I didn't slow down.
That was the first decision I made once we regrouped—no hesitation, no reassessment paralysis, no poetic pause to appreciate survival. Momentum was a weapon, and I intended to use it until the cave itself ran out of excuses to exist.
We bulldozed forward.
Literally.
I drove my fist into the wall ahead of us, death-wrapped dualflow screaming as it tore through layered stone, crystal veins, and spatial reinforcement like wet paper. The impact didn't just make a hole—it made a statement. The cave shuddered, a deep, petulant groan rippling through the tunnels as if the structure itself was offended by my audacity.
Kent whooped behind me. "Yeah! That's the stuff! Screw hallways!"
Nora sighed. "This place was designed with pathways for a reason."
"And now," I said, stepping through the smoking gap, "it's designed with exits."
That earned me a snort from Page and an eye-roll from Lillith. I took it as approval.
