The Slayer Ascension: Cursed and Blessed.-Chapter 57: Safe

Chapter 57

Who would have known what it would do to their mental state if they ended up right where everything began. Back at the place that started their stupid and unrelenting journey.

"If we aren’t in the Endless Forest," Gazel said, his tone calm but sharp with an edge that cut, "then where the hell are we."

Xon didn’t turn back when he answered.

"We’re in another plane entirely," he said. "You should have already noticed. This is the last plane we need to destroy before we get the hell out of here."

His words were oddly reassuring.

Xon clearly knew things neither Gazel nor Blaze had access to, so they let him lead while they followed closely behind. Time stretched as they walked. It felt endless, like the world itself was dragging its feet. Only later would they realize it had been just a few hours.

Before either of them could ask another question, Xon’s calm, confident voice cut through the unease.

"We’re here," he said, looking toward the northeast.

Gazel and Blaze turned at the same time.

They saw nothing.

Empty land. Ruined ground. No sign of anything even remotely important.

"Hey. Not funny," Gazel snapped, irritation seeping through. "Do we really look like we’re in the mood for jokes." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Xon was still smiling.

That smug smile. After everything.

It made Gazel want to thrash him so badly it hurt. The only reason he didn’t was because he knew he wasn’t strong enough to contend with him.

"Who told you I’m joking," Xon said, raising an eyebrow.

He looked northeast again and pointed at a specific spot.

"There," he said. "Can’t you see that half ruined temple."

Gazel and Blaze stared at him blankly.

Xon’s eyes lit up in realization. He shook his head, almost embarrassed.

"Ah. Right. I forgot. You haven’t awakened your essence yet. So you have no access to your Inner Eye."

The blank looks didn’t change.

They didn’t understand a single word of what he was saying.

Seeing their lack of reaction, Xon sighed, shook his head again, and placed his hand firmly on top of both their heads.

They tried to resist.

It was useless.

Xon’s strength was leagues above theirs.

Gazel could have broken free if he really tried. It would have taken effort, but it was possible. Still, he didn’t move. If Xon wanted to hurt them, he would have already done it. They weren’t strong enough to stop him anyway.

That thought proved correct.

Xon wasn’t harming them.

In fact, he was transferring his own essence into their skulls, more precisely into their eyes.

There was a vast difference between a Blessed and a Shural, and that difference lay in the awakening and control of essence. With a Radiance Core and refined essence, the gap between a Shural and a Blessed human was worlds apart.

Xon’s essence flowed through their bloodstream, pressing down on the Azura that instinctively tried to reject the foreign energy invading the host bodies.

For Blaze, the process was simple.

Xon won the battle for dominion almost instantly. He was stronger, and his Radiance Core supplied his Azura with far more power than Blaze’s, which was still barely functioning on its own.

For Gazel, it was different.

Tricky.

Dangerous.

Xon nearly lost control more than once. Gazel’s Azura resisted fiercely, pushing back with violent surges that almost ruptured the balance. Xon grimaced, poured in more effort, and forced his will through.

Finally, he secured victory.

The duo’s eyes began to emit a soft white glow.

And suddenly, they could see it.

Far ahead in the northeast, wedged between two massive mountains, loomed an ancient temple. From a distance, it looked only mid sized. Ordinary, even.

But as they drew closer, speech left them.

The structure was monstrous.

Several thousand meters wide. Hundreds of meters tall. A single building so vast it felt like it didn’t belong in the same world as them.

Gazel had never seen anything like it.

"Hey," Xon said casually as he stepped forward. "What are you waiting for. Step in."

The duo lingered for a moment, eyes tracing the impossible structure, half convinced it wasn’t real.

Then they followed.

The inside was even wider than the outside.

They entered what looked like an exposed hall that stretched on for miles. It wasn’t empty. Far from it. The space was filled with statues of every kind and form.

Humans. Demons. Warriors in forgotten armor. Strange beasts carved with such precision it felt like they might breathe at any moment. Dragons. Griffins. Creatures spoken of only in myths.

Every statue was perfect.

Too perfect.

The only thing that made it feel less divine was the overwhelming sense that something so great should never be witnessed by mere mortals.

As they walked deeper, Xon’s wary voice echoed through the vast chamber.

"Don’t let your guard down."

His voice was low, husky, but it carried far, bouncing endlessly off unseen walls.

Gazel obeyed instinctively.

He had faced enough deadly situations to know that the most peaceful places were often the most lethal. The calm before the strike. The silence before death. His muscles stayed tense, senses sharp.

Blaze, on the other hand, slowly lost himself.

His guard was up at first, but as he examined the sculptures, it began to fade. The artistry was overwhelming. The detail. The emotion. Beasts he had only heard of in legends were carved with such care it made his chest tighten.

He stopped in front of a group of statues.

Hundreds of soldiers stood frozen in formation. Their armor resembled that of samurai knights. The intricate designs. The swords. Their stances.

Everything about them screamed power and control.

"Honestly," Blaze muttered, admiration clear in his voice. "Whoever carved this deserves worship."

He reached out and casually patted one of the samurai statues on the head.

He didn’t notice the fingers.

They relaxed.

Just slightly.

The grip on the great odachi shifted.

Blaze kept walking, unaware.

Deeper into what felt like an endless museum.

When he finally turned, he saw Gazel standing still, staring at something massive. A sea like creature carved from stone, its many heads coiled and layered upon one another.

A hydra.

Just then, Gazel turned to face him.

Blaze could tell Gazel’s guard was still raised even as he admired the art.

"Hey, relax," Blaze said lightly. "There’s no danger here. Xon must have been mis..."

The words died in his throat.

Gazel’s expression changed.

Not cautious.

Not tense.

Shocked.

Something can’t be behind me, right.

That thought barely finished forming before Blaze’s hair stood on end. A presence loomed right at his back. Heavy. Crushing. Wrong.

Instinct took over.

Fire erupted outward from his body as he spun, trying to block the incoming attack.

It didn’t work.

The strike tore straight through the flames.

The next moment, Blaze felt his body lift off the ground.

Then he crashed hard into the floor beside Gazel with a thunderous bang.

Pain exploded through him.

It was unlike anything he had ever felt. His back screamed in agony as his senses went white. If he hadn’t gone all out and released his flames fully, dulling most of the force, he didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened.

Best case, his back would have been broken.

Worst case, he would be dead.

Gazel wasn’t faring much better.

His left hand twitched violently. His fingers spasmed, warning signs screaming through his nerves. The pressure in the air thickened, dark and suffocating. It felt like the space itself was pressing down on his chest.

He stared at the attacker.

One of the statues.

A samurai knight.

"What the hell is that," Gazel asked, his voice tight, not expecting an answer.

He got one anyway.

Xon appeared beside him.

His expression was serious, but deep in his eyes was something else.

Relief.

He was close now. Close enough.

Xon pulled out two daggers from his storage and gripped them tightly before speaking.

"That," he said, a small smile tugging at his lips, fear and relief mixing together, "is our ticket out of here."

The samurai slowly raised its head.

Its once empty eyes ignited.

Bright yellow.

To be continued.