Everyone stared at the light streaming into the cavern, so bright as to hide the actual contents within. While some were eager to get on their feet, others hesitated.
Yuko was in the first group. She felt herself drawn to the light. It had to be another city. One with extremely bright lights.
“Let's go see what's on the other side,” Satoru announced, halting Yuko in making her way over by obliging her to wait for the others.
She tapped her foot impatiently. “Maybe someone should scout ahead?” she offered.
Shizumi spoke up. “It would not be you,” she assured, “I don't want you leaving my eyesight. Besides, we should stay together, who knows what’s out there.”
Yuko was reminded of the monster they’d encountered just minutes before. She was halfway between pissing-her-pants terrified and absolutely in awe and admiration.
Wanting to keep things moving, she decided to help people get to their feet. The few minutes it took for everyone to catch their breaths felt like an eternity. Were they scared now that the new world was right in front of them?
Yuko managed to be near the front, even if she wasn't allowed to take the lead. Murmurs passed the group, a mixture of wondering what was up ahead and questions directed at Satoru, and later Shizumi, about Yuko.
The girl in question focused on what was around them as to keep herself from running ahead. She hadn't noticed when, but the cave had transformed back into being a man-made tunnel structure. Was this is? Another city?
The light came from a small crevice, no larger than both of their hands put together. Feeling the wall around it, it was smooth, with the crack of the opening going all the way down it. Remnants of a door, maybe? Someone took a peek through the hole.
“A stone staircase in poor condition, surrounded by all sorts of plants. No signs of life,” the person listed, before pausing, “the ceiling, it's, uhm, pink, with big patches of steam hanging against it.”
Yuko placed a hand against the stone. She was the only one without gloves to do so easily. “It doesn't feel hot. It's warmer than the walls further back, but not “warm” warm.”
Given her hand was already against the door, she decided to give it a gentle push. It didn't budge. Didn't even rattle like it was locked.
The scout seemed to have the same idea. “It's blocked off in some way.”
“Do you think we can push it open?” Yuko asked.
“I'd at least not risk our luck with the monster a second time,” someone else commented.
“We have explosives. Now seems like a good time to put some of them to use,” Shizumi offered. She quickly reached into her pouch to retrieve a small packet.
Installing it only took a moment, before everyone was backing up as far as they could. The result was a small explosion that cracked the panels before collapsing inwards together with a pile of dirt. The exit had been partially buried; it must not have been used in an extremely long time.
Yuko was among the first to be climbing the stairs, she was just so excited. The air that streamed into the tunnel felt so incredibly invigorating it made her nausea worse. She couldn't stop herself from breathing it in with big breaths, though. She wanted to pause at just the first step to look at the weird plant life she'd never seen before, but didn't want to hold everyone up. At least she wasn't alone in being fascinated. The group was seemingly split between being awed and on guard.
Words couldn't describe how big the cave was, she couldn't see the walls no matter which direction she looked. The ceiling was a gorgeous painting of pinks, oranges and blues, with steam hanging high in the air. She couldn't begin to guess how high the ceiling was, she couldn't see any of the bulbs except for one huge, bright one. It was warm, too. Was that the only light they needed here? What if it went out?
Yuko could never have imagined something like this being hidden in the dark tunnels. This, this made everything worth it. Looking around, she couldn't help but feel tiny and exposed. The space itself was intimidating, and she couldn't get enough of this exhilarating feeling.
As she reached the top of the staircase, her gaze fell down. Right in front of her was a large stone gate that had clearly seen better days. The ground was covered in small green plants, its razor thin leaves sprouting directly from the soil. The plain in front of the group was also decorated with tons of pipes that stuck out of the ground, some of which had smoke coming out of them. They had also seen better days. Were these coming all the way from Shini?
The last thing Yuko noticed was a set of strange tents. An encampment had been built between the pipes, wires connecting different areas for some reason Yuko couldn't make out from afar. Someone must've done that.
She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder, and she startled a bit. Then, before she knew it, a helmet was placed on her head. Drawing her attention back to the group, they appeared to have gotten their heads back to reality and were discussing their plans. Satoru wasn't wearing his helmet anymore.
“This is an incredible discovery. We should head back to report this,” one argued.
Satoru shook his head. “We know virtually nothing, it's too early to return.”
“We can always come back afterwards, now that the route is known.”
Shizumi spoke up this time. “I think we should limit our time traveling. Pointlessly going back and forth will only increase our risks of developing the Bloat.”
“So we shouldn't test our luck. Whatever the hell I'm feeling now can't be much worse.”
“Kegare is a silent actor, don't forget that.”
They still didn't look like they were willing to budge. Upon closer inspection, they were shaking. What she could see of their skin was coated in sweat.
Yuko felt the air move past her cheeks and immediately shook her head. She wasn't going back down. Not so soon. “Why don't we split up? The people staying can take the excess food and water, too.”
Her ex teacher nodded. “That's a great idea, Yuko. You can accompany them back to safety.”
“What? No way!” Yuko objected immediately, “I’m staying.”
“Yuko, it's dangerous…”
“Listen to them, kid. Come on.”
Yuko was shaking too, now, out of anger. Rather than continue to try and fight them on it, she turned tail and sprinted towards the encampment.
Fortunately she was faster than whoever decided to pursue her and managed to outlast them, too.
The encampment wasn't as big as it looked from afar, seemingly supporting items for one person to have a comfortable stay.
Then she noticed another monster. This one was different, but not by much. It was on four long, thin legs that didn't have arms or feet at the end, but instead a kind of hardened, tubular shape. Its skin was the same, a weird black with green glowing veins. Its neck was longer than the other monster’s, with a line of shiny black hair sprouting out of the back. Its head was much more robust, with large holes on the front that Yuko could only guess were its nostrils. Then she noticed that it was tied to a cart. It also didn't look hostile as Yuko approached it. Someone had tamed this monster.
She found the tamer not long after. A person was sitting in a chair, reading a book. They appeared to be wearing protective clothing, and a mask obscured their face.
Yuko reached for her knife, just to be safe.
They put the book away. “Welcome to the surface world. There's no need for a weapon, whether that be a blade or a firearm.” A masculine voice sounded.
Yuko frowned and took a quick look behind her. Saturo and Shizumi had followed her, the latter of which was keeping a sniper ready.
“Surface? Surface of what?” Yuko asked.
“Of the planet, of course. You've left the tunnels, all that's above us now is sky.”
Yuko looked up at the “sky” for a moment, before turning her attention back to the man. “Who are you?”
“I am Yoshinaga Eijiro. I'm the ruler of this land, from the city of Niku. I had been observing all of the remaining buried cities, and had a feeling you would be coming up to find us soon. I came to welcome you.”
Niku. Two-nine.