Kai and cana continued their journey down the ruins still held together by a rope ,with kai leading the way as they finally reached the end of the path arriving at a corridor ,kai turned back for a second before continuing forward.
The corridors stretched on in uneasy silence, broken only by the soft scrape of boots against ancient stone and the low hiss of torchfire. The light cast long, wavering shadows that clung to the cracked walls like living things, revealing and hiding details with every step.
This part of the ruins felt… different.
Above, it had been raw—natural stone, jagged and cavernous, shaped more by time than hands. Down here, however, the architecture changed completely. Wooden ceiling beams—dark with age but still intact—ran overhead in careful alignment. Carved stone walls bore deliberate symmetry, their surfaces etched with patterns that spoke of planning, culture, and intention.
Someone had lived here.
Cana slowed, her eyes scanning the corridor. "Man… this place is creepy," she muttered. "You seriously come to places like this on purpose?"
Kai, walking slightly ahead with the torch raised, hummed. "You scared?"
She scoffed. "Hardly. Just… confused. And mildly concerned about being eaten by some ancient curse."
They entered an open area—wide enough to be called a hall. The ceiling rose higher here, supported by thick stone columns carved with faded symbols. The walls were filled with writing—dense, unfamiliar script carved in tight rows. Between them were small stone reliefs: figures, symbols, shapes arranged in sequences that felt deliberate, almost narrative.
Kai slowed to a stop, eyes lighting up.
"Oh," he murmured. "This is good."
He moved closer to one of the walls, setting the torch into a wall bracket to free his hands. Cana watched as he pulled out parchment and charcoal from his pouch, already beginning to copy the carvings with careful precision.
She folded her arms, glancing around uneasily. "You can read that?"
Kai shook his head without looking up. "Nope. Not a word."
Cana blinked. "…Then what are you doing?"
"Copying," he replied simply. "Understanding comes later."
She leaned over his shoulder, squinting at the strange markings. "Then what's all this supposed to mean?"
Kai paused, studying the carving he'd just sketched. "Individually? No idea. But patterns repeat."
He gestured toward several sections of the wall. "See that cluster of symbols? Same ones we saw near the entrance. Then here—people surrounding them. Then running. Then destruction."
He moved his finger along the sequence, voice quieter now. "And here—every symbol converging into a single point. That carving? That's new. And important."
Cana hummed thoughtfully. "So… rise, panic, collapse?"
"Maybe," Kai said. "Or containment. Or sacrifice could be anything."
She grimaced. "You're really selling the vacation aspect of this mission."
Kai smiled. "That's my charm now instead of wasting time staring at my back why don't you look around for something related to our mission."
Cana sighs but nods walking away as kai continued his job.
A while later cana returned to his side annoyed as she sighs ."There's nothing here this is a dead end."
Kai also stood up putting the copied notes in his pouch and walked to her side calmly staring at the hall as if it would answer him.
They stood there a moment longer before Cana sighed and looked at him. "So… what now? There's nothing else here. Shouldn't we head back?"
Kai straightened, rolling his shoulders. "No."
She glanced at him. "Why not?"
"We haven't found any trace of the archaeological team," he said. "If they came this far, they didn't just vanish."
Cana shrugged. "Maybe they took another path. One of the ones from above."
Kai shook his head. "Those paths all connect back to the main descent. Remember when we came down? Everything funnels here."
He turned to her, expression serious. "In places like this, you always watch where paths converge. That's where secrets hide."
She sighed dramatically. "You're really committed to this, huh."
"It's my job," Kai replied dryly. "Now help me look. Hidden mechanisms. Pressure plates. False walls, structure errors."
They split up, moving along opposite sides of the hall. Cana ran her hands along stone seams, knocking lightly, occasionally tugging at carvings just in case. Minutes passed. Then more.
Her shoulders slumped.
"This is a waste of time," she muttered. "There's nothing here. If there was a hidden path, that Rei guy would've found it. Why else would he leave early?"
Kai exhaled slowly, not looking at her. "Do you ever not complain?"
She smirked. "It's a talent."
He straightened, turning toward her. "That guy left because—unlike you—he didn't have a genius ruins expert with him."
Cana crossed her arms. "You're awfully cocky for someone who hasn't found anything yet."
Kai shrugged. "That's true but I am also smart, strong, handsome, resourceful, rich and did i mention handsome."
She raised an eyebrow.
"And," he continued, deadpan, ".You never mention any of that."
She opened her mouth to respond—
"Found it."
Cana stared at the empty walls, then back at Kai, then at the walls again.
"…Found what, exactly?" she asked, exhaling slowly. "Because I checked every wall in this hall. If there was something hidden, I would've found it."
Kai didn't answer.
Instead, he stepped back from the wall and turned his attention to the pillars lining the hall. His gaze moved over them one by one, slow and deliberate, like a merchant inspecting goods—or a predator measuring distance. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Cana frowned. "You really found something, or are you messing with me?"
He walked toward the nearest pillar, tapping it lightly with his knuckles. Tok. Then the next. Tok. And the next.
He stopped at the third pillar from the center.
"This pillar," he said calmly, "is lying."
Cana blinked stupified.
"…Excuse me?"
Kai rested a hand against the stone, palm flat, as if feeling for a pulse. "This entire hall is built efficiently. No wasted space. No decorative excess. The ceiling load is evenly distributed from the center outward—each pillar supports a proportional amount of weight."
He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Except this one."
Cana's eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean except?"
Kai tapped the pillar again, harder this time. The sound was… wrong. Slightly denser. Slightly dull.
"This pillar isn't supporting anything," he continued. "It's pretending to."
He stepped back and gestured with his hand. "It's wider than the others by about three centimeters. Not enough to notice unless you're looking for it—but enough to matter."
Cana stared at him. "You noticed all that?"
Kai gave her a blank look. "I wasn't playing hide-and-seek while you were running around."
She scowled. "Hey!"
He smirked. "Ancient engineers didn't waste time or materials. If something exists in a structure like this, it has a purpose."
He circled the pillar once more. "This isn't a support. And it's not decorative. That means it's functional."
Cana tilted her head. "In simple words, please."
Kai sighed theatrically. "Don't strain your tiny drunk brain. Just understand this—if we mess with this pillar, something else in this room will react."
She crossed her arms. "I don't like how vague that sounds but I don't have any other idea either so, What do you need me to do?"
"Watch the room," he replied. "Any change. Crack. Shift. Sound."
He pointed to a metal band encircling the pillar near its base. "See that? It's not structural reinforcement. It's a guide."
"A guide for what?"
"For movement," Kai said. "This pillar works horizontally, not vertically."
Cana stared at him. "I still don't get it."
He waved her off. "You don't need to. Just tell me if something happens."
She stepped back, eyes sweeping the hall while Kai planted his feet and pressed both hands against the pillar.
"Magic?" she asked cautiously.
"No," he said immediately. "We already know this place hates magic ,besides where else will I use my muscles."
He leaned in, applying pressure—not brute force, but controlled, calculated effort. His shoulders tensed as he tested the pillar from different angles, shifting his grip, adjusting his stance.
Cana watched, heart beating a little faster despite herself.
Nothing happened.
Then Kai adjusted his hands slightly and pushed again.
"—Wait," Cana said sharply.
A thin crack had appeared along one of the far walls, running diagonally through the stone like a vein of darkness.
Kai froze, eyes snapping to the crack. He glanced down at his hands, memorizing the position, then nodded.
"Good catch," he said. "Step back. Near the entrance. If this turns ugly, get out—I'll follow."
Cana didn't argue. She moved quickly, positioning herself near the hall's entrance, eyes never leaving him.
Kai returned his hands to the exact spot and pushed again—slowly this time.
The pillar shifted.
Not much. Barely a few centimeters. But the effect was immediate.
Dust cascaded from the ceiling as the hall shuddered, a low rumble rolling through the stone. The metal band around the pillar slid along a hidden track with a grinding sound that echoed through the chamber.
The crack in the wall widened.
Instead of breaking outward, the wall folded inward, stone panels retracting smoothly into the structure. The rumbling deepened, then settled as a staircase was revealed—descending into darkness below.
Cana stared.
Then she laughed, breathless. "That's it—you did it!"
Kai released the pillar and leaned against it, exhaling as he wiped dust from his hands. "Told you. Never doubt my genius."
She shook her head, half amused, half amazed. "You're ridiculous."
"I know," he smiled.
They approached the staircase cautiously. Cold air drifted up from below, carrying the faint scent of damp stone and something older—stale, preserved.
Kai tested the wall mechanism, waiting for a while. The stone panels slid back into place with a smooth click, sealing the passage.
He nodded. "Self-resetting. That explains why it was hidden again."
Cana's brow furrowed. "So the archaeological team already went down?"
"Almost certainly," Kai replied. "Which means they either haven't come back yet…"
"…or couldn't," she finished quietly.
Kai didn't respond. Instead, he moved down the first few steps, pressing against the inner walls, searching. A moment later, he found it—another subtle seam, another pressure point.
He pressed it.
The wall shifted again, opening the passage once more.
"Good," he said. "Means we're not getting trapped ."
Only then did he turn back to Cana, torchlight flickering across his face.
"Ready?"
She tightened her grip on her cards, then smirked. "After that? Lead the way, genius."
Together, they stepped into the darkness below.