Gigantic Inscription

1125 hours, 4 July 0145...

Everything was set and done after all of us finally got away from the invading Piracellis in the wide and blackened cavern hallway. As we sauntered through the narrower cavern path and enlightened it with our flashlight, the ambient wind creepily blew through as it mildly chilled my spine.

But nonetheless, I keep continuing my walk until I've finally found the exit way prior to our GPS's direction from our smartphone. Until Nolan suddenly prodded my back with a tinge of frustration.

"Don't you realize that what you've done is just adding salt to the wound? Like, that monster you've just killed also had a reason why they're invading us!"

As I continued my walk with a sudden souring frustration regarding his comments, I replied in a low, solemn, and disdained tone.

"Because they're such worthless scum who want nothing but greed for power and are bound to kidnap me, I had to do it. Even if it meant to commit genocide."

Lisabelle suddenly approached my right side as she prodded with a tinge of worry, as she also used a hand gesture.

"You have a lot of hatred, don't you? I understand not wanting to be devoured by them. But genocide? That's not the way. Repelling them is more than enough to fulfill our duty—not to cross the line like you did!"

With a brief shook of my head, I solemnly responded.

"Wrong. It's the opposite. Because I don't want to continuously witness their endless suffering, I'd rather end it with the gift of death."

But Nolan suddenly clapped my left shoulder, harsh enough as it mildly flinched me and also reprimanded me with a slightly harsh tone.

"Listen here, matey! Death isn't the thing you could just play with! You are not a God who could freely manipulate life and death! And do not expect to grovel us for help when your twisted world of view suddenly backfires on you!"

But to add insult to the injury, Lisabelle suddenly supported Nolan's argument as she was one step ahead of me and reprimanded me in a sympathetic but stern tone with hand gestures.

"We do agree that those monsters need to be put down! But they are still living like us, and we still need to leave them some space to live. We don't kill unless absolutely necessary, nor attack without provocation. You can't just commit genocide like that just because you have issues with them! Because that'll make us no different than them!"

As I couldn't hold my further frustration regarding their nonsensical reprimand, I then briefly stopped my step as I glanced over my shoulder and responded with a bitter tone.

"Wouldn't it be hypocritical to say that bullshits when both of your previous careers force you to commit genocide toward those insects?"

Nolan suddenly pushed my left shoulder as it jolted me and almost made me trip to the scattered stalagmite in frustration. And as I turned my body to face him, he then reprimanded me even harsher, with his voice reverberating in the narrower cave.

"Tsuyuki… That's not what we meant! It's all about keeping our composure on duty! Like, paid a hard attention to the rules of engagement that your commander told you on every, fucking, lecture!"

"Of course, both of us committed mass murder in our previous jobs. Sure, those we murdered are terrorists, but things have changed. There are alternative ways to solve problems where we don't need to worry about constant bloodshed."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, look the other way, and even cross my arms in frustration. His preach is getting staled on each time the more he bitch about it like a little bitch, as I lowered my head with a low and bitterness that's pushed into the limits.

"So, you want to die like a fucking idiot?"

"Fine, I'll make it quick."

With a growing scorn on my tongue, I then quickly drew my Kiryu, drawing it right into his face. And my finger is hot on my trigger, ready to pull it whenever I want.

But Nolan remained unfazed with scorn on his sight as he suddenly grasped Kiryu's tip into his forehead and then retorted.

"If you insist, then COME ON IN, GO FUCKING SHOOT ME!!!"

But just as our arguments were about to erupt like Krakatoa, Lisabelle brutally stabbed the ground with her Scythe without any warning, as her shout also echoed and reverberated the narrower cave way where it's jolted us to freeze in our place.

"STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!"

*JSHICK*

"THIS IS NO TIME FOR US TO ARGUE, FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!"

Witnessing a cheerful girl like him suddenly burst into fury is like a sunny day that turned into stormy rain. Her shout leaves a ringing sound in my ears from how deafening it was. But before I was about to respond, she then continued her harsh retort as she pointed her Scythe's tip at both of us.

"Do you want all of us stuck in the endless loop of nonsense or keep going on?!"

After I let out a sigh of concede by looking down and shaking my head, I then holstered back my Kiryu as I continued the journey and enlightened the darkened path in front of me.

"As you wish."

Nolan also joined my lead as he then enlightened the darkened path with his flashlight as both of us tried to keep our composure for the next journey. But that won't stop Lisabelle from babbling any further with her frustrated reprimand as she followed our leads.

"My God! Tsuyuki, Nolan! If you dummies can't stop with your blabbering, I'd teach you lessons for that!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever, big badonker."

Nolan doesn't know how to respond any further, as he could only mock her with his shoo-ing hand gesture. And of course, it frustrated her even further, so she rushed to Nolan's back, constantly karate-chopping his back as she retorted with a pout.

"NOLAAAAAAAN!!!"

I'm still holding a grudge against Nolan regarding my previous argument with him. But looking at him suddenly joking with Lisabelle makes me can't even hold my breath. Despite this, I still had to show bitterness on my face.

***

10 minutes have passed, and it feels like a century of fasting. We constantly sauntered our way to the blackened, narrower cave's endless loop like a cycle of ouroboros, feeling a sudden soreness in our legs the more we continued.

But out of nowhere, I heard an echoing whisper that's permeated throughout my ears, like some spirits called my name. Out of surprise and curiosity, I then pointed it at the group as I stopped my step and glanced over my shoulder.

"Did you guys hear something?"

Both Nolan and Lisabelle stopped their steps as they witnessed me doing so, wondering what's going on within myself. He's raised his eyebrow in concern.

"What something?"

"I mean, there's a voice that's whispering in our ear. Did you guys hear it?"

After both glanced at each other with a questioning look, looking for some answer, Lisabelle then glanced at me after she briefly shook her head.

"I dunno. Probably your own imagination."

But there were countless questions that's lingering in my head the more I think about her answer. And without any warning, I then walked to them as I pointed at Lisabelle.

"Lisabelle, can you re-check the GPS' direction on our exit point?"

After she tapped her smartphone's screen to check out our whereabouts through the GPS map, where all of us paid close attention to it, it showed that we're entering a restricted area where she couldn't swipe the screen even further. In an exception, when she swipes back to the previous unrestricted path we've just taken,.

"What the hell is that? Where the hell are we going?"

Out of curiosity, I then opened my smartphone's GPS to see if she was correct. And lo' and behold, she's correct, and we're more than fucked. We're literally entering a scorching virus-contaminated area where the infection rate is around 33%. It leaves us bewildered as we're suddenly lost in the middle of a restricted area with a decent infection rate that might lurk in our immunity if we're letting our guard down in a slight way.

Because I'm worried that Lisabelle accidentally misses taping the pinpoint during our getaway from the Piracelli's herds, I then pointed at her with a mildly worried tone.

"Lisabelle, are you sure this is the right direction? Not out of nervousness during our getaway from that Piracelli's herds?"

Lisabelle furrowed her forehead and squinted her eyes as she constantly tapped her smartphone screen with increasing curiosity.

"I've been refreshing it all the time to find the quickest exit route, and this is what the app keeps telling me about."

Her answer slightly bewildered us from what the GPS app provided to us. Despite our best attempt to find a literal safer route to the Saint Capriccio Great Church by swiping the screen back and forth or even refreshing the screen, the answer remained the same as previously.

But there was a nagging question that I wanted to ask, until Nolan spat it out without any warning to her.

"Jeez! Have you updated it to the most recent version? And what about the other route?"

But Lisabelle looked down as she let out a sigh of frustration and shook her head with a facepalm when she glanced back at Nolan with a light retort on her response as she showed her smartphone screen to him and vigorously shook it.

"This is the newer version, you dummy! But unfortunately, this is the only route available from what we've taken. Because if we want to get there safely, we should never enter this cave in the first place!"

"Well, if we want to go to Saint Capriccio Great Church in no time, we should pass through the harder path."

"Fine… If you get wounded, I'm not going to help you!"

Bored by their incessant yapping, I looked down, shook my head, and sighed in frustration. I sneaked away from them, hoping they wouldn't notice my sudden departure. So I could dodge their bullets of arguments before it's bleeding through my last shreds of sanity.

After walking several hundred meters away from them, I saw an exit emitting a glaring light. It signaled that I had finally escaped the narrow, dark cave and reached the true exit, where I could see the outside greenery.

But as I got closer to the light, it suddenly dimmed. What I saw was more than unpredictable. I entered a larger cave hall with a hole in the ceiling as the source of light, illuminating a large stone inscription in the center of the dim hall, almost reaching the cave's ceiling.

Squinting and peering closer, I saw obscure writing in an unknown ancient language, possibly from a dying civilization. As I raised my neck and looked up to the ceiling, I noticed a blurry depiction of a large eye with eight wings.

The ominous presence of the vast inscription sent a shudder down my spine, giving me a slight fear if some kind of otherworldly being crafted the inscription. Much like a conspiracy theory about Alien creating the Pyramids. I called my friends through my communications channel.

"Guys? Do you see this?"

"See what? Where the hell are you?"

I was silent for a moment, staring at the vast inscription, before responding to Nolan, who seemed to be worried.

"Just follow the straight path, and you'll understand."

After closing the communications channel with a brief beep, all I could do was helplessly wait, unable to take my eyes off the vast inscription, wondering about the dark secrets shrouding its history.