Chapter 695: Chapter 72: On the Run
Whoosh!
Mia didn’t know how many times she had teleported, but soon found everyone standing at the edge of a river.
Since entering the Abyss, this was the first time everyone had encountered a natural river, which was remarkably wide, almost impossible to see the opposite bank. The river’s surface was calm without any ripples, appearing serene yet eerie under the dim light.
Mia and Miel exchanged glances before simultaneously turning towards Aske.
“It’s the River of Eternal Darkness,” Aske replied. “It is said that this river leads to the end of time, so whatever you do, don’t fall in.”
“The end of time?” Miel became curious.
“The real ‘end of time,'” Aske explained. “Once you fall in, the flow of time on your body slows down compared to the outside world. From your perspective, it would seem as if the world outside is speeding up.”
“The further you are swept by the river, the more pronounced this slowing of time becomes. By the time you reach the end of the river, time in the outside world would have nearly reached its own end—no one knows what that would be like, but it’s said to be an endless, great terror.”
“Hey, Aske, that’s a bit odd,” Mia said curiously. “If no one knows what the end looks like, how do you know the end of the River of Eternal Darkness is the end of time? And how do you know it’s an endless, great terror?”
“Because being pushed downstream also leads your time to gradually approach a standstill relative to the outside world, which in reverse from your frame of reference, means the flow of time outside tends towards infinity. Therefore, when you reach the endpoint of the River of Eternal Darkness, it inevitably equates to the end of time, mathematically speaking,” Aske replied. “The moment you fall in, everything you know is washed away by time, and there’s absolutely no turning back. Isn’t that terrifying?”
“Uh, okay,” Mia said, making a face as though she didn’t understand but believed he was right, and instinctively stepped back a few paces. “Let’s stay away from this terrifying river.”
The group rested by the riverbank, waiting for Mia’s Spirituality to stabilize.
Although the Ripple Sword had no consumption or cooldown, it required the distance to be short. If used for a long journey, frequent use would cause severe dizziness and fatigue.
Thus, Mia lay on Aske’s legs, comfortably enjoying the Squad Leader’s “temporal massage service.”
Miel, watching from the side, was extremely envious, wishing she could replace Mia. However, she also knew that escaping the dangers was the priority, and that keeping Mia in the best condition to lead everyone quickly was of the essence, so she didn’t say much.
Several hours later, in Research Institute No. 710 at the Abyss Lower Level.
The nuclear reactor finally stopped operating. With energy completely dissipating and temperatures dropping below the threshold, the fusion reactor could no longer sustain its chain reaction.
Then, the entire Research Institute plunged into darkness—all sources of light simultaneously went out as the power supply was lost.
A shadowy figure emerged from outside the reactor chamber, looking at the four people unable to move due to dizziness, and emitted a strange low growl.
Their bodies disintegrated instantly in the darkness, as if they were wheat thrown into a high-speed grinding mill, immediately turning into dust.
However, the shadow emitted an annoyed shout, as it realized these four were not truly dead but seemed to have swiftly left this world after some force was removed.
They were mere illusions.
Another shadow approached it, letting out a grating, hoarse cackle.
Then, the two shadows vanished on the spot, pursuing a stable direction.
Moments later, the entire Research Institute also completely disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind a vast expanse of the Abyss void.
“Uh?” At the same time, Miel suddenly looked up.
“What happened?” Aske immediately asked.
“Those ‘us’ that stayed at the Research Institute, the ones I was maintaining in the parallel worlds, were just killed and expelled,” Miel answered.
“So, the bosses have come out?” Aske realized.
“Uh-huh,” Miel nodded.
“Let’s go!” Aske pushed the lying Mia, who quickly got up and led everyone to run again, teleporting upwards.
The surrounding scenery changed in an instant, and they found themselves in a tunnel with clear signs of manual excavation and masonry.
“Where is this?” Mia wondered.
“The Dalakra Tunnel Maze,” Aske replied, “the lowest level of the Dark Elf Dungeon.”
“Dark Elf Dungeon?” Miel was curious, especially about the term “Dark Elf.”
Her Elf bloodline inherited from her deceased mother was seldom encountered by other Elves. The only time she had seen a Dark Elf was during the Magic Tide attack in Olympia City, those creatures with dark skin and hair like thick nerve bundles; they slightly frightened and displeased her.
But since Aske said they built this underground palace, does it mean Dark Elves actually have their own civilization and are not just murderous beasts?
“Ah, Dark Elves,” Kapei remarked spontaneously, “Such barbaric creatures haven’t gone extinct even after a thousand years, and now I somewhat believe what you’ve said about the ‘Magic Tide’…”
“Dark Elves have the habit of burying the corpses of their ancestors underneath their living areas, in what they call an underground palace,” Aske explained. “They also practice live sacrifices, releasing prey or captives into the labyrinth at the lowest level of the underground palace, letting them get lost and die from hunger and thirst until their souls become food for their ancestors in the Netherworld.”
“A barbaric custom,” commented Kapei.
“If it were someone else here, they might get trapped by the maze, but we can teleport directly,” Aske waved his hand and said to Mia, “Let’s go.”
Mia nodded, her Space Perception expanded again, and the labyrinth’s complex, web-like layout appeared in her mind. The perception continued upwards, piercing through layers of Dark Matter, until she found an open space.
Their surroundings changed once more, and the Ripple Sword directly brought them to a hall above the maze.
Indeed, as Aske had said, this place seemed to be the ancestral tomb of the Dark Elves.
The walls were hung with linen tapestries, on which some strange symbols were painted with a kind of red pigment. There were a total of eight stone coffins in the hall, arranged radially around the center, appearing as if they were forming some kind of Array.
“I feel a bit dizzy,” Mia grabbed Aske’s arm, seemingly unsteady.
After all, frequent long-distance teleportation with four people had consumed too much of her willpower.
“Should you rest for a while?” Aske looked around, hesitating.
After all, this place was the ancestral tomb of the Dark Elves, and it seemed a bit unethical to sleep here.
But Mia couldn’t hold on anymore, so Aske decided to look for a hidden spot nearby and let Mia rest for a bit…
Just then, intense footsteps suddenly came from the corridor in front of the hall.