Thousand Years Cultivator

2 Gods Who Live in a Cave

Wiro, who heard that, grew even paler. It was true, Gito's grandfather was ill and had not received medicine from this cave. But Wiro now understood that Gito's own motivation differed from his grandfather's. Gito did not care about his grandfather's recovery. What he wanted was what lay behind that wall. Treasure.

"Young Master Gito," Wiro dared to speak. His voice trembled, but he forced himself. "Please reconsider. The Deity who lives in this cave has always helped good people. For nearly a hundred years, not a single person has gone home disappointed from here. If your grandfather did not receive medicine, perhaps it is because..."

Wiro swallowed, realizing that his next words could endanger his life.

"Because what?" Gito turned, his eyes narrowing.

"Perhaps... because the Deity only helps those with kind hearts."

Silence enveloped the cave for several seconds.

Then Gito's face turned crimson. "You're saying my grandfather is not a good person, huh? You dare insult my family?"

"That's not what I meant, Young Master, I..."

"Throw him inside!" Gito pointed toward the explosives already attached to the wall. "Tie him up there! Let him blow up together with this sacred cave he's so proud of!"

"Young Master, no! I beg you!" Wiro knelt and wept pleadingly. "I have a family! I have an elderly mother!"

But his pleas went unheard. Two thugs grabbed his arms and dragged him to the inner part of the cave. They bound Wiro's hands and feet with strong rope, right next to the explosives that were ready to detonate.

"Help! Please don't do this!" Wiro struggled, but the bonds were too tight. His body could not move.

Gito crouched in front of Wiro and stared at him coldly. "If your Deity is real, just ask him to help you."

Then Gito stood and walked out of the cave followed by all his men. The sound of their footsteps grew distant, and Wiro was left alone in the darkness of the cave with a bomb that could explode at any moment.

'This is the end,' Wiro thought. Tears streamed down his face. 'Deity, if You truly are here, please help me. Not for myself, but for my elderly mother who has no one else.'

Outside the cave, Gito raised the remote detonator. A wide grin spread across his face.

"Three... two... one..."

His finger pressed the button.

The explosion was tremendous. Its sound echoed throughout the mountain, shaking the trees and sending flocks of birds scattering in panic. Smoke and dust billowed out from the cave mouth. Gito laughed loudly and arrogantly, and the thugs cheered as if they had just won a great war.

"That's the end of your fake Deity!" Gito laughed again, his voice bouncing off the stone cliffs around them.

But inside the cave, something unexpected was happening.

Wiro had already closed his eyes. He had resigned himself. He had already uttered his final farewell in his heart to his mother, to his siblings, to everyone he had ever loved. The sound of the bomb had exploded so loudly near him that he should have been blown to pieces.

Yet he could still think.

He could still feel.

Just before the explosion occurred, Wiro felt something envelop his entire body. Like a blanket, but more than that. Like a shield that covered every part of his body, from head to toe. The explosion happened. He heard its deafening sound. He felt its immense vibration. But his body was unharmed. Not even his ears were ringing.

'What happened? Am I dead? Is this the afterlife?'

Moments later, the blanket was pulled away from his body. The light from the still-smoldering remnants of the explosion illuminated the cave, and Wiro blinked repeatedly, trying to adjust his vision.

And before him stood a young man.

The young man appeared to be around eighteen years old, or at least he looked that way. His face was smooth without a single wrinkle. His eyes were clear and calm, like the surface of a lake on a windless morning. He wore clothes that looked ancient, with patterns and cuts that Wiro did not recognize as garments from this era. And he stood there, amid the destruction, smiling.

Wiro blinked again. He looked around. The inner wall of the cave, where hundreds of people had prayed over the years, was now completely destroyed. Large boulders lay scattered everywhere and dust still hung in the air. But behind the destroyed wall, a sight opened up that made Wiro's eyes widen.

There was a vast chamber. So vast that Wiro could not see its end. The chamber was lit by some kind of glowing stones embedded in the ceiling, providing a soft bluish illumination.

In one corner was a simple bed made of stone covered with what looked like straw. In another corner were implements resembling strange metal cauldrons, bottles filled with colorful liquids, and plants growing in stone pots. The place looked like both a laboratory and a dwelling at once.

"Who... are you?" Wiro asked, his voice barely a whisper.

The young man smiled. His smile was warm and carefree, like an old friend who had known Wiro for many years.

"You don't remember?" the young man said in a calm voice. "Two weeks ago, you came to the mouth of this cave holding your swollen cheek. You said your toothache had become unbearable. I threw a pill out to you from that hole." He pointed toward the rubble of the destroyed wall. "You took it, and I am certain you were healed instantly."

Wiro's eyes widened.

The young man continued. "And a year ago, you brought your older sister who was suffering from a bloody cough. You wept in front of the cave and begged me to help her. I gave you three red pills. And two years ago, you came with a face full of distress. You said you were trapped in debt to loan sharks and they threatened to kill your mother. At that time, I threw out a half-kilogram bar of gold for you."

Every word the young man spoke struck Wiro's consciousness like a hammer. Everything the young man recounted was true. Every detail, every event, all of it was accurate.

"Deity..." Wiro whispered. Tears flowed again, but this time they were not tears of fear. "You are the Deity who has been living in this cave all this time."

Wiro immediately prostrated himself, pressing his forehead to the dusty cave floor.