"Where am I?"

The cave tunnel was deeper than Ann had expected.

As the bioluminescent algae on the walls cleared, the natural rocky surface of the cave was layered with a brick-like structure.

It was covered with mana stones of high resonance on either side of the wall that lighted the pathway as she walked past them. The precise cut of the stones showed expert workmanship and technique.

'Smart lights' were developed by Axel Gilbert well into the current century. It was one of his oldest and most established creations. But these tunnels seemed to have been made hundreds of years ago before such technology even existed.

The runes written on the mana stones resembled the ones she had seen in the artifacts in Gilbert's office and on the relic they were transporting.

Runes of such caliber belonged to the ancient magicians who were the founders of today's magic system.

'The old man is gonna turn green from jealousy when he sees this' Ann slowly touched the rune written on the mana stone.

Even a non-mage like her was able to identify that the mana stones were worth a lot of gold than what meets the eye. They were of the purest form, more than that of those that the mage tower produced.

It seemed like wherever these tunnels led to they must be precious enough to hold exquisite magical equipment hidden inside the depths of Eldom.

Considering the number of relics that have been uncovered in recent excavations there was a high possibility that she may have stumbled into one of the excavation sites.

"But I don't think anyone's been in this place for a very long time..." Ann mumbled to herself.

An exquisite structure with the possibility of relics present would definitely attract adventurers and scholars. From their conversations, even Chief Gallahan didn't seem to have any knowledge of it. Or else he would have bragged about the place till their ears bleed.

'Am I the first person here in centuries?' Ann speculated.

"ROAR" An ogre's fierce cry was heard through the tunnels.

Ann shook her head to clear her mind. It was not the right time for conspiracy theories as the ogres were still hot on her trail.

She was running through the tunnels in the hopes of losing the ogres along the way, but they were on her track no matter what path she chose in the maze-like tunnels.

'I need a weapon. Anything. Even a stick would be fine!' Ann stopped running.

At last, she had reached the end of the tunnel.

There was nowhere left to hide. And without any weapons, she was in a vulnerable position against the alpha ogres.

In front of her stood a large door covered in golden engraving. The runes etched between the engravings were partially similar with the ones on the mana stones on the walls.

"Dammit!" Ann banged her hand on the door.

She searched for a way to open the door. But there were no handles or latches anywhere. It was all too similar to the Orion relic they were transporting that had zero holes.

"Oh come on!" She threw her hands in the air and kicked the door in frustration.

"Oww... Ow Ow"

Ann jumped, holding her feet that stung from kicking the door.

If she doesn't find a way to open the door, she would be a sitting duck for the ogres to have a snack on. From the rumbling of the ground, they were getting closer and closer.

As she was about to kick the door again, Ann noticed a large ruby the size of a football on a plaque beside the door. At first glance, it was not different from the mana stones. But the ruby was surrounded by engraving that was identical to those on the door.

If Eunseo had learned anything from watching all sorts of horror movies growing up. It was exactly this kind of hocus pocus that gets a person killed.

The next thing she was going to do might either set off all the boobytraps or open the door.

But there was no time to sit and think about the consequences. The only way out of this mess was moving forward.

'Save me, universal fluff gods!'

Praying to all the rabbit gods in the world, Ann placed her hand on the ruby.

The moment she touched it, red substances flew across the engraving on the door like blood flowing through veins.

"What the hell?" Ann jerked back in reflex.

*dang*

The door opened with a dull sound.

"!"

The moment Ann stepped inside her jaw dropped.

On the other side of the door was a large room, every inch of the walls filled with paintings and murals.

The red substance from the door slithered like a snake through the walls and converged on the centerpiece on the ceiling, igniting it with bright light.

The room in itself was straight out of a fantasy movie.

The centerpiece was designed in the shape of a golden lion looking down at the center of the room.

'Isn't golden lion symbol of the imperial family?' Ann's eyes darted down.

Below the golden lion was two elevated platforms sculpted in white stone covered with golden engravings.

Behind the platforms was a small pond with a fountain brimming with crystal clear water. And in the center of the pond, stood the majestic statue of the Goddess of Eir with enclosed hands.

The statue was surrounded by plants and veins containing small flowers that produced a pleasant fragrance.

Then it struck her.

"Graves. These are graves" Ann took a closer step.

She had never heard of graves in Orion that had Goddess Eir's statues beside them.

Considering Eir was the goddess of life it was not completely out of bounds to have her guide through the afterlife too. Since most people in Orion believed in life after death. It was well within the realm of possibility.

But the said practice has been withdrawn in centuries since the establishment of the empire.

Though the rest of the place was covered with dust and bird nests owing to the years. There wasn't a speck of dust on either of the graves.

Just as she was about to touch the first grave,

"ROAR!"

The alpha ogres came bursting into the room.

"!"

Ann withdrew her hand.

In a panic, she searched for anything she could use as a weapon.

At that moment, she spotted a sword in front of one of the graves. It was fixed on a stone platform with a cover.

It looked like the sword suffered from a serious case of tuberculosis. It seemed blunt from being covered in rust and dirt having laid there for hundreds of years without receiving proper care.

It was no different from a stick.

'I said a stick would be fine. But that doesn't mean I NEED a stick!' Ann wanted to cry.

Still, something was better than nothing.

"I am not going to die at twenty-one again!" Ann declared as she tried to pull out the sword.

The bottom of the sword was lodged deep into the stone platform making it hard to take it out.

"Ahh!" Ann screamed, shaking it back and forth in the hopes of loosening the grip on the stone.

"ROAR!"

Just as the ogre flung its axe at her, Ann pulled out the sword. It looked more brittle than she had expected.

'This is worse than a stick!'

It was too late to look for any alternatives as she was cornered.

Closing her eyes shut, Ann swung the sword against the monster waiting for impact.

*slash*

'Did I die?' Ann peeked open her eyes.

The ogre was standing still like a rock for a second. Then disintegrated into dust collapsing to the floor.

"Holy sh*t!" Ann exclaimed, seeing the sword in her hands.

The stick-like structure in her hand had transformed into a black long sword with electric sparks like lightning coming out of it. A dark red ruby was embedded in the center of the hilt inside a crescent moon.

"?"

The alpha ogre titled its head, confused, staring at the remains of its disintegrated friend.

"Hallelujah fluff gods" Ann smiled wickedly and narrowed her eyes at the ogre.

"Grr..." It grumbled, instinctively feeling the danger in the air.

Before it could escape Ann pounced towards it and sliced it into two. Similar to the other ogre, it turned into dust and collapsed on the floor.

"Now this is a relic" Ann smirked admiring the beauty of the weapon.

It had to be a relic or some kind of magical device to make a one-eighty in appearance in such a theatrical way.

The long sword was made of a peculiar black metal that revealed the intricate engraving etched on it under the light. The hilt of the sword was of a silverish black material that had a crest moon decoration with dark red ruby embedded at the center.

Suddenly the ruby ingrained on the sword started to emit a blinding light till everything turned to white.











Angelica opened her eyes.

The scenery had changed into a familiar sight. She was in a vast garden surrounded by beautiful red camellia flowers.

She could feel the cold yet comfortable wind on her skin as the flowers rustled like an ocean of red flowers.

Angelica was no longer in the tomb or the Eldom forest. There were no ogres or monsters.

She was home.

Angelica was the back garden of the Ashford estate where they usually had tea as a family. The sky was blue with the sun peeking behind the clouds. It was the right climate for a cup of tea.

"Angelica..." Called out a nostalgic low voice.

Angelica squinted her eyes to get a proper view of the person in distance.

Up ahead, Angelica could see someone sitting under the gazebo. The fragrance of freshly brewed camellia tea lingered in the air.

'How... How could it be..."

Angelica couldn't believe her eyes.

"Grandma..."

She covered her mouth, unable to conceal her surprise.

"Took you long enough"

Maria Ashford, dressed in her usual stoic attire, was warmly smiling at her granddaughter.

"Is that really you Grandma?" Angelica's eyes wavered, as she walked towards the gazebo.

"But wasn't I in the tomb? No. Where was I?"

She couldn't wrap her head around the sudden turn of events. Mere seconds ago, she was facing against a pack of ogres. And now she was standing in front of the person, she thought she had lost for eternity.

"That settles it" Angelica stopped in front of Maria.

"Then who else is it" Maria chuckled, cupping Angelica's cheek in her hands.

"I'm dead" Angelica declared in a flat tone.

"I see you still act funny with your jokes" Maria stretched Angelica's cheeks.

"Ow ow ow... I was just kidding. I concede!" Angelica surrendered with tears in her eyes. Her cheeks stung from being aggressively pulled.

Sighing, Maria let go of Angelica's cheek and took a seat on the table.

"Come have a cup of tea" She urged her to sit.

Despite her doubts about whether the Maria in front of her was real or not. Angelica followed her command and obediently settled down without raising any objections.

Ignoring Angelica's intense stare, Maria poured herself a cup of tea and another one for her granddaughter. She passed one of the cups towards Angelica and took a sip of her own.

"You're still wearing that" Maria pointed at the necklace on Angelica's neck.

"Never took it off" Angelica said clutching the necklace in her hand. She could see herself reflected in the tea Maria had brewed for her.

It was something she had held precious ever since Maria presented it to her.

"It's my lucky charm"

"Good" Maria put down her teacup and said with a helpless smile.

"Because you're gonna need it more than anything else now"

"..."

"It's funny how time flies in an instant. My only regret is leaving you alone without guiding you all the way"

"What do you mean?" Angelica frowned.

For some reason, Maria's words left her unsettled.

"The past and the present are converging... This is your world. You have to fight for it one last time"

"..."

Angelica couldn't understand. She had thousands of questions in her mind. Yet not a single one was able to come out in words.

"I'd like to talk more about this. But..." Maria stood up from her seat and got near Angelica.

"That is for another time. As for now..." Maria caressed Angelica's head lovingly and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"You need to wake up"

"What?" Angelica asked, puzzled.

"Wake up!" Maria flicked on her forehead.

"Wake up!"

"HUAH!" Ann's eyes flung open.

Gasping for air, she sat up and looked around in a frenzy.

She was back in the tomb, lying on the floor near the pond.

'How did I get here?'

The last thing she remembered was standing in front of the graves when the sword went ballistic.

She contemplated massaging her forehead. The place where Maria had flicked stung turning red.

"Finally... It was about time you woke up" An unfamiliar voice heaved a deep sigh as if fed up.

"I was dying of boredom"