Chereads / Mystical Alchemist / Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: Chamber of Secrets

The chamber tremored with sheer intensity, and with it a presence also subtly announced its arrival. Although Altair could still not see anything, that didn't stop him from knowing that he no longer was alone in this chamber that he got entrapped in, it was thanks to his prey-like instinct that was instinctively honed by his self after years of being a lesser of the slaves.

Without any hint on where the presence could be, Altair could only ever hope that he does not encounter it at a moment where he was at his weakest, stripped off of his sense of sight, or that the presence isn't hostile, but considering the circumstance, that kind of hope is but a mere wishful thinking.

Where am I going to get some source of light, how am I even going to get started with that?

Clueless and stumped, Altair was left to ponder inside the maws of pure darkness.

And after minutes without getting any bright ideas, he began to walk without the aid of his sense of sight again, if he cannot think of any sensible action to take, then he is forced to do the illogical, besides what use does logic even have if the place defies that in the first place. He had no idea where he was, no idea how he got here, thus taking any actions is better than doing nothing, most especially considering that this place is supernatural, it is wise to think that not making a move can possibly amount to his end.

He took a step, then another, and then another, and then another, until he lost his innate sense of time and direction, walking aimlessly towards a constantly changing direction.

How many minutes have passed? Could it have already been hours? Altair was not sure, however he continued taking his steps.

Having his hands forward as a means of navigating or at least knowing what's in front of him, after what feels like an endless and aimless wandering he still haven't got to sense that something was in front of him, that was until he finally sensed that something was blocking his way, a wall with jagged cracks.

Altair sensed the wall, and slowly got close to it, trying to take hold of its surface, and then he felt the pointy edges that protruded from its jagged cracks, and so he proceeded to feel it entirely with utter caution.

Such a strange wall... is it even a wall? Why is it even so jagged.

He travelled vertically towards the right, allowing the jagged wall to guide him, until he meets a dead end or he comes across with another wall. Even if he found something to guide him, it was still just a means that can't still take away the burden of not being able to see.

Patiently navigating the wall, trying to avoid its protruding edges, Altair was making progress, even if small and with little to no purpose.

But, what he had going was definitely better than nothing, thus he proceeded with what he was doing, hoping that he stumble upon something that could help him in any way.

And sure enough, after a hefty amount of navigating with the help of the jagged wall, he stepped on something, unsure of what it is, Altair decided to stop for a while to examine, or rather get a feel of what the item that he stumbled upon is.

Slowly grasping the object, he suddenly realized that its shape was very familiar, the texture of its tip was ashy, akin to that of a burnt out charcoal, its body was wooden with splinters present all over it. It was a torch, although a burnt out one.

A torch... from how it feels like it was used, wait, does that mean someone was here before I? Then- well don't mind that at the moment, for now that does not matter, what matters is for me to find a way to lit this up so I can finally regain some of my sight back.

Altair was painfully aware, that a torch cannot singlehandedly bring all of his sight back, however it definitely is a huge boon when the alternative of not having it is not being able to see at all, having this is an extremely significant advantage. Finding a way to lit the torch up is of utmost importance at the moment, that way he can finally start doing things.

Question is, how am I supposed to light this up?

It was indeed a good question, even if he have a torch, if he had no means of lighting it up then it might as well just be obsolete.

There was nothing around him that he could make use of to light the torch up, well granted he could not see anything, however he scoured the whole area where the torch was laying, and needless to say there was nothing. Altair did not want to linger that far away from the wall, so at the moment he is stuck with an unlit torch with no idea how to even light it in this lightless place.

What could I even do....

Just at that moment, he noticed the torch flicker, producing tiny embers in its wake, slowly but surely the flames in the torch gradually became stronger and stronger, until it was capable of producing a sliver amount of light. Altair who was witnessing this, felt his sense of sight coming to life as the torch progressively illuminated, even if faintly.

Altair who was at the precipice of proceeding without his sight once more was naturally delighted to witness something like this in this lightless expanse. Fascinated he could only whisper to himself.

Fascinating. I wonder how its mechanism works, if you could even call it that.

The torch lit itself up, how? Well, one could not be sure, but one must count their blessings if they were given one, and that is what exactly Altair is doing, seizing the opportunity before it ceases to exist.

As Altair wagged the torch from side to side, its light gradually became much more radiant, not enough to entirely fight the maws of darkness, but enough to push some of it back, and what Altair was met with was a terrifying, but phenomenal sight.

The jagged wall, isn't just a wall with countless cracks, no, now that Altair could finally see it clearly, it's a mural created through a very strange and ragged method of sculpting, which withered away as time passed, creating cracks and jagged edges in the piece. The art in the wall depicted something that he could not possibly fully fathom, what he can see however is that it was broken or to be more precise incomplete, it was as if it had countless missing pieces that separated from it, or maybe torn away from it not meant to be together.

He walked around the wall and studied the art that was sculpted in it for a bit.

It took him a couple of minutes before realizing that the art in the wall is a vague image of what appears to be a being getting consumed by a stronger one, no, rather the lesser one is being forced to become one with it, it's a terrifying image of a creature being merged with a stronger one. The art was still an incomplete piece, however there is no denying that the image present definitely is still a whole, even if it's just a part of a greater picture. The idea was there, the depiction although vague, can still be seen by the naked eye with sufficient light, it was a fearsome work of art.

Even after figuring out the vague depiction in the art however, Altair did not know what to make of it.

After the deciphering, his eyes accidentally came across with a word that he can understand, it was strange and uncanny, especially for a place that he did not know of and is enigmatic in nature, seeing a language he could comprehend was definitely unexpected. What's written in that part of the wall was:

Remember. Be not afraid.

Altair already decided to keep the image of the vague mural inside his mind, just in case that he might need it in the future, but these words, made him further solidify that decision of his.

Be not afraid... What should I be not afraid of? That new presence?

As he spoke those words inside his mind, the whole chamber tremored once again, the torch's light dissipated instantly and he was once again enveloped in utter darkness. He felt caged, suppressed, and he can sense that the whole chamber was once again shifting itself. He can feel the rotation and the movements of the unknown number of rooms in this place, he stayed in place, but not having the ability to see anything again he can only sit back and wait out the shifting and the tremors.

What have I even gotten myself into.

Then the tremors stopped, and the torch instantly lit up, burning brighter than it did before the shifting. Altair was caught off-guard and was temporarily blinded by the sudden increase in the light's intensity.

The heck? What the hell is wrong with this torch, it just suddenly shone brighter.

As Altair was being blinded by the sudden shine of the torch, unbeknownst to him was a creature that towered over him from his behind, tilting its head and staring at him directly from above.