The Revival of the Old Days 6

All the contaminated ones had been acting.

Their purpose—

Was simple.

It was to make Saruman and the others believe they had discovered the stone door through their own wisdom, and—more importantly—to stir within them, in their desperation, an inevitable curiosity about the Final Gate and the desire to unlock it.

They needed someone who could see through the corridor's "infinity," someone who could resist being assimilated by this place, someone who could gather enough wisdom and knowledge to find and activate the hidden "key" on that stone door. Then, they could release the master capable of leading them into eternity.

Many had entered before, but without exception, none had managed it. Most of them had then become part of those things. They had longed too desperately to get out. Saruman, this exceptionally gifted and erudite young wizard, was precisely the ideal candidate they had waited countless ages for.

Yes.

Saruman's repeated narrow escapes had not been coincidences either. Those people had merely been helping Saruman grow stronger—strong enough to open the stone door and release the being sealed within.

They were not guardians of the ruins. They were more like—guides. They led those who met the requirements toward that door, toward the truly unspeakable realm of horror beyond it.

Karg's bravery and Lina's contamination were merely added stakes and catalysts in this lengthy selection process, deepening Saruman's obsession with finding a way out.

Now, the prey had entered the trap.

Their laughter echoed through the empty corridor, filled with blasphemous delight. The stone door remained tightly shut, yet the dead world to which it connected—the dimension containing the slumbering city known as R'lyeh—had received new sacrifices. Or rather, new—variables.

Saruman's wisdom, Karg's tenacity, and the contamination from the deep sea upon Lina—what ripples would the combination of these three