Here we are, back again. If I still have your attention, let's get on to some reviews.

Masterx01: I have a plan for IB that I hope isn't stupid. It might anger some of the loremasters from deeper in the LNs, but I certainly hope that you like it. As for Daedra, while they are inherently supernatural, they are a separate race that has a different connection to the world, thus, IB wouldn't affect them. Touma praying to the Nine was more of a comedic segment I wanted to do. Thanks for the support and the advice, I hope I can live up to your expectations.

Sagnik Deb: Thanks!

G119: Yeah, I got a plan for that. The moral leap will happen soon.

FerunaLutelou: While IB will have a lot of strengths here, there's a lot of threats that Touma can't counter as effectively. Ironically, it will be the more mundane of threats that will be the biggest cause for concern.

Tsun: Thanks. I have a plan for introducing TouMAN to the grittier side of things. Will it be good? We'll have to see.

Blindfold Snake: Yes.

IllusionBreaker, TeotakuFantasia: Here it is, my friends.

Alright, you've all waited long enough. Let's get on with it!

If Touma was being honest, this was definitely the most scared he'd been in a long time. From dealing with rampant Level 5s on the level of demigods, Saints that were closer to monsters than anything else, and the literal incarnation of an angel, he acknowledged the abnormality of it all.

But there was just something off about the eerie barrow. The deeper he descended, the more unsettled he felt. As if something terrifying hid behind every nook and cranny and more often than not, there was. The errant Draugr would pop out of seemingly nowhere and Touma would swing his right arm to make the dead's illusion of life disappear.

The cleaning up of the living dead did little to alleviate the oppressive atmosphere that permeated within the barrow. The stench of death still lingered no matter how many Draugr fell.

Every so often, Touma would come across a chest or box that he would rifle through. There usually wasn't much to speak of aside from some pouches of septims and various trinkets. Sometimes when he looked at the surrounding shelves, he would find some of the coloured bottles that he had found earlier. He still had no idea what they did, but he figured if they were coloured that brightly and were labelled, they had to be important for something.

Continuing down the dark hallways, Touma eventually reached an open room. Barring his progress was an iron gate before him. The room was made of the same decayed stone as the rest of the dungeon and featured prominent amounts of overgrowth, thick vines and moss growing in the cracks between slabs of machined rock. There was also a large object that appeared to have fallen from a hole high up on the far wall as it sat in a crater in the floor next to what appeared to be a lever. Slumped next to the lever, was a dead body.

Touma fought back a gag as he approached the body of who appeared to be one of the bandits.

Upon seeing the dead man, Touma's thoughts immediately shifted to that of a Draugr attack, but after examining the man's wounds, he discovered that they weren't the gaping gashes like that of a sword or the dark bruises of a heavy-handed beatdown. The wounds had the appearance of many small punctures. They were too small to be the work of arrows, but rather fit the profile of darts, as evident by the small metal spikes that remained in the majority of his wounds. The death appeared to have occurred only mere moments before Touma had entered the room, as blood was still leaking from the unplugged wounds.

Turning away from the body in an attempt to alleviate the pit in his stomach, the high school boy took notice of three decorated pillars situated in the left-side wall. Moving away from the sickening sight, Touma rested his hand on one of the pillars and gave it a once over.

To his surprise, he found that he could rotate the stone fixtures, which easily spun around on their axis. Each side had a different animal on it: a snake, a hawk, and some aquatic creature that Touma couldn't make out. It was at this point that Touma's thoughts deviated to home, and how he should've paid more attention in class. Maybe if he did, he could catch onto more of these weird puzzles. Sitting himself down on the floor, Touma took a good long moment to think about the situation at hand.

Presumably, this was a puzzle to get past the barred gate that blocked his advance, but there were undoubtedly consequences for failure, as evident by the body of the bandit. The pillars were a part of it, most likely as a combination lock, he noted. But the combination was key. If he messed it up, there would be no second chance to try again.

"ARRRRGGGHHH! This high school boy doesn't have the capacity to think about something like this!" He shouted in frustration, lamenting his lack of intelligence. This wasn't the same as deciding which person to punch! In his defense, if you suffered as many traumatic injuries as poor Kamijou did, you'd be lacking in the brains department as well.

Turning his attention back to the layout of the room, Touma took note of the object that had fallen from the wall. Upon closer observation, he noticed that it had an image of a snake, a carbon copy of the same image on the rotating pillars. Looking upwards, he noticed that the decorations on the wall also had the same images. On the left side, another snake, and on the right side, the aquatic creature. Looking back and forth between the fallen stone and its compatriots on the wall, and to the rotating pillars, it clicked. Walking back over to the pillars, Touma looked back up to the stones on the wall.

Snake, Snake, Dolphin? It has to be a dolphin.

Stepping away and double-checking to see if the patterns matched, which they did, Touma walked over to the lever. Tensing up, he prepared to roll as he grasped the lever. "Here goes nothing…" He muttered. Throwing the lever, he was ready to scramble for the iron gate to take cover from the darts, but that was unneeded as the portcullis gave a loud clanking sound before rising. Stepping into the next room, there was a raised platform that had a chest as well as some strange purple gems.

"Agh, that took way too long…" Our hero muttered to himself, giving a light kick to the chest as he opened it. To be frank, Touma isn't actually as dumb as everyone says he is despite many people referring to him as "idiot." It's just that he usually never had any experience with puzzles when dealing with more conventional threats. Like magicians.

Yikes.

Rummaging around in the chest, he pulled out two purple gemstones. One was smaller and more clean-cut, while the other was a paler tone, and rough to both the touch and the eye.

Farengar ought to know more about this, he figured as he pocketed the stones along with a few septims laying around inside. Continuing forward, he found himself in front of a winding wooden staircase, the planks having decayed a considerable bit. Seeing as there was no other way forward, Touma tentatively placed his left foot down on the first step. Upon seeing the step holding his weight, he descended down into the musty depths.

However, only after a few steps in, Touma heard a skittering noise from below him. Peeking around the central beam that the steps were attached too, he quickly found the source of the noise. Three enormous rats scampering up the stairs towards him, their mouths slavering with dripping drool. Reaching him in mere seconds, he could only let out a yelp of surprise as one of them jet right past him in a missed attack. Stumbling backwards, he landed solidly on his backside on the step above him and heard a loud, audible crack.

"Oh no." The cracking intensified. For a brief moment more there was silence before the whole thing went down. "SUUUUUCCCCCCCHHHHHHH MISFORTUUUUUUUUNNNNNNEEE!"

"Owwwwww…" Touma groaned as he groggily worked his way to his feet. How far had he fallen? At least 10 feet, he would guess. Thankfully, he was able to cushion his fall somewhat with the body of a giant rat, somewhat minimizing the damage to his person after the fall. Not that it, well, helped him specifically.

The fact still remained that Touma Kamijou had just crushed a rat with his ass.

Stumbling into the next room, he took the time to prop himself up against a desk that sat in the middle of the room. Rather, not so much a desk than a slab of stone that resembled a table. It had a few old rags and metal sticks that looked like they could've been used for something back when this place was still in use, but he had no idea about any of it. His backside also ached like nothing else, and he would rather leave and recoup if not for the fact that his only way back out was laying in pieces.

Then again, did he ever have that option? The way that Farengar had framed the situation was quite dire. It was likely that he would've kept pushing on regardless.

Trudging forward once more, Touma's discomfort grew as the passageway grew progressively darker. The previously ever-present glow of the torches had since faded into nothing but a smudgy blackness. Along with the growing darkness, there was also an influx of what appeared to be spider webs. Large spider webs. Enormous, even.

Pulling out his dagger, he began to cut through the nets of string, needing to force his iron blade through the thick and sticky strands. Finally forcing his way through the last barrier of webbing, he found himself in a significantly more overgrown room when compared to the others in the barrow. The warm light of the torches was completely gone at this point, and there was nothing but the cold grey stone before him.

Clenching his teeth, he made his way to what he presumed was the way forward, one last clump of webbing, when he heard the skittering. A very familiar skittering.

Relax, Kamijou. It's probably just one of those spiders you took care of. It shouldn't be that big of a deal. It's just a tad on the… He turned around and was greeted by a Frostbite Spider a fair bit larger than him. ...big side.

Clicking its mandibles, the spider struck first, lashing out with its front legs. Rolling to the side, Touma backpedalled to the far side of the room, hoping to put some distance between himself and the enormous arachnid. I need to go on the offensive! If I keep getting pushed around like this, it'll corner me eventually and that'll be that! He thought frantically. What offensive options did he have? His dagger lacked the reach of those short swords that soldiers like Rolaf and Hadvar favoured so his only option was… Right, Imagine Breaker!

Raising his right hand as he did back in the first spider cave, he tried to replicate that sensation. He could feel the power building once more… like it was coursing through his veins. The sensation grew, and Touma braced himself. Eat this, bug! The energy was let loose…

...And released a few sparks that fizzled out in the air like dust in the wind.

What? Touma's thoughts turned to confusion as he looked down at his smoking right hand. Did it misfire? Did I do something wrong? Wha-

The spider let out a screech and spat something at him. Something white and sticky then collided with Touma's chest and sent him stumbling backwards. Unable to use his arms to balance himself, he stumbled back into the wall behind him. Looking down, his arms weren't bound, but they were incredibly numb. He couldn't feel anything at all as the iron dagger in his left hand almost slipped from his grasp. Spider venom!

However, his legs seemed to be fine. Even so, there was no way for him to win this fight. With his one "special move" out of commission and his only melee weapon being obsolete, he knew he had to fall back. Turning back towards the way he came, he noticed something. The entryway was too small for the spider to fit through! As long as he made it through that opening, he would be safe for the time being. Regaining his balance, he wobbled a little bit before glancing over at the spider. To his dismay, it was closing in fast.

Hobbling as fast as his off-kilter ass could hobble, Touma practically dived for the exit. Grunting with exertion as he hit the ground and rolled to a stop on the far wall of the hallway, he looked back just in time to hear a big crash. The giant spider had slammed into the wall with immense force, shaking the dust from the ageing ceiling. Clambering to his feet, he worked his back to the glow of the torches. The warm heat was welcome as he let out a shaky breath, leaning back against the table.

His upper body was still numb, his senses still dulled. Nevertheless, he struggled to sit upright, trying to force feeling back into his extremities. All the while he was cursing himself for not grabbing one of those swords those bandits had in that chest. Taking deep breaths, he tried to take stock of the situation.

For some reason, that weird power that had manifested itself in Imagine Breaker had seemingly lost its power. There was still something there, but it felt… muted. It was as if he had a handgun without any bullets. Slowly feeling the paralysis in his arms wear off, he took the time to go through the various items in his bag.

He had various bottles of liquid, all in different coloured bottles, as well as a pouch with several coins. Aside from that, all he had was his dagger and the cheap leather armour he had purchased the day before.

Dammit, I need something with more attack power! He thought. He had left behind all of the weapons the Draugr had been using, which was a stupid move considering his circumstances. Plus, there was no way to get back up to retrieve anything, as the staircase he had come down had quite literally come down with him, and was in shambles.

"If only that stupid fireball thing would work! Bugs are afraid of fire, right?" He grumbled in frustration. But without that weird spell, he had no way of outright killing that thing.

Looking around the room once more, he decided that something was definitely better than nothing. Maybe a stick would do? One of the broken logs from the remains of the stairs could work. Grabbing a hefty stick of wood near the size of his arm, he walked back into the room. It wouldn't do much, but if he put enough space between himself and the spider, he could eventually whittle the thing down with his makeshift club. Still… if only there was a way to deal some actual damage. Like with fire. His eyes found an answer to his unspoken question when he reflexively glanced at the only sources of light. The lit sconces.

He promptly grabbed some of the old rags laying on the table, wrapped it around the stick, and bound it in a knot before walking over to the sconce. Letting the rags catch the embers, they promptly caught fire. Feeling the remains of the numbness in his arms dissipate, he gave his torch a few experimental swings. Content with the construction of his flaming stick of death, he proceeded to confront his enemy once more.

Walking back into the chamber, the spider had curiously not left for the safety of the webs high above, rather remaining in the centre of the room. Touma gulped as it wheeled around, its mandibles clacking. Not backing down, the boy brought his torch around to bear, slipping into a guarded stance. With an audible shriek that made Touma wince, the large arachnid changed forward on all eight hairy legs. Hopping to the side, he managed to avoid the wide swing of the spider's front two legs. Now facing the bug's flank, he took a swing with the torch.

"Woah!" The smell of singed… bug filled the air as the Frostbite Spider whirled around while skittering in pain. Hopping backwards, Touma narrowly dodged another jab from the enraged bug. Wrinkling his nose at the smell of the spider's burning flesh, Touma waved the torch threateningly in front of him. Hopefully, he could scare it off to some degree. At the very least, it would give him some breathing room.

Hissing once more, the spider seemed like it was taking more caution, warily circling the boy with the flame. Waving his torch even more, Touma bounced lightly on the balls of his feet but remained rooted in his position. Giving up ground to this spider was the last thing he wanted to do. It also seemed that the spider cared little for stopping its assault as well, as it launched forward, legs spread and ready to crush Touma where he stood.

Seeing the avenue for attack, the unlucky boy raised the burning stick up over his head and brought it down right on the spider's open mandibles. Reeling back, the spider shuddered and twitched in pain as it appeared to attempt to assuage its burning face. This is my chance! Touma quickly charged the spider while it was dazed and grabbed his dagger from his waist. Steeling himself, he stabbed the iron blade into one of the spider's many eyes.

The beast stumbled back, knocking Touma back onto the floor. After a few moments of twitching, the spider slumped over, completely still.

Groaning a little, Touma picked himself up off the stone floor and walked over to the corpse of the giant arachnid. Taking in the size of the dead bug, he certainly wished that they didn't get any bigger than this. Knowing his luck, however, they probably did. Pulling his dagger free from its place in the spider's eye, he grimaced as green-ish fluid flowed out with the removal of the metal plug. With everything sorted out, he busied himself with attempting to find a way forward.

The room was larger than he thought at first glance but certainly wasn't huge by any standards. Looking at the far end of the room, there was a large mass of webbing covering what looked like some sort of arch-way. Grabbing his slightly grimy dagger once more, Touma began to try to cut himself through. He started at the edges, and soon enough, he had a solid enough opening to squeeze himself through. There was only one hitch, however.

There was a body in the middle of it all.

Cutting open a slit in the mess of threads, Touma found himself face to face with the slightly rotten visage of what he remembered as a Dunmer, or dark elf. Stumbling back in shock, he resisted the urge to throw up for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that day.

Regaining his composure, he looked back towards the unlucky man, who appeared to have been hanging there for quite some time. Just another example of how he could end up if he wasn't careful, and yet another death since he had arrived. There was no other choice though and upon taking another deep breath, Touma began to cut the man down. It took him the better part of half an hour, but eventually, the Dunmer man had been released from the webbing of his demise. He wore a set of leather armour, not unlike what Touma was wearing and also carried a leather satchel.

Carefully taking the bag and opening, he found two objects of interest. One was a simple leather-bound book, the opening page reading "The Journal of Arvel The Swift." The other was an ornate golden object that resembled a three-pronged claw. On the bottom were three circles, each bearing a symbol of an animal that wasn't all that dissimilar from the puzzle in the room earlier.

Slipping the two objects into his own bag, seeing as they may prove important later, Touma resigned himself to moving forward through the opening in the webs, leaving behind the lonely body of Arvel the Swift.

The hallway ahead was long and winding with a couple of other rooms on the side that were strangely empty save for a few embellishments and rags, all of which Touma passed by without much thought. There were a few more of those strange purple-ish gems on a few pedestals which joined his slowly growing collection in his satchel.

Soon, the hall opened up into what looked like a mass-burial chamber. There were the bodies of Draugr and skeletons resting in holes in the walls covered in a mess of cobwebs. Fist clenched, he continued through the room on the balls of his feet with his eyes darting between the unmoving corpses and a cold sweat forming on his back. He neared the end of the room and was about to make his way onto the next chamber without an issue when he heard jarring and unfortunately expected sounds.

The creaking of aged bones, the clatter of ancient steel, and the light shuffle of feet across the cold stone floor. Spinning around, Touma was greeted with not one, but four Draugr, each in various states of dress and wielding a wide array of weaponry. Back home, Touma's personal rule was that he could take a 2 on 1 at most, a 3 on 1 he could stall for some time, but a 4 on 1 was when he ran. Unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury as the vicious ghouls blocked his way forward.

He knew that Imagine Breaker had some strange effect on the zombies, but actually getting close to them would be a challenge because of their numbers as well as their armed prowess. Clenching his right fist hard, he prepared to rush the closest of the Draugr before their ranks opened up and revealed a fifth combatant. The fifth Draugr charged forward from behind its comrades and hefted a large greatsword in a powerful overhead strike. Touma, seeing only one avenue of movement, ducked down and hit the deck as the Draugr sailed right over him.

Scrambling to his feet, he turned to face his assailant when he heard a strange noise. Like a "click."

What was that sound? Touma scrambled to his feet in a panic with his heart thumping hard. He backed himself against a wall to regain his balance and stared at the Draugrs that were still there, poised to strike. The origin of the sound revealed itself almost instantaneously.

WHAM!

Without warning, a spiked wooden… gate emerged from behind the wall and slammed into the charging Draugr with lethal force. So much force that the body sent flying backwards. The trap just slightly brushing by the spiky haired boy's face caused him to slip on his ass. Grunting in pain as his sore back met the floor yet again, he focused himself and pushed his body out of the way from a falling axe that dug into the floor.

Another Draugr moved forward to take the fallen's place as the big wooden door of death wound itself back into place. Seeing as he couldn't afford to play it safe with their numbers, Touma knew he would have to take the offensive. Lucky for him though, it appeared that these particular monsters were of a cheaper make than some of their brethren he had dispatched prior. Dodging an easily telegraphed blow from its sword, Imagine Breaker quickly made contact with the ghoul's jaw, blowing it clean off.

Next, came a swing from a great-axe that would've removed a limb if it hit. He grabbed the headless body before it crumpled to the ground and trapped the dangerous axe inside of its torso. Touma planted his palm on the back of the defenseless Draugr, causing it to go completely limp and crumple to the floor like a puppet with cut strings. It seemed that the explosions from his usage of Imagine Breaker were from the kinetic force, not just the effect of his hand itself. He didn't have time to think about this, however, as another strike came from one of the two remaining enemies.

One carried a shortsword while the other carried an ornate-looking hatchet paired with a shield, as well as having a notably feminine physique.

The woman rushed him first, backed up closely by the swordsman. They both appeared to be marginally faster, as Touma had to hop back a few feet to put some distance between their strikes. But, like the other Draugr, they both possessed a predictable pattern that, more or less, put Touma more at ease concerning the threats they posed. A few more dodges later and certain of the established pattern, Touma found himself in a clean position to end the fight.

Grabbing one of the errant pots off the floor, he hurled it into the face of the one with the axe, sending it toppling over. Sprinting over, he drew his right fist back before letting out a devastating haymaker into the chest of the swordsman. The resulting impact was spectacular, blasting the Draugr back several feet and spraying gray matter out behind it. Wasting no time, he dropped to his knees and slammed his hand over the shoulder of the still-recovering woman, who promptly went limp. Catching his breath, he rose to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow. His leather armour was sturdy, but it did him no favours in terms of proper ventilation.

"This really is too much for me." He let out a long sigh as he leaned against a wall. Certain that the threat had been dealt with, he decided that if he were to take a break, it would be now. Sitting down, he took stock of the situation.

"Okay, so. I've been cut off from getting back out the entrance and my ass hurts. I just killed a giant spider and 5 more zombies, and all the while I've been stuck in some backwards-is-forwards fantasy world where I somehow speak Nordic?" He mused aloud, chuckling at the disparity of his circumstances. "And now I have to get a tablet with the records of the burials of dragons who want to kill everyone. Jeez, with my luck, this place might as well turn itself upside down… actually wait, I shouldn't say that. Because then it will."

If one were to walk into that room right now, you would see a high school boy sitting against a wall in a medieval get-up chuckling darkly about something or another.

It would be quite uncomfortable for everyone involved if he were to be found.

Too bad no one would find him down here anyway.

"Well, might as well get going." Promptly standing up, Touma made his way over to the remains of the swordsman he had dispatched earlier. Picking up the blade from off the ghoul's body, wasted no time familiarizing himself with the weight of the weapon. If he was going to be spending any prolonged amount of time here, it looked like he was going to need to get used to using one of these. He realized he couldn't quite use it in his right hand since his encounters with Draugr seemed to revolve around Imagine Breaker.

Hefting it in his offhand, the blade felt a little off, but he reckoned he could get some usage out of it. Grabbing the scabbard off the Draugr as well, he sheathed his new weapon. He still had his reservations about using this against actual people, and he wholly doubted his skill, but against threats like Frostbite Spiders, Touma figured he could manage.

Feeling ever so slightly more confident, Touma strapped his weapon to his hip as he continued onward. Maybe this dungeon would mellow out from here on out.

"Such misfortune…" Touma practically sobbed as he sat himself down on the floor again. The past hour or so had not been fun. From trapped corridors with swinging axes to Draugrs falling out from behind cobwebs and coffins in the walls, Bleak Falls Barrow had proven to be more stressful than he thought. It all culminated with the angry yeti-like creature that Touma could only assume was a troll that chased him throughout a good part of the dungeon behind him. Unlike the oversized bug, Touma doubted he could kill this thing, given how easily it knocked aside an unlucky Draugr like it was a toy tower. Luckily, much like the spider, the wannabe-wampa was too big to fit through the exit that the unlucky Kamijou had used.

Needless to say, he was feeling pretty ragged.

He was also bruised pretty badly when a Draugr got the drop on him and slammed him hard with the shaft of some sort of warhammer. It hurt like hell, but at least nothing was broken. Resigned to continuing deeper, Touma dragged himself off the floor and into the next room. By comparison, this was much larger than any other room in the barrow, barring the cave system with the troll, which was a natural structure. Rather than the claustrophobic hallways of the crypts or the utilitarian design of the puzzle and storage rooms, everything was open, complete with a second floor.

In the middle of the room was a large staircase made out of wood. It appeared to be far sturdier compared to the one he fell through earlier. Over to the side was a coffin that he expected to pop open with a Draugr, and on the top floor, he could spy another undead sentry with a bow, something Touma had yet to encounter.

Dammit! This isn't a video game! I can't take a shot from that! He thought, racking his brain for a possible solution. A shield? Something he could use to block arrows?

Wait a second. He mentally backtracked to a conflict he had with a group of Draugr. The one with the feminine physique. It had a shield. Aaaaaaaaah, I'm such an idiot! He so desperately wanted to go back to retrieve that shield to remedy his stupidity, but there was a pissed off troll ready to brutalize him in the way.

Looking around the room for another solution, he resisted the urge to groan in frustration, lest he give away his position to the bowman on the high ground. Scanning his surroundings again, he grit his teeth as nothing came to mind.

He searched the room a final time and his eyes drifted to several large pots. They were situated behind a wall and tucked in a blind spot in the archer's vision. The largest of them was easily half of Touma's fairly modest height. If he tried, it could easily fit himself inside. If he crouched, the pot would be more than enough to cover him completely…

And so, this is where Touma Kamijou covered himself with a slightly dank ancient piece of pottery.

He quickly found that movement was a bit iffy with a large pot on his head since he couldn't see anything, so he resigned to using the tip of his sword like one of those canes that blind people used to help feel about their surroundings. The biggest challenge was getting up the spiral stairs to the second floor. Getting up to the second floor negated a lot of the archer's danger as he removed high ground from the equation. It took him about 3 minutes to get to the top of the stairs, but he hadn't fallen over yet, so that was a victory he'd gladly take.

But as he was about to remove his earthenware headwear, he heard footsteps, accentuated by the reddish liquid at their feet. Oil? Touma wondered, as he froze, pot halfway off his body. From underneath the lip of the pot, he could see a pair of rotting feet. Practically holding his breath, he was still as… a pot. The Draugr, most likely the bowman, was right in front of him. Any movement would give him away, and then his hair wouldn't be the only thing that was a porcupine. He held that position for another 5 minutes, and he let out a low sigh as the Draugr turned around and made its way back to its post.

Slowly and quietly pulling the pot back over his head, Touma was about to set it down, when his finger found a little jagged edge in the rim of the pot.

"Shit," he hissed, the little crag drawing blood. This caused him to drop the large pot into a pile of smaller pots, which all promptly smashed on the floor in a shower of ceramics. For a moment there was a sickening silence before Touma looked back towards the archer. Unsurprisingly, the Draugr had its glowing eyes trained on him.

As the undead bowman nocked an arrow, Touma did the only thing he could think of. Grabbing a small pot from the scattered pile, he hucked it right into the Draugr's face. The aged pottery soared true and struck the skeletal archer causing the would-be deadly arrow to overshoot. Touma ducked instinctively as the arrow sailed high over his head… and then he heard a "crash" from behind him. At first, he thought it was another pot that had fallen victim to the slaughter of earthenware, but there was another sound. A "fwoosh" sound, almost like… fire?

"What the…" Turning around, Touma was met not by the remains of a pot, but rather a raging inferno blazing through the liquid on the ground! "It was oil!"

Wasting no time sprinting in the opposite direction, Touma couldn't help but lament his luck once more as he looked back at the blaze. On the ceiling of the room, there were lanterns held by ropes, and as his luck would have it, the stray arrow severed the rope holding one of these light sources. Of course, he had no time to think of his circumstances as he made for the exit of the room. It was on the other side of a stone walkway, which Touma gave no thought to as he made a mad dash for the door.

He didn't look back as he heard a resounding "BOOM" from behind him, most likely the remaining oil going up in a firestorm that probably incinerated everything in the room. Even in the hallway outside, he could feel the heat tickling his back. Catching his breath, he continued down the hallway as once again, his way blocked by another deadly hazard.

The hall was noticeably different when compared to the others in the tomb. It was long and straight, as well as arch-shaped. It was lit by several sconces, somehow still alight after who knows how long. It was funny that detail was all Touma latched onto, but he just chalked it up to some weird Nordic magic that he shouldn't worry about. That all went over his head anyways.

No, what really struck him was the images on the walls.

Masterful and elaborate carvings decorated the walls in panels. In each panel was a figure of importance, no doubt some kind of deity, all surrounded by warriors and followers. Even to an outsider like Touma, who had no idea who these people were or the mythology of Skyrim, he could feel the brilliance of these works of art. Taking several moments to look upon the works on the walls, Touma eventually turned away and continued down the hallway.

At the far end of the tunnel, there was a wall with a strange inscription on it, almost like an interface of sorts. It consisted of three concentric circles, each bearing symbols of various animals. After fiddling with it, Touma found that he could rotate these rings. In the middle was a golden circle with three holes in it, forming some kind of array. The holes were wide enough that perhaps some sort of key could have fit, but it was definitely too tight for Touma's finger.

There was no doubt that this was the way forward, but just like the puzzle room earlier, this would take some degree of finesse. However, unlike the previous room, he had no key or clues as to how to open the door. He just studied the door for the next 20 minutes, trying to come up with a solution. Judging from the fact that the rings rotated, he believed it was some kind of combination lock, where you could rotate several rings to spell a word or a series of numbers in order to open it. Of course, since the last one had fired metal spikes when you messed up, he had reason to believe this was trapped as well.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he took stock of everything he had again. Going through his bag, he looked uselessly for anything he could use. His stock of strange red bottles, his sword, his pouch of coins, and a few knick-knacks that he had picked up along the way. But once he reached the bottom of his back, something stood out to him. Namely, Arvel's Journal and the perturbing Golden Claw.

Scratching his head and opening the small, leather-bound book, Touma saw that there were only two pages written.

"Is that really all?" Touma puzzled over that, feeling slightly disappointed. Reading the few paragraphs Arvel had written before his death however, more than made up for the earlier doubts about any lucky hints the boy had.

"My fingers are trembling. The Golden Claw is finally in my hands, and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius had no idea that his favourite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow."

Touma eyed the Golden Claw sitting next to him with open intrigue. "I guess I'll have to give this back to that Lucan fellow, then."

"Now I just need to get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says there is a test that the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but that 'when you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands.'" This was the passage that caught Kamijou's eye.

Mainly the terms "Hall of Stories" and that last sentence. Looking around him, this hall seemed to be the fabled "Hall of Stories" that Arvel had been searching for. It seemed that the last piece of the puzzle was the Claw itself.

Examining the artifact in greater detail, Touma could make out several details of note. First of all, the three individual "claws" on it were lined up in a way that resembled the three holes on the wall. Moreover, on closer examination, there were symbols etched on the bottom of the claw.

There were three of these symbols on the "arch" of the foot the claw emulated. One of a bear, one of a moth, and one of an owl, all in descending order. Looking towards what was now identified as the "door," Touma saw that the rings all had the symbols too. Practically shooting from his spot on the floor, Touma started spinning the rings.

"Bear…"

Kachunk.

"Moth… there, moth."

Kachunk.

"And… owl."

Kachunk.

Taking a deep breath and getting ready to leap backwards in case he had messed this up, Touma slid the claws into the three holes in the centre.

Click.

With much trepidation, he twisted it to the side. An uncomfortable cold sweat dripped down his back as he tensed up. Time seemed to slow as he pushed the claw it, before quickly righting it and pulling it out, bounding backwards to evade any threats. Luckily for him, the only thing that came down was the door.

Eyes shining and body going slack in relief before shortly feeling excitement that expressed itself in the form of a gleam in his eyes, Touma practically sprinted into the next room.

Inside was a wide-open cave, not unlike what he had seen before. Underground streams ran criss-cross patterns across the cave floor, little stone bridges offering walkways across the damp ground. Stalactites like fangs came down from the ceiling. It was almost like walking into the jaws of some giant monster. At the back of the room was a strange curved wall, a symbol engraved at the top, and some kind of runic text.

Upon approaching, a strange chanting filled the air. It sounded like he came from the wall, yet the sound surrounded him. The ghostly timbre was powerful and full, yet at the same time, withdrawn. It almost put him in a trance as he paced towards the wall. He soon confirmed that the chanting came from the wall, as the closer he got, the louder it became.

The chanting was almost overwhelming, like the sound of a beating drum between his eardrums. He stumbled closer to the wall in a trance-like state with his vision clouding at the edge; only a single word pushing him forward. Touma reached a hand out toward the wall and steadied himself on it before collapsing. His eyes went wide as the cave fell away to nothingness as that one word overpowered his consciousness.

Push.

Rumbling and pounding in his skull, all he could hear were the many ramblings in his head. Soft voices, loud voices, sharp voices, judgemental voices; the boy could hear them all burrowing its way into his brain. He was vaguely aware he had fallen to his knees as that one word burned itself into his distant vision and mind. The clarity of his mind was falling apart along with the feeling of his hand slipping from the stone mural.

Push.

His body felt numb but his mind was in total shambles. Everything except shocking lances running through his right hand. His right hand. I̷̡̛̮͉̫̳͐̂̃̚͠m̴̡̟̬̮͔̘̩̙̞͓͑̈́̽̎̆̅̅̔̈̆̉́͜͠a̴̛̤̔͗̄̄̆̀͑͐̐͂g̵̢̢̰̣̮̹͓̗̹͓͖̥̼͍͒̀̓̎̄͛í̶̻̪̻̽̓̐̆̅̔̓̉̽̉͒͒̕͝n̷̜̫̫̝̠̺͚̰͕̣̊̆̍e̴̛̦͕͕̻̩͑̾͛̐̀̕͝͠ ̵̨̮̯̤͍̬͙͍̙͗̇͋̊͊̈͘͘B̴̡̢̧̛̰͔̩̮̣̤͇̰͚̈́̋̿̽͒̌̅̓̈́̓̐̔̕͜͝ͅͅr̶̨̨̢̲̬̻̺̖̞̠͓͕̠͑̈́̈͗̌̈̉̋̈̽̅̀́̔ͅe̵̢̢͓̜̤̘̹͇̦̤̐͐̂̀̎̀̄͗͝ͅͅa̷̧̡̢̘͓̱̱̯͔͙̱͉̅̃̓̀̀́̆̉̈́͊̌͘̚͜͝k̸͓͔̼̪͔͖̩̫̆͊͗̀̊ͅě̴̢̛̖̪͙̻̣̩̰̪͚̤͚̋͌͝ŗ̴̳̯̪̳̲̳͎̲͇̲̃̈͋́ͅ.̸̙̜̙͕̮̅͐͛͐̋̊̆̕͝ ̸̢̝̞̝͕̬͙̒̀̿͐͐͐̊͝

Į̴̼̮̼̥̤͕͐̀̓̽͑͘m̶̩͕͍̣͕̗͙̲̰̜̭̫̥̱̈́̋̅̒͂͘à̶̞͇̳̍g̴̢͎͎̬̖̮̟̖̣̬͇̘̦͌̈́̈̋̎̌͗͊͜͝͝i̷̝̟̲̜̗̪̗̩͖͖̬̭͙͎͆͗̑͗̋̐̀̊̓́̅̚͘͠͝ṇ̸̨̧̙͇̱̝̘̘̟̤͕͚͉̣͂̓̓́é̶̞̮̻͜ ̴̣̘̞͖̼̜̫̇̓̅̿ͅB̸̛͙͓͗̽̔͑͒̐̈͌͒͜r̸̩̩͐̉͂̌e̷̫̫̹͙̥̱͎̼͓̫͘ą̷̦̗̼̥̺͂̎͝k̶̡̡̩͓͔̻̜̇̚͜͝è̸̛̛̜̼̟͚̦̣̼̥̪̞̩͕̹͛̓͌̐̓͗̌̐͠r̴̢̹̄̚ͅ.̷̹̜̗͉̮̼͍͖̫͇͙͊̍̓̃͠ ̸̲͎͖̟̭̞̻͕̈͌͋̌̈

̴̣̯̙̫͙̋̌̇̏͐̊͛́͆̉̈́̏̇͂͠ͅ

̴̟͉͉͎̟͍̰̠̺̀̆̽̐̓̍̈́̄͊̇ͅP̷̡̡̢̛̥͔̞̺̟̱̀̋̌̌̋͝ȗ̷̧̗̣̱͚̺͑̽͂̏͛̑̓̚͜ś̸̡̛͎̠̱̼̘͚̬͈̞͐͌́̂͗̇̋͐͂̕̚͝͝ȟ̷̺͈̠̩̙͎̙.̵̨̢̫̟̲̼̝̳̪̫̰̝͙͒̃͂̈́̆͐̚͜ ̶͎̗̫̒̊̓̑̈́͒̎̿̒͊͝

̵̡̗̼̬̼̤̳͖̖̤͍̟͖̳́͒͐̃̿̔̿̊͘͜͝

̷͙̩̪̺͎̪̞͍̿̐͑̈́̿̓̃̓͑̆̽͑̀͜͝͝F̶̢̧̞̳̭̪͇̹̮͍̗͈̠͚̋̓̀̃̋̒̊̐͒̌̇̕Ǘ̵̢̨̨͖̹͍͙̘̯͖͔̺̤̌̈̃̅̃̆̄̓̕ͅS̸̢̼̞͚͖̻͙̬̭̉͜.̶̢̡͙̠͇̒ ̷̯͔̣̓͗̃̐͐̃

̷̛̰̦̯̜̞̘̯̪͔̫̏̾͆

FUS!

STAND.

"Gah!" A sharp intake of breath sent cold air into the lungs and pulled the suffering boy back to his normal state. He reflexively reached for his throat in a panic.

And just like that, he was rocketed back to consciousness. His vision cleared, the chanting slowed and came to a stop. His mind fell silent. As he righted himself with a surprising amount of newfound insight, he looked down at his right hand. Breathing heavily, he clutched his forehead.

"..."

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Crack.

Whirling around, all fuzziness gone from his head, he turned to see the lid of a previously ignored coffin blasted open. Out of it stepped a Draugr, but not as he'd seen before. It carried an air of authority.

Stepping out of its resting place, it wore elaborate ancient armour as well as an eye-catching horned helmet. In its hands was a gnarly-looking war axe that looked like it could cut clean through steel. Glowing blue eyes sparked to life as it lumbered towards Touma. Still sluggish from the earlier episode, he was slow in reacting. Pulling his sword from his hip while loosening his tightly clasped right fist, Touma prepared to lunge straight for this imposing Draugr before it did something he never expected.

It kneeled.

"My apologies for the actions of my men," it grumbled, in a deep and guttural tone. "Welcome to the realm of Nirn, Dovahkiin."

Welcome to the bottom. Hopefully, that was enough to at least partially make up for my half-year of absence. I apologize profusely for my ineptitude, and I hope that the lack of other priorities at the moment will allow me to update more frequently.

I have big plans for this story, and it's been really fun to conceptualize and write.

It's also at this point that I would like to thank and credit my friend Parasect, better known on this site as Shroom Crab, for his support and excellent work as a beta reader, as well as my man MemeDevil for not only being a bro but also helping work on the previous chapters.

Anyways, I've said my piece. You've given me your time to read my stories, and I'm grateful.

Worth the wait? I hope it was.

Best wishes to everyone, and stay safe,

Healthcare.