It was a Hearth.

Or upon more close inspection, something in the shape of it.

As we were coming to the entrance of this chamber, the symbols were getting brighter and brighter. At times, it seemed like a pulse, beating with intense light at regular intervals.

My mind was going places. I could not figure out what was happening, and nobody else saw the scenarios that my eye tricked me. If it was really false, then I must have received some permanent damage after the incident on the bridge. But if it was not that, and it really changed colors? What if I was the only one who could see the change?

Not only was the language of the Ancients unreadable, but they never shone as brilliantly as they appeared before my eyes. They were blinding me at times, and I had to cover my eyes to have a slim chance of looking ahead. No matter where I turned my gaze, the vibrant green color was there, there were times it was so intense I could not see the people a few inches ahead of me.

After we made a turn and faced the gap that allowed us access to the gigantic chamber, I saw it.

A gigantic, green, heart. Pulsing and sending its power through veins that connected to the walls and all around the chamber.

Right there and then, I knew something was horrendously wrong, but how could I convince them? If they could not see the change in the glyphs, what assured that they would see the gigantic heart that is currently sitting at the center of the Archive?

The Archive was a gigantic metallic monster, that hosted objects from the Ancients. It was called the Archive, as they served the purpose of protecting whatever it was that they were built for. They protect the memories of the past. Serving as a storage that lets us take a glimpse and observe the golden times that would never come again.

They were deadly, machines that could take down hundreds or thousands of soldiers, even armed with powerful weapons.

They were not a thing to be messed with. Every time one was known to be close to a path, every operation had to give a wide berth to not cross its path. If they did, and it decided they were a threat, any hope of salvation was just an unreachable dream.

Equipped with massive rail guns, missiles in every inch of its body, toxic gas to deter any thoughts of melee combat, and more weapons than anybody could even count. Worse was the fact that every Archive was, although sharing similarities, different from each other. Which made transferring knowledge of its weak points even more impossible.

Our expedition was not capable of handling one of those behemoths. Just a glance at a living one might be the only mercy we would have before a quick death overcame us.

To our fortune. This Archive was long dead. Its body spawned a massive gap at the center, that showed the center that it was supposed to protect.

The massive weapons that protruded from its metallic shell were detached from the main body. Two massive rail guns lay at its feet, they were our stepping stone to reach the gap at the center.

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Signs of scavengers were present. It seemed like we were not the first group to take notice of the Archive. But, it seemed like they were small groups of scavengers that did not have the ability to close down this whole chamber to theirs only. Something which we could do with the size of our group.

Taking advantage of this unclaimed land. We started putting down flags and symbols that would alert any upcoming groups of our presence. Hopefully, they would see notice of the dangers of confronting ours. Although the clan was decaying, it was still known around the area, especially because it was the only one in this whole area possessing somebody who could wear an Executioner. Armor from the golden past, covered in every single corner with the Language of the Ancient, but it was actually usable.

Although the actual inner workings of an Executioner was secret knowledge, it was common knowledge that anybody who tried to wear one of those legendary armors would go crazy, and it needed special people that could withstand the armor itself.

Seemingly one appeared in our clan in the recent decade, securing us a better position around here.

To be honest, I was silently hoping that remembering these random things would deter my mind from the fact that there was a fucking gigantic Hearth in front of us. But to no avail, the expedition kept its pace toward the gap in the center, where more space could be freed and a wider space could allow more of us to enter at once.

While I saw people climbing the gigantic guns, I tried to continue distracting myself, wondering, how did this mythical beast die? From the looks of it, it appeared that it was fighting something else, a possible monster similar to its size that could take on the full force of an Archive and still, manage to come on top.

Those types of monsters usually roamed lower levels, it was not possible to find that type of creature a few miles below the surface. Another discrepancy was the presence of an Archive at this level, although not really deep, they were known to be the few metallic creatures to roam the surface. It was rare for one to actually descend into the tunnels.

The green did not stop. From the corner of my eye, I observed arteries leading from the whole monster, and continuing around the chamber. Some sections of the cave walls were completely covered by it, pulsing with power.

The tons of metal that made the chassis of the Archive did not stop me from looking at the pulsing Heart. From what appeared, it seemed to me like it was located near the center of the structure, but not directly in it. And no matter the walls between, I could somehow still see it.

The more I climbed, and the closer I got to the gap, the more the Hearth was growing in my vision. The sight of my companions climbing with a grin on their faces did not calm my anxious heart. The question of why they could not see it crossed my head uncountable times, but the answer kept eluding me.

Maybe the goddess would known? But even then, how could they communicate with us? We did not have an official priest here, only watchers who spread the message of their religion and could use their special artifacts.

I could see for myself a web of arteries under my feet and more at the center that we were aiming at. My only comfort was imagining that if it wanted us death we would be by this point, and that maybe all of this is a product of my mind being invaded by the Dark ones.

Many times I wanted to just scream and retreat, maybe my actions would alert the smart ones of the absurd fact that a gigantic Hearth was looming on top of us.

But it did not take an expert to conclude that it was an idiotic choice. With a slim chance in front of them, would they abandon it for a guy who assured them that there was an actual threat? And that He was the only one that could see it?

Not in this world, at least. So I decided to keep the words to myself, but there was a guy that I needed to make aware of.

Not only that, if this thing did not kill us, I would surely die the moment I made enough distance from the group. Only numbers would deter creatures from straight-up attacking.

“Ofar, I know you would not believe but, but there’s some-”

“Something here that should scare all of us, right?” Ofar turned to look at my surprised face.

“H-How?” I asked him, wondering if my old good and reliable friend was a wizard who could read minds.

“Boy. Do not underestimate my experience” Said Ofar, shaking his head. “You seem distressed, and the more we reach the gap, the more your body is shaking. Like we were walking down the mouth of a beast.” Ofar explained, with the wisdom of observing me for years long. It seemed like my unintentional actions did not go unnoticed.

“Also, I could not shake off the unsettling feeling that I had when you commented about the color of the hieroglyph changing. Something that should never occur, but, how could a rule be unbreakable in this world that did not belong to us, simple mortals.” Ofar continued to extend, diverting from the logical explanation I wanted to one of religion and such.

“Does that mean that you trust me?” I finally asked him the question that I wanted to ask the whole journey through. Although not the only friend that I had here, he was the only one I could rely on. Similar to how my father relied on him many years ago for that incident.

“Of course, not boy. If I believed every superstition there is known to man, I would be dead a hundred times by now. But I swore to your father I would protect you to the best of my abilities, don’t tell me your stupid mind forgot it by now?” Ofar responded, with a hearty grin in his mouth. If we were alone and not surrounded by dozens of people focusing on their own steps, He would be loudly laughing his ass off.

But, I was thankful that I had someone in this hellish place that I could rely on.