16 Chapter 16: Araya's Dimension

Arroth opened his eyes to the sight of darkness covering his entire body. He sat up and rubbed his head, trying to see whether or not this darkness is fake, and that he just went blind. He felt that the floor under him was covered in lake water, that no longer has its beautiful sheen, rather it became dull and empty. He tried searching for the way out, but besides darkness, there was nothing he could see.

"Where am I?" Arroth heard Lilian speak. He remembered that Lilian had pulled him to a lake filled with spiritual water. He didn't know if Lilian saw the glow of the water, considering that she's a non-cultivator, he wouldn't be surprised if she thought that the lake was nothing more but a water-filled hole.

"We seem to be underground." Arroth stood up and showed his hand to where he thought Lilian was. "Possibly 100 meters in."

Lilian couldn't see what Arroth was doing, and didn't take the hand that was in front of her. "How can we get out?"

Arroth hummed and looked to his left and right. Darkness truly is troublesome, and looking for a way out would take some time. He snapped his fingers and a purple flame came out of his hands, illuminating the whole room.

Arroth saw a cave entrance, and multiple totems erected, leading towards the entrance. Some totems were shattered, broken, others were cracked and missing some parts. Those totems had faces of demons, and above was a dragon head, smiling with eyes bloodshot. Arroth raised his hands and shone the fire at the walls beside the totem.

"There are writings here." He said, looking back at Lilian. He took his other hand and wiped the walls clean. "Look, this one had names written in an old demon language."

Lilian moved closer, watching Arroth knit his brows. "How did you know that?"

"I learned to read it through an old master."

"But you can’t read basic Hanyu?"

Arroth blinked, thinking of how he can snap Lilian's neck off. As a demon-angel, the writing of humans never interests him, and hearing someone judge him based on his decision isn't appreciated. "I'm from a foreign country."

"I see… but.. Hanyu.." Lilian wiped some of the dirt off the walls, trying to understand the carved words. "I've never seen writings like this." She stared with awe upon the wall filled with Demon language and literacy.

Arroth turned his head towards Lilian. He wasn't sure what this woman wanted. Lilian dragged him to the lake with no explanation whatsoever, and then eve just collapsed. He examined Lilian's face, trying to decipher why she brought him here. Lilian doesn't look like she knew anything about those writings. What worries him was what the carvings state.

The walls state the history of 4 pendants that have been distributed to all planes of existence. The others were thrown all over the universe, and only one was left in the hands of the World Order. Arroth didn't know what the World Order was, but seeing the writing about him made him realize how vast the world is, and he's nothing more than a small dot in that existence.

Scanning the wall, he found a word that he was most affected by. The text was written in a language that both of them understood.

"Azure dragon pendant." Lilian looked at the only word she could faintly understand and read through. "It says something about a war that started with the pendant."

Arroth Balled his hand into a fist, trying to guess what exactly Lilian was doing. "Why exactly did you bring me here for?"

Lilian turned her head towards Arroth, raising her brows and asking. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, this." He opened his arms wide, indicating everything around them. "Why did you even bring me here?

"I don't know either," Lilian stated honestly. "It's just that, three days ago, I remember hearing about this. Then when I saw you, I wanted to bring you here."

Arroth's breath falters. Is this what Dayan meant as to why he needed to follow her? Are the writings on the wall what he needed to find Dayan? Arroth ponders what kind of person Daya is, whether he's the type that would want to torment people, or just really easy-going. Whether the former or latter was the truth, it still doesn’t change the fact that he wanted his head. "The world order, do you know about them?"

Lilian shook her head. "I am as new to this as you are." She pointed towards the cave entrance. "Should we go in there to search for a way out?"

Arroth grunts looking down at his stomach. He hasn't eaten anything for days, and when he had finally entered a restaurant, he ended up sleeping through. "I suppose we should try and search for a way out." Arroth illuminated the path to the cave and walked. He was hoping to learn more about the pendant, and maybe find a way to transform his brother back.

"We'll get out of here soon. You don't have to worry about the baby, he's with that white-haired friend of yours." Lilian followed behind Arroth, scanning everything that the fire illuminated. "Although the azure dragons have been a rare find, they are very loyal to their masters."

"I'm not his master." Arroth retorted. Zaganon isn't a demon beast, he isn't owned by anyone, and Lilian's words were something he hated to hear. The two of them had been wandering the demon realm, posing as independent beings that don’t abide by the rules, and Arroth knew that Zaganon also hated the idea of working for someone.

"You haven't bonded with him?" Lilian was still in the dark. She doesn't even know that Arroth wasn't human. "Yous should do it soon, there's a lot of people who wanted to get their hands on an Azure Dragon."

"He doesn't need a master."

"Bond with him." Lilian poked Arroth's back and smiled. "Then you wouldn't have to be worried about losing him. You don't have to act like his master."

Arroth hummed and walked past the cave, and scanned the surroundings.

************

The walls around them widen, and the air became cold. They soon saw light coming from the close distance, shining upon an elevated frozen stone.

The cave turned from a dark, and cold location, to a beautiful wintery cave, with flakes of ice casting down from above. the ceiling was decorated with sculptures of both angels and demons, smiling down on the center of the cave. The ground had a beautiful glow that made Arroth's exhausted minds calmer and clearer. He walked towards the elevated stone and looked at what's on it.

"That's one funky-looking broach," Lilian stated. "Is it magic?"

"Yes." Arroth examined the broach closer, seeing that it was collecting spiritual energy from around it made him realize that it must have been a special artifact.

The broach was in the shape of a white lotus flower, with silver outlines around it. It was 1 inch in diameter and had a pearl decorated at the center. Three diamonds were on the petals of the flower, which purifies the energy cultivated inside the broach.

The brooch radiates strong yang energy, but for some reason, it felt empty and less warm.

Arroth couldn't help but pick it up and added. "Araya."

"What?" Lilian looked at Arroth then at the broach.

"Araya uses a white lotus flower as his signature. I once saw it when we made a contract."

"Does this mean he knows something about those writings?" Lilian stared at the broach and wondered whether that handsome cold gentleman from before was the perpetrator of this accident.

The two examined the broach a little more, before they heard slow, moving footsteps from behind. Their eyes darts open, hoping that the other wasn't an enemy.

"Who-"

Arroth's eyes shot more open, as his eyes fall into a person who's had long white hair and an aura as cold as ice. His grey eyes had a tint of silver that stared coldly to wherever his eyes see. He wore a long white robe upon his shoulder, and his long hair was tied in a high ponytail, decorated with a silver Daoist crown.

Araya was even more surprised to find Arroth, running towards him, and taking the broach away from Arroth's hands. "How did you get in here?"

"How did YOU get in here?" Lilian asked Araya the same question he asked them.

"This is my dimension, why are you two here?" Araya stared, confused at the two. His eyes shook, as if afraid. He fists his hands and hid the broach inside his lapels.

"We accidentally fell from the lake," Arroth explained. If this was Araya's dimension, then he knows what those writings on the walls were... and maybe know how he can change his brother back. He knew Araya isn't someone normal, with his aura that wards off evil and his cultivation level at such a young age were already something that made him doubtful. "Do you know about those carvings on the walls?"

"Carvings?" Araya fixed his gaze at Arroth, eyes just as confused as he was. "What carvings?"

"We saw writings on the walls," Lilian answered in Arroth's place. "Since this is your dimension, you must know something but it."

"There are no carvings on the wall, I checked it multiple times today."

Lilian and Arroth exchanged looks before breaking the silence. "You might want to take a look at it."