Naren's body shuddered as he watched the maniacal one-eyed ninja burst through the emerald waters and immediately dig into the festering lump of flesh that he called a Chimera. He twitched a little, scratching his ears from all the screaming and rumbling.
He clamped his ears and sucked in a big gust of air before shouting:
"Yo candle! You got any bright ideas or you gonna keep tryna burn an ocean with a match?!"
As Naren had finished his sentence, the one-eyed man came barreling down into the water at Naren's feet. A cloud of smoke fizzing out of the water as it cooled down rapidly from the man's burning body.
"Ouch."
Naren grimaced as he took off and wrung his shirt and scarf. His attention split between the man floating at his feet and the Chimera running amock on the walls and ceiling.
Luckily, for them, it didn't seem intelligent. Instead, repeatedly tangling with the deep green foliage and flickering glowing berries that hung from the high rocky ceiling.
In his stead, Vera tried edging closer to Cairo. Getting slower with each step as her body trembled.
The little girl couldn't act right — her hands shaking terribly, mouth faltering, nose sniffling. The poor girl was trying her best to not break down crying.
Naren understood. Sure there was the Basilisk and that weird centipede crab, but this...this was way nastier than ten of them combined. Just looking at the hideous abomination made Naren's appetite go limp. So it was understandable that a girl who was only nine had a hard time now.
Not that any of that was his concern.
Getting tired of the girl's antics he grabbed and pulled Cairo ashore himself.
"If you don't wanna do it, you don't gotta Shrimpy."
Instead of saying anything she simply shook her head. Too afraid to speak properly. Too focused on Naren, Vera couldn't even tell that Cairo almost snatched the katana from her hands. Almost, that is Naren got to it first.
"I should really beat you down."
The man's harsh remarks sent a chill down Vera's spine as he sat up to his feet, already fixing his attention on the Chimera's erratic movements. However, before he could get up all the way, Naren pulled him right back down, setting him down again.
Naren pointed towards Vera right next to him.
"If you get torn up by that thing up there you'll give Shrimpy nightmares. And god knows I'm not babysitting her through that...Besides that things going crazy up there all by itself, how bout you just bust us a way outta here and we call it a day."
"How bout I bust ya mouth."
Naren titled his head.
"Why're you so obsessed with it?"
Cairo staggered to his feet as more blood gushed out of his abdomen. Vera's eyes trembling as her mouth gaped open looking at the ghastly wound.
"Someone like you...wouldn't...get it...Now hand it over."
Naren reached over his shoulder, winding the katana back in a throwing motion, an impish grin on his face.
"Sure thing. Just join us."
A screech resounded through the cavernous underground lake.
The Chimera had fixated it's gaze onto the three, scurrying through the ceiling walls on it's fleshy stitched extremeties. Digging it's many limbs right into rocky walls as what must've been it's head flailed around with no clear spine holding it steady.
Cairo's eye twitched as a flash of disdain washed over it.
"I'll...grill...you."
"Can you? That things coming down fast. I can teleport outta here, but what can you do without a weapon?"
The creature continued flailing around as it scurried through the ceiling onto the walls. Edging closer.
Cairo stared not moving. Naren's grin only twisting into something more sinister.
"Work with me or die? What'll it be?"
Cairo finally reached out his hand spoke through a haggard breath:
"Bet...I'll grill you...soon enough."
The creature leapt off the walls. It's various limbs sprawling out midair as it dove straight onto the three. Various festering lumps of flesh blotting out the light as it completely swallowing them whole.
In the next moment, The giant beast slid off into two burning pieces as it withered up into ash. A thin cut line severing two halves of convoluted flesh left only a small little imp squirming at the broken edge of Cairo's blade, completely skewered, as flames licked it. An jade necklace flung around the imp's neck.
Cairo's eye flickered for a second as a memory flowed through his mind: A sickly woman, bleeding and roughed up, smiling despite her burning flesh as she spoke. "Smile...Cairo."
Cairo gazed at Naren an unnerving grin on his face.
"That makes...a hundred...Chimera now..."
Naren burst into a smile at the sight. He was wondering why exactly the one-eyed man was in such bad shape and why exactly he didn't let up. So he fought a hundred of those things.
While lost in thought, Naren was kicked down by the one-eyed man. Cairo, held his gaping abdomen with one hand, whincing whilst bringing the two edges closer. With the other, he traced the steaming hilt of the katana over the wound, cauterizing it. Albeit in a crude and likely inefficient way.
"You an aspirant so you goin to the same place ain't ya?"
Underneath, Naren was collapsing over the weight of Cairo, trying hard to push back but failing despite the heavlily damaged Cairo. Vera trying her best to help in lifting his foot up.
"And...where's that...candle...?I just wanted you...cause your warm..."
Cairo stashed the jade necklace in his pocket, unable to supress his laughter.
"You growin on me."
He pressed his leg harder on Naren's chest, leaning in closer.
"...The ancient city of witches...The Tomb of Atlas."
Naren finally overturned Cairo's foot, finally sitting up and catching his haggard breath.
"The...what...?"
"The city filled wit witches. You ain't know? Why else do ya think so many aspirants geek out to get there...Ain't you here for that?"
"Oh, uh yeah...Just didn't know it was called that."
Naren's eyes lit up suddenly. A gleeful expression over his haughty face as he stuck his chin up.
"Candle, guess who knows where that city is?"
Cairo titled his head as his gaze followed Naren's finger to the little girl who was cowering behind him. Her voice escaping in a meek tone.
"Y-yes I know...We are currently on Gaia...By the geography and foliage, there is no absolutely no denying it. I'm positive...Atlas is a city on Gaia. However, it was swallowed up by the earth. So if we journey to where Atlas was, we'll surely find it."
Cairo titled his head.
"An where was Atlas?"
Vera pointed off to a direction that led further in land, a distant horizon filled with countless peaks rising to the ocean in the sky, hazed in a twilight fog.
"The western most city...That was the great city of Atlas."
"Well ain't that great, shorty...Guess you two ain't useless...uh..."
Cairo turned his gaze back to Naren, a familiar expression that Naren knew all too well plastered all over the one-eyed man's face as he continued:
"...What was ya name?"