The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 141: Golden Orb

Chapter 141: Golden Orb

As the arrows flew by there was a gentle breeze that hit her face, "You know what, this isn’t so bad." She kept trotting forward with enthusiasm. Her height was finally useful for something.

Meanwhile, in another corridor, Dimitri faced his own set of challenges. For some reason, his magic was disabled. He couldn’t use his powers once he was in the corridors. So he had to rely on his wit and quick reflexes.

This only worried him about Adeline. She wasn’t trained! She couldn’t react as fast as he was! And she was... Dumb. As much as he admired her, she would act so stupidly sometimes! She was a reckless child!

He dodged swinging blades, leapt over collapsing platforms, and narrowly avoided a chamber filled with toxic gas. Each trial tested his limits, but his concern for Adeline kept him moving forward.

After what felt like hours, both Adeline and Dimitri reached the end of their respective paths.

Adeline found herself in a circular chamber, its walls lined with ancient statues of the Sun Goddess. At the centre stood a pedestal, and on that pedestal was a box.

"That’s it? Is it this easy?" Adeline wondered. It couldn’t be this easy right? She was a child and she got into this ’secret’ room of the ruins!

Was the box empty?! That was a possibility! Maybe someone got to it before her... She sighed and patted her cheeks.

Adeline’s steps echoed in the silent chamber, she made her way to the pedestal in front, there was light shining on it like a spotlight.

Her eyes were drawn to the intricate carvings on the base of the pedestal—ancient script she couldn’t decipher. Taking a deep breath she quickly opened the little black box.

Her attention quickly moved to the object resting atop it: a golden orb, it’s surface shimmering with a light that seemed alive, pulsating like a heartbeat.

Her instincts screamed at her to tread carefully. If this ruin mirrored every action movie she had ever seen, then touching the orb outright could trigger a disaster.

This could be one of those trials where she had to replace it with something that had a similar weight. She has nothing on her that could weigh similar, and putting that aside, she didn’t even know what it weighed in the first place!

Best to leave it for now, and not touch it.

Dimitri was still somewhere within the ruins if she really did trigger a disaster... He would be stuck in there with no place to go. Adeline’s mind ran through all the worst possible scenarios. She just gave herself a ton of anxiety, she was so close to hyperventilating.

There was no way forward... Or back. The corridor shut the door, she was stuck in this room! What can she do?

"Goddess," Adeline called out, her voice low but firm. "What am I supposed to do with this thing? You can’t keep telling me you don’t know anything! Please..."

The response came quickly, the Goddess’s tone brimming with excitement. Touch it! Just touch it already!

Adeline blinked. Was she for real? "That’s your advice? What if it kills me? Or worse, triggers some catastrophe?"

Trust me, the Goddess urged, her voice practically giddy. This is what you came here for!

Adeline narrowed her eyes at the empty air. "I’m not taking your word for it," She muttered. Turning her back on the pedestal, she wandered toward the statues lining the chamber walls.

She kept telling herself that she trusted the Goddess, but something in her was screaming, it was telling her to not touch that orb! And that it was dangerous! She decided to follow her gut this time.

She wanted to take this time to calm down and think this through, maybe Dimitri would come out of that corridor by then and meet her in this chamber. With that, she decided to wait.

She lifted her neck to see the beautiful statues in front of her. They haven’t eroded in the slightest, they were in pristine condition.

They loomed tall and imposing, each depicting the Sun Goddess in a different pose, her hands wielding orbs of various elements—light, fire, water, earth, wind, and even the rarer elements of ice and lightning.

The lightning orb, in particular, caught Adeline’s attention. Its surface crackled with faint streaks of electricity, a mesmerizing display of energy long thought extinct. It was just a myth at this point. No one possessed lightning powers in centuries.

"They’re beautiful," Adeline whispered, tracing her fingers along the base of one statue. The craftsmanship was extraordinary, the gold detailing on the jewellery glinting in the faint light.

She sighed heavily and sank to the floor at the base of the central statue, the one representing light. It was not made to be sat on, but what other choice did she have? Her leg hurts!

And she was sure this Sun Goddess wasn’t as petty as the Goddess she talked to. She wouldn’t get mad at a child sitting on her statue, would she?

Propping her chin on her hands, she stared up at the Goddess’s serene face. "What am I even doing here?" She muttered. Her voice was tinged with frustration, but also weariness.

The silence of the chamber was deafening. Her thoughts made her spiral out of control.

Part of her wanted to fight—to gather the power she needed to protect those she loved. But another part longed to escape it all, to leave behind the endless dangers and responsibilities.

She felt a pang of guilt at the thought. Was it selfish to want peace when so much was at stake? She already changed the plot too much, it would be irresponsible of her to back out now... Right?

The Goddess remained silent. She understood what Adeline was going through and decided to give her some space.

After calming down she scoured the room hoping to find some clues but she found nothing, it seemed like every possible path led her to a dead end. The only way she could do something was by probably touching the orb.

There was literally no other way! What about Dimitri... There were hundreds of possibilities, maybe moving the orb could put him in danger, or maybe he was already in danger and she needed to rescue him. How? By moving the orb and clearing a path.

Just sitting and waiting was doing her no good, she spent a good while waiting for something to happen but nothing did, she needed to do this...

Adeline straightened, her resolve hardening. "No more stalling," she said aloud. "If this orb is the key to the next step, then I’ll take the risk."

She marched back to the pedestal, her heartbeat quickening. "Here goes nothing," she muttered, reaching out.