Chapter 1415: A Horrifying Night
The air inside the room seemed to grow thinner, as though something unseen had drawn it all away. An oppressive silence fell, heavy and suffocating, forcing everyone to subconsciously hold their breath. Lydia’s face drained of color, her lips parted in a trembling line, and her eyes widened in sheer horror, as if the memories Maddeline summoned were unfolding right before her.
Meanwhile, Maddeline’s voice continued, low and burdened with the weight of the past. "I remember my sister held my hand so tightly as they herded us toward Mount Fehrer.
Some of the recruits tried to ask where we were being taken, but before they could finish, one of the paladins snapped at her, telling her to keep her mouth shut, or else. We were shocked. None of us had ever been shouted at like that by a paladin or anyone working for the organization. It was the first time... as if they had finally removed their kind and benevolent masks."
Her voice faltered for a second before it steadied again. "And the way they look at us...as if we were nothing but annoying bugs or some sort. It was at that we saw their real face, for some unknown reason, they had stopped pretending."
A shiver passed through the listeners.
Madeline raised her head slowly, drawing in a breath as though it pained her to do so. Her fingers tightened around the edge of her dress, knuckles white.
"We climbed the small path, I don’t know for how long, maybe hours. Time felt different. All I remember is that by the time we stopped, night had already fallen. We stood before a sheer cliff face, flat like a wall, carved with strange symbols and ancient runes... things I’ve never seen before or since. They pulsed faintly, as if alive, as if watching us."
She paused, eyes staring into the distance. "Then the Dragxtarn stepped forward. They seemed to be preparing something, then not long after, we heard a deafening explosion. I could feel dust and rock flying everywhere, hitting my face. After that... we saw a cave. A massive one. The kind that swallows sound and light whole. Without a word, they forced us inside."
Her tone grew hoarser, slower. "We thought that was it, but no... There was more. Much more. A staircase carved into the rock, winding down into the dark like a serpent’s spine. It went on forever. We walked and walked, our legs numb, our minds clouded, too afraid to speak. I think it took us another hour, maybe more, before we reached the bottom."
She stopped, her gaze unfocused, as if she was no longer in the room but still walking those endless stairs. The silence that followed was thick, reverent, broken only by the sound of someone exhaling shakily in the corner.
"What did you see?" Lydia’s voice was quiet, yet it cut through the silence like a blade, and everyone heard it clearly.