Skrii...Skrii...Skrii...
'Shit!
Finally, Atlas made up his mind and walked with quick steps toward the exit, trying his luck.
Fortunately, the Darkisher excellently concealed his rough escape from the eyes of the goblins and allowed him to avoid a bloody battle.
Coming out of the passage, a vast world appeared before him, but it was not the right time to be lost in astonishment, so he hastily searched for a secluded and well-hidden place.
Fortunately, that vast world had many holes or covers around the zone, so he immediately took refuge in the nearest hollow and waited patiently for their arrival.
While waiting, Atlas started looking around, and soon, he discovered a peculiar thing. Indeed, unlike what he had imagined, that underground world was shrouded in a dark blue light.
It wasn't a nature-optimal light, but it still allowed a slight glimpse of the shape of the world and its inhabitants.
Actually, the presence of a weak light source was advantageous for him because it could help him hide his presence and avoid many problems.
After all, a light source as powerful as a torch could attract unwanted attention.
It took them a long minute, but in the end, the creatures came out of the passage. Still, they didn't notice anything suspicious in the area and instead continued toward their destination, the imposing stronghold visible in the distance.
The bluish light gave that old, crumbling stronghold a terrifying aura.
His true objective was still unknown, so he calmed his heart and approached cautiously, trying to stay hidden in the shadows as long as possible.
The source of light in the cave came from a giant cluster of gigantic crystals embedded in the ceiling.
The cave was massive, and the crystals could not fully illuminate the entire area, granting Atlas many hiding places along the way.
The stronghold was quite a distance from the passage. In fact, Atlas reached its tattered walls only after an hour. Clearly, the journey had also taken that long because moving from one hiding place to another forced him to move very slowly.
The signs of ancient battles were still clearly visible on the walls and the dilapidated structures inside, for they had left an indelible mark, especially on the gigantic main gate, which was torn and cracked in several parts, though composed mainly of thick wooden planks reinforced by a tenacious metal.
'The main door suffered terrible damage... it is even more frightening since there are still the marks of Chaos Runes on it...' The young man was shocked at the mere thought of the terrifying battle in ancient times.
The wood, which had been valuable and durable in the past, was now rotten and smashed to pieces. Only the metal was in a slightly better condition, turning that entrance into the fearsome sharp jaws of a monster.
"I have to find a secondary entrance. There are bound to be guards behind that filthy metal cage..."
The walls were too high, and it was clearly not the case to climb over them with ropes, so after wisely ruling out the main gate, he began to walk along the jagged base of the walls, looking for another passage.
During the search, the young man heard many noises beyond and above the walls, providing enough information about the possible number of creatures.
The sources of those noises increased, and inevitably, the young adventurer began to doubt his choice.
Perhaps... there were too many goblins for him...
Atlas asked himself many questions along the way, but having reached that point, it was inadvisable to leave without first getting a complete picture of the situation.
Skrii...Skrii...Skrii...
Bang!... Bang!... Skrii...
Skrii...Skrii... Skrii...
Bang!... Bang!... Skrii...
At one point, sounds of an intense battle came from the other side.
The clashes kept growing stronger and louder, giving the young man a huge scare, but then silence returned.
"Geez... damn those brutal beasts!"
Atlas' pace grew slower but more stable, and as he continued, a possible solution appeared before him.
"Hmm... that gap should be enough..."
He was a few steps from a small entrance left behind by the ancient battle, just a dozen of breath away. Yet, when he was almost there, the cave started to shake.
Crack! Boom!! Crack! Boom!!
Pillars of rock and crystals started falling from above...
The wornout walls shook and cracked more and more...
And the solid terrain below his feet followed the same destiny...
"Bloody hell... why now?!"
Atlas knew what was going to happen, so he jumped forward.
Boom!... Boom!... Skrii...
Boom!... Boom!... BOOM!!!!!
The noises and the overall chaos didn't cease but intensified until a vigorous roar gave the last deadly blow to that ancient vestige.
Some rocks around the solid walls crumbled, making the solid base under Atlas's feet very unstable.
Shocked by the sudden commotion, Atlas clung with all his might to the walls, but he could not find the proper foothold and fell to the ground.
Although the impact on the ground was not that violent, that event gave the coup de grace to the ground, which was already in terrible condition.
In the end, the ground shattered, and Atlas sank into the dark abyss that surrounded the stronghold.
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The young man fell into the void for a long time. It looked like a chasm connected directly with the center of the earth.
His holy thought was that death was the only pat before him, yet the wall began to lean closer and closer to his body, giving the hapless adventurer a chance for survival.
The young man immediately seized the opportunity, and with both hands firmly glued to the handle of his loyal companion, he hurled the tip against the rock.
The weapon arrogantly pierced into the rock, but it was impossible to stop the decline in a short time, so Atlas found himself plunging down the wall, leaving behind a deep rift all the way down.
Only after a few moments of intense battle, the pickaxe stopped allowing the young man some breathing room: "Damn!!! That hurts so bad... It's a miracle that I'm still alive after such a fall..."
Atlas was safe, but his arms were a bit numb because stopping so suddenly was inevitably harmful.
He waited a bit to get back a bit of sensibility over his stressed arms and then climbed the handle of his companion till reaching with his hands the solid support that had saved him from the abyss.
Soon, Astra was safe and sound inside Nihiste.
Shrouded in darkness, it was almost impossible to perceive the surrounding area. Moreover, the faint bluish light could not reach the depths of that chasm.
With his eyes, he could not see, so he risked a bit and took a glowing rock out of his space artifact. That object couldn't produce much light, but it was more than enough to give the young man a clear understanding of the surroundings.
"Damn it... there is nothing above..."
He could barely see above him. Indeed, the light could reach only as far as dozens of feet around his body. But, when his gaze moved below, Atlas discovered something that made his heart jolt.
"There is a hole down there... could it be a cavern?"
Such a finding brought excitement to the young man. After all, he couldn't believe that he had stopped right a few feet above a possible safe location.
His movements were limited, yet he risked and released his grip at once.
"Hahaha... I am saved!" Atlas laughed elatedly, feeling the hard rock below his feet, and inevitably lay down on the ground, breathing heavily.
"That was close..." Atlas sighed, driving away most of his fears and trying to calm down his heart, which was beating madly.
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