The view was breathtaking, Adam thought, slowly preparing for another tour deep down below the surface. It’s been more than a dozen trips already, but he was still astonished by this megastructure. Ropes, lanterns, and water containers were checked multiple times as everyone understood the critical aspect of any gear failing amid transition down. It will take them hours to reach the first break-out room, where the First Camp was now established.
[101] What lurks beneath
[100] The Beginning of Two Worlds Ending
Adam was lying on the soft, comfy surface. It radiated warmth in slowly pulsing motions, mimicking the heart rate. He felt that he started to sink into the creamy texture - he knew the process was about to begin. Jaw unclenched, all muscles relaxed through the sweeping motion over the whole body, breathing becoming rare and shallow. After a while, in a dark, gloomy mist, he starts seeing dots. One at first, joined by the second one a bit later.
[009] Waiting For the Light
A thick layer of grey dust covered everything. Even with the mask on your face, the eyes were red and itchy. That tingling feeling in your throat followed you everywhere after spending some time in these tunnels. This one was going down at a relatively steep angle, so you needed to be careful when descending further down. A light in front of you suddenly disappear from the field of vision, and everyone automatically halts.
[008] The Illusion Of Time
It hurt where icy as hell surface was touching his skin. It felt like the waves of cold impulses were freely roaming through his skull. He couldn’t move at all. After a few weeks of intense sensory overload, it was hard to tell whether any of this was happening outside of his imagination. At least the flash beams were gone now, and his eyes already started to adjust to the darkness.
[007] The Omen of Faith
Long years passed by. The eternity of collective suffering. Over time, the collective became less aware of its existence, while the weak links linking its cells gradually vanished away. The world became weirdly still - at least on the surface. The only sure thing was that uneasy stillness in the air. But not for long. It took decades for the poisoned, scarred Earth to take a deep breath and start recovering, which seemed like an impossible thing to do at that time.