Did I anticipate that something was going to happen if I stepped into the cave?
Absolutely.
So why did I walk into it anyway?
To save Ariel.
The fox hadn't noticed it, but there was something lurking within her shadow. An entity she hadn't sensed despite all her instincts and abilities. It remained hidden beneath her feet, waiting patiently, and from what I could tell, it was preparing to pull her in.
I considered attacking it immediately.
But I doubted any attack I launched would actually connect.
The presence wasn't confined to a single location. It existed throughout the darkness around us, spread thin across every shadow in sight, yet concentrated most heavily beneath Ariel. If I struck and missed, then whatever was hiding there might react instantly.
And if it managed to drag Ariel into the darkness...
I wasn't sure she'd survive whatever came next.
So what was I to do?
