Raydon and Fehim stood side-by-side with their weapons drawn and a nervous looks on their faces as they scanned the area. While the ground continued to tremble, what they witnessed was considerably more terrifying than the army of skeletons that had surrounded them in the first stage.
There were hordes of zombie soldiers surrounding them, all dressed in black with full body armor and staring at them with red glowing eyes that could be seen through the cracks in their helmets.
''Can you tell me if there is a way to get out of an inheritance before the time runs out? '' Fehim asked, a glimmer of hope in his voice. A hundred of these soldiers were more than capable of killing them, but now they were surrounded by thousands.
Raydon didn't bother to respond to his inquiry. Even if he did know something about inheritances, he probably knew less than him.
''How long do you think we can last? '' Fehim enquired once more. Now that he knew he was going to die, he resolved to at least fight valiantly until the very end.
He waited a few minutes for a response from Raydon, but when he didn't get one, he went on.
''Your defense is stronger than mine, so you can probably hold out longer. ''
After some silence, he turned around to find Raydon waiting patiently behind him before continuing.
"I guess we can kill a few before we die, what do you think? ''
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''Hey, why are you keeping quiet? '' After a few more minutes, Fehim asked, as he could no longer bear the eerie silence.
''It's weird. '' Raydon finally spoke. He took no action, offensive or defensive, and simply stood there, staring at the horde of zombies that had surrounded them.
Fehim probed, "What is weird?"
Although his thoughts were moving slowly, Fehim did find it odd that the zombie army had not yet attacked. The fact that the ground was still trembling made him think that more might be on the way.
"Take a look at them. They don't have any weapons,'' Raydon said, pointing to the zombie soldiers.
''Huh? Oh, I just realized, they don't have any weapons at all.'' Finally, Fehim had picked up on the crucial detail.
''They don't appear to be planning an attack on us either. They are more comparable to soldiers awaiting orders,'' Raydon stated.
Without any weapons in their hands, the zombie soldiers appeared to be standing in front of their commanders awaiting their next orders.
"What exactly are you trying to say? So, you're saying that we've finished this inheritance, and for our efforts, we get this zombie army as a reward? Are they now under our command? '' Fehim exclaimed with the elation of a sudden realization.
Each and every one of these zombies were nearly as powerful as he was, and with thousands of them under his command, he would have unimaginable strength.
''I can even compete with a big family, '' Fehim put down the ax with which he had been waiting to attack, stared with glowing eyes at the horde of zombies, and began to daydream.
''I don't believe it is what it seems to be. They appear to be awaiting something else. '' With his sentence, Raydon crushed his hopes and dreams. He didn't anticipate receiving such a massive reward, despite how challenging this inheritance was.
Besides, Raydon would rather have all these soldiers killed and gain experience points than be their commander.
''And the trembling has lessened a bit. I suppose we will find out what they are awaiting soon enough. '' Raydon said, waiting patiently while maintaining a steady gaze on his surroundings.
Fehim agreed, and he joined him in waiting. Even though he was disappointed that the reward wasn't this zombie horde, he knew that it was still preferable to stay alive in this place.
After a few minutes of tense silence accompanied by the sound of the earth crackling, the trembling finally ceased entirely.
''So, what now?''
''Damn… ''
After a few seconds of complete calm, Fehim asked, and the ground immediately began to shake even more violently than before.
The zombie army seemed unaffected by the situation, standing immobile while Raydon and Fehim struggled to keep their feet on the ground.
As Raydon wondered how long this quake would last, a deep rumbling noise erupted all around them, and golden bars began to rise.
''This is? '' Fehim exclaimed in disbelief as he took in the now-familiar sight of the imposing gold iron bars.
"Yes, these gold fences resemble the rusty ones enclosing the earlier tombs." As he had suspected, Raydon spoke up to confirm his thoughts.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIn this gloomy and black and gray atmosphere, gold fences shone with all their splendor, giving the surroundings a lively and regal appearance, but eventually stopped rising.
''I believe the next one to appear will be the tomb.'' When Raydon realized the tremor was getting worse, he made the statement.
As if to prove his point, the ground beneath their feet began to slowly split apart, and a golden tomb began to rise from the ground alongside the golden bars surrounding them.
Raydon and Fehim immediately stepped aside to observe the emergence of this extravagant golden tomb.
''I believe we've cleared the final stage?'' Fehim exclaimed, unable to remove his gaze from the golden tomb that had risen in front of them and was adorned with dazzling embroidery.
*THUD*
There was a deafening thud from beyond the bars, and Raydon and Fehim looked out to see the zombie soldiers, who had been standing perfectly still until then, now crouching with their heads bowed.
'So this tomb is owned by their general, huh? ' In his thoughts, Raydon recalled the name of the inheritance he had read about in the system messages.
'I hope he's already dead. ' Raydon mumbled as he stared anxiously at the slowly opening lid of the golden tomb.
Even though he couldn't be sure, he assumed that the owner of this dimension was buried inside this tomb because the zombie soldiers outside were kneeling like they were greeting something, and the thing in front of them was obviously a tomb.
While they were wondering what was inside the tomb, a golden skeleton hand slowly lifted itself up by grasping the edge of the tomb. The already quiet and dark air seemed to become even more so as a heavy, mysterious pressure settled over the area.
And like thunder, a voice of authority and sadness shattered the stillness.
"By the might of the gods, how many moons have passed since my mortal frame departed from this universe, that my resting place hath grown feeble and frail?"