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Book 1 - Chapter 1 - Part 6
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Alexandros tries to peer down the new opening, but it is too dark for him to see anything, making it worse. He turns away from the opening and prepares to leave the cave before glancing back at it. Even tho his stomach is screaming for him not to step through the split, he turns and steps through anyway. His curiosity has always had a way of getting to him, but this isn’t like all the other times when he would explore around Heki or on the property by his home.
He misses walking around with his parents and learning more about the world. Going to the market was one of his favorite things to do because it made him feel involved. Now that his village and parents are gone, he isn’t entirely sure where he will end up. Right now, he is determined to learn the truth, but he knows there is a chance he will never find the answers he seeks.
Pushing his nerves down deep, he carefully steps through the crack to try and investigate. Once inside, he realizes he can’t see anything at all, which only worsens his nausea. When he realizes a tunnel has opened up, he carefully walks, pressing his hands against the walls as he goes. The last thing he wants is to get lost in this place.
His lungs constrict with fear as he continues through the dark, but he doesn’t let it slow him down. Alexandros can hear his mind screaming to turn back, but he ignores it. He is convinced that this place appeared for a reason, so this is where he needs to go. Even though he knows he is possibly walking into a trap, he can’t bring himself to turn back now.
With his vision completely cut off, Alexandros closes his eyes as he continues walking through the tunnel. He feels like he’s been walking forever when he finally sees a bright light coming from the end of the tunnel. Without wasting time, Alexandros sprints for the light, arriving in what appears to be a massive underground city. The fact that he could even reach it all is a miracle.
It takes him a few moments to process what he is seeing. The city is unlike anything he’s ever seen before, and the fact that it’s underground only piques his curiosity. The city looks abandoned, and as far as he can tell, there isn’t anyone living within. He wonders how old the city is and how many people even know about it. Having never even heard of this place before, he takes a few steps closer, trying to decide if it’s worth checking out or not.
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He starts to leave, but on his way out, his curiosity gets better, and he makes his way down into the city. The buildings are tall and old, though they also all have character. Cracks in the ground make it evident where the people who once lived there would walk the streets.
Making his way to one of the houses, he tries to open the door and finds it unlocked. He steps inside and takes a look around. Whoever had lived, there had left hurriedly, by the look of things. He wonders what happened and why this city was abandoned.
He continues through the house, looking around at the paintings on the wall, now covered in thick dust. When he reaches the kitchen, a terrible smell wafts into his nose, gagging him. He steps back and looks around to find rotten food and rats everywhere. The smell is horrid, so he turns around and heads to another room, his arm covering his nose as he retreats.
Turning the corner, he comes across what he believes to be the bedroom. He tries to push open the doors, but as soon as he touches them, they fall off the hinges and crash to the ground with a loud bang. Alexandros quickly shields his eyes with his arm as dust flies up in the air.
Once the air is clear, he enters the room and finds two skeletons together on the bed. They have strange jewelry around their necks, including a blue and gold pendant in the center of their chests. He wonders what the jewelry is for as it looks important, but the smell in the room is somehow worse than the kitchen. While Alexandros wants to know more about what happened, he has no stomach to search for answers. As he makes his way out of the house, he realizes how silent everything is. It’s almost like he is the only living thing present, which is unsettling.
Taking one last look around, Alexandros turns to leave and then notices a statue in the corner of the room. Something about it is unsettling, though he can’t quite figure out what it is. His curiosity yet again gets the best of him, and as he walks over to the statue, he doesn’t touch it but does stare at it. His focus is mostly on the markings that cover the statue. Having never seen markings like that, he wonders what they are for.
Even though he knows he needs to get moving, he can’t stop staring at the statue. He can sense some energy about it, which makes him worried yet curious. Alexandros walks around the statue a few times, trying to get a good look at it before finally standing in front of it. Most of its features are faded, but he can still tell that the statue is supposed to be of a warrior of some sort.
Knowing that it probably isn’t the best idea to touch the statue, Alexandros takes a deep breath and does it anyway. The moment his hand touches the stone, the room begins trembling violently. He jumps back with a yelp, breathing heavily as his chest tightens with anxiety.