CG Chapter 60: My precious
Tom scratched his head before asking, "What mark and prophecy are you talking about? Don't you think you should fill me in on the details before going further?"
"You will understand everything once you see what the ancestors left." Hidden exerted his full strength, attempting to stand up. He then pointed towards the assassins with strange hand signs.
Upon seeing the signs, the rows of assassins moved seamlessly out of the area as if they weren't there.
They closed the gates before hiding in the shadows, standing guard. Their sheer numbers would cause any knight to cower in fear. Together, they formed an unbreakable formation.
"No one will distract us now; a quick warning: if I were you, I would stand away from the center." Hidden began limping into the trees.
Despite the injuries that covered his body, his hands somehow worked perfectly. He touched and moved tree branches, rocks, and many other objects without any discernible manner.
Glancing at Hidden, Tom waited patiently; without notice, he began to hear the sound of gears turning and clicking.
Shortly after, the earth started to shake, and the ground beneath them began to move slowly, revealing a tunnel to an unknown area.
"Are you ready?" As he asked the question, a smile appeared on Hidden's face; it wasn't a smile of excitement but of something more. Through the years, he trained generation after generation of assassins, from young children who knew nothing to full-fledged assassins.
However, the harshness of life remained. He watched many of these children die on missions without having the ability to do anything about it. At least, that is what he told himself. Witnessing this tunnel was like seeing the result of waiting for all of these years. It seemed to fill part of the hole left by their deaths.
…
The duo walked inside the tunnel side by side.
Suddenly, Tom began to smell a familiar odor, "Is that mildew? If this place is as important as you told me, why didn't you take better care of it?"
"No one has dared to step in this place since the foundation of Alamut. Each leader would warn the next that 'Al-Khazneh' must only open when the one who gained our recognition showed up. But don't worry too much since the item waiting for you is sealed away from mortal dust."
Seeing how Hidden was so certain he was the one they were waiting for, Tom became more interested.
His first encounter with divination was long ago through Tian Chang, but that was an increased intuition at best.
He even practiced some divination arts himself. Unfortunately, they weren't of much use, especially with the fact that rank-zero worlds didn't have many heaven secrets to spy on in the first place.
Despite his interest, Tom had many doubts; he thought internally, 'If, and that is a big If, they had the ability to use some kind of art to foresee my reincarnation, then they wouldn't reside in a mere rank-one world. If things went as they were meant to be, Edward would have died, and Timothy would have become the next Baron.'
'This means that the so-called ancestors were waiting for a talented inheritor from their bloodline with nothing more and nothing less; they simply used the term of a prophecy to toot their horn and act all mysterious.'
After walking down the lengthy, dim corridor, the pair finally arrived at a dead end, where a solid wall obstructed their progress. In front of it were two stone pots, each accompanied by a blade.
The pots were engraved with distinct patterns - one depicting flames, the other a snowflake. Between them rested a stone bearing instructions for what came next.
'We were born from ashes, and to ashes, we return. Our memory might have been long forgotten, our names unworthy of remembering. However, even after a thousand years, a spark of lineage, a drop of blood, will return our memory and burn through all.'
After reading the text, Hidden turned his head toward Tom. "You know, I've often wondered if it will all be worth it--the pain, the loneliness. But after seeing you and this, I'm certain of my choice. My heart has finally started to beat once more. I'm sure you will bring me the joy I've been waiting for."
Hidden grabbed one of the blades and made a slice across his hand. His blood began to flow rapidly, slowly filling the pot with the snowflake engraving.
Seeing Hidden's actions and rereading the instructions, Tom decided to follow his lead. The thought that this might be a trap crossed his mind, but after examining everything that had happened and analyzing Hidden's expressions, Tom understood that it was unlikely.
Additionally, the alluring smell of benefits that were one step away from him was far too great to ignore. Being too fearful of risk would only lead to stagnation.
Tom's blood began to fall on the pot. Each drop sizzled as if burning; only he knew whether it was due to the shrine's particular property or his unusual blood.
The blood turned into a whirlpool, disappearing as quickly as it gathered. Yet, neither of them cared about that or their pain. They held their hands still until…
Cracks spread across the wall from every corner. With a glimpse, the once-giant wall crumbled quickly before their eyes.
"This…"
Behind the wall hid a bronze chest with nothing unique about it. If it were thrown in the market, people would pass it by without giving it a second glance.
On one side, Hidden was silent, looking at the chest, his heart shaking.
On the other hand, Tom walked toward the chest; his hunger screamed at him to get whatever was inside.
The chest held two earrings: one as bright as flames, hotter than lava, while the other emitted coldness, with the color of a clear sky and a frozen lake.
"These earrings don't seem like anything from this world; they have a unique feel to them," Tom asked Hidden. He suppressed the strange feeling of attraction he felt; he wanted to check for one final time.
"From my knowledge, these earrings were pieces from a bygone era, from before the seven kingdoms came to be. However, the records of what happened were wiped long ago. The greatest adventurer, 'The Pioneer,' vanished as if he never existed when he tried to reveal the truth." Hidden looked a bit sad as he spoke; however, just as quickly as it came, he began to urge, "Quickly put them on; what are you waiting for?"
Looking at the earrings, Tom made up his mind. He placed one near each ear, and suddenly, an extreme sensation overwhelmed him.
Pain, agony, and torture greater than any other filled his body.
The chains that held the earrings transformed into a red, fleshy material. Even the tiniest movement of theirs would cause extreme pain, let alone the fact that they were trying to drill through his skull. The worm-like chains cracked through Tom's skull, creating a web-like structure and sending a wave of pain that almost knocked him out; however, he held on.
The earrings slowly glowed as they started to pour drops of liquid into his body. However, feeling this liquid entering his body, Tom strangely began to feel disgust.
He began to use all of his energy to push against the two drops; Tom gritted his teeth while pushing on one side, and the earrings pushed on the other.
'Noor, help me seal this.'
With the two of them working together, the earrings began to dim down, forming a sort of equilibrium, with Tom slowly gaining control.
'These two drops would have given me power, but they would have also shackled me. How the fuck is there a beast bloodline in a rank-one world...'