As he slowly approached the archway basked in golden light, the scene began to gradually clear out. The lighting came from the conjoining room. Opposed the dark hallway that Aiden found himself in, the next one seemed to be brimming brightly with the same color as his own eyes.

Getting even closer, he could even make out some of the details of the next chamber. It seemed a much smaller one, and unlike the rest, it was clearly not carved by nature. The walls were slick and clean, covered in a material that from the distance Aiden couldn't figure out, but they were the main reason for the blinding illumination of the room. They seemed to be reflecting it from the source something, most likely an object situated on the other side of the room that couldn't be seen from this side.

There was also a row of pillars, similar to the ones he just saw stretched around in a line at opposing side.

All in all, the room had the distinctive qualities of a higher standing, an almost royal feel to it, which was puzzling considering the state of the previous two halls Aiden had crossed through.

He was careful, constantly using his [Dark Sense] ability to its maximum potential, as he slowly approached the bright room. Just by the gradually increasing tempo of his beating, palpitating heart, the beads of sweat that glistened on his dark green skin, Aiden was fairly certain that this next room was the destination he was meant to find. There he could finally complete this stupid quest and heave a sigh as he regains his freedom once again. He could close this annoying chapter of his life, put an end to this horrible night, even though it already dawning the next day in reality.

Still, there were many tasks he still had to do: he had a pending skill upgrade that he should have already done, then there was the System's supposed full 2-day prolonged update as well… He needed to find and reunite with the girls and learn what came of their adventure… To be honest, he also wanted to get back to Cole and Mary and just spend some time doing menial quests with his first true friend in the city. These great adventures and convoluted political schemes were not his worlds, if he could Aiden wanted to steer clear away from them.

Then, there was the biggest wish he had, the main reason for his departure from the safety and warmth of his hearty family in the woods. With the completion of the quest and being set free from the countdown to his own demise, he could finally return safely and see that in the short time they were apart, how far did his little blonde sister grow to, under the tutelage of Master.

Then, after all this, he still had two promised tasks to complete before he could take up the boots and venture further out in the world and explore its secrets. He had an obligation to assist the Mistress in the upcoming City Leader Games and to attend the Academy's Admittance Ceremony at the beginning of next year and somehow gain acceptance to find the missing brother of the royal family.

'Meh… So many things to do still…' He frowned inwardly as he reminded himself of all the tasks still ahead of him. Even though his feelings towards humans turned sour and he thought less and less about this dark and corrupted species as he experienced more of the world, he still thought that there were a few hopeful seedlings that were worth nurturing.

Thinking about Cole and Mary a thought came to his mind. 'Could I also invite them to the family as I did with Roas, Glohn, Gob, and Galina? Could they also be evolved?'

He was fairly uncertain about it as humans, unlike orcs, goblins and most of the other races on Eora had no Energy Cores inside their bodies. They had no access to its properties. That meant that unlike the other races they couldn't evolve when their cores were filled with the required amount of energy.

No, humans were forever doomed (or blessed, depends on how you look at it) to remain the same species. Still, they weren't hopeless. They had much higher potential than the rest. According to some researcher theories, the whole human body could be considered as one big Magical Core. Their energies weren't focused on a singular point in their bodies, but instead, they had a continuously flowing path, a sort of bed that guided the mana to nurture everywhere. They weren't confined to the predetermined limits of their species, they could have an affinity to every type of Essence in existence. Most of the powerful figures, heroes, and legends of ages came from their species for a reason after all…

Some wild theories went as far as theorizing that the strange unique qualities of the species pointed towards an artificial birth of origin...

---

Arriving at the doorway, Aiden paused his steps for a moment. He took a deep breath, trying to cool his rapidly beating heart and calm the raging storm of emotions inside his mind. It didn't even help that although he could feel the presence of Enya in his mind, she didn't utter a single word after her last reminder of resuming his journey.

He opened his System's interface and brought up the Main Quest once again to take a look at the active tasks he had to fulfill.

[Main Quest: The Secrets of the Demon Grotto

…

Objective: - Find and Explore the Demon Grotto (1 / 2 - Explore the Grotto and Reach the end)

- Uncover its Secret

- Earn its owners acceptance

Optional: - Merge with the Guardian (Warning: The feat will require the simultaneous activation and use of the Primal Absorb racial skill empowered with the Blessing of Ioris effect. Caution: The strain on the host's core will be immense!)]

"Wait for a second, what Guardian? I can't feel any other presence… Enya! Do you know anything about this supposed guardian? Was it that strange creature, Murus that I fought with earlier?" He asked out, voicing his concern upon realizing that he still had that strange optional task hanging.

However, this time there was no verbal response from his guide, despite feeling her presence, she didn't utter a single word.

"Urgh, fine. Don't answer then. I'll just find out, I guess…" He grumbled at Enya's sudden silent treatment, before heaving one last sigh and stepping through into the room.

---

In the dark and gloomy other world in a large decrepit-looking mansion a robed figure of Master Dominus trashed around in his underground lab, cursing to vent his frustration.

"That damned kid! I was never humiliated in my entire life like this! I lost my newest source of reliable test subjects and easily controllable puppets, that brat even made me lose face with the Great Lord!"

He picked up a glass vial and threw it against the nearby wall, heaving a sigh as he listened to the shattering sound as it exploded into a million small shards.

"Worst of all, I can't even kill him, the Lord wants him for himself! AAAAARGHH!" He raged continuing in his vendetta against whatever his hands could grab onto.

His fingers soon found another vial that was filled with a dark, oily substance. Feeling the unexpected weight of the object, he stopped himself from throwing it away and pulled the glass contained up to his eye level.

A dark, black, oily viscous substance could be seen resting in an opaque, crystalline vial. The darkness of the fluid wasn't due to its color but to the fact that it seemingly swallowed all sources of light, only releasing a very small spectrum back to the outside world.

Master Dominus shook the vial, watching with growing interest as the strange substance remained still, not shaking, rippling in the slightest. The fluid seemed incredibly thick and way too heavy for something that seemed so small.

'Huh? This is interesting…' Dominus muttered as he continued to examine the strange object. Soon, his annoyed expression faded, replaced by a cruel, vicious smile as an idea began to form in his wicked mind.

"The Great Lord only said I couldn't kill or order any of my toys to kill that brat. However, he never said I couldn't run a little experiment… It just happens I have a need to do some live testing… ehehehe!"

His mood instantly elevated at his own wicked idea, he guffawed with glee, as his rage subsided. He turned towards the dark, barred metal door at his basement, leaving the room and ascending the stairs to his mansion.

He had some new plans that are needed to be carried out. In his right hand, he held tightly onto the strange, crystalline vial with the ominous, black viscous fluid…

---

"What the…" Aiden muttered with an incredulous look as he stepped into the grand-looking small room. Unlike the previous one, the room had a much warmer temperature, the air was much warmer than in the previous halls.

However, that didn't really bother Aiden. He hardly even registered the change, as his eyes were fixated on the central object in the room. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Just what is going on?!" He cried out.