Inside the cave was an array of stone steps which smoothly extended diagonally downward as if leading you to a secret passage no one knew about.
As people walked into such dim place, the surroundings would creep and remind them of a bygone era long gone. There seemed to be an ancient smell which originated from and probably distilled inside of the cave that was obviously out of place in such era.
What brought most surprise to everyone was that even though the cave was located at the bottom of the sea, there was no water pouring in as if it was in an isolated bubble.
The cave was beyond the reality of the deep blue sea, as if it had been completely cut off from the seawater by an invisible mysterious force.
Some gravel, unusually golden and beaming in light yet far from being identified, was laid on both sides of the stone steps. They gave off glimmer and eventually bright glare which illuminated the path in the cave.
Austin together with Violet and the gnome was walking down carefully, tiptoeing slowly along the stone steps lit by the golden gravel. Totally clueless of what was waiting for them ahead, they were nothing but nervous
of the strange sounds echoing—an unfamiliar howl, a loud roar, sharp sword clashing, and uncontained energy bursting.
Undoubtedly, these sounds belonged to the battlefield that they were yet to figure out where. However, this time, the familiarly uncomfortable sounds seemed to come from deep inside of the cave.
They couldn't confirm with their own senses whether it was an illusion or a reality.
All kinds of sounds kept echoing, bouncing from every wall throughout the cave.
'Is there a fierce battle taking place in the depths of the cave?' The thought popped into their confused minds.
However, just as Austin, Violet, and the gnome were about to listen carefully and finally make sense of those echoes, the sounds disappeared, not even faded first.
To keep themselves sane, they could only try to convince themselves that it was nothing but delusion.
The strange occurrence made them feel in the mean of being frightened and alright.
Among the three, Austin was the most frightened one that was so unlikely for his stature. After all, he had a strong spiritual sense, but now he couldn't still figure out whether it was reality or an illusion meant to mess with their heads.
Austin released his spiritual sense, attempting to explore the area deep in the cave. However, what he had probed was a world of nothing but a mess, an unexplainable chaos.
"Be careful. There is something unnatural about the cave,"
Austin warned his companions.
About an hour of following the trail, they finally reached the end of the stone steps.
There was a quaint door that was made up of old stone and was interestingly clear, as transparent as the crystal.
The humongous stone door, sparkling with a ray of light, was covered by a multi-color energy shield radiating uniquely. If they wanted to enter the stone door, they should pass through the special shield.
Not until he was standing in front of the stone door, did he realize that the noises they heard earlier were really from the battlefield.
The sound of war came from the other side of the door he was looking into. .
"The stone door contained the energy of time and space,"
the gnome reminded Austin in his low voice, as if he was disinterested to share to his companion what he already figured out before.
"The energy of time and space?"
Austin was puzzled, repeating the words in his head out loud.
"In other words, if we go through this stone door, we might reach another dimension.
Furthermore, I can feel that the time and space here are in disarray,"
the gnome explained the best way he could as he used his beast soul energy to check the stone door.
"You said there were some treasures we can find under the mountain.
But why do we only see the stone door?"
Austin exclaimed in utter disappointment.
"Yeah, I know you're upset but the treasure that I have detected is just the stone door.
Look closely and observe. Appreciate the material of this door,"
the gnome reminded his frustrated friend.
"The door?"
Austin asked, a little surprised because he didn't intend to downplay the promising stature of the door. At first sight, he already knew it was extraordinary.
And now, hearing the gnome's words, he was more sure how precious and treasured the stone door was.
He closed his left eye, and focused his right eye on the door, only to see large amounts of spiritual energy which was depicted as a soft glow on the surface of it, floating with overwhelming mysterious power.
Austin stood in front of it, now, to see beyond his eyes. As he focused his attention to assess its physical appearance, he absorbed a piece of spiritual energy that was once contained in the door.
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