Solflare: The Painter's Secret

Caves sprawled ahead of Liu Yan as she doubled her steps on the north path.

"Is this really a shortcut or a death trap?" she asked, looking at the liquid dripping from the walls. "Since I’m already on this path, let me just prepare myself as Aurelian stated earlier."

Liu Yan drew her black sword and held it like the breath of life.

Boot-clicking sounds echoed as she moved deeper into the cave, following the only light that came from the direction she was heading.

After every cave she exited, she ended up facing another.

For ten minutes of rushing forward, Liu Yan gave up. "Nah, I’m going back to wait for them."

Just as she turned, two shadowy beings flashed before her eyes. "Did I just see something move, or is it just my mind trying to play with me?"

As soon as she tried taking another step, the shadowy beings appeared.

"Fuck, NO!" she shouted and raised the sword in a ready-to-fight stance. "Whatever that is, I’m not going to let it have me."

She steadied her breath while increasing the grip of her clumsy hand on the sword’s handle. "Show yourself if you’re man enough to fight."

As if responding to her taunts, the shadowy beings materialized into a twelve-foot horned being. Smoke clouded around its long, goatlike legs. And when it snarled, its silver fang teeth glittered.

Liu Yan’s bones went cold as she watched the being transform fully before her. ’I should have stayed behind,’ she cried in her head, then shook her head.

Her jaws clenched as she calmed her mind and prepared herself, as she had always been doing.

When the beast lunged, Liu Yan sidestepped and jumped to the left. Though she managed to save herself from the first attack, the rest shattered the bones in her legs.

Time stopped as the creature lunged for its second and third attacks. It screeched its sharp claws on the lady’s arms, her legs, and her face.

The impact hurled Liu Yan against the walls. As soon as her body crashed into the wall, the sword slipped from her numbed fingers and slammed on the ground before her body could even fall on top of it.

’This won’t be how I die.’ She screamed in her head, but the force made sharp air escape from her bloodied mouth and nose.

Dust spiraled upward when she slammed her fist on the ground and stood up on shaking legs.

Every ounce of her told her to stop, yet she didn’t give up.

Before her blurry eyes, the horned beast multiplied itself into three different beings. One had a bull’s head, and the other the head of Aurelian.

Before she could decide to fight, darkness engulfed her. The last thing she saw was Aurelian’s face on the beast, smiling.

...

"Why am I still not meeting up with them?" An Lang asked, stopping at the front of the valley in the southern part of Tartarus.

He drew one of his war discs and hurled it against the head of a devilish goat he had killed.

When the war disc returned, he caught it and swung it, wiping the blood away.

"At least, I’m doing more than chasing after them," he said in a laughing tone before setting out.

An Lang fought with all the devilish goats that came his way. He cut one’s head off. Split one into perfect halves. And tore the rest into untraceable pieces.

Just as he exited the valley, a gleaming city sprawled before him. "Am I dreaming?" he asked, brushing the back of his palm on his eyes, then looked again.

"Wow, so there is a place like this here also?" He rushed forward without checking the corners of the walls at his side.

Countless Serakels stood at the mouth of the caves with tongues out as they watched the human enter their land.

They turned to each other and screamed in a taunting voice. "We feast tonight."

When An Lang heard the scream, he paused. "What was that?" he asked and began whirling around.

Every cave he saw was filled with dust. He focused on the last two that seemed to have four glowing lights looking in his direction.

’Should I go back?’ he whispered in his head, but brushed his palms across his face. "I would not get to have the treasures that are hidden in this glowing place."

He turned and went forward, despite the tension that the place carried.

An Lang’s heart calmed with ease when he noticed the walls were made of Starfire Opal. He rushed toward it and began licking it as if it were a meal.

"I knew it," he screamed in joy as he pushed himself away from the walls. He stretched his arms apart and jumped. "I was added to the group to show them where the treasures were."

His expression shifted into a grin. "Now that I alone found them," he brushed his index finger on his chin, "I alone have them for myself."

He pulled out a sack from the pocket of his trousers, then opened it. For five minutes, An Lang bagged the stones so much that the weight of the sack became heavier than he could carry.

He looked at the walls, at the sack, then back at the walls. "Wait, why do I even have to give this to them?"

He stood there, wondering. After a chill air moved past his ear, he laughed. "I will be the most important man when I get out of here."

An Lang spent hours searching for sacks in the newfound glowing castles. In a twenty-foot castle An Lang entered, and he wished he wouldn’t leave. The floor was of pure gold.

While he embarked on his sack search, more of the Serakels gathered at the place he had placed the first filled sack.

Their snake tails rose and slammed the ground every time they saw the human exit and enter another building.

Standing inside the castle with the sack on his back, a cold wind snaked around An Lang’s neck.

"This is just wind. I shouldn’t let that make me change my mind." he said and kept moving out.

...

As soon as Wu Ze exited through the pathway between the walls, she walked beside Leon as if he carried her soul.

Before them was the heart of Tartarus. It was a place of peace, wealth, and death. Jagged stones made of Starfire Opal and walls that were made from a mixture of gold and bronze.

"Leon, we’ve found the Starfire Opal." Wu Ze screamed in joy, then moved a step forward.

Before she could add another step, the ground she had placed her right leg on collapsed and fell into a bottomless pit. But Leon caught her in time.

"Thank you." Wu Ze looked at Leon with an appreciative smile. She crawled upward, using Leon’s arm as a rope.

"Let’s be careful of where we place our feet," Leon said, pulling out the scroll.

"What are the symbols the map is giving? Maybe we can know where to walk and where not to." Wu Ze asked. Her expression shifted into a dreadful one when Leon showed her the map.

"What the fuck! Who draws a map without indicating the good and bad paths?" Wu Ze slammed her sword on the ground and relaxed her body.

Leon looked at her with a slight disgust in his eyes. "We can’t quit after reaching this far."

Wu Ze lifted her eyes and rolled them. "Okay. Soothe yourself then. I will be here waiting."

She loosened her grip on the sword and crossed her arms on her chest. "Go, I will be watching here for you."

’Is she even serious?’ Leon said in his head before shifting his gaze from her. He placed the scroll back in the bag, then exhaled once.

With every step he took, he tested it with the tip of his boots before jumping on it.

Wu Ze sat there and watched as Leon moved from her side to the first Starfire pillar.

"Good," she said, raising a thumb. "Now we can get out of here once you’re done."

As soon as her voice faded, loud footsteps echoed.

’Is someone coming?’ she asked herself before turning her head toward the path they had taken.

Wu Ze’s breath hitched, her eyes widening when she saw a red-eyed being standing at the front of the path, grinning.

"LEON!"

Leon stopped breaking the stones and turned. The black dagger and his bag all slammed on the ground when he saw the creature at first glance.

The panel shimmered to life before Leon.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

Presence Detected.

Scanning...

Name: Varkhaza

Species: Twinmaw

God Title: The Backward God

Rank: Unknown

Hostility: Civilization Collapse Entity

Domain Influence: Reversed Causality

Unique Ability: Retroactive Predation

Warning: Avoid direct eye contact.

Standing at the front of the path was Varkhaza, a half-serpent, half-monkey. Its lower serpent part had a head instead of a tail.

"Stay there, don’t move, and avoid direct eye contact," Leon screamed, but Wu Ze was already heading away.

"Shit!" Leon cursed under his breath and rushed forward. He left his bag beneath the Starfire Opal pillar and held the dagger like a weapon he was ready to fight with.