Chapter 22 – The Temple of the Lost Scrolls
Adrian opened his eyes before the towering mountains rising in the distance. The icy wind from the highlands cut across his face as if testing him, and the sky—so close up there—seemed ready to whisper the world's secrets.
"Look at that, Cordelia…" he said, with a mix of awe and anticipated exhaustion. "It'd take an eternity to climb all that."
"You're not wrong. If we go on foot, it'd take us at least three days just to reach the top," Cordelia replied, equally astonished. The mountains touched the clouds, cloaked in mist that danced like mystical veils. It was as if those hills guarded something sacred… or forgotten.
Then something at the summit caught Adrian's eye. His gaze lit up, fixed on a shadow among the clouds.
"Cordelia… look there!"
He pointed upward, where a colossal structure emerged, nearly swallowed by the fog. A temple carved into the very stone of the mountain, with columns rising like celestial spears. Ancient symbols covered its façade, worn by time but still commanding.
Cordelia pulled out the map and compared it to the sight before her.
"If this isn't the place… then nothing makes sense," she whispered with reverent awe. There was something solemn there. Something even time dared not disturb.
"Then let's descend! Come on, partner!" said Adrian, already steering the flying mount.
"Wait, you idiot!" Cordelia shouted, grabbing his arm. "What if it's a trap?"
But it was too late. Adrian's heart pounded — maybe from anxiety, maybe from hope. As they landed on the ground, he took a deep breath, staring at the temple like one stares at fate itself.
"So this is it… where the answers await."
The stones were covered in ancient moss. The wind whispered through the temple's cracks like forgotten voices calling from the past.
Cordelia landed beside him, fuming.
"I told you to wait! Now that we're here… what's the plan?"
"First, tie the birds. They're our only way back. Hand me the rope."
"Here."
"Thanks. I'll leave them some food, too. They must be starving," he said, gently patting the creature's neck. There was more than care in his gesture — there was a sense of duty, as if he knew something monumental was about to unfold.
Cordelia kept her eyes alert to their surroundings.
"We need to be careful. We don't know what's inside. If anything seems off, we fall back."
"Understood. Take care," Adrian replied with a faint smile.
They moved forward with cautious steps, every sound muffled by the heavy silence. The temple watched them silently, bathed in a twilight that seemed to belong to neither time nor space.
"What is this place…?" Adrian murmured, studying the murals filled with inscriptions and the broken statues lining the corridor. Fragments of forgotten stories echoed through every crack.
"Looks like… a giant library," Cordelia said, examining every corner.
"Cordelia… look at that," Adrian said, pointing to a massive door marked with cracked runes and faded symbols.
"There could be enemies beyond that door. Be ready. Divine Possession!"
In an instant, a golden aura enveloped her body. The sacred light that cloaked her seemed to repel the very darkness of the temple.
Adrian nodded.
"Leave it to me. I'll open it."
"HAAARGH!" he yelled, pushing with immense force as the doors groaned like slumbering giants. The sound echoed like thunder through the forgotten cavern, spreading dust and tremors across the floor.
Then a projectile of black and gray fire shot through the air.
"Adrian, watch out! Shield of the Lamb of God!" Cordelia shouted, raising a sacred shield that protected them from the blast.
BOOOOM! The impact left a crater, sending a thick cloud of smoke rolling like cursed fog through the ruins.
Adrian leaped through the dust curtain.
"Thought you'd catch us off guard, freak? Take this! Sonic Punch!"
BAM! The blow hit squarely, but a barrier of black flames blocked the impact. Before them stood a putrid creature — perhaps a former priest, now corrupted by eternity. Its decaying skin fused with tattered robes, and its eyes burned with a living black fire, full of pain and wrath.
"Damn… I knew it wouldn't be easy," Adrian growled, clenching his fists.
Cordelia stood beside him, analyzing the enemy.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. But this… this won't be easy."
"Agreed. Very not easy…"
And there, in the forgotten temple, surrounded by darkness and the echoes of truths sealed in millennia-old scrolls, the two prepared for a battle that could change everything.
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