CHAPTER IV

  "Capital; the seed of Humanity."

  "It has existed for more than 20 centuries, with its humble beginnings set in the Obznitelo period, and still prominent up to the present Eritz era. When it was established, humanity snatched a stand against the monstrosities and creatures that hoarded the essence of Pulkk— beings that ravaged and preyed on the humanoid species since Vel's genesis. Clutch Obznitelo founded thy Capital— he was the son of King Ghilus, and the first ever to wield Lodia. Of which, he coined in the name of his wife, Malellodia Obznitelo"

  "Before his death, as Clutch Obznitelo tightly held unto his wife's worn and wrinkled hand, he prophesized the existence of 6 calamities and heroes including himself and the plague that time had faced..."

  . "Now after centuries, the Capital has arrived to the 6th— oh I wonder when that could be." Bino thought out loud. He read from his history book.

  . "Well it's not gonna be anytime soon, that's for sure. " Gaten replied before turning to Kana, who was leaning out the moving car's side window—

  . "HEY—!" He pulls her back to her seat.

  . "WhAaT~? It's fine Monsiouleur, I do this all the time!!" Kana replied ever so loudly, and sassily.

  . "Wha— don't stick your entire upper body out then!" exclaimed her now overprotective Brother.

  Kana starts to jump and roll around Gaten's side of the Limo, a bit of a ruckus she was. Juthia rolled the window down from the driver's seat to their side, "Is everything all right back there?"

  . "W-we'll keep it down...!" Gaten finally catches unto the rabid Kana who was cackling harder than a motor engine.

  . "Hey Gaten," Bino calls his attention.

  . "Ouh?" gestured Gachizen, who was still stuck restraining his sister down, "hey— calm down...!"

  . "If you were to awaken, what do you think your Lodia would be?" Bino asked with a neutral expression and tone of voice, he's focused when he's like this.

  . "Probably—"

  . "I CONTROL DA DARK!!!!" abruptly shouted Kana

  . "Oh would you?" Gaten turns to her for a second before looking at Bino straight in the eyes "For me— hopefully something not... destructive— healing flame perhaps!"

  . "Hmmmm~" Bino slouches on the car seat, with his head facing the car's windowed ceiling into the forest leaves. Deep breaths and closed eyes made him think deeper to himself. The view from inside the moving car is beautiful, even if there isn't much to see due to the foliage.

  As the car swiftly passed the towering canopies of trees, Asofus Atopuscele came unto sight. Bino stared at it, eyes fogged with imagination. "I can't wait to go inside..." Bino whispered faintly.

  . "Man~" Gaten exclaimed ", I wish I could awaken anytime soon— Mana's gonna be so useful!"

  Bino mumbles with agreement.

  The back of the Limo slowly became quiet, serene with the ambience of the car moving through a rocky path. The minutes went by longer than it should have, for Gaten rests his head on the half-closed window, slowly drifting to sleep. Bino continued to read the book, whilst Kana started playing with her ribbons. This isn't the usual path to home, but the longer route made them three tired, especially after a school day. Shorts bursts of sunlight continued to protrude through the trees and through the car's window unto Gaten's closed and tired eyes.

  Gradually, the light shone brighter... and somehow much longer on his face. Gaten's senses were dulled, he fully succumbed to sleep.

  The car ambience transitions to a natural sound of birds and pending winds.

  This prompts Gaten to wake up.

  Slowly, his eyes widening, unveiling the sight of a peaceful and tranquil nature all around him. The gentle winds of east wafted through, as the grass bended to its direction. The sun's light was extremely harsh, especially when the Limo's roof suddenly wasn't there, the car looked worn down and abandoned with Gaten still on his seat originally.

  There was no path, and no hope for direction.

  Gaten's consciousness start to flood in, now aware of a dream for thought. Though, his mind went aloof.

  Out of the blue, as if the breeze pulled his face affront, Gaten's head sharply turned straight ahead, someone was now sitting on the front chair where he faced. The entire upper part of their body was completely incomprehensible for the sun's rays were hiding it, but the translucent billowing scarfs attached to almost every limb of their body was vibrant and much peculiar. Gaten struggled to keep his eyes fully opened, pushing himself to comprehend this phenomenon.

  Though, he felt comfortable, this all feels familiar to him.

  The ground shook aggressively, a torrent of wind from a manifested blast hit them from above. Asofus Atopuscele crumbled to the ground right in front of him, as its hard debris and rock fall reigned down like meteors from the sky. He noticed the other person had disappeared just as the suns light had too, continuing to watch with mixed thoughts but unable to get up from his seat—

  A stray piece of sharpened stone from a crash down earlier blew straight to him, luckily dealing but a graze on one of his fingertips. Although, nothing could have surprised him more than the unsettling realistic sense and the sight of flowing blood from his hand— in this dreamlike state, he felt pain.

  Before he could react-

  That moment, reality abruptly came whirling back in order. It was in an instant where everything returned to as it was— Bino continued to read his book now with glasses on, Kana was sleeping on Gaten's lap, while he sat there staring at his fingers with subsiding pain, now however there is no blood. He thought with a loss of senses, and just like that, his memory of what he just saw became lost, like a dream instantly forgotten. The Limo comes to a sudden halt, birds chirped to welcome their arrival to their home and the line of butlers bowed to greet them.

  Bino swayed his hand, and the butlers followed, dashing to their respective vehicles and driving off to the lantern lit groves. Kana ran ahead them both and through the gate into the house where her mother was waiting with open arms. Bino and Gaten took their time walking through the colorful garden reimagined with new patterns of pottery and species of aromatic flowers, the house looked much brighter than it was earlier this morning. They caught up on each other, each recounting bits of their experiences— one at the academy, and the other near death's door.

  While Gaten was in a comatose state, it was Bino who took up his role to care for the family. He stayed in the house's old attic since, the entire floor had undergone a full renovation to accommodate his style. Nastashia was still yet to come out of her room, with the entire family and Bino gathered at the dinner table recollecting on the times and little things Gachizen missed. But like the prior days that passed like a burst of wind or of the rapid melting of golden butter, the night too abruptly came.

  Dressed in casual t-shirts and lamb fur coated shorts from Bino's wardrobe, the two boys went up the attic, and as the door's hatch closed— Gachizen instantly got shivers. The old 'dusty' attic looked better than his own room! The walls and floors were shined to glimmering perfection; the old dark and molded wood were transformed to red, blue, and gold mats; the once 'inconspicuous' attic screamed of grand, it became scented with an accent of luxurious poppy.

  . "Come on, I've got a good view from here." said Bino.

  In the center of the room, Bino pushed the space-tailored curtains aside, and Gachizen was welcomed to a completely different realm awaiting from the other side of the attic space. It was the perfect space—

  The slanted walls fully decorated with glow in the dark stars and patterns, it really looked like the wonder of space. One side had a collection of gadgets and 'toys' that would put other teenage gadgets to shame. But most wonderful of all were the coziest looking bed mats on the two floors connected by one step of stairs. The attic was wonderful when the lights turned off, it was hospitable to the endless imagination of the two bright children.

  Gachizen, like a winter fox, immediately rolled over and pounced on the top bed mat,

  . "Dibs on this!" he smirked.

  . "Hey, hey~" Bino sits next to him, "this is MY spot but... whatever, just look at this— " stretching his hands out, he pulls on a piece of rope wire hanging on the wall next to them, lifting a veil of curtains to reveal a huge glass window presenting the moonlit view from the side of the house and patches revealing paths toward the city. The moon was up high and tall, shining on both of them, but so was the dark silhouette of the gigantic Asofus Atopuscele.

  . "W-wow~ I didn't know we had a window here-" Gachizen had bubbled up, mouth wide open.

  . "I installed it of course! Tooooo small a window is UNBEARABLE for me." Bino said with his hands crossed. "Asofus Atopuscele is clear from here, let me just..."

  || 'Click!'

  In a second, every light source in the room had turned dim and the curtains behind them closed in. A magical iridescent glow gradually set in from each side of the glass window pane, and to Gachizen, what seemed like Mana Veins spread like tree branches from each border.

  . "You see the mana, don't you?" Bino asked.

  . "Yeah, it's... Colorful." replied Gachizen

  . "Okay it works—! Give it a moment... it takes a while to process and distinguish its target." Bino spoke in a softer tone

  . "...I just have to ask," Gachizen uttered with a thought, "where's its mana coming from? I don't see a supply anywhere."

  . "Huh?" Bino's brows inched up, a huge smile waking from his face.

  . "It's clearly Lodiac Technology, but I don't see a mana input... anywhere..." Gachizen slowly glanced at Bino, jaws dropping floor level at the sight of Bino's fingers emanating clots of raw mana.

  . "Am I seeing things—"

  . "HAH! HehahehAH" giggled Bino, "You JUST noticed, your eyes are getting weak pal!"

  . "You awakened already— since when?!" Gaten inched closer with much enthusiasm in his eyes.

  . "DECEMBER 18TH, baby!" said Bino in a very prideful voice. He turned to the window, and his eyes immediately shone with delight.

  . "The day that I—"

  . "LOOK, GATEN. LOOK AT THAT...!" Bino interrupts Gachizen.

  The view of the floating dungeon, Asofus Atopuscele became astonishing. From the attic window, it turned extremely close and crystal clear, as if it were just a few meters from the estate. The crystal glass walls and fragments of lime blue gemstones reflected and dispersed the moonlight into an array of vivid colors. The shades of dark blue and mossy grey of every rock and cobble below it could easily be distinguishable. Gachizen could only put his hands over the glass pane in awe, as his eyes became wide open like an owl.

  . "A beauty, isn't it?" said Bino "I got a good view of it every night, it kinda makes me wanna live in your house, Ha-Ha."

  "..."

  . For a moment, the both of them sat there in silence, reveling in Asofus Atopuscele's presence.

  . "...WELP— I'm pretty tired already, just pull the rope down if you're done, OK?" said Bino.

  Gachizen nods, still unable to keep his eyes off of it.

  Even as he stared alone, for hours, and after the moon sunk slowly deeper into the horizon, Gachizen didn't budge an inch. It's... more than just admiration... something was keeping him from turning away, something that made him anticipate and wait for something to happen.

  And something odd did happen.

  From the bottom left side of the Dungeon, he saw a small opening the size fitting a giant or a cyclops. It was just a few degrees off the main entrance to the dungeon where all the lights and signs of life were, but somehow it seemed to not have been discovered yet. Not even Gachizen, who saw the dungeon every day, noticed that until now.

  The Capital should have patched an entrance that obvious by now... or at least have said anything about it... Just now, Gachizen saw something.

  . "...What in the—"

  Gaten was promptly blinded as a sharp light directly reflected unto him. The glass window overflowed with mana, the view and images in front of him harshly glitched and turned mosaic, it hurt his eyes. But even after Gachizen pulled the rope which should have disabled it, nothing stopped. Akin to that of sleep paralysis, Gachizen still couldn't physically look away, nor could he shout for Bino to stop this, only his eyes screamed of pain.

  But, the images gradually became clearer again, only this time, when it had focused, it was zoomed directly into the entrance Gachizen saw— like the mirror presented it directly to him. He rubbed his teary eyes to observe clearly the new vague sight showed by the Lodiac technology...

  There was a person walking in to the entrance— this person had the same clothes and scarves from the figure in his dream. A hunter with an unclear face.

  Gachizen could only get a good look of the mysterious person's back as the glass window cracked horribly, until it shattered. No longer did it show anything, becoming non-transparent and no longer a window. But as there was neither light nor any way for light to come in the attic, Gachizen was covered by void and dark. Bino was snoring loudly beside him, and he could only hear this now after what he had just witnessed.

  The feeling of absolute tiredness set in.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  His arms tucked in by the warm comforts of the high-quality blanket, as his body begged him to lay down and rest. Even as his mind was off the charts, racing to every thought and idea, Gachizen just dropped on the cotton bed mat and slept.

  The lingering thought of wanting to see what's inside grew on him. It calls to him.

  ****

  ****

  It's Examination day for Kana and Bino

  their dismissal would come right after lunch. Seidas, another Shiitake family butler, drove to town with Gachizen sitting in the back seat, who brought an antique camera and a small bag with him. Gachizen was clicking his camera; taking pictures of the dungeon from the black Limo's window. They were still amidst the forest of the Zhayan Groves on the same path before, it's a calming and what would've been a completely silent trip if not for Gachizen to strike a brief exchange with the fine old butler.

  . "Have you been inside?" asked Gachizen, still taking his pictures.

  Seidas had a deep baritone voice, "Hmm?"

  . "Asofus Atopuscele, have you been there?" Gachizen clarified.

  Seidas glanced to the front view mirror with his stern and old wrinkled eyes. Even with a temperament look, his smile was very welcoming, he spoke calmly

  . "One has, young Gaten... One has- long ago..."

  Gaten set his camera down, "What did you do there?"

  . "...The same as one does now. I still serve your Family." Seidas's calm tone remained indifferent.

  . "Ohh... that's pretty cool..."

  "..."

  The trip returned to non-communication, with the only sound being the seldom clicks of Gaten's camera. It stayed like this until they both reached the town, walking through the busy street to the serene and silent hills of the CEA's property.

  . "Don't you want anything, Monsiouleur Gaten?" Seidas spoke this time, pointing to the nearest donut shop.

  . "Uh... what time is it?" Gaten sat down on the bench- his usual bench.

  Seidas, being an old distinguished and well-postured man, clicks open his mini pocket watch in the most elegant way, "Thus, a little over 30 minutes to spare— thirds to 11:30. What flavor of donuts does thy prefer?" He stared at Gaten straight in the eyes enthusiastically— and professionally.

  Gaten worryingly smiled, seeing as Seidas more or less looked decided on buying him a donut or two. He squints his eyes on the shop's exterior, "They... look like they have a bestseller, I'd like that if it's alright!"

  Seidas nods and obeys.

  . "...Oh right-" Gaten calls back to him, "I think Kana would like Strawberry!"

  Seidas turns back, again with his innocent old smile, and bending his body to a half-bow before continuing on his track up the sunlit path. Birds are singing, winds are passing, the serene and peaceful hills kept Gaten's heart and mind at ease.

  ...

  ...But even in calm, Gaten's repetitive instability would come striking out of the blue— a sort of third sense poked on him. His sight turned to the other direction, then back and forth from left to right, trying to find the source of this displacement. And just as he expected, that omnipresent figure of a hunter was visible, walking toward a dark alley below with their back turned.

  His verge stood up, and with adrenaline rushing in, Gaten sprinted toward them in pursuit.

  Seidas's keen sense of hearing took attention and his body dashed with insane speeds toward the boy, Gaten was just about to drop off the steep edge of the hill. But just as Seidas could grab Gaten by the wrist, and after a sudden blinding ray of sunlight—

  The young lad as he fell had mysteriously vanished... and without a single trace of mana to cause it.

  . "GATEN—!"

  Seidas's poise went frantic, spinning his head in circles to the clear and open hill with sweat secreted on his dried old face. A vibrating phone on one hand, and a lodiac glow emitting from the other, the butler called for help through the phone while using his own Lodiac techniques to locate the boy...

  ****

  ****

  Gaten kept running after the figure, squishing his way through the tight and crooked paths and alleys of the busy town.

  . "HEY- STOP!!" he shouted, but it continued to move away as fast as he could run, even though it looked like it was just walking. "I just wanna talk—!" Gaten's legs shook, and his breath grew ever weary, either way he was determined.

  He got to areas of the town he had never been to before even as he grew here all his life, other parts of the economy that wasn't quite as lively or tranquil as the rest. And finally, after a seemingly random turn, revealed a flight of stairs up, but no more figure to be seen, like it had vanished. The entire path seemed out of place, but it's too late to turn back now that he was lost. Halfway up the stairs were ominously empty with nothing but cracks and vines extending from the ground. Gaten stayed on this path, following through it to the end.

  . "Hello...?" He spoke softly, walking up and looking cautiously around, his heart beat rapidly.

  Still, no answer.

  At the top of this empty path still void of other people— was a tree, a fallen log that looked like a workbench or a seat, and a resting dark boulder. There was just this small space hiding in a corner of town. Though it was definitely the highest point, it's gone unnoticed having been under the dungeon's shade.

  Gaten felt relieved, he sat down leaning on the tree, heavily breathing in, regaining all his energy after a long moment. It's a surprise to him how the tree that never received any sunlight would grow to its size. But upon further observation of this small spot, on the bench were iron tools, all rusted and broken but one. Gaten stood up and inspected it, it's a filled up Mana Store.

  He turned to the boulder, caressing its rough surface and its deep patterned cracks— the splendid quality of its stone, the shape, and the patterns on its exterior were that of a Cobble Hound, an unmounted one at that. Gaten stepped back after this realization, these things were not of a common occurrence. The Cobble Hound could fly him directly toward the Dungeon when activated with the Mana store he held, this opportunity was basically shining itself to Gaten.

  Had he hit head or the figure led him here, either way it turned him much impatient, but Gaten's already starting to regret this decision of his. The only thing he needed to do was insert the Mana Store into the resting Cobble Hound's central pattern, and he'd bet on his own luck it follows through with his direction.

  || 'ZzzzZZ-!'

  He tapped on button switch of the Mana Store, and waving threads of mana started swerving on its tip. It seemed that the store needed to take a while before it could fully form clots of Mana. Gaten approached the Hound, and as he did—

  . "GATEY BOY—!" Bino's loud voice reverberated fast from down the stairs.

  . "...!" Gaten jumped, shook for just a second, but his expression immediately relaxed as he knew of who it was. "Bino—!? you scared me!"

  Bino, as he approached up to him, had a big grin, but sweat was pouring rapidly from his head down. He dropped his gadget—a black tablet on the ground with little no regard of it, "What are you DOING, pal?! You made me run ALL OVER...!"

  . "Ah— sorry..." Gaten scratched his head as he chuckled, "I thought your Exams would end after lunch?"

  . "I-I was DONE with the test SINCE EARLIER— URGHHH" Bino exhaled, then inhaled a ton of air in before he spoke. "anyway... GATEN, don't just go running off DUDE."

  . "Uh... I'm sorry Bino, I was just—"

  || 'ZZZZZZZ-!!'

  The Mana store vibrated aloud and glowed a bright pink, this signaled it was a fourth of the way complete. The moment Bino noticed this, and the Dormant Cobble Hound beside Gaten, his protective instincts started to fluster him.

  . "What... are you planning to..."

  Gaten slid the Store into his bag, taking a few steps near to the Hound, he had a cautious smile. "I'm uh... I just wanted to see something here, that's all."

  Bino stopped for a few seconds, breathing in and out to regain the energy he spent to get here. Then, with haste, he began closing into Gaten. "I know what you're planning Gaten, and I recommend you stop—!"

  . "...!"

  Bino sweeps his hand forward in an attempt to grab the Mana Store from Gaten's bag—

  and Gaten leapt out of his way and pushed him back a few steps. Gaten changed his stance— one foot up front, an arm lifted high while the other covered the bag's opening. He was slowly backing up toward the Hound.

  . "Agh—" as Bino regained his balance, he stared at Gaten's eyes with disbelief, his caring expression quickly turned into a bitter annoyance. "You know, you've been SUCH a weirdo ever since you woke up... You sure you didn't hit your HEAD or anything—?"

  Gaten was still smiling, though his legs were slightly shaking, "I've been thinking that myself, Bino. I really have." His back bumped into the rough cobble Hound, there was no footing left to distance himself from Bino.

  "So you'll fly yourself there— now what? You'll get caught before your hound even REACHES the main gate." Bino spoke obnoxiously.

  . "...I know, but I found another entrance, one the Capital doesn't know about... I'm gonna—" said Gaten, before he was interrupted.

  . "It's impossible, the Capital won't turn a blind eye to an 'Entrance' of all things, Gatey-Boy, besides you don't even know how to FLY that thing, YOU'LL JUST HURT YOURSELF!"

  . "It's different... Something's calling me there. And I just have to see what's there for a few minutes— even for just 2 minutes and I promise I'll return immediately!" Gaten replied anxiously. The Mana Store signaled again, glowing brighter and shining itself through the bag—about halfway processed.

  . "As I said— YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO FLY THAT THING. And YOU KNOW how DANGEROUS THE DUNGEON IS! We've studied that our entire lives, BOY!" Bino takes a step forward.

  Gaten knew he only had less than a few things to say before Bino would charge at him, channeling a few breaths in as a last ditch effort to persuade, "There won't be another opportunity like this—"

  . "Oh there will be." Bino took another step forward, he spoke in a monotone manner. Gaten and Bino continued to exchange their own brief thoughts.

  . "Don't you want to see what's inside?"

  . "Don't be childish, Gaten, I have since we were kids." Bino replied, stepping closer.

  . "Then why not just this one time, we'll just take a few pictures and go—"

  . "We can do that after a few years when we graduate. Did you not think of that?" Bino said calmly, forming a stance as if he's about to dash forward.

  . "Tsk..." Gaten braced himself. He couldn't reply to anymore of what Bino said, since he knew full-well that his best friend was in the right. Time seemed to slow down as their argument would reach its climax— a physical fight determined by the outcome of the Mana Store. Bino was still holding unto his iron-clad stance, waiting for an opportunity. Gaten held firmly unto his bag, eyes focused on Bino's every movement.

  Until, the Mana Store reacted.

  Bino and Gaten ran toward each other at the same time. Bino was startled by the offensive approach of the supposed defender, prematurely and instinctively moving his arm forward toward the bag. But just like earlier, Gaten evaded and pushed Bino from the side with his entire upper body.

  As he fell down however, Bino managed to grab Gaten by the collar and pulled it into himself to switch their balance, he was better off than his friend in terms of physical strength. But Gaten too had an advantage in flexible maneuvers, having saved himself from falling over by spinning with full precision with his arms on the floor, and with heavy force, kicked Bino in the jaw.

  Gaten rolled back to a safe position, while Bino balanced himself with his arms caressing his dented jaw.

  . "Bino I didn't mean to—! "

  . "HEHEHEH— SO IT'S ROUGH PLAY THEN HUH?!!" Bino laughed like a madman, veins began to show on his head and arms. Out of nowhere, he brought out a few thin vials of brilliant blue liquid hues from his back pocket.

  . "Chemical Toothpaste~" Bino said with a mischievous grin.

  He threw all three vials on the floor next to Gaten, and suddenly a grenade of Mana shined and blinded him, the floor quickly catalyzed with the substance and formed a tower of soap-like foam and cloud that surrounded them both.

  Using this opportunity, Bino tackled Gaten unto the soft foam down to the ground, finally reaching his hand inside the bag. Just as he could hold the Mana Store, Gaten took a handful of the Manaform cloud and slapped it unto Bino's face, managing to squeeze himself out of Bino's tough hold and sliding past him from below. Gaten continued to slide down the hill due to the foam however, and as Bino wiped his face of the horrid-tasting paste, the Mana Store slipped out of Gaten's bag. Gaten safely landed down the stairs, and Bino could almost see— their target was between them both.

  || 'ZZZZNG~!' The Mana Store had finally created a clot of Mana, vibrating and glowing ever so bright.

  Now there was not a second to waste, Gaten sped up as he climbed back up the stairs, even using his hand to move faster. While Bino followed the sound, sliding down toward the glowing Mana Store, even if he was barely able to see it. With their distance and hold closing in on their target—

  Gaten got to grab it.

  Barely dodging Bino, Gaten ran to the Cobble Hound. Bino, however didn't lose just yet. He grabbed unto Gaten's foot, using both his hands to climb up to him as he neared the Hound. Gaten slipped down, now they were both on equal footing, Gaten extended his arms forward where Bino couldn't reach it.

  Limping their way now just a few arms length away from the Hound, Bino and Gaten stood up at the same time and dashed with all their spirits. Until, Gaten was right in front of the Cobble Hound just about to insert it, Bino jumped at him and squeezed him into its hard surface— the Mana Store was freed from his hold and it flew over the Cobble Hound.

  Their little fight was over.

  The Mana Store fell from up the hill down a steep drop on a concrete floor, shattering into a million refined... expensive pieces.

  Gaten watched with sorrow, eyes wide open. He exhaled a breath of defeat.

  . "Weeeeeelp—?" Bino loomed over, now with a playful expression, "Hey, that was pretty fun!"

  "..."

  . "...You just have to be patient Gaten, when we graduate we'll be able to go inside anyway, Cheer up!"

  . "...Yeah..." Gaten weakly replied.

  . "GREAT! Now let's go home already, m'kay?"

  "..."

  . "Fine, I'll ask Seidas to give you pictures of... What's—" suddenly, Gaten grabbed Bino's hand... very tightly.

  . "OUCH, WHAT ARE YOU—" "...!"

  Bino became still with a sudden chill down his spine. He was deeply confused and startled as he couldn't even budge his arm away even with all his strength. The winds howled from the dungeon's base, as Gaten turned to him like a predator with eyes of a snake.

  With a mere squeeze, Bino's arm spread its mana throughout his body. He didn't even release this himself. Gaten with extreme force, placed Bino's hand into the Cobble Hound's mark, and it glowed white in activation of his mana.

  The Cobble Hound roared and took off to the sky, pushing the two of them off with intense winds from the heavy flapping of its stone wings.

  Gaten came back to his senses and Bino's jaw dropped, his entire body was cleaned off of the foam by the wind. "GATEN— THIS IS NOT GOOD—"

  Translucent energy shaped like hands extended down to the two of them and wrapped around them like a coil. Immediately, they were pulled into the Hound already high up in the sky as fast as a diving hawk, landing and sticking to its back like a magnet.

  The Magma Hound flied extremely fast— too fast for its size...!

  . "GATEEEEEN" Bino cried his heart out through the wind current. His arms waved up his shoulders.

  Gaten tightly held unto an arm of the hound that stuck out, trying to pull it up. "I CANT—DRIVE THIS THING...!!!!" he had one heck of a shaky shout.

  . "OH YOU BETTER—" yelled back Bino.

  The Cobble Hound flied in circles around the dungeon, but slowly Gaten could control its direction... just not the speed. They dove up to the skies and cloud above.

  . "...W-wow—" Gaten was astonished by the view.

  Bino all of a sudden laughed— sounding like a mixed emotion of excitement and being scared for his life at the same time. Gaten continued to circle the Hound around the Dungeon until he could spot the Hole, and when he did—

  . "BRAAAACE!!!!" shouted Gaten

  . "WHAT!! no-No-NO-NOOO—" Bino hugged Gaten from behind as the Hound began to accelerate directly toward the entrance hole. It went so fast it almost looked like a meteor about to crash through, and that it did.

  || 'BANG!!'

  The Magma hound had crashed directly inside of it. Reverberating a loud bang throughout the hollow space, and producing much smoke from inside its stone body. Surprisingly, it didn't cause much destruction, and the ground didn't even shake, just that crystal fragments from the floor scattered and left a crater on its landing.

  Amidst the warm smoke, Gaten and Bino rose and immediately fumbled to the ground and lied their bodies flat, gasping for a breath of 'safe' air. The Hound's 'hands' that coiled around their body dispersed into the air, it seems to have protected the two boys from the impact.

  . "We're in..." uttered Gaten while still recovering his breath, much like Bino.

  . "Gaten you— sigh... Just a few minutes... huh?" tiredly replied Bino.

  . "Yeap—! I won't go back on that... Just a few pictures and we'll go." Gaten softly spoke.

  "..."

  The both of them relaxed for a short while, just flat on the ground staring into the crystal-like ceiling of the entrance while the cold wild wind seemed to welcome them in. There was a slight reflection from the ceiling, just not too clear though.

  . "Ok then—!" Bino sprung up and sat in an Indian position. "So where's the camera?"

  . "It's in my ba—"

  Gaten quickly opened his eyes, snapping up and opening the bag. Slowly and with pure disappointment in both their faces, Gaten miserably held out his extremely broken and torn apart camera... It was vintage too.

  . "uh..."

  . "Hey, don't worry, I'll buy you one." Bino stood up and pulled his friend up and away from the camera on the ground. "Now we got some exploring to do."

  . "Heh, thanks Bino." said Gaten.

  . "...Buuut—" Bino points his finger to Gaten, voice all loud and high, "Up to 10 minutes, we see something that's alive, there's an entire jungle inside, and we think we'll get lost— we IMMEDIATELY get out of here, OK?!"

  Gaten, with full optimism, nodded with his giant glowing eyes and very wavy smirk, like a child that couldn't wait to go on a ride in a park. Bino was just as excited, but it just wouldn't show on his face— because the deeper he stared into the long and seemingly endless dark hole, the less motivating it made him want to explore. It didn't help that from deep inside, eerie winds approached them which sounded like faint whistling. After a deep breath, Gaten and Bino took their first steps into Asofus Atopuscele, with each step echoing louder than the last. It didn't help that almost every surface in this entrance was seemingly made out of reflective glass or crystal.