Ch. 92 “Old Enemy”

In the dark chamber, the previously unnoticeable sounds slowly emerged.

The rhythmic patter of water, the squeaking of rodents poking out from their hiding spots, now that the invaders had stopped disrupting their daily business.

There was the haunting howl of the wind, blown into the underground corridors through one of the many cracks, and crisp cracking of the stone.

In complete darkness, it sounded like the ruins of the temple were breathing. A living organism that returned to its slumber.

Among those sounds, Saria’s labored breath was the only one that stood out.

With her magic being continuously suppressed, she struggled to recover from the beating. Her head was throbbing with a nauseating pain, her lungs and ribs ached with every gasp of air, the bruises and cuts on her skin prickled and burned insufferably.

Her mind and senses were dulled, yet the pain was clear as never before.

Saria focused all of her attention on that pain, in hopes it would anchor her drifting consciousness in reality.

She couldn’t just sit and wait for rescue.

Even though she was certain Lysandra was on her way, there was no telling if the guards were still around, or what kind of torture was still waiting for her.

The first problem she had to solve was getting out of the chains. She was too weak to break through them with the raw strength, but there had to be something around her she could use to pry the lock open.

Earlier, when the guards were still around, she noticed some iron rods, most likely coming from a broken cresset, that could be useful.

Using the wall as the point of reference, Saria started feeling around the ground.

The sharp rubble painfully grazed her skin, the sand followed immediately after. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the burning in her palms.

Finally, after a few minutes of a blind search, and after hitting the limit of where the chains allowed her to move, she felt a thin iron rod under her fingers. Holding it tightly, she moved back under the wall and carefully sought out the keyhole on the cuffs.

Fortunately, even without her abilities, she could still rely on her training as an assassin. Picking locks, navigating in the dark, and other simpler skills like pickpocketing didn’t require any special powers and were treated as the most basic toolkit for people like her.

That’s why even in darkness and with her head muddled, opening the first cuff took only a moment.

With one of her hands free, Saria felt her confidence returning.

Nevertheless, the celebration didn’t last long.

Just as she was about to work on the second cuff, she noticed a shift in her surroundings.

It was the melody of the temple that suddenly changed. The energetic and curious squeaking of rats, mice, and other rodents was nowhere to be heard. Previously, Saria could even hear the light tapping of geckos coming to inspect her as a potential snack, but even those went completely silent.

A change like this couldn’t mean anything good. In the wilderness, a sudden silence meant one thing.

A predator was around.

Surely, not even a second later, Saria heard a low growl bellowing not far away.

She could immediately recognize this sound. The threatening, bloodcurdling roaring of a chimera.

Realizing that her situation went from bad to fatal in just a second, Saria gave up on trying to pick the second lock. There was no time for it.

Clenching her jaw and driven by the adrenaline pumped by her franticly beating heart, she dislocated her own thumb and forced her hand out of the cuff.

With the danger about, her mind suddenly became much clearer, and even the pain disappeared. Unfortunately, her body was still on the verge of collapsing, preventing her from making a hasty escape.

Slowly and as silently as possible, Saria left the chamber and entered the corridor.

As soon as she did, a light breeze swept across her face, hinting at the potential exit nearby. Unfortunately, it was also the direction from which the growling was coming.

Having not much time to think, she made her way to the opposing chamber. There, she hid behind a row of old, decaying wooden shelves, carrying a strong scent of mold and rot.

Suppressing her breath, Saria clung to the crumbling furniture and waited.

The growling was slowly growing louder and louder. Soon she could hear the thuds of the beast’s giant paws and the screech of its talons against the stone.

It moved unexpectedly slowly, sluggishly even. The growls thundered in the hallways, but lacked vitality.

Driven by curiosity, Saria slowly took a peek.

The beast was directly at the entrance to the chamber. In the faint blue light coming through the cracks, she saw its lion head marked by countless scars. Its eyes were covered by a white mist, and the goat’s head hung limp on the side. The snake tail hovered just barely above the ground, clearly nearing its end as well.

The chimera was old, judging by its appearance, it had to be over two decades old. The average lifespan for these beasts was usually around fifteen years, as their territorial nature led them to constant fights.

This one had to be especially ferocious to have survived so long.

While the beast was blind and fatigued, far from its day of glory, Saria wasn’t in her prime either.

Carefully, she retreated behind the shelves and, still holding her breath, she waited for the chimera to move.

Without its sight, the beast had to rely on the sounds and scent to locate its prey, but it also appeared that both senses were significantly impaired at this point. Thinking this, Saria clung even closer to the rotting wood, hoping for its stench to mask her scent.

Holding her breath for minutes now, she was starting to run out of oxygen, but the chimera showed no signs of moving.

In desperation, she felt around and grabbed a piece of debris, then threw it into the corridor on a big arch.

The stone crashed into the opposite wall and bounced from it deep into the hallway.

Attracted by the sound, the chimera finally moved.

Waiting for its steps to become distant enough, Saria emerged from her hiding spot and quietly started moving in the opposite direction.

The breeze swept across her face, carrying a faint scent of grass. That had to be the exit. Saria only had to follow it, making sure that she didn’t make any noise.

Pushing through exhaustion and using the wall as a support, she started walking painfully slowly towards her salvation. Each step was carefully measured and made without haste.

Walking without making noise was once her second nature. She could run, sprint, climb, and jump without letting out even a sound. Now, with all the strain on her body, it was an excruciating process.

Sweat was pouring from her forehead, her muscles were trembling from the fatigue, and there was that constant pressure weighing her down, most likely the result of the anti-magic measures of the place.

Saria laughed in her heart. What she believed to be the ace in her sleeve ended up being the biggest obstacle in her way to freedom.

It’s trying to kill me when I’m using it, and it’s trying to kill me when I’m not using it. What a cursed magic to have…

Wallowing in the bitterness in her heart, Saria failed to notice that the sounds around her changed again.

The growling was no longer distant. The heavy steps regained some of the vitality in them, now sounding lighter and more deliberate, honing in on its prey with the prowess of a seasoned predator.

Once she finally noticed that something was amiss, the terrifying roar that thundered behind her left her with no doubts.

She ran out of time.

The chimera had found its prey and was rushing to devour it.