There's a certain cave hidden in the eastern desert of the Ferry vast lands of Aldon - The biggest and most audacious land for bargains, negotiations, buys and sales. It is called the land of Trade.
A long, long time ago, this cave emerged out of nowhere, according to the civilians who explored the area in search of valuables to make a living out of.
Only, this cave had been there for as long as mankind but was suddenly discovered after centuries of staying hidden from humans.
Terrified to explore further, the civilians rushed in fear to their ruler, The Emperor of Aldon, Ceriuss III, with their most recent discovery.
They had never seen a thing like it and weren't at all that curious to lose their lives in the cause of searching for a means of survival; their cries to the emperor being, "My lord, something outrageous has befallen our dessert of valuables".
They called it the land of Valuables because every day on this very land, treasures of gold and emeralds emerge from the soil of the desert. Most times, pearls and rubies of various sizes.
It was similarly mysterious and sacred.
A group of civilians were the first ones to discover this. They told a few friends only, and from then onwards, they started exploring the area to feed their families.
"Desert of valuables?" Emperor Ceriuss III inquired with curiosity about their petty claims. "A land I know not of?"
But as the civilians basked with fear shared the secrets of this sacred land in the cause of their cowardice, they opened the gates of greed itself, and lost not just their lives, but the innocent lives of those in urgent need of survival.
Emperor Ceriuss massacred every single individual who knew about this place, rushing with his armies of over fifty strong men, to the supposed land of Valuables those civilians had talked about.
Truly, just like they had said, the land of Valuables actually existed. A land that birthed forth treasures from its soil.
A place like this, if not secured by the government, could make ordinary people even more powerful than the emperor. And if it was discovered by more people and word got out, it could attract the eyes of thieves and invaders from various countries.
He couldn't let that happen, so he did what any greedy and power-obsessed king would do. He declared the place restricted and officially out of reach from civilians. Only authorized government officials were allowed.
The land of Valuables, in the blink of an eye, became the sacred land that no one was allowed to trespass. But somehow, the cave those civilians had talked about was nowhere to be found.
It disappeared into thin air.
In the next days, Emperor Ceriuss and his armies began exploring the vast lands in search of this cave. They dug day and night relentlessly, even in the strong winds, picking up unimaginable treasures that were endless.
The deeper they searched, the bigger and more valuable the treasures became. And for some reason, they glistened even more.
Like a trail, they were being lured deeper into the desserts.
This made his humongous greed burn like a forest that had caught fire.
As though he were being hypnotized, he followed them behind, his desire to take more than he could, unquencheable. The undying ache to possess everything, the maddening itch to get to the source that birthed this treasure, his great greed of which no amount of words could describe, shook the cave that had hidden, out of hiding into broad daylight.
Atlas, the sacred cave that caused those civilians to run to him in cowardice, emerged right in front of him, shaking the deserts like an earthquake.
His eyes widened to its reveal, leaving the rest behind him backing up to safety as the heights of the sacred cave grew higher rapidly.
Indeed, it was fearful. He could finally see why the ones who found it ran for their lives.
It was the most mythical thing he had ever seen in his life. The size of this cave was like those of giants and it's grounds birthed forth golden soils, completely different from the rest of the desserts.
The great walls of the cave were so foreign. He had never seen a thing like it.
Huh? A glistening concrete made with diamonds?
And what were these foreign writings on the wall?
Avaritia liberabit te. (Your Greed Shall Set You Free).
What language was this?
He wanted to unveil the secrets of this place no matter what as he could tell that what they had just discovered wasn't for mere men.
No one could see a thing inside it even though it's doors were wide open. It seemed like a void from first glance but the more you look at it, the more terrifying it became. Not even a single ray of light came to view.
It was very terrifying...
"And at last, we have discovered the sacred cave of valuables, we shall exploit its contents soon enough".
Emperor Ceriuss spoke up, ignoring the goosebumps that roused from his skin. There was no way he would pick fear over those humongous gems he had just seen and acquired.
If something like that could be found on the soil just like that, then it must mean the cave entailed even more.
More wealth! He thought.
Dejecting his fears, he dashed in blindly, like a curious fool searching for everything but nothing in particular.
Only, he was really a fool...
Because he had no idea just whose world he had just stepped right into with his armies of mindless fools...
A total of seven of his strongest men plus him, after having told the rest of the armies to keep watch at the entrance of the cave, and to slay whoever tries to trespass.
On their way in, he felt the trembling from the depths of the earth and scoffed, taking more steps in.
Then came a loud humming sound from deep inside the cave, accompanied by a strange passing wind that welcomed them with a tense atmosphere around them.
The first sign...
It felt like a whirlwind, but it only last for a brief moment, erupting laughter from the mouth of the emperor.
"A mere wind cannot stop me, haha..." He laughed in mockery, masking his fear.
But before they could even recover from the shock of both strange occurrences, out of nowhere, thick lining of golden concrete slid from the entrance, and closed cave shut with a loud thud behind them, leaving them in complete darkness and fear.
The second sign...