The image lit up, and I blinked a bit as the girls walked through a crystalline cave. It resembled the Mirror Labyrinth quite a bit, although while those crystals were all clear and reflected light into prisms, these were different colors. Some crystals were red, others were blue or green, and then there was just about everything in between. Based on where the girls stood, their faces were a different color. It was like walking through a kaleidoscope.
“It’s beautiful.” Terra gasped.
“Useless…” Garnet sniffed.
“They’re pretty, but they’re also brittle. They have no magical value and they’re too weak to hammer into anything of use. A complete waste!” Garnet declared.
“You know, some things can be pretty just for the sake of being pretty…” Terra responded.
“Maybe, but wouldn’t it be better if something contained both form and function?” Garnet shrugged. “There are things that look just as pretty that have far better uses.”
“I guess…” Terra didn’t look convinced but didn’t continue to argue with Garnet either.
“Come on, we’re almost to the Deep.” Garnet waved her hand.
The pair left the pretty crystalline cave, walking through a grouping of sharp stalactites and stalagmites that were dripping water into a long rocky tunnel.
“A-almost? We’re not there yet? Didn’t you say the Deep was larger than the journey to it?” Terra had an exasperated voice.
“True… but the pathways and caverns are much larger. We’ll be able to move faster. If we can find a fog beetle, we could be there in a few days.”
“They’re giant beetles you can ride. They move super fast! Ah… I wish we had Master here. He could tame them for us easily.”
Terra’s face went white. “A giant beetle? Gross!”
“Don’t tell me you hate bugs too?”
“Aiii… well, it’ll take longer, but we can walk. I can’t promise we won’t encounter anything though. Traveling in the deep is a lot like traveling through the wilderness.”
“Did you think dungeons are unique to the surface? As long as they have an outlet, they can even be this deep. No… it should be said the ones this deep are all mega-dungeons. They’re the most dangerous ones because they’ll take on an innocent path, like a tunnel worm.”
“A tunnel worm?” Terra’s voice rose an octave.
“Yea, those guys are the worst.” Garnet didn’t seem to notice the worry on Terra’s face as she continued to speak excitedly. “The tunnel worms eat a tunnel and then open their mouths right at the entrance. Their insides look just like an extension of the tunnel, so unknowing prey just walk right into their stomachs.”
“H-how can you tell?”
“Well, they usually have stalagmite and stalactite teeth around the entrance. You’d also feel a warm breeze, but it would be hot and humid. That compensation is rare down here. It’s usually wet and cold or warm and dry, depending on how close you are to a volcano vent.”
“H-hey… do you feel a hot and humid breath suddenly?” Terra’s voice cracked.
“Huh? Oh yeah, it tastes kind of salty. Wait…”
“And those stalactites and stalagmites we just past… don’t they kind of look like teeth?”
The two girls looked back in the direction that had just come from, and then back at each other.
I tensed as it flickered, but when the memory returned, they were still walking normally. The girls looked even more haggard. They were tired and looked like they hadn’t bathed in a month.
“We made it.” Garnet suddenly declared. “We’ve reached the Deep.”