Chương 22: Crucible of Akrakus
There once was a myth that in a time not very far and not very near was a demonic entity. Its name was Akrakus. It looked human, yet it was not. It looked like a beast, yet it was not. It looked like an animal, yet it was not. It seemed formless, yet it had a form. Everyone that encountered this entity had something different to say about its physical appearance.
However, all who encountered this entity, Akrakus, returned with grave wounds and died mysteriously after a day, even after undergoing treatment. No one knew where it resided nor how to avoid it, but for a long time, no one encountered it.
However, another legend was that the entity Akrakus fell in battle with an unknown hero. How the hero achieved the feat or who he was, no one knew. It was said; that Akrakus had a crucible which contained evil and demonic entities similar to it that it used as weapons each time it did battle.
After the fall of Akrakus, the crucible was said to have fallen into hunting territory and slowly corrupted the place, turning the entire land evil. This territory later disappeared, and no one knew where it was. The lost land was later called the crucible of Akrakus.
Lin stared at the pretty young woman before him as if he had never seen her. He encountered her at the gear shop the previous day. She seemed a bit uneased by the way he was staring at her. "Would you say something or are you going to keep staring at me like a pervert!" she glared at him.
He developed goosebumps just by making eye contact with her. He pretended to cough and replied, "Ruby, don't get the wrong idea. I just couldn't wrap my head around the whole thing. It all seemed made up". What he had just heard from her was something anyone would find difficult to believe.
"If what she said is true, I could increase my strength much faster over there since there is an abundance of fire and lightning element beasts in there. But one thing keeps bugging me. If such a place existed, why hasn't anyone been there since the disappearance of Akrakus?"
"Although she mentioned the location was just a rumour and everything about the story was just a legend, she seemed pretty certain about its existence. Is there something she is hiding from me?" Lin was deep in thought. He figured there was more to it than she was letting on. After a while of contemplation, he asked with a serious expression, "Can you take me there?".
She raised her eyebrows; her jaw went slack, but she quickly recomposed herself so Lin wouldn't pick up on it. "What, is he crazy? Even if it's just a rumour, who would ever think of going there?". She shook her head in disagreement and said, "No. As I said, it's just a rumour, so don't bother about it. I was just bringing you up to speed on what's going on here" She refused him.
"Well, why not?" Lin didn't think she was going to refuse him like that. "Nothing", she said bluntly. He was disappointed by her answer but would not give in that easily. "I know they are just rumours, but I would like to visit that place anyway. Whether real or not, there is only one way to find out. Besides, don't you want to know whether the rumours are true?"
"I have no interest in such things. Leave it be", she bluntly brushed him off. The two locked gazes, and she quickly discerned there was no convincing him. He was determined to go.
She wore a frown and said, "Do what you want. I doubt persuading you is gonna cut it". Lin smiled and replied, "I might listen if you tried a little harder".
Her expression turned to worry, "Why did I even tell him about that? This idiot, it was supposed to be a warning. Who knew the first idea that would pop up in his head was to go there?" she sighed.
"Besides, as you said, it is just a rumour; why are you so worried about it? I'm just going to have a look, nothing more. I would be back before you knew it. So now, where do I need to go?" Lin said.
She was hesitant to tell him the exact location mentioned in the rumours. Noticing her indecision, he said, "If what you said is true, I might as well get that info from somewhere else, so why don't you save me that trouble by giving me the location?".
"Fine, I will give it to you. It's not like it's real anyways" Lin quickly cut in and said, "Don't give me a false location either." She looked a bit glum when he said that. She realised her plan had already been seen through. She had no choice but to tell him about it. "Look, I am grateful for what you did for me, but going there is too risky. I mean, you know what happened to those in the legend".
"Aren't you being a bit too paranoid? It's supposed to be a rumour, remember?" Lin was quite surprised about her behaviour. He thought she was hiding something but did not want to pry too much. "Yes, it is a rumour, but not all rumours are false. If this turns out to be true, you could die".
"Thanks for worrying about me, but trust me, I would be fine. I won't enter that place if it turns out to be true." Lin tried to lessen her worry. She gave in and told him the location of the place. The entrance to the crucible of Akrakus was rather weird, but he was still determined to go.
A man dived into a swamp and swam steadily downwards. In the darkness of the swamp, you could make out vines and roots of plants. Some go all the way to the bottom of the swamp. The man swam for close to thirty minutes before reaching the bottom of the swamp. He drifted to a stop and floated there. He wore a red sleeveless trench coat with red bandages wrapped around his arms from shoulders to fingers.
He began looking around as though in search of something. "Now, which direction to the said entrance? I better hurry before I run out of breath, but…there is absolutely nothing here." His thoughts were all over the place when his hair suddenly stood on end. Every part of his being was warning him about an impending danger. He knew by staying there for a second more, he will be at risk. He gathered all his strength, allowing his body to overflow with black fire and black lightning powers. The water around him began to bubble as he used the force of the two powers to propel himself upwards.
He barely moved a few meters when he felt all the power in his body strangely disappear. His body was now being dragged deeper into the swamp by an unknown force. He thrashed around to free himself, but unfortunately, he had lost all control of his body. He couldn't even move a single finger. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! I should have listened and not come here. Damnit, this can't be happening", he cursed in his heart, but he could do nothing. He was slowly being dragged deeper into the darkest part of the swamps. As he wondered how to free himself from his predicament, a familiar sound rang, in his head, making his face pale.
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<SYSTEM ADVICE: FLEE>
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