As they inched closer to the tunnel, Dem suddenly froze.
Scanning around the room with his eyes, Dem's eyes lit up. "Who is the monster that built this place?" was the first thing that came to his mind.
Walking towards the wall, he raised his crystals, the ones they had attained from the fierce rats earlier, towards the walls to compare.
"These walls are built with crystals, beast crystals to be specific!"
Even scanning finally found something, the same color of beast crystal as the one he held. Still looking around, his eyes slipped towards the tunnel.
"I never believed I'll be doing this," Dem said, and then snatched the book Zain was using as a map earlier. "Follow me."
Walking into the tunnel were Zain, Dem, and Gem. "This map... Zain, did you notice that this map was centered on the mini desert we were on earlier?"
"The arc-shaped rock, the v-shaped tree, the smooth crater, and the egg are the only directions this map is giving us. And all of this is found in the desert."
"Wow, I never noticed that," Zain commented with his hands on his chin.
"And if you think about it, the place is like a man-made area. Everything there is so unnatural. And if you think about it, the magic rune was extended toward the whole desert, which means all that happened was planned. But by who?"
"Those beasts that attacked us are like a test. When we kill the beasts, we'll be able to descend down here. And we did."
"Also, I can't find any theory of how you standing on the egg made it hatch. How is it possible? Our hands aren't... balls, you know."
"Uhm... Dem, why are we walking in this tunnel instead of scaling the wall?" Zain couldn't help but ask, although he contributed to the idea, he just couldn't help. But it was useless, Dem completely ignored his question and continued with his rambling.
"All this crazy stuff about beasts, crystals, magic runes is just so... mysterious." Dem was deep in thought.
"Could it be that I deserved that punch?"
"Could it be that I was the wrong one all along?"
"Could it be that magic truly exists?"
–––
A certain man in the pit, along with the trio, had his eyes lazily closed but still, he could tell.
"A muscular teenager, a blonde-haired teenager... They look identical. They should be brothers."
"And lastly, a black-haired teenager, the one whose hair has green tips. He's a strange one, strange, but I don't care." He spoke out despite being the only one there.
"They should be prepared because they are about to experience the greatest surprise of their lives."
Finally opening his eyes, the dark area he was currently in was instantly consumed by the menacing luminescent light emitted by his eyes.
–––
Clack! Clack! Clack! Footsteps of the trio could be heard as they walked into the dark tunnel. The tunnel was completely dark. Only, it had fewer crystals embedded in the wall. Unlike the pit that had its walls being built with multiple fused crystals, this tunnel had crystals embedded into the wall in a certain pattern that had one crystal having a distance of about five meters before the next.
"Dem! Speak to me, why are we in here?" Zain asked again, he truly wanted to know the logic behind this Dem had to offer.
Turning around, Gem stared at Zain for some time before finally answering. "Didn't you say you are seeking out to be a mage? So you can start hunting beasts? Well, that's why we are here."
"There have been numerous proofs that something lured us here, either something or someone. And the way it did, it was done in a method that is so... so... so not natural."
"The magic rune, the magic rune that lured us here is starting to make me doubt my previous thoughts about magic being fake."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Zain's and Gem's faces.
"Ha ha, that's the Dem I know. You are finally using your brain," both Zain and Gem cheered up. "Are you trying to say I was foolish?" Dem barked in annoyance, trying to hide it but he couldn't.
A smile appeared on his face as he couldn't help but feel warmth in his heart.
"I just feel like this feeling shouldn't end," Gem expressed with a smile as he hugged both of them. While still held in each other's arms, it was when it all started.
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
"What the hell is going on? What is destroying our peaceful moment?" Zain said in panic as he tried to balance himself on the tunnel vibrating violently. White fog as thick as the clouds ascended from the ground as well, blocking their vision.
"Let's hold on to each other's hands," Zain suggested, and they all hurriedly obeyed.
A few seconds later, it all stopped and the trio still couldn't hold themselves from staggering around, still in a daze from the crazy dance the vibrating ground made them do.
"Damn, I'm so dizzy."
Gem was the first to snap out of it as he stared at what was in front of him. "Wait a minute, are you guys seeing this? Don't tell me it's what I think it is!"
"Why is there a door here? I am positive that this wasn't here minutes ago. How is it here now?"
The fog quickly as it came, died down allowing them to gaze on the additions to the tunnel.
"Oh, I think I know. Whoever has been luring us into places wants us to be here," Dem replied while pointing at the door that just appeared. "Let's check it out."
"WHAAAT! Are you crazy or what? A door just suddenly sprung out from nowhere, and you want us to just go inside?" Gem screamed.
"Listen, Dem, I've read countless books of different genres, and as for the ones under horror, I've seen something of a similar situation happen, and death followed, yo...."
"Snap out of it, dummy," Dem injected. "If we don't go through the door, then where do you want us to go through?"
"Do you want us to go back to the pit and live our lives forever in there? Or just wander aimlessly in the tunnel we know nothing about."
"Firstly, to discover if magic really exists, and lastly, to find the rune or a way that will lead us back outside," Dem concluded.
"I know, but I still have a bad feeling about this," Gem spoke calmly. "Besides, what's wrong with Zain? He hasn't said anything for a while."
Both turning around, only to realize that Zain was nowhere to be seen.
*********
Dear readers, I know I haven't posted many chapters from my book, but please, if you have enjoyed this book so far, I'd so much appreciate it if you vote. This book needs your vote; I'm hoping to make it the top soon in the tab of novels with the highest powerstones.