Hao. The Awakening of the Chosen (Finish)

Chapter 7.2

Viktor and Lua finally set off towards the prison. Viktor had a secret door in his room that led to the city's tunnels. To access it, they had to move aside the round rug located in the center of the room. Upon removing it, they found a round hole a meter wide with no visible end, it was too dark to see. Lua bravely jumped in first, without any fear, and without warning, she leaped while shouting with joy. After hearing Lua for fifteen seconds, Viktor gathered the courage and followed suit, though he didn't shout anything.

Upon reaching the bottom, I realized we were floating on water, and Lua was beside me.

"Shall we go down?" she asked.

"I don't know, it doesn't seem very safe," I replied.

"You made these suits for a reason, to dive, right?"

"True, but I'm also a bit scared."

"Don't worry, silly. We'll go together; nothing can happen."

"Okay."

We both submerged, starting to descend deeper and deeper until my hands began to numb from exhaustion and the coldness of the water.

When I realized I had drifted too far from Lua, a column forced me to veer left, separating me even more until suddenly I noticed I couldn't see her anymore. At first, I wasn't worried because the tunnel was straight, so she must have gone faster than me. After several minutes following the current, I started to get nervous as I couldn't see the end of the tunnel.

Unexpectedly, the tunnel opened into a waterfall, at the bottom of which awaited some unsettling beings. Suddenly and without warning, I plummeted through the current over the waterfall. It propelled me in such a way that I remained floating for several seconds, which gave me time to glance at the bottom where there were huts made from recycled metals, I suspected. By their shape and location, I feared the worst - they were the Lurkers of Light, comprised of several tribes living in the deepest part of the planet, rumored to be cannibals.

As I landed at the bottom, I tried to swim away from them, but it was futile. Homemade fishing nets trapped me, making it impossible for me to escape.

"Stop moving, kid," said a voice.

"It's useless, you won't be able to escape," said another voice.

"We won't hurt you, we just want to help you."

Finally, I stopped moving, tired. It was pointless trying to free myself from the nets.

As I got out of the water, I saw three men, all dressed in primitive robes and wearing animal skulls on their heads. The man closest to me introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Kaki, leader of the Lurkers of Light tribes. And who are you?"

"Hello, I'm Viktor. Are you going to kill me?"

"Welcome, Viktor. We're not going to kill you. I know on the surface you think of us as primitive cannibals, and to some extent, it's true."

I was speechless, not knowing what to say. Kaki continued his speech.

"We are worse than what is said about us. From now on, you're our guest, Viktor, brother of Lukotico, banished with the Samiz. My companion Chiro will escort you to the room that will be your home until we get tired of you and kill you. What do you think?"

Without giving me time to speak, Chiro, who had a deer skull on his head, gestured for me to follow him.

He took me to the third hut, which was quite modern inside, although it still didn't compare to the houses on the surface. Inside, each hut had a central living area branching off into several rooms: a bedroom, a lavatory, and a table for work or reading. The entire space was metallic white. Upon entering, he closed the door behind me, which seemed to only be unlockable with a security code or a card.