Elydes

Chapter 298 - Descending into Darkness

Kai stared at the rough stone steps descending into the ground, his mind blank. A cold gust buffeted his face from below, carrying a whiff of damp earth and rotten wood into the meadow.

Despite seeing the ground part with his own eyes, he failed to detect any enchantment until he narrowed Mana Observer on the entrance, letting everything else fall into shadow. Beneath the swirling ambient mana, a circle of dark lines rooted into the stone—the same jagged shapes he had attempted to decipher for weeks in his notebooks.

Can it really…?

He had searched for so long and built castles of smokey theories. Bleak days turned to weeks; part of him expected never to find the cultists.

“I told you this was the island!” Caeli broke his concentration. Her grin outshone the shrouded sun, leaving no trace of the weariness of the past months. “What are y’all waiting for? We need to save my brother.”

“Wait!” Kea held her arm to stop her from climbing down. ”It’s dangerous, we can’t rush in blindly.”

“We can’t just sit here either.” Caeli huffed, looking ready to jolt down the stone steps. “I don’t know what magic cloaks the stairs, but it’s the only way we got. They won’t expect us. We go in, find my brother and get out. We can do it!”

Seeing no one moved to follow her, Caeli crossed her arms over her chest. “Unless… Do you want to give up now that we’re so close?” She watched them with glassy eyes.

“Uhh… Fine.” Caeli stopped struggling, still eagerly looking at the entrance. “What do you propose we do then?”

“I’ll scout ahead. We need more intel to decide how to proceed.”

Kai buried his shock and stepped up beside his sister. “I‘ll come with you.”

“I think it’s better if we all go together.” Caeli walked on the first stone step, not giving Kea a chance to protest. “You can lead the way, but I’m not waiting outside. I won’t abandon Caeden and Niel when we’re so close.”

“I know how you feel, but…” Kea shifted her gaze into the darkness below.

“But…?” Caeli stared back, chin half raised. “You have no way to warn us from underground. If you get caught, they’ll sweep the island for the rest of us. Coming with you or waiting in the boat, it’s the same. We‘ll have better chances together.”

“I… She does have a point…” Mari stabbed the grass with her staff. “I’m not the most skilled scout. Especially with…” She glanced at her injured shoulder, the bandages marred by dark blood patches. “But I didn’t come here to sit while you look for our friends. I’m coming with you.”

Well, the more, the merrier… Kaishook his head with a rueful smile. He also couldn’t back down before finding out what happened to Niel—this affair had to end today. I wish I could feel relieved…

“I’ve visited more charming places,” Flynn muttered. He scratched Hobbes’ neck while studying the misty trees around the meadow. His brows furrowed, the telltale sign he was focusing on his Perception skills. There was no need to ask, he clearly had no intention of backing out either.

At least he knows how to be sneaky.

Rain was harder to read, his face was like a marble statue in the cold light; the melancholic air he had since coming to the lake was gone. His gaze hung on the spiraling stairs where the enchantments were cloaked, quietly murmuring to himself.

Whatever passed inside the siren’s strange mind, Rain would follow them inside, be it just for his reckless self-assurance.

Guess we’re doing this.

Looking at the bright side, Caeli was probably right: no sane person would expect intruders in a cloaked underground base in the middle of a lake. They might have moved past the meadow without spotting the entrance if they hadn't seen the cultists use it.

Is my Luck finally paying off? How often do people pass by here? We should hurry…

The Lake of Myst served as an ideal hideout and a snare, trapping anyone who came looking. If they got caught, he didn’t like their chances of outrunning the cultists on the dingy boat; swimming into high-mana waters held even less appeal. Spirits knew what creatures lurked in the depths of the icy lake.

We just have to sneak in and out. No biggie.

Kea watched her companions as their intentions became clear. “I can’t keep you safe if we go in.”

“The longer we wait here, the higher the chances of getting found.” Caeli tapped her foot. “We’re wasting time. Mat can use his danger skill to guide us. I’ll keep track of the layout. It’s a hidden outpost, not a fortress. There might not even be guards. We’ll stop any threat before they can raise the alarm, find my brother and get out.”

She makes it sound so easy…

Hallowed Intuition gave him only a vague sense of ominousness. Whatever waited inside was bad news, though the same hunch told him the missing people were there too.

I hope Niel is alive…

Seeing their resolve, Kea slumped her shoulders and tightened the grip on her bow. ”If any of you want to stop here, you can wait on the boat.” Her gaze lingered on Rain and then Kai, who lightly shook his head. She pressed her lips into a determined line and wasted no time dividing tasks.

”Okay. If you all agree, I’ll lead the way. Mat and Caeli follow behind me. Rain and Mari stay two dozen steps back. Flynn, you’ll close the line and watch our backs. Warn me if you spot anything strange. If we run into high-grade cultists or someone raises the alarm, we run for the boat. Any questions?” Her sharp gaze lingered on Caeli before stopping on each of them.

The girl begrudgingly nodded. “If we are outnumbered, we’ll run.”

She can still see reason.

Kai scratched his brow. The only thing worse than throwing away two months of effort would be to get themselves killed. This affair had been shady from the beginning. When he realized they were dealing with more than a band of thugs, they were too entangled to pull away. The only way to free themselves was to push through.

They rehearsed their hand signals and emergency commands till everyone could repeat them in any order. Kai helped Flynn hide their bags and non-essential equipment in the underbrush around the meadow. Discretion was key to their plan, they couldn’t afford to carry unnecessary weight.

They completed the preparations in minutes and gathered around the passage. The stairs spiraled into the dark, hiding the answers they sought somewhere at the bottom, together with dozens of victims who had no other hope of rescue.

We have to find Niel. In and out, no sweat.

From the reports Valela gathered, the Stygian Cult might run dozens of operations across the northern provinces. Kai couldn’t imagine they’d use a green praetor for security. People of that caliber didn’t wash up on shore to play guard dog, no matter how large this band of madmen was.

“You know what to do. No sounds unless it’s an emergency.” With one glance at each of them, Kea crept down the spiral stairway.

Caeli followed eagerly behind her, and Kai hurried to keep up. Walking on the tip of his boots, he was careful not to grate on the stone steps. He would have liked to examine the cloaked array more closely, but the concentration needed just to see it would leave him exposed.

Being unable to cast spells for fear of detection was bothersome, though the concern sounded more valid now that they were descending into a secret passage.

Had he crossed any other enchantment without realizing it?

Kai scanned the rough dirt walls with Mana Observer. The ground had been roughly compacted to create the shaft of the stair, leaving patches of roots and inky mushrooms poking out. His heartbeat quickened with each step closer to the bottom. There was no light source and taking one of their own would be too dangerous.

Distracted by the streams of Shadow and Earth motes, he lost his balance when his foot found empty air where he expected stone. He frantically pulled on a root to avoid falling. His foot splashed into the mud just a palm lower, allowing him to right himself, though the damage was done.

In the dead silence, the sound of his near-fall seemed glaringly loud.

What a great start.

Kai channeled mana into Body Augmentation to enhance his hearing. The only sounds were his companions’ breathing and the faint gusts blowing underground.

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This place must be larger than I thought.

“Be careful,” Kea whispered stiffly.

“Sorry,” Kai said, glad the darkness hid his embarrassment. He could pierce almost any veil with Mana Observer, but the skill required his full focus. He didn’t need to see his sister to know she must be glaring.

Hmm… There is no light…

He craned his neck up to find only darkness. The secret entrance in the meadow had shut without a sound—likely the work of another hidden array. It erased the sign of their passage, though he couldn’t help feeling trapped.

I can always blast open a new—

“We must keep moving,” Caeli said impatiently. “Y’all know how to walk in the dark.”

“Stay behind me,” Kea said, then paused when she noticed the entrance was gone. “Watch your step.”

They sneaked forward in an askew formation. During the planning, they thought the cultists would have some form of lighting instead of pitch-black tunnels. He could still orient himself with Mana Observer, and his companions had their own skills.

The ground tunnel leaned down at a slight incline with strewn rocks that threatened to trip him. It smelled of damp earth and moss.

This place doesn’t look man-made.

There were no telltale signs of Earth Magic on the walls. The tunnel widened and shrunk without a clear direction. The space must have been natural unless the cultists pursued some strange artistic ideal.

They must have used an existing cave system…

The irregular twists and turns made it impossible to predict how much farther they had to go. It wasn’t what they had prepared for, though it offered plenty of cover to move undetected. Kea’s cautious movements grew bolder with distance, hurried on by Caeli. Only the group lagging behind held them back.

Kai heard Mari softly sigh when his sister finally stopped. It wasn’t to give them a breather; the tunnel bifurcated with no indication of where the cultist went.

”They must have passed by here.” Kea crouched on the stone, looking between the two openings before turning back to whisper to him. “You got anything?”

After over a month together, Hallowed Intuition had become an open secret in the group, though Kai kept the exact details secret. Taking a breath of the cold air to focus, the somber murmurs didn’t become any clearer. “I’m not sure…”

The whispers were too quiet to make out, let alone point a direction.

A sudden light made him squint. Caeli held up an enchanted orb wrapped in a cloth; the pale glow shone like the moon in the total darkness. She pointed to a portion of the wall where a line of dirt got scraped off. “They went this way.”

Kea observed the patch for a moment before also nodding. “Put that light away before someone sees it.”

“Sorry, it was just the fastest way.” Caeli hung her head low and fell back.

The tunnels continued branching without a pattern. Thankfully, most passages were too narrow for an adult human to squeeze and Caeli spotted the cultists' tracks through the others.

It was hard to say how far they had gone in the darkness. The size of the tunnels varied, maintaining just a slight downward incline, deeper into the earth. Earth and mud turned into hard rock and spongy moss. Cold droplets dripped from the stalagmites in the ceiling, masking the sound of their steps.

Are we beneath the lake?

Being buried beneath such a large body of water—

Kai stopped the thought before it could turn into needless distractions. The mana density was rising too, though he had yet to spot any beasts. Keeping track of his companions and their surroundings, he squatted behind a rock when the two girls stopped. He didn’t wonder why for long.

Close ahead, the rough and jagged walls smoothed out into a straight path. A soft glow in the distance dispelled the total darkness.

Kea glanced back to check on the group. “We must be careful. I’ll scout the way with my camouflage skill. Keep your distance and remember the signals we agreed on. Be ready to retreat if anything happens.”

Under Caeli’s silent urging, Kea didn’t wait for an answer to creep forward. They turned a single corner before stopping again. A wooden door reinforced with dark metal bands barred the way, the glow seeping from beneath it.

“Is it boobytrapped?” Kea whispered back at him while studying the bulky lock.

There didn’t appear to be any array in the frame. Kai extended an arm toward the latch to gauge the reaction from Hallowed Intuition. The skill stubbornly refused to provide any useful advice. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so…”

“It looks open.“ Caeli pushed the door before anyone could stop her. The hinges swung without a sound. She looked at them with a sheepish expression. “It was worth a try. Beasts don’t have hands. And they probably don’t expect visitors.”

Kea pursed her mouth but didn’t argue. Her stare promised they would be discussing this later.

Beyond the entrance, the plain corridor continued for a dozen meters before splitting in opposite directions. A single crystal in the ceiling exuded the pale blue light they had noticed outside.

Caeli smiled at the empty hallway. ”It’s clear. We should hurry.” She slipped inside, sneaking along the wall with no regard for them.

“Wait for me!” Kea clenched her jaw as she followed inside.

What’s the point of making a plan if you don’t follow it? Kai grumbled to himself, suppressing his frustration. He spotted Flynn and Mari’s shadows behind him. ”Watch my back and be careful.”

Biting his cheek, he hurried after his sister.

And this makes three fools.

The light crystal cast shadows on the corners, but the smooth corridor walls offered no cover. Kai never thought he’d regret leaving the cold and damp cavern.

Slow down.

Kai caught up to his sister and Caeli. The hallway split into two empty corridors. Peering over the corners, there were two dark wood doors on the left side and three on the right. A single crystal light both ways before they forked in more directions.

“We’re lucky there is no one.” Caeli grinned and turned to him with a questioning look. “Any idea which way to go?”

“I don’t know. Something’s—” He hadn’t finished talking when Caeli moved to the corridor on the right.

“More doors, more chances.”

"Wait!” Kai grabbed her wrist before she ran in, his tone quietly furious. “I get your brother is close, but that's all the more reason we need to be careful. Get a grip.”

“I—” Caeli looked about to snap back before her shoulder sagged. She chewed her lip, looking away to hide her watery eyes. “It’s just… He’s so close…”

“I know…” Kea gently squeezed her arm. "I want to find them too. But Mat's right. We need to slow down. We won't be any good to him and Niel if we get ourselves captured or killed."

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Caeli weakly nodded.

Kai held her gaze a moment longer before releasing his grip. They crept forward in the shallow nook of a door. The frame was similar to the ones they used to enter, just less bulky and with obvious enchantments.

Caeli waited to get his go-ahead before trying to open the door. “Damn it! It’s locked.“ She rested her ear on the frame. “I don’t think there is anyone inside. We should try another.”

They checked door to door with the same result. Kai followed close behind, channeling Body Augmentation to sharpen his senses for any foe. Chains of dark, jagged runes circled the frame of each door. He couldn’t tell what they all did aside from some defensive formation that might spring a trap if they forced their way in.

He held back Mana Observer to avoid triggering a potential ward. Almost every door was locked with those same arrays. Caeli wasn’t deterred, slipping into another corridor with Kea’s disgruntled figure in tow.

Damn them. What is this place?

“Those should be safe to touch too. As long as you don’t use any skill.” Kai gestured toward the next corridor.

He was about to skulk after them when someone grabbed his elbow. Panic rose for a split instant before he recognized Flynn, the usual smile exchanged for a worried scowl. Mari and Rain moved to the entrance of the hallway, peering at the dark doors.

It had been foolish to hope they’d stay behind—not that he could blame them.

“What is it?” Kai asked, impatient to not lose track of his sister.

“Something’s off.” Flynn shifted his feet along the poorly lit hallway. Hobbes still slumped on his shoulders, his violet eyes fully alert.

“Yeah, I don’t like this place either.” It’d be hard to find anything that wasn’t off in these creepy tunnels.

“It’s more than that. I have a Hunch,” Flynn said. A hint of his smugness poked through the gloominess as they rounded the nearest corner. “I think we should retre—”

“This is it. We’ve found him!”

Kai snapped his head to the loud exclamation. His glare froze upon seeing Caeli and Kea standing in an open doorway, the interior too dark to make out. Before he could gather his thoughts, Caeli had dashed inside. Kea gazed inside from the entrance, her face lost all color and she rushed in.

Damn her. Has she really found them? It doesn’t make sense. Or am I that lucky? This seems too easy.

Hallowed Intuition’s ominous mutters fluttered slightly as he approached the door. How could Flynn’s Hunch work when his whispers remained indistinct, almost silent? Kai paused, checking again that the corridors were empty. Despite the earlier exclamation, he couldn’t hear or see anyone approaching.

I’m missing something.

He could probably find out what given time to think things through, but his sister and Caeli had already gone inside. That duo only fed on each other‘s recklessness. His heart rushed him to make a choice.

Kai ran after Kea.

The room was a dark box, smelling of mold and stale air. Caeli and Kea’s signatures glowed to his senses; there was a third unknown presence at the peak of Orange.

A crystal light suddenly lit the interior, making him squint and lower his gaze—Caeli hadn’t bothered to dampen the light with a cloth. His eyes quickly adapted, though his attention remained on the flooring. An inky circle of jagged shapes covered most of the stone beneath their feet. The intricate pattern reminded him of the circle Virya drew to measure his affinities a lifetime ago.

Is this some kind of ritual? What do they do with the missing people?

His knowledge of this runic alphabet was too shallow to guess. One thing remained clear. “We need to get out of here.”

Looking up, no one reacted to his words.

Kea stood frozen before the unknown figure. A teen boy sat tied to an iron chair. He looked a few years older than him. Despite his messy stubble and worn-out clothes, he would probably be considered handsome. Kai didn’t wonder about his identity for long. The dark hair and blue eyes were the same shade as Caeli’s.

“Is everything alright?” Caeli asked while cutting his bonds.

Caeden blinked away from Kea’s gaze with a tired smile. “It’s good now that you’re here.”

Mari peeked into the room, her eyes widening upon seeing Caeden. “Blessed spirits, you’re alive!” She rushed inside, seemingly forgetting her injury. “Have you seen Neil? Is he alright too?”

Hmm… Why was he kept here alone?

Rain walked in last. He spared a glance for Caeden before intently staring at the inky runes on the floor.

“Are you hurt?” Kea leaned in to hug the boy.

“No, I’m fine.” Caeden patted her back, his gaze strangely melancholic. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

Something’s wrong…

“You can catch up later. We should really get out of here!“ Kai reached for the wand in his pocket—something was terribly off.

Despite the urgency in his tone, Caeden didn’t seem in a hurry. He observed their group with a frown. “Wasn’t there supposed to be another?”

Caeli watched them with pursed lips. “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll fix it later.”

What are they—

Kai shifted his gaze between the two siblings as the pieces clicked together.

“Okay then.” Caeden sighed as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He pulled Kea closer and gave Caeli a nervous look, getting a cold nod in response. A dark ripple sent motes fluttering across the room.

“No!” Rain dashed at them, his body burning with blazing mana. The runic circles on the floor buzzed with power.

Kai’s eyes snapped to his sister. “Kea ru—”