Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 293: Temple [4]

I was tired.

On my last breath.

....I could barely muster up the strength to fight back. I had expanded everything and had been running on adrenaline.

But even that had its limits.

"Ah, no...!"

I extended my hand, reaching for the entrance which seemed closer than it had ever been before, and yet also seemed so distant.

I was close, so close...

And yet...!

"Uekh!"

My face stretched as a hand reached out to grasp it, pulling it back.

I could offer no resistance, and gradually, I sank into the depths of the sea of hands that reached for me.

Darkness started to cloud my vision, suffocating me while my body felt as though it were being ripped apart. Every muscle screamed in agony as my body starting to get pulled from all sides.

Despite everything, I continued to think of ways and means to get out of the situation.

...I didn\'t want to give up.

Not like this.

But the more I tried to struggle, the more I realized how helpless the situation was. In those moments, I closed my eyes and silently cursed,

"When are you two going to do a thing?"

I was reffering to none other than Owl-Mighty and Pebble.

They were the reason I had yet to panic.

Because I knew that they wouldn\'t let me die like this.

At least, not yet.

".... You look like you\'re struggling."

"He is struggling."

A pair of deep eyes appeared through the narrow gap before me.

Squench. Squench.

A familiar traumatising sound echoed within my ears, and shortly after vines started to sprout from the ground. That wasn\'t all. Moments following the vines, the hands that were grasping me became heavier.

Pebble appeared right on top of me.

Gently raising its paws, it tapped into the heads of the Wraiths around me, sending them crashing against the ground.

Thud, thud-!

Several hands detached from me, and I immediately felt lighter.

Thud!

I felt a burst of energy in that moment as I twisted my shoulder and pried myself free from another hand, and I for once was able to take control of my body again.

"Go."

Pebble said in a low tone, its paw gently pressing against the heads of the Wraiths.

"....Our powers are limited."

"I know."

They didn\'t need to remind me.

Their powers were limited to my mana reserve, and while they did have their own mana reserve, it was rather small.

I knew that I was still not out of the woods yet and through gritted teeth, I forced myself to move forward.

"Kh...!"

I was struggling.

Several hands were attached to my ankles, desperately holding me back. I shook it several times in order to free myself from their grasp, but as if they were attached to my legs, they refused to leave.

I continued to shake them.

"Let. Go. Damn. It!"

But no matter how fiercely I fought, they refused to let go, their grip tightening with every passing second. Just when I thought I might have to take drastic measures, something occurred.

Sqench. Sqench.

Dark, thorny vines began to sprout from the ground, twisting and tightening around the hands clutching my legs.

That\'s when the hands started to change color, and the grip over my leg loosened slightly.

I didn\'t need to look in Owl-Mighty\'s direction to know what I needed to do next.

Without hesitation, I used all the strength that I had and pulled away from the hands.

"Uekh...!"

A strained sound escaped my lips as I finally freed myself from the grasp and stumbled forward, falling on one knee.

Thump!

"Наа... Наа..."

I looked up and stared at the dark entrance that greeted me.

My leg twitched as I tried to get up, and for a brief moment I almost failed to get up, but I still managed to force myself up and push myself forward.

\'So close...!\'

My heart was beating at my throat.

I could hardly breathe.

I didn\'t even look back to see how the situation was unfolding. I just needed to get to the

entrance.

I just...!

"Akh!"

Halfway through the entrance, something cold and firm grasped my ankle. I looked back, my breath hitching, to see a Wraith with half its body missing. Its empty sockets and gaping mouth stared at me as it desperately clung to my leg.

"No!"

A certain anger overtook me in that moment.

I was close, so close. I wasn\'t going to let myself be dragged back. Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself into the entrance, the Wraith\'s grip still clamped around my ankle.

With a surge of strength, I pulled the creature alongside me, its hollow eyes burning into my soul as I dragged it into the darkness which soon engulfed me.

Bang!

I fell face flat against the ground the moment I made it to the entrance.

"Наа... Наа..."

As if something within me snapped my mind grew blank and all thoughts stopped working. At

that moment, I was still able to perceive the Wraith that was on my leg.

Krr-!

Its hand reached for my thigh as it pulled itself closer to my face.

Krr, Krr-!

It inched further up. It was now up to my chest.

Krr!

And soon, it reached my face as it looked at me with its empty sockets. As its mouth opened to display its sharp teeth, I felt a hot breath run over my face as I weakly turned my head to meet

the repulsive scene.

"...."

I silently processed the scene before a cat appeared right above it.

With all four paws on its head, Pebble raised its foot and pressed down.

Thud!

Blood spurted all over my face as a cold sensation washed over my face.

I looked at Pebble in silence before turning my head away. I didn\'t have it within me to

complain.

Closing my eyes, I managed a soft mumble,

"I-s this area safe?"

"For now."

"Hoo...kay."

I weakly nodded before sinking my consciousness into my ring. A familiar sight greeted me

shortly after as I appeared in front of the white temple.

Unlike before my mind was clear, and so was my body.

Suddenly going from being on the verge of death to fully healed felt weird and I stopped for a

moment.

"....This is new."

The flow of time within the ring and outside the ring was the same. Nonetheless, this new discovery came as a pleasant surprise as I headed toward the deeper

ends of the temple where a familiar room appeared.

Creaak-!

Upon entering the room, two familiar figures appeared.

"Thanks for the help."

"....Get stronger, human." Pebble said from the corner of the room as its body curled comfortably on top of a red pillow.

The answer I received was a little different than I expected.

Owl-Mighty went on to explain,

"The stronger you become, the more abilities we can use. If you become strong enough, you

will be able to grant us the ability to use all of our abilities. In our current state, we can only

do this much."

"Right."

That made sense.

But it wasn\'t as though I wasn\'t trying.

"You almost died. No, you\'re dying."

Owl-Mighty said calmly as it looked at me. I couldn\'t sense any trace of emotion in its eyes as

it looked at me, and I pursed my lips before turning toward the corner where a small bag

appeared.

\'Good thing I came somewhat prepared.\'

I hadn\'t had the time before due to the suddenness of the situation, but now that I had a little

bit of time, I didn\'t spare a seco I and headed for the bag

a small box appeared.

Clank!

Within the box were several small blue and green pills.

"Ten, good."

I grabbed three, one blue and two red for good measure before putting the box away and

grabbing a small vial. After that, I grabbed several bandages and a few other things that I had placed in the bag.

Owl-Mighty looked at me and then the items in my hands before saying,

"Hurry up human."

"I know."

I didn\'t need to be told twice about the current state of my body. Once I was sure that I had

grabbed everything, I slipped my consciousness out of the ring and opened my eyes again.

".....

It was silent and dark.

The only sound I could hear was the sound of my own breath.

It was weak.

"Kh...!"

Silently enduring the pain that was invading every part of my body, I swallowed the pills that

appeared in my hand, a cool sensation washing over my body within moments of the pills

entering my body.

I felt an immediate sense of relief the moment I popped the blue pill in my mouth as my mind

cleared up.

Some of the injuries that I sustained started to heal, and the pain disappeared shortly after.

"Uekh."

Sitting myself up, I leaned against the wall behind me.

My injuries were far from healed. The pill I had used was something akin to a painkiller. It

only helped to heal the most superficial wounds that I had. But it was still extremely helpful.

Shortly after that, I popped two red pills.

"|"

Unlike the blue pill, I didn\'t feel relief upon popping those pills.

In fact, it felt as though I had swallowed magma as I held onto my throat and clenched my

teeth tightly. My eyes started to water briefly and my legs flayed.

Cra Crack-!

Faint cracking sounds echoed shortly as my hand, shoulder, and back started to readjust.

The pain that followed was hard to describe, but I suffered in silence.

Despite the blue pill effect, I was still able to feel the pain from the red pill which acted as a

bone agent, healing most bone-related issues.

The effects were rather quick and I was soon able to freely move my body again.

Riiip!

For the last step, I ripped my shirt open and applied some ointment over certain areas.

Though I couldn\'t see clearly in the dark, I knew the sight that greeted me would make me

want to puke. The sensation was revolting, especially when my hand traced the exposed bone in several areas where I had applied the ointment.

"Haa...!"

Once I was done applying everything, I leaned my head back and let out a long breath.

I was exhausted and didn\'t want to get up, but unfortunately, the poison was still in effect. I

had no choice but to get up.

"Ukh."

And so I did.

Leaning against the wall beside me, I headed deeper into the temple.

Tak, tak-

In the silence, the only sound I could hear was the sound of my steps.

It was dark, and I could hardly hear a thing.

Nonetheless, I carried forward.

I knew where I needed to go.

Soon, a faint light appeared. I stopped for a brief moment before carrying forward.

I knew that I was close to reaching my destination.

The distance was short.

In a few minutes, I was able to reach the end of it, and just when I was about to move past the

tunnel, I noticed a faint purple glow coming from the left side.

|| ||

The moment I looked my heart skipped a bit.

Especially when I noticed that the words were written in a language I was very familiar with.

English.

I began to read the engravings.

"Here lies the grave of Oracleus." "--The seer."