He fell only a short distance before hitting the soft, earthen ground below. Despite the layer of dirt and plants cushioning his fall, he felt a sharp pain jolt through his spine. A pained moan escaped his lips. He lay there a moment as he waited for his aching body to recover from the fall.

The chalk-roots that dropped him through the floor quickly returned to the ceiling, covering the gap he fell through near instantly. The only light illuminating the narrow cavern he had fallen in was the flower he was still tightly holding onto.

With a grunt, he pushed himself up on his knees. His whole body ached from the sudden fall, though he would have been in a much worse state if the ground wasn’t made of soft earth with moss and fungi growing on it.

He was in a narrow passage that had a relatively low ceiling. The ground was covered in moss and fungi, and the walls of the passage were made of rough rock, with the occasional chalk-root penetrating it. There was no light to speak of, aside from the flower in his hand. The flame he had been carrying with him had vanished as he fell.

He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword as he stood back up. While the though of casting a resonance to better illuminate his surroundings crossed his mind, he quickly decided otherwise. The tunnel was narrow and seemed to bend and turn quite a bit. A brighter light would do more harm than good if there were any hostiles here.

He turned his gaze to the flower. It was shining just as brightly as before, though the light had begun to turn more crimson than the vibrant blue it was before.

A dull pain struck his left eye.

“What are you?” He absentmindedly whispered as he turned and tilted the flower. Why had the Old God shown him this? He was promised power in a temple in Bareon. Was this it?

Naturally, the flower didn’t respond.

He poked one of its petals in annoyance. “It’s always puzzles and riddles – never a straight answer!” What he needed was a way out, back to the surface, and back to Bareon. Not some ancient power in some long-lost temple buried under the old city.

Holding the flower up like a torch, he picked one of the two directions he could, and walked down the narrow tunnel.

The moss and fungi muffled his footsteps as he made his way through the tunnel. The flower barely illuminated his surroundings enough, and while he would rather cast his own light source, he didn’t want to occupy both of his hands. He needed to be able to easily reach his sword.

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While the passage of time was impossible to tell, he did count his steps. It took about five dozen steps for him to hear something other than the moss crunching under his boots. The faint sound of flowing water reached his ears, reigniting the hope he had begun to lose.

“Please be an exit,” he whispered as he rushed ahead, tightly grasping the hilt of his sword. As he approached the sound of flowing water, the walls of the tunnels became moist, and the layer of moss covering the ground began to gain more vibrant colours. He could feel the wet earth under it as he had to slow down. It was wet and slippery, a clear sign of nearby water.

As he turned around the last bend in the tunnel, he slowed down, only peeking around the rock wall to see where it led.

The tunnel opened up to a larger cavern. One even larger than the one he was in before. Almost a dozen of small waterfalls cascaded from the ceiling, pouring into a large pool covering nearly the entire bottom of the cavern. A once-white structure was the only thing above water. It was at the end of a wide, long walkway that connected with a set of white stairs leading up to the cavern wall.

The top of the stairs was covered in debris and collapsed rocks. While it clearly led somewhere once, there was no passage there now. He couldn’t tell if the cause was the explosions that dropped him down here that caused the cave-in, or whether that pass had been inaccessible for long before today.

His gaze followed the stairs, and the wide path they connected to, and eventually settled on the temple, half buried into the rock wall.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, not because of detailed craftsmanship, or a pristine condition, but because of its sheer size, and the history it contained. Its mere existence was a breakthrough into ages past.

But beyond the monument, it was the clear water than dropped his jaw. Covered in exotic flowers that let out a vibrant glow, the cavern didn’t seem to belong in this world. Particles of pure, vibrant light floated in the air, illuminating the cavern like it was under bright sunlight.

He stepped out from behind the bend in the tunnel, and slowly walked along the edge of the narrow path he was on, until he reached the cave-in atop the stairs.

What he thought was a white pathway was actually a bridge, with its supports extending deep underwater. It led straight from the stairs to the temple, surrounded by water on both sides. As he walked over the bridge, he felt dwarfed by the temple.

His steps slowed down as he arrived at the first row of columns making up the front of the temple. Holding the hilt of his sword, he stepped though the columns. It was silent here, too silent. His footsteps echoed as he walked, his breaths and even heartbeat sounded deafening.

As he walked past the third and final row of columns, he stepped into a large, round chamber. Statues decorated the sides, while a single, large mural decorated the wall opposite to where he came in.

A small, round pool was the only other thing of note in the chamber.

As he approached the mural, he heard the sound of splashing water. The clear, still surface of the pool inside the camber stirred as he walked by it. A shadow moved beneath the surface, growing larger each passing second.

It was approaching. Fast.

He drew his blade, ignoring the pain in his palm, and the dull hurt in his left eye.

Something leapt out of the water.