Chapter 174: The Cave of Creation

As the group made their way out of the Chapel and into the plains, the group would see something within the far distance: Small silhouettes of people quickly running through the fields, splitting off into branching paths, scouting out for anything specific. They maintained their distance and tracked them with their eyes, watching some of the people making their way into the burnt forest, others going on the path where it leads to the farm, and some even trying to go towards the cave itself. They were quick to figure out that they were trying to get stronger, looking back into previous locations to recover what was either damaged or left behind so they can use for themselves. Harvard would try to reach out in order to try and stop them, but Zazel, Stolas, and Solomon stopped him in his tracks, serving as a reminder to prepare first before dealing with the inevitable. The Card Magician would try to argue, yet no words came out of his mouth. There was no need. Such silence proved their point, and the boy would be quick to comply. The group would be quick in setting out towards the cave, with Stolas casting a small cluster to surround them in the case they get spotted and ambushed. Luckily, such preparations weren't needed the more they made their way to the mouth of the cave.

After an hour or two, they would finally make it.

As they reached the mouth, they'd wait on the side, watching the citizens leave the cave, their annoyed expressions giving enough evidence that they didn't seem to get what the want. "Damnit ALLL!!! It's just some dumb rocks! The hell we can use out of something like that!?" One would complain, his face sweating away, wiping it off with his face, as another would pat him on the shoulder to try and comfort him.

"Patience, Patience.." The other would state, a man in a white robe with black spots all over. "We're simply doing recon on what is needed. We don't always need to get the bounty in tow. We'll simply report it and go to the next location. Our Majesty shall see to it..." The Sweating man had his eyes flared to a solid red, showcasing the change being more drastic, yet the spotted man never raised his voice, still being calm as he is.

"We better find something then. I'm not getting my rear left in the damn dust over not helping him." The Sweating Man declared, storming off as a result. The Spotted man would follow suit, giving Harvard and his friends the perfect time to sneak in undetected. As they entered within the cave, the children would be quick in setting their specific lights, showcasing to them a collage of paintings on the walls. Some depicting stick figures hunting animals for food, others depicting them with harnessing fire. The more they went deeper in its rocky tunnels, the more they can see the art getting detailed, with pictures of certain animals of varying species resting upon them, even some drawn to re-enact their daily lives. At a certain point, they would be face to face with a statue, Stolas nearly running into it due to his beak protruding out. Had it not been for the light source, he would've accidentally disturbed the tomb. The size of such a statue, however, was enormous, barely being able to see its knees, seeing it sculpted into a crouching position.

The Stellar Magician was quick in lighting the entire cave with such stars, allowing everyone to bare witness to the very tomb in its full glory.

The Giant Statue was of Mayan descent, its body sculpted with toned muscles and bulky hands, standing over 35 meters tall, barely aged for a minute, its face carved in the standard expressions in such an era. Turning to the sides, they would see more statues, though such creations were a lot smaller, residing around 6 feet. Each Statue was lined up and placed upon a pedestal, measuring up the gargantuan creation, as well as having its length spanned across the cavern throughout the very tunnels. Furthermore, Such statues looked like they came from a different culture entirely, ones depicting Moai heads with the same bodybuilder structure. Lastly, were smaller clay structures residing on the floor, no less than a foot, crudely molded into a humanoid shape. Haniwa dolls, all set in the same area as the Moais. "Okay....this is...a weird looking tomb. Let's see if we can find a way to go deeper." Fiona declared, somewhat intimidated by the stone constructs, splitting up alongside the Wendigo, Stolas, and Zazel, to the right. Manipura, Harvard, and Solomon would take the left. 

The walk felt almost treacherous, with no true end in sight, the only light source being their own magic as they left the illuminated chambers. To their surprise, they would be able to see a light at their ends. When approaching it, however, they were quick to realize they looped themselves around the cave. "A CIRCLE!? REALLY!?" Solomon shouted in annoyance. He'd try to guide his group around once more. Darkness. A Light. Back to the tomb. He'd repeat this at least twice, both going faster than usual, while Harvard's group simply watched, seeing them get a bit winded after circling around. "Great.....we're running around one big circle. This cave is USELESS!" He would holler, regaining his breath while Harvard looked around the statues to get a better understanding. Stolas would follow in Harvard's footsteps, mainly setting up a staircase to get a better look at the colossal construction's face. Solomon took notice of the two curious children and rolled his eyes. "Don't bother. it's a tomb, remember? Tampering with it is gonna get us in trouble."

Stolas would rotate his head backwards, looking down towards him. "Well you never know! What if there's a type of magic seal in here doing the loop? You've seen the cave from the outside. We shouldn't be walking around in a circle like that."

Solomon shook his head as he'd try to scale up. "Can't. Not only would they need a good light source, but that would require building on top of whatever is constructed here. There's NO WAY some random seal is gonna be applied hereon top of a whole generation of soldiers." He'd counter, struggling with the titan's legs.

"Well, what other explanation would yo- GWAHAHBABAGAOGA!!" The Stellar Magician would cut his words into garbled sounds as he'd look towards its eyes, noticing that it was actually staring. For a brief second, however, the giant stared straight back. The surprise would have Stolas fall over, having Fiona catch him and everyone huddle together, stepping back as they'd look at the Mayan Giant. 

It was alive.