The Dawn of the New World

"I placed the barrier during my last visit to hide the Pyramid in case that bald kid returned."

Hao Xuan tried to come to a conclusion on his own, but his brain wasn't working as it should.

"I don't know what that's supposed to mean. Stop implying shit and just tell it to me straight."

Jin Wang released a barely discernable sigh while slowly moving to the metal gate.

"When I first entered this area I felt its presence as clearly as I can see you now. I could tell it was a beast from the olden days, perhaps from an age that even I did not know of. It wasn't hostile towards me and yet it was keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings even though it had been sealed here for many countless millenniums."

"It felt like it was looking for something," he mumbled to himself upon reaching the metal gate. His right hand extended forward and ran across the numerous engravings that looked more like pieces of art than actual spells.

'Such harmony. No wonder it has withstood the test of time.'

Then he knelt down and started cleaning the area around it with his bare hands, pushing all the dust and debris to the side while continuing his explanation.

"My first thought was of the Emperor. That he had left it here to safeguard this place in his absence but that doesn't seem to be the case since it acted with such aggression upon sensing your presence."

Hao Xuan quickly stepped in, "What do you mean? Why should it not be aggressive towards me?"

Jin Wang smiled wryly, unable to answer him directly because even he did not know what it meant.

"The second spell that I had cast, the one that made you feel weak was for the Emperor. Anyone that had even a single drop of his bloodline would be unable to move upon reaching the top. Even if he came in person it would leave him petrified for at least a brief moment."

He looked back at Hao Xuan with a look of confusion, "But you, you only became weak. It doesn't make sense. The spell either works or it doesn't, it shouldn't be half-assed like that. The only thing I can tell is that you are connected to him in one inexplicable way or another and that...is why the beast was aggressive towards you."

"You see this place, I thought it was built to protect this gate but from what I can tell it is nigh indestructible on its own and there are no other protective measures in place. He wouldn't have left the gate unguarded if he thought there was even a chance that it could be breached."

"So why build this Pyramid then?"

Jin Wang was obviously setting it up to explain his point more clearly but this was a topic that Hao Xuan knew a thing or two about already and he couldn't hold himself back from blurting out the answer.

"A prison! It's a prison like the others!"

"The others??" Jin Wang's brow furrowed instantly.

"Yeah, I was in one of them some time ago. It held all kinds of strange beasts and creatures that I have never seen before. They were sealed in that Pyramid for thousands of years, kept alive by force for whatever reason. As far as I know, there should be one or two more of these kinds of pyramids."

Jin Wang stood back up and started pacing back and forth.

"You went INSIDE the pyramid?"

"Yeah and..."

Hao Xuan gave a rough explanation of the events that took place with the barbarians in a bit more detail which left Jin Wang stunned.

"That's....a hell of an adventure but...this one isn't the same as the one you went into. It's not hollow and there is nothing inside it, that was the first thing I checked. Which means it was created just to suppress that one beast."

"In fact, if I'm not wrong, this entire underground structure was created around the beast in the first place."

Hao Xuan had to agree with his conclusion, "That means it has been here since the creation of the planet then. I know it was artificially created by a powerful God from the Temple of War and someone he looked up to."

"THE EMPEROR!" Jin Wang exclaimed.

"Exactly, it has to be him. And if what you say is right and I do have some connection to him then it would explain why it only reacted negatively to my presence. It was hunting the emperor not protecting him."

They both looked at each other with much the same idea, "He sealed it in this place because he probably couldn't kill it. Suffice to say, if it manages to escape then it would be catastrophic for everyone."

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