Crown

2. Tiwanaku

"Why do I have a sinking feeling that you've forgotten your climbing gear on purpose?"

Seonghwa giggled, digging his fingers deeper into the earth covering the steep cliff he was dangerously hanging on. His feet immediately found footing again as he carefully moved to the right.

"How did you know? You don't get it, Sannie. This is like going up a set of stairs, only far less boring. Why would you need to use a gear for climbing the stairs?" Seonghwa turned to look out over the ocean of clouds beneath him. The ground was way too far to see still, and the white fluff underneath was reaching into an unknown distance.

"I prefer the good ol' house stairs. Also, stop looking down, I'm getting queasy," San murmured with an exaggerated gagging sound. Seonghwa smiled to himself before angling his head back up. The camera on his comm followed, easing the picture San received. Seonghwa could hear him murmur a quiet thanks.

Seonghwa reached out again with his gloved fingers, grabbing onto another edge while taking care where he stepped. His heavy boots found secure footing on the steep wall, but the stone above didn't support his weight.

Seonghwa felt it get loose before abruptly breaking off. He reacted quickly, and twisted his body away, letting go with his left hand. The rock tumbled down right where his torso had been a moment ago. Remembering San, Seonghwa didn't watch it fall into the depths before reaching for another edge again.

San made a little unsure noise.

"You worry too much.", Seonghwa commented dryly before he put all of his strength in his feet, and jumped off. His fingers reached for the edge above, grabbing onto it safely. He balanced his weight and made sure nothing would break away this time. He could see what had his friend worried so much, but at the same time, the rush and adrenaline of the situation were too intense for him to take his gear with him. Where was the fun with that?

"Oh, hey, Yeosang is back. Yeo, grab a headset. Let's watch Hwa die together," San murmured through Seonghwa's headset, and a rustling sound was heard as he set up the new connection for Yeosang, who was just sitting down.

"Back so early? How was your trip to Venice? Rain?" Seonghwa turned to watch at the platform underneath. With a bit of effort, he would manage to grab onto the outmost rocks.

"Yeah, rain. We decided on Rome last minute. I came back early when San told me about your newest bad idea," Yeosang's deep and rich voice replied smoothly. Seonghwa had to chuckle.

"Sweet."

"So what are you doing in Bolivia?"

Seonghwa smiled to himself before he let go altogether. San audibly gritted his teeth to hold his protests back when Seonghwa flew down into the endless sea of white. Yeosang gave a little distressed whine.

Seonghwa dropped a few meters down before grabbing onto the edge he had correctly calculated. His shoulder protested as a sharp jerk travelled through it, then he used the other hand to reach for it too. Safely, he hung on the cliff without anything beneath his feet.

"Ascending."

With that, Seonghwa pulled himself up to elegantly swing onto the platform. He looked out over the labyrinth of boulders and walls that led further over the mountain he was standing on.

"Yeosang, meet Tiwanaku. A lovely pre-Incan civilisation that's currently in ruins."

Yeosang barely managed to speak from the shock. Instead of a full reply, he just choked out a quick 'Delighted' before falling silent again.

Seonghwa chuckled at him before dusting his gloves off and looking around. He would need to scale the rocks to his right to get further behind. Right in front of him, there was also a streaming waterfall decorating the stone. From the looks of it, it was leading to a little lake on this level.