The Empyreal Gem Master

Burrow in.

Such was the command given by the Priestess as one would normally ask why.

Inside of a mountain was more mountain.

Dense lands and earth contained within.

So what use would it be apart from slowing them down?

Such questions may arise in others, but the Followers of the White Mistress held utmost belief as they didn't question!

The gems on their bodies pulsed with radiance as colorful bursts of light smashed into the earth- sand and soil radiantly smashed away as, like a drill, they burrowed in.

The Priestess was in the lead with a vibrant white authority getting close to the stage of a Ruler, her main Ability Gem letting out waves of milky white radiance as it spun and drilled through.

In an instant, they began heading into the depths of the Sacred Mountain.

As for the forces that forced them into this retreat…

"Master, shall we…" The Night Walker, Jujugan, asked as behind him, the figure of Alexander floated.

His crimson wings and crown hanging sideways on his head glinted with radiance as he spoke slowly.

"Keep a distance, but continue."

…!

The more time that passed, the more he regenerated his Energeia and summoned more Undead.

The more time that passed, the more that a certain percentage rose.

As he thought of it, Alexander communicated with his Enneagram as another number showed itself.

[The progress of the fusion of the soul with the Gem Constellation, Endless Glacial Dream is currently 0.1%.]

.1%!

From decimal points, this number was rapidly rising as the Enneagram on his chest became increasingly proficient in fusing more and more of his soul towards the Gem Constellation, and it currently kept increasing the rate every so slowly as Alexander's life force was used to regenerate the lost portions of his soul.

Slowly but surely.

He was going towards that place that others had been seeking for decades.

Others like Jujugan had already died and become Undead, and it was still just out of their grasp!

Alexander cautiously looked forward to it as they slowed their chase.

Behind him, Anastasia and Vishpala led the Beast Minions, with Claire flying beside him with a stern expression.

Further behind, the massive forming Undead Legion being raised by the Vigor Flayer Lich was making the tunnel they were burrowing into even larger as an Undead Tier 9 Mutated Gem Chimera with nine flaming tails had now joined their ranks!

The cackling Vigor Flayer Lich seemed to be frowning as its limit to the number of powerful Undead it could command in its Legion was already nearing its limit.

But this was the force Alexander had protecting him as he moved with confidence while weighing the risks and benefits!

Seconds passed as the chase continued.

And seconds turned into minutes as after burrowing through what seemed like over 200 miles…

HUUM!

A massive explosion was heard ahead as if a massive pocket was exposed and ruptured.

Thereafter, booming winds initially gushed out from the ends of the tunnel where the Priestess and her people had been in the lead- Alexander and the others only seeing a flash of golden light erupt as after the rough winds that came, a terrifying pulling force grabbed at all them rapidly!

It was undeniable.

They only felt the golden light they could see get bigger and bigger until…

PAH!

They crossed the tunnel entirely and came out the other side, their bodies still being pulled by a terrifying force, but it felt like time had slowed down when they saw what was ahead and around them!

At the end of the tunnel.

The golden brilliance they saw.

It stemmed…from an extremely vast space.

A space!

As if the Sacred Mountain they had been borrowing through was hollow!

As if inside of it…there was a whole other world.

World.

Alexander could only think of this word when he looked around as the space was just that massive.

They appeared in an area that had dazzling gold clouds, and they could see tall rising green gold trees far below them as this hollow space within the Sacred Mountain seemed to be extending further down!

Further down, the tall green gold trees were sprouting from round floating landmass- with Alexander counting at least a dozen of such small world-like structures.

The undeniable force was pulling them from the supposed 'sky' of this place as if they were never supposed to touch these radiant gold skies and towards one of these small round worlds.

The figures of the Priestess and her people were being pulled in another direction towards a different green-gold floating landmass.

BOOM!

Their figures crashed between the thick branches and leaves of the green gold trees as they crossed what seemed like hundreds of miles in a few seconds, and ultimately…

SAA!

The pull on their bodies reduced as they landed on a small world of this hollow earth.

Of this hollow Sacred Mountain!

Their descent slowed down as they seamlessly landed on the golden earth of this small world, and before they could even understand their situation, the surrounding space began to tremble.

From this trembling, Alexander's eyes opened wide as he saw…words beginning to form from the potent waves of Energeia in the air.

Words!

Words that seemed to be in a universal language that everyone could understand, and they held shocking meaning.

[You have landed on the Third Sacred Mound of the Sacred Gold Mountain.] Stay updated with empire

[On the Third Sacred Mound, there exists a Sacred Key. Obtaining this Sacred Key will give you access and ownership to a part of the Sacred Gold Mountain, and obtaining all Sacred Keys will grant you Rulership over the Sacred Gold Mountain and the Covenant contained within it. 13 Sacred Mounds containing Sacred Keys exist within the Inner Domain of the Sacred Gold Mountain. Only through Ownership of a Sacred Mountain can one stand and survive the Ascension of Ephesus to come. Only those under the grace of a Sacred Mountain can survive the tribulations to come.]

…!

Words.

Colored gold and in an absolute language, they appeared before Alexander and others as finally, it seemed like they were about to grasp some answers regarding Ephesus and its shocking changes!