Grand Olympia - Chapter 28: Light

Grand Olympia: Further Horizon - Chapter 28: Light

The group lingered at the fork in the path, the weight of uncertainty pressing down on them. Behind them, the mural loomed—its faded figures frozen in reverence, bowing to a golden light that was slowly swallowed by darkness. The imagery gnawed at George's mind, something about it stirring unease.

"Ever wonder why the mural shows the light darkening?" 

George finally said, breaking the silence. His voice was steady, but his eyes flickered with deep thought. "Especially back at the entrance, where it was still shining?"

The others turned, casting wary glances at the ancient painting. It had been just another relic of a dead civilization, but now, under the weight of their hesitation, it felt like a warning left behind.

Jeanne's brows furrowed. "Do you think it's a hint? A way of telling us which direction to go?"

"Maybe," George admitted. "But I don't know for sure."

Billy let out a low whistle. "Heh. So, who's volunteering to be the sacrificial idiot?" His grin was lazy, but his hand rested on his revolver. He wasn't joking as much as he usually did.

Musashi scoffed. "If we're going by instinct, we should just go where the air feels less like death."

Fu Hao, arms crossed, glanced between the two paths. "Then that'd be neither."

A sharp exhale. Lapulapu finally spoke, his voice carrying weight. "Let's not try to split up. This temple is massive. We don't know what's inside."

The group exchanged looks, knowing he was right. They had survived this long by fighting as one.

George stepped closer to the mural, brushing his hand against the cold stone. "If it is a clue, then it's showing something sacred. Whatever that light was, they built their entire civilization around it, and then—" he gestured to the image of water swallowing the temple, "—it was lost. Drowned."

Jeanne tightened her grip on her spear. "And now we have to choose which part of that ruin to walk into."

Silence.

Billy clicked his tongue. "Yeah, yeah. Smart talk is nice and all, but we still gotta pick."

Musashi turned to Lapulapu. "And if we're wrong?"

Lapulapu, expression unreadable, stepped forward. He studied both paths as if he could get the answer out of the stone itself. 

Then, he finally said, "We go together. We either walk into the dark—or climb toward what's left of the light."

George hesitated. "And if the mural is trying to tell us that the light is gone for a reason?"

Lapulapu didn't answer immediately. Then, gripping his kampilan tightly, he said, "Then we find out for ourselves."

No one spoke after that. The temple walls held their breath with them. The only question left was—would they follow the path of the drowned, or chase the remnants of what was lost?

The group stood still, tension gripping them like an iron vice. The temple had been nothing but eerie silence and crumbling stone, but now—now it felt like it was watching them. 

The mural had already shown them one warning, and George, still rubbing the spot where Musashi had yanked him back, couldn't shake the feeling that it had more to say.

Fu Hao exhaled, arms still crossed. "Four eyes, when you touched the light on that mural, an arrow almost took you out, right?"

George frowned. "Four eyes?"

Billy snorted. "She means you, genius."

George rolled his eyes but didn't deny it. "Yeah. And Musashi barely pulled me out in time."

Billy tapped his revolver against his thigh, a lazy smirk tugging at his lips. "Now you think about it, don't you think that's a hint?"

The group exchanged glances. The mural, the light, the near-fatal trap—it wasn't random.

George stepped toward the mural again, his hand hovering near the golden light at its center. Something about it gnawed at him, an itch in the back of his mind. Was it just curiosity? Or something more?

Musashi cracked his neck, stepping in front of George before he could touch it. "Wait. Let me do it."

George raised a brow. "You sure?"

Musashi just smirked. "If there's another arrow, I can dodge it easily. I already know where it's coming from."

George hesitated, then nodded, stepping back.

Jeanne tightened her grip on her spear. "Be careful."

The group instinctively took a few steps away, muscles tensed, waiting. Musashi hovered his hand over the golden light. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, as his fingertips brushed the surface—

He stopped.

The golden light wasn't just paint. It glowed, faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat. Musashi's breath hitched. He had expected stone, something rough beneath his skin, but instead, it was warm. Alive.

A sense of awe washed over him. He couldn't explain it, couldn't even think past the feeling that crawled into his bones. The world around him dulled, voices faded.

It was just him. And the light.

Then—

BANG!

A gunshot rang through the temple, snapping Musashi out of his trance. The moment he pulled his hand away, a piece of the arrow struck the stone where he had been standing.

Billy twirled his revolver, blowing smoke off the barrel. "Close one."

Jeanne rushed forward, eyes wide. "Mr. Musashi! Why didn't you move?"

The rest of the group crowded around, their earlier caution turning into concern. Lapulapu grabbed Musashi by the shoulder, shaking him slightly.

Musashi jolted, blinking rapidly. "What—what happened?"

"You didn't move," Jeanne repeated, her voice laced with worry. "It was like you were mesmerized when you touched the mural."

Lapulapu's expression darkened. He looked at George. 

"Didn't you feel the same thing?"

George ran a hand through his hair, frowning.

"Now that you mention it… yeah. When I first looked at the mural, I thought I was just curious. But when I focused on the light—" He trailed off, glancing at Musashi. "It felt different. Like something was pulling me in."

Billy huffed. "So, what? We got a magic wall making people stupid?"

Jeanne shot him a glare. "It's not funny."

Lapulapu rested his arms. "This temple was built for worship. The civilization that worshiped here believed in something powerful. That golden light—it meant something to them. And if it's still affecting us, even after they're long gone…"

Musashi shook his head, clearing the last of the fog in his mind. "Then whatever it is, it's not dead yet."

A heavy silence settled over them. The temple walls felt even closer than before. The glow in the mural, though dim, still pulsed faintly. Almost like it was waiting.

Fu Hao clicked her tongue. "I don't like this."

Musashi nodded. "Yeah. Me neither."

Billy reloaded his gun with a sharp click. "So what's the play? 

We poked the creepy light again or what?"

Jeanne bit her lip, glancing at Lapulapu. "Maybe we should take this as a sign. The mural shows the light being worshipped, is it still effective, or is it a sign of danger?" Her voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.

Billy exhaled sharply through his nose, shifting his weight lazily. "Or we're wasting our damn time here. Why not just flip a coin and get it over with?" His smirk was playful, but there was something in his tone—an undercurrent of impatience.

Lapulapu, who had been silent, finally spoke. "When we got here, this place was nothing but unpredictable. And that hasn't changed. I don't want to take chances." His voice was steady, but his narrowed eyes betrayed the unease beneath the surface.

Everyone nodded in quiet agreement, except Billy, who only smirked and clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Figures," he muttered. "Ain't nothing fun about temples unless they got treasure in 'em."

"So what do we do?" Billy asked, crossing his arms. "Leave? Or keep poking around?"

"I'm saying we dip," Fu Hao said, arms crossed. "This whole damn place stinks of bad luck."

"But what if there's something we need in here?" Jeanne countered. "Something important?"

Fu Hao scoffed. "Like what? Another big-*ss snake to fight?"

George tapped a finger against his temple, thinking.

"The civilizations that built this temple thought the golden light was sacred. Then, it was buried, drowned. What if they did that for a reason?"

Musashi, still flexing his fingers like he was trying to shake off whatever effect the mural had on him, frowned. "If it's something worth worshipping, maybe it's also something worth fearing."

Billy let out a dry laugh. "Y'all ever stop and think maybe the folks that built this place were just dumb? Maybe they worshipped a damn candle and then drowned 'cause they didn't know how to swim."

Jeanne sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I can't tell if you're joking or just an idiot."

"Bit of both," Billy grinned.

Lapulapu ignored the banter and turned to the rest of the group. "This place is trying to lead us somewhere. We need to decide if we should follow or turn back."

George looked at the split pathways ahead—the stairway leading up, the other leading down. He glanced back at the mural one last time, then at Lapulapu. "We still don't know if the effect of that light is a warning or a trap. But if it's affecting us this much, it might mean we're on the right track."

Fu Hao rolled her eyes. "Or it means we're walking into a death pit."

Musashi finally spoke again, rolling his shoulders. "I don't like leaving things half-finished."

Billy chuckled. "And here I thought you were the type to walk away from dumb fights."

Musashi smirked, but there was no humor in it. "Dumb fights, yeah. But this isn't a fight. It's a puzzle. And puzzles piss me off."

Jeanne turned to Lapulapu. "What is your call?"

Lapulapu stayed silent for a long moment. Then, finally, he nodded. "We move forward. Carefully."

A few groans from Fu Hao and Billy, but no one argued. They had made their decision.

With renewed caution, the group turned their backs on the mural and faced the stairways ahead.

The temple wasn't finished with them yet.