"All clear."
"Sweet!"
As soon as the call was made, Max's colleagues rushed over to the chests, excitement written all over their faces. He shook his head and lowered his rifle. Then he turned his focus to the dais.
With careful steps, he made his way up the three steps to the top of the dais. He still harboured some caution in the steps he took, mindful of even the dirt. Max squinted his eyes as he looked closely at the dirt-covered floor.
Buildings, not to mention spaces resembling a throne room, were a thing of the past. They were now a part of history. Surely, it should have a story to tell. This was what piqued his interest.
Max had no prior knowledge about throne rooms, their designs, or their build. As such, he paid little mind to the joints that made the dais. The joints divided the dais into four segments. Around the very centre, where the joints met, were four square-like marks carved into the stone floor.
'Must be where the throne was placed.'
Max figured, his interest quickly shifting to the very back of the dais. The wall behind the dais had a Gothic design with elements of modernity. Carved into the wall was what appeared to be a window frame.
And like everything else in the throne room, it only mimicked a window without a window actually being there. There was simply a polished stone wall. Then Max's attention was momentarily drawn to his colleagues, who were lowering the many cases to the ground.
'For an ancient throne room, the cases look modern. Almost military-like.'
Max didn't bother pondering deeper. He just hoped they weren't empty. Directing his gaze back to the wall, Max extended his hand to the wall. They were surprisingly smooth. Dirty, but smooth.
Brushing his fingers across the wall, Max slowly moved from one side of the dais to the other, appreciating the detailed architecture. Designs like these could only be found in ruins such as these.
'Hm?'
Max's attention was drawn to a groove that felt different. Odd. At a glance, it felt no different from the others. However, this groove was deeper. Pushing his fingers deeper, he felt something like a button hidden within the small groove.
"Damn it!"
Before he could press the button, his attention was pulled towards his colleagues. "What's wrong?"
"These cases are specialised. I'm surprised there's even something like this hidden here."
"What do you mean?"
Withdrawing his fingers, Max moved in close to see what his friends meant. He lowered himself to get a closer look at what they were pointing at.
Max's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that…"
"I'm just as shocked. These things are extremely rare. In fact, no one really knows how these things were even built."
"Will it make things difficult for us?" Ken muttered, sounding doubtful.
"You have no idea." The reply came with a scoff. "Magic locks only respond to the magic signature of the owners. Without their essence, opening these chests is next to impossible."
"Then what do we do?" Ken panicked. "We can't take the cases back to camp!"
"Clearly!"
"Looks like someone purposely put them here for safekeeping." Max directed his gaze to Julius, momentarily confused. Julius was looking towards the opening they descended from.
"What are you getting at, Julius? Of course, someone put them here. How else would they be here?"
"Have you looked around?" Julius shot back, glaring at the girl who had raised their voice at him. "There are no other openings besides that opening in the roof. We wouldn't even be here had that opening in the roof been absent."
Max and the others realised what he was hinting at, glancing at the opening and then back at the cases. "Yeah, but some of the cases look a lot bigger than the opening allows." Max pointed out.
A moment of silence passed before Max rose to his feet, looking back at the wall. "Maybe there is another way out of here. You guys should stay alert." Saying that, he rushed back to the wall.
"What did you find?"
"I think this wall somehow opens to another chamber or something."
Reaching the wall, Max looked back at his colleagues, hinting at them to make their rifles ready. Things could get messy, really, really fast. With a sharp intake of air, Max inserted his fingers into the groove and pressed.
Almost immediately, the dais beneath him rumbled, almost sending his soul jumping out of his body. In a flash, Max backed away and raised his rifle, the weapon softly humming in his hands.
"Hold…"
He watched as the joints, starting at the very centre of the dais, lit up in turquoise neon lights. The gentle lights spread quickly, spreading outward and towards him and his colleagues.
"Pull back!"
His colleagues complied as they put several more metres between themselves and the dais, watching behind the massive pillars as the neon lights lit up patterns on the floor they didn't realise was there.
The lights continued to spread, climbing the pillars and the ceiling until the entire throne room was bathed in turquoise neon lights. The lights were not bright, just enough to push most of the darkness back.
Max's heart thundered in his chest, sweat beading his forehead. The light show had scared him more than he let on. Glancing at his colleagues, he realised he wasn't the only one shaken by the phenomenon.
While they looked focused and ready to tear apart anything that reeled its head, Max noticed their increased breathing and perspiration. They were just as frightened.
"Is-Is that it?"
Max looked to his right, where Sophia had just spoken. The girl momentarily looked over to him, waiting for his input. How was he supposed to know that? Pressing that button in the groove had been a guess.
"I don't think so. Look…"
Refocusing on the dais, Max saw the joint in the dais rumble once more, spewing denser light than the surroundings. Consequently, the atmosphere in the throne room grew stronger. Heavier. Like someone had suddenly added more mass to the air particles.
Then, under his anxious gaze, the joints in the dais separated with the outburst of what looked like steam. Max clutched his weapon tighter, his finger on the trigger. Something was rising to the top.
'Just what the hell is this place?' Max swallowed nervously, instructing his colleagues to hold. 'This is quickly becoming a nightmare.'
He dreaded what might appear, as even he was not stupid enough to face off against some abominations freely roaming their world.