As they continued to slowly shuffle their way forward, Sanit leaned forward.
"Hey another thing. What can you tell me about the Rakshasas inside?"
"You'll see a variety," Dipan began as he shuffled along the queue in front of him, "most are animal hybrids, adapted to their biology from their firsthand visitation to this realm. You'll see apes, monkeys, some four legged beasts. Their characteristic is matted hair sometimes even serrated tendrils at the long ends of their strands. Oh and they've unusually hairy bodies."
"Anything really dangerous to be on the lookout for?" Sanit asked, thinking about his time in the other realm and whether he would see any here too.
"I always consider everyone of them dangerous in equal measure. No more. No less. It's kept me alive so far. I suggest you do the same."
Dipan's tone had a bit of warning in it which Sanit duly noted, but chalked it upto just deliberate fear mongering.
They were finally inside the barrier and Dipan beckoned him aside.
"Ok here's the plan alright, you..." he paused and looked annoyed, "are you still going to wear that thing?" Dipan pointed to the cap on Sanit's head.
"It's a cap, ignore it. Now continue."
Dipan shrugged, "ok so you follow my lead. I've done this before, so any problems with me leading?"
"None. I'm good." Sanit assured his new friend.
"Great," Dipan backed up a little, before asking hesitantly, "you do offense well or defense?"
"Um I don't know, it's my first time so I'll be a bit chill on the defense." Sanit downplayed himself, not knowing what to expect and not wanting to take in more burden than was necessary.
"Deal, you cover my back then. What are your inborn powers anyway?"
"Superstrength. Speed."
Dipan eyed him weirdly, "that's cool. How is this your first time then?"
"Never bothered applying myself," Sanit said with a shrug.
He watched Dipan ready himself by checking on his laces, his clothes, his axe.
"Ok, I'm done. Let's go."
The ground slowly descended to caverns underneath which were lit by fluorescent lights but in random places.
Sounds of growls and screams were already flowing through the passages, their echoes a stark reminder of where they were.
Two paths came right in front of them and the both of them decided by rock, paper, scissors to choose one.
"You know about Mani's right? Gemstones?" Dipan asked as they went in further.
"Yeah, in a lecture."
"Damn you've been under a rock...anyway listen, just haul whatever you can from the carcasses. I'll help if I'm not being mangled."
"Sweet. Got a bag though?"
From behind Dipan, Sanit could swear he had made his new friend exasperated as he handed him a small pouch.
"Oh shit, I see them." Dipan's demeanour changed in an instant.
Sanit turned and peeked straight into the dark. "How many?"
"I think one," Dipan was whispering at this point.
Then it came into the light. A thin, scaly, hairy bastard with a tail and apish structure.
It charged without preamble and the both of them made small steps back.
"Let's not blindly charge at it. It's a bit clumsy, it'll stumble and then we hit." Dipan said and waited, as did Sanit.
Although he was getting impatient and unsure as it kept getting closer.
"Are we..."
"Shh, just trust me." Dipan had his one hand raised, holding the axe while also telling him to back down.
And as if like magic, the beast tumbled its roar cut off by a whimper. Dipan crouched low and jabbed his axe into its midriff.
"Now's your time!" Dipan said through clenched teeth.
Sanit braced himself and leapt away in two three bounds reaching the beast before landing his folded fist right on its cheekbones, a shattering noise delighting both the boys.
Dipan wasted no time to go back and finish the job with his axe while Sanit slowly examined his fists. They were shaking a little but it was reminiscent of his old power coming back into his new body.
"That felt good," he muttered to himself.
"Yo that was epic, come here and help me collect." Dipan said excitedly as he crouched down next to the fallen beast.
Sanit watched as Dipan carved the creatures chest and pulled out a stone, uneven, but shiny.
"Always in the chest?" Sanit asked.
"Every single one of them. Never heard of one without one or in any other part of the body."
Dipan stood up wiping his brow and grinned, "that was seriously good work there."
"I was just following your lead."
"Right, right. Come on." Dipan stepped over the carcass and Sanit followed behind, wiping his hands.
When they were ahead Dipan silenced Sanit by putting his finger on his lips, "you gotta see this to understand better."
Sanit peeked around the corner.
There ahead of them by several meters were a group of Awakeners. They were organized as they rallied the other.
"Take the right one first!"
Two of the Awakeners with long bows yelled and their backs turned green as large glowing auras appeared behind the both of them.
"That's a Bow construct," Dipan whispered.
Like taking arrows from an invisible source, the Awakeners pulled out their expensive metal bows and pulled on the strings in a steady pace as the others held them back.
By then the energies had completely enveloped their physical bows as if charging them up.
TWANG!
The glowing bows whistled as the arrows landed right in the face of two Rakshasas which howled in pain and collapsed.
Shouts of cheers erupted across the team as the arrow Awakeners were appreciated.
Dipan leant back against the wall, "that's pretty much how it goes, come on we are going the other way."
After a few more meters, Sanit couldn't hold back his observations.
"You're not an Awakener are you, Dipan?"
The guy stopped walking and didn't move a muscle. That was more than enough confirmation for Sanit.
He spoke after a while, his jovial tone gone.
"Obviously not. I don't have to even ask how you knew, do I?"
Sanit chuckled, "you didn't use one ounce of any imbued energy on your weapon. It was just pure brute strength."
Dipan stayed silent. Not seeing his face could only keep Sanit guessing.
"Which also means that this is your first time in a place like this, isn't it?"
Sanit could almost hear his heavy breathing even from a distance.
Is he planning to launch an attack?
"Look I really don't care what you are or aren't. I just planned to see for myself where I test in such an atmosphere. Are we good? Dipan?"
The silence was tense. Dipan just seemed to refuse to move.
Is it shame that's paralyzed him? I don't get it. Fucking move.
Dipan finally did. One foot in front of the other, his axe now held loose by his side.
Sanit still remained on edge and followed behind. Aware of the dangers front and behind.
After a few meters of walking, Sanit spoke,
"We've gotta talk about this, oi!"
"What do you wanna know?"
There he is. Back in serious mode.
"What are your powers?"
"I'm good with--sand," Dipan replied.
Sandman?
"Why didn't you use them?"
Sanit regretted asking that as the next moment Dipan turned, seething with rage.
"The fuck am I gonna use sand powers with?"
Sanit was about to calm him down when his eyes widened, "oh shit, run!"
Dipan paused and turned to see a hurtling Rakshasa in his direction. It's jaws snapping as it stomped towards him in four legs.
Dipan barely registered crashing into the wall behind him as Sanit shoved him to it and let himself be dragged as Sanit pulled him by his arm towards a narrow passage, which was their immediate escape.
But that turned out to be a dead end. And on the other end a very rabid Rakshasa was pawing away at the rock walls to gain entry to where they were. They were basically sitting ducks at this point.
Dipan dropped his axe and knelt down, "we're so screwed man."
Sanit was gasping for breath, the maneuver costing him oxygen and the underground claustrophobia wasn't helping either.
"You ok?" He asked to Dipan who was sitting dazed and defeated.
"We're nothing man."
"What?" Sanit looked down at him, feeling a bit pitiful.
"I said we're nothing." Dipan seemed almost in the verge of tears as he looked up at Sanit, hoping he understood what he was trying to convey.
"Us Inborns. We're treated even worse than humans these days or have you been ignorant even about that aspect of our lives?"
Sanit stared at him. "No, I did pick up on that easily enough."
That was acknowledgement enough for Dipan to continue his rant.
"Nobody likes us," he said, burying his head between his hands and shaking, "nobody wants us. Our powers mean nothing in front of Awakeners, I mean how are we to even defend ourselves at this rate? Should we just die?"
When he saw back to see what Sanit was doing and noticed him leaning against the wall, trying to discern the distance they had left from the Rakshasa, Dipan gave up on it all even more.
"I'm talking to the wall, of course you don't care. Do you?"
The Rakshasa outside began to try and wreck the walls, widening the gap to get in.
"It's over, this is our last day."
Dipan's defeatist attitude finally got to Sanit who snapped.
"Have you gone insane? What are you blabbering about?"
Dipan looked up with misty eyes, "am I wrong?"
Which he then followed up by glaring at Sanit like it were his fault somehow and stood up, "TELL ME SANIT! AM I FUCKING WRONG?"
That's when the wall finally gave in, rubble and dust flowing in and only Dipan's whimpers amid incoherent yelling echoed through the small space before a defeaning roar.