He relaxed and gave his body a quick inspection. He had to make sure no strange bug had torn off one of his limbs while he slept. This world had already proven itself crazy enough for things like that to happen.
After patting down his legs, arms, torso, face, and his body as a whole, he reached a conclusion.
'There might not be a rope, but my body is still intact. Well, "intact" isn't really the right word anymore.'
He paused. Then continued.
'My eye. It doesn't hurt anymore.'
The fruit had done its job. The bleeding had stopped, the pain had vanished. It had finally healed, but…
'My eye…'
There was no eye. The wound was gone, but the eye itself would never come back. That was what happened when there wasn't a healing-type Empath nearby. There were people capable of regenerating even the most fatal injuries, but without one close, regenerating an eye was impossible.
On top of that, the wound had already healed, so there was nothing left to heal.
Nova accepted this fate in silence and stood up once more.
'From now on, I'll have to get used to this.'
Various scenarios appeared in his mind where having only one eye became a disadvantage. Even so, his cold, logical thinking proved stronger than his emotions.
But when it came to emotions, Serenity could never be ignored. It was one of the rarest Spectrum within the Emotional Spectrum. One could say that such a Spectrum forced its user into a constant state of deep calm.
As was often the case, there were those who learned to live with it—with time, they managed to feel emotions like everyone else. Nova was one of those people, but not enough to feel whole.
Although over the years he had learned a lot thanks to the people around him, that didn't mean he truly understood what he was feeling.
As of today, he had lived a full and fun life…
No. Not as of today. Until a few days ago, his life had been fun and full of people. Now he was in a damn hole in the ground, with no apparent way out.
He turned on the communicator once again.
'There's a path along the side of the temple. Let's start there.'
There was only a large, dark, circular shadow—about two meters in diameter—stretching along the edge of the light. Whatever secrets it hid would surely reveal more about the ancient civilization that once existed here.
'I hope I don't run into another Aberration.'
Dreaming was always allowed. In hell, even those who dreamed of heaven still had hope. And so, he moved forward again. This time, without stopping.
He stepped into the unknown, hoping to find something good and useful. By the next nightfall, surely everything would be better. Darkness would spread across the surface, but he would remain at least partially safe down here.
***
The communicator didn't have much battery left. A quarter of the charge showed on the screen. Nova looked at it in silence.
'If only I'd bought one with a flashlight.'
When he bought the communicator, Nova thought a cheap one would be enough. All he needed was to make calls and send messages; the rest of the features didn't matter to him.
'When I get back, I'll buy another one.'
He kept walking through the long tunnel. Sharp, jagged rocks along the walls were faintly illuminated by the glow of the screen. Every step echoed through the place, an echo that traveled to the end of the tunnel and faded into the mystery beyond.
There was also a strange smell of charcoal…
Minutes passed. The tunnel twisted from side to side, revealing different paths and intersections. Nova limited himself to following the energy signature. That was what would lead him to the end. At least, that was what he hoped.
"Another dead end," he said, stopping in front of a wall.
It happened constantly. Whenever he reached a new place, he found a wall blocking his way. The tunnel had quickly turned into a labyrinth.
'Which way should I go now? This makes no sense.'
He looked behind him and started heading back, but a soft hiss echoed from deep within.
Hiss…
He raised his guard immediately. His staff in front of his face, the shield on his back. He watched the sides of the tunnel, waiting for danger.
'What was that?' he finally wondered, frowning in concern. 'It sounded a bit far away.'
Whatever it was, staying here wasn't a good idea.
'Damn it. I need to move. I'll get killed if I keep wasting time.'
He quickened his pace. He continued through the winding tunnels—some going up, others down, others leading nowhere. Darkness stretched between them, and deep within, it felt as if something was watching from there, but it was only dark thoughts filling his mind.
Hours passed. The hissing could be heard from time to time, distant but terrifying. His footsteps kept echoing. His breathing bounced off the walls.
Suddenly, he looked toward the end of the tunnel. Fortunately, there was a bit of light on the other side.
Curious, he advanced in silence, his guard up in case of danger. As he stepped out, he frowned with his only eye. Beneath his feet, large piles of stone spread across a steep descent.
The light revealed something different from anything he had seen in this desert.
Before him lay what was probably the greatest discovery in this world. The end of the tunnel connected to a vast "empty" expanse, with black stone columns supporting a high ceiling.
"A city…" Nova said, astonished.
Small sandstone structures were spread out geometrically across the ground, forming a settlement large enough to be called a city. Large glowing stones were embedded in the columns and some of the houses, illuminating the area with their faint amber light.
"But… it's empty."
There was nothing but the buildings. No sign of life appeared. Silence dug its claws between the houses, giving the place the chilling feeling of a ghost town.
With little hope, Nova descended the stone-covered slope, his boots sliding over the uneven path.
When he stepped onto the city's ground, he confirmed that the place was completely empty.
'Yeah. There's nothing.'
He clenched his fist tightly. He felt the stupid urge to punch a wall. It was irritating not being able to find anything—much less a shred of hope.
They were nothing more than ruins of the past.
At the same time, deep within the tunnels, that faint hissing grew stronger, but Nova failed to hear it, far more focused on calming the stress the entire situation was causing him.