Shadows of Aesir

Raising his relic, Mathew tried to peer into the darkness. The lantern grew lighter, illuminating a portion of the chamber and revealing a cave. He moved slowly, taking care with every step he took. The growl echoed once more, this time, it sounded less like that of an animal, and more like a subtle creak. Raising his brow, he stepped even closer.

Suddenly, he tripped over something. Barely catching himself before he stumbled forward, Mathew his balance and turned back. Glancing at the ground, he noticed a series of deep grooves etched into the ground. Following their path, he saw that they were leading deeper into the chamber.

'What the, are these? Some sort of tracks?'

Beside him, the woman strode forward and crouched down. Brushing away some of the debris that covered them, and stared with a complicated expression. She almost seemed, solemn. Watching her with a complicated expression of his own, Mathew wondered what exactly could be going through her mind.

In fact, he wondered what it could be that she was even doing there.

He, as a herald candidate, was sent to that place to go through hell for his trial by the accused codex. As a result, he had no opinion about his presence there. But as far as he knew, or could tell, she was a well-off individual. The clothes she wore were tattered and torn, but he could see from the remnants, the way she carried herself, and the way she regarded him and the man who was protecting her from the Gila when they first met, she was no ordinary person too.

Otherwise, fostering that nasty and pompous personality of hers would be near impossible. So the question remained. Why was she there? The question lingered at the back of his mind like a shadow, heavy and ominous as Mathew's gaze swept over the cave, and the tracks one more time.

When he first woke up in this damn nightmare he was surrounded by corpses. Dozens of them. All strewn across the cold, blood-stained cobblestone floor. Next was the sight of that man in eye-catching armor battling the Gila before meeting his end while trying to protect her.

Her mission, or purpose, whatever it was she was after didn't occur, or even matter to him then. But now... Now he had the burning desire to know, he had to. If the slightest bit of information he could glean from her would enlighten him on what he needed to do to complete his trial he would be more than grateful. Of course, that wasn't the only reason for his curiosity.

Turning to her, he asked in a flat tone.

"Hey princess, why are you here."

The beauty turned to him, and quickly opened her mouth to answer but closed it. They were silent for a few seconds as her eyes darted away from his. Finally, she turned back and spoke. 

"What is your rank?"

Mathew raised his brow.

"What?"

"I asked what your rank is."

"Yeah, and I said what?"

The woman furrowed her brow.

"If you aren't of the required rank, then I can't tell you what my mission is."

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

"To be honest, I do not know how you gained access to this place." 

The young cynic glared at her for a moment, blinked a few times then scoffed and said.

"Of course, you can't."

He shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping his lips.

With that marking the end of their conversation, Mathew strode off. For a few seconds, the beautiful woman stared at him, lost in her thoughts, then abruptly brought back to reality by the sound of his echoing steps, she stood up and followed.

***

And so they walked, and walked, and walked through the deep cave. With Mathew leading and the woman trailing not too far behind. 

As they traveled through the cave they, found nothing out of the ordinary.

Another hour later, a faint glimmer caught his eye. A single, lonely ray of light cut through the oppressive shadows ahead. He quickly moved toward it, the glow growing stronger with each step.

'Is that,"

The tunnel began to widen, its claustrophobic walls giving way to an enormous chamber that stole the breath from his lungs and his eyes widened, filled with nothing but awe, as his jaw hung open.

Before him stood a structure seemingly carved from the very stone that surrounded it. It was a hidden marvel nestled deep within the confines of the stone around it. With ridges of obsidian running along the walls grain, and towering columns carved from the beautiful obsidian, reaching toward the vaulted ceiling like the fingers of a giant holding up the sky.

As they walked in, the light of his relic bounced off the obsidian-laced walls, illuminating the incredibly intricate carvings that lay sprawled across the length of it. The beautiful murals had withstood the flow of time. And from point to point, seemed to tell a story.

'What the hell am I looking at?'

Mathew wasn't sure what it was he was looking at. But in the murals, he could pick out depictions of what looked like people, holding weapons. The carved mural seemed to show in exquisite detail scenes of battles between mighty figures.

He turned to back to see the woman, but she was not there. He quickly glanced around and found her. Staring at the walls as she paced quietly and slowly, his expression seemed, strange. It almost looked like an unnatural mix of curiosity, concern, and fear.

Walking up to her, he said.

"Do you recognize any of this? "

The woman turned to him and stared for a moment, then turned back. Her brow furrowed as she continued to examine the murals in silence.

'Okay,'

He followed her as she moved deeper into the chamber. Soon, the structure at its center was visible to them. It was even more beautiful up close. It was almost as if he was in a dream. And that was why Mathew couldn't help but feel like something was off. 

Just then, Mathew felt that strange sensation again. Someone, or something, was watching him. Looking down at the base of the building, an archway framed the entrance, its surface inscribed with yet another strange set of runes. But for some reason, they felt eerily familiar and different at the same time.

Leaving the woman to her mysterious devices, Mathew moved closer to inspect the runes. The inscribed runes were almost the same thing, but the method of inscription was different. If the other one looked like it was melted into the arch, this looked meticulously carved into the frame.

Almost as if two different people or beings had made them.