The ruins were far more impressive up close. Zachary and Katherine stood in front of a row of dark gray stones that formed the border of the ruins. They had circled the great sinkhole, avoided several nests of wild Ensouled, and spent several days to reach this place.

The terrain here formed a wide depression, hiding ancient buildings that would have otherwise peeked above the trees. The little bit they had seen from a distance was actually a massive eight-sided monolith. It was at least one hundred meters tall, perhaps one hundred and fifty. If the navy ship that had carried them to the New World was flipped vertically, it would be about the same height.

This central monolith was surrounded on all sides by countless buildings made of gray stone. Some were vast like warehouses with many arched windows. Others were smaller, about the right size for private residences with one or two stories. Whereas the base of the monolith was hard to see due to fog.

Everything was covered in moss and vegetation. Many buildings had collapsed, with giant blocks of gray stone lying haphazardly as if a huge monster had stumbled its way through. Tall trees grew throughout the ruins, their roots forming thick knots amidst the stone. A thick canopy cast the whole area in shade. Only a few beams of sunlight showed through the gaps.

Zachary felt strange. This place was inexplicable. There was so much Eternum flowing in the air, its concentration was several times higher than the surrounding jungle. It was as if he was standing before a living being rather than the ruins of an ancient civilization.

If this really came from the Lost Era, then it was over eight thousand years old. Yet the structures seemed in relatively good shape despite all of the vegetation. From what little he knew of human history; a few hundred years was enough to turn some human constructs into rubble. The power of the world and nature was far greater than what humans could resist. And yet, these ruins were able to survive for so many millenniums.

“Amazing…” Katherine said breathlessly.

She stood beside him, looking around at everything with wide eyes. Even Marble had decided to come out, clinging to the hem of her shirt and peering ahead with a blank stare.

“Well, let’s go take a look.” She said.

“Wait, you want to go in there?” He asked.

“Come on, we’re already here. It won’t hurt to look around.”

He wasn’t so sure. The ruins felt a little too quiet. The abundance of Eternum was interfering with his senses.

“Don’t be a scaredy cat.” She urged, “Who knows, we might be able to find something to heal your soul wound!”

He scoffed, “Fine, let’s go. Just be careful.”

He didn’t have high hopes that something from ancient times could help him. But he had to agree that they had nothing better to do. The jungle was dangerous but also boring. These ruins would serve as a distraction to break up the monotony.

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Zachary called over Blue. The little blue bird landed on his outstretched arm and chirped happily. It had received a full meal of grubs that morning and its stomach was still bulged slightly.

“Don’t fly too far into the ruins. Stay close. Come back if you see any movement. Cry twice for Ensouled, three times for humans. Understand?”

Blue looked up at him with glassy eyes and nodded several times. It then took off and landed on a stone wall a few steps ahead.

He then summoned Boba and Oakley. He let Boba wrap around his arm as usual and commanded Oakley to lead the way.

The small party went slowly. They climbed over the first row of stone blocks that seemed like a wall of some sort. Beyond that, they had to navigate their way through some partially collapsed walls before they arrived at what seemed like a narrow street.

The stone tiles that paved the way were covered by moss and plants. Some he had seen before. Others were new species with unknown effects. He had Oakley uproot the bigger ones that blocked the way for good measure. Along the way, the treant suffered some minor damage from acidic sap, sharp thorns, and poisonous pollen. But as a plant creature, it was largely immune to these things. If it had been him leading the way, he could have died many times over already.

“Hey, that building looks intact. Go inside?” Katherine said while poking his back.

The one she was pointing to was indeed in good shape. Nothing had collapsed and the doorway was even clear of plants and debris as if it was inviting them inside.

Zachary nodded and summoned Onkie.

“Onk! Onk!” The furry pig snorted excitedly, eager for action.

“Onkie, go in there, search for Ensouled, and report back.” He commanded.

“Onn!”

Onkie charged forward, its tiny feet creating a steady sound as it disappeared into the darkness of the building. Out of his frontline summons, Onkie was the fastest and the best for this type of scouting mission. True to his expectations, it came back after a short while. Aside from a small bug which it had already eaten, it had found no other living thing.

Assured, Zachary and Katherine went in and slowly looked around. The building seemed like a private residence. There were several large rooms and three smaller ones that were probably bedrooms or studies. All of the furnishings had rotted away. There wasn’t much besides bare stone walls and dirt.

Zachary was bored after a short while and went to the doorway to stand guard. Katherine was much more thorough. She patted the stone walls every so often as if she expected to find a secret compartment. She sifted through the dirt on the ground with her bamboo spear so carefully it was like she was searching for lost gold.

“Eh, I found something!” She called out excitedly.

She returned to him with an excited smile and a shard of what seemed like porcelain or some other kind of pottery. The object itself was unremarkable but there were some strange characters engraved onto the surface. They looked like multiple little earthworms in strange configurations.

“Can you read it?” He asked.

“Hmm,” She mumbled, not directly responding but raising the shard to her face and studying it from many different angles.

Her intent expression and mannerisms made her appear like an expert in history and archeology. She suddenly seemed far more mysterious than before. She originally introduced herself as a member of the republic army. Then she became an agent of the Ice Saint Beast Cult. He wondered what other secrets she could be hiding from him.

“I think I know this,” Katherine said, “I can’t read it but I’ve seen these characters before. The squiggly lines are very distinctive. It should be the Bomoi Civilization of the Second Lost Era.”

“Bomoi Civilization… Second Lost Era?” Zachary repeated, “Wait, when was there a second lost era?”

“After the first one, there would be a second one, duh!”

He was about to give her a poke for her sardonic reply. But before he could, Blue flew down from the trees above and landed on his shoulder.

“Chirp, chirp… chirp.”