After passing through the black gate that slid silently open for them, the scene changed completely. The trio found themselves in wide, masterfully carved tunnels, different from the narrow passages before. The air was still and carried the scent of metallic dust, but it was also saturated with remarkably pure and dense mana. But what truly took their breath away were the walls, ceiling, and even the intermittent floor sections. They were all studded, no, overwhelmed with thick, intertwined veins of crystals in diverse, brilliant colors and shapes: celestial blue, ruby red, emerald green, lustrous violet, and even rare gold. The crystals pulsed with a faint light, illuminating the dark tunnels and casting shifting colored patterns on their faces.
Orion barely took two steps into the tunnel before stopping. He closed his eyes for a moment, then extended his right hand, clad in the "Whispers of the Ancient Shadow" gauntlet, towards the nearest massive blue crystal vein. Black shadows flowed from the gauntlet and his own shadow on the ground, wrapping around the exposed part of the crystal vein like silent serpents. For a few seconds, the shadows seemed to devour the blue light, then they retracted quickly, pulling large chunks of raw crystal into Orion's shadow, which rippled imperceptibly for a moment before returning to normal. The taken crystals vanished without a trace.
Meanwhile, Liana had approached an emerald vein, her golden eyes shining with excitement as she carefully placed her hand on it. "Amazing... this purity! This density! Kai, Orion, these crystals are a real treasure! I can use them to make..." She stopped abruptly as she saw Orion calmly continue absorbing a red crystal vein into his shadow. Her eyes gleamed with intelligence and realization.
Liana quickly turned to Orion and said in a serious, practical tone, "Orion, pause for a moment. Your shadow storage... it's infinite, isn't it? Unlike our limited storage." Orion nodded in confirmation. Liana continued with calculated enthusiasm, "Then, you must store every valuable crystal we find here. Leave nothing behind. These resources are invaluable, whether for my use in runes, or even making bombs or spells from them, or even using them as an energy source. You are our best means of securing as much as possible."
Kai raised his eyebrows, looking from Liana to Orion, who had already begun absorbing crystals at a faster, more systematic pace based on Liana's suggestion. Kai grinned broadly and said, "Well, well! I didn't know we brought a personal, walking bank vault with us. So, Orion is now the official 'Treasure Hoarder' of the team? Fantastic! Just try not to accidentally absorb us too, buddy."
Liana gave Kai her customary exasperated look but nodded at Orion. "It's the most logical approach. Power lies in resources too."
"Understood," Orion said simply, continuing his work, his shadows now moving more actively, devouring exposed crystal veins from the walls and floor and storing them with silent efficiency.
"To the heart of the mine then!" Kai said, twirling his golden spear. "I just hope the heart of the mine isn't an evil giant crystal trying to absorb us!"
"Ridiculous!" Liana said in an exasperated tone, but there was a hint of a smile on her face this time.
They began advancing cautiously through the wide tunnels, with Orion periodically stopping to absorb prominent crystal veins into his infinite shadow storage. Many days passed as they pushed deeper and deeper into the mine. With every league they covered, the mana density in the air increased, the crystals became brighter and more vibrant, and they faced stronger, stranger beasts. They fought massive Crystal Golems, endless swarms of Geode Gnawers, and deadly Resonating Bats. Each battle increased their experience and teamwork, and every crystal Orion stored represented potential power for the future.
Finally, after a journey lasting days, filled with combat, exploration, and Orion's silent harvesting of treasures, they reached an incredibly vast and wide cavern. This was undoubtedly the heart of the mine. The walls, ceiling, and floor were a breathtaking mosaic of giant crystals glowing in every color of the spectrum, pulsing with pure, powerful mana so potent it was almost visible as colored mist dancing in the air. It was a place of enchanting, dangerous beauty.
But in the center of the cavern, there were seven massive black crystals, the size of large boulders, floating silently in the air at different heights. They didn't glow; instead, they absorbed the surrounding light, appearing like voids in reality. An aura of pure, concentrated corruption emanated from them, far stronger and more oppressive than anything they had felt before. These black crystals pulsed slowly and in unison, and with each pulse, the pure mana from the colored crystals in the cavern dimmed slightly, as if these black holes were feeding on it.
The trio stopped at the entrance to the cavern, feeling the awe and extreme danger emanating from those black crystals.
"What in the hell are those?" Kai whispered, feeling a chill run down his spine despite the warm ambient mana.
"They are the source of the corruption here," Orion stated in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the pulsing black crystals. "We must destroy them."
But as soon as they took a step into the cavern, as if sensing their hostile intent, the black crystals stopped pulsing for a moment. Then, they began to move slowly, drawn towards each other in the center of the cavern. The seven crystals merged amidst a deep, grating sound and a massive surge of corrupt shadow energy. They began to shape and swell, black, obsidian-like matter gathering and hardening.
Within seconds, a colossal and terrifying figure formed before them. A giant Black Crystal Golem, standing a full fifteen meters tall. It had no distinct features, just a massive humanoid shape made entirely of the same light-absorbing black material, with faint violet cracks glowing intermittently across its surface, and two large, empty eyes radiating pure darkness. The oppressive aura emanating from it was enough to make the air heavy and difficult to breathe.
"Well... I think I found that giant evil crystal I was joking about," Kai said with a nervous grin, tightening his grip on his spear.
"Get ready!" Liana shouted, her two copies instantly appearing, the crown on her head glowing fiercely.
Orion released his five core shadows, spreading them out around the giant golem, while also summoning hundreds of his strongest shadow specters to form an initial distracting wave.
The confrontation began. The black golem let out a silent roar, but a wave of pure pressure erupted from it, throwing the shadow specters back and forcing the trio to brace themselves. Then, the golem raised a massive arm the size of a tree, made of black crystal, and brought it smashing down towards them with overwhelming force.
"Scatter!" Orion yelled.
The trio and the shadows leaped in different directions as the giant arm shattered the crystalline floor where they had stood, sending sharp shards flying.
"Zak! Grakus! Attack its legs!" Orion commanded. The shadow giant and the four-armed fighter charged towards the golem's massive legs. Zak's great axe struck the black crystal, creating violet sparks, while Grakus's rapid punches made dull thuds but initially caused little visible damage.
"It's too hard!" Zak roared in his deep voice.
"Kai! Liana! Target the glowing cracks!" Orion noticed the violet cracks on the golem's body glowed brighter when it attacked or took damage. "They might be weak points!"
Kai, his chain shifting into a massive stellar warhammer, began pounding on the glowing areas he could reach, while Liana and her copies launched concentrated ice lances and lightning runes at those same fissures. The attacks seemed to do more damage when hitting the glowing cracks directly.
Meanwhile, the golem retaliated fiercely. It fired a thick beam of violet corrupted energy from its chest, nearly hitting Legolas if not for Anarak pushing him aside at the last second. It stomped its foot, causing sharp black crystal spikes to erupt from the floor trying to impale them.
Severus moved like a ghost around the golem, his toxic claws scratching the black surface, searching for any gap or real weak point, while Orion used [Shadow Step] to attack from different angles, his Shadow Katana, enhanced by his black aura and gauntlet energy, striking the glowing cracks repeatedly.
The fierce battle continued. The golem slowly absorbed mana from the surrounding colored crystals to replenish its energy, making the fight harder. The shadow companions took heavy hits; Grakus's second arm suffered a fracture, and Zak's armor cracked dangerously.
"We need to finish it quickly before it drains us or absorbs all the mana here!" Liana shouted as she launched a powerful explosion rune that hit a large crack in the golem's chest, causing it to stagger back for a moment.
"Got it!" Kai yelled back. "Orion! Give me an opening!"
Orion nodded. He focused his energy, used [Shadow Step] to appear directly above the golem's shoulder, then launched a focused [Shadow Detonation] at one of its empty eyes. The blast didn't significantly harm the golem itself, but it completely disoriented it for a moment, causing it to instinctively raise its arms.
Kai seized the moment. He leaped high into the air, his golden chain transforming into a colossal stellar drill spinning at incredible speed, saturated with blue and red flames and gravitational force. Kai roared as he aimed the drill directly at the large, glowing crack in the golem's chest that Liana had just widened.
The stellar drill tore into the black crystal with immense difficulty amidst a high-pitched metallic screech, burrowing deep into the golem's chest. The golem let out a final, silent roar, shuddered violently, then the violet cracks all over its body glowed blindingly before it exploded from within in a massive blast of corrupted energy and darkness.
The trio and the shadows were thrown back by the force of the explosion but managed to shield themselves with mana and shadows. When the dust and violet smoke cleared, there was no trace of the giant golem, only small fragments of black crystal slowly falling to the ground and turning into dust.
The trio and their shadows stood, panting from exhaustion, covered in dust and wounds. It had been the hardest battle they had faced so far.
Suddenly, as before, a massive wave of pure mana surged from the surrounding colored crystals, but it was stronger and denser this time. The wave washed over the trio, flowing into their mana cores, filling and significantly reinforcing them, though still not enough for another breakthrough. It was their reward for defeating the guardian of the third floor.
After they absorbed the mana wave, they looked around. In the spot where the black golem had stood, the air began to distort and shimmer. A tear appeared in space, then widened to form a stable spatial portal glowing with a faint, neutral gray light. No words were needed; they knew this was their gateway to the fourth floor.
The trio looked at each other, exhaustion mingled with determination in their eyes. They had survived another challenge, and they were stronger for it. Orion nodded, then walked towards the spatial portal, followed closely by Kai, Liana, and his shadows, ready to face the horrors and mysteries of the next floor in the Forgotten's Graveyard.