1165: Cradle

Cradle

Jin Wang stood at the entrance of the hall that seemed to stretch for an eternity. 2

There were windows lining the right side that let through a multitude of colors through their stained glass.

He looked up but the ceiling was too far for any of the light to reach so it remained shrouded in darkness.

On the left and right were the countless stone statues that decorated the entire length of the hallway. Men and women, old and young. Many humans but other races mixed in as well.

The only thing they had in common was their armor and weapons. They all seemed to be warriors of great renown, exuding powerful energies even here, whatever this place was.

Jin Wang took a couple of steps forward and slowly extended his hand in front of the closest window, allowing the brilliant light to fall upon his flesh.

He could feel the warmth overtake him in seconds as it spread throughout his entire body. It filled him with a sense of belonging as if he was back in his father's study from his very first life.

He felt safe and protected in this place as if no matter what happened outside of these halls it held no weight here.

*Clang*

The sound of glass hitting a hard surface suddenly reverberated throughout the great hall, bringing Jin Wang back to his senses.

He looked to the front where the scene had now changed. Instead of a neverending hallway there was a room not too far ahead. With measured steps he made his way through this hall of heroes, stopping in front of the giant rectangular wooden table that blocked his path.

There were a total of thirty-two empty chairs placed all around. Each one slightly different be it in weight, size, stature, or design.

This was a circular room with the same stained-glass windows decorating all sides of it.

Jin Wang scanned each of the windows of which there were also thirty-two. There was a different scene and a different character portrayed through the stained glass on each one of them.

Again the light poured in from the right. The sun didn't seem to have moved at all.

"Quite stuffy, isn't it?" a voice spoke up from the front.

Jin Wang was a little surprised because he hadn't felt any other presence nearby but he didn't let it show and smiled in return.

"On the contrary, I think it's beautiful."

With the sound of heavy footsteps a figure walked out from behind the armchair at the head of the table.

It was a man adorned in heavy battle armor from head to toe. He had long black hair and a dashingly handsome visage that could take a person's breath away.

There were serpents and dragons inscribed on the chest piece, all bowing to an iridescent green blade. The same blade hung loosely from the man's waist.

He looked like royalty and every move he made was filled with elegance. There was a gold-rimmed wine glass in his hand which he slowly played with while inspecting Jin Wang.

"I thought my captor would be taller," he mused.

Jin Wang who looked like a village idiot in comparison chuckled in response, "Mr. Hyde I presume?"

Mr. Hyde also couldn't hold back his smile and nodded gracefully, "You presume correctly, pretender," before taking a sip from the glass.

But Jin Wang frowned at his particular choice of word, "Pretender? Who am I pretending to be?"

Mr. Hyde moved to the window and peered outside before replying.

"What are you not pretending to be? A friend, a mortal,....a human? Tell me, have you ever lived a day in your life without lying to yourself or those around you? Does it not get tiring?"

Jin Wang's smile vanished in an instant and his expression turned solemn.

"Be very careful what you say next, boy."

Mr. Hyde smiled triumphantly.

"Save your threats for the fools outside. We both know neither of us has any power in here, whatever this place."

Jin Wang had to agree with him. All they could do was use their words here. He walked up next to Mr. Hyde to see what he was looking at and the scene left him speechless for a while.

It was a city the likes of which he had never seen before. Hundreds of meters tall buildings were neatly lined in all directions. All manner of architectural wonders decorated the space in between belonging to countless different eras.

They went on for so long that he could neither see the ground below nor the outskirts of the city.

Up in the sky three heavenly bodies were visible other than the red sun. One of them was obviously the moon but the other two didn't seem so natural.

Bright lights shone on their surface, visible even from down here. Countless ships and creatures flew about without rest.

"What is this place?!" he couldn't help but ask.

"The Holy city of Solum, the cradle of civilization."

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