Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you are all fine.
Without much to say, here is chapter 106. I hope you all enjoy it!
Thanks a lot once more for following/ favoring/ reading the story. You are all the best!
See you next week in chapter 107. Until then, be well and have fun!
"Ahm, what?" Ruby stared at the view around her, eyes blinking again and again and again trying to comprehend what exactly she was seeing at the moment.
She had been expecting that after climbing down the ladder she would come across dark tunnels full of filth, grime and trails of blood. She anticipated twisted and dangerous labyrinths leading to their demise.
Instead, Ruby's eyes fell upon a colossal temple. Tall, cyclopean ceilings stood so high that her gaze could barely discern them. Ancient arches made of dark granite and carved to depict deformed monstrosities laid before her, their peaks supporting vast stone domes and huge pillars.
There was no solid floor. Instead, vast pools filled in murky water that reflected eons of forgotten history spread all over the ground, leaving only narrow stone paths for anyone who wished to cross them.
Eldritch lights seemed to emanate from whatever hidden rooms lurked beyond the arches. Green gases spread into the colossal hall the girl currently stood, reflecting the otherworldly lights and dying the granite walls and murky waters a sickening green color.
In the far distance, Ruby could swear she could hear sounds of flutes and pipes chirping, even though the repulsive, alien melody reaching her ears was nothing she had ever heard in all four corners of Remnant.
"What the actual hell is this?" Nora's voice sounded from behind her, as the ginger jumped next to the brunette. Ren and Lumia soon followed, faces staring around in a similar astonished and confused expression.
"I am at a loss for words" the boy said. "Riverside's reconstruction looks like kid's play in comparison to this place" Lumia walked next to the red girl who still marveled at the sheer size of the ancient chamber.
The silver-eyed huntress took out her scroll. Unsurprisingly, it was dead already. "What does the map say?" she asked Ren who took out a small paper roll, unfurled it and carefully checked it with his compass' help.
"Normally, going to our left would lead us towards the city center. There is a power company outpost there" he replied, slightly unsure of what sort of help it would be under their current circumstances.
"Let's try and use those outposts as our reference points" she replied back at her team. "Lu; can you sketch a map parallel to Ren's as we go deep, so that we compare what we see to what we should be seeing?"
"That's a good idea" the green-eyed huntress took out a paper and a pen "thankfully all this green light helps us get a decent idea of the area at least."
"Can't wait to see what the fine print for that convenience will be" the caped huntress snorted. Nora chuckled "listening to you talk all serious and philosophical is always so weird" she commented.
"At least it suits the place" Ren added. "Yeah" silver eyes rolled before they fell upon the human-wide stone path that crossed through the water. "This is so obviously dangerous; I can't even take it seriously."
"And yet, it's our only path deeper" Lumia continued making a rough map of the area from a supposed bird's-eye view. Ren stood by the tall girl, eyes jumping between his own map and the new one.
"Should I go there first then?" Nora cracked her shoulders and grabbed Magnhild. Crescent Rose got loaded as Ruby nodded "wait for Lu and Ren to finish and then we go. I will cover your backs from behind."
As long as the two black-haired huntsmen were finished and drew their weapons, their leader cocked her rifle and pointed at the small path in the middle of the giant room "I will be five steps behind" she explained.
The blue-eyed cheerful woman took a couple steps forward. The stone was wet and slimy, making her grateful for her decision to wear boots in that mission. It was wide enough for her to move, but she knew that a wrong step could easily plunge her into the dyed, murky waters.
Just behind her Ren stared above at the grandiose arches and massive pillars slightly covered by the green fog. Lumia sent a gaze at Ruby and then followed suit, allowing the brunette to come after them only when they had made a few meters along the slippery path.
"With all the wicked lights and strange music, what would you say this place is?" a half-chipper Nora asked as they kept moving. "My bet is on a temple or a tomb. It gives off a religious or ceremonial aura" Ren said.
Lumia shivered. What sort of being would be worshipped inside such a place? Or, since she already knew that, what sort of beings would even think of performing religious acts in such a place? What sort of wicked, primal and unnamable practices Avyssos demanded of its cultists?
They made a turn to their left, carefully as to not trip. A towering arch, so covered by eldritch-colored fog that they could barely see it being open, stood a few dozen meters ahead of them. The chirping sound of pipes grew stronger- and even more alien.
Silver pools darted left and right, with occasional gazes back and forth. Covered in her cloak and holding her rifle like this, Ruby got reminded of her Vacuo days back in the war. She controlled her breathing to let-
A sudden movement on her left made her turn. "Enemy spotted!" she didn't hesitate even a second to warn her friends who followed her and raised their weapons towards the same side- and gasped in shock.
Behind the otherworldly vapors, standing still as if observing them, one hooded humanoid figure stood. It was too far away and too deeply into the mist for them to notice any details; the only thing they saw was a brown hood covering its face and a gold chain hanging from its neck.
"Who are you?!" the reaper shouted at the figure. However, instead of replying, it simply faded away, its form melding into the gases, dancing under the ever growing melody of the stranger pipes.
"What was that?" Nora's voice asked. "It looked like a human, but there was no place for them to stand there, is it?" Lumia replied, trying to see any platforms or paths at the place where they saw the figure.
"I don't think we can apply any logic to this" Ren looked at Ruby waiting for her opinion. She took a deep breath before she replied. "It's as Ren said; don't try to explain anything that happens here."
As they started walking again, slowly yet steadily trekking the slimy and dark path on their way to the first arch, the silver-eyed girl kept a single thought for herself, reluctant to share it with everyone else.
She was positive the figure was smiling at her with a mouth full of sharp and pointed Grimm-like teeth under a white bone mask that reflected the sinister green lights.
The atmosphere started to become more humid and more intense after they crossed the archway and entered the new chamber. A disgusting feeling as if they had just walked through a waterfall overcame them.
The same cyclopean architecture continued here; the massive granite walls and pillars supporting the ceiling dwarfed the huntsmen. Under the wicked melody, the green fog was becoming thicker, engulfing and concealing most of their surroundings in its otherworldly embrace.
"Look at that!" Nora pointed to their left. A small platform was barely visible through the fog; the outlines of a statue could be seen emerge from inside it. "Let's check it out" their leader concurred.
The path slowly and slightly got widened as they got closer. They could now see the hard, granite walls silently observing them. Ornamental statues- or at least they hope they were- of winged Grimm stared down at them from above, their stone-cold eyes submerged into the mists.
"It would appear we have entered a corridor" Lumia announced. "Yeah; I hope it's not trapped" Ruby replied. "Why would anyone trap a place you have no reason to enter?" Ren asked them in wonder.
"Because of this, maybe?" while they were talking, Nora had walked a few meters ahead. She now stood on a platform, having left behind all the murky waters and the slimy, slippery path that cut through them.
In front of the girl was a large statue. It was made of granite, carved on top of a massive podium and depicted- Ruby held her breath in shock.
Images of a cursed night in Grimmwater flooded her mind; a night they had slept in Red's family cemetery, surrounded by humanoid Grimm with fish-like faces and long tendrils coming out of their bone masks.
Grimm that were identical to the one depicted on the statue in front of her. She stared at it in horror for a few moments as her team walked a little closer to it. Ruby gritted her teeth, and tugged her cloak harder.
"What a disgusting motif" Lumia said, observing the statue, ignorant of her friend's momentary shock. Ren sent a quick glance at her and after he felt Ruby's emotions return to normal, knelt to inspect the podium.
"There is a phrase here, but I can't understand it- wait!" For a second he thought he had seen words that belonged to some foreign, unknown language, only to realize he was mistaken; he could easily read them.
"What does it say?" his wife asked him. "Only the devoted will ascend. Prove your faith and be rewarded" he ominously announced.
"Whatever" Lumia replied and walked around the statue to take a look at the rest of the path- only to discover there was no path at all. Only a mist-covered black stone wall stood a few meters away from them.
"It's a dead end" the green-eyed woman told them. "What if it isn't?" Ruby walked next to Ren, staring at the taller girl. "The music is even stronger here; there must be a hidden path somewhere" she said.
"Fair enough" Lumia finished making a quick sketch of the place "let's find it then." "On it!" Nora passed by them and started searching while Ren kept inspecting the statue, his face betraying his bewilderment.
-o—
Quite some time and a lot of searching later, Nora sat on the slimy, dark stone that formed the floor with a grumpy expression on her face. "No secret doors- I think this might be a dead end after all" she told them.
Equally frustrated and confused, Ruby sat cross-legged next to the red haired girl. She had been frantically searching as well, while Lumia was standing guard next to Ren who was preoccupied with the statue.
"Let's wait for Ren to be done with his own search and then we can go back; you have mapped the place, haven't you Lu?" the silver-eyed girl asked and received her friend's confirmation "as well as possible."
"We may not have to return yet" the boy's soothing voice came from the other side of the statue, his lean figure partially visible from behind the monstrous form "I think I found a strange array under the podium."
That drew their attention at once "what sort of strange array?" Ruby jumped up and helped Nora to her feet before walking towards him. He didn't reply; instead, he sidestepped for the girls to take a better look.
Lumia's eyes narrowed. A series of thin green lines could now be clearly seen running from the words carved at the podium, tracing all over the statue's surface and then slowly vanishing into thin air. Magic, for sure.
"Ok" Nora blinked a few times "I didn't take that good of a look, but I swear these were not here before." Ren nodded "I agree; I only started to see them after I spent a few minutes investigating the place."
"You mentioned you thought the words were weird as well at first, am I right?" the tall huntress asked. He nodded "I may have been mistaken."
Not the first time it would be
All of a sudden, Ruby's head shot up. Her silver eyes opened wide as a deep, guttural voice reached her ears, barely audible behind the pipes' chirping, descending on her from the hidden domes and spires above.
She heard Nora say something, but Ruby's mind failed to register; for all her senses were focused upwards. Her body took a couple steps to the back and she drew her weapon.
She heard a strange thud, but she paid no heed. The same feeling she had felt back in Grimmwater when she had entered the island came back to haunt her very soul. She lowered her gaze to warn the others.
Every hair on Ruby Rose's body stood on edge as her silver orbs fell on the stone-cold monster, whose gleaming red eyes returned her gaze as they shone with a primal, sinister aura. "No!" she stepped back to get some distance in order to shoot-
And was stopped mid-air from Lumia's powerful grip. The tall girl had a horrified expression on her face while her hands held the shorter one, whose feet hovered on the edge of the narrow path, centimeters away from falling into the surrounding waters.
The reaper blinked. Somehow, she had walked a good ten meters away from her team. She glared at the statue, whose stone-cold face was as immobile as it should, despite the green lines still running all over it.
Crescent Rose was thrown onto the floor, a good two or three meters far from her position. She let Lumia drag her to safety, next to Nora and Ren who rushed to help her. Ruby raised her head up to the ceiling.
The fog was ever-present, accompanied by the mystifying alien sound of the pipes. However… she clutched her heart, feeling a sudden surge of dread permeate her body down to its very core. She was sure that she had seen a weird shape momentarily flutter behind the green veil.
She let out a small laugh. As if she could be sure about anything at this point! She tugged her cloak even more around her and took one deep breath before smiling at her worried friends.
"I am fine" she assured them "thanks for the save Lu; I almost messed it up back then." "What happened?" the tall woman asked her "this is not like you to daydream all of a sudden in the middle of a hostile place."
"I am not sure" she downed some water "but I think something is trying to mess with my mind; I thought the statue came to life and I heard a really creepy voice talking to me from above" she pointed at the ceiling.
"Wouldn't it be the first time" Lumia said. Nora tapped her fingers- and then gave Ruby a mighty pat on the back. For those who knew just how strong the ginger was, it looked more like a 5-ton slam than a means of friendly encouragement. Ren glared at his wife, who smiled at the girl.
"There's no point in overthinking it, Ruby" she said. "Being prepared is a good thing, yes, but if there's nothing we can do, then we just have to do what we can. Be decisive and be focused is best at times like this."
"I just-" "I agree with Nora; you are way too tense and when Grimm are involved that's a bad thing" Ren cut her off. "Mhm" Nora winked at her husband "instead of worrying about what might happen, why don't you focus on what is happening right now? Like that statue for starters."
The reaper stood up. She was stiff from all the tension, but… her eyes fell on the green mist hovering above them. For a reason, it felt much less menacing than before.
She stared at the statue. It was hideous and brought her horrible and unwanted memories, yes, but the feeling of lingering dread it brought her had vanished. She turned at Lumia, still standing guard behind her.
A deep sigh left Ruby Rose's lips as she stood up with a smile plastered on her face. She rubbed the back of her head "I swear, all those years have passed and you guys still have to drag me out of my stupidity."
"Weiss' orders" Ren exclaimed. "Yang also demanded to bring you back safe, so it goes without saying" Lumia added to the joke. "You are all so niceee" she giggled, squeezed Nora's shoulder and turned at the statue.
"What I was telling them while you were hallucinating" Ren explained to her "is that I think the statue acts as a guardian of sorts; I believe it's purpose is to only allow the believers to delve deeper to the temple."
"So we were thinking whether you have some sort of insight into this, since you are the one among us with the most experience with this sort of ancient religion" Lumia added as she patrolled around the place.
"Only the devoted will ascend. Prove your faith and be rewarded" Ruby read the carved words once more. "I think it's safe to say that believers would know what to make of this" the former Winter Maiden said.
"Hmmm" silver eyes narrowed. Puzzles, riddles and wordplays were, quite unexpectedly, her alley among team RWBY members. "It asks us to prove our faith- I take it requires an offering of sorts" she concluded.
The girl closed her eyes. Are we reading too much into this? Her mind went back to Octavios Red's mansion; the mansion where Elia, Robus and Alizar Red grew before tragedy hit their island.
It was the same mansion where their father, the enigmatic huntsman and cultist, had built an entire refinery on top of a tunnel system that lead to Avyssos' prison and temple of worship.
She tried to remember. Weiss had told her of the inhuman practices of the Eldergrimm; of the cultivation of humans who worshipped and revered it. Of the ludicrous religious offerings she had seen down there.
"Gold would be one choice" she finally replied "Weiss said she had seen lots of gold, dust and jewels in the underground prison."
"That is what the villagers gave it, isn't it?" Ren countered "I don't think Avyssos itself values anything the same way we do." "That is true" she replied "besides I don't see any place where we could put the gold in."
"As I said; you guys think too much" Nora took one step forward and took her wedding ring out. She then let it down on the podium and let a deep scream that resonated inside the dim halls, momentarily snuffing out the alien music that played in the background.
"I offer you my most precious treasure! Accept it and let me pass!" she boomed, grinning in confidence. "I don't even want to start on-"
Before Lumia could finish her sentence, however, the green magic lines on the dark statue flashed bright. Magical energy roared and a surge of power rushed up from the horrible stone face towards the ceiling.
After that, while all the members of RRSN stared at the ginger girl in a mix of confusion and awe, a loud booming noise of rock shards grinding on each other echoed across the corridor coming from above.
A huge shadow suddenly appeared from the thick mist. It came down with force, slamming on the floor a few meters away from them. The massive tremor knocked them all down and raised a thick dust cloud.
"You are joking" the green-eyed huntress stood with her mouth wide open staring at the object more clearly after the cloud collapsed. It was a huge staircase made of a mix of pitch-black and green rocks.
Small statues of winged Grimm were carved on its entrance, staring at them with their wings lowered as if inviting them. The staircase seemed to spiral up- its end was hidden in the mist.
Ruby gave Nora a thumbs-up and then proceeded in assisting Lumia to her feet. "I don't know what to say" the tall woman told the ginger one.
"You get used to it" Ren smiled at his energetic wife who knelt and took her ring back from the podium before she ran to assist their leader in scouting the road ahead.
"You do?" the other two followed after them, sending curious eyes at both statues as they passed by them. They turned their gaze backwards to make one final check at the corridor and then followed their friends.
As they slowly made their ways up in significantly higher spirits, the statue's red eyes gleamed, staring at a dozen hooded figures in the mist before it opened its wide mouth and licked its razor-sharp teeth.