Mortuus stepped forward into the brush.
Standing before him was the mouth of a cave, which, from its jagged points, resembled the jaws of a beast. It was tremendous and strangely beautiful, but it was also very ominous.
The opening was probably only a foot taller than Mortuus, and its rough edges could have been more admirable. What made it creepy was the cold and visible mist it expelled.
The day was sweaty, yet thick icicles lined the walls. Even just standing in front of the cold cave, Mortuus could see his breath. The journal had said it was chilly in the cave, but this was ridiculous.
"This must be the Cave of Souls," Mortuus exclaimed. Even he was uneasy from the creepiness of the cave. Was this really worth it? Yes, he decided. Anything was worth it to not become like Micheal.
"This is as far as I go, Mortuus. Angels cannot enter the Cave of Souls." Death reminded him.
"Why not, Death?" Mortuus inquired.
"The Cave of Souls is lined with salt mines and peyote," Death said, staring into the cave's mouth with a nervous expression.
Mortuus nodded, knowing he would have to go it alone. He had read in Mordecai's journal that peyote was a natural repellant of the supernatural. And everyone knew salt was harmful to those with dark energy.
He stepped forward into the cave. The stabbing, chilled air did nothing to stop him. He probably would have turned back if not for his dead nerves.
He continued walking down the cave tunnel, ice forming on his limbs as he moved farther from the opening. The light was dying more, and the air was only getting colder as he got farther from the entrance.
Most people would have turned back from the darkness, but Mortuus had never been affected by the dark. He felt safe in the night because no one could see his deformities when he was in the dark.
He could still see as if it were day. It was usually a fruitless gift, but this was a most helpful talent, with his vision seemingly useless.
Mortuus crept along through the chilly tunnel, stopping as he neared the end. He grabbed onto a rock. It seemed that long ago, someone had sealed it shut.
He could see the light shining behind it. Mortuus tugged on it, the rock breaking out of place. He brushed dirt away with his hand.
He grabbed the dirt and began breaking off large chunks. The soil fell onto his boots as he revealed a cavity in the wall.
Mortuus backed up and looked at his progress. He looked down at his wrapped hand. It was covered in a thick layer of ice.
Mortuus cracked his fingers as he made a fist. Ice fell as he lifted his clenched hand and pounded it against the stones.
Instantly, the rock crumbled and fell to pieces at his feet. Mortuus shook the rock dust from his hand and pushed broken slabs aside.
Nothing could have prepared him for the beauty of what was behind the sealed entrance.
A spacious cavern with such beauty, it would make Aphrodite jealous. From the roof of the cave, light shone through crystals that made strange light patterns on the walls around it.
Icicles big enough to be glaciers lined the walls while giant thick vines climbed their sides like snakes. Flowers, some the size of Mortuus's head, scored the vines.
Large jewels, all along the walls and piercing the glaciers, were. The crystals, glowing like stars on the most transparent nights, ranged in color from dull greyish to vibrant yellow hex with specks of pink magenta.
A sizeable glowing river snaked through the cavern, its water so clear it was practically invisible. If it weren't for the fish and vibrant sea grass at the bottom, Mortuus would have never noticed the water.
"H... how?" Mortuus was in absolute shock. He never expected the Cave of Souls to be so gorgeous. He was expecting a shabby cave with maybe a cauldron of stone if anything. He definitely wasn't expecting this.
The only offputting thing was the unintelligible sound of voices speaking in unison. Mortuus stepped forward slowly.
As he neared the river, a voice seemed to stand out amongst the possible millions of voices that spoke. It was a man's voice that seemed to call to him. There was something familiar about it, but he wasn't sure for what reason.
Mortuus kneeled in front of the river and bowed his head. He had no idea why, but something inside him urged him to do so. With his eyes shut tightly, he bowed in respect to the river.
He lifted his head and looked into the river, still kneeling. Mortuus watched thousands, if not millions, of Koi swim about in the crystal river. Their scales were glowing dimly and resembled granite.
A small Koi slowly swam closer to him, its scales glowing blue. Mortuus slowly reached down and grabbed onto the fish. It wasn't slimy like fish usually are. Instead, it was smooth and cool, almost like it really was made of stone.
He gently lifted it from the water. It seemed dazed, and instead of swimming away, it remained still.
As the fish broke the water's surface, it formed into a giant crystal heart. Mortuus dropped it in shock, and it immediately returned to being a Koi.
"What the hell?!" Mortuus exclaimed, confused by what had happened. It was a fish, but somehow, he held a stone heart.
The fish was simply floating there, unbothered. It was completely unaware of what happened, and as far as it knew, nothing happened.
He reached down again and pulled it out. Mortuus twirled it in his hands. The fish had disappeared instantly and was now a heart again.
"What are you?" Mortuus asked as if expecting a response. As he looked at the stone, his mind wandered.
It suddenly began glowing bright red like an ember.
"Red?" as Mortuus spoke, the ground vanished, and he was gone.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEEBztVjws
