My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 85: Written In Stone

Captain Raven wasted no time in making use of the opening he had created. He was a firm believer in survival of the fittest. Grugda and the surviving crew members quickly followed after him. None of them doubted Kace's abilities to be able to follow after them.

Slaying a few more of the hideous creatures as he made his after them he spotted Sophia standing like a statue fixated to the wall. Even his senses had almost betrayed him. She was trying so hard to be undetected that he almost missed her completely. He made short work of slaying the Earthfish that had her cornered before grabbing her by the hand.

Pivoting on his heels, he dragged her behind him as he picked out the safest route forward. The warmth from his hand dragged Sophia back to reality as she realised someone had come to her rescue. She could feel the roughness of his skin that was a telltale sign of all the work he had put into honing his skills.

She noticed that the feeling of his hand wrapped around her own was quite pleasing. This revelation shocked her somewhat as it made her feel awkward. She had always denied the prophecy that had been dictated to her so long ago. However, it was getting harder for her to say that it was entirely false anymore.

She found that part of her even hoped that it would come true, like some silly schoolgirl with a crush. The problem with the prophecy, though was that it came with a price. She could not help but ponder whether or not the cost would be worth it. 'I should make more of an effort with him and see where it could lead. I'm pretty sure I might have already ruined it though.' 

A touch of pink coloured her pale cheeks as she thought about what it could mean for her future. 'Kace may not the best looking but certainly seems reliable. He's managed to surprise me more than once in such a short space of time.' She thought as her eyes became passionate as she studied Kace's profile.

It did not take long for Kace to catch up with the rest of the group. Despite having been dragged along, Sophia did not look any less graceful for the experience. Every hair on her head was still entirely in place, and there was not a mark on her. She noticed the many jealous gazes from the men as they stared at their hands intertwined.

"You can let go of me now!" She snapped with embarrassment. She was making it clear that it was not her idea. The more passionate members among the crew felt relieved to see her usual frosty tone with their competitor.

'Ungrateful bitch.' Kace snorted as she jerked her hand from his grasp.

He did not allow the moment to interrupt his pace as he kept up with the group. Before long, he began to notice that the walls of the cave were becoming smooth until they resembled a human-made structure. His curiosity peaked when he could make out strange images upon them.

They seemed to be depicting the events of the past. First was what he assumed to be the gods forming the world. Then the invasion of Haestus and his heroes. Followed by Sonja's betrayal and her metamorphosis into a vampire.

What came next gave him a serious shock, though. In the following sections, a monster was depicted feasting on the corpses of both heroes and monsters. Their bones and body parts were scattered around his feet. After that came a section that showed the monster battling it out with an army of heroes before a large circular object.

He could only assume that it was meant to be one of the gates. Just when he thought he had come to grips with the story, another section showed the creature sitting upon a throne of bones. A crown graced its head as a variety of monsters appeared to be worshipping the being upon the throne.

What really surprised him about it though was the female standing beside him. Her face was veiled, but the image gave him the impression that the unknown woman was an unparalleled beauty. He had no idea by what standards he was judging that on though. It seemed to be a simple gut feeling that he had.

"Hey! What are these all about?" He asked Sophia while gesturing to the images that they were quickly passing. He thought he knew the answer, but he did not want to seem conceited by voicing his opinion before getting confirmation.

"What do you think it is stupid?" Sophia harshly spat as her cheeks went into a full blush yet again "It's obviously the story of your fate!"

Kace glanced at the images again. 'It's as I feared then. Someday I'm going to get married if this all goes to plan.' he silently lamented the thought. His father back on Earth had always been fond of saying that marriage was the first step to an early grave.

"I'm not keen on all the shit I have to survive based on these though." He murmured speaking mostly to himself. This caused Sophia to give him an incredulous look. Seeing her reaction, he mistook it for something else. "Oh, don't get me wrong! I don't mind if it means I'll get to live a good life afterwards. Plus I wouldn't mind getting to know the hottie in the story.

Sophia blushed violently. Although she had not remembered these caves when Raven had mentioned them it had in fact been because of the nature of the information. These tunnels were never connected to a cave system. Instead, they were part of the hidden lowest floors of her home.

She remembered the day that the artist had come to her home for inspiration for the murals. Forcing her to try on many different dresses before finally settling on the one used in the images combined with the veil, she had been forced to wear. So, in fact, the 'hottie' that Kace had referred to was already standing next to him.