Answer:
When Axel awakens, Hans and Lidenbrock are there. Lidenbrock tells Axel to sleep, and Axel gratefully does so. When he finally regains his consciousness definitively, he is confused because he appears to discern daylight and the sounds of waves and wind. He wonders whether the explorers have returned to the surface and becomes extremely happy.
Axel's uncle prepares food for him and smilingly entertains his nephew’s questions. He mentions that their route will involve a crossing; Axel is astonished and wonders if there is a lake, a river, or a sea ahead of him.
Chapter 30
Now somewhat renewed, Axel cannot believe his eyes. Before him stretches a vast sea, with waves breaking on the shore. There is a light wind and spray hits his face. The light seems to be of electrical origin and is “like an aurora borealis, a continuous cosmic phenomenon, filling this cavern big enough to hold an ocean” (138). The sky seems filled with clouds but there is no sun, of course. Axel wonders what kind of geological event could explain this hollow. He cannot find the words to express his wonderment.
Lidenbrock asks Axel to walk a bit and Axel sees that the Hans-Bach is melting into the sea.
Axel also sees in the distance a huge forest comprised of massive mushrooms, which have grown large due to heat and humidity. Other vegetation reveals itself as Axel and Lidenbrock walk. It is the flora of the Secondary Period, the Transition Era. After a time, though, it becomes clear that the men are the only living creatures in this subterranean world.
Explanation:
