After crushing the purple flame within his hand Dell felt power course through his body, similar strength flowing in him like last time. Now he could win easily. Their battle didn't last much longer as Dell rushed in, capitalizing off his power boost. His speed, strength, and durability were overwhelming for the single skeleton. Each time it tried to strike forward, it was instantly parried leaving it open wide for Dell to strike, and he used these opportunities.
After just a minute of battle the guard's body was covered in several cracks, and its movements slowed. But Dell's assault did not slow. He swung his oar forward, shattering the dark blade of the skeleton, and knocked it down to the floor. Dell smiled, seeing the defeated skeleton spread out on the ground.
" Any last words? " He lowered his ear to the chest, above the glowing core.
" Save the rest... before too late... "
Dell stared remorsefully but remained silent.
And then, he brought the oar down like an axe destroying the purple core and diminishing the light from its chest. The battle was over, but the room wasn't silent. The whails of different souls continued to echo throughout the hall.
" 'Save the rest.' Does he mean the things wailing in here? "
Looking deep into the cells, he saw piles of dark skeletons, all containing a feint purple glow in their ribcages with chains flowing out entrapping them. Dell felt puzzled for a moment, how was he meant to save all these... people? He sighed and thought about just forcing down the bars between him and them, but this idea was quickly decided against after he felt a sharp pain in his side.
All his wounds were starting to add up, especially the latest one on his side. A normal human would've died long ago after sustaining these injuries. Though his power could allow him to survive with them for longer, the boost was running out and he had to find some way to bandage them up.
He decided to forget about the prisoners and the skeleton's final wish, using the last bit of his power to continue moving forward.
' Why should I care? It's all fake, isn't it? I shouldn't waste my sympathy on illusions. '
The voice of the skeleton murmured things to him in his head, but he ignored it. Its voice became sorrowful, and quieter, before eventually becoming silent.
Upon reaching the doorway at the end of the tomb, he noticed another row of cells ahead of him, but to the sides, more flights of dark stairs. He felt conflicted - which path should he take, right, left, or forward? Though the stairs felt ominous, they at least always have led him to somewhere new, like to the inside of the temple, and the cells of the temple. Who knows whether walking forward will take him anywhere valuable, it could very well be some infinite tunnel of infinite helpless prisoners. He remained still for a moment, before moving swiftly to the right, heading down the steps.
' A break from fighting would be nice, these gashes are unbearable! '
-
He found himself walking down the stairway for a very long time, it was dark, and every step coursed a bit of pain through his body, growing more intense. To distract himself from the pain, Dell used this time to recall what the guard had said to him. He described his time as being the guard as a ' fate better than imprisonment... ' but it also said for Dell to ' save the rest. '
' They were all skeletons, with the strange chains and such. Could it be that... some of the prisoners are chosen to become guards of the cells? Not to mention, the guard's core was much brighter than the prisoners trapped inside. '
Thinking deeper, he came up with a theory.
' Maybe those cores are the souls of those things, and the intensity of the radiance declared a difference in power? The larger and brighter the soul is, the stronger the creature will be. That does make a bit of sense, seeing as how that horror guarding the entrance had a way bigger core, and was way stronger. '
The guard also mentioned the 'Lords of the Inbetween' who supposedly forced the guard to defend the cells. It's most likely that these lords chose the prisoners with the greatest soul strength to become guards, but that was not all that they did. Dell remembered the skeleton mentioning that they knew of something's defeat and that they would swiftly replace what was lost.
' Ah, well that's obvious... but incredibly spine-chilling. '
The horror he had slain, with the long neck... another one of those would be back to guard the temple entrance. Of course, he didn't suspect that the being was limited to guarding the entrance, it probably would come down and find Dell. Normally Dell, with his newfound power, wouldn't have been too fearful of the eldritch creature returning, but his bodily state could not handle another battle like that and he would have no choice but to flee.
' Let's hope I find the objective before then. '
Speaking of his power, Dell noticed that the flames he conjured after sacrificing one of the voices in his head were the same color as the cores of the horror and skeletons. This observation reinforced his theory that whenever he killed something he kept their soul with him somewhere. The voices that he heard were the voices of the souls.
' Yeah, that makes sense. I collect the souls of the living and use them to enhance myself. And that matches the description the guard gave me, a reaper. '
Dell's train of thought changed as he remembered that word.
' A Reaper? A being of death, collecting souls. '
He liked that. Though, he didn't believe had the weapon fit for being a reaper. Though the oar was proving itself to be unbelievably strong, he would've preferred something sharper, and more fitting for a reaper. But he was more focused on the ability he had, on a surface level it was interesting and strong, but it also seemed impractical. The ability was useless if he didn't have a soul, meaning he had to have killed something, and the benefit he gained from it would be just physical improvements, not to say that they were poor, it just was limited. He also had to listen to the rambling of the things he killed in his head, and that drove him mad.
' Eh... at least it's not just strength amplification. '
-
Finally, Dell reached the bottom of the staircase. Walking forward, he noticed several gates and bars ahead of him.
' Seems like another cell, but just way more secure. What are they trying to contain? '
He opened the different cellar doors, which were all open for some reason, and walked deeper in. Soon, his ears were met with the sound of metals clanging against each other rhythmically. The sound didn't stop, only growing louder as he moved forward. Eventually, he reached the final wall of bars and looked deep into the cellar. There was a huge purple flame in the corner of the room, revealing different equipment and weaponry on the walls and floors. The same sound kept hammering away before eventually, Dell laid his eyes on the source of the sound.
A tall, pitch-black creature with a pair of legs and two pairs of muscular arms held a hammer in one of its hands, smashing away at something on an anvil. It was wearing a dark fur cloak that flowed from its hips to its knees, and on its chest was a beautifully crafted plum chest plate, with slots that allowed its arms to flow out. Its arms were covered in different scars, which brightened the arms slightly as they revealed dark purple flesh. But what was most bizarre about it was that he couldn't see the face on its body. At the peak of its neck, there was a strange fuzzy mist, not like the mist of the temple, that stuck onto its face completely blurring out its head. From the top of the mist, two gargantuan horns sprung up and curled backward like a bull's horns.
Suddenly the smashing of the metal paused, as its head tilted up to look at Dell. His heart sank as he stared into its misty face. It was eery. Then, a deep, hoarse voice echoed through the hall, which made him shiver slightly.
" A young reaper... what brings you here, my friend? "
He froze in fear, taking a few moments to register that it had said something to him.
' I can understand it... '
The question came as a shock to him, as well as the fact that he could converse with an entity like those skeletons. Nobody had ever asked him this, he didn't know what to say.
" U-uh... I'm trying to escape..? "
" Escape this tomb? Or escape this world between heaven and hell? "
' Between heaven and hell... that would make this purgatory, right? ' Dell thought for a moment, before answering honestly, and perhaps foolishly.
" Both. "
It laughed clamorously, Dell even feeling a gust of wind as it did.
" Well, good luck with that! "
And then it went back to hammering away.
' ... Huh? '
Their short dialogue was so... friendly. And friendly attitudes were not a regular thing in the trial, so far at least. He shuffled closer to the bars before shouting over the forging sound.
" Hey! Who are you? "
It stopped again.
" Hm? You don't recognize me? I suppose you are truly lost! " Walking away from the anvil in the corner of the room, it arrived in the center and brought itself to the floor, crossing its legs and putting the hammer down beside him.
" My name is -. "
' Huh? '
"What? My name is -. I'm just a great blacksmith, probably the greatest in all the worlds! "
Dell's eye twitched as it laughed again. Why was it not telling him its name? It's like the name was being censored - the way his voice abruptly cut itself out just as it talked was too odd.
" Say, what's your name young reaper? And why have you come to my cellar? "
" Uh... Dellin. I didn't mean to come here, I just ended up he- "
A sharp pain spread throughout his body, causing him to fall to the floor, moaning in pain. The fatigue was finally reaching him, his wounds were becoming worse and worse. The smith watched quietly as he convulsed on the floor, then sighed.
" You're not going to be going anyway with wounds like those. Must've taken you some effort to get here. "
Dell tried to say something, but the pain worsened and only screams came out of his mouth. He was losing consciousness.
' No... No! They didn't feel that bad before... what happened?! '
Suddenly, the smith grabbed the bars separating them, and bent them effortlessly, allowing its towering torso to push itself out, along with its brawny arms. It lowered itself, and picked up Dell, cradling him gently. Leaning back into the cellar, he bent the bars back into place and seemingly looked down at the half-alive reaper in its arms.
" Rest well Repaer Dellin. This won't be for free, though. "
And then, there was darkness.