Chapter 2858: Chapter 2858: The Faces On The Walls

“What is going on here?”

Zen muttered in curiosity as he pressed a hand against the rough wall.

Despite its roughness, his hand could press and make a slight indentation on it. It wasn't rock but more of fleshy material, almost like the internal cavity of an animal.

“We don't really know. According to rumors, the 19 passageways within the Grand Sky Temple are, in fact, living creatures, and we are walking in their bellies,” an Ear Mouse answered.

The Other Shore was filled with infinite mysteries, some stranger than the last. There was no way to investigate, much less prove, all of them.

The party continued forward and every thousand feet, the Ear Mice and Dorothy would have to absorb soul pills in order to replenish their soul force.

Blood red luster radiated from the walls, becoming brighter as they ventured deeper into the passageway. There were times when sections of the path were illuminated entirely by the red light but there were also times when it simply stretched on in darkness.

Despite having Zen lead the way, the Ear Mice and Dorothy still felt the pressure and were definitely on high alert.

“ARGH!”

Sounds of screaming could be heard up front, catching them by surprise.

“What was that?!”

“That must be the creatures that entered the passageway first!”

“What did they encounter for them to scream like that?”

Numerous creatures from various races had also entered the temple that day.

Some knew of the slim chances the 19th passageway offered in terms of survival but there were others that had no idea and chose it without knowing the possible horrors that awaited them.

“I'll go look,” Zen told them determinedly.

He darted forward the passageway, leaving the party behind.

It was after two thousand feet when he came upon a strange sight: faces, all of them with their eyes closed, lined both sides of the path.

The faces had variety and belonged to all kinds of races. Zen could identify a few human ones among them. What was unsettling about these faces though, was the fact that all of them sported abnormally painful expressions.

“The scream didn't come from these faces,” Zen muttered to himself.

He continued to take a few more steps forward and entered the corner where he saw eight Souls of Light being pulled into the walls by random hands coming out of the walls.

There were still a few faces in this area and some of them had their eyes open.

“They're from the Separate Abyss race,” he said to himself in realization.

Members of the Separate Abyss race possessed large bodies that could block the passageways entirely. Zen could recognize them at a glance.

At that moment, they were currently struggling against the arms that were adamant in pulling them into the walls. The Souls of Light used their best methods and their soul force continually surged within the passageway but to no avail. 𝘙ἁNо฿ΕŠ

At last, the hands succeeded in dragging them into the walls.

As the last member was taken, he looked up and locked eyes with Zen. He pointed at him and began to grovel. “Help! Help me...”

Zen's history with the Separate Abyss race was less than stellar but he still found it in himself to reach out and grab the begging man's arm.

He tried, he really tried to pull him out but even his help couldn't save this man from becoming prey to the passageway wall.

All that Zen managed to do was break off his arm and let the rest of him get swallowed up by the wall, quite literally.

One could split their soul into many pieces and they were all alive, just like Chaim's long soul swords.

However, if Chaim's main soul lost consciousness, then the long swords would disappear.

Zen held the arm, the only thing that had been left of that unfortunate warrior. However, a moment later, it suddenly vanished in a wisp of purple smoke.

At that moment, the faces that lined the walls all opened their eyes. Suddenly, numerous arms, long and pale, shot out of the walls.

These arms were extremely pale, bordering snow-white complexion. Each arm ended in a sort of weird, three-fingered hand, and each finger was one foot long. It was something Zen had never really seen on any creature before.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The arms all made a grab for Zen, clawing at his flesh.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

In a blink of the eye, eight hands managed to grab hold of him and began to drag him towards the wall.

“Impressive. Also a tad bit creepy. But it's wishful thinking to think you can drag me in,” he hissed at the arms coldly.

Zen twisted his body and swung his right hand. There was a nasty crunching sound as the hands he hit broke, some even splintering completely and leaving hanging, broken bones and sinew.

Probably realizing that Zen wasn't as weak as their earlier prey, the broken arms all retreated into the walls.

“What's behind the walls? Let me see!”

Zen demanded, grabbing hold of a broken bone that was in the process of retreating. He attempted to pull it out but the bone was fragile and simply crumbled in his hand.

“Ahahah...”

The faces on the walls began to growl.

It was a rather creepy sight with all these growling faces, especially when they all began to move along the walls and headed towards the direction of Dorothy and the Ear Mice.

“NO!” Zen screamed.

He had chosen the 19th passageway because he was confident in his abilities but Dorothy and the Ear Mice were a different story. He couldn't allow these faces to get close. He had to protect them!

Dong!

The young man had switched on the offense and punched the wall with his strength.

His power was terrifying and the punch was not lacking in force at all. Even the entire passageway trembled from his attack.

Unfortunately, the faces were completely unharmed. They disappeared for a few seconds but quickly resurfaced all over again. Some even stared at Zen, almost as if mocking him.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Zen, however, was resolute and continued his tirade of punches, targeting each face that lined the walls.

As per his observations earlier, the walls weren't made of hewn rock but some kind of fleshy material. This proved to be a disadvantage as the flexible walls absorbed the force of Zen's punches, keeping the faces out of harm's way.

“Thad! What's going on?!”

Dorothy shouted from the red haze. She heard the commotion and figured that Zen had made his move. She couldn't really see anything since her spiritual sense was blocked.

“Mind both sides of the path!”

She heard Zen answer from beyond.

“What? Why? What's wrong with the walls?”

“Wait! Look, some masks are flying along the walls!”

“These are faces! Look, I can even see some of our race! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!”

The Ear Mice began to panic, quite scared of what was happening.

The reason they dared venture into the Grand Sky Temple was that they held a lot of information, more so than the other races. Moreover, they had Zen to protect them.

However, their current situation proved to be quite precarious.

As the faces reached their area, white, three-fingered hands began to shoot out of the walls and charged at them!

An unfortunate Ear Mouse that had been standing close to the wall was the first casualty. It was suddenly grabbed by a hand and dragged into the wall before it could even scream.

“Stay away from the walls!”

“Don't allow yourself to get caught!”

“Soul Protection Shield!” one of the Ear Mice cried out, summoning a shield from its claw.

There was a flash of light as a small, round shield surrounded the Ear Mice and Dorothy, protecting them from harm.

The Soul Protection Shield was a powerful soul weapon and was only a bit weaker than Dorothy's Necklace of Mystic Soul.

Relieved due to the fact that there was now a shield to protect them, the Ear Mice and Dorothy began to relax. Surely the hands wouldn't be able to reach them now. Unfortunately, they were very wrong. Numerous, ghastly, white hands scratched at the shield and one managed to break through. It grabbed hold of Dorothy and began to drag her towards the wall.