The next few days went by very fast with Liam, Madan, Rey, and Lan Deming busy traveling everywhere to thoroughly explore the place they were in. While they did not make any spectacular headway, they still managed to stumble upon something quite shocking.
In front of them was what one could only describe as a town or a city. Seeing how the past few days they had not come across anyone else they almost assumed that the place was deserted but the truth couldn't be farther from that.
The city they stumbled upon was unlike anything they had anticipated finding in what they had believed to be a monstrous prison. Its streets were bustling with activity, inhabitants of various races and origins going about their daily lives.
The group stood at the city's edge, disbelief etched into their features. "How is this even possible?" Rey murmured, his eyes scanning the lively market square where creatures of all shapes and sizes bartered goods with a familiarity that suggested long-term residence. "Were they just pulling our legs? How could we be inside a beast?"
"Oh, you are most definitely inside the salamander and you are most definitely fucked." A voice sounded from behind. A tall humanoid figure walked over to stand beside them. "Welcome to the 43rd district. Did you four just arrive?"
Rey opened his mouth to answer but he immediately blurted out at the sight of the person. "Undead?" The man who had greeted them, if he could even be called a man, had rotting flesh and exposed bones in several places. More disturbing were his eyes which were completely blacked out with a very small almost invisible white eyeball. Yet, despite his weird appearance, the man's demeanor was friendly, almost casual.
The undead nodded, a grin spreading across his decayed face. "Yes, I suppose I am what you'd call 'undead'. But that's a pretty rude word to use. You should call creatures like me 'risen' for future reference. We are not mindless maniacs, you know."
Everyone was even more perplexed by the guy's words, Liam more so. Was this a new type of undead? It looked like they really had a lot to learn about the myriad realms.
"I am Shayen. Where are you all from? Bluemoon Empire?" Everyone shook their heads. "I ask because a recent batch of humans arrived from that place. Poor guys got kidnapped en masse. Ha Ha Ha." The undead really seemed to have a very casual attitude about the whole thing.
"Shayen, how come you are-" Madan started but the undead laughed him off. "I know what you are going to ask. Every newcomer asks the same thing. Why am I so happy? Carefree? It's really simple. Just stop fighting. Accept your fate and be happy." The undead shrugged.
Madan's frustration was palpable. "Accept our fate? Just like that? You expect us to just give up and live in this... this prison?"
Shayen's expression softened slightly, his gaze becoming more reflective. "I understand your anger and your desire to fight. Believe me, I was the same when I first arrived here. But over time, you'll see that anger and desperation only drain you. There's a certain freedom in acceptance, in making the best of the situation you're in."
"You've been here for a long time, then. Have you never tried to escape? To find a way out?"
Shayen let out a hollow laugh, the sound echoing strangely from his skeletal form. "Tried? Oh, I've tried more times than I can count. I've plotted, I've fought, I've schemed with others. But the truth is, this place, this 'prison,' is more complex and powerful than you can imagine. The Geliza Salamander's magic binds us here in ways that are difficult to comprehend, let alone overcome."
Rey, still trying to process everything, asked, "So, what? We just live out our days here? Make peace with never seeing our homes again?"
Shayen shrugged. "Give it time. You will be fine. And when you make peace with it, you can see the true beauty of this place, he pointed to a group of nymphs walking in front of them. They were young seductive women dressed in fine clothes.
Now that they observed this city sort of establishment for a while they could see many nymphs walking around, some with men and some without. The overall atmosphere was boisterous with many drinking liquor openly and enjoying the company of others. It was a lively scene, almost the same as any street of Nymphomania, except that this city was a bit less classy and more openly profane.
"Come. Let me give you guys a tour of the place. It's been a while since I spoke to a new face. Ba ha ha!"
The group silently followed around the undead and really the place was just like any other town or city. There were restaurants, sparring regions, brothels, smithies, and the list went on. However, the glaring fact stood out soon enough. Everyone here was pretty low-level. Almost all of them belong to the awakened category. There were even a few unawakened ones with levels less than 100 but most were well into the 500s.
Of course, there was also another glaring fact. Everyone here was a nobody. Liam observed a few fights in the sparring arena and they were nothing to write home about. The whole place reeked of mediocrity.
The undead continued introducing them to various places and apparently, the world inside the beast even had special areas that had rich elemental affinity or other kinds of affinity.
"All in all this is not a bad place to live. I will let you guys have some privacy. Come find me in the three mugs tavern if you have more questions." Shayen waved them goodbye and left.
Almost immediately, Rey and Madan, even Lan Deming turned to look at Liam with dread in their eyes. "Please bro, tell me you have a way to get the hell out of this place. Can you do something to this guy's soul? Did you get something useful from the Spire that you can use?"
Liam remained silent for a while and then sighed. "Maybe."