It didn't take long for the monotony of the countless tunnels to get interrupted. At what was clearly an intersecting node of dozens of them, a larger chamber had been excavated from the rock and earth, its walls sporting a number of 'doors'. But upon further inspection, it was clear that they were effectively lift shafts, leading down to the lower levels.
Unfortunately, over however many years had passed since they were last utilized, they eventually broke and now didn't work anymore. The lifts were also not anywhere in sight. Evidently, they had last been used to transport people or goods downwards, and had never been sent back up.
This didn't pose any sort of hurdle to Theodore and Ninna, though. After spending a few moments to sense which one of the shafts was the most intact, they found one that was pretty much entirely pristine inside, all the way to the bottom. So devoid of hesitation, they jumped down, landing thousands of meters further underground barely a second later, all without making a sound or disturbing much of the dust all around them.
"It's starting to look a bit more familiar. This place is quite reminiscent of the city that I found Faavi in. It is a bit smaller, though, and doesn't have any sort of temple-like building complex in its centre."
Taking in his surroundings, a small smile formed on Theodore's lips. He could now be doubly certain that he was absolutely on the right track! Still, this area was likely nothing more than an outpost in a larger subterranean network of cities. Who knew where Faavi's point of origin fit into the whole picture?
"I haven't seen any bodies yet. If everyone fled underground, then they definitely didn't stop here. Those tunnels go even deeper. Shall we go?"
Having examined the area as well, Ninna felt more eager to figure out this World Shard's mystery the longer that she stayed here. After he was evidently ready to move on, she grabbed his arm with a slight blush and led the way.
As Theodore's two other bodies also came across similar places one by one, it became abundantly clear that they did indeed only function as resting stops for those venturing downwards. Tunnels led to lifts, which led to small cities, which led to tunnels... and everything repeated, over and over again.
Sometimes, likely due to having chosen a suboptimal path amidst the many options, Theodore actually made his way back up towards the surface temporarily, before coming across another hall full of lifts leading into the depths.
Unsurprisingly, he and Ninna–who had been the first to venture into the subterranean domain–were also the ones who stumbled across the next change the fastest. What greeted their eyes was an even larger hall filled with massive lifts, about 50 times the size of all of the others that they had previously come across.
While that was an impressive spectacle, of course, and certainly worthy of note, it was not what gave them pause. It had degraded over unknown ages, but they had clearly just stepped into the range of an incredibly powerful Array.
"I can at least tell that it doesn't have any obvious direct attacking methods. It seems... defensive in nature, mixed with a strong seal. It's supposed to not only keep intruders away, but also those inside from escaping its bounds. There is definitely more to it than just that, though–I simply can't tell yet."
Sharing his findings with Ninna, the two compared notes and eventually came to the same conclusion: No matter how astonishing this Array had been once upon a time, it was in disrepair, heavily lacking Energy, and extremely likely without a controller. Therefore, with both of them having a good understanding of the field of Array Formation, the risk of going deeper was manageable.
"Hey, Theo. The lifts here still work."
Rising an eyebrow in surprise, Ninna stared at the button that she had just pressed, which had lit up almost the instant that she had touched it. In her perception, she could feel the shaft behind the closed, weathered doors tremble ever so slightly in response to something rising from below.
"They're Energy-powered, and directly hooked up to the Array all around us, so it makes sense. Still, it's impressive that it's held on for this long."
Figuring out its exact specifications moments after having been made aware of them, Theodore nodded in approval, patiently awaiting their ride. But when it arrived and the lift opened, his alarm bells went off–for a multitude of reasons.
The remains of at least a few hundred humanoid bodies were laid out in front of them, all of which being little more than skeletons. The number of those who had died here was probably higher, but the rest had been unable to withstand the tides of time.
He wasn't one to care much about the lives or deaths of beings that he wasn't close to, therefore he naturally hadn't been startled by the sight of dead bodies. No, the implications of this all were what made him raise his guard.
For someone's physical remains to last however long it had been, those who lost their lives here had to have been, at the very least, at the Celestial Stage. And for a world that had originally been extremely powerful to have many of such individuals was not a surprise–nay, it was completely expected.
But they had died here like common rabble, of currently unknown causes. From what he could tell after a curious, in-depth glance, no fighting had taken place, but some individuals had clearly taken their own lives. As for the rest, it wasn't outside intervention that had killed them, but rather apparently inevitable 'natural deaths'.
It was also evident that, despite their strength, they had been unable to escape the Array, just as expected. But even worse was the fact that the lift that he and Ninna were about to take obviously hadn't responded to them, staying at the lower level and keeping them locked in whatever kind of area was down there.
Then... why did the lift respond to the two of them? What had changed? Was it simply good old time that had worn away the restrictions that had once been in place? Was the way down not barred, but only the way up? Or were they being invited by someone or something?
"What do you think?"
Sharing his findings and theories with his partner, he wanted to hear her evaluation as well. He was a bit unsettled, for sure, but this didn't mean that he wanted to give up and flee from this World Shard. At least not yet.
"It's eerie and uncanny, for sure, and I can't say what is truly going on here. But my instincts aren't warning me yet, so it should be fine. How about you? How are you feeling?"
Seeing the hint of worry in her gaze, his smile turned more gentle. Listening deep inside, he found that aside from the weirdness of the situation and that initial discomfort, there was nothing at all.
'My third save point is currently set before my duel with Sarasvain. So if any one of my bodies reacts fast enough, then even if there is something undetectable yet dangerous going on here, I should be able to regress. Unless my entire soul gets obliterated in a single blow. Hmm.'
Contemplating the matter for a time, he eventually resolutely nodded his head.
'I really want to see where this lead goes. As long as there's a chance that I might learn more about John and Faavi, I believe it's worth the risk.'
Grabbing Ninna's hand, he stepped into the lift and watched the doors close.
"There's nothing unusual on my end either. Still, let's stay cautious, just in case."
Exchanging a short nod with each other, the duo stood amidst the skeletons and waited for their ride to reach the bottom. But despite its considerable speed, it still took more than a minute for it to come to a halt again. With a distorted ringing noise, the world beyond welcomed them with open 'arms'–and simultaneously took their breath away.
As far as their eyes could see, and as far as their perception could extend, an indescribably gargantuan cavern stretched into the distance. Forget a planet–even if someone stuck multiple solar systems in here, there would still be plenty of space to spare!
Nearly the entire area inside housed but a single megalopolis, a city so large that the number of people who could have lived here at its prime were at least in the quadrillions–and that was an extremely low, conservative estimate.
Such a grandiose scene, of course, wasn't what had served to shake the two of them. No, it was the fact that nearly every square metre of this place was stacked with multiple layers of corpses!
Most were just skull and bones, like those on the lift, but some looked as if they had simply closed their eyes and fallen asleep, never to wake again. Their bodies were entirely intact! But far more populated than either of those previous two categories was another one: Everyone below the Celestial Stage had turned to dust, which had consequently piled up into small dunes and mountains.
The silent deaths of these many people, especially of those experts, was simply a lot to take in. Even more so because neither of them had ever heard about this event, or these beings to begin with.
"... let's have a closer look."
Stepping into this land of the dead with narrowed eyes, Theodore arrived next to the nearest complete body that he could find. From what he could see, it was clearly a human, but he was unable to tell if it had been a special subspecies of some sort.
'What exactly happened to this guy? His flesh and bones are devoid of any Energy, and extremely weak! Has it simply been so long that even an immortal being could be degraded into such a shell of their former self after their death? I'm unable to tell if this one ascended beyond simply being 'divine' in his lifetime–he's basically been completely drained.'
Shaking his head in disappointment, he went from body to body, but his discoveries never changed. All of these corpses were just barely holding on, perhaps only decades away from beginning to turn into skeletons as well. And all of them were precisely in the same kind of weakened, depleted state.
'It's as if something absorbed all of their power and Energy, leading to their demise–to the demise of every single one of these countless beings, all at once.'
Of course, he suspected the still-running Array of having been used for this purpose, but as much as he tried to decipher it, he couldn't find any such functionality within. Not that it wasn't possible for it to be hidden deeper than he could currently probe. After all, not only was he much weaker than whoever had set this Array up, but his Array Formation Proficiency could also still advance multiple levels.
"It's a bit of an unusual date location, for sure, but will you do me the honours of strolling through this netherworld together and taking in the sights?"
Cracking a joke to try to brighten the mood, a smirk stole itself on his lips as he held out his hand towards Ninna.
"But of course, my dear! Just keep me safe if any ghosts pop up out of nowhere, alright?"
Giggling slightly, she accepted his invitation. Leaning close to him, the two enjoyed a 'romantic' mid-air walk far above the piles of bodies underneath them.
Of course, no matter how relaxed they presented themselves to be, they always kept an eye out for any dangers or discoveries. But still, even after minutes and hours had passed, nothing ever changed.
As far as they could perceive, the dead covered the ground, and no ghosts from the past had reared their heads. Not yet, at least.