Be careful not to die.
There were exact words ivistar left him before leaving. They were filled with nothing other than emotionless truth, but they showed everything Hildebrant wanted to know and discover.
In a sanctuary where power regained supreme, he was still just a small fish in a giant ocean.
Looking into the distance he observed the surface of the fantasy sea from his position, forgetting for a while the horrors hiding under its surface. The soft radiance coming from its pristine depts made him swing his legs up and down.
Right now, he sat on a giant sharp rock without his feet touching the white sand.
Even he made a habit of touching the white sand when needed and no more. Touching it made him feel weirdly uncomfortable as if something kept breathing on his neck.
Giving a last glance to the pristine sea Hildebrant picked up his sword that rested next to his hand that had a sigil in the shape of a star with an eye, a symbol he was part of the exploration force of Great Hall of exorcist, and descendent down from sharp rock and started to make his way through the endless shade of white.
It was already two months since his meeting with Ivistar and in that time many things happened. He did not just make a big leap in his mastery of his battle style and flames but also found out more about the inner workings of the sanctuary itself.
If Hildebrant could describe it in one word it would be a mess.
The four lords each ruling over one great hall were all in weak alliances and conflict that could anytime explode into full blow war. One would think that children of such a tender age would not be able to create bloodshed, but these kids were not just any people, they were ascenders who kept killing to survive.
It was no wonder that if lord told them they would start killing each other.
What's worse there were four lords in total and two of them were in a cold war already and the other two were helping, directly or indirectly.
Hildebrant did not know why or what started a war between Blood Demons and Lightbringer, but they looked to have a long history together. Longer that he would be happy to see.
Observing another part of the white shore he came to a stop when a giant wall made from sharp rock and red moss stopped him from coming further.
It was already six times this month.
After discovering another path blocked, he took a notebook and pen from his backpack, and when he opened it, a large and detailed map showed before him. There were many places with symbols and even drawings of different things all written atop the painting representing white shore but most of them were clearly written x.
Taking the pen, he made another x with his pen and then closed the notebook and returned it to his backpack.
He was tired.
At first, Hildebrant had no plans to scan the entire white shore for a way out. His original plan was to the venue to the main entrance and try to pass through it like the leader of the Walldrifter did or at least come to look before making any more plans. But an hour after entering the unknown passages of the sanctuary he was not just lost but also almost killed by bizarre creatures inhabiting its space.
It took him all his powers to slaughter his way out and after that one try, he chose to go to white shore even through its danger to try to find a way around the sanctuary. But each time he thought he finally found a way around the terrain sanctuary would prove him wrong.
Maybe that's why the four lords are not afraid of letting people go outside.
The moment though entered his mind his eyes noticed a crew of people strolling on white sand from ship to ship. Many such people were not afraid of venturing out, most of them blood demons who wore blood-red armor but most still were dressed in normal steel plates with weapons forged from anything they could find.
Looking into the distance people before him wore white breastplates, pure and untouched and each of them looked rather bright and beautiful, unusual for people who ventured out to hunt for food or material.
What are they doing?
The team was formed of two women and three men but none of them even glanced at the ship hosting unbearable horrors. They just strolled around and then after scanning their surroundings and finding nothing they hid behind the ship.
Hildebrant wanted to go ask what they were doing but then another team formed from three men in blood-red armor came from the other side.
When the two teams met each other, the white one was the first one to attack.
Not expecting an ambush one of the three kids died immediately and the other two began to fight fiercely.
Even at a disadvantage, two men had great coordination with each other and were able to fend off two women and two men easily. They even began to laugh, but the laugh stopped when the last woman joined.
The sword in her hand turned into white light and with her helping four young soldiers they killed two men but not without sacrifices.
One of the girls had her neck cut in the middle fight and without any way to heal she bled out before her friend could come to help her.
The woman however didn't look to care and with a wave of her hand, she signaled the other three surviving warriors to follow her.
One of the boys looked at the girl's corpse but, in the end, he rushed to his leader.
Before the woman left, she surveyed her surroundings and locked her eyes with Hildebrant.
When she noticed his gaze, she kept gazing into his eyes until she brought her finger to her lips and signaled him to keep silent but on it, all Hildebrant did was continue to stare into her eyes.
In the end girl left with her soldier and Hildebrant in live observation as four dead bodies were slowly submerged into white sand disappearing with all of their weapons, blood, and even clothes.
Nothing remained after a minute of waiting, just pure white sand.
Hildebrant once more tuned to the sharp rock wall that was behind him and then made his way down while avoiding a giant wooden vessel and the gaze that came from blood blood-red vessel that began to sprout from the gaps in the ship.