Infinite Realm

[AN : Please read the previous chapter. It just got completed.]

"The drawings." Sato said. "They are humans."

Xue Yan was shocked. "Humans? Why the hell would there be humans living underground? Are sure about that?" 

"Come take a look." Sato moved away from the wall, exposing it for Xue Yan to catch a glimpse.

On the wall that Sato was referring to, there was a bunch of artistic engravings etched on it. Though the symbols were a lot haphazard and jumbled that it was almost incomprehensible and looking a lot like a 7 year old's art, if one were to focus harder on it, they could make out a bit of what was drawn.

The 'humans' Sato spoke of were actually a bunch of stick-man-like creatures with round heads. Though he couldn't confirm his suspicions, Sato believed they were humans based on the visual representation and vibe that the artist was trying to give off. 

The drawings went all the way from when the walls were no longer blank till further down the path. Divided into sections with each one seeming to tell a different story, the scribbles and carvings on the wall was like the diary of a civilization that had roamed the world long ago. 

At a section of the wall just close to where Sato previously stood before, there were a few stick-man figures holding what looked like staffs or spears. The beings looked to live a simple life devoid of war, religion or government. It was like the most simplest of civilizations yet, from the vibe the 'pictures' gave off, couldn't be compared to the ancient man of caves[1]. 

"These are…!"

While the aforementioned section looked to be made by a bunch of 4th graders, the section just where Sato stood at and also the place Xue Yan was currently staring at, was like the work of a an amazing artist. Though you couldn't say that the carver was on the level of Michelangelo, Donatello or Da Vinci, he/she was still on par with modern day artists. The two sections were just separated by a less than 5 millimetres line yet the difference was very huge. It was precisely from this section that Sato confirmed his belief that the individuals and species in this artwork were humans. 

"Humans…they really are humans!" Xue Yan exclaimed. Even though this was a VR world, she just couldn't fathom the thought of humans living in this hell-like maze, with various monsters and secrets hidden within.

"But how?" Xue Yan immediately asked. She wasn't so good at hieroglyphs and couldn't understand the meaning nor representation of the drawings in front of her. Though Xue Yan surmised that it told a story, she just didn't know how to directly translate it. She didn't know when but Xue Yan suddenly had this thought and feeling that Sato knew all. Even if he didn't, he could easily figure it out or give an explanation close to the real deal.

Sato answered her, "I'm not so sure but from the drawings from the previous sections, their choice of settlement and a few other factors, I'd say that the individuals that lived here either encountered a devastating experience above and forced to move down here or were simply forced to live here."

"What's the difference?" Xue Yan asked, confused.

"The first implies that they had no choice and did so for survival. It could be a plague, famine or an all-encompassing war. Whatever it was, it didn't necessary target them; they were just unlucky. As for the second, it simply implies what it means. They were forced by another to move. In other words, they were targeted. It could be other humans or other species." Sato clarified his previous words. 

After pausing for a while for Xue Yan to digest his words, Sato continued,

"Looking at the art, it shows that for some reason or the other, these guys were forced down here by another group of species. The most possible bet would be by their fellow humans. The drawings are lacking in detailed descriptions and words so I'm not so clear on the reason. They might have been criminals, weaklings, cursed or maybe abandoned for some reason or the other. At the same time, I might also be over-thinking things and they might have just migrated into the mountains, probably cause they wanted to. The land above is filled with many species and so conflicts of various kinds would arise due to resources. So in a way, moving underground isn't a bad decision to avoid all these."

While Sato wasn't sure of his first set of words, Xue Yan felt that he might be right. This was because exactly as Sato had said, the drawings on the wall showed that whatever human civilization that had dwelt here before had previously encountered a terrifying enemy in the open. This was depicted in a section behind where what looked like the civilization in question, held up what looked like spears and halberds and went to face off against another set of stick-man like beings rode on creatures. Eventually, the next 'slide' showed that they had moved to a mountain. While it looked like they were forced by the enemy, since there was no verbal or textual confirmation anywhere, Sato didn't wholeheartedly agree with his own idea, yet. This was because in the following sections or 'slides', there was no sign of the civilization losing in the war. In fact, the result of the war seemed to have been eliminated or better yet, not 'stored'.

"Let's keep going." Sato said before moving forward.

Xue Yan responded in kind and followed Sato a the duo headed deeper into the corridor.

As they walked further in, they also paid attention to the carvings and drawings on the wall. At some point in time, murals also began to appear on the wall. It was no longer the same stone carvings or engravings but coloured images that helped the two understand more about the story the images told. Apparently, from the murals, whatever human tribe that had lived here had a very long history, witnessing decades and centuries of changes and raising generations after generations. They looked to be the peaceful kind as apart from the previous engraving of them fighting a war, there was no other such imagery. The lives of the underground humans was quite simple without any legendary or noteworthy experience. They looked more like anti-activists and easily contented people than your average humans with great dreams of big achievements.

Eventually, Sato and Xue Yan lost interest in these murals because in the following ones they saw, it was just a depiction of the simple life and meagre experiences of the civilization. There was nothing there that could give them any information on who the civilizations were or what this place was. 

"Hmm?" After walking down the corridor for almost 10 minutes, Sato saw a dot of light a few metres forward.

"What's that?" Xue Yan asked. "Light?"

"Let's find out." 

Walking towards the light, Sato didn't increase his walking speed but actually slowed it down. The closer he got to that point, the slower he walked and the less sound his footsteps produced. They were in unexplored territory so prudence and caution were the two most important qualities to be exhibited here.

Just as they looked to be 10 metres away from the light source, Sato was finally able to see what the light spot was. It turned out that the light spot really wasn't a 'spot'. It was more like a cavern deep within the mountains. From the distance they stood, it was very difficult to discern the interior of the hall so Sato and Xue Yan made their way towards it. As for why there was such a bright light shining out from there, none of them could guess accurately.

'Hopefully, there would be a way out.' Sato thought.

Having been force to such desperate conditions, Sato was looking for a way out of the corridor. The duo were forced into the tunnel without a choice and the only way out(from what they know so far) was also their way in. Sadly, Sato guessed that since the green-eyed kobold couldn't get them a while back, it would end up having a few of its clansmen monitor the entrance and wait for the day Sato and Xue Yan exited. With such a scary thought in mind, Sato had long ago decided to look for another exit in here rather than to use the previous one. 

'Hopefully…'