Part 1: Entering the cave

Around the only cavern in the chamber, there were glowing algae, fallen rocks, and sloped walls that continued high into the black abyss at the vault. The weird agglomeration of plants was different from ivies, yet it bordered around the cave without completely veiling the entrance.

The dark pit’s opening jaws were actually slick. Its visible interior didn’t have the same stalagmites and stalactites that were usually a wonder inside most of the caverns I knew of. Its inside was dim, without lights coming from it, except for some sparse vegetation at its entrance.

The absence of light was akin to entering the underworld. I discerned that being able to hear would make the situation worse. Nevertheless, I really wanted that A18 played a song to lift this uncomfortable silence. Even if I knew that I should endure it for now.

Furthermore, there was no way to tell how deep it was, even if you had a match to cast light into the black—and being honest—my little orb was just like that, not sufficient to light everything. At the same moment I prepared to enter, I sensed a change. Um, more than a difference or variation, it was a detail I didn't realize before.

There was a water current gushing out from the murky cavern, something obvious when you saw bubbles that were forced to drift away by the water that departed from its opening. And yes, the flowing waters remained strangely warm. Something which increased a weird feeling—that although heat decreased near the cave’s entrance—the whole place maintained a regular temperature and for an oddly additional reason no algae grew in the deeper parts of the cave.

Why didn’t those glowy plants grow inside the cavern? Were they used as terrain separations?

I don’t know, but maybe this trip will unveil the secret behind it…

As I entered this 'mouth' that was saturated with an impervious blackness, the little orb appended below my vision sensor brightened the rugged terrain under my body. My diving came into a halt while I observed the weird surface of such tunnels. The soil, it was smooth, with little dunes forming succinct snakes that contorted towards the callous obscurity. They acted like mocking arrows, drawn by some demon that wanted to tell me an alluring message…

What do you think, A18?

My puddle, come inside I am waiting…

Heh...well done, A18. I really need to push forward.

Also, thanks for the joke, it somehow calmed me. At least you are not a demon in my single eye…

Reacquiring my clarity, I proceeded until the petty rays that came from the entrance disappeared completely from my field of vision. No glowy plant grew in these areas of the cave and their dearth rendered everything around dim, except for the floor I hovered over. The position of the orb was thought out carefully. It was way better to know where the ground was than the ceiling. At least, gravity will always make the floor more interesting.

For example, the treasure I needed would probably be all over the floor, like pieces of goo. So having the orb appended below my 'neck' was efficient and protected it. I could also disconnect it from my body and make it hover like a floating lightbulb, yet it will consume more energy to use it like that. I will also move slower waiting for it, reason why I carried it.

In the cave's bleakness, I could sense how my mind returned to a comfortable coolness. Since nothing perilous happened, it didn't take long for me to accustom to the murky environment. Being able to see the cave better or knowing a bit more about what to expect inside reduced my nervousness. It didn't appear as scary as before. Still, I discovered that the floor retained a cold sensation, which contrasted the warm one I felt at the entrance.

There were little whirls of water that could be seen twirling the sand. I found this attention-grabbing, like those tornados forming with changes in temperature. Was there something similar underwater?

Well, unknown as it was, this meant that the cavern’s undercurrent was genuine. It convinced me of the idea that there had to be an exit.

It was in this moment of feeling like nothing, without noises or distractions and in this pristine and peaceful surroundings, that I got a resolve to explore.

Part 2: Sneak, flight or fight?

The cavern wormed its way in extremely irregular patterns. Worse than a certain Minotaur’s labyrinth, this was akin to an ants nest, utter disorder. Tridimensional paths weren’t a usual experience even in my previous life.

The walls of the deeper tunnels surprised me by their varying shapes. They were usually ovoid, yet they could take many forms. I never delved this far before, and I had already passed the previous route that A18 saved. No additional blob was found in the same chamber where I had my 'first-date' with one, nor the chamber where I finally killed it.

Hell, I have been carefully searching for these poke-pokes and now there are none to be seen. This seems funny... shouldn’t it be me, the one hiding in this hide and seek game?

Okay, its better like this, no blob here means it might be safe to proceed. So I gazed upon the various tunnel and selected a random one to continue. Um, maybe not 'that random'. I just went for the one with a sexy booby-like shape. Don’t ask me how it looks, people see illusions in deserts. Yeah, girls can be a mirage sometimes, but we are attracted to their beauty, like moths towards the fire.

Anyways, the shapes in this respective tunnel were what I referred to as surprising before. Pillars and columns juxtaposed over the walls connecting them like a diameter label. They weren’t regular and made the tunnel appear like a beehive, with myriads of compartments decorating the walls. The only difference with beehives was the irregularity of the structure, not like the perfection a honeycomb represented. However, this added more confusion and mystery to my surroundings.

Great!

A huge place... add lots of tunnels, and then, cavities inside said tunnels... It's Just what I needed!

Maybe I should call this place ‘Emmental Cheese Cave’. (Because of the holes and the many pathways).

Omitting those thoughts, I continued delving. It was until I arrived at a glowing tunnel. Yes, a tunnel that had light, one produced by small crystal-like clusters. The light from them wasn't as strong as the one from my orb, yet enough to at least cover my body when I came near the structures that produced it.

The current tunnel I was in, had many different crystals structures after exploring it. The ones that glowed were like minerals inside mines, glowing inside weird and irregular compartments. Other types, conformed spikes and stalactites that grew on its walls and formed small spaces where the glowy crystals adhered.

Rephrasing it, this tunnel's inner space was vast, gave me a pitiable perception of my current size, and surprised me with incomprehensible patterns and columns.

The clusters were connected to the twisting filamentous columns. They formed irregular honeycombs inside the tunnel. My tininess allowed me to evade and dance between gaps of the winding ‘filaments’ that blocked my path forward. These strands were wider than my body—they just looked that way when seen from afar—making my experience comparable to a tiny fish that could pass through the holes of a net. The place also had unusual formations that impelled me to detour or search for a proper path.

Aside from the continuous motions, whenever I found an intriguing pattern, I’d stop and examine it. For example, the spikes and the stalactites were a bit different from the walls. They were also decreasing the tunnel’s available lumen. I went to check on them because they suggested being formed by a different type of material. They didn't have smooth surfaces and when you eyed them carefully, they looked like the plants near the mat. A bit porous like a petrified structure might be what I'd call an accurate description.

A18, is there a way to scan these?

My puddle, we will require additional energy for consumption. Analysis suggests using the light-orb's serving to empty the orb. Afterward, use the energy from the serving to trigger a scanning. Since the 1st sphere can't be used for digestion (it's full of potato servings-potions), my puddle will have to use the light-orb as a mouth.

That's a nice analysis A18, but can the orb tolerate the digestive NMs?

No. The orb will need to be separated before activating the digestive NMs. It will need complete user immersion and each scan will consume around 10% of the current energy levels. If danger occurs while diggesting my puddle might not be able to escape.

I see. Are there any signals near?

Searching... No poke-poke signal received since the start of the trip. The current area is designated as safe.

Even if the area was safe, it didn't mean nothing will happen. But after some time staying while looking at the crystals I made the decision to experiment. Truth be told if these crystals were a needed resource by the AI, my trip could become easier. The risk merited the benefits, so I proceeded to digest my food fast.

The process didn’t take long, but it required my utmost concentration. The time was also decreased by the sizes of the sample I took. As a partial result, I found that most of them had a high concentration of calcium, aside from the usual organic matter-forming elements.

The experiment consisted of me scratching or cutting a small fragment with my flagellum and then making the AI scan it. Like the AI told me before, it had a downside since digestion wasn't available by using the 1st sphere as a mouth. So I had to throw 1 potato potion serving and use the light-orb as a temporal mouth. Good thing the digestive NMs were inactive and the fusion process between spheres could be controlled if I was patient.

It didn't work perfectly since the thin walls of the orb wouldn't resist carrying the same weight as the first sphere. Although not totally calculable, its walls were too thin to carry dense materials like solids, the potato potions density was probably just a bit denser than water in comparison to the fragments. If the potion wasn't encased, it would drift and float. the substance will not fall the ground, it would combine and react slowly with the water until the light from it disappeared. And even after the gray tone vanished from my vision, the AI could still sense signals from it through the scanner.

In any case, the experiment was successful, and although the samples were small, I got the desired results. Apart from the most typical formations of the columns, specific sections of them had varying metals and compounds. The results from those made me think that the column-like formations weren’t formed by a single ‘process’. The glowy clusters had a composition of chlorine, oxygen, silicon, sodium, and aluminum. Some of those also had fluoride, magnesium and phosphorous. This was without counting on the small percentage that grouped 'other unknown elements'.

Nevertheless, when I smacked one of the bigger columns at the end of the current tunnel, something happened. All of a sudden, glittering gray mist appeared in my field of vision. The petrified tubes sparked to life, lighting up the tunnel with a concert of fireflies. The columns and the twisted honeycomb's borders lightened up, the spark of the column ended up bathing the entire cavern in flickering white glows.

My puddle, there is an increase in radiation from the structures around... u... s

Radiation?

If someone asked me how to describe it, I'll tell them that it was an epileptic patient’s nightmare. If I had real limbs, I’d probably be having a seizure. Ah, so sad I don’t have a tongue to bite. Well, not much to do while all these glitters and smokey clouds block my visibility, so I moved backward until exiting its limits.

A18, is there something weird with this cloud?

Too many... signals, calculations are...

Did you have a seizure? How about this, A18... Talk as if you have bitten your tongue.

M!$i40 0P%U#$DIDL3333…

Yes, I expected that.

Unknown input, repairing…

U shuld doish likesh dish, A18.

I$MPR”$MD… repairshs…

I moved myself a bit further trying to lessen the strain on my AI.

Okay, you can stop that error-stuff now that we are outside the tunnel, right?…

Yes...

So was there some sort of alarm? Was it only a gas trap?

Checking...

My puddle, a signal is being emitted after the smoke appeared in this place. The signal… it has triggered a response.

A response?

My puddle, multiple far away signals seem to be emitting an answer to the smoke message... they are coming closer!

Oh, shit... here we go again...