Amon observed the two knights. Or day-sleeping knights.

'They are so irresponsible. Who made them knights. Tch! Empress should make the security more tight.'

Now he observed the door.

The faint blue light was still coming from the bottom of the door.

'I should be careful not to make any noise and open it without waking them up.'

Amon already had a good idea how to do that.

He commanded his shadow to move and cover the edges of the door that would make sound while opening.

He touched the heavy surface of it and slowly started to push.

'Fuck! Why is it not locked? Are they idiots or something?'

He was really disappointed at the safety and security level of the Imperial Palace.

As the door opened silently, Amon entered and closed it quietly behind him.

There was no noise in any of his movements. He had come inside the room without making a tiny bit of sound.

He narrowed his eyes.

The room was spacious. There were some strange metallic devices and machines here and there, each engraved with runes. Faint mana could be felt from them.

At the center was a shimmering blue portal.

Amon frowned. "A teleportation portal inside the palace. Does that mean they have one personal here?" Now he was confused.

If they had a teleportation gate at the palace, then why bother having Amon and Selena travel to the Capital City's teleportation portal?

On one side of the chamber, stacks of old scrolls and magic blueprints were scattered across a table.

Complex diagrams were drawn — each one describing a formation connected to spatial magic. Some notes had red marks and crossed-out lines.

Amon moved there and started to study them. But he didn't understand a thing.

'This is beyond my level... for now.' He gave up immediately.

He turned back to the portal. Something about it felt different compared to the usual ones.

He got closer to that portal, just inches away from it.

"Can I see what is beyond it?" He was feeling curious.

He wanted to know what was beyond this gate.

A secret place? A hidden treasure? He had no idea.

'Just a glance. Nothing much.'

He raised his right hand and pushed it inside the gate.

His hand up to the forearm vanished in blue light.

'Let's see what's inside now—' But something caught his hand.

"What?"

Before he could react, Amon was pulled inside with heavy force.

He disappeared into the blue gate.

The room became silent again, with only the faint hum of the teleportation portal.

---

Thud!

Amon fell loudly on the dark floor.

The sound of his fall echoed inside whatever place he was.

"Aarrgh!"

Amon groaned.

Then, with a swift movement, he got up. His sword had already appeared in his hand. He looked around.

Someone had just pulled him inside. But what his eyes found was an empty, cold chamber.

The floor underneath him was black, made of dark stones.

The same went for the walls.

The room was empty, filled with darkness. He was hardly able to see anything.

'What is this place?' Amon thought. His eyes darted around.

Slowly he moved towards the broken door. He cautiously walked towards it.

On the other side of the door was a corridor. Same — built by dark stones.

He saw faint light in the right path of the corridor.

'Is that an exit?' Curiosity made him walk towards it.

He could feel a cold breeze coming from that direction. He touched the stone wall with his left hand. His fingers slid over the darkened wall.

It was cold.

He continued to stride, but suddenly stopped.

'Did I sense something just now?' He turned back, only to see darkness. There was nothing.

'Was I mistaken?' Amon thought. He was sure he felt something following him. Was it that thing which pulled him here?

Looking forward, he started to stride again.

"I am really an idiot. I should have just gone back... but I really want to see what this place is." Amon muttered in a very low voice. Yet it echoed through the empty path.

He gulped. He started to walk again. But the discomfort. That someone was watching, never went away.

Finally, he was out. He came out of the end of the dark pathway.

And his eyes widened.

What was in front of his eyes was a city. A ruined city.

The city was silent and dark, built from black stone that looked burnt by time, illuminated by the light of the moon.

The buildings were broken and crooked, their walls cracked and covered in moss. Each building was made up of the same dark black stone.

Empty windows stared out like hollow eyes, and fallen statues lay scattered on some corners of the streets.

The air felt heavy, as if the city itself was holding its breath. No birds sang. Wind moved through the ruins. The sound of water dripping somewhere far away could be heard.

Amon's dark eyes gazed at the center of the city.

"What's that?" Amon muttered to himself.

In the center of the city stood a tall black tower. It was old but still standing, covered in strange carvings that seemed to glow faintly in the dim light.

The streets around it curved inward, as if everything in the city had once led to that tower.

The area around the tower's base was covered with faint fog.

Even though the place was falling apart, it still felt powerful, like something important had happened there long ago.

The ruins seemed to watch anyone who entered, waiting quietly for life to return.

Amon looked at another end of the city. There he saw another big building. Not as big as the tower. It looked like an ancient temple — cracked walls, moss on the surface... yet standing there for thousands of years.

'Let's explore it!' Amon was a little afraid... no, he was actually too much afraid.

Yet he was excited to explore these ruins.

'Alright. Let's do it.'

And thus his adventure to this new ruined ancient city started.

---

Amon was currently staring at a particular scripture, written on the stony wall of a building.

The building was none other than the temple. He was standing outside the temple.

From the outside, the ancient temple loomed like a monument to a forgotten age. Its once-grand structure was now swallowed by shadow and decay.

Massive stone pillars jutted upward, many cracked or broken, their surfaces wrapped in thick vines and patches of black moss.

The carvings that once adorned the walls had eroded into faint ghostly outlines. Amon couldn't understand them.

The entrance was a gaping archway of black stone, half-collapsed, with fragments of its doorway scattered across the ground like shattered teeth.

A faint mist drifted around the temple's base, curling through the roots and broken steps that led to the entrance.

Above, the temple's roof had partially caved in, yet a single spire still stood tall, defying the centuries.

Strange symbols were carved on it. Looking upon it, one could feel a silent pull. As though something ancient and powerful still lingered within, watching and waiting for those who dared to approach.

Just beside the carved outlines, Amon saw something written.

'Again? It's written in Sanskrit...' Amon thought.

The thing was carved in Sanskrit language.

And Amon didn't know a thing about it.

But he could capture it.

With a smile, he took out his pager. It had a function to capture some images. Of course, the quality was bad, but good enough to take photos of notes.

The moment he turned on his mobile-like pager, he started to record the scriptures and carved designs.

Click! Click!

Srccnch!

Amon suddenly looked behind with his guard up. The sword appeared again in his right hand. His dark eyes darted through the streets. There was no one. Not a single presence.

He put the pager back in his storage ring.

His heart was beating faster — this time not from excitement, but fear.

Even now he felt that someone was watching him. Yet he found none.

Why?

Sweat trickled from his forehead, even in the cold night.

Srncchh!

He heard it again. It came from the left direction. His face turned to the left side.

Yet another empty street.

The wooden window moved with the cold breeze, making a creepy creak noise.

'Shit. That's enough adventure for tonight. Let's go back.' Yes, now this was enough. Amon was already too scared here.

Now since he captured the photo of some information, he should go now.

No need to spend unnecessary time here.

With a sigh, he walked in the direction from where he came.

But the walk started to turn into a run. He run faster. His sound of his footsteps echoed through the silent streets.

'Run Amon, run!' He thought.

He couldn't see them, but he felt their presence.

The bright full moon in the sky slowly started to get covered with dark clouds.

The remaining light also started to fade.

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