Chapter 9 — The forgotten city

​A week after they entered the Monster Realm, they found it. It was an ancient city buried beneath time itself. Its walls were forged from materials that no one could name. Collapsed castles sank into the earth and were so massive that their size couldn't even be measured. Gold lay scattered everywhere in amounts far more than any human could ever count.

​Weapons littered the streets that were not forged by magic or by this world. Strange machines lay dormant as silent witnesses to a forgotten age. Even the greatest heroes never spoke of this place.

​A faint voice called to them from the heart of the city.

​"Defeat the golem," she said, "and I will reward you with a weapon greater than any other."

​They accepted the challenge. The ground split open and a golem rose. Without a chant and without any warning, it fired a red beam from its hands. The earth behind them vanished instantly.

​Shock froze them for a moment. They wondered how something could be that powerful without any magic chants. Arin shouted for Hanase to boost him and he charged first to draw its attention. The others followed his lead.

​But the golem saw through their plan. It leapt past Arin and lunged straight for Sharo. Hanase raised a barrier while Neblaheim struck from the side. Arin crushed the construct into the ground from above.

​The golem retaliated with a fireball. Arin failed to dodge and his hand burned black. Hanase rushed in to heal him while Neblaheim pressed the attack and Sharo bound the golem. Arin returned with a blade cold with ice and a body blazing with inferno.

​The golem broke free and a red beam fired, piercing straight through Sharo's chest.

​Time seemed to stop. Arin dragged Sharo back while Hanase tried desperately to help him. Neblaheim held the golem alone. Arin rose once more with ice, inferno, and Eldrin's sword. One strike shattered the golem's arm and then Neblaheim crushed its head with stone.

​Silence fell. Then the voice spoke again. Sharo's body dissolved and in its place he remained alive, aware, and speaking. Arin had thought he lost another person close to him, but slowly and painfully he understood that Sharo had not died, at least not completely.

​"Go," the voice said softly. "I will watch you. One last warning—do not trust anyone. You may be hurt because of it."

​Arin didn't fully understand her words, but he thanked her. And so they continued forward.