The staircase leading to the third level was quite narrow; basically, only one person could pass through at a time.
It was a spiral staircase winding downward, with a torch placed at intervals along the way.
Sifa lit the torches one by one as he walked, allowing the firelight to illuminate this staircase that had existed in darkness for who knew how long.
Tap, tap, tap.
Abrio's footsteps echoed through the stairwell as he said, "The power of death is growing heavier and heavier."
Sifa glanced at him.
Abrio smiled. "I'm fine. I can still endure it."
Sifa nodded.
From time to time, a chilling wind blew upward from below.
After about ten minutes of walking, the two of them finally stepped onto solid, level ground.
Sifa snapped his fingers again, and the torches ahead lit up one after another, casting their glow.
An archway stood ahead.
The doors of bluish stone were carved with reliefs filled with the meaning of death.
A great many white bones were piled before the doors.
The remains had nearly formed a three-meter-high wall of bones, layer upon layer, densely packed together.
Some of the skeletons still had their palms pressed against the doors, as though they had tried to push them open, only to die outside.
Abrio looked at Sifa and said, "These should be the slaves the Rose School used to open the doors."
"They must have used some method to let ordinary people resist the Death Erosion on the first two levels."
"But on this lower level, the power of death is unprecedented. Even with the Rose School's help, these people still died the moment they touched the doors."
Sifa narrowed his eyes slightly. "Can we force them open?"
Abrio took two steps back. "That might trigger certain arrangements and destroy