The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 682: Volume Nineteen: Lost Horizon - Eleven: Gozo Island

Chapter 682: Volume Nineteen: Lost Horizon Chapter Eleven: Gozo Island

Endless darkness had completely engulfed him, Komer struggled with all his might to break free from the tumultuous vortex of immense power, but it all seemed futile, as the horn-like force compressed the space around him, binding every part of his body so tightly that even the slightest movement was a lavish hope, his body involuntarily suspended in chaos, even breathing had become a burdensome task.

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were unresponsive, darkness and silence became the dominant themes, Komer didn’t know how long this chaos would last, nor did he know how much longer he could endure, but a faint glimmer of hope inside told him that if he gave up, he would be forever lost in the abyss without a way out.

He did not know how much time had passed, only that time and again he nearly succumbed to sleep, but each time, he used all his willpower to rouse himself anew, the loneliness within the darkness being the most likely to consume a struggler’s determination—it was a contest of wills, and when Komer was finally able to open his eyes, he knew he had won that duel with fate.

Lying quietly on the stone slab, Komer did not immediately get up, instead, he slowly adjusted to the sunlight coming through the dome’s glazed tiles, while the dark stone walls around him seemed exceptionally cold and towering, only this ray of sunlight could shine upon his face through the dome’s tiles, could it be that the sunshine played a role in his awakening?

Carefully, he stretched his body and regulated the flow of energy within him, the soreness and the immense tide of magic power nearly causing him to lose control of his body, almost falling off the oddly shaped, oval stone slab.

The cool, dark breath continued to circulate within his body, Komer suddenly realized that his internal magic power seemed to have increased substantially, becoming vast and inexhaustible, a near uncontrollable urge stirring within, forcing him to exert his full mental control to prevent any accidents.

The clothes on his body didn’t seem to have changed much, but they felt a size too small, making him feel somewhat restrained, the sculptural patterns on the dome had gone from blurry to clear; a rugged yet slightly grim face emerged at the center of the dome, and right where the eyes should be was where the light from the glazed tiles shined through, Hades, the god of darkness?!

Komer was startled; had he not been cast into a different world? Or was there still a place in the different world that worshiped the god of darkness? He remembered clearly that although he had activated all the power in his body to resist the pull of the Star Magic Array, its power was too strong, and he felt even his dark origin power being devoured, unable to turn the situation around, and thus he fell into the chaos in a daze.

Gently, he moved his body and slipped quietly off the stone slab, lying on it had been very comfortable, but it gave Komer the unsettling feeling of being a sacrifice. This was clearly a large temple, and very likely a dark temple dedicated to Hades, the god of darkness, but where would there be such a grand temple that openly worships Hades?

Komer took a cursory look around, the floor of the grand hall was as clean as a mirror, and behind the oval stone slab stood a gigantic statue of Hades holding a whip of darkness, a common representation of the god, one he had seen in the belt seal of Xerob, and in the memories of Dark Emperor Kenifer III, such images seemed even more ubiquitous.

Suddenly, Komer realized that what had always been a hazy memory suddenly became crystal clear in his brain, each event one he had lived through; every detail of the Dark Emperor’s life had merged into his memory, whether desolately magnificent or gloriously lavish, the scenes of the Dark Emperor’s commanding presence flowed through his heart like water, blending into his memory’s ocean.

Time flew, and Komer didn’t know how long he had stood there until the sea breeze with a faint fishy scent from outside the hall woke him from his contemplations and memories.

With a self-deprecating smile, Komer realized he was somewhat hungry, looking around, the magnificent hall walls were built of exquisite crimson flame stones, the vast surface polished to a fine smoothness, with patterns either as thin as hair or as thick as arms carved upon them without a single trace, only the delicate or rough style revealing a unique cultural flair unlike any other place.

The solemn hall contained no items, and looking towards the open door, the top of the twelve long columns were decorated with papyrus painting unique to the South, making it easy to guess that this place was indeed in the South.

As Komer wandered, the moist, warm sea breeze that met his face was a feeling he hadn’t experienced for a long time, it must be somewhere in the South, and by the looks of it, it should be on some island or the coastal side, and soon Komer confirmed his guess.

Looking from the door of the grand hall, the terrain stair-stepped in a series of buildings, colonnades, courts, and temples spread out in disarray, but what surprised Komer was that such a vast array of buildings was deserted, and turning to the back, a sheer thousand-foot cliff offered a view of the surrounding sea for tens of miles, this was indeed an island, but it was puzzling why someone had built such a grand temple on this island, and specifically, a temple for the dark guardian god—Hades, the god of darkness.

Komer wandered among these temples and courts, where not only Hades, the god of darkness, was worshiped. Servants of the underworld such as Supreme Undead Chaos and another servant, Demon King Tassos, also had numerous halls of worship. This was a typical place of worship for dark gods and even included Supreme Undead Chaos, who was a master that necromancers needed to borrow power from. Such worship seemed rare in the southern parts of the Blue Continent.

The neighboring temple was somewhat dilapidated, with broken columns causing half of the temple to collapse. For some reason, this ruin was preserved, contrasting starkly with the grandeur of other areas.

The endless sea made Komer stop abruptly on the beach. Gazing at the vast and boundless ocean, Komer could only give a wry smile and sigh. Even though he had received the powerful magic power from Kennifer III, he was still powerless before the infinite ocean. There were no trees anywhere on the island, making it an impossible dream to leave this place with any kind of help. Komer didn’t know exactly where he was, but intuition told him that this place seemed more like the depths of the southern sea than the different world space he had imagined.

"Ah, even an encounter with just two Shark people would be good." Staring blankly at the sea, Komer helplessly turned the roasted fish cooked with flame magic. Although it lacked salt and spices, the famished Komer still found it delicious. Yet he couldn’t continue living like this indefinitely. On such a desolate island, with nothing at all, was he doomed to be trapped here until death?

Miracles often happen when one is in despair. After Komer had spent ten days on the island, staring at the sea in complete boredom from atop the stairs, the silhouette of a sail gradually appeared on the horizon. Komer, who leaped to his feet, could hardly believe his eyes; ten days had passed, and his feelings had been extremely stifled, but now, at last, opportunity had come.

The towering flames he conjured quickly caught the attention of the ship, but for some reason, the vessel remained unwilling to approach the island’s only dock too closely, which left Komer hiding in the shadows under the stairs, desperate and anxious.

After dawdling for nearly an hour, the vessel, which was clearly a merchant ship, slowly approached the dock. And only at that moment did Komer’s heart finally settle.

The sailors and crew members who disembarked were very cautious. They only observed the surroundings of the dock and did not find anything unusual. They didn’t even ascend the stairs to search the temple before returning to the ship, while Komer had already boarded the merchant vessel after releasing an illusion spell.

This was a typical three-masted sailing ship. From the heavy bags of salt and the slightly rotten fish smell in the cargo hold, Komer could roughly estimate that it was a ship transporting seafood. Many fishing grounds near the islands in the Mediterranean provided excellent dishes such as herring, Arctic char, and mackerel, and the ample sea salt produced was also an abundant ingredient for preserving these seafood products.

"Captain, there’s nothing here. We followed your orders, looked around after landing, but we didn’t climb the stairs. We saw no fire or anything repulsive. Maybe it was just a mirage caused by the sunshine," a sailor reported.

"Yeah, Captain, there are no signs of people up there. It’s long past the worship time, and nobody dares to tread on Gozo Island carelessly," another chimed in.

"Hmmm, probably a mirage. Let’s leave immediately; we don’t want Piraeus people to misunderstand us," a shrill voice became a bit sharp. "Hurry, pull the anchor, quickly, since we have some Dwarves on our ship."

"Trouble, Captain! The lookout has sent a signal. Piraeus navy ships have appeared ahead; they’ve signaled us to stop immediately for inspection!" A frantic voice called out.

"Oh, Hades, why is my luck so bad? Damn it, throw those Dwarves overboard!" a voice roared angrily. "Hurry up!"

(To be continued. For subsequent developments, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM for more Chapters. Support the author, support authorized reading!)