impressive, while the latter was cold and drab, as well as incredibly monotone with soot, moss, and grime decorating its cyclopean walls like some kind of sentient spore had been released.
And then, he ignited Manavision. All of a sudden, the world seemingly came into deeper focus, and the door in front of him was not a door anymore, but a mass of golden light and intricate runic carvings describing innumerable lines of mana code and sealing spells that wrapped around it like some kind of intricate snake, or worm, or some other sentient being that could possibly compare to the beautiful menagerie of spells, and mana codes encompassing the mass of golden light and rolling runes.
It was breathtakingly beautiful, as well as inspiring. While he failed to make sense of the innumerable lines of text making up the golden mass of light, his intuition was able to discern the barest hint, the smallest fragment, and most infinitesimal semblance of a pattern encompassing the whole construct.
Whether it was his astonishment, surprise, of simple awe, Lieren unconsciously blurted out:
"Defense, protection, and self-destruction."
The regal door seemed to have been made with the intention of protecting whatever it was inside of it.
Ignoring the befuddled idiot, Master Feng stepped forward unceremoniously, pressed her pendant — the lighting artifact — on the pristine marble, and took a step back. A familiar brightness of heavenly light permeated the somber tomb for a brief moment, then disappeared. When it did, the door was no longer there. Instead, with the ocular powers of Manavison, all that could be seen was a thin, translucent substance where the regal door had previously been. Lieren immediately put the significantly less spell barrier as a preservation barrier, meant to keep whatever it was within of the somber tomb from being desecrated by the natural elements.
'Pretty…'
Just as he was about to touch the translucent barrier, Master Feng's thin but muscular arm slammed into his chest, sending dull pain through body. Lieren flinched and heaved for breath, closing his eyes with a grimace frozen om his face and took a step back. It wasn't very painful, but something about the way he was hurt by anything regarding Master Feng sent waves of pain throughout his frail muscles and brittle bones, no matter how powerful it was. Weak or strong, it did not matter, all of it was bound by some magical force to reverberate throughout his body.
After a series coughing and taking in sharp breaths, Lieren finally opened his eyes and opened them wide. There was a familiar pendant wrapped around his neck. It was the lighting artifact.
'When did it…'
Lifting his face up with a surprised expression on it, Lieren moved to thank Master Feng, only to find her already halfway through the preservation barrier. By the time he already realized it, she was already well beyond it.
"W—wait!"
Picking himself up with a start, Lieren followed after her lithe form and passed through the barrier. He shuddered as his skin made contact with it, a bolt of electricity running down his spine.
It was an… unsettling feeling, to say the least.
It disappeared, however, when he was fully through. And so did every emotion he had.
He almost fell to his knees.
Towering above him like some kind of divine structure was rows upon rows of splendid treasures of every shape and kind. Magical swords, cursed trinkets, enchanted armor and divine weaponry. Every single weapon, item, and gear he had ever imagined was there, fully for his taking.
"Where… where am I?" Lieren said through gasps. Every time his eyes fell on one treasure to another, he couldn't help but take a step back and take in a sharp breath, lest he die from asphyxiation.
◇◆◇◆◇
Master Feng walked confidently through rows upon rows of shelves decorated with magical items and arcane weaponry. She did nor spare one look or tilt her head on any of them, but then again, why would she? She was blind, after all. Her way of showing astonishment was differently from others.
The boy who's collar she was holding, so that he does not wander off because of his insatiable curiosity, was the apparent opposite of her ever-calm disposition. His eyes darted from one shiny enchanted fetish to a piece of somber magically-imbued metal, with each one seemingly shining brighter than the other, as if in a competition to see who is the most eye-catching trinket, weapon, or gear.
"..."
Taking a deep sigh, she looked aside and noticed that the inquisitive boy was not within her grasp anymore. She had sensed him leaving, of course, but not until it was a moment too late. Looking aside, he noticed him taking a sharp turn in a particularly mana-heavy room. It seems like he has found another place to play with, yet again.
And it was such a pain to catch him in the first place, to…
But, no, she couldn't let anger overcome her. She needed to be calm and controlled. Practicing her breathing technique for the first time in a long while, she took a couple of sharp breaths and let out one final breath with a heavy exhale, squeezing all the air from her lungs in one long burst.
And then, the world came into play.
The silent vibrations, the silent disturbance, the barest hint of the fluctuating mana signatures all throughout her room. All of it was for her and only her to see.
The subtle hint of a frown found its way onto her forehead, which she banished with a few brief and quick breathing exercises she had mastered from a very young age. The vestige of her irritation came from a very particular, and immensely extraordinary fact that seemed to baffle her every time it came to training the inquisitive boy. She could not tell what his face was.
….Which wasn't much of a surprise , considering her unique situation, but was still equally disconcerting. No matter how much she tried, she could never sense the inquisitive boy clearly, like some kind of obfuscating wind was constantly and perfectly hiding him from… well… sight.
It was almost as if he did not exist in the first place.
But that didn't make him invisible, in fact — with mastery and skill — the inquisitive boy was all but noticeable. It was hard to notice, at first, but she managed to adjust to it accordingly and recognize the empty spot in space to be the boy's presence.
And yet, she couldn't help from shuddering from time to time.
Rounding the corner, Feng Xing Liu followed after the giddy boy and sighed.
What could have caused such an unnatural phenomenon? She did not know, and she was not sure if she even wanted to. But then again, that was not her decision to make.