Chương 156: Chapter 153: The Void Below

Lune stepped forward, leaving my side. Camazotz lowered its head even more, until its enormous eye was level with her. The difference in scale between them was ridiculous; one breath from the bat could have thrown her across the platform. She went anyway, and Foxfire brightened over her head, small but steady.

"You ran to me because I was the first darkness in this tomb that did not smell of the wound," Camazotz said to her.

"You thought I might know what called to you." Lune made a small growl. Camazotz's voice dropped, and for the first time, it did not feel like the whole roost was speaking. It was still deep, still vast, but the words seemed directed at Lune alone.

"I know only this. What you seek is below my reach. It is near the channels where the king's name can still be heard. If you go there, you may find the shape of what was taken. You may also find that it might better be left lost and forgotten." She looked at me, and I stepped toward the Greater Spirit.

"What do we have to do?"

"Seal the door. End the bloodshed. Lay the goblin-king to his final rest, if you can," it said.

"Only after can you proceed to help your friend." The bat rose.

"It will be a choice," it said.

"A choice the two of you must make together. I cannot tell you much, but I will tell you one thing. To take something back from the darkness, something must be given." It kept speaking in half-riddles, but that last part was easily understood: if I wanted to get back what Lune had lost, whatever that may be, something has to be given in exchange.

"The one thing I don't understand," Cyrus said, more to me than to the Greater Spirit.

"Is Lune's importance to the dungeon. What would have happened if you hadn't come? If Lune weren't present?" I had similar questions floating in my mind. Lune's light had helped us before, and her powerful connection to the place made it seem like she was a key figure in the expedition. I looked at the Spirit. Maybe it could answer? Camazotz lifted its head slightly.

"Do not mistake the little flame's grief for the road's purpose. The path below was open before she came. The wound must be sealed whether she finds what was lost or not."

"I…understand." Lune's task was like a side-quest, maybe. An optional one that had triggered because we came. If another party attempted Xibalba, that part would remain sealed. At least that was my guess.

"I doubt you do," Camazotz said, and something changed in the voice. It felt like it was smiling, laughing about something only a Greater Spirit would know.

"As for the Antlered One. You seek him, don't you?" I thought about my quest. Seek the Elder Stag was the exact wording.

"Yes, I do."

"You will not find him in the forests now, I'm afraid." That made my heart miss a beat. The Elder Stag was the forest itself, as far as I knew. Why would he go missing?

"You know where I should look?"

"I have, what you mortals call, an idea." A notification flickered at the edge of my interface. My quest had been updated, but I didn't open it yet, because Camazotz continued, and I didn't want to miss anything.

"Seek the place where old trees drink from still water, and the moon rests on the surface without breaking. Water, beneath roots old enough to remember the first hunt." A proper riddle this time.

"A lake?"

"It is as much a lake as I am a bat," it said.

"True in the broadest sense. False in most others." I opened the notification, to see if the quest description could help me. Hidden Quest Updated: Seek the Elder Stag Camazotz has given you a clue. The Antlered One may be found where ancient roots meet still, moonlit water. The moment I read it, the first part's rewards started flooding in. The experience shot me straight to level 28, and Lune leveled up to 3. Its level up came with a notification, too. Lune is now able to sense Lost Souls. No further explanation.

I was fairly sure it was connected to her finding what she had lost down in the depths of Xibalba, but the wording made it seem like it had other applications, too. Lost Souls. Although Lune didn't look different. She stood, stretched one front paw, then shook herself as if all this talk about her missing shadow had taken a lot from her. Still, the moment she finished, she looked toward the dark beyond Camazotz with steady determination. Camazotz's gaze remained on her.

"The little flame will know when she is close," it said.

"Thank you," I said, bowing. Cyrus and Alice followed my lead.

"Now," it said, "my words are done." Camazotz lifted her massive wings, and the sealed doors behind us opened. Fifteen players spilled through from the darkness beyond them in various states of anger, exhaustion, confusion, and relief. Denxy came first, shield still strapped to his arm, one hand braced against the doorframe as if he had been preparing to break the thing down. Rafael stumbled beside him, tower shield dragging behind him with a deep scrape.

Carmen followed with murder in her eyes, ready to continue the fight, while Verdugo shoved through next, axe in hand, and a grin so wide his teeth could be seen from the platform's end.

"I'm alive, hermanos!" Everyone was there.

"Did you win?" Desirae asked.

"We couldn't see anything, and we couldn't get through the door." Alice finally allowed herself one breath that was almost a laugh.

"We won." Mano Roja gave a weak grin.

"I went out too early. You had all the fun." Somnus walked last, his shroud hanging around him in strips of shadow. He looked at the three of us, then at Camazotz. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Oh, boy," he said. Denxy crouched as Lune trotted toward him, letting her sniff his hand.

"Yes, I survived," he told her.

"You may stop looking so worried. It damages my image." Lune huffed, then returned to me. She seemed to like Denxy a lot. Cyrus looked over the raid interface, visibly counting.

"Everyone is back." The fight had ended, the boss had yielded, and now the people we had spent the last phase trying not to think about were standing in front of us again.

"We were worried," Alice said.

"Thought you respawned outside Xibalba."

"The room before Camazotz acts like a safe space," Redcap said.

"Though the system made it clear that if all of us die, we will be booted out of the expedition." That was quite worrying. We managed this time, but if a full raid-wipe meant complete loss of progress, everything was for nothing. Then the system chimed once again. Expedition Objective Complete: Survive the Wrath of Camazotz Camazotz, the Death-Bat, has been subdued. Reward: Massive Experience gained. Reward: 10 gold coins. Title acquired: Last of Xibalba (Influence +5, Presence +5) The experience hit like a wave.

My bar surged forward so fast that for a second I thought I might level again, but it stopped halfway through Level 28, settling at a little over fifty percent. Considering how much experience a single level needed now, that was ridiculous. Around me, other players reacted in different ways. Alysanna's eyes went wide as Scale started laughing, and Denxy couldn't really believe the situation.

"Did the system calculate the trauma it'd caused, making us fight blind, into the reward calculation?" The title was even better. A five point increase in both Presence and Influence was massive. The stats were still not understood fully, but both had massive implications, and a raise in them always came after events and quests that had somewhat changed the landscape, like the Tidemark Civil War. Forum posts were already theorycrafting about both.

Presence seemed to be a universal "power level meter" — the more you had, the more you could grasp the strength of others. Influence, according to some, meant political power. With the noble structure of Godsrealm it was entirely possible that high enough Influence could let someone rise in the ranks in the eyes of NPCs, maybe even gain noble titles, or territory. Cyrus was quiet, still reading the title details.

"Influence and Presence increase."

"Five each is huge," Alice said. Camazotz lifted one wing, and the motion quieted everyone immediately. The wall moved behind the Greater Spirit, and a bridge extended leading to it. Behind it was a black stone slab lined with copper veins, rising slowly from the floor. Items rested across it in a long row, each one placed with care. Loot Received: Treasure of the Roost The moment the window opened, Camazotz spread its wings and rose. The movement was almost gentle, which somehow made its size more impressive.

It climbed into the upper roost, settling among the vast stone ribs and hanging ledges near the ceiling. The bats shifted around it, making space as if they had been waiting for their master to return to its proper place. Then Camazotz became still, watching us with interest.

"That is not unsettling at all," Talion said. We walked through the bridge slowly, and as soon as we got there, we realized that each of the items was a reward for someone, personally naming them. Fifteen Epics, distributed between the raid. I barely had time to process that before three separate pedestals appeared. One in front of Alice, one in front of Cyrus, and one in front of me. Alice's item came first, rising from the slab with a slow pulse of copper light.

[Breastplate of the Roost Above] Unique Level 30 (Growth: can be upgraded to Level 45) Heavy Armor Defense: 148 Strength: +15 Vitality: +15 Magnify: +10 (Select a single attribute. That attribute is permanently increased by 15 points while the cloak is worn.) (Growth: Can be upgraded to +20) Worthy Foe: Gain 5% damage mitigation for every three minutes of a fight against an Elite, or any kind of Boss. Maximum stacks: 4 Armor Skill: Last Wingguard Gain 35% damage mitigation.

When the effect ends, your next melee strike deals additional damage equal to 20% of the damage prevented by this effect. Duration: 10 seconds Cooldown: 30 minutes Restriction: Guardian, Paladin Alice stared at it. The breastplate was dark copper and black steel, shaped for movement rather than bulk, despite being for frontliners, with overlapping plates that looked like folded wings across the chest and shoulders.

It was beautiful, and by the looks of it, the system knew Alice could equip it despite the restrictions. Cyrus's item rose next. [Boots of the Roost's Echo] Unique Level 30 (Growth: can be upgraded to Level 45) Light Armor Defense: 44 Intelligence: +24 (Growth: Can be upgraded to +40) Magnify: +10 (Select a single attribute. That attribute is permanently increased by 15 points while the cloak is worn.) (Growth: Can be upgraded to +20) Agility: +10 Echolocation: While eyes closed, your hearing is enhanced.

Armor Skill: Soundblast Release a blast of deafening sound in an eight meter radius, dealing damage and disorienting foes. Cooldown: 480 seconds Restriction: Art of Magic Cyrus looked at the boots in reverence before storing them in his inventory.

"Let's add another AoE crowd control to the arsenal of Tidemark's strongest mage," Somnus said.

"That will make the game fun for your enemies."

"It's great we're no enemies," Cyrus smiled, then added.

"My first Unique item."

"You deserve it."

"Thank you." My item came last. The slab released a pair of gloves, black leather threaded with copper lines that followed the joints of the fingers like veins. The palms were reinforced with a material that looked almost like obsidian, and a thin strip of dark membrane ran along the back of each wrist. [Gloves of the Roost-Hunter] Unique Level 30 (Growth: can be upgraded to Level 45) Medium Armor Defense: 45 Dexterity: +20 (Growth: Can be upgraded to +40) Magnify: +10 (Select a single attribute. That attribute is permanently increased by 15 points while the cloak is worn.) (Growth: Can be upgraded to +20) Willpower: +5 Hunter's Perch: After using a movement skill, your next attack deals 10% increased damage. If used while airborne, this bonus is increased to 20%. Internal cooldown: 60 seconds Armor Skill: Host of the Hunt Choose a party or raid member within 45 meters. After 0.

5 seconds, vanish, and emerge at their position, giving them and yourself 10% movement speed, 10% attack speed, 10% increased attack power, and a minor shield equal to 10% of your maximum health. Buff duration: 12 seconds Cooldown: 600 seconds Restriction: Art of Finesse The item was amazing. Hunter's Perch was made for me, and the fact that it actually gave +5 to Willpower confirmed that as well. I didn't know items could add points to secret attributes, but more Willpower was insanely good for me.

And Host of the Hunt was the peak of versatility. Sure, it was not usable while I was solo, but with Guilds coming up and dungeons becoming daily occurrences for most parts of the games, it gave me an escape, an engage, and a great buff all in one. It was an item made for the kind of Ranger I was becoming. Lune sniffed the gloves once, then sneezed again. She looked at the gloves with deep suspicion.

"Not a fan?" Her tail flicked. The last of the items vanished into inventories, and for a few moments, the raid finally sounded alive again. Still trying to process the scale of what had happened, but alive. People checked stats, compared equipment, sent each other item descriptions. Even Alice let the tension leave her shoulders for a moment. Then Camazotz spoke from above.

"Rewards have been given." The roost fell silent. The Greater Spirit hung from the ceiling, folded in the dark between copper-lit stone ribs, its red eyes watching us from above. From that distance, it looked less like a boss and more like part of the cavern itself, something the roost had grown around and would continue holding long after we left.

"The road remains," it said. Cyrus looked toward the far side of the platform.

"Where?" Camazotz did not move.

"Below." As if in answer, the copper veins beneath the platform brightened. I walked closer, stopping a few meters from the edge with Lune padding beside me. The darkness below was different from the roost's darkness. I could feel it even before Camazotz said anything. The roost had been vast, dangerous, and old, but it had belonged to something. The black below felt less like a place and more like an open mouth.

"No," Talion said from behind me. Not even Alysanna refuted him, but for good measure, he repeated himself.

"Absolutely not." Camazotz's voice rolled through the chamber.

"Jump." Eighteen players — and a fox — stared at the void. Then, almost as one, we looked back up at the enormous bat hanging from the ceiling.

"Jump?" Denxy asked.

"Yes."

"Like, down there?"

"Yes." Scale leaned over just enough to look down, then immediately stepped back.

"Uh, I would like to object." Rafael tightened his grip on his shield.

"We won't survive a jump this big."

"You do not reach the true depths by surviving the fall," Camazotz said.

"You reach them by surrendering to it." Right. Cyrus looked down into the void, then adjusted his staff.

"Well. We did ask for the way forward." Verdugo stepped up behind us, axe over his shoulder.

"I am not letting the three of you jump first and look heroic without me. You already had your moments." I let a smile sit on my face for a while, but looking downward, even I felt a bit uncertain. The true depths waited below. Alice exhaled.

"On three." A couple of our comrades wanted to argue, but there was no point.

"One." The copper veins dimmed behind us.

"Two." For a moment, it looked like something was moving in the dark far below, but I decided not to mention that.

"Three." And we jumped.