"We need a light source," Ynara murmured, her eyes scanning the blackness. "If we can find a torch, we might be able to ward off whatever's here."
Her voice was steady, but Kairon could see the faint tremor in her hands, the same one that had been present ever since Elise died. It was a subtle thing, yet it spoke volumes about the fear they were all trying to bury. Yet, she raised her palms, and gusts of flames, uncontrolled at first, let loose.
"Watch it, firework; someone could get burned!" Nareth yelled as he doused a flame burst that had fallen near him. Then a slightly embarrassed Ynara stabilized her flames, and they proceeded with her flames floating meters ahead, bright enough for them to see. The air cackled as the flames passed through, burning insects that were caught in its path.
As the flame cackled and sizzles of brining insects intensified while they pushed forward, Cael's humor began to crack. "Right. Anyone got popcorn?" he said, though the humor in his voice no longer masked the panic that had begun to rise.
The deeper they went, the thicker the darkness became. The air was stifling, and the oppressive presence of the shadows seemed to press in on them from every side—unseen, unknown, and not easily felt. It was as though they were being watched, each step leading them further into the unknown. Then, without warning, the shadows surged.
A preternatural gloom seeped from the unseen corners of the cavern, coalescing into writhing tendrils of pure shadow interwoven with razor-sharp metallic fibers. The hybrid entity moved with unsettling speed, a silent predator striking from the heart of darkness, and latched onto Cael's ankle. The impact was a chillingly cold, mechanical constriction, like the coils of a phantom viper crossed with a steel cable. A strangled cry tore from Cael's throat, a sound of pure shock and burgeoning terror.
"Cael!" Nyra's voice, sharp with immediate panic, sliced through the oppressive silence. The echo bounced off the unseen walls of the cavern, amplifying her fear.
"Help! I—can't…" His desperate plea for aid was abruptly choked off as the shadowy, metallic appendage exerted its terrible force. He was being dragged inexorably backward, pulled towards the unseen depths. His fingers, nails scraping uselessly against the rough, cold stone of the cavern floor, clawed for purchase, for any hold against the relentless pull into the abyss below.
"NO!" Ynara screamed, a raw, visceral cry of denial and terror. Her heart hammered against her ribs. A wave of desperate resolve washed over her as she lunged forward, her hands outstretched, reaching for him. But the shadows and metal, sensing her intent, tightened their grip on Cael, their inky, sharp tendrils coiling around his leg with cruel possessiveness.
"Fight it! Fight back!" Vess's voice cracked, strained with fear and fierce determination. She threw herself forward, a blur of motion, but the relentless shadows and whirring metal lashed out, a solid blow that slammed her against the cavern wall. The impact stole her breath.
The scene unfolded with agonizing slowness. Cael's terrified cries were gradually muffled. "I don't want to die—help!" His pleading voice met only the chilling whispers of the icy, metallic tendrils that now crawled up his leg.
"Hang on!" Kairon yelled, adrenaline surging. He lunged forward, but a thick tendril of shadow and spinning gears snaked out, striking him across the chest. The force sent him staggering back.
Ynara lunged again, grabbing Cael's arm, her muscles straining. Vess, despite her pain, joined her. Kairon, recovering, gripped Cael's other arm. They pulled with all their might, their faces contorted with effort, but the combined strength of the shadows and the relentless, whirring mechanics was overwhelming. The tendrils tightened, the metal groaning, and Cael screamed as the hybrid entity began to tear at his flesh.
Desperation flared in Cael's eyes. Focusing all his will, a blinding golden aura erupted around him. Pure energy lashed out, slamming into the shadowy metal constricting him. The tendrils recoiled momentarily, hissing and sparking. Hope surged through the group—but then the shadows deepened, the metallic elements whirred faster, and the golden energy seemed to be absorbed, twisted, and amplified, feeding the entity that held him.
Ynara's eyes were wide with horror as she watched Cael being dragged further into the abyss. "NO! Don't let him go!"
The shadows seemed to mock them, feeding on their fear, their grief. Cael's struggles grew weaker as the darkness suffocated his cries, his body contorting as it was twisted by the malevolent force. The flicker of light in his eyes was dimming, gradually being replaced by the cold, glassy stare of something that no longer resembled the person they had once known.
With renewed, terrifying strength, the shadows and mecha dragged Cael further. "I tried… you all did… it's okay…" His voice, weakening, was the last they heard before the darkness consumed him entirely. "Don't let their hair touch you...and don't forget the roots." The entity dragged him down, the sound of his bones breaking as his body was smashed by the walls of the dark abyss while it fell echoing.
"Cael… No…" Nyra's voice trembled, a broken whisper. Tears streamed down her face.
But amidst the despair, fury ignited in Ynara's eyes. "We can't let it continue like this!"
"No!" Vess shouted, pushing herself up. "We fight for him!"
Kairon took a deep breath, resolve hardening his features as he held his wounded side, and his voice cracked, raw with fury. "We will survive this!"
Nareth scoffed, turning his back. "Survive? He's gone, and our chances have dropped because of his unseriousness."
"Where are you going?" Teya asked, her voice tight.
"Away from this," Nareth gestured to the scattered remnants of the ruins where the skies had suddenly appeared following Cael' death, then to Kairon. "Away from him." Nareth then left. Others began to disperse in different directions.
From where Kairon stood, the others looked like flickering ghosts in the dust — Nareth with his smirk, Nyra pacing like a caged wolf, and Vess kneeling by the ground whispering to the earth.
Kairon's hands itched to move, to fight, to do something — anything — but the vision clung to him like a second skin.
We're not just trapped here, he thought. We're changing.
Nareth didn't look back, a smirk playing on his lips. He could feel the familiar hum of electricity thrumming within him, a stark contrast to the impotent rage radiating from Kairon. Let the strategist seethe; raw power would always prevail.
What was left of the group stood in the silence of Cael's absence, their grief threatening to tear them apart. They knew they had to move forward, but the weight of their loss pressed heavily on their shoulders, pulling them into the depths of despair. The tension between them was palpable.
"I can't believe we lost him…" Vess murmured, her voice barely a whisper.
"He sacrificed himself for us," Kairon replied, though his voice was strained. Fury simmered beneath the surface. "We can't let his death weaken us."
"Easier said than done," Ynara snapped, her anger rising. "I can't just forget he's gone. We're short one person now!" Her flames flared.
"Stop arguing!" Nyra cried, her voice panicked. "There were others, and we need to stay strong for each other!"
"It's no use arguing," Vess said, her voice heavy with grief, then a hint of surprise. "He's gone. And now… now there's this." She gestured to the swirling shadows from which a twisted, human-like entity had just emerged.
"Gone?" Ynara's voice was sharp with disbelief. "We just saw him… those shadows…"
"Whatever that is, it's not friendly," Kairon said grimly, stepping slightly in front of the others. "We have to get outta here."
Nyra's voice trembled, still in shock following Cael's death. "But… he was just with us. Making jokes…"
"That was before," Vess cut in, her gaze fixed on the emerging figure. "Something happened to him in the darkness. Maybe he survived or something. But we can't stay here!"
"Survive as… that?" Nyra whispered, horror etched on her face.
"So what do we do?" Nyra asked, her voice laced with fear and uncertainty as she took a cursory look at their numbers. "Fight this? Nareth and the rest are gone."
"We are still here, Nyra, and that's what matters. We fight whatever that is, if we must," Kairon stated firmly. "But we need to leave this place."
Suddenly, a twisted laughter echoed through the arena, cutting through the fragile silence and hushed whispers amongst the rest, including Vess, Ashei, Tarek, Ynara, and Vael. New shadows surged, and the ground shook, splitting beneath them. Shadows spiraled upward, and from the blackness.
Before Kairon could even form a defiant word, a blinding light erupted from the newly formed chasm, and a figure far more terrifying than the shadows that took Cael began to crawl out, its eyes fixed directly on Kairon, and a voice that seemed to tear at the very fabric of reality boomed.
"You will all die here…"