"This is it?" I asked, skeptically. My adam's apple bobbed, reacting to the nerves in my body as Horus nodded. The entrance to the cave system was a thin crack that could barely let a normal person squeeze through it.
"Yup," Horus nodded, already halfway into the crack. "It's a tight fit, but you should be able to fit in it with a body like yours." He slid out to the other side and motioned me to come.
I turned and slipped through the cracks, almost getting stuck, but managed to get myself out to the other side.
"It's strange that a cave system such as this exists here." Horus told me as we walked. "If a cave system actually existed, it's strange that whoever built the city's sewer system, didn't run into any problems."
"You know that… how?" I asked.
"I managed to get my hands on the blueprints of the city's infrastructure due to the scope of the job. The plans for the sewer never mentioned anything about a cave system." Horus replied.
We descended downwards to a larger opening. Strange crystals lined the walls like rough patches of crystal left untouched. The roughness of the stone walls seemed odd while the smoothness of the cave floor triggered question marks. The sounds of the sewer system had vanished almost in an instant and there wasn't a drop of water anywhere.
I knelt down and ran my hands across the smooth floor.
"What?" Horus asked, turning to look back at me.
"Nothing." I shook the feeling off.
Maybe I'm just overthinking it.
We continued onwards. The path slowly descending downwards.
"Wait," Horus threw his hand up. "I sense something."
"What?" I asked.
"This magic… it wasn't cast in a hurry," Horus murmured. "It feels like it was… scheduled."
Mana fluttered into my eyes like they did millions of times before with practiced precision. I noticed the mana signatures along the walls, floors and even the crystals. Everything here was filled with strange mana signatures that couldn't have come from a single person.
"This entire place is giving the same readings of mana." I told Horus. My eyes went to the wall. The structure of code was intense. Layers and layers of code rushed on top of each other like they were intricately placed for a reason.
The usage of magic here… it almost feels like a cheap imitation of old magic. I clicked my tongue disapprovingly. I mentally pointed out all the flaws in it, reaching my hand out to touch the cold. Instead of greeting the cold stone, I was met with a strange resistance that wasn't of stone or magic.
My eyes moved upwards noticing the ceiling. My eyes slowly traced the line of the ceiling coming to a strange conclusion: the ceilings are consistently the same height.
I turned, starting to follow the walls when a hand reached out a tapped me.
"Huh?" I blinked out of my daze.
"The mana signature's growing larger towards where the others are." Horus pointed forward. My eyes followed him, remembering I was actually on a quest and nodded.
"We should be careful." I told Horus. "Whoever did this… wanted to hide something in this man-made cave."
"So it isn't natural." Horus plucked a book from thin space and started to scribble in it. "We should continue forward." He let go of the notebook and I watched the spatial magic take it back where it belonged.
"You always take notes?" I asked as we continued forwards.
"It's second nature at this point. I hope you don't mind." Horus smiled. "If someone actually made this place, I want to be sure we have evidence of it for later."
The further we went in, the more the cave felt like it was narrowing. The walls leaned in without moving, the air growing heavier despite the lack of moisture. My steps echoed just a bit too evenly, each footfall answering itself like the space was counting us.
That's when I noticed it.
"Horus," I said quietly.
"What is it?" He stopped immediately.
"The floor," I crouched, again. This time, I didn't touch it. I traced the lines with my eyes instead. "It's not worn."
"That's… normal, isn't it?"
"No," I said. "Stone doesn't stay like this. Even untouched stone would have cracks, settle, warp with time." I exhaled slowly. "This floor's been maintained."
The odditiy of the situation continued to grow. The mana, the perfect ceilings, the smooth floor. Whoever maintained it, clearly made my chest swell with nervousness.
Horus swallowed. "You're saying… someone comes down here… Regularly?"
"I'm saying someone never stopped."
We moved more carefully after that. Horus kept glancing over his shoulder, fingers twitching near the step of his bag. I felt it too, that sensation like the cave wasn't hostile, but aware. Not watching us. Accounting for us.
The tunnel widened suddenly, opening into a chamber far larger than the previous one. Crystals jutted from the walls in symmetrical clusters, their glow faint but deliberate. Nothing felt natural about this place anymore.
The anxiety gripped harder as Rewrite hummed. It didn't like anything about this place.
A rumble drew my attention. I turned, only to watch the way we had come from, close.
This place is even stranger than I thought… I scratched my chin. Before I could say anything else, the cave rumbled even louder, shaking us.
"W-what's happening?" Horus asked.
"I don't know." I replied.
The walls shifted, square blocks jutting outwards The square blocks moved, settling in another spot as the layout shifted. What once was a large chamber, was now a path splitting in three directions.
"T-this doesn't look like anything I went through before." Horus' voice quivered as he turned to look at me.
"If that paths are ever-changing, we'll have to just choose the approximate direction they're coming from and go there." I replied.
A screech echoed from down all three halls.
"That's Lian!" Horus stepped forward. He glanced in all three directions before picking the left-most one and rushing off.
"Horus!" I shouted, running after him.
The path shifted, creating obstacles as blocks of stone moved around me. I twisted through two blocks of moving stone, Runtime appearing in my hand as Horus continued forward.
"Horus!" I shouted, again.
Another scream went off as Horus finished clearing the distance. He turned right as two large square stones blocked my path.
I cursed under my breath as I lifted Runtime, "Lift!" I rose into the air, slipping through the cracks.
"Lian, where are you?!?" Horus' shout echoed. I turned right and followed after, drifting downwards.
Another scream, from a much older man, came in the opposite direction we were going. I turned, acknowledging it and cursing under my breath. The man-made cave had become a labryinth and now it was attempting to split Horus and I apart.
Waves of rectangular rocks shot out of the ground, attempting to block my path to Horus.
"Speed." I felt the spell quicken me as I dashed to the right, seeing an opening to the left. I zig-zagged through the rocks as they flipped sideways, slamming into the ground.
As I reached the other side, Horus was completely gone and replaced with toxic rats. Their red eyes and toxic green fur greeted me with acid spit. I lifted Runtime, producing a purple shield and watched as the acid ate it.
I have to switch its properties to block acid attacks. I observed.
Rewrite hummed, acknowledging my intention and the purple shield turned a shimmer of green before going back to its purple sheen.
Three rats rushed me, while the two remaining ones spewed two lobs of acid in an attempt to block my view.
"Vanish." I waved my hand at the acid. I didn't wait for it to disappear as my gripped tightened around Runtime as I swung it with one hand. It hit one rat as the two leapt for me, sinking their sharp teeth into my body.
I let out a scream, purple glyphs shimmered with my emotions. I grabbed one of the toxic rats, feeling my hand burn with acid as I tossed it away. The other rat leapt away, clicking its teeth together as if it was mocking me.
Dammit, in addition to spewing acid, they're coated in it. Great.
"Stasis." My body resonated in response to my spell. "That'll have to do until I find a healer…" I winced. I lifted my staff. My intention flashed before my eyes, but the earlier attempt flooded my mind.
Not now. I tried to push the thought away. I need to find Horus and the researchers.
I pointed my staff at the rats and moved the staff slightly right before grabbing it with my other hand and swinging it to the left. I watched as the rats slammed into the wall, clearing a path through the haze of chaos.
I rushed forward, passing three rats. One rat shook off the slam and spewed acid in front of me. I jumped to the side, flicking my hand and changing the contents to be harmless. I turned, flicking at the rat and sending it into the wall with a loud crack.
"Stay there, dammit." I huffed, continuing on my path.