The Return of the Gods (Children of the Sun Book 1)

Chapter 12

"What original tunnels?" Kaleth inquired as he followed Mel through yet another featureless white corridor. The air was much heavier here, for some reason.

"There used to be a prison for, um, people like me here. Or I guess there still is, but this one is much older. Relioth built it a few centuries ago. I've never been here myself, but no one ever got out of here."

Mel's smile faded when he said this.

Something was bothering Kaleth about this, besides the obvious. Sure, he didn't have extensive knowledge when it came to mythology, but he knew some parts of it. If Relioth was this old and as important as he seemed, it was odd that Kaleth wouldn't remember hearing anything about him.

"So, um, how old are you?" Kaleth asked Mel. He would guess that Mel was younger than Relioth, but that didn't narrow it down.

"I...I don't know anymore," the Eternal replied, his shoulders sagging a bit, as he turned to look at Kaleth. "I think something over four hundred."

"So, I'm guessing that we don't age slowly because we, in fact, don't age at all, correct?"

"Yeah."

At least Kaleth assumed it worked like this for him as well, but with how Relioth had kept going on about him being different, maybe it didn't. And he had no idea how to tell if the life he remembered was actually real or just a fabrication. Or was that what Relioth had meant? That Kaleth had been born thirty-nine years ago with these powers, which made him different?

"Okay, I think this will get us to Carcer," said Mel, pointing at a circle of metal that was on the ground. The corridor ended here—there was just the door. There didn't seem to be any way to open the circle, no matter how much Kaleth studied it and its surroundings.

"I think I can open it," Mel informed him and stretched out his hand. The metal creaked and slid away, revealing a dark hole. Kaleth raised an eyebrow at Mel for moving such a heavy-looking object without touching it. Kaleth could barely raise a pencil like this.

"Oh. Thank you," he said, and the Eternal grinned. Kaleth smiled back, before turning on the two flashlights that were built into the goggles and sticking his head into the hole in the floor. Normally, he would have just used night vision, but this model didn't have that yet. In fact, it was barely more than a prototype.

All he could see was yet another corridor, but this one wasn't white and sterile—pretty much the opposite. The walls were made of stone, as was the floor. The air smelled much fresher, though. He hoped that meant they were on the right track.

"Be careful. I have no idea what might still be down there," Mel told him, his eyes full of worry. It was kind of touching that the Eternal was worried about him. He smiled at Mel again and jumped into the old tunnel under them.

It was a short fall, but he was once again reminded that the shoes he was wearing were less than ideal for this. It was completely dark, but fortunately, the light from the goggles was very strong, so he could see quite far ahead of him. Not far enough to help Kaleth relax though.

He took a few steps further into the tunnel, so Mel could join him. It was only then that he noticed that the Eternal's eyes were dimly glowing with a light blue light.

Realizing he was staring, he looked behind Mel instead to hide it. There was just the end of the tunnel that looked the same as the rest of it—jagged rocks, moss, lichen, and slime. Kaleth wondered how long the tunnel was since it must have been made with pickaxes if it truly was several centuries old. He also wondered how it was possible he had never heard about something like this being built.

"There is only one direction we can take, it appears," he said and needlessly gestured to the darkness in front of him as he turned around again and studied the walls. He was feeling a bit paranoid after what Mel had said. This had been a prison for Mel's kind, and if they truly were immortal, it was theoretically possible that some of them might still be here. And if they had been stuck here for so many years.... He probably shouldn't think about that too much.