Chapter 10: The Cave of Mirages
Grey
Raucous sounds filled the room. In contrast to the festive mood that had filled the place yesterday, a chaotic atmosphere spread like wildfire.
Hushed mummers spread in the incident that had just occurred.
My brows wrinkled, a tired sigh escaping my lips at the sight of the scene in front.
The feeling of miniscule amounts of mana being pulled from my core to my left arm lingered.
"Can you not frown like an old man just for once!?" Bairon asked, irritated by my constant behavior.
"I act as per I wish to, so go and leave if you are so irritated by my sighs," I replied.
Bairon clicked his tongue in annoyance, his eyes settling on the ruckus taking place.
Apparently an A ranked Party, the Twin Horns, had gotten lost in their most recent dive to a dungeon. It was an easy dungeon of B rank named Cave of Mirages which has only one mana beast inside of it.
But it seems like not only did the guild lose their contact with the party, the search team that was sent also lost contact with them. Thus the entire place was in an uproar.
"Say, how about we take this task?" Bairon asked. "As if they'll let two B rank adventurers dive into a dangerous dungeon," I replied back in a grumpy voice, to which Bairon just smirked and approached the staff.
To nobody's surprise, Bairon used his status as a noble to take the job for himself as I continued to stare at him deadpan.
"What? If your status doesn't come to your help at crucial times then when will it?"
Rolling my eyes, I replied, "Whatever."
Sighing deeply, Bairon followed behind me. "Honestly, sometimes I really can't understand whether you are a child or an old man by your manners."
With his words, my legs came to a halt while my entire body stiffened. But, my worries were unfounded by Bairon's next words, "But then again, your physique also makes me doubt about your gender."
"Sorry, but I don't have a certain appendage between my legs missing," I replied.
Chortling at my remark, Bairon said, "Yeah, and I am glad about that."
The subtle sound of bushes rustling and leaves crumpling remained.
The sun shone down upon us, lighting the path to our destination.
Darkness pulsated inside the cave, it was so discernible that it felt as if the shadows inside were moving.
"I so don't wanna go inside," I grumbled. "Stop being like an old man and just take a leap of faith!" Bairon said while pushing me inside.
Inside the cave, my vision only extended until my arm's reach while everything else was covered in a veil of darkness. It felt as if all light was extinguished from the place.
"Hey! What the hell was that for!?" I yelled at Bairon, only for my voice to just echo back. After a while of blabbering from my side, I concluded that I was in a completely different space than the one I was in before.
My legs moved forward, my body shook at the thought of staying in this desolate space for even a moment more.
In the blink of an eye, the dark surroundings of mine were replaced by one full of brightness.
Under my foot was a wide expanse of water reaching all the way to the ends of the horizon. Silence lingered in the whole place, drowning the environment to a tense one.
My legs continued to slam at the water, trying to create a sound of any sort. But all that followed was the silent ripple of water spreading evenly to the horizon. A chill ran down my spine, the stillness of it all felt horrific. I'd rather fight with a monster than deal with this.
My legs moved forward, even if this ends up in a loop at least I would have done something rather than nothing at all.
With each step of mine, the environment continued to change again and again. Fear also crept slowly inside me.
With the first step, I ended up in an all too familiar space. The once warm and familiar hallways of the orphanage felt empty and desolate now. Even now, I could remember the days of running down the hallway alongside Nico as if it was yesterday.
The next step brought me to the place of memories that were all for naught. The training hall of mine in which I trained with Vera now brought nothing but unpleasant memories.
The arena which was filled with nothing but stench of blood, the one which was supposed to lead me to my goals now brought nothing but unpleasant memories.
The hallway of the royal palace which was once arranged majestically, was now in tatters and ruins with blood sprayed all over as a trail of fire led my way forward. Remembering that day still made my stomach churn.
The execution grounds where I was burned alive. The sensation of my skin melting, charred by the fire along with the regret of my actions
Like a dream came into realization, each and every moment that had an impact on me started to play like a recorded video.
The desolate dark tunnel that I was in before reincarnating was the same as ever.
The ordinary, usual room of the home where I was born. The place where I first learned what parents actually meant. And had it taken away as well.
The cave where Sylvia was in, the mist shrouded forest of Elenoir, the workshop of Rinia. All of them, slowly yet steadily, served as a reminder to everything that has kept me alive.
Then, my vision soon changed to the cave where I met Helio in.
The tree still shone as brightly as it did during my first visit, but this place also lacked the life it contained once.
Like a heavy boulder pressing on my body, I felt my shoulders grow heavier. Each step being harder to take than the one before.
Whispers of regret, scorn, curses, contempt, disdain filled in my ears. Rotten, burned corpses held on me, unwilling to let go, unwilling to forgive.
Even though I know they would never say such words, even after all the memories I had spent with them. There was still a doubt implanted in me, a doubt that gave rise to thoughts that they might have never forgiven me for my foolish decisions.
But even so, some words still remained.
'—You are the king I chose.'
Words.
'Besides, I also wish that you can see it, the beauty of living.'
Words whispered to me.
'—I hope you will remember me and live, enjoy life for what it is.'
Words that gave meaning to my life until now.
Words that clung to me like a shadow.
Suddenly, the load of regrets, anguish and torment seem to lighten a bit.
It seems even after their death, I was still over reliant on them.
Soon the tree emitted a light which engulfed my whole vision.
The illusion soon faded, I found myself in a cavern.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see the twin horns hiding away behind the rocks. In the center of the cavern stood a man, his face was a bit blurry but there was no way I could forget him.
It was Mordred. His arms reached towards me as if to welcome me.
A tired smile rose on my face. My arms rose in tandem, except what formed on them were flames formed of magic which shot straight towards the illusion. "At least try to imitate someone of this world," I sneered.
From the illusion came a leopard, its fur looked as if it was shrouded by a cloak of black, while a shiny green gem was located on its forehead.
It was a Phantom Leo, every feature of the one in front of me matched perfectly with the one in the book. All except for one thing, the horns that were on top of the beast's head.
I never heard, nor seen anything like that in the last two years in my adventures.
"Bairon," I called, "take the others and leave." Bairon who just snapped out of his hallucination was bewildered by my sudden order. "Oi what do you-"
Bairon's word fell short as I glared at him. "Go, now," I demanded once again, dominance booming in my voice. Taken aback by my tone, Bairon's eyes widened. He soon regained his sense and led the twin horns and the rest out of that place.
Taking a deep breath I focused on the beast in front of me.
Its azure eyes stared deeply into mine. Within the span of a breath, the leopard leapt towards me while I jumped back.
Like a ribbon undone, mana unfolded.
Flames which were crimson like blood, formed rings of fire which encased the beast in a limited space.
The beast soon formed illusions of itself, which continued to lurk around me.
Wind coalesced in my arm, vibrating at an unfathomable frequency.
Releasing it, the sound wave hit the beast, dissipating dozens of its illusions.
The leopard circled around me to find an opening, until it finally leapt towards me.
Lightning danced at my fingertips, my fingers pointed forward as projectiles of lightning made its way towards the leopard.
Only one hit its leg, but that was all I needed to confirm that it was the real one.
A lightning spell branched out from my fingers and striked the beast directly rendering it paralyzed. Earth mana gathered together to form stones as I launched them towards the beast.
After a while when the leopard stopped moving, I went near it to see that it died.
"That was fast…"I mumbled to myself.
An ice dagger was conjured in my hand, using it I skinned the beast and took both its core and gem.
A bitter taste spread in my mouth after the recollection of the memories from the illusions. Even though they were the warmest moments of my life, they brought nothing but the most bitter memories when recalled.
Stashing both of them in my ring I made my way out.
On my way I realized, the darkness was also an illusion caused by the beast.
But, fate sure loved to pull tricks on me.
March came to a halt in the sight that laid in front of me. Bairon was in a kneeling position as a spike went through his leg. The red haired one of the twin horns laid on the side as his teammates were tending to him. The bigger one of their party had lost one arm as well.
A moment that was almost reminiscent of that day.
Blood replaced the fire. In the place of the dead bodies, unconscious bodies laid on the ground. A stench of rotting flesh still lingered while the main culprit remained standing in the midst of it all.
A man hunching a bit while his long, thin arms dangled by his sides as though his arms had popped out of their sockets. I couldn't ascertain anything else about his appearance since he was wearing a hood which hid his face and a mantle that hung on his shoulders.
Despite their stark contrast, I somehow found myself mistaking one for the other. Their features almost transitioned perfectly in vision.
Remembering her face again, made something inside me snap.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone