Born in Blood-Chapter 568: Entrance

"I won’t beat around the bush. They’re drugs. Power enhancers is the more political term, but let’s face it. They’re drugs. I call it Sugar."

Bill cut to the chase.

"Let me guess. It gets snorted up the nose?" Liam said, and Bill was a little estranged at the comment.

"How’d you know?" he asked with a bit of shock. "Yeah. It goes through the brain and also enters the bloodstream, so it was the most efficient way to concoct it."

Ha.

"What does it do?" Liam asked.

"Literally everything. Makes you faster, stronger, and even think quicker. Turns everything up by one hundred. Just be very careful not to get addicted to that feeling, since your normal strength will appear very mundane when you’re back to regular."

Bill leaned forward, his face extreme with seriousness.

"But please, use it in considerable amounts. After its effects wear off, you’ll feel groggy and, if you use too much, even fall asleep."

Liam nodded, realizing the danger that the item in his hand came with.

Despite that, it helped slightly close the gap between the unknown threats within the Tomb and Liam’s own strength.

"That’s about all," Bill said. "Except the map, of course."

Right. That was also part of the agreement.

Bill took out a wide, blank scroll. Its surface was leathery but smooth. "Don’t worry," he said. "It does it for you."

Liam stored the map. "Right."

As per the agreement, Liam would have to map out whatever section he would go through. The inscribed map did that for him automatically, but it would still require him to explore the nooks and crannies of the Tomb.

Along with this, Liam was given a mega-strong Jade the size of his shoulder.

"That’s all," Bill said solemnly. "It may not seem like it, but we’ve been trying to produce these items from the moment we discovered the tomb. With the two years you were absent, we managed to finally get the formula for the Sugar right, but we didn’t have time for more."

Liam nodded. "This is plenty."

The two exchanged a nod.

Liam’s gaze shifted to the hexagonal plate.

And Bill shot a serious nod towards the three researchers. "Get ready," he said.

Giddy unpackaged the keystone, the lustrous metal rod forged to open the plate, and remained on standby. Sharpie and Rebel prepared the plate itself, making sure everything was in order.

Bill took a step back.

Liam took a step forward.

"Please get ready to jump in as fast as possible," Sharpie instructed. The window to enter was just a second. This had to be done in a flash.

Liam nodded, standing just a step away from the center of the plate, where Rebel and Giddy had positioned the rod to his sides.

"On three," Giddy said seriously.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Giddy and Rebel rammed the metal rod through the keystone.

WHYUUUMMM!

A strange, unfamiliar sound echoed through the entire chasm, like metal ringing against metal.

Blue energy gathered around the inscribed lines, converging in the center.

Then, there was a loud, distorted noise, as though something very large was tightening.

In the flash of an eye, and with a very loud thud, the plate doors shot open, revealing a black abyss that left everything indiscernible.

Bill, Liam, Giddy, Sharpie, Rebel. All of them looked at it. With minds as sharp as theirs, a second felt more like twenty.

One obviously knew what the darkness entailed.

Unseen threats. Hidden treasures. High risk, high reward.

Kicking his heel, Liam shot through it in a flash.

DOM!

The darkness consumed him.

Within that moment, the plate doors closed immediately. The inscribed lines sputtered out of energy, fading away into a dormant state.

Bill and the three researchers still couldn’t shake off the goosebumps they experienced as soon as the gate opened.

It felt as though something had looked back at them through that infinite darkness.

...But while they were frozen still, Liam rushed in fearlessly, as though he hadn’t felt a tinge of that sensation.

"I think you got the right man for the job, boss," Rebel said, rubbing the goosebumps off his skin. "I just hope he isn’t the dumb kind of fearless."

Bill waved his hand. "Make preparations for his return," he said, turning around to leave.

"If he does return," Sharpie whispered under her breath, more shaken up than the others. "Let’s keep our hopes up."

***

As soon as Liam was through the hexagonal plate, he slowed down and softened his landing.

Darkness.

Everywhere.

He couldn’t see a damn thing.

The smell entering his nose was not as bad as he thought it would be. Sure, there was an undertone of rotten, but leaning more towards something dried and ancient.

The floor below him was solid stone. Mental energy scoured the surroundings... but there was something holding his mind back!

Liam didn’t know how something so ancient could come with features like that, even limiting his vision. However, his mental waves only stretched to ten to fifteen meters.

From what he could surmise, he was in a hallway of sorts. The entrance, still. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

’It feels strangely cool here.’

By now, it was obvious not to be surprised when something in this world was not as expected. Yet, there was a stillness to the air. The kind that left one feeling a sense of primordial dread.

Liam took one step forward... and the floor below him sank a little bit.

...He had stepped on a trigger plate.

His eyes widened, and he froze.

WSH! WSH!

WSH! WSH!

Suddenly, there was light.

Torches.

How cliche.

On the left and right side of the now visible hallway, torches flickering with bright red flame were lit in rows, growing further and further away deeper in.

He stood still for several seconds, and once realizing he was safe, he took a step back and gave everything a proper look.

Even from the hallways, one could tell this place was old. The walls were aztec-styled, with sharp, blocky patterns and wide patches with some kind of faded artistry on its surface.

Most of it had faded away to be accurately read. A bummer, to say the least.

No letters or visible language to get his monocle out and begin the translations... but Liam took out a blank parchment and began drawing a mirror image of the faded murals. Just in case they could be put together.

A moment lat

er, Liam took slow, careful steps forward, venturing deeper into the Tomb.