The temperature inside the tunnel was dropping rapidly, and as they descended deeper into the earth, the air smelled of dampness and old decay. The light from Kaviyan's torch cast dancing shadows on the walls, resembling ghosts.
"We are entering the confines of the 'Dead City,'" Kaviyan said in a low but serious voice. He gripped his spear tightly, the silver bell of which made a thin but mysterious sound with each step. "The walls here speak, Queen. Whatever you hear, do not move from your place."
Elena felt the golden magic of her ring tremble slightly on its own, as if it were sensing some hidden power. The tunnel suddenly opened into a huge hall. Seeing this, Elena and the Seraph's footsteps stopped there.
It was an underground city—but one that had been completely turned to stone. There were stone houses, stone markets, and even stone people who had been frozen in their daily routines. Someone's hand was reaching for bread, while someone else turned to stone while talking to someone.
"What is this?" the seraph asked in surprise and fear. He tried to touch a stone statue, but Kaviyan immediately pushed his hand back.
"Don't touch it!" Kaviyan shouted. "This was the first fury of the 'Black Serpent'. When he attacked Arya, he stopped time in this entire city and turned every soul to stone. These people are neither dead nor alive. They are just waiting for the spell to break."
Tears welled up in Elena's eyes. She was looking at those innocent faces that were now nothing but lifeless dust. He felt his parents' spirits pulling him towards the city.
Suddenly, a rustling sound erupted in the silent city. Black smoke-like lines began to emerge from the stone statues, and they all began to move towards Elena. These were the 'spirit shadows' that were protecting these stone bodies.
"Seraph, take position!" Elena called out. The mark on her forehead was now glowing with full intensity. "Kavian, will these shadows harm us?"
Kavian waved his spear in the air. "These shadows are now slaves to the Black Serpent. Only the light that can restart their hearts can free them. Queen, you must reach the 'Heart of Clay' at the centre of this city!"
Elena waved her hand gently in the air. The golden halo around her now echoed off the walls of the 'Dead City'. Kaviyan slammed her spear into the ground, the wave of which pushed the black shadows back for a moment.
"Queen, you must not give up!" Kaviyan shouted. "These shadows will only show you what is the greatest fear in your heart is. Do not let them enter your soul!"
Suddenly, a shadow began to take on human form in front of Elena. This form was that of her mother. Her mother's face was sad and bloodshot tears were flowing from her eyes.
"Elena... why did you leave us?" the shadow whispered. "Your magic could not save us; it only imprisoned us."
Elena's heart began to beat faster. The magic within her dimmed for a moment. The seraph realised this and immediately stood in front of Elena. "Elena! This is not true! This black magic is playing with your mind! Close your eyes and only see the light that is within you!"
Seraph slashed at the shadow with his broken sword, 'Light of the Dragon', but the sword went through the shadow. These shadows did not die from physical attacks.
Elena took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She called out to the memory of her mother who used to sing her lullabies as a child. "My mother could never hate me. She was love, and love never chooses the path of darkness!"
As Elena said these words, a powerful golden explosion (Nova) erupted from her body, obliterating the imaginary shadow. The stone statues throughout the hall glowed for a moment.
"Look at that!" Kavian pointed.
At the end of the hall, a huge stone heart (Heart of Clay) hung with black chains wrapped around it. This was the centre of the city from where all magic was controlled.
"We must break it," the seraph said determinedly. When Elena and Seraf reached the centre of the great hall, where the 'Heart of Clay' hung, the ground suddenly began to shake. The black chains that wrapped around the heart began to move like snakes.
"Watch out!" Kavian slammed his spear into the ground, creating a protective wave. "He's here!"
A shadow emerged from between the chains and slowly began to take on a human form. It was 'General Zulak', the Black Serpent's loyal general, half of his face was burned and his eyes as white as a dead fish.
"So... Queen Elena is alive," Zulak's voice was like the grinding of iron. "We thought you had died in the darkness of the valley. But you have come here to seek your own death."
Seraf waved his sword. "Zolak! Your magic can imprison the people of this settlement, not us. Today, this dead city will become your grave."
Zolak laughed and extended his hand towards the 'Heart of Stone'—black rays shot from his hand, which began to move the stone statues in the hall. The innocent people, who had turned to stone, now began to move towards Elena and the Seraph like robots.
"He is using these innocents as shields!" Elena shouted. "Seraph, we cannot strike them!"
"This is my magic, Queen," Zolak said sarcastically. "Either die at the hands of these stones, or tear your subjects to pieces with your own hands!"
Elena closed her eyes and called upon the full power of her ring. She felt that the spirits of her parents were explaining to her the same thing: "Light does not destroy, it awakens."
Elena placed her hand on the ground. Golden roots of light shot from her body, spreading across the hall floor. As the light touched the feet of the stone statues, Zulak's black magic began to break.
"I will not kill them, Zulak," Elena's voice now echoed throughout the dead city. "I will wake them!"
There was a loud explosion, and the 'heart of stone' burst with golden light. The black chains broke into ash, and Zulak recoiled, roaring in pain.
This explosion of golden light shattered the black fog of the entire hall. General Zulak, who had been proud of his magical power until now, saw a flash of fear in his white eyes for the first time. The 'Heart of Clay' that had once been bound in black chains was now bathed in golden flames.
"This cannot be!" Zulak roared. "How can a lowly girl break this ancient magic?"
The seraph did not waste the opportunity. He pounced on Zulak like a leopard with his broken sword. "She is not just a girl, Zulak. She is the dawn of Arya that you tried to strangle!"
The sparks from the clash of swords illuminated the dark parts of the hall. The seraph's wounds were still fresh, but Elena's presence had become an energy for him that erased his exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Elena felt that as the 'Heart of Stone' melted, the frozen statues throughout the city were slowly returning to human form. Layers of stone were falling off their bodies, and blood was starting to flow through their veins again.
"Seraph! We must end it now!" Elena shouted. She raised both hands to the 'Heart of Stone' and poured all her magical power into it.
Kavian also slammed his spear into the ground, creating a vibration that weakened Zulak's magical shield. "Now, Seraph! Strike his heart!"
Seraph gathered all his strength and launched the broken fruit of his sword straight into Zulak's chest. A scream rang out that shook the walls of the entire dead city. Zulak's body turned into black smoke and scattered into the air, and with it, the black magic that had dominated the city for centuries was gone forever.
The people in the hall, who had just been turned from stone to human, looked at Elena and Seraph with wonder and gratitude. They all fell to their knees, tears of joy in their eyes at having their queen before them once again.
Elena collapsed, exhausted, into Seraph's arms. She smiled and looked up at Seraph. "We have freed them, Seraph."
Seraph kissed her forehead. "This is just the beginning, Elena. The entire throne awaits you now." As General Zulak turned to ashes, the black fog that had spread throughout the hall disappeared as if it had never existed. But the greatest miracle was happening before Elena's eyes. Those thousands of people, who had been carved into stone for centuries, were now feeling the warmth of life on their skin. Stone layers were breaking and falling to the floor, creating a sound like thousands of glasses breaking simultaneously.
An old woman, whose hand was fixed on a stone bowl, suddenly staggered. She took a deep breath, which was probably her first in hundreds of years. Her eyes opened, and she looked down at her trembling hands in surprise.
"I... I'm alive?" Her trembling voice echoed in the hall.
Elena, who was exhausted, stood up with the support of the seraph. She saw that the entire city was now coming out of its stupor. People were touching each other, mothers were crying, holding their children to their chests, and the market that had only a short time ago been a graveyard was now filled with sobs and prayers of gratitude.
Kavian sheathed his spear and bowed his head to Elena. "Queen, you have not only awakened a city, but you have also revived the spirit of 'Arya'. These people are now your army, your family."
The seraph took Elena aside and sat her down on a broken stone bench. He wiped the sweat and dirt from Elena's face. "You risked your life, Elena. Awakening this magic could have ended your existence."
Elena took the seraph's hand and pressed it to her cheek. "As long as you are with me, Seraph, I fear nothing. I have seen the darkness in those people's eyes that I have felt in myself. I could not leave them in this state."
There was a strange yearning in Seraph's eyes. "You are no longer the Elena you once were. You have become a power I never imagined. Sometimes I fear that these royal responsibilities will somehow drive you away from me."
Elena looked into Seraph's eyes, where there was a sea of love and fear. "The crown will be on my head, Seraph, but my heart will always be with you. This kingdom, this magic, all of it is incomplete without you on this throne with me."
At the same time, Kavian approached, a golden metal shard in his hand that had been mixed with the ashes of Zulak. "Queen, look at this. This is the first part of the 'Snake Map.' The Black Serpent uses seven such seals to hide the centres of his power. Zulak had this first seal."
Elena touched the piece, and the mark on her forehead glowed once more. She felt the map calling her to another direction, to a deep sea or perhaps a high mountain.
"So our journey is still long," the seraph looked at his sword. "But now we have a goal and a queen who knows how to turn even death into life."
The atmosphere of the dead city, which had been filled with the smell of stone and stagnation for centuries, was now filled with the warmth of human breath and the harmony of life. As Elena and Seraf stepped out of the great hall, a scene appeared before them that was nothing short of a dream.
Thousands of people, who had only a short time ago been lifeless statues, were now sitting in the streets, holding each other's hands, weeping. The day the black serpent had attacked them was still fresh in their memories, but centuries had passed for their bodies.
"Look, Seraf," Elena said with moist eyes. "All of them were loyal to my father; this is the heart of Arya that had forgotten to beat."
Elena stood on a high stone platform. Kavian drew the people's attention to himself by striking his spear on the ground. As soon as the people's eyes fell on Elena, a shudder spread throughout the city. The golden mark on his forehead and the halo of light surrounding him left no room for doubt.
"O sons and daughters of Arya!" Elena's voice held the terror that only a true queen could have. "The night that has passed over you has been long, but now the morning has come. The black serpent is not yet dead, but its chains that bound you have been broken."
A weak man stepped forward from the crowd, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Your Majesty! We have been imprisoned in this stone prison for centuries. What shall we do now? We have neither a home nor weapons."
Elena placed her hand in Seraph's and then, looking at the people, she spoke in a loud voice. "We must fight. But first, we must rebuild this city. This dead city will now be called 'The City of Hope.' Kaviyan, organise these people. Seraph, we must build a wall to protect them."
Seraph looked at Elena with pride. He understood that Elena was no longer just a girl searching for her memories; she was now a queen ready to bear the suffering of her people on her shoulders.
"Queen," Kavian said, bowing his head. "The first golden shard found in the ashes of Zolak tells us that the next destination is 'The Black Valley', where the second general of the Black Serpent, 'Bloody Eagle', lives."
Elena clenched the golden shard in her fist. "Then we must not waste time. Seraph, are you ready?"
Seraph waved his broken sword in the air. "Where your light is, there will be my shadow."
"My Dear Readers!
Today's chapter is very special for me because thanks to your love, I have received a regular 'Author Badge' on the web novel! In this joy, I have written this chapter with a full 2000+ words so that you can get a true idea of the depth of the story.
Elena has awakened the 'Dead City', but now she has to face the dangerous generals of the 'Black Valley'. Will she be able to bear the burden of this new responsibility?
I have two small requests from you:
Power Stones: Give your energy and Power Stones to this chapter so that we can rise in the Power Ranking!
Comments: Tell me in the comment section whether you liked the character of 'Kaviyan'?
Your every vote and comment is the reward for my hard work. Save it in your Library so that you don't miss the next thrilling chapter!"