HOLO-LIFE MYTH

C1: The Pocket Watch

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock...

The faint ticking of the pocket watch was deafening in the midst of my silent office. The outside is more or less the same, dead silent with a splash of lingering danger. The night, both dark and gloomy, only being lit by the gaze of the moon peering its face atop of the clouds that blanketed the world below. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared, with every passing day the chances of them coming to get us becomes higher and higher, who knows when? I just know that they're coming after us. My office is dimly lit with the only source of light being this lamp right on my desk, illuminating the papers that lie in front of me, waiting to be read and be analyzed.

Documents, dozens of papers containing crucial information, info gathered by my investigators that have returned not that long ago from their recent exploration on Mt Aion. We were desperate at this point, desperate for a saving grace, a deus ex machina that can turn the tides to our favor against the monsters who call themselves gods. Admittedly, the only reason we chose Mt Aion is because one of the investigators remembers an old folklore revolving around it. Uh-huh, we were *that* desperate. But then again, I shouldn't be complaining, the search actually gave us something and it lies within these papers:

"The rumored cave on Mt Aion exists, it is located in the eastern face of the mountain facing the sunrise. The approach to the location was a difficult trek, unlike other mountains in the Gandr Mountain Range, Mt Aion does not have a clear path, thick forests and rough rock formations disrupt any means of passage, although we have spotted some remnants of a pebble and dirt path, most of it has been reclaimed by the surrounding nature. The trek up the mountain is no different from any mountain climb with no notable difference. The cave itself, as we cleared the surroundings, seems to resemble a temple as we spot remains of a roof and colonnade, but despite the damage the entrance itself is mostly well preserved..."

The first paragraph already piqued my interest, but before I continue I've decided to gather some books and other documents as reference so that it could help me pinpoint just what exactly this thing is. I opened up the book and flipped through the pages, what I thought would be a quick read turned to just me turning pages for minutes on end, I was starting to get skeptical, surely at least one explorer discovered this place already. I pulled out an atlas from a nearby bookshelf as well as a map from my drawer and yet, nothing, not even a single reference. I scratched my head, confused at my sudden revelation. Is the folklore on to something? No, it can't be, those are nothing but myths and made up stories, either it's been forgotten through the passage of time or this is a new discovery.

"... According to rough estimates, this temple seems to be between fifty thousand to sixty thousand years old, potentially older..."

What the... that's older than the oldest civilization on record. This is a major breakthrough, a missing piece of history! But, my excitement quickly dwindled down, I shouldn't get ahead of myself, I have bigger problems at hand that need to be taken care of first. I took a deep breath to refresh my brain before continuing, this is more substantial than I thought.

"... As we approached the entrance we spotted writings on the wall, the writings resemble no known ancient languages but we suspect it to be a variant of those. The interior of the temple contains twelve columns, a podium in the middle, and multiple wall paintings that cover the interior..."

Along with the papers, the document also includes pictures which I place on a cork board on the wall. The wall paintings are surprisingly well preserved with minimal damage to the paint and structure. Very strange, very unnatural, you'd think with a temple this old would be covered in dust or worse completely chipped away, but according to this picture, the temple is no dirtier than an attic or a basement. This definitely needs some research on its own, but I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself just yet. Anyways, the mural on the wall seems to depict normal daily lives of the common people back then; wake up, work on the field, feed the livestock, eat, so on and so forth, before finally sleeping and the cycle continues. Nothing really notable that deserves a deeper look. Now then, the pillars, a note beside the photo that dictates that along with the very intricate designs, each of the pillars are carved with numbers one through twelve, weird, but not that important so I simply shrugged it off. I moved on to the next photo and it immediately piqued my interest, the photo contains a podium presumably where the pocket watch once was, but it was the thing behind it that captured my attention.