***Completed***
If you knew your world would soon be torched to carbon, would you fight to save it?
...Or light a match of your own?
Violina, a girl polarized by love and loathing, finds herself thrown into a post-apocalyptic world with mankind on t...
"So I was thinking," began Lux, following close behind Violina. "Why didn't we just blow up the wall at the bottom of these tunnels and use that as our entrance? It would've been a lot faster."
"The explosion would've attracted a fair bit of attention to us and they would've had plenty of time to block our escape."
Lux nodded, apparently satisfied by this answer. "Okay, good. Just as long as we didn't make it all crazy-elaborate for the sake of you getting to rappel down a cliff."
"Of course not!" Violina laughed. "That part was just a happy synchronicity."
Taking a sharp turn in the tunnel, Violina noticed something unnatural etched into the wall. It was an X enveloped by an L shape—the emblem of Kza.
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Lux's eyes widened. "Well, that's unnerving. What would Kza's emblem be doing in here? What is this place anyway?"
"It's a network of ancient mineshafts. Here, get a look at this thing." Violina set the sack with the hatchlings down and tugged on a contraption protruding from the dirt. With some effort, it pulled free.
"Some sort of mining tool?" Lux ran her finger along its edges. "It looks so high-tech and yet so—what's a good word? Artistic. Sleek. I mean it's old and encrusted with dirt but it's beautiful. Maybe it's worth something."
"Onyx and glass—just like the artifacts in the museum. Not sure why the emblem of Kza would be here, though. He lived five hundred years ago, and this is way more advanced than what was available during the Dark Ages, or even today for that matter."
"Ah, abandoned mineshafts." Lux patted the rock wall as if it were a baby panda. "If I had a mineshaft, I don't think I could ever abandon it. I mean, there's just got to be a better way!"
Violina spotted a half-buried skull. "Also curious." She cleared away some dirt, revealing neck and shoulder bones. "This ground sure is soft compared to the stone of the roof and walls. It's as if the dirt washed in from outside."
"I wonder how he died. It must've been sudden."
Violina resumed her climb. "Well, it's a mystery we can solve later, perhaps after we retire. Let's just get to our lair and decide what to do with these killer fluff-balls."
"You know, I always found archeology fascinating. It'd probably be my career choice number three, right behind veterinarian. But come to think of it, if I did that, my career would literally lie in ruins." Lux showed no sign of letting up on the puns.
They continued to trudge up the mineshaft, their energy waning as it became ever steeper. In time however, they reached the light filtering in from the exit.
Lux pushed aside the scraps of wood and rock Violina had used to camouflage the opening. "Finally!" she coughed, receiving a puff of dust to the face.
