Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix-Chapter 985: Weird actions

As Rain distributed the relics among his family, a notable absence of any immediate response or reaction from the artifacts occurred when they started moving forward. The lack of any indication of adversaries or creatures heightened Rain's wariness.

Despite this, he refrained from deploying his domain, it was a measure that would have allowed him to oversee any attempts by the relics to communicate with his family or children, potentially tempting them with promises of power.

The absence of any overt activity from the relics, coupled with the absence of visible threats, only served to amplify Rain's caution. He remained vigilant, wary of potential dangers that might emerge unexpectedly, even as the artifacts remained dormant. This cautious approach reflected his protective instinct to safeguard his loved ones from potential manipulation or harm.

"Your test is too obvious, they won't fall for it," The woman in the darkness said.

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"Either way, my goals are being accomplished," Rain said.

"Preventing them from tempting your family and making them feel like they gained a bit of your confidence, huh?" The woman in the darkness asked. "In the end, we are the ones who have more reason to be suspicious of you. That kind of way of thinking only makes you look suspicious."

"Well, I don't really care," Rain said.

"Why are you talking alone?" Terra asked.

"... Didn't you hear her voice?" Rain furrowed his eyebrows. "The woman in the sword."

"No… anyway, try not to look to weird in front of our kids," Terra said.

Rain sighed… it was annoying that sometimes the spirits in the weapons would talk to him directly and sometimes they would use the weapons as medium and make everyone hear that. It goes without saying, but Rain couldn't tell when they were doing what.

In any case, Rain decided to stay quiet since it was about time for something to happen in the dungeon, but nothing happened even after a couple of hours. Thanks to it, he was starting to think that the fourth floor was the last one… it would make sense if that were the case if something like the guardian of the last floor was draining all the mana in it.

He wasn't expecting much from that kind of guardian… it would be more impressive if they could drain the mana of the whole dungeon.

The group continued their journey through the dimly lit fourth floor, traversing in near-complete silence for several hours. An air of tension hung thickly around them, almost tangible in its intensity. Every member remained fully absorbed in the task at hand, their senses on high alert, waiting for any potential threat to leap out from the encompassing darkness and attack them.

As time wore on, the silence grew more heavy, intensifying the atmosphere of unease and apprehension.

Hours passed, and the anxiety became nearly suffocating. The dryness in their throats made swallowing a challenging feat, a clear sign to the mounting tension and the grim ambiance of the environment. Rain, sensing the weariness and the need for a moment's respite, decided to call for a break.

Just as he was about to voice his intention, a distinct growling emanated from Terra's stomach, breaking the eerie silence.

Deciding to capitalize on the opportune distraction, Rain seized the moment. He cited Terra's hungry stomach as a pretext, a lighthearted excuse to halt their progress temporarily. This slight moment of levity amidst the prevailing tension served as a welcome relief, prompting a subtle relaxation in the group's demeanor, if only momentarily.

"We might as well take another break since we won't find enemies here," Rain said. "This time, we will sleep before moving in order to make sure that we will be in tip top condition to advance."

"Finally, I was starting to feel a bit tired… I want to fill my belly to the limits before going to bed," Annie said. "It is a pity that we don't have anything else aside from an improvised bed."

Annie was already completely relaxed while Danny kept his guard up. Those simple actions really made their differences stand out. In any case, after a warm meal, everyone began to relax more and more. Rain didn't find the need to have more than one person to stand on guard duty, so he decided to let the others rest for at least six hours before calling someone to take his place.

Still, it looked like he wouldn't be able to focus since his wives decided to claim one of his legs each to rest their heads.

"Dad… don't let them do anything weird with you while we are nearby," Annie asked. "For the sake of my sanity."

"Describe what would be weird in this situation," Rain said. "I am a bit old, so I don't know what the young'uns think it is weird."

"Asking that for a woman is weird, is that a good example?" Annie asked.

"I guess so…" Rain laughed a bit.

Rain wondered if caressing his wives heads counted as weird in that situation, he couldn't tell since he was a bit behind the age. Still, no one said anything and that made them fall asleep pretty fast.

"All right, we need to talk," The woman in the darkness said. "These dark crystals made me recall something that I saw in the past."

"I didn't stop you, you don't have to pause for dramatic effects either," Rain said. "Still, I would find hard to believe in your words, when you decide not to show those events. Telling only a few parts of your past makes you look even more suspicious as well."

"I don't really care about what you think," The woman in the darkness said and Rain could imagine her shrugging. "Anyway, it would be annoying if you were to be caught off guard and ended up losing me to whatever is at the end of the dungeon. Regardless, there was a dragon that I saw that hunted other dragons in the past and it turned them into dark crystals."