"I found a hint."
His eyes took in the barren road covered in the monsters' blood, their erosive stench stinging his nose. Glancing sideways, he called Sera, his voice still unchanged,
"Follow me," he said, flicking his finger.
A trail of blood slid down his hand, slowly forming into a sword. He swung it.
"There's a city a few feet away from this place.
So, here, take this," he said, pointing the sword in her direction.
"Use this if you fall into any danger."
Sera just nodded as she took the sword in her hand, but the weight was beyond her as she staggered, holding it, forcing a fake expression as if she was fine.
But Noen just stood there glancing at her as he sighed.
"Here, take this one."
He quickly formed another sword, lighter this time, and handed her that one.
"So, you ready now?" he asked, and with a nod, they moved on.
***
After a few minutes of walking, they reached an empty place. There was nothing besides tall grass and windy dust.
Both Sera and Noen looked at it in deep silence. Breaking it, she said,
"Mister, is this the right place?"
"Yes, it is," he said, although his mind was saying something else.
I can sense a structure around here… but where exactly is it?
Sigh… that's why I hate my life…
Suddenly, his eyes landed on a nearby rock. Suspecting something, he moved closer.
The soft hush of grass echoed with his footsteps as he cleaned the bit of dust lying on the small piece of rock, revealing small carvings etched on it with deep precision.
"What is it?"
Sera came over, peeking at it from behind.
"I know this," she said
"My mom used to tell me about these same scriptures in those books."
"Do you remember?" he asked, still crouching on his knees.
"Yes, it had a story dating hundreds of years back, when the first war of the heavens occurred."
"What's the first war of the heavens?" he asked.
"I don't know, but I know it was a great war where every species fought over an elixir.
But it soon ended without the death of anyone."
"How can a great war just end like that?
Are there no records of any casualties?"
"No… that's the only answer she gave."
But that "no" was enough to send Noen into deep thought as he asked another question,
"So, do you know what that elixir was?"
Gurrrrr—
A sound of grinding stone echoed through their feet. Dust flew all over the place as an opening tore through the ground, leading somewhere below. Inside it was a staircase, going down into an eerie, cold darkness.
Noen and Sera stood there in utter shock.
"I guess I'll ask you about it later on, but…"
He stepped forward, moving closer to the entrance that had opened before their eyes. From behind, she followed him as they both delved deeper into the darkness.
***
They walked inside a tunnel with multiple engravings across the walls. At certain distances, torches burned with blue flames. Its color was odd to Noen, but Sera looked at it like it was normal.
He asked, "Hey, how are these torches burning with such an odd color?"
"Magic," an odd response came from her mouth as he looked at her with a confused gaze.
"Magic?" he asked.
"Yes. My mom told me that only a few species can use magic." Her face tilted slightly down, pouting. "I don't know how to use it…"
She instantly started crying.
But Noen couldn't help but chuckle as he flicked her forehead.
"Don't worry, you'll learn it one day.
But for me… someone from another world… these are just alien things."
"You are from a different world?" she asked innocently, her eyes twinkling.
"At least I was…" he said with a sad expression. "But this one is far better than what I lived through."
"Why?"
Just as she said that—
Noen suddenly stopped, looking at a huge gap leading to a deeper place.
The darkness below swallowed their sight. Noen threw a nearby stone to check the depth, but after a minute, no sound came.
He looked at her.
"I think I'll have to carry you down."
But looking at the height, she stepped meters back, too scared to even go near it, making him sigh.
"I will carry you, so don't worry."
"But—but it's so deep!"
"Huh…"
He picked her up in his arms and jumped into the pit without a second thought.
Their fall lasted a few seconds before Noen landed on his feet—though he collapsed soon after as his legs bled.
"Tch… it was deeper than I expected."
"Sera, are you alright?"
"Yes…" she said, slowly opening her eyes.
The surroundings were brushed in a strange blue tint. It was a rocky place, but the structure didn't look natural—
As if it were carved by human hands.
They both stood up, walking toward those building-like structures.
Their steps echoed inside the cave, gravel crushing beneath their feet. Noen picked up a stone lying on the ground.
Carvings and scriptures were embedded on it, as if they were meant to say something—but he was searching for something else.
The same flower he saw in his vision.
Where is it?
He walked toward a house and saw a dead body, more like a skeleton, mummified by nature.
It had some old clothes on it, though they looked mostly intact.
Nearby, Sera glanced at a shiny rock emitting a blue light. She called out—
"Mister!! I found something!"
Hearing that, he rushed back, picking up the clothes from the corpse.
He came behind her.
"What did you find?"
"Look at this rock…"
Its light was somewhat hypnotizing. As Noen held it in his hand, it suddenly lit up—its glow pointing in a direction.
A trail formed, leading them deeper into the barren city.
***
Outside, a figure roamed. Around it, hundreds of birds lay dead like cold meat, their faces pale.
The figure glanced at the deep entrance leading somewhere below.
Its eyes were sharp like a snake's. Its hands had needle-like fingers, and it wore a skull hanging from its head. A green aura emanated from its body as it stood there… watching deep inside the depths.