"C'mon Haseo! It's just a bit further! You can do it!" Atoli cheered on Haseo as he trudged up the stairs.
Haseo rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Yeah." He groaned.
When the two finally made it to the top of the never-ending stairs, a large blue shrine came into view. It was covered in moss and vines. The sliding door of the shrine was tattered and half hanging on the side.
The two walked into the shrine looking around curiously.
"I feel like I've been here before." Haseo thought to himself.
"This place is incredible! It's hard to believe it's still standing after all these years." Atoli looked around with fascination.
"Yeah, I guess." Haseo said while still deep in thought.
"Hey Haseo! Check this out!" Atoli shouted and waved for Haseo to join her.
"What is it now?" He sighed as he walked towards Atoli.
"Isn't this neat?" Atoli asked pointing to a worn out mural on the wall. There was a series of blurred paintings on the wall of a girl clothes in white with long flowing white hair.
"Hm? What? It's just a stupid painting." Haseo mumbled.
"Just a stupid painting? I happen to think this is remarkable! Artwork from thousands of years ago still partially preserved! Here! I feel so lucky to be here seeing this now! This is absolutely stunning!" Atoli exclaimed.
Haseo rolled his eyes, which then averted their attention over to an old broken stone pedestal. Some old worn out chains were still attached to it, but their ends connected to nothing.
"Atoli." Haseo called the overly excited young girl over.
"Hm?"
"What do you suppose this is?"
"I'm not sure," She searched the pedestal and came across a large stone tablet attached to the side, "Aha!"
"What did you find?" He asked curiously.
"This may tell us a bit about this place," Atoli begins to read the inscription on the tablet, "The Goddess Aura. Supposed creator of the world who lived from the beginning of time until 100 B.C. Although her time has passed, it is believed that Aura still watches over the world in which she entrusted to her eight children." Atoli finished and looked up towards Haseo, "Can you believe that?!"
Haseo looked slightly impressed. She read a small inscription at the bottom, "It was rumored that a statue of Aura stood chained to the top of this pedestal. The location of the supposed statue still remains a mystery."
Haseo laughed, "Maybe she got up left! I mean… Look at this dump… I know I would get pretty bored!"
Atoli laughed and responded, "It is interesting though…. I sure wish I could have seen statue." She sighed.
"So does that just about wrap things up?"
"Yeah! I think- Wait! I need to take pictures!" Atoli took out her camera and took pictures od the mural, pedestal, stone tablet, and different angles of the shrine.
"Heheh. Now we're ready!" She giggled.
"It's about time." Haseo sighed with relief.
The two began to head back the steps when Atoli stopped dead in her tracks. She paused and looked around. A concerned expression on her face.
"What's wrong?" Haseo looked back at Atoli puzzled.
"D-did you hear that?" Atoli began to shake.
"Hear what?"
"It sounded like someone was calling for help… It sounded like they were in pain- There it is again!" Atoli quickly turned around and headed back up the steps to the shrine.
"Atoli! Hey! Wait!" Haseo took off after her.