Reborn with a Necromancer System-Chapter 239: The Gates to Imeria

Seyren raised a clawed hand to halt the group, his tail flicking once in warning. He gestured toward a side chamber whose stone arch had long since buckled under the pressure of the earth. Within, the pale light of Kai's conjured wisp illuminated dozens of frozen figures. Men. Women. Children. Every one of them turned to flawless glass, their bodies captured mid-movement.

Their arms raised and mouths open, as though their final scream had been crystallized forever.

"Ah…" Orlin's rasp carried a strange mixture of reverence and distaste. "The glass dolls. I didn't know there were still some around."

Kai stepped closer to the doorway, his chest tight. The air felt different near them, brittle, as if even breathing too hard might shatter one of those delicate figures. "Glass dolls?"

Orlin's hollow sockets tilted toward him. "One of the gods once walked among us in Muderan. Their name, back then, was Tamish. Before leaving, they practiced a… peculiar art. A unique magic that drained the essence from living beings and left behind these perfect shells. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were stolen in this way. Families. Villages. Entire streets emptied in a day."

Kai's jaw tightened. "And no one stopped them?"

"They were exiled," Orlin said simply, his voice hardening. "Declared a traitor to our people. But what did exile matter to one already powerful enough to stand against armies? Tamish left, but their monuments remained." He gestured faintly to the room, to the hollow eyes of the glass crowd. "A reminder of what a god's obsession can make of mortals."

Seyren snorted, peering into the chamber with little more than passing interest. His crimson eyes reflected the rows of crystalline faces like a mirror. "So that's the story behind these people of glass. I always assumed they were sculptures left behind by some eccentric artisan."

He turned on his heel before Kai could answer, his voice carrying back lazily: "Pretty, but pointless."

Kai lingered a moment longer, staring at the nearest figure, a boy, no older than twelve, caught in the act of reaching for someone who would never come. The glass was so clear it almost looked alive.

Then Seyren's voice barked from ahead. "Move."

Reluctantly, Kai followed, the group leaving the chamber behind. The tunnel sloped upward until it ended at a heavy door. Seyren shoved it open, and a rush of damp air spilled in. Beyond lay a jagged opening to the surface, pale light filtering through.

The entrance was almost invisible from the outside. Thick mats of vines, thorns, and moss cascaded down the stone, swallowing the heavy door into the earth as if nature itself wanted to erase it.

It took them a while to clear the way. Vepice burned through the most stubborn roots with controlled bursts of divine flame, while Kai hacked away with his shadow-wrought blade. Every strike sent a shiver through the door's iron surface, until at last the hidden archway yawned open, spilling pale light onto the group.

They stepped out into the open world.

The air outside was fresher, touched by wind and the scent of soil after rain. For a moment Kai paused, filling his lungs, savoring it after the endless, stifling corridors below.

"Come on, then." Seyren adjusted his grip on his spear, his voice carrying no trace of awe. "Let's head to the portal gates."

"Couldn't we just open the portals with the crystals here?" Kai asked, hefting the weight of one of the black shards in his hand.

Seyren and Orlin exchanged a look, a silent debate that ended with both of them shaking their heads.

"The gates and the crystals were made as part of a set," Orlin said, his tone laced with warning. "The gates channel all the overwhelming power within the crystals, guiding it, stabilizing it. Without them… you'd be trying to ride a hurricane without a ship."

Seyren added, "Best case, you end up somewhere that isn't Imeria. Worst case, you rip yourself apart between worlds. Or the crystal implodes. And trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near when that happens."

Kai grimaced. He could almost picture it, his body shredded into atoms, scattered in some endless void. He tightened his grip on the shard, then quickly tucked it away.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" he said a bit too loudly, trying to chase away the unease. "Let's go to the gates!"

Orlin gave him a long, patient stare, but said nothing. Seyren only smirked faintly, as if amused by the bravado.

They pressed onward.

The path to the gates was far from empty. Demon drones prowled the wilderness, leathery wings buzzing in the air and chitin scraping against stone. The group cut them down in bursts of violence, Kai's shadows slicing through them like smoke turned solid, Vepice's light searing holes through their twisted forms, and Seyren's spear spinning with deadly precision.

By the time the sun had begun to dip, they cleared a stretch of ruined stone road and made camp.

Kai unfurled his shadow space, summoning out a feast's worth of food that he had hoarded. Fresh bread, preserved meats, cheeses, dried fruit, even a jug of spiced wine he had picked up back in Ylthara. The smell of roasted venison filled the camp, so alien after weeks of chewing through weeds and small animal meata.

They fell on it like wolves. For once, Seyren dropped his cold front and ate in silence, his plate piled high. Vepice smiled faintly, cheeks flushed with warmth as she tasted real food again, her divine flame dimming just enough for comfort.

"Hardly eaten since we got here," Kai said around a mouthful, casting a pointed glance at Seyren. "Some guide you are."

Seyren didn't look up, but his voice was sharp. "If the demons had sensed us through magic, you'd be dead. A little hunger is better than a swift death."

Orlin chuckled, sipping the wine. "He lies, but he lies with purpose. It kept you sharp, and cautious. Perhaps even alive."

Kai grumbled under his breath but didn't press further. The food softened the mood, and for the first time since setting foot in the demon lands, the group felt a shred of comfort.

They slept under the open sky, the stars unfamiliar and sharp in their brilliance.

Days passed.

They cut through scattered groups of demon drones, avoided greater patrols, and pressed ever closer to their destination.

Finally, after days of trudging across hills, through valleys, and around a giant lake that looked like it was on fire during a sunset, they crested a ridge, and there it was.

The portal gates.

Massive arches of stone and obsidian rose from the earth, inscribed with runes that shimmered faintly like molten metal. The air around them thrummed with raw energy, and even from a distance Kai felt the hairs on his arms rise.

The gates did not open, not yet. They stood waiting, like colossal jaws ready to bite through reality itself.

Waiting for the crystals to be given up.