Besides Cullen's thumbs, each one of his fingers had a ring. It grew increasingly easy to kill the Jewels, now to the point where he didn't have to move. That was the good side of his situation.
The bad side: he was completely lost.
'I knew this would happen. Ever since I made that first turn, my fate was sealed.'
Cullen considered marking where he came from, but he didn't want to lead anything to him. But now he had a bigger problem.
'I could ask a miner how to get back, but can I really trust them? What if they send me to my death and nobody ever finds out!'
Right now, Cullen was walking down the tracks, hoping it would lead him back. There were no landmarks in this place. It was an endless loop, besides a few outposts Cullen found. This was where the miners dug under the supervision of a Jewel. Cullen encountered a few but decided to leave without attacking the Jewel in charge. He didn't want to mess anything up. Since each one was slightly different, he may be able to recognize if he had been there before, but he hadn't seen one for a while now.
In terms of his crystals, Cullen's control over them was impressive to say the least. Eight at a time would have been difficult at the start, but since he had been gradually increasing the amount, it wasn't a problem.
'Maybe I can start marking the walls with my crystals? If I don't do something, I'll starve down here.'
The scale of the cave system was unimaginable. There were entrances all over the edges of the towns, and they went deep into the Earth. If everything were connected, Cullen may never see the light of day.
As he wandered down the cave, Cullen started to notice something strange. The torches on the walls gradually dimmed, and the path beyond grew pitch-black.
Cullen paused, unsure if he should continue.
'I definitely haven't been here before… but is there a reason to continue?'
While intriguing, Cullen knew very little despite his time in the caves. The Island had around ten different Abominations, and given the difference in size between it and The Amethyst Burrow, it would make sense if there were many more here.
But curiosity got the best of him.
Cullen took one of the torches from the wall and began to walk down the dark pathway. But even the light in his hand faded as he got closer, along with an eerie feeling creeping up his back.
Then, some light crept into view. A subtle white glow emanated from the ground farther down the cave, like a dangerous calling. A structure came into view as Cullen approached, then he realized what it was.
'A well?'
Cullen dropped the now-useless torch.
The sides were made of cracked stone bricks with moss growing down them, and rotted wood formed a useless roof over the pit. There was no bucket in the center, and it didn't seem to hold water. Cullen hadn't looked down, but he could tell that much from the light coming up.
'This could be an Abomination, but I can't see a core anywhere…' Cullen laughed to himself. 'Maybe there's treasure inside, and it'll bite me if I reach for it. What could I make with an ability like that?'
His mood worsened as he drew closer to the well, as if it poured out fear.
Then, Cullen arrived at the edge of it and began to peer over.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Right before Cullen could see what was down the well, a voice from behind startled him. He swung around and saw three shadowy figures hidden in the darkness.
Cullen gripped his knife and commanded his crystal to stay close.
"Who are you?" he shouted.
The figures walked closer and were illuminated by the light from the well. A woman stood between two kids, each wearing a miner's uniform, but showed no signs of digging. With clean faces and new clothes, they were in much better condition than the other miners Cullen had seen. And the most crucial thing: Cullen detected no cores.
"Are you three human?"
"Are you?" the woman in the middle asked.
She was a young woman with long chestnut hair and eyes that seemed to change color. It was too dark for Cullen to see. He removed his backpack and reached inside, but it seemed to panic the others.
"Calm down."
Cullen pulled out a compass and looked at the needle.
'It says the nearest Abomination is behind me…'
Although it wasn't pointing at the people ahead, the well was closer to him. They both could be Abominations for all he knew.
"I need you to come closer to me so I can confirm."
The two kids beside the woman looked at her hesitantly.
"We have no reason to trust you," she said.
"Are you a Gifted?" Cullen asked.
"What does that mean?"
Cullen's eyes widened.
'Gifted is a term from the city… does that mean they're from somewhere else? But even the boy knew what Gifted meant.'
"Did you get powers from The God?"
The woman hesitated.
"Yes."
"Then you should be able to see that I don't have a core."
She looked Cullen up and down, but the distrust remained on her face.
"I know plenty of monsters whose cores are separate."
'They say monsters instead of Abominations, too.' Cullen noted to himself.
"Where do you come from?" he asked.
Silence.
"We aren't going to get anywhere if you refuse to talk."
Still nothing. Cullen sighed.
"I come from a city in North America, which used to be New York."
He figured there was no harm in telling her this. The Abominations of The Amethyst Burrow somehow knew they called themselves Gifted, suggesting it knew where they came from.
'She is right, though. My compass tracks the cores of Abominations, so I can't prove that they're human when so many are separated.'
This was getting a lot more complicated. Typically, you could always tell the difference, but it's different here.
"My name's Cullen, what's yours?"
She hesitated. "Iris."
"What about them?"
He looked at the kids beside her.
"You don't need to know."
Cullen stared at Iris for a few seconds before she finally gave up.
"Fine. We live in The Underground and blend in with the miners."
'The Underground? Is that what they call The Amethyst Burrow?'
It didn't make much sense to Cullen why they would choose to live in such an uninhabitable place. There was no food and constant danger, not to mention that blending in was almost impossible.
"Why did you warn me about the well?"
"It leads to a terrible place."
"…"
'So is it a part of The Amethyst Burrow or a different Abomination?'
Cullen definitely didn't trust her, but it wasn't worth ignoring her.
'This may be my first contact with another human civilization. It would be best to befriend them, especially since they've been living here. If I can get information about The Amethyst Burrow's core, or really anything, it can save us.'
"Can you lead me back to The Underground? I'm lost."
Iris glared at Cullen, analyzing every breath he took. It was clear she wasn't fond of him.
"I can, but you need to answer all of my questions on the way."
"Deal."
Iris began leading him through the cave system, taking turns like she had a map in her head. The two kids beside her, one boy and one girl, hadn't spoken a word.
"How do you have those crystals?"
"It's part of my ability."
"What's your ability?"
Cullen glanced over at her.
"Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."
Iris scoffed.
"Why are you here, and are there others?"
He slowed down.
'Should I tell her? Although they live here, I can't imagine they want to. Maybe they're stuck and have been trying to kill it?'
Cullen couldn't tell how strong Iris was. She definitely didn't understand the term Tavros, but it had been so long since Cullen tested his own that it didn't even matter. He had no clue about her ability, and her strength was impossible to tell by appearance.
They had, however, hidden from a few Jewels passing by. But Cullen didn't know if that was Iris's lack of strength or her protecting the kids.
"I'm here with a few others. Our goal is to kill Grade-E Abomination, The Amethyst Burrow."
Iris looked strangely at Cullen.
"What does that mean?"
He sighed.
"We call monsters Abominations, and this place is The Amethyst Burrow. We classify it as a Grade-E because it is an ecosystem capable of creating lower-grade Abominations."
Suddenly, Iris stopped walking.
"So you're trying to kill The Underground?"
"Yes."
"What about the other?" Iris asked.
"What other?"
Cullen had no clue what she meant. Was there another Abomination living in The Amethyst Burrow?"
"Let me put this in terms you'll understand: there are two Grade-E Abominations here. One is far worse, and that well would have led you straight to it."