Eric's surroundings had grown completely still and silent, as if everything was trying to appear as though it was long dead. The only sounds that could be heard were his heavy, irregular breathing and the soft breathing of Aria not far ahead.
Eric couldn't see Olivia in the darkness, most likely because her black armor and hair completely camouflaged her.
Somehow, he was able to keep up with Aria, who was running at an unnaturally fast pace. Even though she was the strongest master, how was she able to run so fast? And how was Eric able to match her speed?
Following Aria was a dreadful experience for his muscles. In an attempt to distract himself from the pain, he summoned his status. He didn't want to talk to the system to avoid wasting the little essence he had left, so the next best course of action was to look at his status.
Upon doing so, he immediately regretted it, as he was momentarily blinded by his trait 'Punching Up.'
"Ah, fuck, this almost blinded me!" he complained as he quickly dismissed the window. He had never seen his trait glow so brightly before...
'Wait...' A sudden realization hit him. He had already faced so many challenges—battling two Low Grade-5 monsters, fleeing from a group of dragons, which he later learned were High Grade-4 monsters, and even encountering a Grade-6 monster briefly.
And yet, his trait had never glowed as intensely as it did now?
His hair stood on end, and his eyes narrowed. 'Are we not running away from the storm?' he shuddered under that thought. 'Is... something causing this storm?'
After what felt like an eternity—or maybe just a few minutes of nonstop running—something began to appear in Eric's view. A structure made of white bricks, crumbling from the test of time, stood ahead. A wooden door, about two meters in height, was at its front, ready to be opened.
They had reached the tower... though it felt strange to look at it for too long. It almost seemed as if the tower was moving, like Eric couldn't quite comprehend its outer appearance. But this was something he couldn't afford to worry about.
Aria reached the door first and rammed her shoulder against it, opening it instantly. As she entered, Olivia appeared out of nowhere and entered second. Pushing past every limit in his body, Eric entered last.
The second he did, the girls slammed the door shut with their bodies, and Eric quickly followed suit, feeling it was the right thing to do.
The door was sealed shut, and across from it, there wasn't a single sound—no cries of monsters, no howling wind, nor any lightning. The lightning had disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.
The only sound that could be heard was the irregular breathing of the three of them, bracing themselves against the door, as if they were too scared to let anything past it.
Noticing that the door could be locked, Eric reached out with his hand to grasp the wood on its side and then slid it down, effectively locking the door.
Eric's breathing was still irregular, but he couldn't suppress his curiosity as he looked at Aria and asked, "What the fuck was that?"
Her cheeks were flushed, and her delicate mouth was open as she breathed heavily, savoring the clean air. Her chest rose and fell as she did. It was clear she was exhausted, but she tried to hide it as she met Eric's gaze and answered.
"I… don't know… but whatever that was, we would have been killed if we had been any slower."
Eric wanted to continue the conversation, but as he saw Olivia looking at the interior of the tower with a shocked expression, he followed her gaze… only for his expression to mirror hers.
DO NOT FORGET
REMEMBER
DON'T FAIL
These words were written all across the floor, walls, and even the ceiling.
"Where the fuck are we?" Olivia asked, trying to gain a better understanding of her surroundings.
Eric couldn't answer her. 'No, really, where are we?' he thought.
The tower would've seemed normal if it weren't for the bizarre writing everywhere.
Aside from the door they had just barricaded, there was a table wtih a chair, a bed, an empty bookshelf, and stairs that led to the upper floor.
Seeing as there wasn't anything of interest, all three of them silently nodded and began climbing the stairs.
DO NOT FORGET
REMEMBER
DON'T FAIL
It was written everywhere on every stair and every free corner of the wall. Judging by the way it was written, it was clear it had been done in a hurry.
Climbing the circular stairs for some time, they finally reached the top of the tower—or what they presumed to be the top of the tower.
The only thing in front of them was a stone wall that seemed unwilling to budge. Aria, Olivia, and Eric tried their best to open it, but there was no use, they were unable to get it open.
Left with no other option, they went back down.
Olivia was sitting on the chair close to the table, Aria was on the bed, and Eric was leaning against the wall, discussing their plans from now on.
"So we don't know where we are, why that storm came here, or how long we're going to be stuck here?" Eric summarized.
"Pretty much," said Aria as she laid down on the bed. She and Olivia had removed their armor long ago, leaving Eric the only one still wearing his.
'Curses,' he thought. 'So now we can't even move? What about that creature that is supposed to follow me? It would probably use this opportunity to shorten the distance between us.'
The growl of Olivia's stomach interrupted his thoughts.
She blushed slightly before adding, 'And we haven't eaten anything for some time…'
Deciding he didn't have much else to do, he used the gem to open the map, only for his eyes to widen in surprise.
"What is it?" Aria asked immediately, catching Eric's panic.
"Open your map."
Seeing the sudden change in Eric's mood, the girls followed suit, only for their eyes to grow darker.
"We…" Aria began.
"We've been moved?" Olivia interrupted.
"Before we were about 8 kilometers away from reaching the cathedral, but now the distance is more than 20 kilometers?" Aria asked, unable to grasp the reality.
"Wait! It changed again!" Olivia cried, as Eric and Aria looked closer, their eyes narrowing in horror.
"The terrain around us changed completely…" Eric muttered. "Where are we? You've stayed longer in this world, so you must be familiar with it, right?"
"No…" Aria met his gaze, her eyes filled with horror. "This is not land that we have ever seen or have any information about…"
"So how far away are we from the city then?!" Eric cried.
"Hundreds… no, thousands of kilometers away from the city," Olivia answered his question, matching the terror in Aria's eyes.
"So you're telling me we've been tele—"
Suddenly, a sound interrupted him.
Knock, knock.
Everyone in the room became dead silent as they heard the knock.
'Did someone just knock on the door? Here, in the middle of the death zone?'
There was silence again, until…
"Son, would you please open the door? I'm freezing here."
Eric's body froze, and his eyes displayed an emotion of terror… true terror.
Because he couldn't mistake it…
The voice across the door was that of his own dead father.