One hour passes in a whirlwind of fragmented memories. They are blurred and oddly surrealistic, but Izumi's consciousness does not heed to the discomfiting contents.
She stays close to her companion, who is paving through an increasingly claustrophobic tunnel.
They speak little, and only whisper directions when the cavern morphs into multiple directions. The temperature remains cool, despite descending further underground.
When they reach a dead end, Itachi raises the candle so the light illuminates and floods the ceiling. But it is not the cavern roof. Above is a small dark opening that indicates their need to ascend.
He peruses the map for several moments, then gazes at the ceiling. There is a strong air of mistrust and lingering suspicion that surrounds Itachi, but Izumi is in no condition to question.
"Can you?" Itachi asks.
His face is submersed in a pool of concern, albeit Izumi gets the strange sensation that only she can read these emotions.
"I'll follow," she answers.
Without speaking, he begins the climb, closely followed by Izumi and perhaps something else that may be her imagination. The feeling is momentary, but there is a warmth that swaths back and forth when she ascends the very narrow and very steep passage.
At the top, Itachi reaches for her with a grip more forceful than necessary. When she is safely beside him, he does not let go of her hand for some time after.
"Your hand is warm," he says quietly.
Izumi returns the comment with confusion.
"So is yours."
At her words, he stares with silent disconcertment, until the sounds of falling sand breaks his reverie.
"Lets go," he says mildly.
They do not speak for the next half hour. Their minds are fixed on navigation and peeling back the layers of thick darkness. The atmosphere turns abnormally cold, yet a discomfiting sensation is resonating in the deep corners of Izumi's stomach. The haunting chill has nothing to do with the temperature.
Ahead, Itachi is seemingly fixated on something in front. Izumi does not probe, instead she keeps to the shadows of her conscious - a safety net where nothing can hurt her.
The fear may be imminent, but she does not know of its content. She may have disconnected from those memories, but her emotions remain intact. She does not know what she is afraid of.
When Itachi halts, Izumi is already so consumed within the recess of her muse, she does not realise the collision of her body against something.
"Is everything okay?"
Itachi's voice brings her to the present, albeit very slowly.
At Izumi's realisation, her shoulder is pressed firmly against his arm, as if she had attempted to walk through him.
Without answering his question, she turns her attention to something ahead.
There is a small opening in the cavern walls that appear man-made. Izumi cannot see, but she can feel the aura.
"In there," she says quietly.
She takes off before Itachi can speak.
The opening leads them through to a large chamber with long stone benches positioned in a circular pattern that surrounds a large stand. Above is the night sky.
"Are we not underground?" Izumi pants.
She is struggling to breathe in this very suffocating dungeon.
"Yes," Itachi says absently.
He is strangely preoccupied with the sky and the millions of stars that dot the velvet canvas.
The aura she felt earlier intensify tenfolds, though she remains unclear of its origin. It gives her the sensation of being liquified and detached, as if her body and soul is going through a dismantling process. But as gruesome as words make it, the feeling is far from grisly. A part of her is oddly free, brave enough to conquer the worst. No guilt, no repercussions.
But the aura is transient. It comes as quick as it goes, with no set time or amount.
And then comes the strange gnawing sensation. A physical manifestation of something scratching her insides. As if her body is compressed into one tiny box, she struggles to inhale air.
With one uncomfortable push from something invisible, her body heaves forward and she expels a black liquid from her mouth. The substance falls to the ground with flowing ease and embeds itself into the hard sand.
On Itachi's end, he seems not to notice. The event on Izumi's side occurred faster than she can process, and within seconds, she dismisses it from her mind.
"Izumi, take a look at this," Itachi calls.
He is standing abnormally still before a small curved unimposing mound. When Izumi peers over his shoulder, she sees nothing but a blank roughen stone. As if anticipating her inquiry, Itachi speaks.
"Turn on your Sharingan."
And when she complies, the strange symbols materialise.
Its familiarity draws her conscious back to the earlier days of the Council's Mission workshop training. Though she never for life of her understood why there was a need to learn such needless ancient symbols, she is now glad for its use.
"These are ancient symbols used specifically to depict instructions for a sacrifice," Izumi says, "I never thought these symbols exist nowadays."
"They don't," Itachi answers, "we are probably in some sort of sacrificial chamber that was used thousands of years ago."
Without thinking, Izumi reads aloud.
"There is one universal form of chakra divided amongst separate domains of actuality. No two planes may exist synchronously within the same axis; for chakra of one existence, though equivalent to the entity it resides in, is a disparate reality. The ultimate cause of collision between two or more niche existence…"
She pauses. Though her Sharingan is focused on the next line, she cannot comprehend its meaning despite the familiarity of the symbols.
"We cannot read the next few lines," Itachi says ruefully.
Izumi gazes interestedly in his direction, and without his explanation, she seems to understand his message through those deep red eyes.
"Shisui is the only one I know who is most likely able to read those broken lines," Izumi says softly.
Towards the lower half of the stone, they can make out another sentence.
"…the violation [is] held in the eyes that reflect the heart; one bloodline…"
The words in her mind remain in a series of unsystematic positions. Though the language is clear, she can barely make sense of it.
On Itachi's side, there seems to be a monumental amount of calculations and futile attempts at comprehension. However, Izumi is surprised when his features morph into a form of realisation that is graced by a wisp of discontentment.
"Izumi, what comes to mind when you hear the sentence, separate domains of actuality?" He asks solemnly.
"Different areas of…" she hesitates with a sudden wave of sickening dread, "…existence."
"Mm."
Then, the floating pieces of information fall into a convoluted, yet partially understandable sentence.
"No two planes may exist synchronously within the same axis…that would mean…"
"Multiple universes do exist based on one singular existence of chakra split towards different existences," Itachi continues.
"But the universes are separate from each other and cannot be accessed because they cannot exist within the one world," Izumi finishes.
She turns and scans the chamber.
"Are there more of us in other worlds?" Izumi wonders.
"Yes and no, if I am basing it off just this," Itachi says, "we exist in other worlds but we are not different, that is, we are one person originating from one chakra existence. Our chakra have been split to fit the multitude of other universes."
"But we cannot access them," Izumi replies impatiently.
Itachi gazes curiously at her, as if subconsciously pushing her to re-evaluate the comment.
"A sacrificial chamber…you don't think they were trying to access the other worlds do you?" She says slowly.
Itachi shrugs.
"Who knows. There is only so much we can read and I believe that last sentence is talking about the Uchiha."
Izumi stares bleakly at the only other paragraph.
"Violation?"
But her question remains unanswered. Itachi is already moving towards another tunnel opening.
Without further attempts at comprehending, she follows him.
The other cavern houses a stone basin - the one they were to locate and deposit the stones.
Behind, the opening to the sacrificial chamber dissipates in a distorted black swirl. The walls around the entire cave is now smooth and undamaged. There is only one entry and exit ahead.
"We weren't supposed to have accessed that chamber," Itachi says to Izumi's bafflement.
His tone is quiet with an element of contemplation.
"How did we get in there?" Izumi asks.
Itachi places the stones in the basin, then turns for the exit.
"We followed the path on the map correctly. Could it be that man deliberately gave us the wrong directions and-"
"No," Itachi interjects.
He turns to face the blank walls of the cavern - the exact place where they exited from the sacrificial chamber.
"I get the feeling this place knew we were here and offered us to see that place. This cave here," he gestures toward their current standing spot, "is easily accessible and most ninjas can get here without any trouble provided they follow the map's instructions. But for us, this place has a history it seems only those of Uchiha blood can sense. I don't know what it is but it may be best to steer clear of it."
They exit in brooding silence.
In the outside world, they are back where they began - behind the waterfall. And just like Itachi's explanation, the cave that houses the stone basin is an easy entry.
"This opening wasn't here when we entered earlier," Izumi says sceptically.
When she looks up, there is an air of surprise that knots at her core. The entire cavern walls are smooth and undamaged.
"Could it be an illusion?" She says aloud.
"I do not know," Itachi answers, "but we should leave. It is getting dark."
And though Izumi may have an uncanny ability to decipher Itachi's stoic emotions, there is a forceful aura she cannot fathom when he speaks of departing. Perhaps this area is sending a host of signals that play into her paranoia, but she senses another element of information Itachi is keeping silent.