Chapter 419: The Cyclopean Barrier
Northern groaned a little as he scaled through the white desert, the wind harshly blowing against his leather armor.
He had just left Lotheliwan with the mindset of walking to free himself from the thoughts of Annette's conversation.
However, he ended up coming across a certain massacre just outside Lotheliwan, before the river.
Northern was sure that he had defeated the monster in the river, so curiosity grasped his mind as to what could have killed these soldiers and why.
Not to speak of the crude manner of death. It was undoubtedly a monster.
What monster? Northern was even more curious by the time he left the scene of the massacre. There were no trails to follow, no signs that pointed to the presence of a monster except the vicious marks of injuries.
Northern trekked forward in hopes of finding the monster, and time slowly flowed, but he only continued forward.
Finally, beyond the horizon, just after Sloria, he saw a high wall touching the sky. It brought back memories of the academy journey, but it was more decrepit compared to the academy.
But make no mistake, this enormous wall was a state-of-the-art beauty.
Northern, strangely, decided to head toward the wall. At first, he didn't have any particular plan in mind, but as he scaled the desert, it occurred to him why he was going.
It was just one single purpose.
His mother.
While it seemed reckless and too forward of him on the outside, he knew exactly what he was doing on the inside.
Finally, the view of the massive wall stretched out vividly before his eyes. It was an attention-commanding tower, a monolithic structure that seemed to defy all logic and reason.
The wall was colossal, stretching far into the sky, its surface a smooth, unbroken expanse of stone that gleamed under the calm and retreating star in the sky.
It was as if the earth itself had been cleaved open, revealing this impossible barrier that stood sentinel at the edge of the world.
To his left and right, the wall curved inward, forming an immense, bowl-like depression in the earth.
It was as if the land had been scooped out by some titanic hand, leaving behind this colossal cavity that dwarfed everything within it.
The curve of the wall was so perfect, so seamless, that it gave the unsettling impression of a giant wave frozen in time, poised to crash down upon them but held back by some unseen force.
At the center of this cyclopean barrier, there was a narrow fissure—a gate, perhaps—where the stone parted just enough to suggest a way forward.
It stood like a crack in the facade of some ancient, impenetrable fortress, promising both passage and peril in equal measure.
The gate was a dark metal, almost like a shadowy slit that seemed to pulse with an energy all its own.
The entire landscape dwarfed not just Northern but the two fully clad metallists standing before the gate.
As they watched the lone figure in the sandscape get closer to them, they tilted their spears forward. Beneath the visor of the armor was a white light that softly burned, leaving a vehement trace in the air.
Northern did not mind the overbearing aura that they emanated. Surely, these ones were drifters no less than Masters themselves who had been altered through soul-breaking training.
Their poses alone were brimming with an outrageous show of dominance.
Northern finally got within ten feet and stopped. The gatemen were carefully observing, with a rigid and fierce light nonetheless.
And Northern stood there, unmoving but observing. He covered his head and face with the overflowing clothes of the Twilight Dawn, so it was quite impossible for them to see his face or hair.
The red dust slowly wafted across them as the wind howled gently. Silence settled fully, so did tension.
No words were shared, but the message was quite clear.
Death awaited either side with one more movement.
Northern breathed, looked at them, blue eyes glaring beneath the fold of clothes, then he moved one leg.
Before the leg touched the ground, a flurry of movements that seemed like just a haphazard and uneven flow of light trails happened for a second.
Northern was in the air, with both metallic gatemen opposite him. Their claymores were slightly raised behind their backs as they got ready to charge again—midair.
Northern was also flowing in the air, slowly falling as he observed both of them with a slight sneer.
"You guys are beneath me, Mr. Fluffy, Night Terror."
*Whoosh*
A dark vortex appeared behind each of them. Immediately, they twisted and swung their blades, showing testament to the sharp senses and comprehensive control they had.
But such was not enough. Both of them were plundered to the ground by the creatures that immediately flew out of the darkness.
Mr. Fluffy landed on one with his enormous size, while Night Terror viciously tore one to shreds as they dove to the ground, his claws viciously tearing through the metal and spilling red blood.
Upon landing, Mr. Fluffy bit the armor and vigorously tore it like a savage dog. He continued for a while until there was nothing but splattered blood and an unrecognizable head on the ground.
Northern then slowly looked at both monsters as he removed the clothes wrapping his head.
His eyes burned with embers of wickedness as black flames licked his skin, leaving deep lacerations as they disappeared.
Northern's visage was now that of someone who had been severely injured, rough and barely alive. He ran staggeringly toward the gate and began to knock heavily.
"Please! Please!! I'm dying, please help, please save me!!"
The gate was so thick and hard that no human's knock should be strong enough to be heard on the other side of the gate.
However, Northern banged the gate so hard that the gatemen on the other side noticed a slight tremble.
Compared to the ones in front, they at the very least wore open-face helmets.
They frowned at each other, one saying to the other,
"Don't flinch, it is not our place to intervene."
With that, both inner gatemen fell silent.
However, the slight tremble they felt continued. A couple of minutes later, a man suddenly appeared in front of them.
Clothed in a purple robe, both of them bent the knee and greeted,
"Welcome, Tower Sage."
The man with dark purple long hair, reaching his lower back, narrowed his eyes.
"Open the gate."
His command caught both of them by surprise, but they didn't hesitate.
Immediately, they each went to the left and right sides of the gate and began to turn the wheel behind it with all their might.