Aki leads the way down the path, keeping an eye trained for claw marks. There are divots and indents revealed with each step that push back the curtain of darkness but none as recent as the chip in the doorway.
Next to her, Winter walks with a hand against the wall, allowing his Shadow magic to extend. Behind the two walk Demelkas and his crew in defensive formation with Dent bringing up the rear
"Are you sure this place is safe?" Aki whispers. "Like you said, real life is different. Could any of the monsters from your game make it here?"
"No way. Lorewise, this place has some sort of aura that repels the cursed NPCs. Since it's tied to the temple, any monsters that get in close would get devoured by the boss."
"Hmm." Aki purses her lips. It had been five minutes yet nothing new was seen.
The void they walk in starts to lighten as the ground elevates.
Excited chatter fills the pathway as everyone gets a pep in their step. This one opens into a dimly-lit, wide and open area.
"That's the outside plaza before the temple." Winter mumbles next to her.
Aki takes the first step as the main light source into a plaza and street overlooking the distant city. Pain stings at her mind and, though it's fuzzy, she remembers loving this style of architecture. Yet for some reason, standing out in the open feels off-putting.
Light is cast from equally spaced street lamps along the edge of the stone street that frame the imposing sharp figure of the temple Winter mentioned.
Three spires rise on either side of a single massive point that dwarfs its companions, it resembles an obelisk more than anything. It sits upon a hill, creating a more intimidating presence aided by the underlighting the streetlamps make on it.
Pure mana fires skyward behind her. Demelkas holds aloft his wand from which a slow descending orb of pulsating green light falls over their position.
A signal flare to allow the rest of the crew to find them, Aki realises.
The blaze of light better illuminates the plaza they stand in. Such brightness casts its glow with eerie beauty over them, staining everything green.
Winter gasps in awe at the same time Aki does. A sadness lingers in his eyes as a smile tugs his lips.
Aki takes it in too. Trailing her gaze over the tight flagstone and metallic bodies of the lights up to the incredible stonework of the temple. For a moment, Aki thinks she sees a pair of eyes splitting the darkness above the spire of the ominous temple.
"Incredible." Dent leans against the railing of the overlook. His sharp features and hard eyes soften in awe of the view before him.
The magic flare still lingers, slowly dying out but not without casting a wide net of light to pierce the blanket of darkness, at least over what sits below it if nothing else.
Winter, Demelkas, and the rest of the crew join him at the overlook gazing out at the city. The majesty of the cityscape within this pitch black zone is beyond incredible. Stretching tall over the defensive walls and glistening with greenish glass, Even in the distant all-encompassing darkness, there is a faded majesty. Here in the void beneath the sea, only white outlines discern the distant buildings from the unknown. Blue hues of light dot the view in concentrated spaces, casting a phantasmal glow against the buildings they sit close to.
Perhaps under the sun, the sprawling city may have been beautiful. A shining jewel that would bring awe to any that laid eyes upon it. A choking sadness cloaks Aki, not from herself but Winter. In this moment, with his mouth slightly open, his features resemble the little boy outside and not the man within.
Whatever story he knows from his world, seeing this city in person must be a strange feeling.
Demelkas barks orders and motions to the temple.
"As curious as I am, we can walk and talk. Crew! Proceed with caution and keep your shields up. The others should have seen the flare and will join us. First, we're going into that structure. I want half of you ready for battle and the other half carrying our supplies." He turns to the trio and levels a serious look. "Can I trust in your shadow magic and your glowing head to detect danger within? Take the swordsman too."
Being minimised to a glowing head feels off putting but Aki accepts nonetheless. Only Winter seems to be unresponsive as his eyes remain on the temple.
Dent stealthily flicks Winter's ear with wind magic and jerks his head in a sharp nod.
"Uh, ah, yeah. I mean, yes sir."
Aki, Dent, and Winter climb the steps first while the others scramble to follow their lord and captain's orders.
"So what can we expect? What's the trick?" Dent asks once the three are sufficiently far. "Don't try to hide the important information at this junction."
"I was going to!" Winter hurriedly defends himself as best he can while whispering. "Pelgaius is actually a pretty gimmicky boss so it could be beaten at a low level if you bring the right stuff. But what's important is that it won't spawn unless you mess with the altar."
"The boss is that big guy that brought us here?" Aki turns to walk backwards, aiming the light forward for the other two. "Hard to imagine something that big losing so easily."
Stabbing pain makes its way around Aki's head as empty memories float to the surface. Games were something she enjoyed back on Earth so it wasn't surprising to her that this conversation would bring up some pain.
Aki squeezes her wrist beneath the cloak and hides the pain with a forced smile that comes out more like a grimace.
Winter nods. "Yeah. To sum it up, Pelgaius is a mechanic to block exploration since it's unbeatable at sea. So when you go to the temple in the midgame, you beat Pelgaius and open up the rest of that map and finally have access to the fast travel mechanic using this super advanced teleport relay station. That's what we need to use to get out of here."
Pain spikes as familiarly unfamiliar terms stab at the huge holes in Aki's mind.
"Ah, sorry!" Winter's hushed voice is loud even behind the hand he raises to cover his mouth. "I guess otherworlder terms are a bit much for someone from Tsarjar to understand, huh? By teleporter, I meant Space Gates. Dent knows what I mean, right?"
"...Yes." Dent keeps his gaze focused on the massive double doors barring entry to the temple. "More importantly, we won't have to fight since the enemy will appear only if we interact with the altar, correct? Then we need only worry about operating the Space Gate."
Winter's nodding assertion freezes and the confident grin he had turns into a sheepish one. "Ah."