-----Sebastian's POV-----
Right after Matheus and I escaped the red dragon's nest through the teleportation circle, the world snapped back into focus—and we found ourselves in another cave. At least, that's what I thought at first.
The air was colder and heavier here, like the whole place was sitting under the weight of something enormous. When my eyes adjusted, I realized we weren't in a normal cavern at all.
A long corridor stretched ahead of us, disappearing into a bluish haze. One side of the hallway was carved from rough stone, like any natural cave wall, but the other side… the other side wasn't a wall at all.
It was water.
A towering sheet of seawater stood perfectly still, rising from the floor to the ceiling like a pane of glass.
I stepped closer, half expecting the whole thing to collapse and drown us. But the water didn't move. Not even when I reached out and touched it. My fingers sank in as if dipping into a calm lake, yet the surface around my hand remained frozen in place, refusing to ripple outward.
A phenomenon like this shouldn't exist, so it had to be magic... Keeping the ocean from swallowing this place whole.
Regardless of how bizarre this corridor looked, I was grateful the magic was holding. I cupped a bit of the water in my hand and tasted it.
The distinct sting of deep‑sea brine meant one thing.
"We're still in the Central Continent…" I murmured, my voice echoing faintly in the narrow passage.
Matheus walked beside the water wall, eyes wide, watching the silhouettes of drifting shapes on the other side—massive shadows gliding through the blue darkness. Their movements were slow, almost dreamlike, as if time flowed differently beyond the barrier.
...
The deeper we walked, the more the corridor hummed with a low vibration. The stone wall dripped with condensation, and the faint scent of salt and minerals clung to the air. Every step felt like trespassing into a place untouched for centuries.
"Sebas…"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a weight that made me lift my head immediately. Matheus was staring forward, shoulders lowered, eyes fixed on something massive ahead.
I followed his gaze… and my breath caught.
A colossal stone door stood at the end of the corridor, so tall it nearly scraped the cavern ceiling. Every inch of its surface was carved with intricate patterns, spiraling motifs, and interlocking shapes that resembled dragons coiling around each other.
"What an odd sight…" I whispered, though the words felt too small for what stood before us.
Matheus didn't answer. His eyes were tracing the carvings. The dragons' eyes were inset with dark gemstones—obsidian, maybe—but they reflected the still water beside us like pupils.
I stepped closer to the door, the water-wall humming faintly at my side. The corridor had been long—hours of walking with no end in sight. At one point I even pressed my head into the water, hoping to glimpse the surface or some sign of where we were.
But all I saw was darkness.
Sigh
"Should we enter?" I asked, though the question felt less like a choice and more like a will.
-----Matheus POV-----
How much time has passed?
My legs feels heavy, my breathing uneven, and yet my mind refuses to slow down. It's hard to believe we actually teleported out of that dragon's nest. One moment we were about to die, the next we were thrown into this creepy underwater corridor. My head still spins when I think about it.
Sebastian concluded we're still somewhere in the Central Continent. He said it with that calm, matter‑of‑fact tone of his, so when I asked him where in the Central Continent, he just brushed me off, saying that we needed to reach the surface before we could pinpoint our location.
Crap...
How far did we teleport? How far from the dragon's territory? How far from home? What if we reach the surface and find out we're weeks away from Montanus Village? What if we're on the opposite side of the continent entirely?
Traveling with Roxy these past weeks taught me that traveling is hard.
Really hard.
It drains your body, your money, and your patience. Besides, I travelled with an experience adventure... But now it's just me and Sebas...
I glance at us, our clothes torn and bodies bruised, mana and aura drained. We'd need at least a day or two to recover.
Maybe more.
But Alice… Alice doesn't have that kind of time.
The thought makes my stomach twist.
As we approach the massive stone door, something catches my eye. One of the doors is slightly tilted open just enough to show a sliver of darkness inside.
Sebastian notices too.
"Perhaps… we are not alone…"
"Tch"
I brush off his remark and step toward the handle.
We've walked for hours. We're exhausted. We need a way out.
But before I can touch the handle, Sebastian steps in front of me, blocking my path.
"We should turn back."
"Hah?" The word slips out sharper than I intended.
Does he not understand the gravity of this situation?
I sharpened my eyes locking with his. I can feel the scorn in my expression and the heat boiling under my skin.
"We spent hours walking to get here, and you want to go back?"
"If someone already passed through this door, then it's even more dangerous for us to meet them."
He's not wrong. This place is too strange for any normal person to live in.
But we don't have time. Alice doesn't have time. Sometimes you have to push forward, even if it's stupid, even if it's risky, because I know... That doing nothing is worse.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take," I say, pushing him aside.
I reach for the handle again—only for Sebastian to grab my wrist.
"Matheus! Would you stop rushing in like an idiot?!"
The words hit harder than they should.
Boiling rage erupts in my chest. Before I can think, I ripped my arm free and punched him square in the chest. The impact knocks him backward, sending him to the ground.
For a moment, the sound of my hitched breathing and Sebas's gasping for air echoed through the hallway.
-----Narrator POV-----
Matheus planted his feet, muscles tightening as he dragged the heavy stone door open. The slab groaned against the floor, a grinding echo that vibrated through the cave walls. A blade of bright blue light cut through the widening gap, washing over his face. Confusion flickered across his features, then awe, then an urgent clarity.
He snapped a look over his shoulder.
"Sebas—Come over!"
There was no room for argument. Matheus slipped through the opening in a single swift motion, vanishing into the light. Sebastian, still reeling from everything that had happened between them moments ago, scrambled upright and stumbled toward the doorway.
As he crossed the threshold, the world opened before him.
The chamber stretched impossibly far, a colossal corridor carved from smooth, blue‑tinted stone that gleamed like polished crystal. Rows of towering columns lined the walls, each etched with intricate patterns—spirals, runes, and ancient motifs that shimmered faintly under the ambient glow. The ceiling arched high above, repeating the same ornate architecture, giving the room a feeling of a sacred hall.
And at the very end of that corridor… A massive silhouette laid in the haze of blue light.
The creature's figure sharpened as the boys' eyes adjusted to the glow.
A towering mass of muscle and scale rose like a living mountain at the far end of the hall. Its body was plated in thick, overlapping scales, each one a deep, blood‑red gleam that shimmered like molten metal under the chamber's light. Nine serpentine necks unfurled from its torso, weaving and coiling with slow, deliberate menace, as if tasting the air for intruders.
Sebastian's chest tightened as the sight alone felt like a physical blow.
Matheus's voice cut through the suffocating tension.
"Sebas!"
Matheus pointed ahead, arm trembling with urgency. Not at the monster—but at a raised platform halfway down the corridor. Its surface was carved with intricate symbols, glowing faintly in the same blue hue that filled the room. Symbols they both recognized during their last encounter with teleportation magic.
Sebastian's eyes widened as he understood instantly and pushed forward.
Its nine crimson necks rose higher, stiffening with sudden alertness, scales clattering softly like metal plates brushing together. A low, rumbling growl rolled through the chamber.
At that same moment, a crushing pressure washed over the boys.
Sebastian and Matheus froze mid‑stride. A suffocating bloodlust pressed into their chests as if invisible claws had wrapped around their hearts as their breath hitched and legs trembled.
Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed through the long hall, steady and unhurried, tapping against the stone with a rhythm that didn't match the chaos around them. The hydra's heads twisted toward the sound, their necks curling back in unease.
From the far darkness of the corridor, a silhouette emerged.
The blue light washed over him gradually—first catching the frayed edge of a long, heavy cloak, then sliding across the outline of a broad shoulder wrapped in dark, reinforced fabric. As he stepped further into the glow, strands of stark white hair drifted into view as his face emerged from the shadow, light struck his eyes revealing its distinct golden nature.
Sebastian felt his heartbeat stumble. Matheus's breath stopped.
The man didn't look at them. He walked past forward them and towards the hydra.
A shiver rippled through the hydra's massive frame, and its heads snapped toward the man as if every instinct it possessed screamed danger.
Its nearest head lowered, throat swelling with heat. The others followed, each neck arching back like drawn bows. The air thickened, shimmering with the buildup of energy as the air in the room became thick and hot.
Sebastian's voice cracked.
"Matheus—!"
All nine heads unleashed their breath towards the man. A beam of blazing heat tore across the hall, carving a molten line across the floor as a deep, violent roar sound shook the columns.
The man raised his arm.
Light gathered at his palm. Thin rings of energy spun into existence, sliding into alignment with a soft metallic click. The sigil expanded outward, its surface tracing the outline of a coiled dragon that shimmered with shifting blue light.
The beam stuck the sigil.
The impact shook the air, but the sigil held firm. Its rings tightened, drawing the heat inward in spiraling currents until the glow thinned, dimmed, and finally vanished. The last traces of energy flickered out like dying embers.
The sigil dissolved into drifting sparks.
The man lowered his arm and resumed walking, each step calm and unhurried, as though nothing had happened at all.
The hydra reacted with sudden force, its massive form surging forward in a burst of motion.
One head snapped towards him. The man shifted his weight, sliding one foot across the stone. His hand rose and struck the side of the head, redirecting it with a sharp impact. Another head followed—he turned his shoulder, letting it pass before pushing it aside with his forearm.
Wind burst outward from each contact, sweeping across the hall. Sebastian and Matheus dropped to their knees, gripping the floor as the gusts pushed them back.
The hydra's movements grew frantic.
Its nine necks snapped and twisted, whipping toward the man from every angle in a desperate attempt to crush him under sheer force. Each strike came with a sharp rush of air, the sound of scales cutting through the space like cracking whips.
The man met every attack head‑on.
His arms moved in swift and controlled arcs, redirecting the force with a sharp push or a clean parry. The impacts sent bursts of wind spiraling outward, rattling the columns and scattering loose dust across the floor.
The hydra struck faster.
Its heads overlapped in a chaotic rhythm, one snapping down as another swept sideways, a third diving low. The man's movements blurred—his cloak snapping behind him, his feet gliding across the stone in tight, grounded steps intercepting each incoming strike, knocking one jaw upward, pushing another aside, brushing a third away with the back of his wrist.
The closer he drew to the hydra's main body, the more violent the storm became.
Wind roared around them, swirling in powerful currents that pressed against Sebastian and Matheus. They dropped to their knees, arms braced against the floor as the force pinned them in place.
Then the man reached the main body.
He planted one foot firmly, grounding himself against the raging wind.
His arm drew back, elbow folding, shoulder turning slightly as his fingers tightened into position.
A single horizontal motion followed.
The hydra's torso split open. The cut traveled through flesh, bone, and scale, continuing past the creature and carving a deep gash into the wall behind it.
The hydra's halves collapsed to the floor.
The man stood tall as the cloak settled around him.