Chapter – 48 - Underground Labyrinth of Tunnels

'Hey you....you purple fellow...why hasn't she woken up yet? It has already been five days, and she hasn't woken up once! When will she wake up?!'

'Stop it with your yapping.....and stop circling around her body! You are making my head go dizzy just watching you!'

'Tsk! Stick to the question....Why hasn't she woken up yet?'

'She completely used up all her spiritual energy and vital essence of her body. She also has some minor internal injuries. I have more or less repaired all her internal injuries, and her spiritual energy is also recovering itself. We just need to wait a bit for her to wake up. Should be anytime soon. So just perk up and keep waitin' sonny boy!'

'Why do you keep using weird words when you speak?'

'Ahhh....that's the lingo of earth....sometimes I miss it!'

'Earth?.....I heard from my father that this stupid woman came from a different world!....What was that world like? Was it like this world?!'

'Hmmm....in some ways it was similar...in some ways it was different.'

'....??? What kind of an answer is that?!'

'Well....people there cannot cultivate....at least there is not much spiritual power to cultivate.....so basically everybody is similar in that aspect. Though of course there are people who have more money, and thus can use that money to have more power and people doing their bidding.'

'Cannot cultivate?!.....Then what about...what the beasts? Can they cultivate or not?'

'The beasts in that planet are called animals....and no, they cannot cultivate. And they way more cuter and less bloodthirsty than you lot here!'

'No beasts...only animals?....then those poor animals must keep getting killed by the humans there all the time!'

'....Not really....sometimes they do get killed by poachers and other illegal traffickers. But the society over there keeps changing all the time. And since the people are all at the same level spiritually, they have more say in their governance and policies. Though ruthless and greedy people always exist, but people who love and care for animals also exist and they have been rising in numbers. Many people keep animals as pets, even if those animals do not give milk or eggs or cannot be eaten.'

'Huh?! Then...they must be used for guarding the house and property!'

'They do keep and train dogs for that....but still many people keep animals and raise them as one of their family members. People are much more sociable and accepting of other people and creatures. I am not saying ruthlessness is non-existent. There are plenty of cases of abuse of animals as well....but they are much lower in comparison to here.'

'Huh?!.....It seems like....like a nice world! Wish I could go there too!'

'Stop daydreaming. Just because people can't cultivate and are on similar levels, they are far more shrewd and conniving than the people here who simply depend on their higher levels of cultivation to crush all around them to the ground.'

'....??? Ummm....this stupid girl doesn't seem to have acquired these skills from her other world!'

'Hmph! She is plenty shrewd....she is just not conniving enough to risk someone else's life for her own gains. But I feel she needs to learn that too. Only by merging her learning's and experiences of both world can she have the freedom to live her life as she wants in this world.'

Fluffy flopped down next to Rihanna and poked her sides with his wet snout.

'But she needs to wake up first so she can learn all this.'

'Unghh!....Tsk! Can both of you shut up for a bit....you are making my head hurt!'

Fluffy perked up, sitting straight and trying to wag his scraggly hairless tail. Rihanna knitted her forehead into a deep frown, trying to overcome the dizzying headache attacking all her senses, her hands fisting into tight balls. Even that slight movement was painful.....why was it painful? Why did it feel like someone had taken a thick stick and beaten her up from head to toe?! There was not a single spare centimeter which was not aching and feeling sore! What the hell had happened?!

She tried to push open her heavy eyelids, blinking and squinting under the dim light assaulting her vision. Where was she?....What happened?!.....Why couldn't she remember anything?

Ahhhhh.....hadn't she fallen down that deep pit? Why was she unable to overcome this jinxed fate of falling from ever which place?! But....she could vaguely remember hearing those people talking above the hole.....and then....didn't she see them coming down to catch her?....What happened after that?!....Ughhh!! This ridiculous headache again! She couldn't see anything past those feet approaching her....and then everything blanked out under a brilliant white light!

'Relax and don't try to strain your mind too much. You probably can't remember anything. We'll fill you in later. Just relax for now and recuperate. You need to be back in shape so we can leave this place and move on.'

Rihanna opened her eyes, now adjusted to the low light all around, and looked all about her. Was this.....no...it did not seem like the same pit.

'What in the world is this place? How long have I been unconscious?'

'There was hole in the walls of the pit, and that led to this place. This is a tunnel....or rather it is a maze of tunnels. We have been here for the past five days. Initially we didn't dare to stop, and kept running on for two whole days. Till we finally and completely lost our way, and it was also getting difficult for Fluffy to carry you anymore. So we stopped in this little natural cavity in the wall of the tunnel. We were waiting for you to wake up.'

'Hmmm....Unghh! ....So...we have lost them?'

'They will not be able to find us. I caused a cave in when we went in through the hole. And I also diligently wiped out all our aura in the pit and around the hole. So no one's chasing us at the moment. Problem is....even I have no idea where we are....and how to get out.'

Rihanna nodded seriously. Though they had escaped their pursuers for now, they would not let go that easily. Moreover, they were now caught inside a maze of tunnels....oh....Wasn't that a labyrinth of tunnels? But generally a labyrinth would have many exits.....Like the labyrinth of tunnels under the modern city of Rome. Or the mysterious network of tunnels in Egypt.

But the tunnels in Rome were mostly left over's after the ores had all been mined, and through the ages, people had kept on widening the tunnels and building over it, thus making the entire infrastructure fragile. And the underground tunnels in Egypt were like an entire hidden city, with carvings and murals decorating every inch of the walls and pillars.

But this looked like neither. In all oddities, it looked like a naturally made network of tunnels and held no signs of human interference. Of course just because it looked naturally made did not mean that it was. Here people could use elemental energies to create tunnels, and they could even used tamed Demonic Beasts of earth element to get the same results.

Rihanna got up, pain shooting through her muscles. After having been continuously asleep for such a long time, her body was protesting against this sudden pulling and stretching of unused muscles. Gritting her teeth to bear with the aches and pains, she stretched every part of her body, determined to finish at least a set of yoga exercises to warm up her overly cold muscles. With every move, she could feel the creaking and crackling of her joints. Even her neck muscles were cracking!!

'Your internal injuries have still not fully healed. We should stay here for a couple more days so you can return to your best form.'

'That's okay. I will lie down in a bit and you can continue with what you keep doing to heal me...I already owe you so much. And I don't know how I will pay you back. This time it was all due to you and Fluffy that I am still alive. I owe you both a big one this time. And also Phantasm...did she contact back with you?'

'Hmmm....they have successfully entered the Inner Circle. Right now they are on their way to Frost City. I told her to stay hidden, because I was afraid people might recognize her as an Illusion Hog and snatch her away forcefully.'

'Tsk! Problems just don't cease! Anyway.....I will lie down while you carry on with the healing process. I was thinking that during that time, I can let out my spiritual sense and check out the surrounding tunnels and where they might lead. That way, when we are ready to move in two days, we will have a definite plan.'

'That is a good idea. Come then, let us not waste any more time.'

Rihanna lay down on the thick layer of grass which Fluffy had collected to serve as her bed. It was warm and comfortable, and she almost nodded off to sleep. Aish! This won't do! She exhaled loudly through her mouth a few times to drive away the sleepiness, then inhaled deeply to bring back her focus and center it within herself. Then building her concentration, she slowly let out her inner consciousness, letting it float just above her body for a while.

Oh! This was the first time she actually saw Little Purple at work. The deep Purple Light cocooning her like a safety blanket looked so peaceful and warm.....almost like a mother's hug! She did not know why.....but she could feel a deep connection and familiarity with this warm purple light and the way it embraced her.....as if all this happened once before.....many, many, many ages ago!

Rihanna shook her head abruptly...what was she thinking?! She came to know him barely over two months ago. She must be feeling the attachment due to the time they had spent together. She looked around, then decided on the tunnel to opening to her right, and stepped through it. The tunnel was very narrow, with a high ceiling, and sloping floors going downwards. There were niches carved in the walls above her head, and some sort of light could be seen seeping through these tiny grooves, giving a dim light to the passageway. She walked along, wondering how much deeper this tunnel was intending to go, and where it would lead to.

She had to be very careful. Though most people and beast could not see her in her spiritual form, but there were people and high level beasts who could sense her presence. And in this form she was extremely vulnerable, unable to attack, unable to defend. She could disappear or disperse or even return back to her body at the slightest sense of danger. But if the opponent was too fast, even though her physical body would not bear any injury, her spiritual sense could become badly damaged, and might even dissipate, leading to her becoming mentally crippled! She walked on, keeping all her senses open, checking all around for any threat or feel of other auras of people.