Monolith

Jake and Rocky couldn't argue with Aziel anymore, as they also thought that they have a greater chance in surviving if they continue to walk farther into the cave.

During their walk, Rocky was a little silent because he was blaming himself for what they were experiencing at the moment.

"Don't worry Rocky. No one's blaming you for anything, let's just think of this experience as a blessing in disguise. So, don't be too hard on yourself." Aziel encourages Rocky.

"He's right, Rocky. And I also thought it's better to have happen sooner rather than later. This way, we already know who to put our trust into." Jake added, giving Rocky a thumbs up.

As they all walked deeper into the dark cave, Jake used his magic to create an orb of fire to light their path.

"You were a fire magic user?" Aziel asked Jake surprised.

"Yes man. It is one of the reasons why I enrolled as a blacksmith. Being one with a fire magic is quite convenient. Don't you think?" Jake responded shrugging his shoulders as he rub his nose, and had a smug look on his face.

When they reach the deepest part of the cave. They've come into a chamber-like area with huge stone monolith at the middle.

This stone monolith was five meters tall and a meter wide, with a weird writings inscribed into it.

"Do you see that? What are the meaning of those weird writings?" Jake asked, raising his fire magic orb to see what was written on the stone.

"Miss Eleanor, can you distinguish those writings?" Aziel asked Eleanor who can also see the words inscribed in the stone.

"Those are ancient writings and I know the meaning of those words. However, I want you to find the meaning of those words and uncover the truth on your own." Eleanor replied hurriedly and just like that she cuts their telepathic connection for the mean time.

"Wait! What do…you mean?" Aziel was about to ask further questions when he could feel that his telepathy couldn't get through Eleanor anymore.

"Sigh. I can't possible depend everything unto my masters. Miss Eleanor is right, I need to uncover the truth by myself." Aziel thought to himself.

Aziel was about to propose on going back to the entrance of the cave when Rocky finally speaks up.

"I think I can read those characters." Rocky said as he move forward to see writings inscribed in the stone.

"Really?" Aziel immediately responded to Rocky.

"Yes. I believe it was an ancient writings." Rocky replied.

"How do you know that it was ancient?" Jake asked Rocky, unconvinced.

"My family used to have this book that was passed down from generation to generation, and eventually became a family heirloom." Rocky starts to tell his family's story as he rubs his fingers in the writings.

"Alright, tell us more about this book, and how you got it." Aziel was intrigued by the story of Rocky's family.

"Okay." Rocky responded.

"My ancestors really loves to read books, and ancient scriptures. They do these to gather information and knowledge. Eventually, after gathering knowledge from all over the world, they settle down in a town from different Kingdom, and all the information and books that they gathered were put in a very small library inside their house." Rocky continue to tell his story, and Aziel was very hooked up by it. However, Jake felt a little bored and lied down beside them but maintains his fire magic to light their area.

"Go on." Aziel gestures Rocky to go on with his story.

"Reading those books and ancient scriptures, as well as teaching how to read it became their pastime. However, they knew that having those knowledge will eventually put their lives in danger. So, what they did was cut all the important information and knowledge from every books they gathered and put it into one book, and safely hid it."

"Danger of what?" Jake asked the only thing he heard from all of Rocky's story.

"I don't know, but ever since then, generation to generation who inherited that book starts to migrate from one Kingdom into another. As if running away from someone or something. And this book that became our family's heirloom can only be inherited by the first born male child of the family. And the knowledge on how to read those scriptures has to be taught only to the first male child." Rocky stops his story and starts to translate the scriptures.

"UNIVERSE… BETRAYED… GODS." Rocky rubs his hand away from the scriptures.

"What do you mean universe betrayed gods?" Aziel asked.

"I'm sorry. Those are words in between words, and are the only familiar characters I can understand, I don't know the rest of the scriptures." Rocky looks at the ground thinking he had been a disappointment again.

"If you were given time, can you decipher the rest?" Aziel asked.

"I could, but there's a problem." Rocky replied, not wanting to speak further.

"What is it?" Aziel replied and was preparing to do something.

"I… don't have the… book." Rocky responded with a teary eyes.

"Oh. I'm… I'm sorry to hear that man. I didn't know." Aziel replied in a gloomy tone.

"You know what? Forget it man. We can still have another way to learn the meaning of it." He added.

"What?" Rocky asked, not following a bit of what Aziel said.

"What?" Aziel responded, not understanding Rocky's question.

"What do you mean you're sorry? For what?" Rocky replied.

"I'm sorry because you lost your family and the book." Aziel said with his puppy eyes.

Rocky caught off guard by what Aziel's action.

"What? Pft! Wahahahaha!" Rocky suddenly laughed.

"Jake did you see his face? You should've seen his puppy eyes. He's… you're hilarious man." Rocky just held his aching stomach from laughing so hard.

"What? Why?" Aziel genuinely asked.

"No, dude. My parents were still alive, and I have the possession of the book. It's just that it's not here physically, I left it in the dorm room." Rocky replied holding his stomach still giggling.

"What? Then, what's with the teary eyes??" Aziel yelled embarrassingly.

"So, can you do it?" Aziel asked immediately not wanting to be swayed away from the topic.

"I... can try man. However… shouldn't we worry… about how to get out of here… alive first?" Rocky said, terrified by the sudden arrival of the beasts.

"ROAR!!!"

The beast came back inside the chamber after they attack the other students.

Aziel, Rocky, and Jake saw the beasts slowly coming into the chamber.

They were attracted by the light that Jake creates and they slowly began to charge.

-End of Chapter-