The train moved steadily through the evening, its windows rattling softly as the sky dimmed to a deep blue. Out across the plains, the tall grasses shifted in the wind, darker now without the sun to brighten them. Forests appeared in patches, heavy with shadow, before giving way again to open stretches of land.
As the train drew closer to Augustine, the imposing grayish city wall, rising to a height of three meters, loomed into view, aglow with the bright lights. The station as a whole was even larger than the previous; the huge enclosed structure consisted of nine tunnels, the boarding platforms, and support facilities. Watching the crowds of people shuffling along the platforms and towards the ticket gates, Damon was filled with trepidation.
Vincent glanced over and winked at him. "Surprised? There's nothing quite like this anywhere else in Ethiopia."
"Huh?" Damon looked at Vincent with confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Of the three nations on this continent, Koinonia is the only one that was established around trade. Other stations might have similar layouts, but none of them see this kind of traffic. The flow of people coming and going through this terminal never slows down."
He gestured towards the bustling crowds."And since Augustine is the second most fortified city in Koinonia, a lot of merchant families settle here to establish ties with other influential figures passing through. To profit from this, the wall around the city is manned by several tax collectors and police collecting tariffs on entry."
As they chatted, a sharp crackling sounded, followed by the sound of a bell.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
"Augustine Route stop," a disembodied voice echoed. A crackling sound again."I repeat, Augustine Route stop. Thank you."
The speakers on the compartment wall crackled one last time before going silent. With a lot of squealing and steam dispersing, the train stopped at Augustine's train station.
Turning around, Damon noticed Henry had stirred from his meditation. At first, he looked glad to be on the train, but within ten minutes the excitement had given way to discomfort from heat and creeping boredom. For the remainder of the trip, he carried himself like a monk trapped on a long pilgrimage, passing the time in a quiet cycle of eating snacks and returning to meditation.
Damon doubted Henry was really meditating; the train itself seemed to be throwing their spiritual energy out of balance in strange ways.
Maybe there were runes worked into its design. He couldn't say for sure, but if Henry had actually managed to meditate through that mess, Damon figured he should start calling him [lǎo dà].
"Are we there?"Henry groaned.
Vincent nodded with a subtle smirk. Standing up, he slung Damon's satchel over his shoulder before motioning for them to follow. While the crowd of passengers surged toward the main exit, the brothers moved in the opposite direction, slipping through. They stopped before a sealed door marked with faint golden runes. With a short spell incantation from Vincent, the symbols pulsed briefly before fading away, releasing the latch on the door. Pushing the door open, the trio slipped out of the train carriage inconspicuously.
"I'll show you a path into the city without checkpoints."
"But isn't Augustine completely surrounded ?" Henry didn't conceal his confusion.
"Didn't the client already cover the fee?"Damon inquired, curiosity piqued.
"Heh, it is, and they did." The smirk tugging at Vincent's lips deepened".But this is much more fun."
Interested, Damon and Henry followed Vincent away from the city gate.
Five minutes later, they arrived at a cave entrance supported by scaffolding of decaying pinewood. Pushing past heaps of jumbled rocks, Vincent revealed a metal staircase leading underground. As they carefully descended the metal staircase, Vincent cast a light spell while speaking in low tones.
"I stumbled across this place about a month ago," he said."Judging by the construction…and the way it's been abandoned, I think it's a relic of the old world. Maybe even before The Collapse and the age of Najat began."
Damon and Henry exchanged glances while looking around, but said nothing, letting Vincent guide the way. At the bottom, the trio stepped onto cracked checkerboard tiles, the patterns faded and fractured under years of neglect. Rusted benches lined the walls, some overturned, some half-buried under dust and debris.
Ahead, a train frozen in place, its metal hull overgrown with vines and moss. A massive vertical display screen hung at an angle, its surface shattered and lifeless. Vincent's gaze swept over it all." I think this was once an underground train station," he said quietly as if speaking loudly might disturb something in the dark.
"Wait, how do we get inside the city from here?'Damon asked.
"The tunnel runs underneath the city wall."Vincent stopped and glanced back, "If we just keep moving straight, we'll eventually reach another platform like this one with a staircase that comes up on the other side. "I say we race. First one there wins."
"Could you be any more childish? That's a waste of time, and we could easily get attacked down here," Damon shook his head in annoyance. The thought of running around in some disgusting, dark, and desolate tunnel at night was idiotic, yet against his better wishes, Henry's eyes lit up.
"I'm up for it," he said.
"Ha! You're actually entertaining this nonsense?"Damon's eyes widened in shock at Henry's words
"What? scared you'll lose?" Flashing a sly smile, Henry taunted..
Ignoring his words, Damon responded with a sigh, "You're just gonna use your technique to cheat."
"I know you want to race too, Damon, "Vincent teased, "The serious act doesn't work on me. If you two can't beat me, you're both losers. "
After two minutes had passed while they playfully bickered, the trio set off, bolting down the path. Dust kicked up underfoot as they leaped over piles of fallen rubble and dodged swarms of rats and insects, all the while feint echoes of their laughter and footsteps bouncing off the stone walls.
Under the glow of the spell, the next platform was finally coming into view. Vincent maintained a steady lead while Damon and Henry strained neck and neck to keep up. Their ragged breaths and pounding footsteps filled the tunnel until another sound cut through.
A deep, thunderous rhythm.
Something was coming from behind.
At first, it was distant.
But with each echo it grew heavier, sharper.
Damon's stomach dropped as he picked out the pattern, six limbs, slamming against the stone, moving faster than they were.
The air itself seemed to vibrate with each impact.
His chest tightened, panic clawing at him, but curiosity forced his head to turn. One glance was all it took.
A massive spider-like beast tore after them, its body covered in black, bristling fur that shook with every lunge. From the crown of its head rose the upper torso of a woman, but twisted into something nightmarish. A grotesque maw split open across her stomach, two rows of jagged teeth glistening in the dim light. Her lower jaw was split in half, dangling grotesquely as she shrieked. From her empty eye sockets and her neck jutted spiraling ram-like horns, warped and asymmetrical, giving her a hellish silhouette as she barreled forward.
Damon's heart stopped. His legs moved on instinct. "Run! Faster!" he screamed, his voice breaking as terror burned through his chest.
Huff… Huff..Huff …Henry's breath hitched, panic flashing across his usually calm face. He didn't dare look back; he didn't need to. The sound alone was enough to twist his gut with dread.
But ahead of them, Vincent's laughter rang out in the darkness. It was wild, unrestrained, almost joyous. "Now this is more like it! Having fun now, Henry?" he shouted, his voice brimming with excitement. While Damon and Henry's fear drove them into a frenzy, Vincent surged forward like a man chasing the very thrill of death itself.
The tunnel shook with the pounding of six monstrous limbs, their own footfalls a frantic counter beat. And though the platform lay ahead, it suddenly felt impossibly far away.
Its cracked tiles were shining faintly under what little light remained. Vincent leapt onto it first with ease, while Damon and Henry scrambled close behind.
With a sudden blur of motion, its legs slashed at them from the tunnel. Damon ducked, the wind of the strike grazing his hair. Henry twisted sideways, the jagged limb scraping the stone inches from his chest. Both of them stumbled onto the platform, hearts pounding as adrenaline surged through their veins.
Behind them, the monstrous creature screeched, its shrill voice echoing through the tunnel. It lunged again, but its massive frame jammed in the narrow opening, forcing its spider legs to scrape violently against the walls. Enraged, it slammed its limbs into the stone, the impact rattling the ground as cracks splintered outward.
'Dammit, where's the exit?'
Damon's gaze shot across the platform, scanning frantically until his eyes landed on the stairwell tucked into the far corner. "There, hurry up!" he shouted, grabbing Henry's arm and pulling him forward.
Together, they vaulted over chunks of rubble and broken tiles, scrambling toward the staircase. Without hesitation, they began their ascent, lungs burning as they fled upward, desperate to put distance between themselves and the nightmare below.
They didn't look back.
But Vincent did.
He lingered at the edge of the platform, eyes glinting in the dim light as the beast roared at him. "What's wrong, Lanka?" he called, his voice thick with mockery. "All that muscle, all those legs, and you still can't squeeze through a tunnel? Pathetic."
Bang! Bang! BANG!
The creature slammed its limbs harder, shrieking in fury. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Vincent only laughed. "Don't pout. I'll be back. Next time, maybe you'll have the guts to break out. Then we'll see who's really faster." He spat the words like a dare before finally turning to sprint after Damon and Henry.
The sound of Lanka's enraged howls followed them upward, echoing long after they left the platform behind.
Author note : [lǎo dà] is a term referring to the leader of a gang, team, or family. It can also be used for a respected eldest brother. The light spell creates a domain of glow that radiates outward twenty meters.
Lastly, for the rest of this arc, regarding the kidnapping Incidents, recent chapter plot points after the trials will be interconnected.