Darkness swallowed them whole.
Not the gentle darkness of night, nor the quiet shade of rest but the crushing, suffocating black that pressed in from every direction, heavy with earth and stone.
The tunnel twisted deep beneath Stonecliff, its walls rough and uneven, carved in haste by Mausa's spirit essence. Loose soil crumbled underfoot as the group moved forward, each step echoing faintly through the underground passage.
Yoma could barely walk.
Her legs dragged uselessly, strength long since drained. Taiyor carried her without complaint, his breathing steady, controlled, though sweat soaked through his uniform.
Aisha walked at the front.
Her fire essence flickered faintly around her palm not enough to light the whole tunnel, Heat pressed outward, mapping the space ahead, warning her of collapses, voids, or sudden shifts in terrain.
Mausa followed at the rear.
Both hands pressed against the earth, jaw clenched, eyes glowing faintly as he forced the tunnel to remain open a road for them.
"Don't slow down," he growled. "I can't hold this forever."
Above them, Stonecliff stood silent.
The illusion Yoma had left behind still clung to the surface like a dying dream: shattered streets, fallen bodies, a dead princess, and a knight who had already lost hope in winning.
But beneath the illusion the earth trembled.
Lancelot stopped midair.
The wind brushed past him, cold and empty.
Something tugged at his perception.
Not urgency.
Not danger.
Curiosity.
He looked back.
Stonecliff lay far below, small and insignificant beneath the moonlight. The illusion remained intact, unwavering.
Dead enemies.
Dead princess.
Clean conclusion and yet… He closed his eyes
.
Track. The clones he had seeded earlier pulsed faintly in response.
Their lightning threads stretched thin fading but one signal remained.
Deep very deep moving slowly.
Lancelot's eyes opened.
"…So you escaped after all."
Underground, Mausa staggered.
A shock ran through the tunnel walls.
Not a collapse.
Not an attack.
Pressure.
"They're probing," he warned. "Lightning compressed."
Aisha cursed under her breath.
"How close?"
"Too close."
Yoma stirred weakly.
"…He didn't believe it," she whispered.
Taiyor tightened his grip on her.
"You did everything you could."
"No, i wish i could do more" Yoma said faintly.
The tunnel suddenly lurched.
Stone cracked violently as the earth groaned, walls warping inward for a terrifying second before Mausa forced them back into place.
Blood trickled from his nose.
"Change of plan," he rasped. "I'll split the path."
Aisha turned sharply.
"What?"
"I'll make three tunnels," Mausa continued. "Only one real. The others will collapse after a short distance."
Taiyor frowned.
"That'll drain your spirit essence." I hope there is light in the end of this tunnel.
Mausa grinned grimly.
He slammed his palms into the ground.
The earth answered.
Stonecliff's foundations screamed.
Deep underground, the tunnel split violently into three diverging paths, stone tearing itself apart as Mausa reshaped the terrain with brute force.
The moment they crossed the threshold, Mausa roared and severed the other two routes.
The earth collapsed inward with thunderous finality.
Dust filled the air.
Silence followed.
Above ground, Lancelot felt it.
The tracking signal shattered.
Split.
Then vanished.
His clones froze mid-motion.
"…Interesting."
He descended slightly, eyes glowing faintly.
Lightning pulsed through his spirit core.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Excitement.
Underground, the tunnel narrowed sharply.
Aisha slowed, raising her palm.
"Stop."
Ahead, the earth shifted.
Mausa swore.
"He's testing the ground."
As if in response, the stone beneath them vibrated.
A lightning-thread pierced downward from above, burrowing through layers of rock with surgical precision.
Taiyor turned.
"He's not chasing us," he said slowly. "He's mapping us trying to know where we are."
Aisha nodded.
"Thank god he hasn't find us yet." How long will it take for us to reach the mountains.
Mausa laughed weakly. When the sunrise we will be out of this tunnel.
Aisha stopped.
"Mausa," Aisha said, turning. "Collapse the tunnel behind us—slowly. Make it look panicked."
Mausa blinked.
"That'll do it."
He nodded grimly and began reshaping the earth behind them, deliberately uneven, leaving jagged edges and unstable pockets.
Yoma lifted her head slightly.
"I'll help," she whispered.
Taiyor looked at her sharply.
"You shouldn't"
"I won't cast illusions," Yoma said. "I'll distort perception."
She closed her eyes.
The tunnel twisted—not physically, but visually.
Angles bent.
Distances warped.
Paths appeared longer, deeper, more erratic than they truly were.
Above ground, Lancelot tilted his head.
"…Fear."
He smiled faintly.
"So you can even attack my brain and change what i think nice spirit core you go there once i kill you i will collect it."
Mausa fell to one knee the moment they stepped outside the tunnel.
Blood dripped freely now.
Aisha crouched beside him.
"You've done enough we will take over from here."
"This is where we draw the line." Taiyor gently lowered Yoma to the ground.
She lay still, chest rising faintly.
Her spirit core was almost dark.
Aisha stood.
Her expression hardened.
High above, Lancelot hovered.
The ground below him pulsed faintly with distorted lightning signals.
A dead end.
He raised one hand.
Dozens of clones formed instantly—some crackling with lightning, others fading into invisibility, others lifting silently into the air.
"Proceed," he commanded.
Underground, the cavern ignited.
Heat slammed outward as Aisha released her spirit essence.
Fire did not explode.
It pressed.
A dome of heat formed around them, invisible but absolute.
Air warped.
Stone cracked.
Taiyor stepped forward, sword humming as his spirit essence merged seamlessly with the blade.
The weapon shifted—lengthening, thickening, reshaping to match his stance.
"Come," he muttered.
The first clone emerged from the wall.
It didn't get two steps.
Taiyor moved.
One slash.
The blade adapted mid-swing, flattening, amplifying force.
The clone shattered.
Another came from above.
Aisha raised her hand.
Fire surged upward—not as flame, but pressure.
The clone disintegrated mid-air.
Invisible clones tried to flank.
They burned.
Lightning clones charged.
They melted.
Mausa forced himself upright and slammed his hands into the ground one final time.
The cavern shook violently.
Stone folded inward.
Taiyor grabbed Yoma.
Aisha seized Mausa.
They run out of the tunnel.
Above ground, Lancelot watched the tunnel collapse.
Lightning threads snapped violently.
Signals vanished.
Silence returned.
He hovered there for a long moment.
Then.
"…You escaped."
No anger.
No disappointment.
Only certainty.
"You survived because I allowed it."
He turned away.
Stonecliff faded into the distance.
"But our next meet," Lancelot said calmly, "I won't be gauging your strength i will kill all of you."
Lightning surged around him.
"There will be a next time but i won't give you a chance to recover the next time we meet is now."
Alive, broken and victorious for now.
Aisha stared upward.
"We've made an enemy hope we can reach Riverview before he gets there," she said quietly.
Taiyor nodded.
"…A big one."
Yoma smiled faintly through the pain.
"who cares we captured the princess, we are free now, he is still trap in the tunnel i bet he won't survive this." Mission complete.