"Hurry up, Ollie! We're going to be late!" A young Lua rushed, a slightly older boy following behind him. They were in the middle of their hometown, running through people without any care in the world. They were in bliss.
"You're too fast!" The boy had black hair, yet possessed the same golden eyes that seemed to blaze through Lua's face.
To the town folk, these two were a pleasure to the eyes to see. They reminded them of how they were back when they too were children, without the destructive elements that normally came from children playing.
"You know mum hates it when we're late!" Lua called out back, his voice significantly more high-pitched. It was evident he had a long way to puberty. Meanwhile, Ollie, had a considerably deeper voice, and sprinklings of a beard that signaled a fourteen year old teenager.
"I know, I know." Ollie called out. The truth was that he wasn't exhausted, nor was he slow. He enjoyed pretending that Lua was faster than he was. He really liked spending time with Lua.
The boys finally arrived in front of the Moonsilver household, creaking open the door. They stepped in quietly, making sure they weren't heard. Suddenly, they heard scolding voice of Elizabeth.
"What did I tell you boys about muddy shoes in the house?"
The boys froze in their tracks. Not two steps into the house, they had already been caught. They glanced to their right to see Elizabeth with an apron, holding a wooden spoon. She had quite the disgruntled expression facing them.
"Um.. sorry?" Lua tried to weasle his way out of the wrath of their mother, yet failed. They had been stumped.
Approximately seven years later, Lua suddenly found himself recalling these past memories of when things were simple. He remembered all the times he had fun with his brother, Oliver Moonsilver.
He dared not to sigh in the quiet environment of the dungeon library, but he couldn't help but reminisce over how much he missed his brother. It had been years since they had seen each other.
Victoria signaled for the party to divide and search. In this massive underground library, there was much to uncover. It was only natural for them to split up, while being close enough to react should anything happen.
Lua immediately went towards the books. As a professional bookworm who often spent his days reading, he knew he had to see what the ancient tomes had in store. On the dusty bookshelves, his eyes instantly found an ancient book. It was titled "The Tragedy of the Goddess"
Goddess? Does this reference the Lady of War? Lua was confused on who "Goddess" referred. He hadn't explored much into religions, so he knew little about such organisations worldwide. If he didn't live in the country that practically breathed the Lady, he likely wouldn't even know about Her.
Lua's first surprise came when he realised he could actually read the scripture. This either meant that this book was either not ancient, or they used the same language with different dialects when this book was made.
Silently, he dusted off the book's cover. He opened it, glancing at the yellowed out paper on the inside. This book was clearly rather old. However, not all of the text was readable to Lua. The language used was certainly Atherinese, but it was less polished than the modern version.
Lua spent roughly ten minutes reading, until he was finally called back to continue the exploration. He nudged the book into his bag, making sure nobody noticed anything off with him. Although this could be considered theft, Lua cared little. He had gained access to information that might have even been buried in the sands of time.
The book's introduction covered an entity known as the 'Forgotten Goddess'. Although he had been reading for such a long time, there wasn't any other information gained. Most of the time was spent on understanding the ancient version of his language.
Without uttering a word, they continued their travel down the corridors. They likely walked for half an hour without saying anything, until they arrived in another room that could be considered interesting.
This room resembled a colosseum, an ancient structure that had gone out of fashion centuries prior. However, what struck Lua as odd was the remnants of a battle that had ravaged this place. This meant that this area had been cleared by the mercenaries - but then where could the previous lizards have appeared from?
Such questions filled the minds of everyone, yet none arrived at an answer. Some feared the worst, that the previous team had been wiped out. That brought up another question, however - where are the remnants of the adventurers that tried to conquer this place?
Not a bone was left, nor were there the inklings of blood. Everything being devoured seemed unlikely, as that'd require precision not found even in humans.
Lua suddenly began to have his doubts. Had they truly wandered into a dungeon that was easy-leveled? So far, they had met no evidence of humans truly 'conquering' the dungeon. It seemed like they were far from the strongest entity's lair.
Lua suddenly recalled their previous mission. They had been misled into thinking it was a medium difficulty mission, when it ended up being much more difficult in reality. Why couldn't it happen once more?
Then Lua remembered Victoria had confirmed that this was the true level of the dungeon, and his anxiety calmed down. He knew Victoria could be trusted, as the one with the most mercenary experience.
Lua glanced around and saw the uncomfortable expressions on everyone's faces, and realised everyone must be imagining the same things he was. He knew they needed to shake the terrifying thoughts away, and concentrate on what was important - victory.
They made their way across the colosseum, and arrived at a T-section. The seemingly endless hallways diverged once more. The team trusted Winston to lead them in the correct direction once more, leading them into more hallways. In the end, they arrived in a different room. This room, however, was unlike the others in the nature.
It was overflowing with beasts.