Reincarnated As A Dragon With A Godly Inheritance
Chapter 42: Of mouth and gates

Chapter 42: Of mouth and gates

Their journey after defeating the darker Maulgig had been mostly uneventful, aside from the increasing number of monsters. Thankfully, they were low-level threats, and Taria used them to push herself to the peak of stage two.

The day before had been different.

The closer they drew to the forbidden zone, the stranger things became. The monsters they encountered were varied and in greater numbers, but rather than heading to the forbidden zone, they wandered aimlessly, confused, almost as if they had been severed from reality.

The group avoided conflict and skirted around the monsters.

Now, just past midday, they stood before the forbidden zone.

It had spawned inside an abandoned temple of gray stone. A lone tower jutted into the sky, its top crumbling and jagged. Where the door should have been, there was only a black, swirling void.

It twisted and hummed with strange energy, utterly lightless. Nothing could be seen beyond the dark spiral that hung there.

The first thing that seized Kaedros’ attention was the power radiating from the portal. It reminded him of the moment he’d been chosen at the bounty hunter’s Association—the pressure of something vast, unknowable.

"So that’s the portal," Kaedros said flatly. He pressed his awareness against it, and recoiled fast.

Something akin to gnashing teeth bit back at him. He grunted and narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t sense anything inside at all. It was like trying to perceive space itself.

"You okay?" Taria asked, seeing the moment his focus broke.

"Yes." Kaedros managed a faint smile.

"Come here. Gather around," Thandor called. He eyed the portal warily. That alone set Kaedros on edge, if someone like Thandor was worried, there was reason to be.

"What’s wrong?" Vexa asked sharply, her eyes flicking between Thandor and the black void.

"This is the portal connecting our world to the forbidden zone," Thandor said, frowning deeper.

"Connecting?" Taria echoed.

"Yes. Though the forbidden zone appears physically in our world, its interior is something else entirely. It’s another space. This portal acts as an anchor between the two," he explained.

"This portal isn’t stable," Vexa said, her tone flat.

"Exactly." Thandor snapped, his eyes narrowing. He sneaked a glance at Rauk like a predator calculating when to strike. Kaedros could all but hear his thoughts. Attack before going in, or once we’re inside?

Eventually, Thandor turned to face the portal. "We can still go in."

Kaedros exhaled quietly. He hadn’t made his own decision yet. Should I fight Thandor? Or protect Rauk?

Attacking Rauk would mean going through Vexa, and Kaedros didn’t want to do that. She was powerful and it might take time.

But fighting Thandor would pit him against the White team, and that was no better. He could escape, yes... but what about Taria?

The third option remained—Do nothing. Let the others fight, and escape with Taria in the chaos. But he doubted they’d allow them to walk away.

The fourth though. Should he turn into a Dragon and swallow everyone?

"Listen up," Thandor began, his tone sharp. "For those of you entering for the first time, this might be a newly-formed forbidden zone, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. The higher-rank Ascendants will act as shields. We’ll only step in if you’re overwhelmed."

He stared until each person nodded.

"Inside, expect complex, interlocking tunnels. Many lead nowhere, others to traps. The forbidden zone core protects itself, expect its strongest monsters near the center."

Again, they all nodded.

"I’ll go first. Kael and his partner follow. Then the White steel team. Rauk and Knight Vexa, last."

With that, Thandor stepped into the portal.

Taria shuddered as the darkness swallowed the Refiner. For a heartbeat, she considered turning back. But Kaedros’ hand settled heavily on her shoulder.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She masked her hesitation with a brave nod.

Together, they stepped through the yawning void.

It felt like stepping into open air, weightless, silent. Instead of falling, they floated, suspended in black. Then, the drop.

Taria screamed, but no sound came out. Her voice was swallowed by the abyss. For Kaedros, the air tightened around him, compressing in a way that he knew it shouldn’t be happening.

He felt the wrongness immediately as if something was pulling them but with the darkness that clouds everything, they couldn’t see what was happening or pulling them along.

Kaedros felt as if countless eyes was staring at him curiously.

Then suddenly, solid ground caught their feet and the darkness that was around them dissappeared.

Kaedros looked around with a slight frown on his face. "We’re here."

She opened her eyes slowly.

They weren’t in a forbidden zone.

"Something’s wrong," Thandor said immediately.

They stood in a wide corridor, walls lined with red torches that burned without flickering. In front of them loomed a massive gate of black metal. Behind them, the portal they had entered through shimmered faintly.

It trembled again, and the White steel team emerged. Rauk and Vexa followed seconds later.

"This isn’t a forbidden zone," Thandor said, his voice louder now.

"Then what is it?" Rauk demanded. He surveyed the corridor, his gaze fixed on the black gate. "What is that?"

"I don’t know," Thandor admitted. "Normally, if a portal is unstable, it drops you somewhere nearby. Maybe throws you out. But this... This feels like a completely different place."

"Or maybe the forbidden zone is behind that gate?" Kaedros offered.

"I’ve never seen a zone with two portals. Or a second gate," Thandor replied grimly.

"I haven’t either!" Han added, limping forward. He reached out and pressed his palm to the gate. "The surface is warm, and—"

He never finished the sentence.

The gate shuddered.

Black, gleaming teeth sprouted across its surface. A dark tongue lashed out, coiling around Han’s head, and in a flash, it dragged him inside.

The mouth vanished. The gate returned to its solid, featureless state.

They stared in stunned silence.

One second Han had been standing there. The next, gone.

Swallowed by a gate with a mouth.