Compared to Levi's surprise, Thorin was used to the sight.
"Buildings above ground are only a small part of our living space. This mountain is vast."
The two stood on a slowly descending platform, facing brilliant lamplight ahead.
The taller one widened his eyes, looking around in wonder, while the other, slightly shorter, stood calmly, as usual.
After some silence, as the elevator neared the bottom, Thorin moved closer to Levi, coughed, and said, "Right, there's one more thing... I noticed when you arrived. Did you change armor? Can I touch it?"
Levi's mouth twitched.
"Fine."
These dwarves really are all the same.
"This texture, this material... you've mastered forging methods no one else can match."
Thorin praised the armor before him.
"Truly perfect."
Clang.
With that sigh of admiration, the lift landed.
Thorin refocused, immediately recovering his usual majestic bearing.
The two moved deeper underground, walking across roads and bridges fitted with protective railings, passing busy dwarf miners one after another, until even lamplight became sparse and the excavation noise faded completely.
Thorin stopped, turning to Levi.
"Do you sense it?"
"What?"
Levi was somewhat puzzled, feeling everything seemed normal. He glanced at his status bar. No prompts whatsoever.
Thorin led Levi deeper while explaining, "A feeling of palpitation. This sensation has troubled us for many years."
"The deeper I go, the more I feel there's some extreme danger lurking inside. My instincts tell me not to advance further."
After walking another stretch, Thorin stopped again.
"Now, do you sense any heat?"
Levi carefully assessed his condition.
"The temperature is slightly higher, but I wouldn't call it heat. It feels quite warm and comfortable."
"..."
Thorin fell silent.
"Seems you can't experience what we do. I'm not talking about physical temperature, but an inner heat."
"My sweat runs cold, my skin feels cool, yet there's always this lingering, oppressive stuffiness."
What they perceived seemed like two entirely different worlds, creating a strange divergence.
"Regrettably, I only feel the temperature is pleasant."
Levi asked, "Do all of you experience this feeling?"
Thorin answered with absolute certainty. "Yes, everyone. It's definitely not an illusion or imagination."
"Truly bizarre."
Levi suggested, "Perhaps we should investigate the deeper areas."
"Agreed."
Their footsteps never ceased. Light grew increasingly dim. Thorin grabbed a lantern from the roadside to illuminate the path ahead.
After walking a bit farther, Thorin suddenly stopped.
"We've reached the end."
He held the lantern out.
Before them yawned a massive chasm, bottomless and dark, and the two stood at the very edge of the cave passage .
Swoosh.
An arrow shot from behind, startling Thorin into turning sharply.
"Levi?"
Thorin called out , puzzled by Levi's sudden action.
"Bat," Levi answered briefly.
Thorin looked at where the arrow had struck. That bat had already fallen into the chasm's darkness.
"How can there be bats this far down?"
Levi didn't answer . He put away his bow, advancing toward the edge, gazing into that bottomless chasm with a grave expression.
"This feeling is very familiar. There might indeed be something down below."
"What?"
Thorin became alert .
Levi continued staring into the depths of the chasm. Only after a long while did he slowly speak.
"Perhaps something you and I both know of, but that only I've actually seen ."
"Retreat. Go out, Thorin, together with all your kinsmen. Take refuge in Dale immediately."
"Something might happen here next, but don't worry. Leave it to me ."
"What exactly did you discover?" Thorin pressed.
But when he raised his head again, he found Levi had already pulled out a pitch-black greatsword as tall as Thorin's entire body, resting the massive blade on his shoulder.
"Honestly, I'm not completely certain, but even if there's the slightest probability, I strongly suggest you don't stay here."
"Balrog," Levi uttered the dreaded term.
Thorin's heart lurched, his eyes holding indescribable emotions and ancient fear.
"Why must these things always target us dwarves?"
Though complaining , he didn't question Levi's assessment for even a moment.
"Be careful down here."
With that warning, Thorin ran back, initiating emergency evacuation and war-preparation procedures.
Erebor's great alarm bell rang throughout the mountain.
All dwarves immediately stopped their work, hurrying to don their armor and weapons.
This commotion also alarmed Dale. Bard quickly emerged from the warehouse, looking toward the Lonely Mountain with concern.
"Father."
Bain ran over , also confused by the alarm.
Bard thrust the two great bows at his son, saying urgently, "Help me hold these. I need to see what's happening."
Before Bard reached Erebor's gate, Thorin led a large contingent of fully armed dwarves out.
"Bard!"
Thorin spotted him .
"What's the situation?"
Bard was thoroughly confused.
Why are the dwarves marching toward Dale in full battle array?
Despite believing the dwarves had absolutely no ill intent, the imposing display still worried city residents.
Including Bard himself.
Some matters were frightening because of the uncertainty.
Thorin caught his breath, quickly explaining, "Forgive me for not informing you in advance. Time really was insufficient."
"Levi and I discovered a powerful monster lurking deep underground."
"Then what do we do? Are we forming a coalition army to subjugate it?" Bard questioned.
"No."
Thorin shook his head gravely.
"We're here to take refuge in your city."
After the bat was shot down and Thorin departed, Levi continued exploring the abyss.
A water bucket was poured at the chasm's edge, the water streaming downward, while Levi swam along the current.
He swam for quite a while before finally reaching the bottom.
After landing in the shallow pool, Levi put the lantern into his inventory. His surroundings plunged into darkness.
In the pitch-black, Levi widened his eyes, looking around as his vision adjusted.
After feeling along the stone walls for some distance, a wisp of weak, eerie light appeared.
A glowing stone?
No, that's not right.
Levi took out his lantern again. The 'stone's' full appearance appeared before him in the light.
Not a stone , but a small box. On the box were also carved some unsettling characters in an archaic script.
Wait, this font...
Black Speech.
"Flame of Udûn, Fire of Darkness."
"Sleeping Calamity, Return to the World."
Hum.
When Levi read these two lines aloud, a dramatic change occurred.
The air thickened. Evil power surged from within the box, sweeping through the entire chasm, swallowing even the lantern light.
Vision became dim and distorted. The surroundings were filled with eerie mist composed of black particles, making everything blurry .
[Darkness: 10s]
The status bar gained a debuff. Whenever that countdown number was about to decrease, it would immediately refresh to 10 seconds.
Levi tightly gripped the dragonfire steel sword, quietly waiting in the oppressive darkness.
After what felt like an eternity, when this terrifying darkness finally dispersed, a scorching heat struck him .
Now he could truly empathize with what Thorin had described.
Because it had come.
The ancient terror had awakened.