I swept my flashlight across the space ahead. The passage rose over three meters high, darkness stretching endlessly forward…

Unlike before, a faint airflow brushed my skin here, and faded murals began appearing on both walls…

I cautiously scanned every direction—especially behind me—checking if those terrifying creatures were still tailing me…

But nothing. No sign of them anywhere. Only deathly silence, not a single sound…

Relief washed over me. I slumped weakly against the tunnel wall, collapsing to the ground.

The gash on my arm ran deep. Once the adrenaline faded, pain flared sharply. I uncapped my half-empty water bottle and rinsed the wound.

Bandages were running low, so I carefully unwrapped the one from my leg and resecured it tightly around my arm.

Afterward, I chewed a bite of compressed biscuit, washing it down with a tiny sip of water. Thirsty and starving, I still dared not finish my supplies.

Who knew how long I’d be trapped in this godforsaken place…

I’d already moved far from where I fell, deep inside an unknown passage. Reuniting with Mom and the others? Pure luck now.

Leaning against the cold stone, I closed my eyes to rest. A faint, fishy stench clung to my clothes.

My mind wouldn’t settle. I opened my eyes, checked the time—past midnight.

Sitting alone beneath the great lake in these ancient ruins… I still couldn’t believe it was real.

Dad… when he came here, was he just as bedraggled as I am now?

This wasn’t some peaceful amusement park.

Those snarling, clawing monsters weren’t harmless kittens. Did they overestimate me? Underestimate this place? Why drag me down here? And now? Look at me.

Alone. Covered in foul monster blood.

Who knows what other “surprises” wait ahead…

I kept muttering complaints. Sometimes anger was the only thing that eased the despair clawing inside.

Back on shore—if only I’d stood my ground. Wouldn’t staying put as a quiet geologist have been better?

Now I’m in this mess. Might not even see tomorrow…

I spat, pushed myself up, and stepped forward again.

“Just keep walking. What if hope’s right around the corner…”

As I moved on, the walls grew taller. Murals here looked clearer, less ruined.

Curious, I leaned close, flashlight beam tracing the ancient paint.

Might never get this close to relics again. Gotta see—how’s this different from the manga I read daily?

Fragments remained. Twisted style. Definitely an abstract hand at work.

Left wall showed people in rough-spun robes. Faces carved in eerie detail—all demonic, monstrous expressions. Poses wild, purpose unclear.

Scattered horses mid-gallop. Abstract, yet strangely vivid.

Beyond that? Bizarre stances, cryptic motions, unreadable script. What were they saying? No clue.

High school history teacher once said ancient murals recorded daily life.

So… what was *their* daily life?

“The Third Set of Broadcast Calisthenics”? “Dancing Youth”?

Right-wall murals had nearly vanished. I kept studying the left.

Miles of repeating scenes: figures stretching, herds thundering. But I spotted shifts.

Further in, the figures grew taller, features more distorted…

Artist losing patience? Or… meaning hidden in the warp?

Lost in thought—I froze.

Ahead, under the dim beam, something new emerged.

A pair of blood-red eyes.

I stepped closer. A massive, strange creature coiled in the mural.

Huge beside the human figures. Yet oddly drawn: serpent-like body, no color, no mouth, no nose—only two glowing crimson eyes embedded within. Two ruby gems, each basketball-sized.

I didn’t wonder what it was. Just stared, breath caught.

Basketball-sized red gems? Something I’d never see in ten lifetimes.

A reckless urge stirred: *Pry them loose.*

I stepped back, reaching for my pack—

My boot nudged something.

I spun, flashlight swinging—

My blood ran cold.

So focused on the left wall, I never noticed the corpse lying silently behind me.

I stumbled back, biting back a scream, beam locked on the stiff form.

Clothes didn’t match our team.

Knife in hand, heart pounding, I nudged it gently with my foot.

No movement. Stone still.

Definitely dead.

Another body…

Wiping sweat, I steeled myself, flipped it over.

Blackened bones inside a Columbia windbreaker over a wetsuit.

Worst of all: a jet-black arrow buried deep in its skull—shattered forehead, plunged straight through.

I pursed my lips, swung the light to the right wall.

There—a deep pit, same size as the left-side gem, perfectly symmetrical.

I leaned close, peering sideways into the hole.

Thumb-sized opening inside. Matched the arrow’s width exactly.

He’d pried the right gem loose… and triggered the hidden arrow behind it.