THE FIRST WIFE OF THE DARK ANGEL
THE FIRST WIFE OF THE DARK ANGEL
Ranas was glad that we managed to lift the stone over the lake despite her circumstances.
"What is next?" Rinna asked Ranas.
"Next, we proceed to the second trial", she replied to us.
"Damnit, it is another impossible trial", Sara complained.
"It's not impossible if we passed the first trial which was in itself impossible", Rinna replied to her.
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We uncovered an entrance under the lake concealed by the enormous stone, which I managed to lift. Once inside, we sealed the entrance again, ensuring no one would find our way in.
Beneath the lake, a spiral stairway descended into the depths.
We ventured down, each step leading us further into the unknown. The staircase was long and steep, as though we were walking down the face of a narrow cliff into an endless abyss.
After what felt like an eternity, covering vast distances underground, we finally reached the bottom.
Before us was an immense cavern, its walls adorned with intricate carvings of dragons and grotesque gargoyle-like figures.
Standing in the center of this stone chamber, surrounded by eerie sculptures, we sensed that we were not alone. The gargoyles' eyes seemed to come alive, watching us intently, as if trying to decipher the reason for our intrusion.
-----
"Now what is the second trial?" I asked Ranas.
"It is the Trial of Intelligence", she replied to us.
"What the hell is that? Trial of Intelligence?" Ratatouille asked the snake woman.
"I don't know. We couldn't even pass the first trial, we had never reached this far into the Sacred Dragon Grove", Ranas replied to us.
"Ranas doesn't know about this trial but if it involves 'Intelligence', Sara will have it covered", Rinna told us.
"Sara?" I asked Sara.
"I'm already looking at it. This bloody chamber is surrounded by dragons and gargoyles. There is magic feeding into them. If we make a mistake, they will probably fire on us with their magic", Sara told us her observations.
"Wait a minute, why are there ancient runes on the tiles under us?" Ratatouille asked.
Then we realized the ground of the dragon chamber was tiled by square stones engraved with unique runes on them.
"Can you recognize these runes?" I asked Ratatouille.
"They are ancient runes from Eden although I do not know what it means. These runes are scattered around with no meaning at all", he replied to us.
"Of course they don't mean anything to you. We are supposed to make it mean something", Sara told us suddenly.
"Is this a puzzle again? Is this the Trial of Intelligence?" I asked.
"Yes, this could be it. We must solve the runes on the floor", Rinna said to us.
"How can we solve some jumbled runes with no meaning at all?" Ratatouille asked us.
"Do you understand Eden runes?" Rinna asked Sara.
"No, these runes are unfamiliar to me. I've never seen them before in all the libraries in the continent", she replied to us.
"What should we do now?" Rinna asked.
"Don't worry, we solved more difficult runes before without understanding the language", I replied to her.
"I don't understand", Ratatouille asked.
"Sara can see magic", I replied to him as we looked at Sara for answers.
Sara took her time studying the runes on the tiles. More precisely, she was studying the energy signatures under the tiles than the language that was written on it.
"I got it", Sara told us finally as she cast a wind on one of the tiles on the floor.
-----
Sara summoned a gust of wind, directing it toward the rune-inscribed tiles on the ground.
The tile she targeted shifted first, gliding smoothly into a new position. Slowly, the other tiles began to follow, sliding across the floor as if pieces in a grand, ancient puzzle.
The runes, glowing faintly, rearranged themselves under her careful guidance.
Each tile moved with a soft, grinding sound, their symbols swirling in intricate patterns, as though some unseen force was helping Sara solve the puzzle.
We watched nervously, keeping a close eye on the stone gargoyles surrounding the chamber, afraid that any wrong move might awaken them. Their stony gazes seemed to bear down on us, making it hard to shake the feeling that one false step could trigger something terrible.
But no danger came. The air remained still, heavy with anticipation.
Finally, after what felt like an age, Sara moved the last tile into place. The runes clicked softly as they settled into their correct alignment, the puzzle on the floor now complete.
-------
"Did you solve the puzzle? How did you do it?" Ratatouille asked Sara.
"There is magic signature under the tiles that form a kind of circuitry. I merely moved the tiles so the magic under the tiles align themselves properly", Sara explained to us.
Sara's equipment could detect the magic under the ground and even their unique signatures. She could distinguish between the magic signatures and her AI could make them align in the way they were meant to be.
"What does the tiles say now?" Rinna asked Ratatouille and he began to read the runes on the ground.
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"Lilith, mother of serpents, once claimed,
Asmodeus' bride, yet her heart untamed.
Rejected, cast out from his darkened throne,
She wandered the shadows, forever alone.
But Nahase, her sister, with eyes of flame,
Rose to his side, taking Lilith's name.
First wife she became, in power and pride,
Where Lilith had faltered, she would abide."
-----
"Damnit, you pervert was once together with the serpent Lilith too?" Sara asked me in disgust.
"What me? I don't even know Lilith", I replied to her.
"That Asmodeus is you, Dark Angel of Revelations, or one of his many alter egos", Ratatouille added.
"This is the Dark Angel's romance, not mine", I said to them.
"The rune on the floor tells the tale of Lilith and Nahase. Lilith and Nahase were sisters who were betrothed to the Dark Angel, but he finally chose Nahase as his first wife and rejected Lilith. That is the reason Lilith was vengeful and betrayed them during the Revelations", Rinna told us about Lilith's story of betrayal.