Life had been so unfair to him, Akib. He really needed some sort of consolation that could have helped him to forget his woes of the past. Raph was the only close associate who never saw anything wrong in whatever he did, and the reason was because he didn't want him to think about his parents.
Akib had no second thought about his determination to visit the building close to the field, as he knew he could get some consolation in death rather than living in this wicked world. To die was a gain, and to live was a loss.
He got to the field where he had broken the wall. This time, along the lines of the crack were glows of light which shone brightly. It seemed the glow was trying to find its way to the open but was prevented by the wall which encaved and resisted its shining forth.
Akib could have seen this strange appearance in the day but for the sun which had taken over the arena. During the day, there was a bright environment which could hide many objects from shining their lights, or call it their glories. The same light of nature had hidden this occurrence from all of the players.
He advanced towards the door of the building, ready to knock. At least, that would be a good approach. On getting close enough for the first time, he didn't see any means of getting in. There was nothing to tap.
"What's going on, no door?" Akib was surprised.
Of a truth, the building had been without any means of gaining access into it from the outside. In fact, whoever wanted to go in should think out of the ordinary. Akib wasn't satisfied with this; he was certain he had seen the door to this house before. And he could have made his move then. The fear of the unknown had been his misdeed then, and he was not as desperate as this.
Another surprise he soon discovered was that the once rectangular shape had disappeared to a minimal, well-rounded structure. The angles had gone. Maybe he was not seeing well and had imagined a different shape.
"How could someone build this? How did they go inside?" Akib kept asking questions.
After completing a cycle, Akib returned to where the crack was. His curiosity grew wildly.
The glow increased with many beautiful colours, and they were fascinating. He felt the strong pull towards the centre, at least to feel what this was like. He was not going to let go of this wonderful moment, either there was a door or not.
He laid his hand on the wall because he was going to climb. As his hand touched and his body had contact with the building, he felt the ground move. The house just shifted.
"What's that!" he said.
He withdrew himself, leaving some distance between him and the building. He couldn't understand what happened. But curiosity drove him to make a second move. He touched the wall again, just to climb. On doing that, light sprung forward from the opening and the movement was visible.
For this, he had a mixture of both awe and fear. He was certain of what happened. The glow ran across the house like a flowing rainbow. He felt the wavelength on his body.
Who could have thought about something as beautiful as this in this place?
With the movement, other events followed. On the wall, there came forth the diagram of a young warlord who had a helmet on his head, arrow at hand, and there was a bow with him. He had a skimpy short and a top which was designed with metallic pieces.
The iron helmet was held to his head with a cord around his neck. The diagram portrayed him as a tough fighter, and the look on his face expressed fearlessness. His muscular body showed resilience to go all the way. There were other images of different wild animals and creatures. Some of these had dangerous appearances and they should be dreaded. He found a tall creature with the appearance of a reptile. This was huge, and there proceeded a long tongue from its mouth.
"Could this be a dragon or... a dinosaur?"
He didn't know which this was because he hadn't come across any. The stories which he heard were about these primitive creatures and how they had the power to take charge of their territories. But there were fabricated histories, called myths, handed down by ignorant people who wanted attention—undeserved attention.
After seeing these things, his eyes returned to look at the crack. At the time he lashed out the shot which broke the wall, his friends had thought he had blown things out of proportion. Of course, they had said the truth because the direction of his shot was towards the side of the field. That's the linesman's direction.
His hand fumbled over the archaic weapon of the warlord. The edges were rough and rustic, but there was something he felt was strange. The man had held them in such a manner that depicted someone who had the best weapon to handle his destiny. But the weapons were engraved into the wall.
But he wondered who this man truly was. He wondered if he truly existed?
"This can't be pictures, I could feel it," he spoke quietly.
The few stories from Raph were in contrast with what was before him. According to Raph, he explained that powers of evil had taken the house as their residence. That the land had been brought under the control of mischievous influence.
"They killed people at the slightest opportunity," Raph had told him when he took him away.
But instead of the dreadful portrayal, he was happy to be here, and for the moment, the sorrow he bore had vanished.
Akib focused his face up to keep on imagining. The only way to reach that top was still unchanged. He was bent on resuming climbing. Having a ladder would be a better option.
"I wish I could find a ladder," he thought. His eyes scanned the environment.
But then, an iron bar popped out. His eyes caught sight of it, and in quick succession, more iron bars came up and formed positions for his legs. This didn't stop until the bars got to where the opening was.
"Did someone hear me?" he looked around.
They were flat ladders but protruded from the walls.
An idea came into his head.
"Oh, this is the way in," he grinned.
He was right about it. He had just seen the secret avenue which led into the house. The men of those days had considered that using the door was a sign of weakness.
Gaining access required knocking. But here, you knock on the window, not the door, before being granted the permission. The window was actually the door. That was a deep secret.
Akib had been granted permission to go upward, and the ladder he needed had been provided. There was no need for hesitation. This was what he concluded about, and he didn't need anyone to convince him.
With Raph, this was a place not to be visited, and he had said victims who had vanished had been traced to this place.
"That should be fake rumour," Akib said.
This night, he had to find out the truth in entirety.
Gleefully, he stepped on the ladder, and the ascension began. Everything appeared magical and out of this world. A step at a time, he was getting closer. Despite his happiness, something told him he was not going to succeed. Fear set in.
There were few steps ahead, but the higher he went, the heavier his heart became. He took another step upward. When he looked down, the distance between him and the ground was world apart.
"Unbelievable!"
Up there, the gentle breeze from this environment was different; they were cooler. He was shocked as this was not what he imagined when he was at the bottom. Considering his position while on the land, he didn't see large distance, not until he was looking at things from the top. He made a quick count of the steps still to cover, just few more. By reaching the seventh floor, he would be before the crack.
He stayed at the spot to consider what his next option should be.