Chapter 101: Light at the End of the Tunnel

With the Temple Keeper spawning zones at their backs, the six looked towards the next room, which contained the stairs to the basement floor — the Tier 9 F-Rank spawning zone, Pathfinder.

Craning his neck back, Peace observed the glowing, oversized moths darting around the ceiling. The others shared in his awe, able to see them too.

’It’s... beautiful.’

Sparks of purple and blue flickered throughout the gray room, washing the walls in pale light.

A few moths even flew down from the ceiling to inspect the lantern’s light.

The moths themselves were harmless unless provoked, so Peace wasn’t too concerned even as they circled the group.

’I thought moths would be ugly up close.’

But the huge beady eyes and silky, illuminated fur...

’Why are they cute?!’

’I want to pet one!’

Sadly, that would be registered as an track and then they’d have to slaughter the cute moths.

Which seemed like free EXP, but aggroing one aggroed them all — they behaved as one huge pack, like the Bone Ravagers. Even at F-Rank, the sheer number would overwhelm them.

Peace sighed as he looked towards the carved-out stairwell leading down. Unlike the one before, this one had no walls enclosing its descent.

It felt almost anticlimactic. Perhaps it was.

Their journey hadn’t been exactly straightforward or easy, and they could hardly call themselves lucky...

But given the cards they had been dealt, their path had been almost favorable.

Yes, they had run into some of the strongest spawning zones the Light Temple had to offer, but between those encounters, they’d faced little resistance.

Even in the Western Winds, Peace’s eyes had allowed them to dodge most of the dangers.

Now...

All they had to do was tread carefully and silently and they’d reach their goal.

Thankfully, the other four knew that. As for Volkar, the uncounted fifth, he’d been warned to be quiet. They could only hope he listened...

Not that he seemed likely to make conversation any time soon.

His condition had seemed to stabilize after being force-fed another potion, but it certainly hadn’t gotten better.

After their pause to gawk at the moths’ light show, Peace motioned forward and began a slow, steady march.

The others followed, and soon they reached the stairs and began their descent.

’I wonder who did it...’

Who’d taken the Shield of Light and trapped them inside?

A few steps down brought the entire floor into view.

’Wow...’

Pausing, Peace looked out across rows of gigantic gray pillars, which seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction.

Between them, countless Temple Knights, Defiled Light Acolytes, and a few Temple Keepers mindlessly patrolled the darkness.

Then...

Somewhere among the pillars, he spotted it.

A grand building that looked like a temple in and of itself. It resembled the Parthenon, only its pediment bore words instead of carvings. Ancient words.

But they were much too far away to read.

Peace pointed into the wall of darkness, signaling towards their destination, but Dita slapped his hand down and pulled him along. Her sense of urgency growing as the Worshiper of Light’s spawning time drew closer.

Mindlessly letting Dita lead him, Peace focused on the many pillars around them...

’They all say the same thing.’

Each and every one that he could see...

’The Shadow Runner was one.’

The same message as in the Keepers’ room above.

’That... doesn’t help at all.’

With only that phrase repeated, all he could guess was that this space was linked to whoever the Shadow Runner was.

Or...

’I wonder...’

Many games had ’randomization’ in terrain generation; however, often that just meant cycling through preset layouts.

It was a long shot with no evidence, but...

’Could it be that it changes?’

Could the inscriptions indicate which layout the Light Temple had taken?

’Why am I even trying to theorycraft with so little evidence? I’ve only been here once!’

Putting aside his baseless speculation, Peace watched as the cracked marble floor below drew closer.

’Alright...’

Shaking his wrist free from Dita’s grip, failing to question why’d she held on for so long to begin with, Peace shuffled to the front of the group.

’I seriously don’t like having them at my back.’

Either way...

He began to lead them towards the altar room.

Every time a wandering monster got close, Peace would freeze to let it pass without aggroing it — even if it was a lone Acolyte.

As they got closer, their progress grew even more stop-and-go.

Still, they managed to avoid fight after fight.

Finally close enough, Peace read the words on the pediment without slowing his pace.

’The shadow beneath one’s feet is as integral to light as the illumination that casts it.’

’...’

Yeah...

Peace had little patience for deciphering semantics at the moment. He had been expecting, hoping, for something as straightforward as the message repeated on the surrounding pillars.

Even if he didn’t understand its reference, the Shadow Runner message was simple to grasp.

But this message was... simply odd.

Peace understood it, but also didn’t.

Light created shadows, and shadows gave light definition. That much he grasped, assuming it was the intended meaning.

It was why someone had inscribed it here that didn’t make sense...

Why did a shadow’s importance matter in the first place?

Did it have something to do with the Shadow Runner?

That seemed... logical.

’I’ll have time to think about it later. Right now...’

Peace tilted his head up, his eyes following the steps to the entrance.

They’d made it all the way to the base of the altar room — a temple within a temple. The sight instantly drove his thoughts of shadows away.

’I feel like a certain hippie with a talking dog...’

It was time to unmask the culprits who’d trapped them inside.

Restless, Peace raced up the stairs, leaving the others behind.

There were no monsters on the steps or directly around the altar room, so there wasn’t too much harm in going ahead.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Peace threw his weight against the grand door, forcing it open.

A glorious light flashed before his eyes — the light of the dormant, sealed Shield of Light.

’Huh...?’

The shield which was still on the altar.

"Nobody’s here."