Chapter 58 – The Hunt in the Crimson Night
After spending a good while studying the chained book on the altar, William approached it cautiously. With each step, the faint light of the place revealed more details of the strange object: a black-covered book, ancient as the world itself, bound by chains that seemed fused into it. When he reached out to touch them, he immediately noticed they didn't budge. Not a single rattle. No slack. Nothing. It was like the steel had melted into the altar itself.
He frowned and, without hesitation, drew his sword. With a sharp strike, he slammed it against one of the chains. The sound echoed—deep, metallic—but the result was... nothing. No crack. No spark. Not even a scratch.
"This isn't normal," he muttered, eyeing the undamaged surface.
"Angel?" he called, brow furrowed. "Can you analyze this?"
The floating sphere glowed brighter as it scanned the chains. A second later, her voice echoed through the room with that usual neutral tone that, in moments like this, felt borderline sarcastic.
"The chains are made of an unknown material. Their composition seems fused to the book itself. This isn't a basic lock. It's a structural fusion—like the chains are a living extension of the object."
William clicked his tongue in frustration.
"So breaking them is impossible..."
"Not without destroying the book too."
With a sigh, he gave the altar one last look before turning back. As he returned to the main hall, his footsteps echoed across the empty stone. Under the dim bluish light glowing from a magical lamp in the ceiling, he started working out a new plan with Angel.
"We need answers," William said, arms crossed. "We can't open that book, but if those beetles are guarding it—or just crawling around it—they must be connected somehow."