Chapter 458
Lucia hesitated only for a moment.
She quickly calmed her breathing and turned her gaze to the approaching Ian. "Please explain in detail. Was the exit buried?"
"The path to it was," Ian replied, continuing to walk as he spoke. "This whole place was already partially sunken—must've been caused by shifting ground layers. That earthquake just now caused it to sink even deeper... and collapse more."
"We shouldn't have touched that altar," Diana added from behind them, her voice drained of energy. "That's what buried us deeper."
Ian silently clicked his tongue and walked past Lucia. As Lucia naturally turned to follow him, she looked back at Diana. "But, Diana, why are you soaked like this?"
"There was groundwater pooled up. It must have originally been used as a water source for this place. When the whole area collapsed more of it seemed to have welled up," Diana answered flatly.
Lucia looked at her for a moment, then said with dawning realization, "So you went to check if there might be a passage through the water."
"Well, something like that." Diana hesitated, then nodded.
The truth was, she'd thrown herself into the water in a desperate attempt after realizing there were no other exits—ignoring Ian's warnings in the process.
"But it was a waste of time," she added, her voice barely above a whisper. She cast a brief glance at Ian.
Just then, Ian looked back at Lucia. "Anyway, thanks to her, we now know for sure that the water is clean enough to drink."