A beautiful city underneath the veil of blue sky. White structures meant for purposes that don't matter. Old Temples singing to the sky. Red blood sprayed across Pristine white terraces.
Stone paved paths that would look like a lively without painted in blood.
Half-broken marble tiles that formed spider's nest.
The cohort seemed to be in awe of the beautiful architecture of a Once dead city.
But still the streets were littered with grotesque, lifeless corpses. The paved paths were broad and led to various Buildings.
White marble buildings stretched in layered terraces along the mountain's inner slope. Tall archways. Carved pillars. Balconies overlooking silent plazas. Everything built with impossible craftsmanship sharp lines softened with curves, geometric patterns woven into stone itself.
And all of it washed in pale morning light, making the white structures glow faintly.
Despite the early sunlight, the air felt cold.
"This is very horrifyingly beautiful" said Nolan with awe.
"Right" Vivi expressed "Can you Imagine This was built 10,000 years ago, perhaps even more"
There were a few more stones and structures that integrated the thread's power to help with day to day work.
Sol was thinking the same. How come they were this ahead 10 millennia ago?
They explored a little. Even if the city seemed dead and empty, they were still moving with caution.
After a while of scouting, they decided to rest. By now their supplies were basically over, They didn't have any food or water left. And with their situation, the closest water stream would be around a slope or valley.
And for the first time in their whole adventure they were all asleep, Usually at least one of them would take in charge of guarding through the night.
They were exhausted, They had fought and climbed the mountain for 2 days without eating or drinking. Out of all, Nolan's mother's condition wasn't looking the best. She was already unhealthily skinny long before we teleported to the mountain, And now she was basically starving.
One thing was clear. They needed to escape this mountain as soon as possible.
***
A dying orange light stretched across the sky.
It was around sunset that they woke up.
Sol with others was sitting around a small fire they built with the skin of rotten corpses.
But something else sat in the circle too.
A round, stone-like object.Dull red. Hairline cracks running across its surface like ancient fractures in a cliff face.
Lex took the egg and tried to crush it open, But the egg didn't budge.
"The damn thing is unbreakable" He said in a grunt
During the past few days, we tried many times to break this egg, but this wouldn't show a crack.
I tried to check the egg with my system. Instead of information, I got a minor headache.
Sara sat closest to the fire, half-wrapped in a cloak Nolan had forced on her.Her cheekbones were too defined.Her wrists too thin.
She looked like she had been carved down bit by bit, and now only the outline of a mother remained.
Nolan watched her the way a person watches a dying candle.
Lily and Veyra sat slightly apartboth pale.Both sweating despite the chill.
Sol's voice came out low.
"We need to get off this mountain."
Nolan nodded slowly."I know. Mother… she hasn't eaten in two days."
Sara offered a weak smile."I'm fine, dear."
Lex exhaled through his nose."No, you're not fine. None of us are." He glanced toward Veyra and Lily. "Especially them."
Veyra kept her gaze on the fire, but she didn't deny it.
Vivi finally spoke.Her voice gentle but tired.
"I slowed the poison, but… not for long. Lily and Veyra both—" she hesitated, then forced herself to say it "—at best, three or four days before it reaches vital organs."
Lily didn't react.She just stared at the fire with dull frustration.
And the cohort stared into the flames, knowing time was slipping through their fingers like dust.
Sol finally broke the silence again.
"We have three or four days… maybe less. We can't afford to waste a single one."
Veyra nodded grimly.
"Tonight… we search for a way out." The sky dimmed into bruised twilight.
And somewhere far below, in the unseen valley…
Something answered the coming night with a distant, wet stirring.