Matt had made his way to a set of stairs that led to a closed stone door. He had first noticed it because his [Sense Mana] skill had failed to penetrate it, showing that the door, and the walls surrounding what was on the other side of it, contained mana, and not just some, but a lot of mana. It had practically shone like the summer sun at noon on a cloudless morning.
What was all this mana protecting?
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No idea. Maybe that’s how things are in the system. The plethora of other rooms throughout the temple had variable degrees of mana surrounding them, but nothing like the one in front of him.
He dusted the first set of steps, finding them surprisingly clean, before taking a seat, finally taking the temple in for the first time since arriving, appreciating its magnificence and beauty.
At first glance, it looked nothing like any other temple he had ever seen. It had an outline akin to a desert villa more than a temple, though on a much grander scale.
He had appeared in a large courtyard, its floor covered with evened out sand. Polished slabs of limestone, with beautiful ceramic tiles of orange and blue adorning their sides, cut through the sand, creating a path. It extended from the stone steps he was using as a makeshift seat, all the way to the middle, encircling a breathtaking oasis, before continuing to the other end, where another set of steps lay. It branched to the sides a few times, providing a walking path that covered, basically, the entirety of the temple.
Tall, vibrant palm trees lined the edges of the courtyard, providing shade and a contrast in color that made the scene even more stunning. Dates covered the top of the tree, glistening as rays of sunlight bounced off of them, making them even more mouth-watering. A scene only complimented by the sound of rustling leaves, dancing in the wind.
It was the kind of serenity that one only dreams of, yet as he lived and breathed, it was as real as the sensation he was feeling right now. A little piece of heaven. And the crowning jewel of this heavenly place was the oasis that lay in the center of it all.
It wasn’t that large, being around thirty by thirty from what he could tell, which was a tiny speck in the much grander temple that was around 500 feet in length and 150 in width, yet it was what caught the eye as soon as you entered the holy place. The vibrant blue of the tranquil water, and the wood and green color of the two palm trees as they shaded the tired and weary from the sun, was enough to cause you to lose all thought, and surrender yourself in a scene that many only dream of. One of utter beauty and serenity where you could forget all your hardships and worries, enjoying a moment frozen in time that was completely yours, if not for one thing… the annoying cat lying in front of it.
That’s right. That was where annoying cat Lara was… relaxing. Lying down on the sand inches away from the water, sleeping peacefully. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve mistaken her for a cat simply enjoying a place that one can only read about in poems, but he knew better. He knew that annoying cat Lara was just that, an annoying cat… named Lara.
Even then, the temple was nothing short of breathtaking. As if he had been transported to a time and place that was out of this world.
As an engineer, he had long appreciated the capabilities of the ancient Egyptians. They had created marvelous structures that to this day stand as some of humanity’s greatest achievements. Countless nights were spent studying their architectural designs, and it had been one of his greatest motivators in making the vacation a reality, and now, as his eyes finally lay upon this hypnotizing scene, he could say with all honesty, that he was glad he did.
On either side of the courtyard extended a hall, covering the length of the temple. Tall pillars of beautifully carved alabaster white separated the hall from the courtyard, providing the necessary support for the upper half of the temple.
The top half had no windows and no openings that Matt could see, but what it did have was intricate carvings spanning the length of the structure that depicted the Egyptian goddess Bastet. Some had her offering protection to the people, others had her being worshipped by the masses, and there were even a few where she was on a chariot, facing off against armies. And in every depiction, she always had a cat by her side.
It was beautifully intricate, and incredibly detailed. A truly mesmerizing scene.
Matt had always thought that pharaohs and deities of ancient Egypt were just normal people. Ones who had sold the illusion of power. Now though, after all the recent revelations with the system and the aberrant existence of gods, he couldn’t help but wonder what had really happened during that time, and whether deities had, at one time, indeed walked amongst humans.
It was food for thought, something that would uproot the entire history of Earth’s civilizations.
Thoughts and theories came and went, as questions were left unanswered. It wasn’t the time for an existential crisis, but he also couldn’t help all the ‘what ifs’ in his head, something that was bound to stay with him for the remainder of the six months.
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He went back to the oasis, looking at it with the eyes of a starving man presented with food. It had been a challenging dungeon, and a rough few days where the exhaustion had only accumulated as days went on. The beauty of what was but a couple of hundred feet away from him, inviting, as it promised to wash away all his worries, giving him one singular thought that was taking over his mind.
I wonder if I can jump into the water…
A thought that was quickly interrupted by one annoying cat. “I would like to see you try,” Lara said in a low voice as she stared at him with narrowed eyes.
He was tempted to take her up on that, but he could also hear the threat in her voice. It wasn’t like her attempts at annoying him, it was a warning, and one she meant wholeheartedly.
While finally cleaning himself up, and hydrating his skin that felt like being two days away from breaking apart was too tempting, he also knew when to pick his battles, and apparently that oasis was a red line that shouldn’t be crossed.
He broke his eyes away from Lara’s, dropping the matter. While he would’ve loved to wash off what the dungeon had done to him, it also wasn’t worth antagonizing someone he knew nothing about. Lara might’ve acted like a haughty brat, but that wasn’t all there was to her, and he wasn’t keen on making an enemy out of someone like that, especially when Tara and her were the first intelligent creatures he had met since the system’s arrival.
Scrubbing himself clean would just have to wait.
His eyes continued to wander the temple, appreciating all its intricacies. On the opposite side of him was a similar set of stairs, leading to an identical stone door, although that one had two large black statues to either side of it, albeit the distance was preventing him from seeing much detail.
Awe and wonder were apparent on Matt’s face, something that Tara hadn’t missed, choosing that moment to remind him of her presence.
“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” she asked, pride filling her voice.
“That’s an understatement,” Matt concurred as he continued appreciating the reliefs adorning the walls of the temple. “You know, to this day, we have no idea how ancient Egyptians designed nor built these structures. Even now, the pyramids of Giza are still considered world wonders and some of humanity’s greatest creations,” he added, reminiscing on previous conversations he had had with Izzy and Jackson. A discussion about how it could’ve been done, and what techniques they could’ve used. It was inspiring, showcasing how humans could always find a way.
Now though, there was only a sorrowful smile on his face. With mana, magic, and gods all being real, he couldn’t help but feel disappointment that their achievements… might not have been their own.
“Not that it takes away from the beauty, but they definitely feel less impressive now that I know mana, and maybe even gods, exist and were possibly the reason any of this was ever built,” he said in a melancholic voice.
Tara chuckled, surprising Matt. While his words weren’t meant to offend, he still thought she would’ve had a more negative reaction.
Apparently she saw the puzzlement on his face, smirking in response. “For a human, you show a clear lack of belief in your race’s potential,” Tara said.
“My whole world turned upside down. I can heal injuries that were once fatal. I can punch with power I have no right having access to. And I can fire mana orbs with the destructive power of bombs with a simple thought. It’s not a lack of belief, it’s simply me accepting that ‘the aliens did it’ was closer to the truth than I had thought,” he responded with a mix of emotions not too dissimilar to realizing that your biggest hero as a child, was nothing more than a drunk asshole.
The thought hadn’t occurred to him before, but now that it had, it was hard to let go.
“It’s not that,” Tara shook her head. “It’s the fact that at the slightest of hints your race might’ve had access to tools you had no knowledge of, your pride in their work crumbled. The impossible, and even the improbable, is only that because we make it so, not because it can’t be done.”
Matt frowned slightly, his brows furrowing. “So you’re saying that even though mana, and maybe even deities existed, they had nothing to do with it? It’s like having access to a shovel yet choosing to dig with your hands,” Matt commented with doubt in his voice.
Tara didn’t answer, letting the silence linger for a while as her gaze remained locked on her sister’s sleeping form.
Matt was about to say something before she finally broke the silence.
“Humans are weak. You are not magically gifted like the elves, nor physically like the beastkin. You don’t have the wisdom of the dragons, the mental aptitude of the insectoids, and are by far the shortest lived of the races, with the exception of two. You have no mana affinity, no inherent weapon mastery and nothing that truly sets you apart from the rest. Simply put, you are a fragile race with nothing but weaknesses,” Tara said, leaving Matt even more confused. Confused enough that he had even chosen to ignore the fact that apparently mythical creatures existed as part of the system.
“Huh, so I was sad about our past, now apparently we have no future either. Thanks I guess,” Matt responded sarcastically.
“I wasn’t done. It’s just… difficult to compliment humans. Our races have always been at odds with one another,” Tara explained, confusing Matt even more.
“Let me guess, this is the part where you tell me our ‘potential is endless’,” Matt retorted.
Tara scoffed. “Far from it. You excel at lying, deceiving, and betraying one another. Whatever potential there may be is long dead and buried by your own two hands.”
“Uh-huh. So the compliment is that we are good at nothing, so it’s only up from here? Or did I miss something?”
“You have a tongue on you, don’t you?” she asked, giving him a side-eye.
“Well, if we have no past and no future, then what’s the point of holding it back,” he answered in a half joking manner.
Tara continued looking his way a second longer before asking. “Despite all that, you humans have yet to perish, the opposite, actually. You somehow always find a way to thrive and prosper, even in the face of all the adversity and calamities you have faced. Why is that?”
Matt shrugged, throwing in the immediate thought that crossed his mind. “Sheer luck, I’m guessing?”
“Hah. If only. Even the luck of the forefathers themselves wouldn’t be enough. Try again.”
Matt actually gave the question some thought this time. He wasn’t trying to be annoying to the cat, but the day’s revelations, along with being told that humans were essentially nothing compared to the others, had left him a bit miffed. Yet he took a deep breath as he started unfolding the loaded question of why humanity had made it this far.
Rewrite Chapter 19: A fish out of water
