Inside a dark expanse beneath the cathedral, a lone figure walked along its halls.

The walls were filled with lightless moths, covering the stone marvel with its fluff nature.

The ground teemed with obsidian centipedes and dark-colored arthropods alike, pacing their way towards the direction where the figure headed.

Her steps contained no sound and yet with each one she took, the world seemed to shake.

The insects, however, remained undisturbed.

Behind the figure, two motionless bodies were being carried by myriads of dark insects. Multiple centipedes and tarantulas crawled on their bodies.

Ants and beetles carried the two, moving at a slow but rather acceptable pace.

The figure, followed by the two bodies, headed towards the unknown.

The time in which they traveled could not be perceived in the tenebrous tunnels as no light from the outside permeated its walls.

Even if it did, the moths in the walls would cover it.

And so, they traveled for a long time.

Or perhaps, it was shorter.

No one knew..

In the middle of the moth-filled hall, a small tunnel is dug on the right—one small enough to fill the two bodies behind the figure.

Examining the tunnel to the right, the figure’s body slowly contorted into that of a centipede, one larger than the ones already existing below. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

So, they entered the tunnel.

Directions were nonexistent as no one could perceive any sort of vision or light anywhere.

After an interval, the tunnel became wider, now giving freedom to the unconscious bodies traveling in it.

Still, they wouldn’t enjoy that freedom as they are.. Unconscious.

After another interval, the tunnel became even wider, connecting towards a sort of respite that looked to fit around 3 people inside at least.

That is if the millions of bugs inside of it were to leave.

If not, then there wouldn’t even be space for a single person to procure.

Leaving the respite, the three entered through a small tunnel again.

Then, 6 paths diverged from the original. As already expected, there were myriads of insects crawling in its expanse.

The large centipede entered through the sixth path, and continued to path towards an unknown destination.

And then, more paths appeared once more, this time, there were 28 different paths all originating from one.

Counting from the left, the large centipede entered through the sixth path once more.

Upon reaching another threshold, 496 paths appeared in front of the large centipede.

Without even a moment’s hesitation, the centipede entered through the 28th path.

By then, the tunnels became larger—large enough to fit at least hundreds of people even with the millions of insects crawling in its walls.

If anyone dared to explore these tunnels, that is..

And so, a crossway appeared once more.

Now, housing 8128 different paths, all containing insects of different breeds alike.

Naturally, these insects would fight over territory and such but here, under the Port City Flag, they seemed to be in harmony.

Again, a crossroad appeared, differentiating 33,550,336 paths. The centipede entered through the 8218th path.

Next, 8,589,869,056 paths appeared.

The sheer scale of the tunnels, whether big or small outsized every human establishment built on the surface. The tunnel that the figure was in could be comparable to multiple times the size of a mountain.

It seemed enormous, naturally.

There were large holes in the distance, coupled with holes that are as tiny as an ant. Nevertheless, all of it were swarmed by insects of different species alike.

Without stopping, the centipede entered through the 33,550,336th.

The temperature seemed to increase as they traversed down. Additionally, the arthropods beneath seemed to vanish, replaced by worms with hardened skin and snails with impenetrable shells.

The carriers of the two humans changed too, replaced by indescribable insects that were orange and yellow in nature.

Upon reaching the end of the path, no human could ever survive the sheer pressure and temperature of the depths.

However, an illusory force protected the two from danger. Even right now, the insects carrying them merely held the barrier that held them safe.

At the end of the path, multiple furry-like insects that are yet to be seen in the outside world appeared.

With the centipede’s urge, the insects dissipated and revealed a singular path small enough to fit a human, contrasting with that of the size of the prior ones.

Without even stopping for a moment, the centipede entered, followed through by the two bodies behind it.

After a while, the centipede and the bodies emerged from a large spacious area underground.

Thousands of pillars of steel carried the bedrock above and molten lava flowed down from the edges, staying at what seems to be a pool down below.

The bugs carrying the two bodies stopped, then upon the centipede’s gesture, they went back from the tunnel where they came from.

Assuming an insectoid form with bulky shells, and a feminine nature, the figure looked at the two bodies in front of her.

Then, her body contorted once more, turning into a beautiful lady with a regal black dress and lightless hair.

She looked behind her, towards the endless pillars leading up to a mausoleum made out of diamonds. Its elegance reflected the lava pouring down from above, shining the depths with an orange hue.

The woman walked towards the mausoleum, her steps ever-so silent.

*

Elishia woke up to the sound of molten lava, viscously making its way down the walls.

She jolted upwards, studying the environment around her. She saw thousands of pillars treading up towards a shining mausoleum in the distance.

Something about its beauty entranced her but alas, she remained astute.

’Where am I?’

From a moment’s daze, Elishia suddenly realized that she hadn’t come alone.

’Cetas?! Where is he-’

In frantic succession, Elishia noticed Cetas laid down on the floor—his face innocent and uncaring.

She let out a deep breath and sat down beside him. Worry and uncertainty filled her mind, gradually weakening her already weak body.

’What do I do..?’

At first she wanted to blame Cetas for his persistence that put them in this situation. But after thinking about it for a little while, she decided that it was not the right situation to blame him.

’If there is anyone to blame, then it’s me.. I should’ve called Skadi and the others..’

She shook her head.

’Despite my weakness, I’m still higher ranked than him.. And as a senior of the crew, it’s my duty to protect him.’

She racked her brain to determine several ways of escaping out of the unfamiliar area. However, without knowing where she even was, Elishia couldn’t muster any methods.

She looked around, searching for any tunnels or small spaces that they could fit through.

The one that could only be considerable is the area where lava seeped out from.

However, her and Cetas would be seared immediately upon contact.

So that was a no go.

She walked around for a little while, studying the pool below where the lava made its way through.

Elishia sighed.

’Nothing.. There’s really no other way, huh?’

She looked at the radiant mausoleum in the distance, deeming it the only way where they could find the opportunity out.

She headed towards Cetas’ body and began to wake him up.

*

"Mommy what’s out there?"

A soft hand caressed my forehead as I asked a curious question.

I looked up, staring at my mother’s innocent face.

"Out there? You see.. the world is vast and beautiful. There are vast patches of green, stretching along as far as the eye can see. There are also high pieces of land that can pierce so high that you can’t see them anymore."

She looked up, her eyes filled with longing, "But you know what I like most?"

"What?"

She paused for a while and caressed my head.

"There are these things called stars that light up the night sky. I’ve longed to see them for many years, but our situation won’t allow us to do so. You see, my dream is to see these specks ofight in the sky.."

"Stars? Night? What’s that?"

My mother giggled, amused by my tone.

"If you look up, all you will see is darkness right?. However, out there, above is not completely dark because of the stars. They sparkle and light up everything so that people can see in the dark."

"Like a fishlight?"

My mother smiled with warmth.

"Like a fishlight."

...

Cetas woke up peacefully, massaging his eyelids as he slowly pulled himself up.

Another memory.

Not giving him any time to process what he had just seen, Elishia kneeled in front of him.

"Cetas, finally!"

"W-what happened?"

Elishia turned around.

"Look for yourself."

He looked around for a while and realized where they were. Realization suddenly hit Cetas as his face turned from innocence to guilt.

This was the very first time he felt guilt.

"I’m sorry.. I got you into this danger."

"I understand, I know that you were only trying to help. But we can’t do anything about it now. What you can do is to learn from those mistakes and keep improving yourself"

Elishia stood up, "For now, we should get out of here. I’ve scurried every corner and possible methods to get out but we are only left with one option."

She pointed towards the shining mausoleum in the distance. Cetas followed her finger as he noticed the radiance amidst the depths.

"Alright. Thank you, Elishia."

Elishia nodded.

"I am not over this yet, we’ll talk it out once we get out of here." She warned, looking all serious and focused at their current task.

"Sure."

Cetas stood up and followed along Elishia. Together they crossed the pillars and headed towards the mausoleum.