Chapter 54: The Blood-Stained Staircase

Prince Aethelgard and Arthur pressed forward, tracking the massive Crimson Terror-Bear deeper into the dense jungle.

But as they rounded a thick grove of ancient trees, the humid canopy vanished instantly, replaced by a suffocating, blistering wall of heat.

Before they could react, the landscape warped around them. The path behind them dissolved into a sheer stone wall, trapping them in a cavernous basin where rivers of glowing, molten lava bubbled and surged.

As they cautiously advanced, the grotesque local fauna grew increasingly bizarre. Magma-rats with bodies forged entirely from living flame scurried across the burning rocks, while serpents of liquid fire slithered through the ash, and avian beasts of pure heat soared overhead.

Aethelgard’s brow furrowed in deep realization. "These species... according to the imperial archives, they went extinct four to six hundred years ago. But how did we teleport here just by tracking a bear?"

Before he could ponder further, a massive rumbling shook the earth. Emerging from the molten rock was a colossal tiger, its pitch-black fur contrasting sharply with the roaring, vibrant flames blazing along its jawline.

Radiating the terrifying pressure of a Peak Rank 4 Beast, the creature slumbered peacefully on a bed of warm basalt.

"An ancient Flame-Bearded Panther," Aethelgard whispered, his voice trembling slightly as he motioned for Arthur to stay dead silent and skirt around the beast. "This species hasn’t been seen outside the neighboring empire’s volcanic sanctuaries in a millennium."

Suddenly, a disturbance in the space beside them signaled an arrival. A sharp rift in the shadows parted, and a slender figure stepped out.

The stranger wore sharply tailored black men’s formal attire—a sleek coat and trousers—with her dark hair tied back in a neat ponytail and a polished golden monocle glinting over her left eye.

Noticing the two youths staring at her, a wry smile touched her lips. "I see you two managed to stumble into this loop as well. Honestly, I wouldn’t have expected a royal prince to get trapped in a Third-Grade Illusory Domain."

Aethelgard’s veins throbbed at the insult. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means you haven’t realized the truth yet," she replied smoothly, tapping her monocle. "We aren’t in the real world. We’ve been dragged into a high-level illusion woven right after entering the hidden realm. The true realm is fractured into four distinct zones—the frozen ocean, the scorched desert, this massive jungle, and a floating sky-archipelago. My scout team confirmed it through our synced artifacts."

Arthur and Aethelgard exchanged stunned glances. With no other choice, the three formed an uneasy alliance, pushing deeper into the lava-filled labyrinth to find the core controlling the illusion.

***

Meanwhile, deep within the subterranean caverns, the massive bronze Gate of Elements stood fully ajar, revealing a colossal, pristine white marble staircase stretching infinitely upward into the gloom. The stairs radiated an oppressive, divine pressure that made it impossible to see the top.

The gathered adventurers stared up in awe. Some estimated five hundred steps, others six hundred, while to many, the staircase appeared terrifyingly infinite, scaling in difficulty according to the climber’s cultivation rank.

Without hesitation, two robust warriors charged forward and stepped onto the first tier.

The moment their boots touched the marble, a crushing gravitational weight slammed down upon them. Both men possessed **Silver-Grade Warrior Bodies**, their skin instantly shimmering with a dense metallic sheen as they strained every muscle to push against the absolute limits of their physical foundation.

Kael watched them with a calm, confident smile. Ordinary mages couldn’t dream of conquering these stairs, which were explicitly designed for physical cultivators. Though Kael lacked a natural warrior body, a dark, sentient shadow entity coiled beneath his cloak suddenly surged forward, enveloping his frame in a sleek, impenetrable combat suit.

The shadow suit instantly elevated his physical prowess to the mid-fourth rank. Stepping onto the first step, Kael absorbed the crushing pressure effortlessly, treating the trial like a casual stroll.

Beside him, Princess Vespera bypassed the center stairs entirely, stepping onto the specialized side-path.

The sleek golden boots she wore instantly lit up with complex runic arrays, emitting a hum that completely nullified the opposing gravitational forces pushing up and down. She knew the high-tier artifacts would only hold until the pressure breached the fifth rank, but for now, they carried her smoothly forward.

Trailing closely behind them, Ethan strolled with effortless grace. Releasing a controlled wave of his fifth-rank spiritual mana to scan the path ahead, his vision pierced through the divine mist.

At the very apex of the colossal marble staircase, hovering above the grand bed-chamber, ancient golden inscriptions gleamed across the stone statues of the Dragon and Phoenix.

The text explicitly prophesied that a man and a woman who united in intimacy upon the sacred bed would receive the dual blessings of the Dragon and the Phoenix, granting them supreme fire and ice elemental techniques that could permanently elevate their battle prowess regardless of their initial class.

Ethan’s lips curved into a chilling, calculated smirk. He instantly realized this elaborate trial chamber had been meticulously tailored by the realm’s creators solely for Kael and the Princess, sealing their fate as destined soulbound partners.

But did Kael truly believe Ethan would sit back and allow a fairy-tale ending to unfold?

Down below, Kael continued his steady ascent. The sentient shadow creature bound to his form pulsed with dark energy, pushing his combat aura to the mid-fourth rank of a warrior.

The surrounding adventurers stared in shock, whispering in terror as they felt the oppressive weight of his sudden power surge. "Wasn’t he just a third-rank cultivator? How did he grow this strong so fast?!"

Trailing not far behind was Lord Valerius, the Duke’s arrogant son. Gritting his teeth in pure jealousy, Valerius drew his longsword and lunged forward, aiming a vicious, unprovoked sneak attack directly at Kael’s back to eliminate his rival.

Caught up in the grueling physical pressure of the stairs, Kael barely had time to react. But before the blade could strike, the shadow suit clinging to Kael’s body violently shifted.

*Squelch!*

A dozen writhing, pitch-black tentacles shot out from beneath Kael’s boots, instantly ensnaring Valerius in an inescapable grip.

Before the young lord could even scream, the shadowy tendrils parted to reveal rows of microscopic, razor-sharp white teeth, sinking viciously into his flesh and devouring him alive.

Within seconds, only a half-eaten, bloody corpse remained crumpled on the immaculate white stairs, thick crimson blood dripping down the marble steps toward Kael’s feet.

The surrounding crowd gasped, frozen in sheer, unadulterated horror. Even Princess Vespera stared in absolute shock, witnessing the terrifying offensive capabilities of Kael’s shadow entity for the first time.

Yet, beneath her shock, a cold wave of relief washed over her. With the hated Duke’s son brutally slaughtered, the forced political marriage was permanently dissolved, leaving her entirely free.

A calculated glint flickered in her eyes as she turned away, stepping smoothly upward to continue her ascent, leaving the bloody aftermath in her wake.