After three days of travel aboard the colossus through the labyrinth, a menacing, dark line was drawing closer on the horizon with each passing minute.
Lumian knew they had reached their destination: the mountain range, the place where the First Lord and his court had arrived and perished, and where the two necessary memories for leaving the Forgotten Shore resided.
As they approached, the imposing peaks of the mountain chain were covered in snow and mist. Lumian was certain that stepping into that hellish cold would mean death within minutes; he was still far too weak for that place.
As the colossus continued its advance, the mountains grew larger and larger until the giant itself seemed like an ant. Lumian gazed at the peaks and felt slightly dizzy from their absurd height. They were far larger than any mountain he had ever seen. Soon, the crimson coral became more and more sparse, as if fearing to approach the mountain chain.
Finally, after a time, the stone giant came to a complete stop. Lumian and Asael immediately dismounted. Asael used his Echo to descend the giant's body, while Lumian summoned his Dark Wing. A cloak of two transparent wings materialized on his back.
Lumian commanded the Dark Wing to lift him and then leaned forward. Although he wasn't flying, he was controlling his descent slowly; the Dark Wings became a blur on his back. Ordering the Dark Wing, he tilted his body slightly, noticing Asael waiting for him below. Lumian landed on the ground in the shadow of the colossus.
After a few minutes, the colossus trembled. Slowly, it turned around, then took a giant step—the ground shook with each movement. The statue began moving eastward, and it would take some time for it to return.
Lumian and Asael began climbing the mountains, reaching a safe place to spend the night.
When night fell, the dark sea had stopped a few hundred meters away, unable to reach the foot of the mountains.
---
In the morning, while having breakfast, Asael asked a question.
"What is this place?" he inquired, looking at the imposing mountains.
"This is the north of the Hollow Mountains," said Lumian.
Asael's eyes widened upon hearing that name. As a member of a legacy clan, he knew well about these mountains.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. As you know, it's a mountain chain that stretches for thousands of kilometers, forming a dividing line for the Dream Kingdom. It's also called the Death Zone. Even Saints don't return alive from there."
Asael gave a nervous smile upon hearing Lumian's explanation.
Lumian, on the other hand, gazed into the distance while the meat cooked. The Hollow Mountains, as he remembered from the novel, were inhabited by the three most powerful types of Nightmares: Grand, Cursed, and Profane. Unimaginably powerful beings that only Sovereigns and Supremes could survive. Even if his own Lumian became a Saint and discovered more about his powers, he doubted he could truly survive the Hollow Mountains.
"So, what are we doing here?" asked Asael.
Lumian raised an eyebrow.
"What else? We're going to look for two important things. To get out of the Forgotten Shore," Lumian explained.
"You told me that when I decided to accompany you, but what exactly are we looking for?"
"Well, they're keys. You see, my friend, a long time ago, the inhabitants of this place lived in peace. However, from the stars, a different entity landed—humanoid in appearance with wings on its back. The figure was that of a beautiful woman, yet for some reason, the inhabitants became enraged and killed the Fallen Star. From her death, a darkness arose that covered the entire world," Lumian explained.
Asael was listening intently.
Lumian bit into the last piece of meat they had left.
"Anyway, generations passed, and the curse of darkness continued to terrorize the humans of that era. To save them from despair, seven Heroes rose. You remember the headless statue, right?" he asked.
Asael nodded.
"That was a statue of one of the seven heroes, like the Builder and the other five we might see on our way when we leave this place," said Lumian.
"To make the long story short, the seven heroes performed a ritual where they killed thousands of innocents and, in the end, themselves. From their deaths and their powerful souls, a sun arose that sealed the darkness for centuries. But the sun weakened, and with it, the darkness resurfaced. The rulers of an enormous city with unbreachable walls made a decision: to sacrifice lives. At first, there were seven, then fourteen, then hundreds, followed by thousands. Within a few years, the sacrifices increased to tens of thousands, forming piles of corpses with rivers of blood that influenced the darkness, forming an ocean."
Lumian pointed to the crimson coral a few hundred meters away.
"This crimson coral is made from the blood of countless beings from the past." Then he pointed to the sun. "And the sun is the last remnant of that profane ritual."
Asael opened his mouth in shock at all this information.
"How did you find all this out?" asked Asael.
Lumian thought for a moment.
"In my first Nightmare. Instead of being human, I awoke as a monster being hunted by groups of Sleepers and Awakened, to be used in a gigantic wall enclosing a city. I had to uncover their plans, fight, and kill the Builder to pass the Nightmare," Lumian explained.
Of course, only part of it was true; the rest came from his knowledge of the web novel about the history depicted in the mural inside the mountain.
"I-I see," said Asael, still recovering.
"So you knew so much about this place, knowing where to go because you came here in your first Nightmare."
"Yes, but as I told you, I was a monster, so I was constantly hunted. So, I'm missing many details. What I told you is what I overheard while spying on my hunters."
Lumian stood up.
"Well, let's go. We need to reach where what I'm looking for is."
---
Soon, both advanced toward the foothills. Lumian used all the knowledge from the novel he could remember, matching descriptions with his surroundings to find the enormous cavity in the ground that led to the insect demon the First Lord had killed along with his team.
As they ventured in, there were no Nightmare creatures, which felt a bit unsettling for both of them, having fought consecutive days against waves of abominations, surpassing the impossible. Along the path of gray grass patches and rock, there wasn't a single structure. Lumian could clearly observe the surroundings, and there was nothing else except the two of them.
Both advanced for hours, climbing higher and higher as the terrain elevated and inclined. Finally, Lumian stopped upon finding the enormous hole, which was hard to miss.
"Damn, that hole is huge," said Asael. Lumian rolled his eyes.
"Nice choice of words," he replied, looking at the immense hole that easily measured over 50 meters in diameter. At the edges, there were small cobblestone-like steps spiraling deeper into the cavity. Along the path stood enormous stone blocks, the same material used to create the walls of the forgotten city.
Lumian began heading toward the giant hole, followed by Asael.
As they neared the bottom of the cavity, they saw an enormous Nightmare creature—an abomination easily twice the size of the Shell Devil. It seemed like a mixture of multiple insects, appeared to be made of stone, and was the same color as the ground.
However, the monster was dead—its flesh torn and shattered into piles on the ground, and, of course, its cores had been consumed long ago.
Lumian ignored the monster's corpse.
"Shouldn't we be careful with this thing?" asked Asael.
"It's dead," was Lumian's simple reply as he passed by the demon's corpse.
Finally, he reached the remains of what was a campsite and graves for the First Lord's allies who died in the battle against the creature.
"Asael, we need to move. Before the fog arrives," said Lumian.
Asael looked around, noticing how a white fog was slowly forming, devouring the world.
Lumian quickly began searching for the Pharaoh's Bow, finding it a few hundred meters away. He immediately moved with Asael.
As they descended the steps, Lumian noticed an opening, which he entered, followed by Asael. The two ran through the wide tunnel, and moments later, the fog arrived, swirling around the tunnel entrance and consuming the entire cavern.
As they delved deeper into the tunnels, Lumian chose the paths that descended. Over time, the surroundings changed, and carvings began to appear on the walls—a sign he was on the right track. The carvings changed to drawings depicting the history of what truly happened.
"Asael, look. You asked about this place. Here's the answer to your question," he pointed to the wall.
The blond boy looked at the wall with the carvings and opened his eyes wide.
Lumian feigned a smile as he saw the drawings narrating the events of the Forgotten Shore and how the dark sea arose.
Lumian looked at his companion, who was speechless upon understanding the carvings and the history of this place.
"And you survived all that?"
"Yes," was his vague reply.
After looking at the carvings a bit longer, they continued advancing toward a large circular hall. In the center was an enormous chasm opening into the depths of the mountains, leading to the underworld.
"Are we going down?"
"We're going down," said Lumian, summoning the Shell Devil, which stood still, awaiting its master's orders.
Lumian climbed onto its shell, gesturing for Asael to do the same, which he did.
After a few gentle pats, the Shell Devil began to descend. Its Earth attribute allowed it to walk on any surface with rock or earth without any problem, saving them considerable time on the descent.
After an hour of descent, they reached solid ground. The Shell Devil kept advancing. Lumian observed the remains of an enormous worm that could easily fall into the Devil or Awakened Tyrant range, which had been killed by the First Lord of the Castle.
Lumian was certain the First Lord must have had at least a Supreme Aspect, or a Sacred or even Divine Aspect, given all his impossible feats over a decade ago.
Ordering the devil to stop, Lumian dismounted, followed by Asael. He kept the devil with him to watch the surroundings; he didn't want to be attacked by something supernatural, although he doubted it, as everything seemed dead. However, he didn't let his guard down.
Both reached the campsite, where Lumian lit a campfire and drank plenty of water, as did Asael.
The fire crackled slightly as it consumed the ancient monster bones. Neither of them spoke, as they were exhausted, having spent the entire day walking and moving continuously, and having much to think about.