Husan gazed upwards of said ceiling, into the air well, “Hmm…how do you even climb it? Young missy, how bout we climb back where we fell?”

“Ava do not recommend it. The ravine is complex and had some lifeforms in it. Climb or fight, not both.” The young girl grabbed a random stone and began scratching some lines on the damp floor.

The old man glanced at her drawings; it looked complex all right, “Uh, why don’t we just try? Avoid such creatures too?”

“Ava can fight. Old Man Husan?” Ava stared at him with vacant eyes.

“Uh..maybe, maybe not.” The old man tried to flex some of his joints but they were still hurting, “Is this air well safe though?”

“Ava do not know.” The Post Human admitted that even she was unsure of the path up above.

Both remained silent; Husan was wracking his brain for a plan while Ava was just observing him. As Ava had implied, she could leave but Husan can’t; the old man was still somewhat injured. Leaving meant making the old man fend for himself, in a cavern full of unknowns.

As she had saved Husan once, she shouldn’t do that and instead see it until the end. This also served as good training for her, on deepening her knowledge of natives in this world. Observe their thought processes and actions in order to devise plans on handling them.

Husan recalled her interaction with Kas, “Oh young missy, you talk to animals, right? How bout go ask those bats we avoided? And maybe those many-legged creatures too?”

“Ava can try. But no promises. Not every animal is willing to talk, like Crescent Sharks.” She nodded at him as he coincidentally had a similar idea. However, he was a bit off as Ava had other idea in mind.

Husan announced another bombshell, “Hmm now I remember, these purple crystals amplify dao weapons, make them stronger or something.”

“Amplify? How?” Ava’s interest was piqued. She saw similar stuff back in Akeila’s place but she didn’t pay it much attention. The young girl was busy adapting to Kazar at that time.

Husan shook his head, “That’s all I know, young missy. This old man’s no Forgesmith, just a brewer!”

“Oh. What if these are connected to Aqua Green Lily?” Ava worked up a new plan in her mind.

Husan scratched his head, “I don’t know either but doesn’t hurt to try. So, anything this old man can help?”

“Old man Husan can bring Ava around.” She decided to place her trust in the old man, to carry out a new plan.

Husan agreed to it since he didn’t have any plan anyway, “Uh okay. While this old man can’t fight, you bet this grandfather can do it no sweat!”

“Ava expresses gratitude. We will begin soon.” The young girl extended her left palm at the old man. A blue flash washed over him in a fraction of a second, under his consciousness limit.

Shoom!

Ava had confirmed none of their pursuers from Kazar City were here, prompting her to expand her range of actions. She shifted her palm to a nearby crystalline pillar, deconstructing it and leaving some dust in its place. The young girl continued to do so at tens of other pillars here.

The old man kept mum, not overly surprised as he saw how Ava had turned rocks into stone javelins with a single kick before. She must had cultivated some kind of secret earth arts. Husan then put Ava on his shoulders as previously agreed, to visit other places of the cavern.

He wasn’t sure on why Ava wanted him to carry her around but he guessed the young girl might be planning to do something big, overextending herself to cast some great magic. The four-armed elder felt another wave of respect to her as she was willing to go so far for him.

The pair initially visited places with number of metallic veins among their walls but Husan didn’t notice anything was amiss; Ava had just placed her hands on said veins but that was it. When they reached the tunnel with a horde of bats, Ava jumped off and stomped the ground.

Crack, crack, clank!

An odd cylinder thing, made by combination of dull metal and previously seen purple crystals emerged out of the ground. What is she planning to do now? Husan determined he should just ignore such strange contraptions and instead focus on getting Ava around the cavern.

They visited a number of similar tunnels and each time Ava got off to summon such cylinders at their entrances respectively. Ava told him to also enter the place full of Aqua Green Lilies but the old man refused. The young girl got off as usual but then decided to accept his objection.

Ava progressively seemed tired, further affirming the old man’s speculation that she was assembling something grand. She got to the point where she can’t stand but she summoned those cylinders anyway. It was a big gamble; both would be defenseless until Ava can recover.

Her voice had degraded to a whisper, “This…is the last one, Old Man.”

“Don’t talk, young missy. Why go so far, for me?” Husan felt pity. She was so young yet went all out. They only been friends for a couple of weeks, not years.

Ava almost dozed off, “A…plan. Now we just…wait.”

“Wait? Wait for what? Young missy?” Husan was frightened as Ava suddenly fell in his arms, head unsteady. The young girl was still breathing albeit weak.

Husan can only hope for the best and protect her from any danger in this cavern. For once he felt powerless, unable to change anything. Nevertheless, he was still living. That’s right! Even if he cannot fight as good as her, he still had his life. He would defend her to the death.

Even until this juncture, Husan put his trust into Ava’s unknown plan. As he went to a new direction pointed by her, the path behind him changed. They morphed and twisted in real time, with some kind of protrusions. What is actually going on? What had I got myself into?

As if she knew what was on his mind, Ava whispered to him, her eyes closed, “This…is a preparation. Against chaos.”

“Chaos? Are you telling this old man that…?” The old man fell on his butt, nearly dropping Ava. Thick metallic doors emerged from the cavern walls around them and slammed shut!

The old man almost jumped but he found his right shoulder was drenched. Ava? Please, please don’t scare this old man… He carefully put Ava on the ground, her legs were wet. The old man torn open his robe, some for wiping and others to keep her warm in this cold place.

He tried to sense her pulse and was relieved that the young girl was still hanging on. A faint quake could be felt, just below his feet. Heavens! Don’t tell me she plans to blow all of these up?! The old man was out of his mind. There was no way to escape now, blocked at all sides!

He sprang into action, using his body to shield Ava for any possible falling rocks. After several tense minutes, there was nothing happening. Just a slight tremor and then it suddenly died down. I shouldn’t be surprised but… Husan was quite confused, not knowing what to do next.

“At ease, Old Man Husan. Ava is…just tired. Let Ava rest.” Her childish voice calmed the old man.

Husan backed away, “Uh…right young missy. So, uh…what’s next?”

“Wait. Wait until Ava can walk.” The young girl answered simply before seemingly fallen into deep sleep.

Husan had millions of questions in his mind but she was right; he can only wait on her. The old man thought of starting a fire but decided against it since this place didn’t seem to have any wind. He withdrew some purple crystals given by her and arranged them close to the girl.

Hopefully this works… At least the crystals were always warm and it didn’t seem appropriate for him to hug the defenseless little girl. The old man then shifted his attention to steel doors blocking their way, both in front and the back. What are we waiting for? What are these for?!

Husan sat next to a rock with glowing lichen on it while Ava was located nearby. The crystals surrounding her made her as if an immortal fairy had passed away but the old man quelled the thought. Ava is still alive! I am still alive! They continued to wait, unknown for how long.

It was an unease silence, as if all sounds in the world were eaten by something. Husan mumbled and then made poems, this stillness stifling. Even with strict rationing, he had almost run out of fruits given by Ava. He looked at her, at least the young girl was breathing.

He was at his wits’ end till a finger touched his head from behind, “Woah?! Who dares?!”

“At ease. It is done, Old Man Husan.” It turned out to be Ava, standing as if nothing was wrong.

Husan can barely hide his surprise, “Wait. You, he, what?”

As the four-armed old man was still dazed, the steel doors surrounding them parted away and disappeared into the cavern walls. Ava beckoned the old man to snap out it, leave from here. Husan’s initial imagination was correct; the cavern did turn out silent for some reason.

Fwoosh….

The sound of winds however, were present but he didn’t hear any other noises. What did this girl do? He followed Ava to a different tunnel, one that he didn’t know at all. Ava nevertheless can navigate their twist and turns as if she knew this place at the back of her hands.

She raised her hand, “Let’s stop here Old Man Husan. Ava is thankful for Old Man’s help.”

“Uhh…young missy, before that…maybe you could spare this old man some fruits?” Husan’s stomach unceremoniously grumbled. It was true they were stuck in one place for a long time.

Ava stopped in her tracks, “Ava confirms. Here are they.”

“This old man is sorry to trouble young missy.” Husan held his head low as he was deeply embarrassed. Usually you don’t see a grownup adult asking food from a child!

It was also partly due to Ava’s miscalculation as she didn’t expect the old man to eat much during initial moments of their isolation. She noted this experience, that no lifeform would be the same. Each of them has their own unique behaviors even within the same species.

The Post Human sat on the side, waiting him to finish the given provisions. Ava was thoughtful enough to also give some boiled water to the old man, lest he choke himself. It was only natural for starved people to eat as much as they can when given the chance to do so.

She got up and patted one of his free arms, “Old Man, there is no rush. Why chew too fast?”

“Cough…this old man was just trying to get stronger so I won’t drag young missy down.” Husan stopped chewing, faking a cough, “Besides, Muzaid must be crazy now, trying to look for us down here. We can’t let them wait.”

“Ava had it all planned. Let us go, Old Man.” Ava shook her head and then tugged him. The old man tried to resist but got dragged along anyway.

The young girl led the old man to particularly large space in the caverns. Where I had seen this space before…humm, wait, what?! A quarter-long zhang creature appeared in front of Husan, along with its thousands of friends from nearby holes. The old man was rendered speechless.

Ava remained nonchalant, walking forward to one of these creatures. It had a black lustrous body and tens of legs. Its pincers looked like it can snap normal adults into halves. Yes, this creature was the exact same one the pair had consciously evaded in their initial exploration.

Husan slapped his face, “Uh…. young missy…what is exactly happening?”

“Old Man Husan said to talk to animals, right? Ava did.” The young girl moved closer to them, to the largest one in the group. Smaller ones did not impede her at all but instead parted away as if they were welcoming her as their monarch.

Husan wanted to go and grab her out of there but truth was stranger than fiction, “So…. young missy did? How…”

When he thought about it, those strange objects, those Aqua Green Lilies…it turned out this child had done something titanic this time! This must be one of her great magics, taking her all to cast. Should I be surprised? Husan was counting his luck, fortunate to travel with her!

Clank, clank, clank!

One of odd cylinder-thing he saw when escorting Ava throughout the cavern emerged and assembled itself from the ground. The cylinder glowed azure with the bewitching colour of Aqua Green Lily, which flower was inside its receptacle. His first thought was to escape from it but he can’t leave Ava, not now.

“They’re not uh…dangerous, right?” Husan kept his distance, preferring to be in denial.

The Post Human went as far to pat the head of the creature, not minding its horrifying appearance, “As long they are in range and Ava can talk to them.”

“So…what are they? Won’t they bite this old man?” Husan was still skeptical. He told her to talk to the cavern bats, not making friends with these big insects! They looked like they eat humans for a living!

The young girl gave some Pink Pad Cacti fruits to the creature and it ate them docilely, “If Ava had a word for it, Old Man can call it Azure Centipedes? Ava do not know but Ava befriended them, most of them. Ava friends here would not hurt either of us.”

“Most of them? Are young missy telling this old man that there are more of their kind out there?” Husan steeled his resolve to stay. Ava was right, these insects kept their positions.

Ava moved back to the old man while the rest of the centipedes parted away and seemingly bowed at her, “Yes, Old Man. They told Ava there are other families like them, living in this Alkharm Wadi. They do not like each other.”

“Uhh…okay..let’s calm down…” Husan hyperventilated a bit before taking a deep breath, “So if young missy can talk to them…any chance we can ask them a way out of this place?”

“Ava did. But as Ava said, other Big Centipede families don’t like them. They fight.” Her golden eyes flickered.

Husan scratched his nose, “Um…what about the bats? Did young missy talked to them too?”

“Ava did too. Same result.” The young girl tilted her head, “But some of Ava’s bat friends got outside.”

“Really?!” The four-armed elder almost hugged Ava in joy but stopped since she did have these centipedes as her friends, “Did young missy was able to find Muzaid? Makya?”

“Ava bat friends are still trying. It won’t be long, Old Man.” She nodded at him.

Husan can barely quell his excitement, “So…what should we do next?”

“Old Man Husan, we prepare for war.” She gave a simple reply.

Ksh, ksh, ksh, ksh!!!!

The surrounding centipede monsters became frenzied, dunking their head up and down, flexing their curved tails side to side! Then they dispersed, like water poured to a dry desert. Is this beginning of chaos? Heavens! Husan jumped in fright, almost colliding with the ceiling.