Read Novel Full Chapter 807: Found You
Chapter 807: Found You
Michael already knew what she was going to say.
"If this was their refuge," she said, "why did they die here? Did the exit fail? Were they trapped inside?"
She looked toward the pillar behind them instinctively, then back to the skeletons.
But the answer revealed itself before either of them spoke again.
Rynne crouched lower, examining the nearest remains more carefully this time. Her fingers hovered just above the bones, tracing faint impressions without touching them.
"...No," she said softly.
Michael stepped closer.
The skeleton’s ribcage was cracked inward. Not from decay. From impact. Another body nearby was missing half its skull, the break too clean, too violent to be caused by time or collapse. A third had fractures along the spine, twisted at an unnatural angle.
Michael exhaled slowly.
"They weren’t trapped," he said.
Rynne nodded grimly. "And they didn’t die waiting."
She rose to her feet, eyes scanning the scattered remains with a different understanding now.
"They were attacked," she said. "Here. Inside this realm."
The glowing grass swayed gently around the bones, casting soft light over a scene that had been frozen for millennia.
Whatever had found them back then had been strong enough to kill these powerful individuals.
And it might not be gone.
This would have been enough to scare ordinary people, but Rynne and Michael were far from ordinary. After searching for so long without results related to their main target, neither of them was willing to turn back now.
The same was true for Michael. Even if he failed to obtain the breathing metal, he had gained nothing of real value so far aside from a few unreadable books.
Rynne straightened and looked ahead into the deeper darkness of the cavern.
"Let’s continue," she said.
Michael did not object. He simply nodded and moved alongside her.
They advanced deeper into the cave, their steps careful but unhesitating. The further they went, the less serene the place felt. The glowing grass thinned until it appeared only in scattered patches, its light weaker, almost strained. Shadows thickened, clinging to the walls and ceiling.
And the bodies increased.
One skeleton became three. Three became dozens.
Some lay slumped against the rock walls. Others were sprawled across the floor as if cut down mid step. A few were clustered together, their remains overlapping.
The deeper they went, the clearer the pattern became.
Michael slowed, his gaze moving from one skeleton to the next. The damage varied, but the story did not. Crushed bones. Clean fractures. Marks left by overwhelming force rather than decay or collapse.
The cavern widened gradually, the ceiling lifting higher until their footsteps echoed faintly. The air grew heavier. Mana here was no longer merely present. It was concentrated.
Then the passage opened completely.
They stepped into a vast clearing.
The space was enormous, far larger than anything they had seen so far. The walls curved outward, forming a natural dome that vanished into darkness above. The floor was smooth stone, almost polished, as if shaped deliberately rather than worn by time.
Skeletons ringed the clearing.
Positioned.
They lay in a wide arc, all facing inward.
Toward the center.
Michael’s eyes narrowed.
At the heart of the clearing floated a sphere of metal.
Red metal.
It hovered a short distance above the ground, perfectly still, as if suspended by invisible threads. Its surface was smooth, seamless, and faintly luminous, pulsing with a slow, rhythmic glow that reminded Michael uncomfortably of breathing.
The light it gave off was subtle, but undeniable. With each pulse, the mana in the clearing stirred, drawn toward it like iron filings to a magnet.
Rynne stopped.
For the first time since entering the realm, she did not immediately speak.
"That..." she said slowly.
Michael finished the thought without looking away.
"...is not natural."
"No that’s not what I mean. Well, it is. Damn."
"Just say your mind, Rynne."
"That’s the breathing metal."
"It certainly looks evil for something with such a righteous sounding name."
The words were on the tip of Michael’s tongue.
But they died there.
Breathing metal.
A material that devoured other substances, copied their traits, and grew stronger by consuming.
From the name to the appearance, it fit their target perfectly.
However, there was a problem.
Something had killed everyone in this cave.
That much was no longer in question.
Michael’s gaze drifted from the floating sphere to the ring of skeletons surrounding it.
If the thing responsible for their deaths was the breathing metal itself—
The thought did not have time to finish.
The air screamed.
From the surface of the floating sphere, the smooth crimson sheen split open like flesh tearing apart. Thick strands erupted outward, no longer resembling metal at all, but something disturbingly organic. Massive tentacles unfurled in every direction, each one segmented and ridged, their surfaces shifting between steel and sinew as they lashed through the air.
"Move!" Michael barked.
The ground where they had been standing exploded inward as a tentacle slammed down, stone shattering into dust and fragments. Rynne was already gone, her body blurring sideways as she twisted through the opening with practiced ease.
Another tentacle whipped toward Michael’s head.
He ducked low, rolling across the smooth stone floor as the strike passed just above him, close enough that the displaced air tore at his skin. The impact behind him echoed like thunder, the cavern walls trembling as cracks spread outward.
Tentacles struck again and again, precise and relentless, smashing through pillars of stone, ripping chunks from the floor, carving trenches in their wake.
Rynne landed near a cluster of fallen skeletons and immediately sprang again, narrowly avoiding another strike that pulverized the remains into powder.
Michael skidded to a halt beside her, eyes locked on the writhing mass at the center of the clearing.
A tentacle curved midair and split into two, both ends crashing down in a pincer motion where they had been standing a heartbeat earlier. The floor imploded, leaving behind a crater.
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