Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO STUBBING AUGUST 15)

“I’ll go first. Follow after thirty seconds,” Elijah ordered, glancing back at the others. They were both obviously exhausted, with glazed eyes and slack expressions. Their shoulders slumped, and their clothes bore the evidence of their many battles. Even Hu Shui’s normally pristine outfit had been stained with blue, red, and black.

Elijah was very aware that, outwardly, he wasn’t any better off. The only difference was that he also knew that he could keep going for much, much longer. He’d done it before, and he expected that he would one day need to do it again. Compared to what he’d been through in the Broken Crown, the situation in the Labyrinth of Dead Gods was no more difficult to endure than a tower.

He wasn’t sure if that was due to his advanced progression or if the dragon-focused Primal Realm had just been that overwhelming. Probably a bit of both. But the point was that Elijah hadn’t even come close to the end of his rope.

The other two didn’t have the advantage of having been through something even similar, much less worse.

Hu Shui nodded, and Benedict said, “We’ll be right behind you.”

Taking a deep breath, Elijah turned back toward the pillar of rainbow light. Now that he’d drawn close enough, he could feel the varying attunements of ethera that comprised the whole. Some of them mixed, but many simply wove their way around the others in a complex tapestry that he could never hope to understand.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on, though. Each of the hundreds of columns outside represented a different attunement, and they funneled that particular flavor of ethera into the dome. In turn, the ritual circle – or array, perhaps – forced them into a pattern that created the Godroad.

It wasn’t just space magic. It was so much more, but Elijah was a long way from understanding how it all fit together. Figuring out as much as he had was only possible because of his past experiences combined with his acute senses.

He climbed the steps to the square platform, and with each one, he felt the blistering energy more keenly. It wasn’t nearly enough to singe his durable body, but his clothes very nearly caught fire. If he’d been alone, he might have disrobed in an effort to preserve his attire.

But he didn’t think it would be appropriate to strip down in front of the others.

Thankfully, there were only five steps, so it only took a second or two to reach the low summit. Then, without further ado, he stepped into the column.

Immediately, a scream of agony ripped free of his throat, and he felt himself being unmade. It only lasted an instant before he fell upon a cold floor, entirely unharmed. With echoes of the pain still rippling through him, he took a moment to take in his surroundings, and he quickly discerned that there were no threats.

With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet. Running his hand through his hair came with a static shock, and he couldn’t ignore the steam wafting up from his shoulders. In the thirty seconds it took for Hu Shui to arrive, Elijah studied their new surroundings, and his initial impression proved accurate.

The chamber was exactly the same size and shape as the domed building from which they’d come, though it was made almost entirely of gold trimmed in silver. The walls glowed with formless illumination. The only thing missing was the column of rainbow light.

Benedict arrived after another thirty seconds, looking just as harried as he had only a minute before. His hair also stood straight up, as if he’d just stuck a fork in a wall socket. Elijah would have laughed at the absurdity of it if he wasn’t certain that Benedict would have taken it entirely wrong.

If anyone was incapable of laughing at himself, it was Benedict.

The man hastily smoothed his hair as the trio inspected their surroundings. It was much as Elijah’s first impressions suggested, though there was a gate on the other side of the round chamber.

Once they were absolutely certain they weren’t in danger, Elijah turned his attention to the new notification he’d received upon arrival: