Ryoiki: Solarian King (9)

CHAPTER 6: Evo unlock!

Bruce gently brushed the hard stone floor with his hand.

It was covered in a deep layer of dust...

"Definitely a new one." Ita commented, moving an orb of light around.

For several weeks, Bruce, Ita, and Orix had been out on an expedition, investigating the strange rise in the opening of dimensional rifts.

They had finally found an important lead; A large, abandoned stone temple. Which hadn't existed prior.

Orix stared at the symbols on the pillars of the entrance hall, lighting them up with the flashlight in his hand.

They were...familiar, but he just couldn't tell how...

"This place is clearly old." Bruce commented, using his cane to stand up.

"But that's impossible. This area has been completely clear for multiple years!" Ita argued.

"More questions." Orix mumbled...and walked deeper into the temple.

As Orix walked further in...he saw a large, circular room.

It was muli-leveled, dipping down...

On every level, there were...mortals. Void Creatures. Sunguvites. Lentiens. And Valena. Even a few Faerer...all crouched down on their knees. Looking to the center of the room

"...by the flame..." Orix mumbled.

He inspected the crouching people...

All of them had their faces twisted and distorted, their eyes empty sockets filled with a strange liquid, which resembled the stars...

Orix gently tapped the liquid, getting some on his fingers.

It was sticky, but thin.

Orix flicked the liquid off his hand, then walked down to the bottom of the room...where a beam of moonlight lit the platform.

Scattered around it were pitch black shards, shattered apart...

Orix closed his left eye...and then opened it. The colors of his eye inverting as his hunter vision activated.

Orix saw remnants of...powerful magic hovering in the air. Then flowing out through the ceiling where the moonlight was coming in from.

Something had escaped.

Orix sighed, his eye returning to normal as his hunter vision de-activated.

He turned back to head up the stairs to find Ita and Bruce.

But was greeted by a different face instead.

Standing in front of him was a humanoid man, with a black cloak covering his body.

His head though was bizarre. Made mostly of a black body with antlers coming from it.

And instead of a face...was a visor. Reflecting the beautiful, star filled sky of The Beyond.

"Been a while, hunter." Said a medium pitched, echoing voice.

"Styx." Orix grunted.

Styx looked behind him, up to the stairs...towards the main hall.

Orix reached behind his hip...and grabbed his pistol.

Then he drew it! Firing a shot at Styx.

The bullet shattered into shards as it flew towards Styx, who's attention immediately turned back to Orix.

"You bastard-" Styx hissed.

"ORIX?!" Shouted Ita from the main hall.

With the pair of approaching footsteps, Styx vanished, flying back out through the whole in the ceiling with great speed.