"Is Leo gonna be okay?" Lian asked.
"He'll be fine." Horus reassured the group as he focused on healing the half-dead man.
"You don't sound reassuring." The blonde woman, Alice, commented.
"If you're talking back to me, you must be good enough to not be healed."
"I-I was just kidding!"
I stood near the entrance we had come from, half-listening, as I guarded the door. I kept my arms wrapped around Runtime as it hummed. My eyes and ears were filled with mana, allowing me to keep my eyes and ears out for anything that would come our way.
"Horus, where did you find such a talented mage?" Alice switched subjects. I caught her glancing my way and quickly turned away, horribly trying to act like I was keeping watch. "I've seen mages use short-hand chants and non-chants before, but this one feels different."
"You noticed just by one fight?" Horus raised an eyebrow. His brow was slick with sweat as he continued to heal Leo.
Alice nodded. "I have an eye for these kinds of things. Do you think he'll accept my invite to study magic?"
"I'm not sure about that, Ali." Horus' spell deflated to nothing as he removed his hands. He wiped his brow and let out a sigh of relief. "Leo's okay now. He's out of death's door, but he'll need to get checked up by healers. Lian, let me patch you up some more."
"I'm fine." Lian insisted. "You got most of it in your large Mass Heal spell. We should be focused on getting out. I don't need you overexhausted."
Horus sighed and sat on the floor, clearly exhausted. "Fine, we'll leave in a couple minutes… For now," he stood up. "I'm going to check up on him."
I kept my back turned, clearly hearing everything. There wasn't a peep after the goblins were killed.
"Hey." Horus tapped my shoulder.
I turned and for a moment, I caught a glimpse of a shadow standing amongst the dead bodies.
"You're a monster like your mother." The shadow's raspy voice spoke. "Look at what you did."
My breath hitched in my throat before Horus' concerned face came into view.
"Are you alright?" Horus asked.
"Huh?" I snapped out of it, realizing the shadow wasn't there anymore. "Y-yeah. Is everyone okay?"
"They're fine."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, a bit tired but I'll manage." Horus nodded. "Anyway, I came to check on you since… well, you seemed very distant after everything that happened. Are you really doing okay?"
"Yeah." I nodded, trying to hide it as truth. "Do you guys need time to rest before we try to find a way out?"
"Yeah, give them some time, but that's not entirely why I came over here to talk to you." Horus scratched his cheek. "I actually wanted to talk about that favor I mentioned at the Guild. Y'see, I have deep connections with this city so I can help you with anything in my power if you choose to use it."
I nodded.
"Seeing as you clearly stepped over some line you drew for yourself, I wanted to personally thank you by offering whatever help you needed. If I can do anything for you, please ask." Horus continued.
I hesitated with Horus' words. I simply did what the objective of the quest was, yet he was thanking me like I was some kind of hero.
Was I really one? I wondered.
"You don't need to tell me what it is now. Once we get out of here, I'll give you my information so you can Send for me whenever, alright?" Horus let out a small smile.
"Y-yeah. You can go back to check up on them." I motioned. "I'll continue to keep watch until we're ready to go."
Horus' eyes lingered on me for a while in silence before nodding and turning back to the other group.
Some time later, when Leo was awake and able to move, the group readied themselves for the long trek out of the cavern system.
"I've mapped out most of the space we've been," Leo, a tall man of elven origin, told the group. "If we need to get out, maybe the map will show us where to go." He whispered the spell to life, revealing the map in front of him.
I watched off to the side as Leo's eyes widened.
"Yeah, about that…" Horus scratched his cheek with an awkward smile. "The cave shifted."
Leo's map looked to be switched around. He pointed to where they were and then to where Lian was.
"This looks the same… How can a place like this change?" Leo stuttered.
Horus filled them in on what was happening, explaining to them that there was some sort of magical spells layered to routinely change.
"Even if we wanted to find the original way out, it's probably changed by now." Horus finished. "So, once we get to where the room that caved in was, we'd be walking around like headless chickens."
"How could someone make something so elaborate and have it switch around like that? Wouldn't it damage the structure of the city above?" Alice asked.
"Not if the entire underground section is enchanted with spells that keep the space contained." I responded.
"What? Is that even possible?" Lian asked.
"I assume you're learned scholars, no?" I raised an eyebrow. They all nodded. "Have you ever studied magic? Have you traced its origins? The modern magic used today derived from something, right? I happen to be a practitioner of an older type of magic because of my Trait."
"Your Trait?" Horus raised an eyebrow.
I nodded. "My Traits odd and it only works with the structure of old magic. One of the benefits is I can see a spell's 'code.'"
"Cold? W-what's that?" Alice asked.
"C-o-d-e. Code. Like knight's code? It's a sortuva…"
"An oath of sorts?" Horus tried to help.
"Yeah, kinda." I pointed at him. "It's like an oath of sorts. Each spell follows its own oath. Like how magic today has spell circles and chants. You speak into existence the spell but each spell has its own oath built within it. Well, one of the codes holds this space's structure so it wouldn't ruin the city."
"You got all that from looking at it once?"
"Well," my voice trailed off, "Let's just say I rather busy my time with that than think about other things right now. Anyways, that isn't the point. We can theorize what this place is after we get out. I can help us figure the way out."
The group moved slowly after that.
Leon leaned heavily on Alice, his steps uneven but determined. Lian walked ahead, quieter than usual, her eyes flicking to every shadow. Horus stayed near the rear, occasionally glancing back at me like he was making sure I hadn't vanished.
No one spoke about the goblins. Not their bodies, not the smell, not the way the mana still clung onto stone.
When we finally reached the outer chambers, where the air felt less suffocating and the stone lost its unnatural smoothness, a pair of city healers were waiting.
Their robes were clean. Too clean.
They ushered Leo onto a stretcher without questions, green light already pooling in their palms. One of them glanced at Horus, nodded once, and began working.
I watched closely.
They healed the wounds Horus couldn't. They stabilized the mana fractures. They said nothing about where the injuries came from.
"Cave collapse?" One of them asked casually, not looking up.
"Yes," Horus answered just as easily.
The healer nodded, satisfied. No follow-up. No report. No interest.
That's when I noticed it.
No one mentioned the tunnels. No one asked how the cave collapsed. No one asked why goblins were wearing steel.
AS the group was escorted away, Alice lingered near me.
"You know," she said quietly, adjusting her sleeve, "this isn't the first time people went missing down there."
I looked at her.
She hesitated, then continued. "We thought it was natural instability at first. Bad mapping. Maybe some mana sinkholes." Her voice lowered. "But expeditions don't just… vanish. Not without residue."
"Who approves the dives?" I asked.
Alice gave a short laugh. "Permits office. Same as always." She left before I could ask for more.
I stood there, staring at the healer's retreating backs, watching the way the city swallowed the incident whole. Horus joined me a moment later.
"You noticed it too," he said.
I nodded.
He exhaled slowly through his nose. "That favor I offered… don't waste it on gratitude."
I looked at him.
"If you're looking for answers," Horus continued, voice low, serious now, "don't start with monsters." He met my eyes. "Start with permits."
We started to follow the others out of the sewers but a chirp came from Horus' Send stone. It pulsed once then twice as he pulled it out.
"That's strange," he muttered.
"What is?" I asked.
He looked at me, jaw tightening."The permit for this dive… it's already been closed."