The part that was blasted off with the EFP, fell inside the hidden level, after five seconds a loud thud sound was heard, making their calculations the group considered the level to be around two hundred and forty five metres in height it was a rough estimate but the height would definitely at that height or lower than it.
Captain Austin face turned serious at the number of the height.
"This is problematic."
The other two looked at him with confusion, seeing their expression he sighed and said with a serious voice.
"The aerial lift can carry only one person at a time, but even that is restricted to two hundred metres only."
Selina looked at Austin and said:
"The lift can it carry a person under the weight of sixty kilograms to this much height?"
Austin looked at her and then said, his voice laced with confusion.
"It... can but why do you.."
Austin eyes widened with realization, words escaped from his mouth, his voice was filled with worry.
"Selina no, you will not do it."
Annie looked at them, she had grasped Selina's idea and even she could go down there however she didn't had the courage to say it, and chose to remain silent. Selina looked at Austin with calm eyes and said:
"There is no need to worry about me, I will drop off the extra equipment, so that it could reduce the stress I will cause on the lift. I will just take a pen, notepad, a torch and this broken stone tablet with me."
Austin didn't agree, however he was forced to do it after Selina continue to nag him for two long minutes, accepting his defeat he set up the mechanism of the lift and placed the generator they had brought inside for the lightings.
The mechanism of the lift was simple, it consist of a pulley that was bindied on the ground with a big nail, and the rope was wrapped around it, one end of the rope was connected to the motor which was in turn powered by the generator while the other end was connected to a big basket big, wide and strong enough to carry a man.
Sitting on the basket, Annie and Austin helped Selina to level herself in mid air, turning the generator on, the motor started to work, and Selina started to move downward. Feeling herself gripped with little fear, she ducked a little to find herself some imaginary safety.
After a minute, she reached the ground, she get off the basket and shook the rope two times indicating that she had reached the ground. At the the second level, Austin sighed in relief his eyes however was glinting with malice.
He turned off the motor, and waited for Selina to end her expedition inside their, it was what supposed to happen however it didn't, because Austin took out a knife and cut off the rope before Annie could do anything, he took out a glock at shoot bullet straight at her head.
"I guess I was wrong, thought this bullet wouldn't go through that thick skull of yours."
His voice was cold as he stared at the lifeless body of Annie, he took out the walkie talkie and opened the channel, bringing it near to his mouth he said:
"Everything clear on above, dear?"
Then another voice came from the walkie talkie, it was a familiar voice of a women, it was Alia's voice, it sounded sweet but hidden in it was malice.
"Ah yes, dear everything is clear over here. Shawn died with bullet in his head, it was sad that guy was a good guy, anyway I hope you have dealt with your side especially with that rude bitch."
Austin gaze shifted to the, the hole on the ground and he smiled while saying:
"Of course, she is going to get a death worse than her parents."
Selina's parents were never killed by the treasure hoarders but rather by their backstabbing friends, Austin and Alia. They were the ones who had killed the couple mercilessly using a knife, stabbing them till they bleed to death.
Austin sighed.
"I am going to set this place with dynamite get the others to pick up all the materials, we are going to get filthy rich this time."
Alia didn't say anything, and switched off the channel from her side. Listening to the beep sound, Austin sighed and threw the walkie talkie on the ground with force enough to break it.
"Let's set this place up."
In the span of twenty minutes, all levels of the ruins were set up with dynamite even the pillars, walking out of the ruins and getting into the jeep, he clicked on the detonator as they moved out of the place with all the treasure or valuable things they could get.
The sound of the dynamite was heard by them, the couple smiled as they drive out of the place never setting there gaze back at the ruins, but if they had they would have seen when the smoke cleared revealing two pillars still standing, both facing each other one of them was half broken while the other stood with no visible damage on it.
The two remaining pillars then faded into nothingness, like they never existed in first place. Back in the third level, Selina was unaware of the explosion because there was no way present inside that place for the sound to enter. It was completely cut off from outer environment, even the hole was ceased to exist, like it didn't exist in the first place similar to the two pillars.
Selina was slightly surprised by the place, because there was light it wasn't at first place but when she set her foot on the ground the entire place was lit up with light produced by ghostly white flames on the torches set up on the wall.
"What in the god's name is this place?"
Selina squealed as she walked around the wide hall, she went near toward one of the torches, as she reached in front of it, she didn't felt anything there was no heat produced by the ghost flames as if what was powering those flames was not thermal energy but something else.
"I don't know why.. but these flames are unmistakably identical to something I know."
Selina forced her brain to remember but was not able to find it, sighing in defeat she moved towards the wall, searching for something to study anything worked for her, runes, scriptures or baseless scribbles, she wanted to study and get to know more about this place.
After aimlessly wandering around searching the walls, she found something it was drawing describing something or someone, on beside of it were some scriptures written in the same unknown runes, she couldn't read them, so she tried to make sense out of it through the drawings.
She looked at the first mural, it was a being and they were described very big in size considering the people that were shown bending down and kneeling in front of it were small in comparison, what was disturbing about this being was that it was holding a sword, and there was some sort of light coming from them.
Selina at the mural with surprise, she took out her notepad and copied everything from it, the mural and the runes written beside it, in hopes of translating the ancient language some day.
"This is too much... was this civilization really a part of ours or was it something else?"
She stared at the figure described, and had felt something stir deep within her heart, it was the feeling of joy but Selina wasn't able to understand the feeling.
"I don't know about the people that lived here but, this being over here is not a human, I am damn sure about this. Then what sort of being it is then?An alien?"
She walked over to the next mural, when she saw what was drawn over the wall she felt a shiver ran down her smile. The second mural described seven beings same as the previous one that was standing in front of them, with a sphere like object moving around the mysterious being.
The figures were big like the previous one, however one of them was short in height as if the figure standing opposite to the previous one was the youngest among them.
Each of them had their own special features, one was shining brightest among the new seven, one was covered in mist and was the most mysterious one out of the new seven beings, there was one whose body was covered with white light, and there was one whose body was perfect as if it had no flaws, it was a pure beauty.
The one shortest in height was covered in darkness, or something similar to it, it possessed a small lantern that was attached to it's waist. The original one, had it's own distinct features, they possessed a sword that was not present on the second mural instead there was a orb floating and revolving around them.
The sword from what Selina had saw was a little awkward, it didn't possessed a guard rather it had this dorso-ventrally flattened ring in which a sphere was present at the center that was somehow floating in it. There were two bars growing out of the ring, one present at each side and the blade was a double edged blade, the sword in overall looked like a cross if it was outlined mainly due to the two bars present on the ring.
"This sword just proves that these beings are not humans, and that lantern it seems familiar, but why can't I just remember it."
Shaking her head, she moved toward the next mural, and slightly raised her brows in amusement, the original one was standing in front of a another person this one was covered in a cloak littered with stars, from their figure this new person looked like a female.
The new figure was also kneeling towards the original one, however unlike before the original one was helping her to stand up.
"Are they trying to show her respect? But who even is this woman, some sort of special being like this person or like others? Maybe not there is no short of light coming from her back, meaning she is probably different from others."
There was not much on the mural, no runes were present beside unlike others, not finding any sort of context Selina move forward to the next mural, and what she saw was interesting, for the first time the original one spoked, not that she knew what they spoke as it was written in the unknown language.
The being sat on a large throne, on it's left side was the strange looking sword and the floating sphere, on it's right side was the mysterious woman and away from them were two people speaking something while kneeling.
"They are asking for help?"
Selina looked at the mural for some time, she stared at it for no reason, she sometimes suddenly move at start taking up notes and copying the mural, and sometimes she just stare at it aimlessly standing in front of the mural and doing nothing.
Selina didn't know why she was doing it, she just felt that she should do this, she then stared at the mural for thirty for minutes when suddenly she broke out of the mind hex she was facing, it was as if someone had forcefully placed some kind of spell on her mind and then take it away in an instant.
"Ah... what was I doing again? Ah yeah, the next mural I have to study the next mural. I wonder when my team will come down here, it might take huge time for them to get a better aerial lift and set it up."
Selina walked while mumbling her thoughts, when stopped in front of the next mural, she lost her sense of existence, she felt oppressed with fear, horror and dread. She dared to look at the mural for a second, and her eyes catched the original one standing with holding a sword in their one hand and in the other they were holding the neck of one of the new seven the one who was covered in mist.
She was pushed back, from some unknown force, her eyes and nose was bleeding blood, the image of the mural was burned in her mind, the original one had defeated all the new seven and except the one covered in the mist, were kneeling in defeat in the front of the original one.
The whole surroundings, was filled with broken swords and the six of new seven were fallen to ground, kneeling. There was some sort of energy described in the mural, it was surrounding the battlefield, a dark and malicious energy.
Selina turned around wiping the blood off, from her eyes and nose using her own clothes, She prepared to walk away, but then she heard something, she stopped her eyes widened in shock.
"I am not hallucinating, am I?"
She then heard once again, a strange whisper repeating again and again, she focused all of her hearing power to understand the whisper and when she heard the words clearly, she stumbled a little. The strange sweet and alluring voice Selina heard again and again was doing nothing but calling out a name.
It was her name.
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So the next part will be the last one, originally I planned this chapter to be of 3 parts but my mind changed in between and made this of 4 parts. The last part will be rather of a mix of past and present, and do you like the murals? Ah also the one covered in mist is none other than the dream god, I just like to describe them in this way, as it sounds mysterious cuz they are mysterious. Do ask me things you would like to ask.