When Raja arrived at the designated pickup point, the sight before him left him utterly speechless. The entire Dark Abyss appeared to have undergone a catastrophic upheaval; the cave's structure had completely collapsed, with rubble and rocks piled high, and wisps of dust floated in the sunlight, shrouding the surroundings in desolation and despair.
Amidst the devastation, Raja spotted Jonas. He sat alone in front of a fallen pile of stones, his face smeared with blood and dirt, his clothes tattered and torn, looking as if he had just crawled out of hell. His eyes reflected an unmistakable weariness and pain, as if his soul had been thoroughly drained by this nightmare. Even having witnessed many scenes of life and death, Raja found himself captivated by this sight, unable to tear his gaze away.
However, what unsettled him even more was when Jonas noticed his presence and immediately drew his gun in terror! In that instant, Jonas's eyes were filled with panic and wariness, as if he no longer recognized anyone, not even his longtime companion. Raja stood there with his hands raised, trying to avoid any misunderstanding, slowly calling out Jonas's name.
"Jonas, it's me, Raja! Stay calm!"
After a few seconds, Jonas's breathing quickened as his gaze flickered between them, the gun trembling slightly in his grip. Finally, he slowly relaxed; his finger slipped off the trigger, and the gun gradually lowered. It clattered to the ground with a dull thud, and then Jonas slumped down, exhaling deeply as if a great weight had been lifted from him, as though those few seconds had drained him of all remaining strength.
Raja looked at Jonas's disoriented state and couldn't suppress his growing doubts and concerns. He approached Jonas but found that his eyes were vacant and unfocused, as if he were still trapped in some inescapable nightmare.
The moment Raja arrived, the only question in his mind was: "What on earth happened?" He couldn't comprehend the devastation before him—the complete collapse of Dark Abyss—where the land seemed to have been scorched by hellfire. Jonas sat there like a soulless being, silent and filled with exhaustion and fear, seemingly struggling to suppress some nameless dread.
Raja's questions echoed in his mind repeatedly, but whenever he tried to ask Jonas about it, the latter remained silent. The tension on Jonas's face told him that deep within this place lay some dark and malevolent force that perhaps exceeded their imagination. Though Jonas had escaped alive, it seemed his soul was forever trapped in that dark abyss.
Upon returning to the tribe, tensions escalated further. As news spread, Urahesa and the tribespeople erupted in fury. To them, the collapse of Dark Abyss was akin to an unforgivable betrayal and a catastrophic disaster. They placed all the blame on Jonas; an angry crowd gathered before him with murderous intent gleaming in their eyes. A few of the most radical tribal warriors even brandished their weapons, ready to tear Jonas apart on the spot.
Urahesa's face turned pale with rage; his voice was cold as steel. "You destroyed our sacred ground! Do you know what you've done? This sin is unforgivable!"
Jonas stood there unable to refute or defend himself. His gaze was vacant; he could hardly face this furious crowd of tribespeople. Watching this scene unfold, Raja realized things were spiraling out of control. He quickly stepped forward to shield Jonas and began to explain firmly in an attempt to calm Urahesa and the agitated tribespeople.
"Urahesa, my friend," Raja said calmly yet powerfully, "this is not solely his fault; what happened in Dark Abyss is far worse than we can imagine. There are things hidden there that we cannot comprehend; he barely made it back alive himself. This is not his wrongdoing."
Urahesa's face remained grim, but he began to absorb Raja's words, the fury in his eyes somewhat easing. Raja continued to explain that Jonas was also a victim of this catastrophe, not a destroyer. The emotions of the tribe members began to cool gradually, yet many still glared at Jonas with hostility, filled with animosity towards his presence.
Ultimately, Urahesa managed to suppress his anger, casting a cold glance at Jonas, his tone laced with disdain and fury. "Get out of here and never set foot in our tribe again."
The tribe members muttered curses under their breath, the atmosphere still tense. Raja stepped forward to support the exhausted Jonas, saying little as he silently led him away from this place that had once been a land of hope for them.
With Raja's help, Jonas dragged his weary body through the jungle, each step heavy as they finally reached the airport. Throughout the journey, Jonas remained unusually silent, his face still marked by lingering terror and fatigue, as if everything that had transpired deep within the jungle haunted him. Raja stayed by his side; although he didn't fully understand the truth of the situation, he could see that Jonas had endured some unspeakable pain.
When they finally arrived at the airport, Jonas was about to board his flight home. Standing at the gate, he looked back at Raja with a complex expression on his face, as if there were a thousand words he wished to say but couldn't find the voice for. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, his tone heavy with restrained sorrow.
"Raja, never go to Dark Abyss." Jonas's gaze was firm and profound, as if he wanted to penetrate time and space to imprint this warning deeply into Raja's memory.
Raja furrowed his brow slightly; although he didn't understand why, he could feel the weighty warning in those words. He wanted to ask more questions, but Jonas's expression bore an irresistible authority that made him decide to remain silent. Jonas's words were not merely commands; they felt like a final admonition.
"Don't try to understand what happened there, Raja. No matter what occurs, never set foot in that hell again."
These words carried an undeniable chill, suggesting that Dark Abyss was not just a forbidden place but rather an abyss that could consume souls. Jonas's demeanor was resolute, his eyes shimmering with exhaustion yet unwavering determination.
Raja looked at his friend, filled with confusion yet sensing the gravity of every word Jonas spoke regarding life and death. So he nodded silently, choosing to respect and comply.
Seeing this response seemed to relieve Jonas somewhat, yet an unshakeable shadow still loomed over him. Finally, he turned away without saying another word and stepped onto the boarding bridge. Raja stood rooted in place, watching as Jonas gradually disappeared into the crowd and the cabin.
As the sound of the airplane engines roared to life, Raja suddenly felt an indescribable emptiness within him, as if some unknown disaster had receded from them. Yet simultaneously, there was a heavier secret buried deep within that jungle—one that should never be touched.
Jonas's figure gradually disappeared from Raja's sight, taking with it all the truths and fears of their group.
Raja gazed at the airplane ascending in the distance, the roar of its massive engines slowly fading. The aircraft glided through the sky like a white bird, tracing an arc before drifting away until it vanished at the edge of the blue expanse. Jonas was no longer visible, yet an inexplicable fear lingered in Raja's heart, as if the plane had not only taken a person but also some unspeakable secret.
Standing on the airport tarmac, he watched the airplane disappear beyond the horizon, a sense of incomprehensible dread rising within him, yet he could not accurately describe it. This fear felt like an invisible weight enveloping him, leaving him uneasy and confused. Raja could not explain the source of this feeling; he tried to clear his thoughts, but the more he pondered, the more he felt that some things would forever remain beyond understanding.
"How did humanity ever invent airplanes?" he murmured softly to himself, his gaze still fixed on the gradually calming blue sky.
Why could such a heavy iron bird soar? Why could those things called technology allow humans to conquer the skies? He shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. Such questions seemed absurd for someone like him, a guide wandering through the jungle; they were as distant as unattainable dreams, and no amount of thinking would yield answers.
"This is not something I should be contemplating," he told himself quietly, reminding himself that these complex matters were best left to those who excelled at thinking.
Eventually, Raja withdrew his gaze and looked back at the familiar jungle path behind him, silently deciding to let go of all his questions. He knew that regardless of what had happened, life would continue. The airplane had flown far away, but his life still needed to walk on solid ground.
He turned around, his steps steady and resolute as he walked back down the winding jungle trail. Behind him, the blue sky returned to calmness, while that airplane had already vanished into the distant horizon.
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