Chapter 365: Ch 364: The Roots

The party for the newbies concluded without much trouble, and after spending some time talking with everyone, Kael finally felt like he had enough for the day. It was time for him to head home.

He found Lyra near the entrance and decided to tell her that he was leaving.

"I think I am going to head home now."

Lyra looked at him with a curious expression before glancing toward the others who were still enjoying themselves.

"Already? I thought you were going to stay a little longer."

"I am tired, and I have a lot to think about. You should stay here and enjoy yourself."

Kael explained before turning around, but Lyra immediately followed him for a few steps before stopping him with another question.

"You are going alone?"

"Yes. I will head back by myself."

"Are you sure?"

Kael nodded without hesitation as he looked back at her.

"There is no need to worry about me. I can handle myself, and I am not going anywhere dangerous. You can stay here and have fun with everyone else."

Lyra continued staring at him for a few seconds, clearly unconvinced by his words, but Kael simply gave her a reassuring smile.

He wanted to be alone for a while...just a little while...

"I will be fine. You do not have to worry about me."

Lyra watched him walk away for a few moments before letting out a quiet sigh.

She knew that Kael was strong enough to handle almost anything that could happen in this world, but that did not mean she was willing to simply let him walk home alone while he was clearly not acting like himself.

"I am coming with you."

Kael stopped and looked back at her with a slightly helpless expression.

"I thought I told you that you did not have to worry about me."

"I know. But I want to come with you."

Lyra walked over and grabbed his arm before giving him a small smile.

Kael stared at her for a moment before sighing.

He could have argued with her, but he already knew that Lyra could be incredibly stubborn when she wanted something, and there was no real reason to force her to stay behind when she was worried about him.

"Fine. Let’s go."

The two of them began making their way back home, walking through the city as the streets slowly became quieter around them.

Kael remained mostly silent during the journey, his mind repeatedly returning to the things he had learned about the dungeons, especially the strange roots he had sensed through the dungeon’s lifeline and the possibility that the entire system was connected to the corpse of a dead god.

The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became, but before he could properly organise his thoughts, something strange happened.

The world around them suddenly distorted.

Kael stopped walking, causing Lyra to nearly bump into him before she looked around in confusion.

The city that had surrounded them only moments ago was completely gone, replaced by a dark and unfamiliar space that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction.

There were no buildings, roads, or lights anywhere around them, and instead, enormous tree roots covered the walls, ceiling, and even the ground, twisting around each other like veins inside the body of some gigantic creature.

Lyra’s expression immediately changed as she grabbed Kael’s arm and moved closer to him.

"Kael... where are we?"

Kael did not answer her immediately because his attention had already been drawn toward the roots.

There were no monsters here, no treasures, and no obvious traps that they could see. There was nothing except these enormous roots, spreading through the entire dungeon as if they were the only thing that mattered.

Yet Kael could feel something coming from them.

His eyes narrowed as he took a step forward, and Lyra immediately tightened her grip on his arm.

"Kael, what are you doing?"

"I want to take a closer look."

Kael said it naturally, almost as if there was nothing strange about his desire to approach the roots, but Lyra immediately shook her head and pulled him back.

"No, you are not."

Kael looked at her with confusion.

"Why?"

"Because this place is creepy!"

She pointed toward the roots while trying to keep her voice steady, but it was obvious that she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

After everything they had discovered about the dungeons, ending up inside a place that looked like the inside of some enormous creature was the last thing she wanted.

"You told me that the dungeons are connected somehow, and now we suddenly end up inside a dungeon that is filled with nothing but these things. How can you possibly want to walk toward them?"

Kael glanced back at the roots and noticed one of them slowly pulsing beneath the surface.

His expression changed slightly.

It almost looked like a heartbeat.

"I think these roots are connected to the dungeon."

"That is exactly why we should stay away from them!"

Lyra pulled harder on his arm when Kael tried to move forward again, refusing to let him get any closer.

"You are not going anywhere near those things."

"Lyra, let go."

"No."

"I am not going to do anything dangerous."

"You always say that before doing something dangerous!"

Kael paused when he heard her response because, unfortunately, he could not really argue with that.

Even so, his gaze remained fixed on the roots, and he could not explain why they had captured his attention so completely.

Something about them felt familiar.

He could not tell whether he had seen them before or if he had simply felt their presence somewhere in the past, but the sensation was strong enough to make him want to investigate them.

It was almost as if his body understood something that his mind could not.

And for the first time in a while, Kael felt something strongly enough to push through the strange numbness that had been following him.

Curiosity.

A dangerous amount of curiosity and longing was filling him.

Lyra seemed to notice the change in his expression as well, and she wrapped both arms around him to make sure he could not suddenly walk away.

"Kael, whatever you are thinking about doing, please don’t."