Chapter 33: Keep Yourself Safe
Submerged in the Crimson Lake, Ace felt everything around him claw at his skin. Countless hands seemed to tear him apart. The pain had just begun, yet it already burned like fire.
No wonder everyone else bowed to the Priestess. With power like this, who wouldn’t? But Ace was different. The pain cleared his head. He moved before his body could burst.
<You don’t want me dead, Tava’Az!>
The agony vanished, but his lungs screamed for air. He fought to stay awake as darkness pressed in. Just when hope faded, the water’s pressure lifted and he slammed onto solid ground.
Ace gulped air, clutching his chest. He lay at the lake’s bottom. Above him, the water’s surface formed the ceiling. Below, a cavern stretched out, filled with oxygen.
Sean crashed down beside him, his huge body shaking the floor.
<You’re here, Don Capo! Confess! You kept all the knowledge and loot, and Elias died because of it. Admit it!>
Ace ignored him.
<Priestess of the Crimson Shrine of the Drowned, Tava’Az. I know your goal. You want to drag the shrine to the true depths for your god, but the Kraken blocks the way. Other shrines and priestesses stand in your path too.>
<Don’t ignore me, DON CAPO!>
Sean’s legs split open, blood pouring out. His swollen muscles shrank back to their common undead form, and he collapsed, trying to keep his eyes on Ace. The betrayal hurt more than the wounds.
<Why, Priestess?>