While the massive pillars jutting from the ground, surrounded by smaller, jagged rocks, were enough to capture their attention, something else completely pulled their gazes away.
The path before them was decorated with glowing stones that brightened up the entire space for them to see, making the need for the mage’s flame spell inherently useless.
Large windows were glued to the walls, and the ceiling echoed with heavy, slow footsteps, as though something massive was walking right above their heads.
At the far distance, they could see a faint red light, indicating that there was a path that would lead them to another part of the dungeon.
Of course, they wondered why they had not run into any mobs as soon as they entered the dungeon, but they quickly overlooked it in order to explore further.
"Let’s go. The next room should be over there." Ligard pointed at the distant red light with his axe.
The rest of the party agreed and decided to follow him.
As they walked down the path, they were constantly checking their surroundings, just to make sure they were never going to get ambushed.
Since the path was pretty long, they knew that once they got to the center and got ambushed, it would be far harder for them to run back all the way to the exit.
The entire area was dead silent.
In other words, it should be easy for them to sense even the faintest of movements coming from the darkness beyond the pillars.
With time, the entire party got close to the large, dark golden door.
It stood several feet high and had two massive statues of knights holding swords upward to their foreheads, standing at opposite sides of the frame.
"Is the boss going to be behind the door?" asked the female mage, her eyes momentarily moving from one statue to the other.
The rest of the party immediately looked to their game menu, where they could see the boss being located on the final floor, while they were currently still on the upper levels.
"Let’s keep moving." Ligard took a step forward, understanding they were not yet close to their destination.
However, just as he wanted to reach for the handle of the huge doors, the large doors suddenly creaked and then slowly began to open on their own.
A bone-chilling screech of grinding metal announced the full opening of the colossal golden door.
Instead of the empty room or a snarling beast they had expected, they were met with a sight that instantly froze Ligard’s extended hand and sent a collective jolt of alarm through the party.
A double line of Skeletal Knights, clad in rusted but ornate armor and holding long, decaying lances, stretched across the massive chamber revealed by the opening door.
The line ran straight from the doorway across the stone floor, ending abruptly at another, slightly smaller, silver door directly opposite.
There were easily fifty of the undead warriors, each one standing perfectly still, like guards of honor.
Their empty eye sockets held no fire, but their presence was menacing.
"Ambush!" the mage whispered, her hands already glowing faintly with protective energy.
The archer immediately drew an arrow, his gaze darting from one motionless skeleton to the next.
As for the rogue, he had already pulled out his daggers from his forearms and held a protective stance behind the team.
Ligard raised his axe, his voice low and tight.
"Hold! They’re not moving."
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the faint drip-drip of water somewhere in the massive chamber.
The Skeletal Knights remained frozen, lances held upright, creating an unsettling, immaculate path between their ranks.
"This... this isn’t an attack pattern," the healer murmured, lowering her staff slightly. "Why are they just... lining up?"
Confused, but cautiously optimistic that they hadn’t been instantly cleaved in two, Ligard took a hesitant step onto the stone floor of the new chamber.
The skeletons didn’t twitch.
He took another step, his eyes scanning for traps or hidden mobs.
Nothing.
"Stay close," he instructed, sheathing his axe for a moment, deciding to risk it.
"They want us to walk this path. Let’s not disappoint them."
Of course, the party members found it ridiculous, but if Ligard, their leader, was willing to do so, then none of them could really complain.
With immense trepidation, the party—Ligard in front, the rogue and healer in the middle, and the mage covering the rear—began to move down the eerie, skeletal aisle.
Every step felt like an act of folly, a direct challenge to the rules of every dungeon they had ever encountered.
The air was colder here, carrying a scent of old dust and dry bone.
They passed the silent legion of undead without incident. No lances dropped, no rusted swords were drawn. It was as if the knights were simply part of the architecture.
They finally reached the far side of the room, standing before the silver door.
It was intricately carved with celestial symbols and, unlike the imposing golden gate, appeared to be closed, not merely ajar.
And standing directly in front of it, her back to them, was a woman.
She was tall and slender, dressed in flowing robes that seemed to absorb the light of the glowing stones. Her long, silver hair cascaded over her shoulders.
Ligard stopped the party ten feet behind her.
"Excuse me," he called out, his voice sharp with suspicion. "You look human enough, are you the boss around here?"
The woman slowly turned.
She had striking, pale features, and her eyes, a disconcerting shade of red, fixed upon Ligard with an unnerving intensity.
A small, polite smile touched her lips, but it lacked any warmth.
Ligard, though, could not hide the fact that he found the woman strangely beautiful, so much so that his face turned red at the sight.
As he met her red eyes, he flinched a bit, trying immediately to gather his thoughts.
Then, from nowhere, Lyra bowed her head and raised the hem of her red dress up a bit with grace.
And she spoke.
"My Master waits for you inside. Please, make yourselves at home."