dark, murky realm.
it was the first impression Mada and Rani got from this ancient ruin.
from the shade of the once glorious, great, and remarkable past.
traces of utter despair was laid bare right in front of their eyes.
----------------
the divine civilization's tragic end could not be hidden, even with hundreds of unimaginably tall skyscrapers, tens of crumbling giant statues, and other such mega structures, looming in the background.
the horrible finale of the Ancient Humans was not obscured and instead, was depicted vividly amongst their millions of god-like achievements that were still standing proudly here, challenging the passage of time.
no one, not a single soul, would be able to imagine, how horrific it was for the denizen of this realm at that time to know that their end, that was once predicted, now was right in front of them. even if one tried to fantasize to be in the Ancient Human shoes living on that era, They wouldn't accurately understand how They felt about the incoming of their harrowing fate.
climate crisis was long predicted, but nobody had found the essential means to revert its consequences. when the world temperature started to fall rapidly, the polar climate spread all over the world.
crops, livestocks, fungi, fish, algae, all kind of food resources vanished. even water reservoirs all over the World froze to the point that drinkable water had to be drilled through the ice tens of meters underground to be found.
furthermore, world war III, which diverted their effort to tackle the more urgent impending crisis, had devastated most nations, and drained their remaining energy to at least slow down the ongoing freezing process of the world.
following that, chaos infested every country with no exception : drought, forest burnt, massacre, rebellion, plundering, rape, hyper-inflation, instabilities, all sorts of mayhem rendered the mighty Ancient Human system totally paralyzed.
simultaneously, nuclear radiation which had spread across the globe, begun generating terrifying creatures that were not supposedly existed.
the Ancient Human who was always on the top of food chain as hunters, now became the hunted.
this tumultuous era of anarchy and depravation had affected the children living and babies born in this period the most.
They died early with causes that needed no explaination. with death tolls already uncountable and the regeneration of population literally halted. the initial number of twenty billion humans was shaved to about mere hundreds of thousands.
even then, humanity still lived on. They now, or rather their decendants, were standing on the edge of a cliff. They had strived to the best of their ability to ensure the survival of the whole species. but, even with all their advanced legacies, very few could be saved. refugees drift upon a cold waste land. looking for shelters which were non-existence.
----------------
550 AJ
today, what Mada was looking at, was a tattered teddy bear laid on the Icy ground. the two had entered one of the room on the first floor that looked like it was a remain of a convenience store.
He was looking at the doll before shifting his gaze on the placate above the entrance. He tried to read it using the spelling system Rani had taught him.
'al-fa-ma-ar-et....?'
Mada read it as such, eventhough it was actually written as "alfamart".
this type of knowledge about how the universal Ancient Human spelling pronounced had largely been forgotten.
although, They still generally knew and understood the underlying meaning contained within certain context.
"marrr-ett... marr-t.... mart ? was this place originally a market ? it seems too cramped to be a market no ? "
Mada's view started circling around the surrounding. empty rusting shelfs that were full of snacks and beverages once upon a time, could be found filling the space.
"no Mada. it was technically a market but... a very small version of it. I believe my brother meru had told me the Ancient Humans tended to fulfill their non essential basic necessities in such tiny markets. They were scattered all over the ancient cities and towns, such as this one. if I remembered correctly They called it..... emmmmm..... minimarket ? convenience store ? anyway, I am tired already. can we look for a resting area for now ? my legs have had cramps for quite awhile."
Rani massaged her legs. She felt sore coming from all part of her body.
"alright princess. let's go inside this building from here, seems like that wide door will lead us further inside. We will take a look if it was safe and if it is, we can spend the night there, tsk..... I can't even find a sliver of sunlight anymore."
"dumbass, how could You even think to find it beneath the ground ?!"
"did not You realize that the ground above us had shone since we came here ?! even though sunlight doesn't pierce the thick ice sheet. we can still know between day and night through the shining top side of this underground....."
"right.... sorry"
"it's alright Rani. let's just continue our search, You become sensitive because You are tired, I can understand."
They passed the remain of what seemed to be the entrence of mega mall. a huge shopping district that was fitted in a single gigantic building complex. the luxurious glasses which might be installed as the bulkhead was nowhere to be seen, some could still be found, with the condition of being broken or cracked all over.
their footsteps sound travelled across all floors upward. inside this creepy, quite, cimmerian and enclosed space, They were able to even listen to their accelerated heart beats.
there were no visitors visiting this ruin for about five hundred years.
the last guest who had come here would be Rani's master, Dyah Gita.
but even that was almost a decade ago. it was not like a single human activity would drastically change the entire landscape .
so, what Rani and Mada saw inside this giant structure, it was the very same view the last Ancient Human had seen before the last survivor of them completely perished from the earth's surface.
these two kids walked side by side to ensure They could utilize their teamwork in response to any sudden adversities. They fully considered every scenarios that could happen in this area which might took their life if They were not prepared enough.
Their gaze finally fell upon a dark staircase which led them upstairs. the two handles on the left and right side of the stairs were strangely enough coated with black-long rubber.
They discussed for awhile before deciding whether They should go to the upper floors.
"I think it's better to have a conspicuous place that has limited entrances, we could block them to secure a safe zone for us to have rest."
"it will also limit our possible retreat route in case of emergency, don't you think ? "
"well, You get a point, still...., we have not encountered any life signs so far. I know it is an undisputed necessity for us to be always on guard, but the benefits of making a cage-like base right now outweighs the demerits, considering our current physical condition and the time we can afford ."
"then, it means we should put more attention regarding those two variables You have mentioned, Rani, especially, when We were already completely spent after whole day battling those crickets.
what do You imagine would happen if, in million of chances, We were ambushed by anything or anyone that was indefinitely hostile to us ? incases where We were too tired to response timely, We would complete be caught off guard, busted and having no possibility to fight back.
if that indeed occurred, the only life saving grace we have would be the teleportation disk given by old man Wirya.
if We were forced to use that, where do think the safest place in which We had visited so far ? , do You intend to teleport us back to the Terraria City state ?
I bet that will be the least place You want to be in no matter what time You are at "
"I had slipped up on this, sorry for being short sighted."
Rani face drooped upon listening attentively to Mada's argument
"it's alright, I was often short sighted too sometimes. I just hope You will be there for me if that happens, so that I can preserve my life longer."
"sure I will reprimand You if that time comes."
Rani nodded to Mada's request
"then where will we be spending the night ? "
She proceeded to inquire their supposed camp for tonight.
"there, on that corner."
Mada's index finger pointed towards another room in the far corner, it was once just another shop in the Ancient Human era.
"there ? is there an escape route we can use in that room ? I can not spot any possible passage we can use for an emergency retreat."
"there is one. every room has a short of ventilator hole on each of their ceiling right ?, can You see them ?
the problem is, no other rooms on this first floor can be sealed perfectly from the inside.
only that room condition, which has not been breached or broken for God-knows-the-reason why, can be locked from its inside .
if we camped there. we don't even need to jump from the upper floors in a very dire situation, where not even the ventilator passage can be traversed... what do you think ? "
Mada tried to ascertain his decision
"I will go along, Your logic seemed plausible."
"nice, let's check that room now."
----------------
the two finally set up a camp.
They still had the crickets hind legs to be the bonfire's fuel and some of their juicy meats and innards from the insect's abdomen.
tonight Mada and Rani were going to sleep with a full belly.
They had decided who was the first to keep watch over their surrounding while another one took a rest and slept.
Mada was the only one awake alone, Rani had soundly snored with low volume after just few minutes laying on top of thick blanket.
He had nothing to do so He went out not too far away from the initial room. He determined it would be wise not to waste time and be prudent with his preparation. as a nine years old, Mada had become an adult way faster than his supposed mighty ancestors.
He went to train his poem power. He needed to read the second stanza if He wanted to unlock the second stage of the enhancement state contained within the leaf parchment.
"alright, let's try this out. I hope my underdeveloped body can already withstand the recoils from second stanza's movements. I would be f*cked up seriously if it was otherwise"
----------------
the next morning.
Rani woke up early, it was still minutes past midnight but her turn to keep watch had come.
what She found out, was the heavily injured and ragged Mada lying beside her.
He was in wretched state and stayed unconscious even when Rani slapped his cheek dozens of times.
now this was a serious problem. the only medications They had brought along were some ointment and herbs to mend bruins and anti-fever. not some broken bones and cut off muscles. Mada had to solve this alone
"I will boil some water to clean the wounds, stay still."
"....."
Rani proceeded to prepare some warm water when She heard Mada grunted with his eyes still tightly closed.
He awoke at last.
Mada consciousness had finally back.
"Rani.....keuk.....uggghhhh !!!!"
"seriously, what the heck happened ?! I did not hear any ruckus or fighting noises when I was asleep. You should have woken me up if it was that dangerous. tsk !"
"no... aghhh !!!...ugh, i-it was me... I-I... just tried to ....utilize the second stanza.... of the leaf parchment."
"don't tell me You forgot to activate your Mutation before entering that state."
"not that either. on the contraty, I did activated it. I think my Mutation even had provided me a second chance. if it was not for it, I might have met my mother. it's just that.....my Special Trait : Adaptation, had failed to keep up with the godly power this poem had generated. I never expected its potential even reaches to such an extent.
no wonder old man Wirya had emphasized to secure that leaf parchment no matter what. it would spark another war undoubtedly if its existence was known to public..."
"I'm glad if it was the case. I can see your Mutation is still active ? seems like your body already rapidly fixes itslef."
Rani saw mada fractured and dislocated bones were self-healed and automatically rearranged.
his open wounds were also promtly enclosed by newer tissues.
his Special Trait might have failed to keep up with the damages caused by swift recoils of his own movements, but it still worked normally nontheless.
soon, in the near future, when his Adaptation ability grew to a certain degree. He would definitely be able to withstand the setbacks of the second stanza motion forms that became one of hindrances right now.
"be honest. You just want to get instatly stronger don't you ? lemme give You an advice, before You do insane acrobatics movements, make sure You do a proper warm up and have a solid foundation.
Extreme exercises will be much more useful and effective in your case.
that inhuman martial arts is not going to be a burden, if your body can held out long enough againts an even much harsher burdens. You know what I mean ?"
"I understand, I will specially pay more attention to the preparation process from now on."
"good, there are some foods left from dinner. have breakfast before You go to sleep and take more rest for the time being. I will be on the look out now. I'm going to wake You up if something serious happens."
Rani stood up after She had done cleaning up Mada's wounds with a warm-wet towel.
before She walked past the only entrance and exit to their camp.... or room ?
a loud groan echoed through out this mega mall ruin, it had made these two kids halted their recent actions, and even ceased their breathings for a fraction of seconds.
"....."
"am I high ? , I must be still half-conscious...."
"Mada, You are not the only one who heard that."
"then we must have irritated the host as guests. how lucky We are."
"not a perfect time to be kidding around, right ?"
"I was saying that to calm my heart You know ? I am still injured, I do not think this is the best situation to fight in my current condition."
"what do You suggest then ?"
"You see. I knew You saved Your Mutation's Special Trait for non combat purposes. I believe now is the perfect time to showcase it."
"You know my Mutation skill is cruel and tormenting, don't you ?"
"were You not using it because You are afraid becoming a psychopath ?"
"Yes."
"then, be one. You are not gonna survive with a mundane conviction and the common people's moral. The Mutant or other psychopaths won't even give a f*ck with such triviality. Be one of them, this is their world, their rule applies. not he Human's."
"..."
"You will be still Rani whom I know. albeit if someone else sees Your Mutation in action. They are certaintly going to call you The blood queen... hm ? not a bad name don't You think ?"
Rani gave a smile,
She had given up arguing as They still needed to greet this area's current ruler.
"heh... up to You. just wait here. be sure to call me blood queen after You saw my Mutation from afar. here You are..... ....use my Visor.....
good. I will be on my way now"
Mada reminded her one last time.
"be careful....."
Rani turned half of her face towards her back. nodding to Mada who was behind her.
"I will."
----------------
to be continued