After several minutes of conducting an initial scan of city, El took the time to explore the entire cave city, ensuring he grasped the complete layout of the city.
With a mental blueprint firmly and fully in his mind, he started his search to locate an exit. All around him, he observed numerous man-sized openings, but with his understanding of cave pathways revealed that most led to dead ends.
There were a few that eluded his detection, yet he was unwilling to gamble on them,to take the risk—not with his current disadvantages which was pilling up. He sought a genuine escape route from this confined space—one that posed the most minimal risk.
Soon enough, his search bore fruits and he discovered a hole that fit all his criteria, typically leading to freedom.
Drawing back his senses, he noted that, while his king's eyes had recovered and could remain expanded, his mind still felt under strain, making it difficult to maintain the focus of his king's eyes.
He navigated through the narrow corners of the cave's houses until arriving at a wall marking the end of one section of the city. Looking up, he spotted a hole positioned high above his head on the wall.
Climbing was the only option now. And after some effort, leveraging the jagged, climbable rocks, he ascended the wall and squeezed into the opening. Although tight and slightly uncomfortable, he managed to navigate through, knowing a lengthy journey awaited him.
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Over an hour had passed as he traversed this corridor, scarcely resting during his journey.
A peculiar sensation began to surface as he continued—his eyes and his skin, itched painfully,and his skin exposed in several areas, erupted in red spots from excessive scratching.
But this was far from normal. Stopping to assess the situation, he recalled how, before starting his walk, he had suppressed his king's eyes senses. Which made him Unaware of what lay beyond his immediate senses,and now he was lamenting his choices.
Expanding his awareness, he detected a gaseous substance in the air, barely visible to the naked eye.
And with his enhanced perception, he realized this gas was likely to intensify the deeper he ventured.
"Damnit," he muttered, feeling the itchiness from even this minimal concentration. If this was how he reacted here, he couldn't fathom the effects of a more concentrated area.
Pausing to strategize his next move, he maintained his heightened senses, unwilling to be caught off guard by unforeseen consequences.
Now conscious of the gas's presence, he could sense it's bizarre effect—not entirely uncomfortable, yet distinctly abnormal. Its scent was like a sharp,pungent almost stinging bite that hits the back of the nose instantly upon inhale.
While it was an unpleasant ordeal, he refrained from labeling it hell, knowing there was worse that could come.
While in his thoughts he did not fully stay idle as his senses were still searching through the corridor ahead. Shortly after he noticed a narrower fork path ahead.
The catch however was that moving further would lead him into an area worse than this one, characterized by a gas concentration that could only be described as tormenting.
Given his thorough understanding of the cave's layout gained from his extended senses, he recognized his limited options. Rising from his seated position, still needing to bend to traverse the confined space, he pressed on.
He appreciated the multifaceted capabilities of his king's eyes; while contemplating various paths, he also experimented with his limited control over essence, hoping to alleviate the incessant itching.
Unfortunately, the attempt yielded no relief, but he had anticipated this outcome. What truly captured his attention was his ability to juggle multiple tasks almost simultaneously, something he had never been able to do back in Troy, where he had to fixate completely on one task at a time. The drawback however was that he was could only do it staying still ; this limitation prevented him from utilizing his newfound skills in combat just yet.
However, he was confident that with enough training in this, he could harness this ability at will.
As he pondered his situation, he couldn't sigh knowing that he would have his hands full after the imminent confrontation with the cult vying for supremacy in Troy.
And to El not once did he entertain the notion of defeat; even if he had to remain in Troy indefinitely, he believed that despite some losses, they would eventual triumph was all but assured—given time to reach his full potential.
Unfortunately, time was not on their side in the war. Yet, with this new strength and what more was to come, the idea of losing scarcely crossed his mind.
However, those thoughts were merely a distraction from the growing effects of the gas as he ventured deeper into the cave. It began with the itching of his skin and a sharp odor, escalating into throat irritation, chest pains, coughing, and fatigue—the whole grim package.
Subtly, a hint of dizziness crept in, but he pushed it out and pressed on, refusing to pause until he reached the fork path in the cave's pathway. By that point, he could now see the gas with his own naked eyes, which only exacerbated the stinging in them, rendering his vision blurry and causing intense pain that temporarily blinded him.
Gratefully, his advanced senses still guided him through the darkness.
Upon reaching the fork, he instinctively chose the left path–having already checked the safest one of the two, which was narrow enough that he had to crawl.
His size made this maneuver manageable, though the pervasive gas in that cramped space was deeply uncomfortable. He had to force himself to remain calm; otherwise, the irritations could drive him to madness. After several maddening minutes, he then felt an unusual heat enveloping him.
If he hadn't relied on his heightened senses, he might have mistaken it for the natural warmth of the environment temperature. But something was off; this heat felt unnatural.
Yet it wasn't overwhelming for the moment, prompting him to proceed with caution.
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