GUESSING THE KEY
"How many passcodes do you have? Have you guessed?" Cassandra asked Sara.
"One thousand and nine different combinations", she replied to her.
Sara predicted several passcodes for entering the Temple of Dragons but that wasn't enough to open the doors.
"That will take forever to try out all the combinations", Chash complained to us.
"It won't take very long if Sara is doing this", I told them confident with her skills.
Sara also has another skill that could increase her chances of opening the magic door- she could see the flow of magic.
As she tried turning the runes on the dial to the door, she also followed the magic flow and circuitry around the magic door. So, she could confirm easily if her guesses were correct and eliminate the wrong guesses.
Once Sara turned the dial to a rune that reverberated a different magic signature than before, she knew she was on the right track and found a correct key.
"This is taking a long time", Ratatouille complained to us about the time taken to unlock the magic door to the temple.
"As long as it won't take forever", I replied to him.
Sara continued turning the dial on the magic door in the reverse direction until she found another correct key. In this way, Sara slowly learned the combination to this magic door.
"Bloody hell got it", Sara said to us finally when the final click opened the lock on the door.
The magic door to the Temple of Dragons was unlocked.
"Can we go in now?" Meera asked us.
However, we still couldn't enter the Temple of Dragons. We tried pushing the door but to our disappointment, the door was still bolted from the other side.
"I thought you unlocked the door?" Rinna asked Sara.
"I did. I unlocked the dial lock but there was another lock. We need a key for this", she told us about the door.
"Damnit, where can we find keys to the door?" I asked.
"We should just break the door down by brute force", Chash suggested to us.
"That is possible but not preferable. We might trigger some defense mechanisms of the temple that may attack us if we do that", I replied to him.
In my previous life, I've once awakened a powerful sand monster before a pyramid rune that attacked us when we failed to open a magical door properly.
The monster treated us as intruders and tried to kill us.
"The Temple of Dragon is one of the pillars of the Trinity's religion. There must be a key that only the religious could use to enter", Meera told us about her opinion.
"It is possible. Even with the correct passwords we usually use iris scans to unlock our programs as additional security and only authorized persons' iris scans will work. A brute force entry into a system may result in unwanted defense mechanisms", Sara told us.
"Does the door to the Temple of Dragons wants our Iris scans?" Chash asked us.
"Don't be silly, they don't have those technology in the Ten-Kingdoms", Cassandra replied to him.
"I remember Orion and I managed to open the gate to a Valhalla Temple before using the magic from our palms", Rinna reminded me.
"Well, there are two flat knobs on the door, try putting your palms into it", Ratatouille told us.
There were indeed two large knobs on both sides of the magic door. So, without any better suggestions, we followed Ratatouille's idea.
"Whose hands should go on the knob first?" Cassandra asked.
"Master should try first. He is the Dark Angel Incarnate. The Temple of Dragons should recognize him", Meera told us.
I tried first and put my palm onto one of the knobs on the door, but the door wasn't unlocked or opened.
"Did it work?" Chash asked.
"I don't really know. We should ask Sara", I replied to him and redirected the query to Sara.
Sara saw through the magic flowing in the door before replying.
"We have a connection. I can see the magic of the door connecting to you now", Sara told me.
However, despite the connection, the door still failed to open.
"What could be the problem?" Cassandra asked us.
"Maybe we need another palm to open this door. There is another knob on the other side", Meera told us.
"Where are we going to find another Dark Angel candidate to unlock this temple? The Warlock of Delirium?" Ratatouille asked.
"We don't need another dark angel candidate when we have the serpent with us", Meera told us suddenly.
"Do you mean me?" Rinna asked her.
According to Meera, Rinna was the incarnate of the Serpent of Revelations or closely connected to her in that path.
"Let's try it", Meera replied to her.
So, Rinna put her palm on the other flat knob on the door.
To our surprise, the door actually opened for us.
"I am right. Only the magic of the Trinity can open the door to the Temple of Dragons. That is to prevent unwanted people gaining access here", Meera told us.
-----
As we entered the Temple of Dragons, a colossal cavern nestled beneath the mountains near Melling city, we found ourselves traversing through a vast corridor adorned with towering stone carvings.
Upon closer examination, however, we realized that these were not mere statues. Hidden within the stone forms were beating hearts, though their rhythm was slow.
These were not sculptures but creatures in a state of hibernation.
Identifying them was not a challenge.
With their massive wings, distinctive heads, and powerful arms adorned with sharp claws, it was clear that these slumbering beings were dragons.
Fortunately, our arrival did not disturb the dragons from their deep sleep, allowing us to proceed unhindered to the end of the cavernous corridor.
-----
"There are so many dragon sculptures here", Meera said to us.
"These are not sculptures but real dragons. Their hearts are still beating although slowly", Sara told us.
"Dragons?" Chash asked in shock.
"Sleeping Dragons maybe", I replied to him.