He raised a finger.
Venti: "First possibility":
"It's an extremely territorial creature."
Arthur: "Like... a dog protecting its home?"
Venti: "Exactly."
"We unknowingly entered its territory."
"To it, we were an immediate threat."
Arthur nodded slowly.
Arthur: "That would explain why it suddenly emerged from the sand... as if it was already surveying the area."
Venti: "Yes."
"And the magma crater in the center of the cavern... it looked like a focal point."
"Perhaps its nest."
"Or its territory."
They moved forward, the tunnel widening slightly before narrowing again.
Venti raised a second finger.
Venti: "Second possibility":
"He hates humans."
Arthur blinked.
Arthur: "Animals can hate people?"
Venti: "Not out of hatred like we do."
"But from experience."
"If he's already been attacked, chased, injured by humans... he can associate our presence with danger."
Arthur lowered his head slightly.
Arthur: "Like when a dog is afraid after being hit..."
Venti: "Exactly."
This thought left a bitter taste in Venti's mouth.
How many creatures had been transformed into monsters simply because of humans?
He raised a third finger.
Venti: "Third possibility":
"He's a carnivore... and we looked like prey."
Arthur swallowed.
Arthur: "He wanted to eat us?"
Venti: "Maybe."
"But something doesn't add up."
Arthur: "What?"
Venti: "If he was hunting for food, he would have attacked quickly, without letting us escape for so long."
"Here, he seemed more intent on crushing us, eliminating us."
Arthur nodded thoughtfully.
Arthur: "Yes... he wasn't trying to catch us."
"He was destroying us."
Venti raised a fourth finger.
Venti: "Fourth possibility: he doesn't like people getting close to him."
"Not necessarily his entire territory, but him directly."
Arthur: "Like someone who doesn't like people entering their personal space?"
Venti: "Exactly."
"Some creatures react violently to proximity."
He lowered his hand, his gaze lost in the bluish reflections of the seaweed.
Venti: "But even then… something's not right."
Arthur: "Because we didn't approach him intentionally?"
Venti: "Yes."
"He was hiding."
"We didn't even know he was there."
They walked a few dozen more meters.
The crabs were becoming less frequented here, as if this area were less populated.
Venti continued, more slowly.
Venti: "Fifth possibility… and the one that bothers me the most."
Arthur: "Which one?"
Venti: "Perhaps the other crabs... those we saw carrying seaweed and shells... are his children."
Arthur stopped dead in his tracks.
Arthur: "His… children?"
Venti stopped too.
Venti: "Think about it."
"An organized colony."
"Constant comings and goings."
"Food transported to a central area."
"And him… immense, powerful, hidden beneath the sand, emerging the moment two strangers appeared."
Arthur's eyes widened.
Arthur: "So… he was trying to protect them?"
Venti: "It's possible."
"Very possible."
Arthur remained silent for a few seconds, then whispered:
Arthur: "So… we were the bad guys?"
Venti gently placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Venti: "No. We didn't know."
"And we didn't hurt any of the little crabs."
Arthur nodded, somewhat reassured.
They resumed their walk.
After a moment, Arthur wrinkled his nose.
Arthur: "I have another idea."
Venti: "I'm listening."
Arthur: "What if... the giant crab had rabies?"
Author's Note: This is a message for young people and for people who have pets.
Rabies is a transmissible disease in animals.
It is a virus transmitted through scratches or bites, causing the following reactions in animals:
- Brain dysfunction
- Ataxia
- Muscle weakness
- Difficulty breathing and swallowing
- Excessive salivation
- Abnormal behavior
- Aggression and/or self-mutilation
The best approach to prevent rabies in dogs and other animals is vaccination, but still be careful.
Thank you for your attention.
Venti blinked in surprise.
Venti: "Rabies?"
Arthur: "Yes!"
"Animals become..." "Crazy, right?"
"They attack anything that moves, even for no reason."
Venti remained silent for a moment.
Venti: "It's not impossible."
"A disease, corruption, a poorly treated injury..."
He thought back to the orange orb embedded in one of the monster's claws. To the unstable energy he had sensed.
Venti: "But if it was sick... why didn't the other crabs seem affected?"
Arthur: "Maybe it's the only one that caught it."
Venti: "Maybe."
They exchanged a glance, then continued onward.
Silence fell again, broken only by the sound of their footsteps and the distant flow of water.
Finally, Venti sighed softly.
Venti: "We've considered many possibilities... but none provides a definitive answer." "
Arthur: "So… we'll never know?"
Venti smiled faintly.
Venti: "Sometimes, in this world, we don't know the truth."
"We survive… and that's all."
Arthur nodded, accepting this answer with surprising maturity.
Arthur: "As long as we made it out alive… that's already something."
Venti looked at the boy, then at the gallery ahead.
Venti: "Yes. And as long as we keep moving forward… there's hope."
They continued on their way, leaving unanswered questions behind, aware that some truths would remain forever buried deep within the cavern… alongside the Emperor of Fire and Iron.
The gallery suddenly seemed different.
Until now, the cave had been nothing but a tangle of sand, luminous algae, and natural formations sculpted by water and time.
But now, something was breaking this silent harmony.
Something that was anything but natural.
Venti instinctively slowed his pace.
Venti: "................"
A few meters ahead, stretched out on the damp sand, lay a dull-looking brown alga, almost desiccated.
Unlike the others, it didn't shine.
It was motionless, rigid, and above all… it didn't really look like algae.
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
Arthur: "That's strange… that one isn't moving at all."
Venti crouched down and examined the object more closely.
The more he stared at this "alga," the more his unease grew.
He reached out, hesitated for a fraction of a second, then grasped it between his fingers.
The texture immediately confirmed his intuition.
Venti: "It's not seaweed."
He gently pulled on it, freeing the object from the sand.
A thick, worn rope, frayed in places, was fully revealed before their eyes.
Twisted fibers, clearly worked by human hands.
Arthur's eyes widened.
Arthur: "A… rope?"
Venti: "Yes."
He slowly straightened up, still holding the rope.
His gaze swept around the cavern, as if he were seeing it from a new perspective for the first time.
Venti: "This kind of rope doesn't make itself."
"And certainly not here."
Arthur: "But… how could a rope have ended up in such a deep cave?"
The question hung in the air.
Venti took a few steps forward, scanning the floor, the walls, the dark corners.
His instinct screamed at him that this discovery was not insignificant.
Arthur, meanwhile, looked around with a new, more nervous focus.
Arthur: 'Venti… look over there.'
Venti turned in the direction he indicated.
A few meters from the rope, half-buried in the sand, lay a wooden plank.
It was split in two, blackened by damp and time, but undeniably hewn by man.
A plank that had been part of something bigger… a crate, a boat, or perhaps scaffolding.
And right next to it.
An axe.
The handle was dark wood, eaten away by water, but the blade, though tarnished, retained a clean shape.
It was embedded in the sand, as if someone had dropped it in haste… or never had the chance to retrieve it.
Venti's heart sank.
He felt that familiar, chilling sensation creep up his spine.
The same premonition he had felt before. Some battles. Before certain catastrophes.
Venti: "...This isn't good."
Arthur swallowed hard.
Arthur: "That means there have been people here before, right?"
Venti: "Yes."
He slowly approached the axe, without touching it, analyzing every detail.
Venti: "And not centuries ago."
"The wood isn't degraded enough."
"The rope isn't fossilized."
"These objects aren't ancient."
Arthur: "Then... where are they?"
The question was simple.
And terrifying.
Venti didn't answer right away.
He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Inside him, something stirred.
A familiar, fluid energy, light.
FFFFFffffffffff
When he opened his eyes again, a bow materialized in his hands, a simple wooden bow.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFfffffffffffffffffff
The wind around him seemed to change, as if he were becoming attentive.
Arthur took a step back without even realizing it.
Venti turned to him, his expression suddenly serious, devoid of his usual lightheartedness.
Venti: "Arthur."
Arthur immediately straightened up.
Arthur: "Yes?"
Venti knelt slightly to be at his level, keeping his bow ready.
Venti: "From now on, stay behind me."
Arthur: "Okay..."
Venti: "Don't wander off."
"Don't make any unnecessary noise."
"And whatever happens... you're listening to me."
Arthur nodded briskly.
Arthur: "I promise."
Venti stood up and instinctively positioned himself in front of him, his body slightly inclined, ready to react to the slightest threat.
Venti: "We're not alone."
Arthur felt a shiver run down his spine.
Arthur: "You mean... monsters?"
Venti shook his head slowly.
Venti: "No."
He glanced one last time at the rope, the broken plank, the abandoned axe.
Venti: "We're not the only humans here."
The silence that followed was heavy, almost suffocating.
Every shadow suddenly seemed denser.
Every sound of water echoed like a footstep.
Even the luminous seaweed seemed less reassuring. casting ominous reflections on the walls.
Arthur instinctively moved closer to Venti.
Arthur: "Do you think they're still here?"
Venti: "I don't know."
He took a step forward, his bow still raised, slowly scanning the cavern.
Venti:"But someone has survived here long enough to use tools. To chop wood. To carry equipment."
Arthur: "And if they... are watching us?"
Venti felt his fingers tighten on his bow.
Venti: "Then they've already figured out we're not easy prey."
He advanced cautiously, each step calculated, each breath controlled.
The wind around him seemed to whisper, as if trying to convey information he didn't yet fully understand.
The cave was no longer just an unknown place.
It had become shared territory.
For the next few minutes, their progress became slow, almost ceremonial.
Venti led the way, each step measured, his body leaning slightly forward.
His bow was already formed in his hands, the invisible string taut, ready to release an arrow at the slightest suspicious movement.
FFFFFFFffffffffff
The wind around him seemed held back, as if awaiting a command. His eyes scanned every corner, every shadow cast by the luminous seaweed clinging to the walls.
Arthur walked behind him, less than a meter away.
The little boy tried to synchronize his breathing with Venti's, but his heart was beating too fast.
His hands were clenched against his chest, and he was careful to place his feet exactly where Venti had just passed, avoiding puddles and shells that might betray their presence with a sharp crack.
The silence of the cave was not absolute.
There was always this background noise:
- The dripping of water
- The gently undulating seaweed
- Sometimes the distant scratching of a crab against the rock.
But nothing resembling a human presence.
Until it happened.
???: "hahahahahaha."
A distant howl, shattering the calm.
Arthur jumped violently.
Arthur: "…"
Venti stopped dead and immediately raised his fist, the universal signal to halt any advance.
A second cry rang out, just as high-pitched, but different.
It wasn't a cry of animal pain.
It was human.
All too human.
Arthur felt his throat tighten.
Arthur: "It sounds like… people screaming…"
Venti didn't have time to reply.
A third sound was heard, but this time it wasn't a howl.
It was laughter.
Hoarse, loud, almost mocking.
Then another laugh answered it, deeper.
Venti immediately put a finger to his lips.
Venti: "Shh."
Arthur nodded silently, his eyes wide.
They resumed their walk, even slower than before.
Venti was now walking almost on tiptoe, using the sand to muffle his footsteps.
As they approached, the voices became clearer.
The voices of grown men.
???: "We're going to make a fortune with this."
Arthur felt a shiver run down his spine.
???: "You can say that again."
"We find them everywhere in this cave."
Venti gritted his teeth.
A fortune… The word itself was anything but reassuring.
He gestured to Arthur to stay put, then took a few more steps, enough to pinpoint the source of the voices.
Before them lay another cavern, smaller than the previous one, but just as unsettling.
The floor was covered in packed sand, marked by numerous boot prints.
The walls and ceiling were carpeted with seaweed, some luminous, others dull, and broken shells, as if someone had torn them up carelessly.
Venti pressed himself against a rock face and peered discreetly inside.
In the center of the cavern, several men stood huddled together:
- They wore thick clothing, reinforced in places with leather and metal.
- Some had dirty cloaks, others improvised armor.
Their faces were etched with fatigue, but also with an unhealthy sense of satisfaction.
They were laughing.
Around them were cages.
Cages made of crudely welded metal, some rusty, others still sturdy.
A few were empty, abandoned to one side.
But others… were occupied.
Arthur put a hand to his mouth to stifle a gasp of horror.
Inside the cages were crabs.
Of all sizes.
Small ones, huddled together.
Larger ones, sometimes rapping against the bars with their claws, producing a sharp, metallic sound.
Some still carried seaweed or pieces of shell, as if they had been caught in the act of feeding.
Arthur: "…They locked them up…"
Venti felt a cold anger rising within him.
Crabs might not be intelligent creatures in the human sense, but they were part of this ecosystem.
And above all… he remembered the Emperor of Fire and Iron.
Venti: They're not just passing through… they're plundering.
One of the men kicked an empty cage, sending it sliding across the sand.
???: "If we bring all this up, we'll be rich."
"The shells, the claws, the orbs… everything sells."
???: "Yeah, and if we find a bigger one, even better."
Arthur paled.
Arthur: "Maybe they're talking about… the big crab…"
Venti gently placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to reassure him, without taking his eyes off the scene.
Venti: "Yes."
He understood now.
The ropes.
The broken plank.
The axe.
These men had been exploiting the cave for some time.
They captured the crabs, destroyed their environment… and it was highly likely that the Emperor of Fire and Iron hadn't attacked by chance.
Venti: "Territorial… protective…"
Everything was starting to make sense.
The men continued to laugh, oblivious to the presence of two pairs of eyes hidden in the shadows.
One of them crouched near a cage and struck it with a stick.
???: "Come on, calm down."
"Soon you'll be in pieces."
Arthur clenched his fist, trembling.
Arthur: "Venti… they're bad…"
Venti closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, determined.
Venti: "Yes."
"And dangerous."
He readjusted his grip on his bow, the wind around him growing stronger, almost impatient.
Venti: "I can't face them head-on."
"Not here."
"Not with Arthur."
But one thing was certain: these men posed a far greater threat than the creature they had fled from.
And now, Venti knew exactly who had turned this cavern into a living hell for its inhabitants.
Chapter 52: A rope and an axe
The End