The passage was dark and cold. They had to use the torch on their communication bracelets to see. Unlike the rest of the temple, this place was quite intact. The walls were made of the same stone as the temple, but unlike the ruins above, these were intact. They were covered in carvings that they couldn't quite make out in the dim light.
"I don't like this," Marlin whispered.
"Shut up, Marlin," Raya muttered.
"I'm serious. This feels wrong."
The walls were closing in, and the passage was sloping downward.
"How far does this go?"
"Just keep moving," Someone grunted from somewhere ahead.
Then, they heard growling coming from far distant behind them. Everyone froze.
"They found the entrance."
"Move! Everyone, faster!"
People started running, or trying to. But the tunnel was too narrow. No more than three people could pass at a time. Kael was trapped in the center with his friends.
Behind them, the growling grew louder.
"I see light ahead!" someone shouted from the front. That got people moving faster, shoving harder. Soon, the sound of water could be heard.
"Is it the river?" Kael muttered. It was the only source of water near the village. But that shouldn't be right. The river ran through the forest on the opposite side of the village.
But there was no time to think.
The tunnel opened suddenly into a massive cavern. Kael stumbled out behind Raya and Marlin. The space was enormous, easily the size of the entire village square. High above, there was a circular opening where moonlight poured down like a spotlight. A waterfall poured from somewhere high on the cavern wall, crashing down into a large pool of water that filled most of the cavern floor. In the center of the pool was a small island. Fireflies danced above it, their lights twinkling like stars.
If it were some other situation, they would have greatly admired this place, but right now, they had their lives to worry about.
"There's no way out," someone said, their voice echoing across the water.
"We're trapped."
"Oh god, oh god, we're going to die down here..."
People were panicking now, looking around wildly. The cavern walls were sheer stone, impossible to climb. The only exit was the tunnel they'd just come through.
"Here!" Raya, who seemed to have found a stone path in the water, called out to her friends.
The stones were slippery, and they almost fell a couple of times on the way. Behind them, many other villages had followed. Kael was halfway across when he heard the scream.
"AHHH!"
He spun around and nearly lost his balance. Back at the shore, demons were pouring out of the tunnel.
"Don't stop!" someone shouted. "Keep moving!"
Kael forced himself to turn back around and keep going. Behind him, he could hear more screams, the wet sounds of claws tearing through flesh.
Finally, they reached the land piece.
Marlin collapsed onto his knees, breathing hard. "We made it."
Raya stared across the water, face pale. "We're still trapped."
She was right. They were on a tiny island in the middle of a cavern with no exit. The demons were picking off villagers on the shore, and it won't be long before they come here. Some of the smaller ones were already attempting to cross the stones.
Kael watched helplessly as one of them made it halfway before an arrow sprouted from its eye. The demon toppled backward into the water.
He turned and saw a woman standing near the edge of the island, mechanical bow in hand. She was already nocking another arrow. It was Irene, one of the village hunters. He had heard that she once had the chance to enter the academy due to her hunting skills, but was injured and returned halfway.
"Is that...a coffin?"
Kael turned. Marlin was pointing at something on the island, near the center, where the fireflies had been thickest.
There really was a coffin in the very center. It seemed to be made of a strange material that looked like white jade but was more lusturus.
Kael stepped closer to get a better look. Its surface was engraved with an ancient language they could not understand.
Marlin came by his side.
"You two...this is not the time. We need to find a way out of here," Raya said, but she also couldn't help but come close to look at it.
But none of them could look away.
"Watch out!"
An arrow shot past Kael's head, so close he felt the wind. The arrowhead hit a demon on the throat that stood right behind them. Blood sprayed on the three friends. They all froze, horrified.
"What are you three doing, standing there like idiots?" Irene snapped from behind them. "Start moving!"
Kael forced his legs to work. He grabbed Raya and Marlin, one with each hand, and pulled them away from the demon's corpse.
What none of them noticed was that the blood sprayed from the demon had landed on the coffin's surface as well and was spreading through the carved lines like veins filling with blood. The clouds above shifted, parting to reveal the full moon. Moonlight poured down through the opening in the ceiling, focusing on the coffin like a spotlight.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled, making everyone pause. Even the demons stopped and stared at the coffin.
The whole coffin was covered with red engravings. Then the lid exploded upward. It flipped in the air before falling a distance. The world seemed to hold its breath as they stared at it.
They did not know what was more frightening. The demons that were ripping people apart, or the creature lying inside the coffin. What if those legends were true and there really was an ancient demon sleeping under this temple?
A small pale hand gripped the edge of the coffin. Then, a figure sat up.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, as if the goddess had taken her time crafting her face. No, she looked like a goddess herself. She had high cheekbones, a perfect nose, and full lips that naturally curved at the corners. Her hair was white, not gray or blonde, but pure white like snow. It spilled over her shoulder. She wore a simple white silk gown that made her already pale skin look even paler.
Her eyes, which were closed, slowly fluttered open, revealing pale gray irises that caught the dappling moonlight from above, making them glow like frost.
She tilted her head slightly and ran her gaze around, taking in the scenario.
Her expression didn't change.
"ROAR!"
One of the demons broke the spell, lunging at the nearest villager. Chaos erupted once again.
The woman in the coffin stepped out. She looked down at herself and flexed her fingers slowly, like she was testing them.
Then she looked up and her eyes found Raya, who was standing nearby.
"Can I borrow this?" she asked, pointing at the knife in her hand. Her voice was soft and gentle. It didn't match the chaos around them at all.
In a daze, Raya handed her the knife.
The woman smiled, revealing a deep set of dimples on her face. "Thank you."
Then her eyes narrowed, and she moved.
One moment, she was standing before the trio, and the next, she appeared behind one of the demons that was twice her size. Before the demon could even react, the knife in her hand moved. The demon's head tumbled from its shoulders. Before its body even hit the ground, she was gone again. Appearing behind another demon. The litchen knife in her hand was dull and cheap, but in her grip it cut through demon hide like it was paper.
One by one, demons began to fall on the ground. None of them could look away from the young woman who dismantled the demons that had nearly wiped out their entire village.
Ten minutes later, the last demon fell.
The woman stood in the center of the carnage, surrounded by demon corpses. But strangely enough, there was not a single drop of blood on her. She looked down at the knife in her hand and frowned slightly. Her hand was trembling slightly.
"I've become weak," she said quietly.
The villagers who had heard her stared in disbelief. If this was weak, what was she like when she was strong?
A little girl, no more than a few years old, peeked out from behind her father's legs. "Are you a goddess?"