Chapter 69: Which Came First, Light or Darkness?
As an ordinary mortal with only flesh and blood, Chiba quickly reached his limit.
If he kept going like this, he feared he'd turn into roast suckling pig before finding the magic source.
So Chiba decisively chose strategic retreat.
He turned back and ducked into a side passage that looked somewhat cooler and wasn't heavily guarded.
This route was indeed much more comfortable.
Though the air remained turbid and oppressive, at least there was no longer that suffocating sensation of being inside an oven.
After walking down the winding stone steps for about five minutes, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
The originally narrow, oppressive tunnel disappeared, replaced by an underground cavity so massive it was jaw-dropping.
When Chiba emerged from the cave entrance and stood on that edge platform, even with all his experience, he was shocked by the scene before him.
That was a circular altar suspended in mid-air.
Like an isolated island, hanging in endless dark void.
Below was a bottomless abyss.
Only four narrow stone bridges from the four cardinal directions, each barely wide enough for one person to pass, connected this central altar to the surrounding rock walls like four chains.
"This architectural mechanics would make Newton flip his coffin lid."
Chiba stepped onto that precarious stone bridge, silently making his way onto that altar.
The moment he stepped onto that dust-covered stone slab floor, his gaze was drawn to the ring of massive circular murals surrounding the altar.
That was a ring of relief murals.
Though eroded by time with some areas already mottled and peeling, they still clearly depicted a story that occurred in ancient times.
"Now this is getting interesting."
The lighting here was dim, with only the ghostly green glow from eternal lamps on the surrounding walls, but for Chiba it was sufficient.
However, the mural style was extremely abstract. The rough lines seemed chiseled directly with some sharp tool, carrying that savage breath of ancient times.
But for a transmigrator well-versed in various ACG works, interpreting this kind of comic strip was even simpler than reading comprehension.
The first painting.
A group of crudely drawn stick-figure humans knelt trembling on the ground. Above their heads, a massive monster was rampaging.
The monster spewed red flames from its mouth, its feet crushing houses. The entire scene was filled with a desperate sense of destruction.
"Hmm... this monster looks somewhat familiar."
Chiba stroked his chin, his gaze moving to the next painting.
The scene changed.
Just as humanity was about to perish, a beam of light suddenly descended from the sky.
After the light scattered, a massive giant figure stood upon the earth.
Though the artwork was very abstract, that giant's red and purple striped pattern, along with that iconic and somewhat complex head crystal, practically pulled out the childhood memories etched in Chiba's DNA.
The next several paintings followed standard tokusatsu drama procedure.
The giant and monster engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.
Fists to flesh, beams flying everywhere.
Finally, the giant lifted that half-dead monster and threw it into a distant erupting volcano crater like discarding garbage.
The final painting.
The monster was swallowed by lava, the giant transformed into light and flew toward the sky.
The surviving humans rebuilt their home at the foot of that volcano—the place where the giant vanished—and constructed a shrine to worship that deity who saved them for generations to come.
"Good grief, I knew this plot felt familiar."
After viewing this entire comic strip series, Chiba's lips couldn't help but twitch twice.
This familiar battle procedure—wasn't this standard Ultraman fighting monsters?
"So this so-called village is actually a remnant from back then?"
Chiba felt his worldview being impacted.
"This world actually has the Light Giant setting?"
Judging by the Ultraman's colors on the mural, Chiba could be 100% certain this Ultraman was Tiga.
Because he still had the Sparklence in his backpack, and he'd seen someone cosplaying Tiga at the convention earlier—how could he not recognize it?
Moreover, according to this mural's meaning, Tiga here wasn't just a passerby but was worshipped as a god.
So the question arose.
If following this logic, if this was history, did that mean Light Giants truly once existed in this world?
Or did activating the Sparklence with the Rat Talisman cause a worldline shift, creating this history out of thin air?
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
This philosophical question gave Chiba a headache.
"Forget it, not thinking about it. Whether it's chicken birthing egg or egg birthing chicken, I've got a pot anyway—cooking it and eating it is the real business."
He shook his head, tossing those chaotic thoughts from his mind, refocusing on the most important problem before him—the magic source.
If this mural was real—
According to the mural's conclusion, humans built a village where the giant vanished.
And now deep underground beneath this village was a massive magic source.
Could it be Tiga's stone statue left in this world?
After all, according to the setting, though Tiga left, he usually left behind his battle vessel.
That is, Tiga's stone statue.
And the light energy contained within Tiga's stone statue, for any existence craving power, was absolutely top-tier Tang Monk meat.
Chiba's eyes lit up.
That was the vessel of a true ultra-ancient Light Giant.
If he could get his hands on it and combine it with the Rat Talisman, he could truly recreate Tiga.
Go big or go home—bicycle to motorcycle.
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance it was the statue, it was worth the risk.
Thinking this far, Chiba's spirits lifted as he continued searching the altar surroundings for more valuable clues.
On the other side, after finishing the so-called hot spring bath, the female teacher led a group of freshly cleaned children, lured by the village chief under the pretense of visiting the shrine into the shrine's rock cave.
As the group went deeper, the female teacher's sixth sense began frantically alarming.
Since entering the cave, several villagers with bizarre expressions had closely surrounded the group in formation—rather than guides, they seemed like escorts.
"T-teacher... I'm scared..."
Combined with the cave's pitch-black oppression and abnormally sweltering temperature, several psychologically fragile children were already frightened to tears.
Out of protective instinct for her students, the female teacher swallowed and said:
"Um, Village Chief?"
"The children are a bit afraid of the dark, and the temperature here is really too high. Several children seem to be showing signs of heatstroke. How about we end today's visit here? Go outside for some fresh air?"
"Go outside?"
That village chief who'd been wearing a kind mask stopped walking.
He slowly turned around. Under the dim torchlight, that wrinkled face appeared especially sinister, like dried tree bark.
The old man laughed eerily twice.
"Want to leave without paying respects? The mountain god will be angered. Once angered, the mountains will collapse and the earth will split... can you bear that responsibility?"
As his words fell, the surrounding villagers who'd been keeping distance all took a simultaneous step forward like receiving some signal.
"You... what are you trying to do?!"
Seeing the situation turning bad, the female teacher made a snap decision, no longer wasting words, preparing to forcibly lead the crying children away.
"Everyone listen! Don't run around! Hold hands and follow the teacher back!"