There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Chapter 27. Where Senses Tingle

Thanks to the lightness of their heart, the journey continued more smoothly. They encountered less of the worm, much to Han Shin's delight, and more of a plant-type monster. After walking for who knew how long, the giant worm was finally no more.

But they also met with a dilemma; a fork road.

The river was split again. But this time, both current was almost similar, so they couldn't decide just by their eyes. Both paths ended up in a turn, so no one could see what it would be like further ahead. Bassena sent his kids to scout, of course, but they couldn't detect anything different from both paths. Only that each seemed to head in a completely different direction.

Zein saw Bassena sigh and looked troubled for the first time. He pressed his lips, tempting to tell the esper that he had a feeling they should take the route to the right. But he had no base for his argument rather than his mark pulsing stronger towards that way, and he reckoned he couldn't use that kind of reasoning for such an important decision.

But the esper soon fixed his expression and turned his body to look at the rest of the group. "We'll use that," he said cryptically.

Eugene and Han Shin looked taken aback. "Are you sure, Sir? We can only use it three times..." the male researcher remarked hastily.

"He's right Bas. Didn't Radia say we can only use it once here and save the rest?"

"We're stuck though," Bassena shrugged. "We're so deep inside the mountain now. Do you want to risk heading in the wrong direction and rerouting later?"

The healer bit his lips and frowned in deep contemplation. "What if we meet another fork road ahead? Can't you just send your skill further?"

"I sent them as far away as I can, but I can't sense shit in both paths," the esper sounded annoyed now. "I'd rather we use it now and gambled for the next. It's better to get this one right so we can proceed further."

The two researchers looked at each other, before turning their eyes to Han Shin. The healer sighed and finally shrugged. "Well, it's your artifact, so just do what you want."

"It belonged to the guild. But you're right, I'll do what I want," Bassena smirked, but there was a hardness in his eyes that betray the confidence.

Standing on the side, Ron and Zein shared a look that show how lost they were in the conversation. But they also saw the same confusion on Sierra and Balduz's faces, so it seemed to be an executive-only secret.

They watched with interest then, as Bassena took out a box from his dimensional storage ring. It was a small box, only the size of his palm, and decorated beautifully, like an antique jewelry box. The esper opened the box and carefully took out the content—the artifact.

Zein was already walking closer before he realized it, as Bassena held the artifact in his hand. It was the size of a small ball, smaller than a chicken egg, and so intricate. There was a small round core made of crystal, surrounded by circles upon circles that formed a cage around the core. Celestial rune letters were carved on the length of every circle and moved continuously.

Within the darkness of the underground tunnel, the core of the artifact let out a soft glow that brightened their surrounding. Before any curious soul could ask about it, Bassena already injecting mana into the artifact.

Immediately, the artifact moved. It hovered off the esper's palm as the circles caging the core whirred and moved around until they slot between each other like pieces of a puzzle. After a few seconds, the entire circle joined to make one united ring around the glowing core. At the side of the ring was a sharp triangle, like an arrow, that pointed to the path on their right side.

"Alright, we're going that way," Bassena exhaled in relief. Seemed like the esper had been holding his breath the entire time.

Han Shin whispered from behind. "It really responded...so that thing is really here?"

"What thing?" Zein, who usually wasn't keen on prying that kind of question, stared hard at the artifact that already dimmed and fall back to Bassena's palm. "What is that pointing to?"

At any rate, the artifact gave the same answer as the mark on his nape.

That artifact was definitely a compass. And it pointed to something that made his mark pulsed nonstop for hours.

And not just that.

The moment Bassena activated the artifact, the mark on his nape was pulsing so hard Zein had to clutch his neck tightly, as if they were resonating.

"What...are you actually looking for here?" Zein asked again, staring at Bassena's eyes now. "It's not just the water source, isn't it?"

"No," Bassena replied while putting the artifact back inside the box. "But it's not entirely false either."

Han Shin glanced at Eugene, and the male researcher shrugged, like telling the healer there was no need for pretense anymore. "We're looking for the water source because we thought it would lead to a 'life force' that we discussed in the cave," Eugene explained. "And our true objective is the source of that 'life' itself."

"And what is that source?" despite it being Eugene that gave an explanation, Zein never left his gaze from Bassena's face.

The esper looked back at him, and answered in a solemn tone.

"The shard fragment of [Setnath]."

* * *

When the world was in chaos, and the beasts rampaging free, there was no such thing as Deathzone.

Because everywhere was the Deathzone.

It was not until a Celestial Being convinced other deities to lend their strength to the human that the people of earth started to gain a weapon to combat the invading beasts crawling out of the dungeon.

What made it possible was the existence of Towers and Temples. It didn't just awaken human's latent power and gave them supernatural abilities, but also let out purifying energy that got rid of the miasma. With the new power and the establishment of these safe zones, humanity finally had a chance to rebuild community and reclaim territory.

And all of that could happen thanks to that one Celestial Being.

[Setnath]

The Celestial Being who broke and divided its body as the foundation for the Towers, and use the fragment of its soul as the energy to keep their operation.

That information was delivered after humans managed to conquer the highest floor for the first time.

"The first thing I saw after finishing the last trial was the Beacon," Bassena said. They were in a small cavern that was perfect for a short rest. The executives decided it was time for the rest of the team to know their real objections.

"By the Beacon...you mean the shining crystal like a miniature of the sun on top of the tower?" Ron asked, eyes closed to picture the tall structure.

Zein tilted his head, obviously having no idea what it looked like, since he never saw any tower. His link blinked then, and Zein awkwardly fumbled with it.

"Yes," Bassena took Zein's wrist as he answered, helping the guide navigate the device. "You know that the Beacon we saw from the outside is a projection, right?"

"So I heard..."

Zein looked down at the screen that popped up from the link, and saw a notification on the messaging icon. Bassena tapped on that, and Zein stared at the message under the esper's name. There was a picture on it, of various Towers with various shapes and styles. But there was one thing that identified them—a glowing orb on top of each structure.

"The real Beacon is placed on the highest floor, and we can see it once we exit the trial room," Bassena taught Zein how to zoom on the pictures while explaining further. "It shaped exactly like the artifact we used earlier."

"...so, you saw the real fragment of [Setnath] yourself, Sir?" Sierra asked with widened eyes, the biscuit in her hand forgotten.

"You'll be able to if you clear the peak, Sierra," Han Shin remarked with a wink.

The Sharpshooter whined with a flailing hand. "Please don't joke around, Chief!"

"You need to have the will first to achieve that," Bassena commented briefly at the exchange before putting the topic back. "Anyway, I earned the artifact as one of the rewards for clearing the highest floor. Its official name is [Celestial Fragment Tracker] so you should get the gist of its function."

"But how do you know it refers to the fragment of Setnath?"

"Because who else would it refers to?" Han Shin opened his arms wide. "The other deities only infused their power to the Towers, and the Temple uses avatars. The only fragment of Celestial Being left in this world could only belong to Setnath."