Chapter 642: Once Again in the Land of Ruin
“Getting used to it the second time around—doesn’t seem to be the case,” Dinoss remarked as he surveyed the surroundings.
We had come back to the Land of Ruin, armed with a new map—well, more like a chart detailing the locations of the Magic Stones, along with the relevant passages extracted from the texts. We had prepared five sheets in total, including the four remaining from the outer perimeter and one from the royal palace’s garden.
As always, the Black Shadows reached out with dozens, if not hundreds, of hands, only to recede at the sight of our lantern’s light. In the meantime, new shadows stretched forth, and the cycle of advance and retreat continued.
Maybe they had realized the effect of the light? I couldn’t tell if they could see it at all. I wasn’t even sure if they had eyes.
“It’s terrifying to think I’d be consumed and become like them, but it feels like if I can just accomplish what needs to be done, I might overcome the fears of my childhood,” Chris said with a smile while holding the map.
“Sorry, was it that traumatic for you?” I had probably invited him too casually.
“Apparently, fear is something that grows within us. None of us are feeling particularly good about the Black Shadows here. But I’m just as okay being here as everyone else. Still, when I went back last time, they haunted my dreams, and I had a rough night,” Chris shrugged.
It’s impressive how he can casually admit to being scared.
“I get it. It’s like being chased by something, knowing you could easily turn the tables, yet in your dreams, you’re desperately running away. Or recalling some embarrassing failure from childhood that makes you want to roll away in shame,” Dean nodded, arms crossed.
“Yeah, even if you realize it was a trivial mistake in hindsight, those childhood blunders somehow stay embarrassing forever…” I could relate to that.
“Did you have any failures, Gene?” Ash asked.
“Like stumbling during a kindergarten presentation or my confidently made boiled eggs not being cooked through—but I really respect Chris for being able to say he’s scared of something,” I admitted.
The impression I had of him when we first met was unreliable. Though, he still had that overly animated sparkle about him.
“You have things that scare you too, huh?” Haulon chimed in.
“The ghosts here freaked me out, and I ran away the first time,” I confessed.
“You?” Retze looked up from the map, surprised.
“Yeah. I was worried that the ghosts were only visible to me and would come after me. It was a relief to see that everyone else could see them too.”
“So, Gene, you can see the Black Spirits that we can’t, right?” Retze’s eyes asked what was different.
Now that he mentioned it, it did feel that way.
“There’s definitely something different,” I nodded deeply, closing my eyes.
Did I have a preconceived notion of what a ‘ghost’ was supposed to be? Chris and I shared that vague sense of fear.
“Well, we shouldn’t linger too long. Let’s move on. Which way?”
“To the right,” Dinoss replied, and Retze confirmed, prompting everyone to start walking.
“By the way, I heard that a ship carrying the Golden Armor sank on the way to the Land of Ruin. What did the owner, the king, want to do here?” Ash asked, seemingly to no one in particular.
Haulon was likely the one to answer, so I glanced at him.
“All it says is that it ‘sank after encountering the Spirit’s Wrath on the way to the Land of Ruin.’ We don’t even know what spirit’s wrath it refers to,” he explained.
“Isn’t it the wrath of the Black Spirit here?” Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The sinking happened in the ‘sea near Es and Naruadeid.’ I doubt it’s the same. The prevailing theory is that they were just after the untouched treasures of the Land of Ruin, and the Spirit’s Wrath has nothing to do with it.”
I hoped that was true, especially since I was here to collect the Blue Light Stone. The sticky Black Spirits here felt more like they were harboring resentment than anger, and it was genuinely unsettling.
Perhaps too much time had passed, and they had forgotten what they were angry or sad about, turning black in the process. I see, maybe the inability to read clear emotions is what makes it feel so off-putting.
As we listened to Haulon’s story, we moved toward the location of the first Magic Stone for the day.
“Today, we’re all set! Now, where is it?”
“Wait. That sculpture and the one over there are misaligned compared to Haulon’s data…” Retze began pinpointing our location while examining the map.
“It’s inconvenient that we can’t call upon spirits here,” Haulon said, wandering around Retze with the same map in hand.
We couldn’t step outside the lantern’s light! Everyone tended to wander around the same spot.
“Here it is.”
“Right here.” Retze and Haulon stopped and pointed down.
“Alright, leave it to me!” Dean said, hooking a tool that looked like a bar onto the edge of the cobblestone.
Chris quickly inserted an iron rod into the space where Dean had lifted the stone. He inserted several rods and rolled the stone away.
“You’re surprisingly skilled at this,” I noted.
“Well, there are places in the labyrinth and ruins that are blocked by stones,” Dean replied.
Thinking back, the unevenness in the labyrinth was quite something, and there were wedges driven in, ensuring at least some passage.