The silence of the cave was a living thing, pressing against my eardrums with a pressure that was almost physical.
It wasn't just the absence of sound, it was a silence with weight, with texture, with presence. A silence that sat on the shoulders like a heavy cloak, clinging to skin, pressing against bone, sinking into the marrow. The cavern itself seemed to breathe with it, vast and endless, its stillness stretching beyond sight. Every part of me felt the quiet as if it were alive, as if the silence itself had hands, wrapping around me, steady and unyielding.
It wasn't an empty silence.
No this was a dense, heavy quiet. A quiet that felt deliberate, intentional, as though the cave itself wanted to hush us into submission, as though the earth had secrets that must remain unspoken.
The stillness was punctuated only by the subtle, deliberate sounds of the deep earth.
Drip.
Drop.
Every tiny bead of water, falling from stalactites that hung like jagged fangs from the ceiling, broke into the still pools scattered across the cavern floor. And every single drop seemed to echo forever, a deep resonance stretching out, bouncing against unseen walls, until it merged again with silence. Each drip was like a drumbeat slow, patient, unchanging. The kind of rhythm that could outlast years, centuries, lifetimes.
Drip.
Drop.
The sound filled the space not with comfort, but with unease. The dripping wasn't random it was steady, like a heartbeat. A heartbeat that wasn't mine. A heartbeat that belonged to something deeper, something older, something watching.
And woven between the drip and drop was something else a thrum. A quiet vibration that wasn't sound so much as sensation. A hum that seemed to crawl beneath the skin and linger there. The power that emanated from the crystals.
My eyes no, not just my eyes, something else, something deeper were drawn to them. Drawn to the faint, ethereal light of those crystals embedded like stars in the jagged cavern walls.
They pulsed.
Not randomly, not flickering like dying flames, but with a rhythm. A breath. A heartbeat. The crystals glowed in cool sapphire, pale amethyst, and occasional streaks of icy turquoise. Their soft, internal energy painted the slick, damp rock walls in shifting layers of color pale glimmers dancing across stone, dripping water, and the still pools at our feet.
The light hypnotized me.
It wasn't just something I saw, it was something I felt, tugging gently at the edges of my mind. My gaze traced the glowing veins of minerals that spread through the walls like constellations mapped in stone. The uneven, wet floor glimmered with reflected light, streaks of pale sapphire sliding across puddles as though the cave were alive, breathing, shifting in slow motion.
The pools of water mirrored the cavern's crystalline glow perfectly. They became false skies beneath our feet black mirrors filled with unblinking constellations. Looking into them was like looking into another world, an upside-down reflection of a place too vast, too still, too eternal to be real.
And then
That reflection was disturbed.
Not by a ripple, not by my movement or Zy's or Rayu's.
But by something else.
A faint glint.
A flash of light that didn't belong.
A pair of eyes.
They weren't bright, not glowing like the crystals, but they were there distinct, deliberate. A reflection that was too fixed, too steady, too alive to be mistaken for light bending in stone or water.
Eyes. Watching.
Every nerve in my body fired at once. The hair on my arms hair I had never felt stir before stood upright, electrified by instinct. A primal recognition swept through me: we were being observed.
I froze.
The breath I had been drawing caught mid-inhale and refused to move, trapped in my chest like a shard of glass. My lungs ached with the pressure. My heart usually steady, a reassuring percussion skipped, fluttered violently, and then stalled, leaving me suspended in a terrifying, breathless limbo.
Slowly, my gaze sharpened. Narrowed. I forced my vision into the darkness, into the point from which the eyes had come. But the more I looked, the stranger it became.
The darkness thickened.
It wasn't emptiness anymore it was substance, ink pooling and coalescing into something solid, tangible. It swallowed the light of the crystals, a void within a glow. It was like staring into the mouth of an inkwell, bottomless, endless, unbroken.
The longer I stared, the more the cave seemed to fall away around me. The crystals, the pools, the dripping water all of it dimmed at the edges of my awareness. All that remained was the point of light where the eyes had been.
A pull. A focus. A gravity.
Beside me, Zy shifted.
It was subtle, but I felt it as clearly as if the earth itself had moved. The air around her grew taut, stretched thin, like the charged silence before a storm. She stiffened, her body reacting instinctively, silently echoing the same primal alarm my own had sounded.
When her voice came, it was small. A soft, hesitant breath. Fragile. The kind of sound that barely dares to exist in a place like this.
Zy stiffened beside me. Her voice wavered, softer than usual. "Taren, do you see something?"
Her face was caught halfway between worry and disbelief, the glow of the cave crystals painting her pale
Rayu's golden eyes flicked toward me, sharp, suspicious. "Hey, kid…" He leaned forward, his cloak rustling against the wet stone. "What do you see?"
The glow from a nearby crystal slid across her face, half-drenching her in pale light, half-drowning her in shadow. It painted her features in sharp contrast one side touched by silver-blue glow, the other hidden in anxious dark.
Her eyes were wide, searching, darting from me to the abyss and back again. But her gaze was empty of recognition she didn't see what I saw. She couldn't. Her senses were bound to the human spectrum, and this thing I was staring into it was not.
The breath returned to me slowly. Painfully. My lungs expanded like stiff, unwilling bellows, dragging in air that scraped my throat raw. Every inhale sent shivers rippling through my body, cold and sharp, like knives in my gut.
I forced calm into my voice. Forced it into shape like hammering raw metal.
"I sense… someone else is with us."
The words felt foreign, empty. They dropped into the cavern like dead weight, vanishing into the silence without echo.
Inside, however, my insides writhed.
Knots formed in my chest, cold and hard, twisting into my gut until nausea rolled in waves. A pulling sensation deep within, like something reaching into me, tugging at the core of who I was.
Rayu's head snapped toward me.
Golden eyes. Sharp. Bright. Piercing straight through me. His stare stripped me bare, tearing away the thin veil of calm I had tried to put up. The rustle of his cloak against wet stone was a low, dry whisper jarring in the otherwise damp silence.
"Hey, kid…"
His voice was low, rough, like gravel being ground underfoot.
A warning. A demand.
"What do you see?"
The suspicion was thick, cloying, bitter on my tongue.
I opened my mouth, struggling for words
But the world moved before I could.
But the world moved before I could.
The silence, once so heavy it had seemed eternal, fractured. It wasn't shattered by sound at first but by presence.
Something shifted in the dark. Not with footsteps, not with rustle or scrape, but with existence itself. A shift of pressure in the air, as if the cavern had drawn in breath, as if the unseen walls had leaned closer. My skin tightened, the hairs on my neck pulling sharp. It was as though the shadows themselves had flexed, twisting against the glow of the crystals, pulling the edges of light inward.
Rayu's cloak rippled faintly though no wind moved in this place. The fabric brushed against the damp stone with a whisper sharp, slicing against the silence. Zy flinched at it, her fingers twitching toward the hilt at her side, though she stopped before touching it, as if to reach would make the threat real.
And then
Drip. Drop.
The water fell again, steady as always. The rhythm unbroken. And yet the sound was no longer neutral; it was amplified, thunderous in my ears, as though the cave itself were reminding us: you are not alone here.
I tried to find the words. To explain what I had seen, what I felt. My lips parted, but my throat burned as if the air had thickened into ash. My chest swelled with something that was not breath, not voice, something else pressing outward from the inside, demanding release.
The crystals pulsed.
Once. Twice. Their glow dimmed, then swelled brighter, then dimmed again, like some vast heart deep within the cavern had begun to beat harder, faster. Shadows warped across the walls, growing longer, sharper. And in the reflection of the nearest pool, the eyes returned.
Still. Unblinking. Fixed.
Rayu's golden gaze snapped toward it. He didn't flinch. His jaw tightened, the corners of his mouth drawing into a thin, hard line. His hand, weathered and scarred, slid to the edge of his weapon but did not draw. Not yet.
"Stay sharp," he muttered.
The words were low, gravel caught in his throat, almost lost in the cavern's echo. But they struck Zy like a blade. Her shoulders stiffened; her stance widened, knees bent slightly as though she expected something to emerge from the void at any second.
I swallowed hard, forcing my voice through the pressure that threatened to choke me.
"It's… there."
Zy's head whipped toward me, her eyes wide, glowing faintly in the crystal light. "Where?"
I lifted a trembling hand, pointing into the ink-dark hollow where the light failed to reach. My finger shook. I could feel it the thing's attention tightening around me like wire. My hand trembled not from weakness but from the unbearable strain of being seen.
Rayu followed my gesture without hesitation. His eyes narrowed, the muscles of his jaw flexing. I could almost hear his teeth grinding, feel the weight of his restraint. He was ready to strike but not yet.
The darkness stirred.
It didn't move like flesh, not like something with body or bone. It moved like a liquid shadow, folding and unfolding against itself. Like the abyss had chosen to peel itself from the walls and take form.
A low vibration rattled the stones. Not a sound no, not yet. It was something deeper, resonating in the chest, in the teeth, in the bones. My vision blurred at the edges as the pressure built. The pools of water shivered, faint ripples spreading outward in concentric circles.
Zy took a step back. "What is that?"
Her voice cracked. Not from weakness she was strong, unyielding but from the impossibility of what she was seeing.
I didn't answer. Couldn't. My throat locked, sealed by something heavier than fear. Words didn't belong in this moment. They would have shattered the fragile boundary between silence and eruption.
And then
The shadow breathed.
It was not air it drew, not life, not anything human. But it expanded and contracted like lungs, as if to mock the act of living. The motion was vast, consuming, the kind of movement that made the cavern itself feel small. My ears popped with the shift in pressure, my skin dampened with cold sweat that stung as it slid down my back.
The eyes glowed brighter.
Not blinding. Not radiant. But sharp, cutting through me with precision. They did not blink, did not shift. They chose me.
And in that moment, the cave no longer existed. The crystals, the dripping water, the pools all of it vanished. There was only the void and me, bound together in an endless stretch of time. Seconds stretched to minutes, minutes to eternities. My heartbeat thundered so loudly I thought it might echo off the stone but no, it was silent, trapped within me.
Rayu moved first.
It wasn't an attack, not yet. It was a step. A slow, deliberate step forward. The scrape of his boot against wet stone was like a blade tearing fabric.
"Enough games," he growled, low and dangerous.
The shadow pulsed in answer.
It didn't advance in any predictable fashion, didn't lunge or strike. It simply expanded, then contracted, the darkness itself writhing as though alive. The crystals' soft light caught in its edges, tracing the outline of something that might have been human or might have been nothing at all. It was a figure, yes, but one that flickered between forms, never the same twice in the briefest moment. The air smelled faintly of ozone, sharp and biting, a scent that set my teeth on edge.
Zy's breath came faster, shallow, each exhale leaving a visible mist in the cold cave air. She shifted her weight, balancing on the slick stone, muscles coiled like springs. Her braid swayed slowly with the motion, catching the glint of crystal light, the strands moving like serpents against the faint glow.
I could feel my own pulse racing. Not just in my chest, but through my veins, thrumming in time with the subtle hum of the crystals. My fingers tingled. My teeth felt wired with electricity, and every small sound the drop of water, the distant scuttling of some unseen insect, the whisper of stone against stone was amplified to painful clarity.
And then
Movement.
The shadow erupted forward, fluid and silent, skimming across the cavern floor as if gravity had no hold. It was masked, black lines swirling across its face like ink in water, a design that suggested form but gave nothing away. It moved with a speed that defied all reason, yet somehow, I knew where it would be next. Not rationally, not consciously but a primal, instinctive sense prickled along my spine.
"Taren!" Zy shouted, her voice sharp, cutting through the tense, humming air.
I bolted.
The world blurred around me. My boots scraped against slick stone, sending tiny sparks of light as they caught on crystal shards embedded in the cavern floor. Each step was precise, yet lightning-fast, my body moving without my conscious thought. Rayu, a dark silhouette, followed closely behind, his cloak fluttering, his wings tucked against his back. Zy was right there too, her movements a blend of calculated strength and instinctive agility, her weight striking against the cavern floor with rhythmic, echoing thuds.
The masked figure danced ahead, slipping further into the shadows just as I thought I would close the distance. Every time I blinked or thought I blinked they were gone, leaving only a memory of movement and the faint hum of malevolent energy.
"How did you know she was there?!" Zy's voice rang in my ears, frantic and incredulous, her hair whipping around her face like fire caught in wind.
"I don't know!" I yelled back, the words ripped from me, ragged and raw. My body was alive with energy I didn't understand. Muscles hummed beneath my skin. My mind was a storm of sensory overload light, sound, motion, instinct but a single thread of clarity guided me. I could feel her.
A pool of glowing water flashed underfoot. I dove to the side instinctively, the liquid splashing with phosphorescent brilliance. Each droplet caught the crystal glow, scattering it like liquid stars. My body twisted midair, landing with a soft thud, boots skidding on the wet stone.
Zy's eyes widened in brief surprise, reflecting the crystal light in bright, terrified flashes, but she didn't pause. She lunged after the figure with precision, her braided hair snapping like a whip behind her, her boots striking with an echoing rhythm that reverberated across the cavern.
Then a sudden hissing noise, sharp, like air escaping under pressure.
A smoke bomb.
It hit the cavern floor with a faint, oily sizzle, erupting into a thick, choking cloud. Darkness and fumes rolled outward, swallowing the pale glow of the crystals and obscuring our footing. The world was reduced to shadows and shapes, a suffocating fog that clung to skin, eyes, lungs.
Rayu disappeared first. One sharp motion of his wings, a brief flash in the dim light, and he vanished into the smoke like a predator reclaiming its territory. I caught only the echo of powerful wingbeats fading deeper into the cavern, swallowed by shadows and fog.
Zy and I were not so fortunate.
The smoke twisted around us, thick and choking. My vision blurred, depth perception vanished, and the next moment I collided with something solid. Something glowing. Something alive.
Vines.
They hung low, pulsing with the same blue light as the crystals. Thick, muscular, sticky alive. They wrapped around me instantly, constricting with a surprising strength. The sensation was alien, a pressure that moved with intent, a series of pinches and squeezes that stole my breath.
I was lifted from the floor. Suspended. The glowing tendrils dug into my skin, tight and unyielding. My chest heaved, air burning in my lungs. The blue light cast eerie shadows, long and twisting, across Zy's upturned face as she too struggled against the grasping growths. Her braid dangled like a pendulum, swinging slowly as the vines wrapped around her wrists and ankles, each movement sending pulses of cold through my nerves.
Rayu's voice, sharp and commanding, cut through the haze.
"I'll go after them! You two stay put!"
Wingbeats, swift and distant, echoed once, twice, and then faded into nothingness.
I hung there, the blue light flickering against the moist walls of the cavern. My arms strained. My fingers ached. The vines were a living prison, and the longer I struggled, the more their pulsing light seemed to mock me.
"…Well, dang," I muttered, a low, frustrated breath.
"That was some horrible luck," Zy added, her voice a faint mix of irritation and resignation. Her braid swung gently, catching glimmers of light, the movement hypnotic even in her trapped state.
But adrenaline never truly left me. With a slow, deliberate motion, I retrieved the spring-loaded dagger from its sheath, feeling the familiar weight. My left arm shot upward. The dagger extended with a soft click, slicing through the sticky fibers. Snap. Snap. Snap.
One by one, the vines gave way.
I dropped hard into a shallow pool of water, the liquid cold and biting, soaking through my clothes, stinging my face. My limbs ached, but I scrambled upright, immediately moving toward Zy. Her restraints fell with similar sharp snaps under my blade.
She dropped beside me, rubbing at the faint red marks left by the vines. Relief softened her sharp features.
"Thanks,Taren."
"No problem," I muttered, sliding the blade back. My voice was steadier, though my hands shook with residual tension.
We shared a brief moment breathing, shaking off the lingering fear, the cavern returning to its strange, hypnotic quiet. The smoke still lingered, the crystal glow subdued but present, and the cavern seemed to stretch, endless, waiting.
I glanced at Zy, then at the Wing Pack folded on her back. Her confidence returned in a flash, the familiar smirk tugging at her lips.
"Finally, you're making sense," she said, brushing her braid over her shoulder. Panels unfolded with a hiss. Jets sparked with pale blue light.
But instinct overrode logic. I grabbed her wrist.
Her eyes widened.
"What?" she asked, impatience and surprise coiling together.
"We don't know if she's dangerous or not," I said quietly… "Please… don't get hurt, Zy."
Zy paused. Then, a small snort, almost amused.
"Oh, I'll be fine, you big baby," she said, releasing her weight into the jet-powered lift. A gust tore through the cavern, lifting her with a roar. She shot into the shadows and smoke, vanishing like a comet.
The cave fell silent.
For a long moment, I just stood. Arms stretched, legs shaking, chest heaving. The hum of power within me a strange, latent energy throbbed in response to the calm. I raised my hand, staring at it in the dim light.
…Being fast isn't normal, I whispered to myself.
My fingers trembled. Vibrated. Humming. Blurred into streaks of motion, too fast to follow. Skin tingled. The air compressed around me. Raw energy, electric and alive, pulsed through my veins, through bone, through marrow.
Zy screamed. The sound was raw, filled with pain and terror, and it hit me like a physical blow.
The sound struck like a physical blow. My heart stopped. My instincts took over, launching me forward in impossible speed.
The world dissolved into streaks of blue and gray.
I arrived in a heartbeat or maybe a thousand and saw her: crumpled on the wet stone. Rayu sprawled unconscious nearby. And above them, the masked figure, weapon gleaming with plasma-like energy.
Time shattered.
My body burned. Rage exploded. Lightning coursed through me, vision tinted in pure, raw fury. Hands curled into glowing claws, jagged and alive.
Impact.
Claws slammed into the masked figure, sparks flew, weapon clattered aside, their body trembling beneath me. Voice quivered:
"What… are you?"
A blue tint flickered away. Claws dissolved. My chest heaved. Exhaustion settled over me like lead.
The figure scrambled backward, eyes wide, fear absolute.
Zy still clutched her side, staring at me with a mixture of awe and terror.
I whispered, confused:
"Why did you stop me?"
"We shouldn't kill any survivors," she said, weak but firm.
"But Rayu-"
"Rayu is fine he's just unconscious after slamming into that rock" She interrupted and stared at the masked person
"Just kill me already I couldn't stop you from entering the sacred underground city layer so I've failed my duty as the unofficial; guardian" The person said shaking
"If you are unofficial then its not really your job so you didn't fail anything, you're just really terrible at protecting" I say breathed then Zy smacked the back of my head
"What this idiot meant was that you are still growing and you still have some flaws in your job" Zy reassures them
"And what's this city you're talking about?"
"I guess that means you haven't found it yet" they whisper grabbing their mask
"I'm Mira" she said, getting up and unmasking herself. A pale face, wide dark eyes, freckles across cheeks. Trusting, curious, intense.
"You guys seem trustworthy" She said looking at me
"Dont look at my boy like that" Zy snapped
"Uh what?" I raised an eyebrow
"N-nothing you're hearing things" Zy stammered and looked away following Mira.
I walked over to Rayu and picked him up
"Why are you so heavy?" I frowned, putting him on my back and I tried to catch up with Zy and Mira who seemed to be arguing a little. While we were making our way to this city I looked around the ginormous cave that should be called the underground earth because it's as big as the outside, I saw glowing vines, floating blue dust, glowing huge worms in the distance in the water, and some skeletons next to them ugh that sent chills down my spine.
"We are almost there but we have to get across this first" She pointed at the pillars that lead to some gates and I looked down at the gray pillars and saw nothing but pitch black
"WHY ON EARTH DOES THIS EVEN EXIST?" My screamed echoed
"Well we didn't want any untrustworthy and unknown people barging into our city so we had people with destructive tierriumss blow the entire place up and leave a few pillars to jump across" Mira answered
"Destructive tierriums?" Zy repeated
"Theyre rocks that give you a special ability and the way to gain the powers from them is to break down the rocks into a powder and then use it like salt on food" Mira explained then she looked at me
And just like that, the chaos ebbed, the cave's tension lingering, waiting for the next heartbeat. The cave stretched before us, massive and endless, the ceiling disappearing into shadows that even the crystal glow could not touch. The weight of Rayu's unconscious form pressed against my back, grounding me to the cold, wet stone floor. Each breath I took was a labor, heavy with the scent of damp earth and the lingering hum of latent energy in the air.
Ahead, Mira led the way. Her movements were effortless, fluid, almost inhuman. Each step across the slick stone was precise, the motion of her legs and feet a combination of acrobatics and instinct honed to perfection. The way she balanced on the uneven surfaces, leaping over glowing pools of water, felt almost as if she didn't touch the ground at all. Her dark eyes gleamed with intensity, scanning the path ahead as if reading the cave itself.
Zy followed behind her, the faint hum of the Wing Pack vibrating through the air with every pulse. Sparks of blue light flickered, casting long shadows that stretched and warped across the cavern walls. She maneuvered with grace, wings tucked close, arms poised to adjust at a moment's notice. Even while carrying herself through the smoke and obstacles, she remained alert, every muscle in her body taut with purpose.
I trudged forward, every step deliberate, trying to maintain my balance while carrying Rayu. The massive underground expanse seemed to stretch infinitely. Stalactites hung from above, dripping steadily into pools below, sending ripples across the mirrored surfaces. The light from the crystals refracted off these ripples, scattering into a thousand fragmented, dancing points. The effect was hypnotic, a kaleidoscope of movement against the cold, damp stone.
Mira halted at the edge of a wide chasm. My stomach lurched as I peered down into the abyss. It was impossibly deep, a perfect void of darkness that seemed to swallow sound and light alike. Across the void, a series of stone pillars jutted up, slick with moisture, spaced far apart as if daring anyone to cross. Beyond them, massive gates loomed, dark and foreboding, the entrance to the heart of the underground city.
"We have to cross this first," Mira said, her voice steady and calm, cutting through the tension in the air. She didn't hesitate. One foot found the edge of the first pillar, and she launched herself forward, landing effortlessly on the next. The impact was muted, almost ghostly, her agility so refined it seemed unreal.
Zy's eyes narrowed as she prepared to follow. "Have you eaten an tierrium?" she called back to me, her tone carrying a mixture of curiosity and warning.
"Huh, I don't think so, why?" I asked in confusion
"That speed of yours isn't normal at all and that form you had too… Its not human" Zy states with a concerned expression
I adjusted Rayu's weight on my back, his bulk pressing uncomfortably against me. "Well… my dad did give me some blue seasoning once before, on my rice," I replied, the memory distant yet vivid. The sensation of static electricity coursed through me, recalling that odd, electric jolt from before.
Zy's brow furrowed. "There's no such thing as blue seasoning,Taren."
Mira had already landed on a further pillar, her gaze locking onto me. Her eyes were intense, unnervingly so, as if she could see the truth of my body and my energy. "Did you feel anything when you ate it?" she asked, voice carrying across the void.
I chuckled nervously. "I felt a jolt of electricity. Before I even ate it, my hair was sticking up… like a lightning rod."
Her expression changed instantly, pupils contracting to tiny black pinpricks. "You ate an elemental rock," she whispered, almost reverently. "One that only a god would have."
Rayu's voice cut through the tension, loud and dismissive. "HAH! This idiot has god powers?" He hopped off my back, landing on the nearest pillar with effortless grace, wings flaring slightly for balance. "He's too weak. A wimp."
"Rayu!" Zy screamed, anger snapping through her voice, a stark contrast to her casual arrogance.
I ignored him, focusing instead on the sequence of pillars. Wet stone, slick with moisture. The abyss yawning below. I clenched my jaw, muscles coiled, preparing to launch myself forward.
Rayu leapt first, wings cutting through the air in powerful strokes. Zy followed, a streak of blue sparks trailing her flight.
I screamed, frustration mingling with fear. "OH COME ON, I CAN'T FLY!"
My toes curled over the edge of the first pillar. The abyss stared back, a void that seemed to stretch beyond comprehension. I exhaled slowly, muscles tensing, then sprang forward. The wind whistled past my ears, a torrent of rushing air that tangled my hair and singed my skin with static. Hands scrabbled for purchase on the next stone.
"You can make it,Taren!" Zy's voice rang out, small but piercing, a beacon of encouragement.
Then I saw it.
A single, precarious pillar. And on it… a cat. Not just any cat. Its fur crackled with blue lightning, arcs of energy dancing along its legs, tail, and back. A corona of raw, crackling power surrounded it, making the stone beneath it hiss faintly.
"A lightning cat," I whispered, awe in my voice.
"A LIGHTNING CAT!" I shouted a moment later, the realization hitting me with a force that made my hair stand on end.
Mira's voice followed, desperate, urgent: "Taren, DON'T! THEY'RE DANGEROUS!"
But instinct, adrenaline, and raw impulse pushed me forward. I launched myself toward the pillar. The air screamed past my ears, a blur of color and sound. Impact. My feet landed hard on stone. The cat hissed, electricity arcing toward me.
The surge of power hit my chest. A blinding flash, a wave of pure energy but… nothing. The electricity dissipated harmlessly against me.
Shock froze everyone. Rayu, mid-air, wings splayed. Mira, rigid on her pillar. Zy, suspended, jets sputtering. Even the lightning cat faltered, its aura dimming.
Slowly, I knelt, extending a hand. "Hey, little buddy," I murmured.
The cat's hiss softened to a wary rumble. I stroked its head. Fur soft. Warm. Normal beneath my fingers.
The cavern seemed to exhale.
The cat leapt to my shoulder, purring, a living weight of reassurance. I looked ahead: pillars stretched toward the massive gates. With careful, deliberate steps, I moved across them, each jump measured, precise, the cat riding with me, a small beacon of energy and trust.
Rayu's strained voice followed: "Come on, kid. You're right there."
The final jump approached. My muscles coiled, ready. I pushed off but misjudged. Too low.
The abyss yawned beneath me.
Wind whipped past. The cold threatened to steal my breath. And then a strong hand gripped my collar, halting my fall. Rayu's wings beat the air, holding me just above the void.
He set me down in front of the massive city gates, golden eyes flashing with irritation and something I couldn't name. "You idiot. You jumped too low."
"The cat added weight!" I protested.
"Meeaw," the cat purred, electricity humming faintly in apology.
And for a moment, the cavern held its breath. I walked closer to the giant doors and I tried pushing it
"EEERRRGGGHHH WHY IS IT SO HARD" I breathed hardly grunting and pushing as hard as I can, and the cat, My cat went up on my head
"Uh what are you doing?" Mira asked raising an eyebrow
"I'm trying to push it open" I say struggling
"What are you, a thousand year old grandpa?" She says sarcastically
"What?" I blinked. Mira walked up to the side of door where the hinges are supposed to be but there was a screen and she pulled out an ID card and scanned it and the doors opened
"This is how you open a door" Mira glanced at me before walking into the city, Rayu followed behind her holding his sword guard steady, I was flabbergasted
"How much has changed since I was asleep" I say in a low tone and Zy bumped my shoulder
"A lot, but you'll get used to it sooner or later" She whispered to me and walked inside as well.
"Well lets see what's inside this underground city eh Bronte?" I said to the lightning cat on my shoulder, I walked through the doors and my heart skipped a beat