[ON HOLD] Defy the Heavens: The Journey of Miss Black Belly

17 I Mythos Hall

Currently, Xiren was going wall from wall, trying to find a hidden passage out. She tried going back to the way she came from, but cave pathway was blocked.

"Tang Di wasn't jesting when he said that Mythos mountain is full of mystic traps and enchantments".

After hours and multiple attempts, Xiren was not able to find any exists. Dispirited, she came back to the golden tomb to rest and made a bed of golden ingots.

As she laid, she pondered. 'How many days has it been? I've lost count.' 

Xiren closed her eyes and sighed. It was impossible to tell the time and day inside these caves. Xiren reached inside her bag and pulled out some dried jujubes to snack on. "I need to get out of here. In 2 days' time, my water and food supply deplete into nothingness. All I have in my bag is some raw vegetables and a bag of peanuts. How sad is that!"

In her frustration, Xiren grabbed a gold ingot nearby and threw it towards the gold fox statue sitting on top of the golden mountain.

*tukk*

A sound resonated when the ingot hit its mark, knocking the golden fox statue down.

*scrack.... Scrack... scraaaacccckkkkk*

Suddenly, the cave started to shake violently!

Xiren jumped up and dashed towards a corner. Xiren could not believe what she was seeing. She pinches herself just to check if she was dreaming.

"Ouch..not a dream!"

Out from beneath the mountain of treasure, a ladder rapidly protrudes up towards the ceiling, extending over 500 feet high. As the ladder was about to reach a dead-end, the enclosed cave ceiling crumbles down—opening a hole.

Overcome with joy, Xiren jumped up and down in excitement. Then, she rushed at and climbed the ladder up towards the exist.

[T/N: Yay! She's finally out.]

It took some effort, but Xiren managed to climb out safely.

Xiren continue to climb up the mountain for a few hours until she reached the peak. In front of her, she could see a large golden gate and an interesting looking 5-stories tall building with a large sign that writes: Mythos Hall.

At the front gate, a young boy—around age 8 or 9— wearing a rabbit mask was diligently sweeping leaves into a large pile. The boy busied himself and was completely oblivious to Xiren's praying eyes.

She walked up and tapped on the boy's shoulder—surprising him. The boy gave a meek yelp and fell over backwards onto the dirt ground.

"Ahhh! You gave me a fright!", the boy cried.

Xiren scratched her nose and awkwardly showed an apologetic smile, then she extended a hand out and helped the boy up.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to scare you. Little rabbit, are you the gatekeeper here?"