From the size of it, the city must have once housed more than ten thousands residents at its peak. The architecture of its buildings was basic and practical in design. The city was densely packed with Box shaped dwellings of various sizes, constructed using what appeared to be rough blocks of pale-yellow stone.

The only structure that stood out amongst the monotonous square blocks was the massive triangular construction that stood at the center. It towered over everything else, its presence majestic and looming large over the entire city.

The pyramids capstone was made of a golden material which looked like normal gold but shined like the sun itself. From a distance it would appear like a beacon in the dark, illuminating the entire city by its brilliance.

“Magnificent! Truly magnificent!” the professor exclaimed in awe, eyes wide in wonder as he gazed upon the city and especially the pyramid.

“Huh?” Rok blurted out watching the scene before him, looking completely unimpressed.

“That is it, that is where it must be,” Liara spoke pointing in the direction of the pyramid, which made everyone fix their gaze upon it.

They descended the platform using a rough side-path that led towards the cavern floor.

“Hmm… Paved roads, a drainage system and a civilization with an architecture valuing efficiency over flamboyance… A lost chapter of our history rediscovered after all this time,” the professor remarked in excitement as he observed the interior of the city, while they walked on one of the main roads that cut through the city and divided it into four equal halves.

The city’s two main roads intersected at the exact center of the city where the pyramid lay, which meant their current path would lead them directly to it.

“Really? All I see is a useless crumbling ruin haunted by the smell of death and decay,” Rok retorted from behind making the professor sigh at Rok’s profound ignorance.

‘Finally, I will have all the power I need to avenge her,’ Liara thought as her gaze lingered on the entrance to the temple-complex, standing at the base of the pyramid. Walking beside the massive stone door now mostly crumbled to dust, they entered a narrow causeway, which would lead them directly to the main temple hall.

Walking along these ancient and unused corridors of this incredible structure brought untold pleasure to the professor. As he was taking in all the wonders of this place his attention was drawn immediately to the intricate carvings on both sides of the wall beside him.

He had made plenty of brief stops at regular intervals to study and try to decipher its many mysteries, he wanted to examine them thoroughly for posterity as well as personal glory but Liara wouldn’t allow him the time to do any of that. She moved forward along at a brisk pace, impatient to acquire her long-awaited prize, and their only source of light in this dark place moved along with her, leaving everything behind in shadows.

She was finally forced to stop after they entered the main temple hall at the end of the narrow causeway. It was a fairly large rectangular room held up by several stone columns at regular intervals around its edges. Other than the ancient carvings on its four walls and a circular pile of rubble in the center of the room, the place was pretty empty and unadorned.

“Nothing here,” Helik finally gave words to the thought in everybody’s mind, as he sifted through the rubble and the rest of them scoured the entire room for any object of interest, Roan’s movements being more sluggish than the rest.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Professor? What do you make of this mess?” Liara finally asked in frustration after failing to make sense of the ruin in front of her, and when no reply came after a moment had passed she asked for him again, more forcefully this time, “Professor?!” The professor had wasted no time since entering the hall.

He had gone straight to examining the carvings on the four walls even with an inadequate source of light provided by Liara’s glowing sphere and had been in deep thought about their meaning when Liara’s question snapped him out of it.

“Uhmm… Yes, my lady,” the professor blurted out and turned around to look at Liara and before long came over to study the rubble at the center of the room.

“Hmm… Well, this is a…aaaa? Looks like it used to be a fountain. Its design is so bizarre but I am sure it’s some kind of a fountain,” the professor said after a thorough inspection.

“A fountain? Are you sure? Cause this looks nothing like ones we have in Crea,” Liara asked somewhat skeptically.

“I am quite confident on that. I have dedicated a significant portion of my life in the study of various aqueducts. Although we may not be able to recreate them in this age, my studies may one day allow us to achieve what our ancestors could,” the professor said quite proudly.

“Eh? I see no source of water for this fountain,” Helik remarked standing beside Liara as he gazed at the ceiling of the room. He folded his arms and looked at the professor suspiciously before continuing, “And I am sure I would have noticed massive aqueducts lying about in the city.”

“Yes, about that. I believe the source of the water is below us. There must be a mechanism which allows the water to surge from below. It could even be something magical.” The professor sounded excited at the existence of such a contraption.

“So, the artifact may lie below us. I know for sure it’s nearby. I can still sense its power,” Liara spoke with her eyes shut as she concentrated.

“Maybe, there is a way for us to descend further?” The professor looked around for a clue.

“I think I might have just found it,” Rok said. He was standing next to the wall in front of the entrance which was missing any the carving marking the other three, his hands feeling the rough surface of its deteriorating stone bricks. “There is something behind this wall.”

“A hidden door… Right. Of course,” the professor said walking towards the wall that Rok was examining. While this entire conversation was taking place, Roan was the only one who didn’t join in. He remained standing in a corner with his back against one of the columns, his eyes closed and his hand folded in silence, as he maintained his distance from the rest.

Helik chuckled at the mention of a hidden door, “You have gotta be kidding me. This is like one of those dumb children's stories with treasures to be discovered behind some mysteriously hidden doors. What’s next? A dragon perhaps?”

“There must be some trigger to open this.” The professor spoke, ignoring Helik’s attempt at humor.

“Everyone! Stand away from the wall!” Liara barked before closing her eyes and raising her right fist to level with her face. She focused for a moment making the energy from her entire being flow towards her right hand and gather inside her tightly clenched fist, resulting in it gleaming with a blackish-green aura.

When she felt she had gathered enough of it she unleashed a shock-wave that blasted the wall in front of her destroying large portions of it and creating a large hole to reveal stairs leading below.

The dust and debris rising up from the fallout created an uncomfortable breathing environment for the people inside the room, causing the professor to cough and managing to irritate the rest but this was just a minor inconvenience compared to what transpired next.

Opening the hidden path that had remained locked for countless centuries unleashed a barrage of foul smell hidden within. It caused the already coughing professor to empty out his already empty stomach and caused others to gag in disgust before they managed to block the smell by sealing their nose tightly.

“What in the fuck was that?!” Helik blurted out when the air around him was somewhat breathable and foul smell had dispersed enough not to haunt his sense of smell but he soon realized his folly. “Apologies, my lady, for the crass language,” Helik apologized for cursing in her presence

When Helik looked at Liara to gage her reaction to his apology he was quite alarmed at her weariness. She looked quite spent which was reflected by her drooping posture and the blood leaking out of her nose. “My lady, Are you alright?” he asked with a worried expression on his face, before quickly moving to her aid.

“I am fine. I’ll be fine,” Liara replied softly before wiping the blood gathered under her nose with the back of her left hand. She shook her head several times to clear off any drowsiness that had managed to slip in and straightened her back before heading straight down the stairs ahead of her, the men following one after another with Roan being the last.