It's dark.
I can't see anything.
When I regained consciousness, the first thing I saw was nothing but pitch-black darkness.
"...."
Where am I?
I clearly remember... following the Young Lady and diving into the pit...
I glanced around, but all I could see was darkness, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.
Thanks to the enhanced serum abilities, I could make out some vague shapes, but even so, visibility was almost nonexistent.
With no other choice, I fumbled inside my coat and gripped the Ark-34 automatic conversion rifle.
Chzzk, chk....
As sparks shot out in Thundershock mode and started lighting up the surroundings, I was finally able to notice someone next to me.
'...Damn.'
A strangely familiar silhouette.
I didn't even need to think about who it was.
Especially considering why I was here in the first place.
"...."
I remembered.
I had thrown myself into the abyss to save the Young Lady, and not long after, the ground collapsed, and we were both swept away by a landslide.
And this was the result.
'She's... alive, right?'
If she had died, it would truly be the worst outcome.
The leader of the Shadow Order is a complex character from the player's perspective.
Even though our current relationship is somewhat antagonistic, her premature death would trigger a massive butterfly effect.
No, if her survival weren't crucial, I wouldn't have risked my life to chase after her in the first place.
"Hey."
"...."
"You alive?"
"...."
No answer.
Just in case, I placed a finger under her nose to check her breathing.
I could feel a faint breath.
Fortunately, it seemed she was still alive.
"Phew...."
At least we dodged the worst-case scenario.
Now, the only thing left was to wake her up and get out of here together.
'I can't do this alone... but if she's with me, that changes everything.'
There was no benefit in staying here longer, so I shook her gently.
"Hey."
"...."
"Wake up."
"Uugh...."
Thankfully, it wasn't long before she stirred and regained consciousness.
I had worried she might not wake up... but it was a needless fear.
"Where is this...?"
"Underground."
"...Underground?"
"We've been buried."
"Buried...?"
Her tone made it sound like it was some kind of ridiculous situation.
Which, oddly enough, made her seem more reliable.
With her help, I was sure we could get out of here anytime.
"Then let's get out of here. No point staying any longer."
"I was thinking the same. Let's see...."
It didn't take long for the Young Lady's graceful brow to furrow as she extended her hand.
"...What's going on?"
"Something wrong?"
"Hold on a sec...."
She reached out again, brows narrowing once more.
As expected, nothing happened.
"...Hmm."
"Something wrong?"
"...Problem? What problem. It's nothing."
Despite her words, her expression didn't look too reassuring, but I didn't bother pointing it out.
"If it's just a condition issue, you should rest a bit more. You clearly pushed yourself."
Earlier, she had undeniably gone beyond her limits, using ether to protect the soldiers while facing the Sand Devourer — no small feat, even for someone as powerful as her.
"...What do you mean pushed myself. Still, I'm a little tired, so I'll rest for now."
She turned her body and lay back down.
I thought her noble status might make her picky about lying on dirt, but maybe since she was already a mess, she didn't care anymore.
'Well... she's not the fussy type.'
Just as I remembered.
'Then....'
I sat down as well.
This place could collapse at any moment, sure — but with Esther here, I figured we'd manage somehow.
Slowly, time passed.
*
How long had we been lying there?
Hard to tell the exact time in this place, but it felt like half a day had gone by.
"Think you can do it?"
At my question, the Young Lady's small shoulders twitched slightly as she faced away.
"...D-Do what?"
"Time to get out. We can't stay here forever, right?"
"Y-Yeah...."
Even though she should've had enough rest, she still didn't look too confident.
A clear sign of the toll taken by forcibly drawing on her ether.
"...Just to be clear, you remember our alliance, right?"
"Yeah."
"Just because I'm a bit powerless right now... you're not gonna try anything, right?"
She looked a little anxious.
Worried I might take this chance to harm her.
"I can't get out of here without your help anyway."
"R-Right? Ahaha...."
For her, ether was practically the source of her confidence.
Now that it was gone, the raw and unfiltered version of her was starting to show.
'Not that I planned to kill the Commander anyway.'
As I mentioned before, the Shadow Corps' leader is a double-edged character — someone who absolutely needs to survive at least until a certain point.
So even if she was weakened, I had no intention of using this moment to kill her.
'But still... what happened to the soldiers on the surface?'
After I leapt to save her, I was quickly buried and knocked unconscious.
Meaning the ether suspending the soldiers in the air must've dissipated not long after.
That would've left them to fall straight to the ground — and even though Ark soldiers are tough, casualties were probably unavoidable.
'In the worst-case scenario, someone might've died.'
Actually, with me and the Young Lady stuck down here, the remaining soldiers would have been left completely exposed to the Sand Devourers' attack.
No matter how optimistically I looked at it, there was no good outcome to be expected.
["You don't need to worry about that part."]
An unexpected voice echoed through the darkness.
'What does that mean?'
["Most of them are probably safe. I absorbed most of the shock from the fall… and the Sand Devourers left the area not long after. I guess the Commander scared them off."]
'Is that so?'
That was a relief in a way. I had been genuinely worried about what might've happened to the remaining soldiers, but if that was true, all we had to do now was escape this place.
'Can you tell how deep this place is?'
["It's quite deep. I can't get out myself. And… my master and I have both nearly exhausted all our power."]
'No wonder you seemed drained.'
It wasn't just the Young Lady who had used up all her ether. Esther and I were both already at our limits.
'If we recover our strength, can we get out of here?'
["To dig through all this earth from this depth... unless you're at the Commander's level, it's not happening."]
'Then what can you do?'
Esther narrowed her eyes.
["Tch… who do you think created this space in the first place?"]
'So, it was you. Thanks.'
It wasn't coincidence that the Young Lady and I had survived underground in such a space. At the critical moment, Esther had acted—creating a miracle.
Grumbling, Esther seemed to soften quickly after sulking for a bit.
["I mean… it wasn't just because of my master. The Commander was there too, so… yeah."]
As Esther nodded and mumbled, the Young Lady, who had regained some composure, spoke.
"You two gonna keep whispering like that with me standing right here?"
"You're awake."
"Yeah."
"Then, can you do it now? I think the sooner we get out of here, the better."
"...I'll try, but don't expect much. I'm not in great shape right now."
"Got it."
She reached out her hand.
[──]
A flicker of ether appeared—and that was it.
"Hah, hah…"
Sweat beaded on her forehead. That little spark had taken everything she had.
"I-I just need a bit more rest! Really!"
She tried to sound upbeat, but her ether showed no sign of returning even as time passed.
[Psst──]
[Krrk…]
[Bzzt!]
Ether sputtered and died.
At this rate, it seemed better to avoid using what little energy remained and wait for a proper recovery.
Grrrlk─
A strange sound echoed suddenly—it was a stomach growling.
"Um… do you have anything to eat? I think… maybe I haven't eaten anything, and that's why I have no energy…"
Her face flushed red, as if it were about to explode from embarrassment. She was trying hard to play it cool, but it was clear she couldn't hide it.
"If you're okay with a multi-calorie bar."
"I'm totally fine!"
"Alright."
I reached into the darkness and opened a rift, pulling out a multi-calorie bar and a bottle of water.
My [Rift Space] had already become a massive storage facility. Naturally, it held a generous supply of calorie bars. No matter where I ended up, starvation wouldn't be a concern.
'The only issue is water.'
Unlike calorie bars, water requires separate containers for storage. And since it takes up a fair bit of space, I couldn't stockpile too much, even in the rift.
'I did stash plenty of bottles though… Still, we'll need to conserve, not knowing how long we'll be stuck here.'
Especially if the Young Lady's ether doesn't return, and we're forced to find another way out.
"Here."
"You… you even have water? When did you pack all this?"
"I'm very thorough with preparations."
Despite her embarrassment, she quickly devoured the calorie bar and water I gave her. Hunger truly is the best sauce—even for someone used to fine dining in Ark, a humble calorie bar in this situation must've tasted divine. She even licked the wrapper clean.
"Um, maybe…"
"Want another?"
"Well… yeah…"
Her already flushed face lowered shyly.
"…Yes."
"No problem."
I pulled out a few more calorie bars from the rift and handed one to her. I opened another for myself.
"Y-You really are… chomp… well-prepared, huh?"
"Eat or talk. Pick one."
"R-Right."
The formerly noble and dignified Young Lady had chocolate-flavored calorie bar smeared all over her lips.
"…."
"Hm? What?"
"Wipe your mouth."
"Oh."
Yeah… escaping from here wasn't going to be easy.