With This Treasure, I Summon Primordial Weapons
Chapter 25: The Sanctuary

Chapter 25: The Sanctuary

It wasn’t long before Godric and Raven made their way down the stairs of the dark spire and were standing outside its entrance.

Outside, the people of the settlement were back to normal. Merchants with their stands already set up and people with their gazes on goods they couldn’t afford.

There was, however, one thing that wasn’t back to normal, and it was Raven.

She stood by Godric’s side as she always did, but now a long stretch of silence rose between them like an invisible wall.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see through her cold expression.

It wasn’t hard to deduce what was going through her head. She was him leaving Robert’s tent with blood all over his hands. The real question was what she thought of it?

Their survival relied on the lie the injured student wouldn’t have kept. But would she see it the same way as him? Or would she become another one of his many problems?

"You’re early," a voice suddenly called from the tower’s entrance.

Godric turned to see Loris walking toward them with two people by his side.

They were the lieutenants he had seen during the council meeting.

One was a young woman with pale skin and jet-black hair. She wore something resembling black eyeshadow over her eyes and something resembling black lipstick over her lips, despite neither being possible inside the dungeon gate. Her entire attire looked just as black.

She looked as gothic as the city around them.

The other was an elderly man with grey hair and a beard. He wore a leather armour made of mismatched hides, each different in colour. A small axe hung from his belt, its edge well worn.

"This is James," Loris said, gesturing toward the elderly man, before moving his hand toward the girl. "And this is Valentina." Without skipping a beat turned back toward the two lieutenants. "You guys remember Godric, right?"

They nodded.

"Good. This is his companion. Raven."

They each exchanged a nod before turning to Loris.

"There’s a long walk ahead of us," he said. "So let’s get going."

But before they could begin their journey, a new figure approached them from the tower’s entrance, one every single one of them recognised.

"Torr? What are you doing here?"

The vice leader of the settlement looked a little dishevelled as he stood before them. His gaze shifted between them before he answered. "I decided to join you today. It’s been a while since I’ve done some actual work."

"No, Astrea?" Valentina asked in a tone that was difficult to assign a name to.

"No," Torr replied flatly and shifted beside Loris as though ready to go.

The group took off toward their destination a moment later.

Godric’s mind, however, began to form questions as he recalled Valentina’s question.

Why did she mention Astrea to Torr? Didn’t they dislike each other?

A memory of Astrea telling them how Torr was the only one who voted against her becoming a lieutenant resurfaced.

If that’s the case, then why did Valentina ask Torr about her?

And why did the vice leader of the settlement suddenly decide to join?

There were only two reasonable explanations.

The first possible explanation was that the sanctuary was far more important to Daren than he let on. If that’s the case, it was only natural for him to send his most trusted man to keep an eye on Godric, who’s still a newcomer.

The second explanation could be more related to Valentina’s earlier question. Astrea’s relationship might be different from what she told them, and if that’s the case, Torr’s arrival here might be related to Astrea seeing Godric leave the tent of the injured students moments before his death.

Either way, he and Raven will have to be extra cautious.

...

Nearly an hour of winding through the melted city’s streets passed before the group reached a building unlike any of the others.

White, pristine brick instead of black. Untouched, as if whatever had melted the rest of the ruins had never reached this far.

"Don’t let the outside fool you," Loris said, pausing a dozen meters from the entrance. "It’s bigger inside than it looks. Never try to trace your steps back, this place is a maze. And whatever you do, don’t trust the hollow eyes."

’Hollow eyes?’

Before Godric could ask what that meant, Loris was already moving, leading the rest of the lieutenants toward the entrance.

Godric held back a step. He glanced at Raven, who was already looking at him, and in the quiet understanding that passed between them, they followed the group inside.

The group paused for the second time right before a massive threshold where a door should’ve been.

Instead, the frame looked as though it held the abyss. No light came from inside, no shapes or figures Godric could make out.

"Stay close," Loris warned for the last time before taking a large step forward and disappearing behind the threshold of the entrance.

The others followed almost immediately, and so did Godric and Raven, who, despite their hesitation, chose not to find out what happens to those who don’t stay close by.

The sensation felt eerily similar to what a dungeon gate felt like. Their bodies felt weightless for a fraction of a second, and their vision turned completely dark before they suddenly stepped onto a dimly lit corridor made out of dark navy blocks.

Despite the building looking no larger than a family home from the inner city, its inside was enormous.

The corridor ahead looked as though it stretched for miles, wide enough for all of them to fit side by side and lit just enough to make shapes but not nearly enough to see the end of it.

Immediately, Loris turned toward the group, his gaze shifting between each of their gazes as though he was searching for something.

In Godric’s head, the man’s earlier warning echoed.

Never trace your steps back.

And never trust the hollow eyes.