51. Descent into the Deep
Suri, Sabi, and Maru raced across Saint’s Square.
The square still held its water-spouting fountain that gleamed like light, its majestic church, and rows of time-worn cafes and shops.
But all the lights were out, and no one was in sight.
Unlike before, the square seemed dead.
“What’s going on? This is strange.”
Suri muttered as he crossed the square diagonally and entered the alley on the right.
He could see the familiar maze-like connecting alleys.
“We’re almost there… it’s over there.”
Suri ran ahead of everyone else.
It was the Fairy’s Chimney.
In the dark alley, only the sign reading [Fairy Chimney] glowed like a real fairy.
Suri burst through the door.
The old man greeted Suri with a bright smile.
Dwarf Barrel waved his hand and raised his amphora in greeting.
The companions who followed behind were wide-eyed at the shop filled with ancient artifacts.
The Tempes clock, Maru’s old map, Marblem’s dead disk, Thunderbird’s talons, baby lightning scales, fragments of Altima-39, Sansuna’s record pebbles, page 72 of the Winged Traveler, Memory of Stars, Helix, and dwarf Barel’s amphora all occupied places in the display case.
“…I’ve been waiting… but there’s no time to delay. You must go quickly. Hurry.”
The old man urged them from the start.
“Yes, I know… we need to go to the Hypogeum.”
Suri walked quickly toward the fireplace.
“You cannot go that way… the Fairy’s Chimney is a city that exists only one day a year. Today is not a day it can exist… Since you entered by opening the barrier in an unauthorized way, you must take another path.”
The old man was urgent.
“…Suri… the path into the sea… remember? There were dozens of kilometers of trenches all over Malta island… like railway tracks…”
Sabi’s words were disjointed.
“It’s the Lumen Track… a path like Malta’s artery that passes through Malta’s land and underwater… Could you guide us?”
Eridan was very polite to the old man.
“…Come this way.”
The old man led them to a door that leaned tilted between old wooden shelves and boxes.
There was no doorframe, so it looked like a single fallen wall plank standing upright.
It was positioned where a cat or child might accidentally open it while playing.
Suri approached and touched the door.
“It’s not wood… it feels like an old bone… cold.”
Suri examined the door’s crumbs on his hand.
“It’s a door made from salt-wood weathered by sea winds. It looks like it would crumble if touched, but it’s so flexible it never breaks… Now, leave quickly.”
Suri pressed against the faint ancient hieroglyphs carved in the center of the door.
Suddenly the air changed.
The briny smell of seawater came with the sound of waves.
It was Malta’s coast.
“I’ll definitely come back.”
Suri waved to the old man and headed toward the coast.
Just then, a yellow tram marked with Malta signs arrived.
“The tram was a multidimensional transport… extending beyond dimensions… it can go not only underwater but also into space.”
Suri was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Get on. Please get on.”
An employee with his cap pulled low appeared and shouted.
Everyone boarded.
The tram immediately entered the sea along tracks.
The tracks were lightning rails floating in the water.
Through the window, Malta’s deepening seabed was bubbling.
“What if an underwater volcano erupts? The water heated by magma is spouting through hydrothermal vents… look at that… hot water is shooting up.”
Sabi was terrified.
“I have thalassophobia… I’m already having trouble breathing… I might die.”
Maru started complaining.
“Give me one excuse why I can’t kill you. Master of excuses!”
Sabi smacked the back of Maru’s head.
“We’re the only ones glowing in the dark water, right? Fish are following us… right now we are the light.”
Suri couldn’t take his eyes off the fish.
The tram shook frequently to avoid the hot spouting water but steadily descended.
After a while, it quietly stopped before a massive door at the deepest point.
The door stood between two enormous pillars, with ancient hieroglyphs floating like mirages before it.
It was clearly not a stone door but an Altima door.
Then Suri’s Tempes began to vibrate.
Numbers flowed across the clock face.
357.06.83333.45.3
361.08.
.91.141.73..666.16.66.42.7
.58.146.017…
“Tempes wasn’t just a clock… it was a navigation device… These numbers… I thought they were addresses of the six magic tribes… but they were the Hypogeum’s address. So, this is their earthly constellation! I’m about to cry, guys. I have a feeling we might not only prevent Malta civilization’s destruction… but also unify cosmic civilizations… I’m excited.”
Suri spoke with shining eyes.
The Tempes clock vibrated once more as the numbers flowed back into the clock face.
The door opened.
Something suddenly poured out as if to attack.
It was the ancient hieroglyphs that had been floating in grid formation.
“The sword, Memory of Stars, also had ancient hieroglyphs, right? This is a memory system… Magia Nemo… In Malta, writing isn’t for reading. It’s memory. It could be personal memory… or the entire tribe’s memory…”
Suri entered through the door.
He walked through the ancient hieroglyphs.
As he passed each one, the characters reproduced many memories.
The Big Bang era, the Nova Empire, the construction of Malta’s megalithic temples and the Great Battle of Marblem, magic tribes hiding in the Green Canyon Triangle region, Queen Sansuna, Leon and Moloch… Memory of Stars summoned each scene.
[To be continued…]
** Starting November 2023, The Korea Daily is excited to publish the fantasy novel series “Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years” on our website. This new captivating series follows a trio of young adventurers on their quest to uncover the mysteries of ancient civilizations, including the Maya and Inca. In an exciting development, Netflix is currently adapting the novel’s storyline into a film.
The ‘Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years’ is the latest novel authored by Jeeyoon Ha, who created the “Pangaea series.” Ha’s debut novel, “The Pangaea: Finding Xibalba,” was selected by the Korea Creative Content Agency in 2022 as part of their initiative to support the global export of fantasy literature.
Readers can eagerly anticipate the online publication of two installments each month, with new chapters appearing bi-weekly, offering a regular escape into this magical realm. *Mark Oh translated the Korean novel into English.
