Chapter 214 A great river
"Darn river, when will we get out of this place?" cursed Persephone, her green eyes shining with frustration as she watched the piece of land seem to be a bit larger than before. They had been at sea for three days, and of the seven coconuts they had, only two remained. She looked at the white-haired boy, who was holding a stick with a thread of darkness at its end, improvising a fishing rod.
He had an expectant expression as he watched the water.
Persephone's eyes shone with incredulity. "How can you be so calm?" she asked with frustration, feeling like she might lose her sanity at any moment. Anthony looked at her with amusement. "If you want, you can swim and see if you can get there before the boat," he joked. A knot of anger formed on Persephone's forehead as she clenched her fists.
She felt like pushing him into the water right at that moment. Anthony watched her with a smile, knowing how easy it was to annoy her.
"Instead of complaining, you should help me fish," continued Anthony, changing the tone of the conversation. "We have no more food apart from the two coconuts we have left, so if we don't want to starve, help me out."
The small thread of darkness moved slightly, and Anthony's eyes shone with anticipation. With a quick movement, he cast the rod upwards. A fish emerged from the water and fell directly into the boat, fluttering frantically before becoming still. It was about fifteen centimeters long and five wide, with blue scales. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be poisonous, at least that's what Anthony believed.
"Fishing is a lot of fun," he commented as he admired the caught fish.
Persephone observed the fish for a moment before letting out a sigh. She was starting to get a slight headache. She sat down next to Anthony and asked for a rod. He looked at her and handed her his. Then, he took out another stick from his ring and created another makeshift rod.
Persephone grabbed the rod tightly and sat in her usual seat, feeling frustrated as she cast the thin thread of darkness into the water, her expression turning somber as she watched the waters move.
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Ezequiel looked incredulously as the landscape in front of him completely transformed. A large fountain of magma erupted from the ground, creating a landscape that literally seemed to be taken from hell. He frowned with confusion and amazement. Just a few minutes ago, that place was a beautiful landscape adorned with flowers and a waterfall. The warm sunlight illuminated a beautiful pond. Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire
But in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
Looking around him, everything was exactly the same: black rocks, some of which were melting into the magma. In front of him stretched a large bridge, and below opened up a huge abyss of magma, with large bubbles bursting and creating an even hotter air. The only path ahead of him was the bridge, which seemed to be almost worn out by time and heat.
Ezequiel felt overwhelmed by the intensity of the heat, on the other side of the bridge was a black castle, seemingly built of black stone.
With no other options, he walked slowly across the bridge, some planks fell into the void only to disappear consumed by the flames, after what felt like hours Ezequiel finally managed to cross to the other side, but he was welcomed by creatures of 3 meters, they were made of molten stone, they had some cracks where magma could be seen flowing inside.
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"I am something that everyone has, but few truly know. I can be the reflection of your true self or the mask that hides your true feelings. Often, I am kept jealously, but when shared, I can create deep connections between people. What am I?" Reading the riddle, Adelaida frowned.
She had been in this place for almost half an hour, she was in a very large space, in front of her was a huge statue of a man sitting with crossed legs, behind her was a small ecosystem with water coming out behind the walls.
Searching for the answer, she concentrated, every time she answered wrong, the water coming out of the walls increased a lot, she had water up to her knees and it kept increasing every second, she put her delicate hands on her cheek, reading the words again on a stone tablet, for a moment she thought they were eyes, but the following words didn't match at all, watching as the water kept rising.
Her mind lit up and she read the riddle again to be sure, her eyes shone: "The answer is the heart," she said with a smile, the stone tablet trembled violently and broke into pieces, the pieces of stone fell into the water, she waited for the water to stop rising, to her surprise it didn't happen, instead another stone tablet formed.
"I am something that is lost if not seized, but gained if valued. I am often considered the most valuable treasure, but many do not appreciate me until it's too late. Although some desperately seek to find a way to recover me, my value lies in the present. What am I?" Reading the new riddle, Adelaida's expression darkened.
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"Damn fish! I haven't caught any," cursed Persephone as she watched Anthony manage to catch a total of 10 fish in all these hours. He still had the same look of anticipation as he watched the water. Persephone's expression darkened, and she looked to the other end of the river, where it seemed they hadn't gotten any closer in these hours.
"Patience is a virtue," said Anthony, sounding like an old man who had lived for many years.
Persephone clenched her lips with frustration as she watched Anthony, who seemed to be in perfect harmony with the river, as if he had done this a thousand times before. The young woman felt increasingly overwhelmed by her own lack of fishing skill as she watched her companion accumulate an impressive amount of fish.
Persephone's gaze shifted to the other end of the river, where the shore seemed to be as distant as at the beginning.