Lupin awoke, his head spinning, so he closed his eyes, trying his best to sit up, holding his head in his hands till the spinning stopped. When it did, he took his hands away from his eyes, blinking a few times, taking in his surroundings, expecting the sandy dunes, but finding something quite different.
He was surrounded by darkness, nothing discernible in his surroundings, only a black void. He felt off, not seeing anything unsettled him. He placed his hands on what he could feel, the floor. It felt of stone, something that should've never been in the desert, smooth as soft cloth. He pushed himself up, rising up, hitting his head on the top of the small area, cursing as he rubbed his head.
He turned all around, looking to see if he could see anything different because he was standing now, not spotting anything right away, before seeing the slightest bit of light, flickering in the darkness. It was coming farther from him, higher up in the cavern.
Lupin started his way there, reaching out with his hands to make sure he didn't bump into anything, feeling his way up the slope, the light getting closer. As he crested the top of the slope, he was presented with a large cavern, the size of a large city, full of buildings made of a charcoal black stone, torches and flames lighting the space.
Walking forward, he made his way carefully down towards the city, sliding down portions of the stone, a rock that jutted out cutting into his pants as he slid past. He looked at the tear, grateful that it missed his leg, continuing until he found himself on a plain of grass, golden and flourishing. It stood out in contrast to the dark stone he passed over before.
He reached out, grabbing a strand in his hand, pulling it out of the hard ground, bringing it to his nose. As he sniffed, he realized that it was something he had never smelled before. It had a sweet aroma, a combination of nuttiness and fruity aroma. He questioned the fruity smell because he did not see any source of it, until he looked down. At the bottom of each large group of grass, there was a small fruit, nestled deep inside.
He started to reach for it, before deciding not to, not knowing if the fruit was suitable to eat. He continued through the field of grass, navigating around the fruit, before finding himself at the edge of the city, looking up at the wall, measuring five men tall, completely circumferencing the city. He looked from left to right, spotting what looked to be a gate farther to the right, starting his trek over.
As he rounded the city wall, he peered at the wall, seeing intricate engravings covering the wall. Every available surface was engraved, full of different patterns and figures, Lupin trying to decrypt what was happening, not able to discern the intricate details. As he looked harder, he felt a spike of pain radiate behind his eyes, causing him to close his eyes, turning away from the wall and stopping in his tracks, he leaned down, holding his head in his hands. After a moment, the pain went as quick as it came, his head feeling normal again. He came back up, looking towards the wall, his head filling with pressure as he started to decipher the patterns again. He looked away, the pressure decreasing. He put things together, realizing when he strained himself to interpret the designs, he felt worse, so he decided to just look ahead as he walked to the gate, which was coming right up.
He rubbed his temples, crossing from grass to stone again, standing in front of the gate that towered over him. At both sides he saw a lever, though he didn't see anything connected to either. He walked up cautiously, pulling the left lever down. As he pushed, he realized he would need all of his strength, so he readied himself, before launching down, pulling with all of his might, feeling the lever fall, clicking into place.
As the lever came to a stop, Lupin stood back, watching as the gate started to raise, retracting up into the wall, before stopping halfway. As he watched, the gate started to fall back down, the lever raising back up. Lupin ran forward, diving under the gate as it fell back into place. He fell to the ground, coughing as he tried to catch his breath, winded from the dive.
Looking around, the city was full of homes built from the same stone. They all looked to be carved out of stone instead of built together with it, so Lupin determined they were made at the same time the cavern was carved. Each home had a distinct style, some made with large windows and tall walls, others with deep hallways and short stature. As Lupin walked through the city roads, he did not see a single person, nor any activity demonstrating anyone still lived there.
As he passed into a small courtyard, he noticed a statue, standing center, upon a dais. Carved of the same stone, it detailed a fight between two people, one throwing a punch from below, while the one above brought a knife down on them. Both figures had determined faces, no sign of fear across their stone pates, only intent to kill. Below, he saw two names listed: Faran, for the one wielding the knife, and Bountas, the one punching from below. He walked up, touching the stone, a chilling cold permeating its surface.
As he brought his hand back, he heard a creaking noise coming from the statue, causing him to step back, before seeing the stone crack, crumbling from each crack that webbed the statue's surface. Each part that fell caused an echo to circle the courtyard, revealing what looked to be skin beneath the obsidian-colored stone. After the final stone shard hit the ground, a shockwave emitted from the dais, pushing Lupin off his feet, sending him flying into a side alley, rolling to a stop, landing on his back, head throbbing.
Looking up, Lupin watched as the giants, the one called Faran, struck Bountas, slicing into his chest, a gash opening, leaking a white substance that dropped onto the square. Bountas fell to his right knee, looking up as Faran held his knife to his chest, before roaring out, his yell echoing throughout the whole city, blasting Faran into a stone home, crashing through the wall, the roof collapsing on top of him.
As Bountas stood up, his gash started to stitch itself back together, the white liquid flowing back into the wound. After only a few moments, there was nothing left of the injury, his skin clear as day, as he walked up to the house, approaching the pile of stygian stone. As he stood there, he brought back his right arm, holding it close to his body, readying his body for a strike to end the battle.
Lupin rose, walking to the end of the alleyway towards the battle, his head rounding the corner of the nearest home, watching as Bountas' arm became surrounded by a growing number of rings, each one larger than the last. As the rings reached his elbow, a white light enveloped his lower arm. Bountas punched his arm forward, shooting out a beam of light, enveloping the upper portion of rubble, blasting it back. After the white light dissipated, Lupin saw as Bountas reached down, picking rubble off of Faran, pulling his body out, his head missing, his neck a mangled mass of flesh. Bountas tossed the body into the middle of the courtyard, onto the stone dais, Faran's body flopping onto its back.
After the body came to a halt, Bountas sat down on the stone floor of the courtyard, slowly lowering his head to the ground, placing his hands under his head, facing the cavern ceiling and closing his eyes, slowly humming a strange tune. Lupin turned, walking back down the alley, before he heard something from the courtyard.