Chapter 175: The Dance of Legend

The group immediately stood on guard, backing away and watching as the statues start to move from their idle state. They prepared their spells for the worst case scenario, watching the hulking giant begin to take a single step forward, bending its knee and extending its leg as if his body fell asleep for a millennium. The very act of walking forward was enough to make the cave quake, nearly having the children and Fiona lose their balance, with Manipura standing firm and staring down at the golem with determination. The giant simply stared back, watching the people, mistaking them almost as ants, before doing a throaty call, shocking everyone that it has a voice. By such a call, the entire cave quaked once more, the Moai and Haniwa's awakening from their eternal slumber as well, with the former taking a few steps forward to be on the same distance as the giant, and the latter stretching their bodies out, their arms flowing freely and their bodies curving to whatever it pleases.

Silence filled the very room, with no clear sign of what is to come next. The group was on high alert, watching their next move carefully ready to strike.

A sound would be heard from the goliath. A song. A throat singing from the Mayan Giant, perplexing everyone. The Moai and the Haniwa's gave space for their stone leader, before it would move once again. The Giant, unbeknownst to everyone in what they predict would've done, began to dance. Its body was rough, restrictive even, yet such a dance, mixed with its throat singing, would be played as an advantage, moving its arms like clockwork, spinning and stomping around with its legs, even gyrating its body in a circular motion, before clapping its hands and repeating the dance. What was even more perplexing was, after it finished its piece, the Moai would join in, chanting in an unknown language while repeating those poses, striking one every time they get a chance, all of them being in sync. The Haniwa's served as a cheerleader, chanting those words in a higher pitch, flowing their body towards the beat only they knew about. It was an absolute sight to behold, watching them dance as if they were overjoyed in a newcomer visiting them. "What.....the hell...." was all Solomon would say, before the giant once again chanted, bopping its head into a beat while the Moai began to reenact their leader's dance.

Cheering and screams can be heard from behind them, as the group turned around and noticed the paintings were just as lively as the statues, the Stick Figures specifically, which they wanted to join in on the fun. They pressed themselves into the wall, slowly but surely creating a physical body out of the walls, being able to walk across the area to join with the Haniwa's, flowing their body in the same free motion, their arms up in the air and waving to everyone. The group was absolutely dumbfounded, expressions of disbelief plastered on their faces. These were seriously the inhabitants? They couldn't believe it even if they tried, yet what was more baffling was noticing the children. Harvard and Stolas both bobbed their heads to the music, watching the crescendo come and the Moai repeat their chants, posing in the same manner, with the Stick Figures now joining in on said posing. Solomon would stare down at them, thinking they were entranced by the illusion, and would try to pull them back. "OH NO! You are NOT joining the crazy over there!" He'd demand.

"OH C'MON!! IT LOOKS FUN!!! PLEEEEEEEASE!?" Harvard and Stolas begged simultaneously, causing the adults to check out, realizing this is not their problem. Solomon gave a firm stare at the two.

"No. Not happening. No matter how much you beg or whine, You're not joining in the- ZAZEL, WHAT THE HECK, MAN!?!" Solomon's shout stunned the boys, turning around to find out what was going on. Sure enough, even the Demon himself felt lost in the words and dance. He couldn't help but join in when no one else was looking. Before Solomon would chastise the demon, Harvard and Stolas took advantage, rushing in and moving in the same flow, a loud groan of annoyance leaving his mouth as he realized all three were being lost in the moment. Solomon could only watch as he sees his friends do such a dance, before Shady peers over and sees the boy regretting to be in this cave. He'd look towards Harvard and do a small wink, trying to push the Biblical Sorcerer to join with them. The others stopped their dance and would try to drag the boy in, much to Solomon's dismay. "AYE AYE AYE! WATCH THE CLOTHES, WATCH IT!!" He'd complain, trying to get out of their grasp.

However, it would all be in vain, before he too began to dance.

The children would move along with the beat, copying pose for pose, act by act, with more cheering roared upwards and across the cavern, making so much noise, it would raise concern on them getting spotted. Manipura, Fiona, and the Wendigo would be keeping an eye out to be sure, trying to ignore the music, letting the children enjoy themselves, until the beat finally comes to a close, with the stonework settling themselves and resting on the walls once more. Claps can be heard from the side, making the children turn their head to that direction. Such applause came from an elderly woman, wearing similar clothes to Solomon's rags, but in a different color of black red, and white, as if she was a ceramic pot. She also wore black goggles to cover her eyes, as well as having her hands completely covered in grey dust. She would laugh to herself, hearing the commotion, giving them praise for such a performance. "Hohoho! Why I'd never! I'd thought after a few decades, my little projects would never be given another chance to dance their stone hearts again! That was a magnificent dance, boys. Magnificent indeed. I might need to use that for my next batch if I ever get back into my constructions again.." The woman would state, her voice somehow encapsulating her joy and excitement, feeling as if she was young once more.

The boys looked amongst each other, confused who she even was. "Ah...are you the one who lives here, Ma'am?" Harvard would state.

"Furthermore, the heck you mean by 'constructions'? You MADE these guys??" Solomon would add.

The Old Woman simply nodded her head to both answers, before introducing herself. "Indeed. My name is Pygmalis. I'm one hundred and fifteen years old, growing up on the sweet, little farmlands of Pomelos, and I'm the one that constructed these by hand. I guess you can say I'm an architect of my time, Hohoho!"

"YOU'RE HOW OLD!?!?" The boys shouted in unison, catching the attention of the adults and making them find out the source, meeting with the old woman as well. Once again, the old lady laughed, realizing such a number was physically impossible.

The oldest woman alive, residing in the very caverns the group wanted to search. Their final gamble in this world.