Chapter 4 — Doubt
1510 Words
Jiha stood by the window.
The wasteland stretched beyond Zenteia's walls, empty and lifeless beneath the distant sky.
She had been staring at it for several minutes.
Maybe longer.
A soft knock came from the door.
Jiha turned.
Before she could answer, the door opened slightly.
A familiar face appeared.
“Jiha?”
Her expression immediately softened.
“Karim.”
The boy stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
Jiha smiled.
It was different from the polite smile she gave the elders.
This one was real.
Karim noticed.
He always did.
He was her only true friend in Zenteia.
The only person she could speak to without carefully measuring every word.
Karim walked closer.
“You've been staring outside again.”
Jiha looked back toward the window.
“Maybe.”
Karim sighed.
Then his expression became more serious.
“Are you ready?”
Jiha knew what he meant.
She looked at him.
“For the offering?”
“Yes.”
Jiha smiled faintly.
“Yes.”
Karim didn't smile back.
There was sadness in her eyes.
She tried to hide it.
She wasn't very good at it.
“You don't have to do this,” he said.
Jiha's expression changed.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Karim stepped closer.
“You don't have to let them do this.”
Jiha stared at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she quietly asked,
“And forsake Aquaria?”
Karim's jaw tightened.
He looked away.
“You always say that.”
“Because it's true.”
“Is it?”
Jiha's eyes narrowed slightly.
Karim clenched his teeth.
“Have you been thinking about the outsiide world again?”
Jiha didn't answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
She turned toward the window.
“I know what the doctrine says.”
Karim remained silent.
“I know that questioning Zenteia's teachinngs is considered wrong.”
She placed a hand against the glass.
“But I want to know.”
Karim looked at her.
“Know what?”
“What's actually out there.”
Her voice was quiet.
“But you've seen the wasteland.”
“From here.”
Jiha turned around.
“That's different.”
Karim frowned.
“How?”
“Because I've never been allowed to see it myself.”
She walked away from the window.
“All I've ever been told is that Aquaria brought her divine fury down upon Earth and erased all of man…”
She paused.
“…and only the children of Zenteia remained.”
Karim's expression hardened.
Jiha looked directly at him.
“But how do we know that's true, Karim?”
Silence.
Karim opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Jiha watched him.
He had no answer.
Neither did she.
After a few seconds, Karim lowered his eyes.
“I don't know.”
Jiha smiled sadly.
“At least you're honest.”
Karim looked back at her.
“You know what happened to your parents.”
Jiha's smile disappeared.
“They left.”
“To explore the outside world and never came back”
“Yes.”
“You don't think that's strange?”
“Of course I do.”
Jiha looked down.
“They abandoned me.”
Her voice became quieter.
“But…”
She stopped.
Karim waited.
Jiha swallowed.
“The church accepted me.”
She looked around the room.
“They raised me. Gave me somewhere to live. Gave me food. They taugght me everything I know.”
Her fingers curled slightly.
“I am grateful for that.”
Karim nodded.
“But…”
Jiha stopped herself.
Karim studied her face.
He knew there was more.
“Jiha.”
She looked at him.
“You can say it.”
Jiha remained silent.
Then she looked back toward the wasteland.
“I just…”
Her voice faded.
She didn't finish.
Karim didn't force her.
He already understood.
She wanted to see the world.
And in two days, that might never happen again
---
A few hundred meters beneath Zenteia..
Luo had been walking for what felt like forever.
He wasn't entirely sure how long it had been.
There were no clocks down here.
No sunlight.
No windows.
No useful landmarks.
Just stone.
Stone.
More stone.
And the occasional puddle of suspicious green liquid.
Luo stepped around one.
He looked at his communicator.
The screen remained cracked and completely lifeless.
He tapped it.
Nothing.
He tapped it again.
Still nothing.
“Stupid couch.”
He shoved it back into his pocket.
Then stopped.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
“Wait.”
Luo looked around.
“Damn, it's been over thirty-two hours since I've seen Len.”
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
He continued walking.
“I'm so happy.”
He paused.
“no wonder its so peaceful.”
There was nobody around to argue with him.
Nobody telling him to hurry.
Nobody complaining.
Nobody asking stupid questions.
Luo sighed happily.
“This is nice.”
He walked another few steps.
“…I might never leave.”
He stopped.
“Actually, I should probably leave.”
He continued.
About forty minutes passed without a single sign of life.
No animals.
No people.
Not even insects.
Luo began wondering whether the underground tunnel was actually abandoned.
Then he noticed something on the wall.
He stopped.
A symbol had been carved into the stone.
Luo stepped closer.
His eyes narrowed.
It was old.
Very old.
The lines formed a strange yet familiar geometric pattern.
He ran his fingers across the carving.
“Where have I seen this before?”
He studied it again.
Then it clicked.
“Ah.”
He snapped his fingers.
“I found this symbol in a book in some library back at Omnitem.”
He stared at it.
“The author had a weird nname…”
He frowned.
“…I've Forgotten it.”
Luo scratched his head.
“Its the symbol for the Zenata faction…”
He paused.
“I think.”
He looked at the symbol again.
“Yeah. Probably.”
Luo stepped back.
There was something strange about finding an ancient faction symbol this deep underground.
But his curiosity wasn't enough to make him turn around.
Besides—
He'd already come too far.
Way too far
“Whatever.”
He continued down the passage.
---
A faint sound reached Luo's ears.
Footsteps.
He stopped.
Three figures appeared around the corner.
They wore Zenteia's clothing and carried spears.
Obviously, they were guards.
Luo immediately recognized them.
“Ah.”
The guards saw him.
Their eyes widened.
One of them shouted.
“Stop there scum!!”
Luo raised both hands.
“Okay..."
He frowned
"Wait a sec, who're you calling scum?"
The guard charged.
Luo stared at his stance.
Then calmly stepped to the side.
The spear passed harmlessly beside him.
Luo looked over his shoulder.
“You're in the wrong position SCUM!!.”
The guard stumbled.
“huh?”
The other two attacked together.
Luo ducked.
Two spearheads passed above his head.
He grabbed one shaft with Stormbreaker.
The glove's magnetic mechanism activated.
The spear jerked violently sideways.
The guard lost his grip.
Luo redirected the second spear into the first.
CLANG!
Both guards staggered.
Luo smiled.
“Teamwork kinda needs work.”
One guard swung at him.
Luo raised Stormbreaker.
Electricity crackled across the glove.
ZZZT!
The guard's body stiffened.
He dropped.
The second guard tried to recover.
Another burst of electricity sent him crashing against the wall.
Luo turned.
The final guard was already charging.
“Seriously?”
The guard thrust his spear.
Luo stepped backward.
Then looked at Stormbreaker.
The device flickered.
Luo smiled.
“Perfect.”
He activated the magnetic function.
The force yanked him forward.
The distance between them disappeared instantly.
Luo drove his fist into the guard's stomach.
THUD!
The guard folded.
Luo released him.
He collapsed onto the floor.
Luo looked down proudly.
“Hehe,be happy you were beaten by a genius.”
The guard groaned.
His fingers curled around his stomach.
“How dare you…”
Luo raised an eyebrow.
The guard struggled to speak.
“You trespass on sacred ground…”
Luo's smile faded slightly.
“You will be shown the wrath of Aquaria…”
The guard coughed.
“…and her children in Zenteia.”
Luo froze.
“Zenteia?”
He scratched his head.
“Nah.”
He looked genuinely confused.
“I'm pretty sure it was Zenata.”
The guard stared at him.
Luo stared back.
Neither moved.
Then Luo shrugged.
“Whatever.”
He turned away.
But after taking a few steps, he stopped.
His expression changed.
He remembered something.
The water.
The underground current.
That brief glimpse he'd gotten before entering the tunnels.
The massive settlement.
And in its center—
That lake.
Crystal clear.
Perfectly still.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
And geographiccally wrong.
Luo slowly smiled.
He turned his head toward the passage ahead.
“Now…”
His eyes narrowed with curiosity.
“What's up with that lake of yours?”
He walked deeper into the tunnels.
Behind him, the three guards remained scattered across the floor.
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