Mathew stared down the hall and was baffled by the sight, and rightly so. As far as he was concerned, these gems were either an eternal light source or there was something feeding them power and keeping them active because during the many, many hours he wandered through this maze he had never once come across a single dimming gem let alone one that was inactive altogether. He turned to the woman with his usual stoic expression.
"Hey princess, where the hell are we?"
The woman turned to him, scowled furiously, then said with her hands crossed.
'Where does it look like a pervert? It's the same damn maze we've been in for about three days.'
Mathew's brows rose in shock, days? He stared at her incredulously for a few moments with wide eyes. Admittedly, he had lost count of the hours that flew by but thought maybe it had been twelve hours at most that had passed by, but hearing he had been trapped in this place for days sent a shiver down his spine. If he didn't find his way out of this place, and soon, either he starved to death, or that massive bastard from earlier would find him, and... No, he didn't have time to think of that.
The woman looked over his state as is mind struggled to come to terms with how much time had passed and after a while asked what he had been doing in the maze for the past three days. While she wasn't concerned for his physical state, she was curios about it was this rude and strange individual had been doing for the past few days. Wanting to explain the incredulous experience he'd had, he opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself before he could utter a word. In the situation they found themselves, if he asked someone the same question and he gave the answer he was about to, he would probably consider the sanity of the individual.
Sure they had come across a giant monster, but a creature on the scale of what he survived an encounter with was nothing short of ridiculous. In fact, now that he'd thought of it more deeply, he began wondering how such a beast come to exist in this place? If they really were in some sort of maze, the question of how did such a large creature form a nest inside without actually destroying or even damaging the structure of the place? He placed his head in his palm and rubbed his chin with intent and after about a minute of contemplation, Mathew could only come up with one possibility.
If this place was truly a maze carved inside a mountain like he thought after his encounter with the gila, maybe he had found his way to its outer edge and was closer to the walls of the mountain itself. If that were the case, the beast's nest being where it was would make sense, but then another thought crept into his mind. If he had travelled for three days through the maze only to find its outer wall, how massive was this maze? And if it was truly that large was he required to find its center to be able to complete his trial? As numerous grim thoughts spiralled in his mind, Matthew pondered for a few moments the sighed.
'I need to hurry and finish this damned trial!'
As he sat there attempting to formulate some sort of a plan to help him complete, no to survive his trial his trial, the woman watched. Her expression had gone from one of rage to one of uncertainty, then to one of anger when she thought of how flippantly he had been treating her and now she just looked dumbfounded by his strange actions. As far as she was concerned, every word he was spewing, was absolute nonsense, but that train of thought for her was understandable.
Thinking about everything he could possibly do, the young cynic's mind drifted and he summoned the runes then quickly found the cluster that described the relic he had so luckily obtained.
[Lantern of avarice: a lantern infused with unknown's power which once powered the star above and illuminated unknown to chase away the void from the unknown.]
[Relic type: Utility]
[Rank: Awakened]
[Enchantments: Eternal light.]
Of course, there was nothing different in the description, but looking below, he read the set of runes describing the enchantments.
[Enchantment Description: Eternal Light(Passive): A legendary artifact once wielded by unknown, radiating a brilliant and unyielding glow that illuminated even the darkest corners of his world. Infused with the essence of his soul, this magical item not only dispelled shadows but also imbued the surrounding area with his warmth and vitality.]
'And who the hell is this unknown that keeps popping up?'
Unsure of what to make of the enchantment he continued reading.
[As long as this beautiful relic receives a steady flow of essence, the Eternal Light burns brightly.]
After he finished reading through the description, Mathew's gaze was instantly drawn to the increasingly darkening path ahead, then back to the runes. Then, a wide grin appeared on his face. Dismissing the runes, he summoned the lantern and in one of his hands streams of beautiful white light appeared and coalesced, moulding into a cohesive shape till it formed the lantern. What he saw, defied his imagination.
The lantern had an intricate, and beautifully woven lattice design, between it, was a gemstone the size of a fist that remained suspended despite having nothing to prop or hang it. In his palm was a metal bar attached to a chain that suspended the entire thing in the air. The woman at his side flinched at the sight. Absolutely stunned by the sudden appearance of the relic.
"Where... Where did that come from?"
***
A while later, a beautiful woman with blonde hair and green eyes wearing a ripped white dress covered in dirt was walking down a dark hallway. At her side was a young boy looking no older than seventeen. In his hand was a beautiful lantern. They moved carefully down the dark path. Glancing nervously at their shadows that seemed to stretch and twist unnaturally around them, the boy asked.
"Are we any closer?"
The woman was silent for a few moments, then said.
"How many times have you asked me that question already?"
"Well, we've been going down this path for nearly an hour."
The woman sighed.
"Have some dam patience. When were there I'll tell you."
Mathew glared at her for a bit, then said.
"You'd better."
As they continued down the dark path, Mathew's grip tightened around the handle of the lantern. The light softly illuminated their surroundings, revealing the crumbling state of the cobblestone walls.
Mathew looked around as he walked by.
'I thought this place was reasonably well preserved, but I guess not seeing the state of this path. '
His gaze drifted and he glanced back, then mind began to wander back to how he had ended up walking these dreary paths.