After a short rest, Grace let out a soft, steadying breath. She then turned to look at those who had stayed behind.
Rhydian’s eyes were resolute. The other two guards gripped their weapons tightly despite their pale faces. Cyprian sat slumped against the cave wall, his gaze hollow yet carrying a hint of resigned calm. Meanwhile, Judith looked at her with worry written all over her face.
Finally, Grace’s eyes settled on Dustin. He remained in meditation, eyes closed, seemingly detached from the world and its troubles. That transcendent calm somehow calmed her restless heart.
“Let’s go,” she said. Her voice regained its customary chill, but now underpinned by a grim, do-or-die resolve. As if on cue, Dustin opened his eyes. He gave a single, curt nod. Without a word, he led the way toward the narrow passage at the far end of the cavern.
The tunnel was cramped and damp, forcing them to proceed in single file, bent double. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and decay. It was a stark contrast to the faint, sandalwood-like scent that had lingered in the main cavern.
They moved cautiously, afraid of triggering some unknown restriction seal. After half an hour, a faint glow appeared ahead. It was accompanied by a strange scent that mixed earthy fragrance with a sweet, medicinal aroma
Pushing through the vines hanging over the passage exit, the sight ahead made everyone hold their breath. It was as if they had stepped into a corner forgotten by time.
An enormous cavern stretched out before them, half natural and half carved by hands. Countless cracks in the ceiling let in dappled sunlight, illuminating the ground.
There lay a sprawling, long-abandoned medicinal garden, still teeming with countless strange and exotic plants. The outlines of the garden beds were still faintly visible, bordered by a kind of smooth, milky-white stone, though most had now crumbled into ruin.
Weeds and rampant vines choked the area, obscuring its once-orderly layout. Yet, amidst the decay, a host of strange plants thrived. Each had a unique shape and glowed with a soft, spiritual light. A faint medicinal fragrance filled the air.
One was crimson red, its leaves like flickering flames that gave off a wave of warmth. Another had branches of icy blue, dusted with a delicate frost that chilled the immediate air.
Some had bowl-sized flowers of shifting rainbow hues that swayed as if in a private breeze. Most miraculously, one plant bore fruits the size of a baby’s fist, crystal-clear orbs within which miniature galaxies seemed to swirl.
“Oh my god! These are all…”
Judith’s eyes filled with shock. Though she couldn’t identify these rare herbs and flowers, the rich vitality and spiritual energy they emanated was unmistakable.
Even the well-traveled guard captain, Rhydian, was dumbfounded. He had never seen so many legendary spirit-fungi and herbs before. These were things he’d only heard of in myths.
Grace hurried over to a plant about half a person’s height. Its stem was emerald-green, crowned with a single, golden fruit the size of a grape.
She said excitedly, “This… Could this be Glazeleaf Fungi? And over there, with the seven-star pattern on its silver-glowing leaves, is the Astral Vale Leaf. These are spiritual ingredients thought to be lost to the ages.”
She scanned their surroundings, her astonishment growing with every glance.
“Vermillion Flame Fruit… Crystalline Snow Lotus… Illusion-Heart Orchid… This place is a treasure vault of primordial spiritual botany.”
Though Grace was a princess, privy to the royal family’s collections, the sheer depth of the garden’s heritage left her profoundly shaken. The value of these plants, if they could be retrieved, was simply incalculable.
Dustin’s gaze, however, didn’t linger on these precious herbs. He walked slowly along the overgrown ridges, his sharp eyes scanning the garden’s edges and the most severely damaged areas. His divine sense meticulously probed every inch of the soil and every single plant
“While these spiritual herbs are valuable, something about this place… doesn’t feel right,” he commented.
He suddenly stopped, crouching down to pinch a bit of soil between his fingers. The earth wasn’t the usual rich black or brown, but a dull, sinister red, like clay mixed with old, dried blood. It was unnervingly warm to the touch.
His gaze drifted toward the heart of the garden, where several broken stone tablets stood, shrouded in a mossy veil. Faint traces of ancient, cloud-like script were still visible beneath the green cover.
Grace also noticed those tablets. She suppressed her excitement and walked over to Dustin’s side, joining him in deciphering the inscriptions.
Most of the inscriptions were incomplete, recording only the names, properties, and harvesting methods of some spiritual herbs. But on one of the larger broken tablet fragments, the remaining text made both of their expressions grow grave.
“The enraged King smote the Wicked Dragon at Elysium Isle. The land was soaked in its blood, and all life withered. Only those that absorbed the dragon blood’s malevolent energy survived and gained its power, leading to strange mutations…
“The waters of Vitalis Pool can cleanse impurities, but the ‘Dragonblood Fruit’ that grows at the poolside is the condensed essence of the dragon’s malevolent energy.
“Though it resembles the elixir of immortality, it is in truth a supremely evil thing. Those who consume it will have their spirit and soul destroyed, or transformed into dragon puppets… Beware! Beware!”
“Dragon blood soaking the land… Dragonblood Fruit…” Grace whispered, her body trembling as a chill crept up from deep within.
She recalled the mural depicting the sealed “Wicked Dragon” and the creature’s unnerving ability to regenerate. The strange events on Elysium Isle and this so-called elixir of immortality seemed to point back to that same creature.
