Chapter 641: Phoenix Star Temple Part 1
A giant ancient tree that rose high into the sky. At its base was a large natural opening between the roots. Within this opening was a large door with an engraving of a star and a phoenix taking flight underneath it. Because the door was ancient, the engravings were filled with green moss, just like the giant roots that surrounded the ancient tree.
Standing in front of this door were two figures and a little caterpillar. "Alright, I brought you here as promised. Now that I have fulfilled my part of the promise, I will now be taking my leave." The little caterpillar was true to its words and brought Kana to the temple as promised. But it could not wait to get away from the disaster seeking jinxes. Ever since it met them, it felt like it was going to die many times.
Kana looked at the little worm and sighed. She had grown attached to the little fella. But since it wanted to leave, she would not hold it back. "Alright. Thank you for everything!"
Ako gave the little caterpillar a nod, and both she and Kana watched as the little caterpillar wandered off into the underbrush out of sight. "Not then…" Kana walked up to the door and went to push on it, but before she could even touch it, a shaking came from her chest area, and the medal with the phoenix on it flew out. Startled, Kana jumped back. She watched as it hovered in the air glowing with a red light before flying towards the door.
It hovered in front of the door for a few seconds before floating down and inserting itself into a spot in the center of the door. The entire door lit up with fiery flames. A strong pressure filled the area, weighing down on both Kana and Ako. Kana"s forehead was filled with sweat as she coughed up a mouth full of blood. Her blood boiled as she struggled to stay standing. "This… What is this pressure!?"
"I-I am not sure… I have never felt such a strong pressure before. Not even my clan ancestors are able to give off such pressure!" Ako was doing no better than Kana. Her entire body was slowly being squished down.
The two watched as the door burned, turning into ash as if it was paper, floating away in the gentle breeze that pa.s.sed by. After the door disappeared, all that was left was the medal which floated back over to Kana and hovered in front of her. The pressure that it was once giving off was now gone. Kana wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and reached up to take the medal, only to be surprised as the medal turned into a red light once more and entered the spot between her brow. After the medal disappeared, a small reddish phoenix appeared between Kana"s brow before slowly fading away. Other than the shock of what had just happened, Kana felt nothing out of the ordinary.
"Master?" Ako looked at Kana worriedly. She saw what happened and hoped the medal did not harm Kana in any way.
"I"m fine… I do not know what is going on…" Kana gave a wry smile before looking at the entrance in front of her. "Since we are here, we might as well try our luck." Since she felt fine, she did not wish to dwell on what had just happened. She would only worry if she began feeling something was off.
Ako nodded and held on to Kana"s hand. The two then took a step forward and made their way towards the entrance. The closer they got to the opening, the stronger the pressure was, but Kana gritted her teeth and pressed on. She had a feeling whatever this place held was going to be worth the risk and troubles that were to come.
Kana looked at Ako, and Ako looked at Kana. The two nodded and stepped forward, stepping past the threshold of the entrance into the descending black abyss. But to both their surprise, as soon as they stepped past the threshold and on to the first step, a loud bang was heard right behind them. "What!? The door!?" Ako yelled out as she turned around to see the large metal door once again in front of her. It seemed to have formed out of thin air and sealed up the entrance.
Kana frowned, seeing this. It seemed they would not be able to leave this place so easily. But what confused her was that even with the door now closed and no lighting being able to come in from the outside, the room area was still bright. "Master, look!" As Kana was staring at the door in confusion, Ako had already turned around and tugged on Kana"s arm.
Kana turned to see that they were no longer on a set of stairs but in a stone room lit by torches that lined the walls. The flame of the torches hovered above the wooden stick dancing in the air, never touching the wooden stick as it did. The stone room walls, floor, and ceiling were made out of a smooth black stone, and not a single speck of dust could be seen. But on the ceiling there were pictures of stars etched into the stone glowing with a white light, spread out, creating a starry sky.
"This place…" Kana walked forward and looked at the ceiling in awe. She had been in s.p.a.ce and even stood out in it and looked around, but even still, she felt this place was magical. It made her feel as if she was floating in s.p.a.ce once again.
"You seem to like my work." A voice came from behind them. Kana turned to see an old man standing there with a smile. He wor grey robes and had a long white beard. His eyebrows were white, thick, and bushy and his long white hair flowed down his back stopped just below his waist. But the thing that surprised Kana and Ako the most was not his sudden appearance but the feeling of a primordial aura that flowed out of him. He made Kana, who was someone close to becoming a real G.o.d, feel smaller than she did when standing in front of that old man. She knew if this man wanted to, he would only need to will it for both her and Ako to be wiped out of existence. And because of this, she found this world to be even stranger than before.