The Rise of the Black Plain

After entering one of the lower tunnels of that island, Minos passed through a barrier and found himself arriving in an area without the presence of water, where he had to circulate his energies and 'stick' his feet to the vertical walls there.

'This place has a barrier that prevents water from entering the island...' He noticed this, finding it somewhat strange since it must have been abandoned for an island of this magnitude to plummet from the sky.

Since even powerful arrays stopped working after many years without maintenance, Minos couldn't help but find it strange that there was still something like that working there, even the high probability that this place had been abandoned for hundreds of thousands of years.

'Could it have been some madman who wanted to fall in with the island?'

In the Spiritual World, there was everything, and even people capable of risking their lives in insane experiments could be found if looked for.

Some would even try to kill themselves without sacrificing, jumping from high altitudes, traveling into dangerous areas, etc.

So Minos didn't rule out the possibility that someone had lived on this island to keep the arrays running, but without altering the decadent course of it.

He didn't think much about it and soon walked cautiously towards the upper levels of that island.

The place he had just entered appeared to be an escape tunnel, something common to find on floating islands.

Usually, there were no traps in places like these because of their purpose, a quick escape. But Minos was careful because either at the entrance or at the exit of the tunnel, there was always the possibility of traps being set to surprise those who should not pass through there.

As he made his way to the top, his spiritual energy stimulated his eyes to see into the darkness.

Amid this, he was using his soul sense to scan the surroundings. Still, he was not sensing any living souls in his vicinity, despite the strange feeling he had been experiencing.

He felt a particular oppression coming from this island, as if something compelling was there.

But as he moved towards the top of the island, whatever was behind it did not 'show,' as if the feeling came from the air, something inexplicable.

After a few moments, Minos finally reached a metal door with many rust marks on it but also some symbols he didn't understand.

He carefully activated his Soul Avatar and pushed that door, prepared to defend himself in case of a trap.

But upon receiving Minos' blow, the door didn't even shake, causing this fellow to frown.

'What? How is that possible?' Even a medium-level grade-4 locked door should have at least trembled at his movement!

So he tried a new move, using his sword and the Spatial Sword infused with Chaotic Gravity in its blades.

Minos moved into that end of the tunnel large enough for two soul projections like his to stand side by side as he danced with his sword, sending powerful attacks toward it.

But again, nothing happened.

'How will I get through it?' He wondered, knowing that there was no other way since no fork was on the path he traveled.

So only through that place could he enter this island from the bottom of it!

He then focused on those symbols on the door and put aside the strategy that involved him using his strength.

If using force didn't work, then probably the way to open it was subtle, involving intelligence.

He closed his eyes and made one of his hands glow with spiritual energy, turning this part of his body into the most sensitive area of all.

Then he touched that door with his hand, not that of his avatar, but that of his body, trying to connect with that barrier in his path.

As he did so, Minos opened his eyes and felt something strange, like he was being watched.

'My descendant, connect to the world around you, or forget this place.' He looked at that door without understanding but was now capable of deciphering what was written there.

Minos looked back and thought he saw for a moment a silhouette near him, but there was nothing there.

'How strange.' He swallowed his saliva, feeling deep uncertainty in his heart for the first time since he received the inheritance from Henricus Longus.

But then he followed the recommendation written on the door and tried to connect with his surroundings.

As he did so, the curious and somewhat fearful expression on Minos' face changed, becoming that of a person unable to fully comprehend something fantastic but able to see how incredible it was.

He felt as if everything in the surroundings, including the walls and the air, were connected, as if the whole area was one giant kind of mechanism, like a jigsaw puzzle.

He tried to infuse his energy into one of the puzzle pieces. Then he saw several others moving, some disappearing, and some new ones appearing.

This made a wall appear behind him. On the other hand, the door in front of him disappeared, and a room full of shiny golden items appeared in front of him, while some walls changed completely, as if they were the cells of a tissue changing to form a new organ.

Minos had never seen anything of the sort before and obviously stood watching the surroundings as a man would when seeing fire for the first time.

He then looked closer at what was in that room, which looked highly luxurious, but did not have much furniture.

There was only one bed and several strange items that Minos didn't understand the use of besides the luxurious but useless decoration.

But on top of this bed was a small open chest.

Minos walked over to it and saw something inside the chest.

There were three letters.

'Fah'um, war is near. You will have one last chance to leave your legacy on Faizos, so don't fail in your mission. Otherwise, our family will be erased from Ponvuter.'

'Fah'um, I heard that you followed my recommendation. What was the result? I heard from some scholars that the experiment could be considered a failure...

I hope it is not. Otherwise, that will be the end of our race. The Interracial War is at its worst moment with the rise of Cuuvis. If things continue as they are, we will be wiped out.'

At the last letter, Minos realized it had not been received nor sent but had been written and left there.

...