They all turned around, scanning the forest for any signs of danger, but they saw nothing. After a few moments, a thick mist rolled in, obscuring their vision even more.historical

"What should we do?" Serana asked.

Damian frowned. "We have to keep moving and find a place to stay until the fog clears."

It was risky to wander in the forest with the mist clouding their sight, especially with the eerie feeling of being watched!

Was it a beast? A human? Another race? Friend or foe? They had no clue, and the unknown was terrifying.

They walked and walked, but it seemed that no matter where they went, the path would lead them to the same place: a deep fissure in the ground.

Some people called it a canyon, but it was not quite that. Aurora walked forward, peering down the fissure, seeing only darkness.

She looked at the rest of the group and asked, "Should we go down there?"

Damian spoke first. "I'll go and check it out."

He had finally reunited with his friends, so he did not want them to face any danger. He knew he could not protect them all the time, but he would do his best to avoid unnecessary risks.

It was pitch-black, and even Damian, who had the help of a ring, could not see what was at the bottom of the fissure. He pushed aside his fears, activated his telekinesis, and descended.

"Be careful," Aurora said.

The deeper Damian went, the more he could see. There were vines and strange plants everywhere. The bottom of the fissure had some water, enough to cover one's ankles.

But those things were not even the strangest part of the fissure. Damian explored the area, finding a locked door with a symbol of a snake on it.

'What is this?' Damian thought, placing his hand on the door.

The moment he did, he felt a connection. It was something Damian could not describe with words, and it puzzled him even more.

Then the door suddenly opened, startling Damian, who used his slime ring to create some weapons and armor, ready for a fight.

What awaited him on the other side of the door was a stone pathway with a lake around it. It looked like an ancient temple.

The most remarkable thing was that it looked well-preserved without any visible damage. Damian used the platform to reach another door, and behind that door, many corridors with many doors leading to different rooms.

Damian opened each door, finding kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, a storage room, an armory, a nursery and so on. It had everything one would ever need.

'What is this place, exactly?' he wondered.

He did not care about how everything was preserved. He wanted to know why he felt a connection and why the doors opened with his touch.

There was only one door Damian had not explored yet, and it looked like an office, a place for whoever was in charge of this temple in the past.

A desk, a few bookshelves with dusty books, and a statue of a snake, slightly bigger than Damian. When Damian looked at that snake, he felt the same connection as when opening the doors.

Damian moved his hand, touching the statue, and as he did, the statue moved, spinning around and revealing a spiral staircase leading down.

He hesitated for a moment, but his curiosity was too big not to go there. Damian walked down the staircase, feeling a breeze hitting his face.

A spacious room with a strange black book on a pedestal. The book was thick, leather-bound, and had a snake symbol on it.

But that was nothing compared to what loomed behind the book! A colossal snake, coiled up, with its head almost touching the ceiling. The snake was about 40 meters tall.

'What is that?'

Damian felt a surge of fear, thinking that the snake might attack him, but it did not move. The snake stayed still, and after examining it closely, he realized its color was not green but grey.

'Is it petrified?'

The snake was petrified, unable to move. Damian walked towards the book, picking it up and trying to open it. The moment he did, many memories flooded his mind.

It was like he was seeing things from the snake's perspective! He learned the snake language, and when he opened his eyes again, he could read the book!

Damian was shocked. The snake was not an ordinary one, but a Giant! There were many different types of giants in ancient times, and this snake was one of them!

That explained the strange connection Damian had to this place. They were not direct relatives, but they shared the same bloodline!

Then, a voice echoed in his mind.

'A fellow giant! It has been a long time!'

'A-Are you the snake?'

'Yes. I am petrified here, and I do not know how to get free. The mist around this area is my doing, and I led you to me.'

'My strength is almost gone. You can use this place as you like, but keep my chamber a secret. If possible, please, unpetrify me..'

The voice grew weaker and weaker, fading away.

Damian felt pity. He did not know this giant, but it was still part of his family! The number of giants was very low, unlike humans, so they always helped one another.

Despite the difference in time and not knowing each other, Damian decided to help the snake if possible!

"I will do my best!" Damian said, bowing to the petrified snake.

After that, he put the book in his spatial ring, planning to read it later. He left the chamber and closed it. He made his way back to where his friends were.

Magnus, Aurora, and Serana were worried, not knowing if Damian was okay! He was supposed to just check the place out, but he took a long time to come back.

"Damian!" Aurora said, sighing in relief. "What happened?"

"I found a temple down there. We can use it as a base! There are no enemies inside, so we are safe."

"Splendid!"

They had gone down there to see the temple Damian had talked about with their own eyes, and they were more than happy to use it as a base.

It would still take them a while to clean up the dust, bring in some furniture, and fix the lights, but the structure was already there, and that saved them a lot of effort.

After that, they all returned to the city, now with ease because the mist had cleared. Only Damian knew the reason for its disappearance: the snake giant had helped him.

Natasha, Lila, Mary and Shareva were still there, happy to see the others back.

"So how was it?" they asked.

Damian told them about the location that could serve as a base, and everyone agreed to live there! They had nowhere else to go, and they had already decided to join whatever organization Damian was forming.

Frederic and Raikono were absent. The two were busy with the shop, taking care of the supplies, the potions, and thinking of new ways to improve their business.

Everyone worked together to make the temple a decent place to live, but Damian had other things to worry about..

The person who had hired him to kill Miller somehow found out his identity and came to meet him.

"So, what about the mission? I heard a demon army came straight out of the castle you were in," the man said.

Damian and that man were in an alley, talking with one another discreetly.

"Yeah, things didn't go my way there. But rest assured, Miller is dead."

"Oh? Is that so?"

The response made Damian uneasy, so he asked, "What do you mean?"

"Miller is alive and well. Not only that, but he's living in this city!"

Damian almost froze in place. He knew Miller was no longer there because the demon had taken over his body, but how could he prove it?

No one had survived to see that, and the demon could fake it. If it was impossible to prove, then Damian had no way of confronting the demon.

"Like I said, things didn't go my way."

"You have thirty days to pay the full amount. Tripled. If not, then prepare for the consequences."

The man left after saying that, leaving Damian alone in the alley. He kicked a trash can near him and cursed.

His shop was already making some profit, yes, but getting three times the original amount in just thirty days was almost impossible! Damian would have to think of other ways to get his hands on the money!

Coincidentally, there was something happening in the poor area of Lemoria. It was a place filled with thugs, so the guards rarely went there.

For that reason, it was the perfect place to have illegal fights, and Damian found a coliseum that was looking for a new fighter.

The only problem was that all the fights ended only when one of the fighters died.