Much like every other connecting passage, the one Lucian entered proved to be quite short – even if the time taken to traverse through it was increased by a notch, an inevitable consequence of the dense mist, pouring rain, and quagmire underfoot.
Even the numerous pinpricks of soft purple light, as bright as they were, didn’t help with the foremost issue, forcing them to tread carefully lest one or more of them fell over.
Luckily for the lot, nothing of the sort happened even after Lucian—the rearmost person in the pack—exited from the briar-encaged path.
Once all six were gathered on the—once again—forked path, Julia decided to break the rain-punctuated silence.
“Here we go again, everyone. Left, or right? Both directions are equally as dangerous as the other, so either way is fine with me.” She intoned monotonously, tone making it clear she was sick and tired of repeating the same old query.
Picking up on her mood, Lucian shot her a concerned look just as Cherub decided to pipe up. “We turned left when travelling through the maze’s second concentric circle, yea?”
Turning his attention away from the honey blonde, the raven-haired man brought his focus to bear on Boris when he replied. “You’re correct. Your point being…?”
“I say we go right then, this time.” While talking, the brown-clad man turned to face the direction in question before gesturing to it. “Look how going left last time turned out. Personally, I’m not too keen on getting chased by another wave of mutated rats. Are the rest of you?”
“He does make a good point.” Unexpectedly, Transient Cardinal was the first to interject after a beat’s worth of thoughtful silence. “If not for the enclosed clearings, I’m not sure how many of us would have made it out of that circle.”
Off to the side, the snowy-haired waif’s interjection received a rapid series of nods from Tsumiki; the usually composed ebony-haired girl making her opinion loud and clear.
With two of the party already leaning towards agreeing with Cherub, Julia sent a questioning look at both Lucian and Boris; the former indicating his indifference with a casual shrug while the latter responded with a noncommittal grunt.
Clapping her hands together a single time, the buxom beauty spun on a heel and faced the left fork. “Okay then. Let’s go left.”
So saying, she immediately marched off into the increasingly dense mist; trusting the others to follow behind her without further prompting.
Lucian watched with some bemusement as Boris quickly caught up with several long strides, Cherub and Tsumiki falling in behind the cloaked giant soon after…
“Shall we then, Sir Knight?” Only for his focus to be drawn by Transient Cardinal’s softly intoned question, the raven-haired man’s light browns locking with the white-haired waif’s pale blues.
Nodding sharply in agreement, he started walking without any further delays; the young woman falling in step without a further word needing to be said.
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The trek became more and more exhausting as Lucian continued on, all of the others showing signs of such albeit to varying degrees.
Instead of lightening up even the slightest bit, the rain only seemed to increase in sheer ferocity; each droplet feeling like a piercing needle against his bare skin, even as the water underfoot was well on its way to rising to his knees.
Part of him couldn’t help but wonder about the lack of any drainage system, but most of his mind was turned to figuring out a plan of action in the case of another tidal wave of Hungering Rodents chasing them anew.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with anything except run like a bat out of hell. He supposed that a silver lining of the present wet weather conditions was that any suddenly appearing Apostate Wraiths would have an even worse time of it, considering their ponderous weights.
Maybe if the water levels rose even higher, the dog-sized Hungering Rodents wouldn’t be able to chase after them as well. The sudden image of a tidal wave of swimming, black-furred rats caused an amused smirk to tug at Lucian’s lips.
“What has you so amused, Sir Knight?” At Transient Cardinal’s question, the raven-haired man’s mental image scattered to the winds as he turned slightly, left eye focusing on her.
“I just had an amusing thought. Don’t you worry your pretty little head ‘bout it.” Lucian opined dismissively, unwilling to divulge his musings in case it conjured up false hope about something of the like actually happening.
While a soft pink blush dusted her cheeks at his words, the white-haired waif also let out an indignant huff. “Teasing people is quite unbecoming, you know.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He tilted his head slightly, a faux innocent wide-eyed look on his face. However, before he could give her a reply, Boris’s alarmed shout, alongside the rosy hue draining from his white-haired partner’s cheeks, caused his focus to become razer-sharp instantly.
“Something… bad is incoming, friends. Brace yourselves for impact.”
Unsure where the danger was going to come from, Lucian tilted his neck slightly, making sure he would have an eye on both his front and back. At the same time, he didn’t forget to ask, “Do you have anything extra to add, Cardinal?”
“N-Not really,” she stammered, a concerning sign in and of itself. “A-All I know is t-that it’s going to be w-worse than anything we-we’ve come across so f-far.”
As if the white-haired waif’s words were a herald of portents, an almighty splash, followed up by loud rumbling and the soft, muddy ground trembling, of all things, came from behind; a colossal shadow appearing in the depths of the mists.
The sixsome exchanged looks, emotions of worry clear on all of their faces.
…
…
…
“METHINKS IT’S TIME WE FUCKING RUN!!!” Lucian let out, once the shock from the sudden occurrence had subsided.
Acting on his words, the raven-haired man immediately picked up his pace, really not wanting to find out what, exactly, was making that noise and causing such inexplicable, earthshaking trembles.
Spurred on by his words, all the others increased their speed as well.
Time rolled on, but the party of six weren’t given any opportunity to let up on their pace of escape; the continuous series of resounding splashes—let alone the constant trembling of the softened, muddy ground—preventing it.
“Yo Lucian, Cardinal! Are either of y’all able to see what the hell is chasing us?”
Eventually, Cherub spoke up, clearly having had enough with running away from the unknown threat without even knowing what he was running away from to begin with.
“You realise, I haven’t actually had, time to check, what’s what right? And anyway, judging by the sounds, it’s making, I’m pretty fucking sure that, it’s humongous, and gets around by rolling.” Lucian panted out agitatedly.
Unconsciously, his neck twisted slightly, letting him see what was happening behind him without losing speed.
While the thing chasing them down was still nothing more than a silhouette, he could tell that it was somewhat spherical and easily took up the passage’s entire height and width.
Though unable to see the thing for true, the strong gusts of wind it was stirring up, even amidst the torrential downpour and watery fog, made it crystal clear that it wasn’t something he wanted to mess with.
Twisting his neck to face back forward properly, he put on another burst of speed after fully digesting the blurred sight.
“Whatever the thing, chasing us is, there’s no, way of escaping, it except by running, forward!” Making sure to project his voice, Lucian ensured everyone would hear his warning.
Falling silent after doing as such, he concentrated on putting forward one foot right after the other, even more invested in outpacing the approaching thing.
At the same time, his eyes swept from side to side, making sure a sneaky tendril of Bloodthirst Briar wouldn’t come out of nowhere to trip him up. Satisfied nothing was hiding in the mists—for now—he stopped and focused back on his feet.
All the while, the spherical thing pursuing them from behind continued to roll; softened ground’s trembling getting progressively worse.
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What must have been something like five minutes later, Julia finally alerted the others to a break in the briars up ahead; causing a relieved sigh to leave Lucian’s mouth.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news. Instead of opening into a path that led deeper into the briar maze, she let them know it was a narrow entrance that opened up into one of the enclosed clearings, moments later.
“I think Cherub and Tsumiki should be the first ones to enter the clearing.” Unexpectedly, Julia took the initiative to bring up the proverbial elephant in the room.
Lucian nodded, but started speaking when he remembered the others—besides Transient Cardinal—wouldn’t be able to see his gesture.
“I agree. At the rate things are going, I don’t think the two of you will be able to hold out for long, pardon the offense.”
“None taken.” Cherub said reluctantly. “I can’t disagree after all.”
In the corner of his eye, the raven-haired man noticed his white-haired partner open her mouth, as if wanting to say something, before closing it back up; remaining silent in the end.
While curious about her odd actions, Boris’s gruff tones from further ahead stole his attention.
“Let’s do this then. Cherub, Tsumiki, hurry up and switch places with Julia and I. Hopefully the clearing will let more of us in after the two of you enter.” So saying, the bald behemoth slowed down marginally, giving the pair behind him the opportunity to catch up and overtake him.
At the same time, Julia copied his actions while veering off slightly to the right, creating a corridor with enough space for the two to pass through comfortably. Immediately doing as advised, the two in question slipped through the gap.
Meanwhile, at the back of the running pack, Lucian observed all this happening. Occasionally, he threw glances behind him, making sure that the circular thing, still sort of hidden by the fog, hadn’t caught up as of yet; face twisted up in worry all the while.
Soon enough and just as Cherub and Tsumiki had swapped places with Boris and Julia, the tight entrance became visible to the raven-haired man; appearing out of the fog like an open maw filled with blackened gums and crimson-stained fangs.
Without any fanfare, Cherub ducked through the person-sized entrance with Tsumiki hot on his heels. Already preparing himself to turn away and continue running, Lucian was shocked when a Temporary Barrier of Immaculate Respite failed to materialise.
The raven-haired man wasn’t the first to notice, however.
“There’s still room for more! Any takers?” Julia let out, the honey blonde waiting right by the clearing’s entrance, Boris standing nearby.
Closing in on the two after a couple more splashes, Lucian and Transient Cardinal drew up alongside and peered through the gap. Besides noting down the presence of three intersecting torch-touting poles—extinguished ones, at that—they paid the insides of the clearing little mind.
“I still have enough energy to continue running. So the three of you can decide who’s going to go in first. Just be quick about it, yeah?” After a brief amount of time spent in thought, Lucian offered to be the last to enter.
On the one hand, he really wasn’t lying about having energy to burn. On the other, the mere thought of acting on his self-preservation instincts and going in before the others caused a queasy feeling to churn in his gut.
Perhaps it might seem a tad hypocritical, considering he was just contemplating keeping the Abyssal Vitreous to himself some time ago. At the end of the day, however, having selfish thoughts wasn’t a problem in and of itself, but acting on them, when things truly became an issue.
“I’ll stay with my Knight, so it’s between the two of you now, Julia, Boris.” Transient Cardinal answered, throwing the proverbial ball into the two’s court.
Said individuals exchanged a quick look at that, uncertainty clouding Julia’s emerald eyes while Boris furrowed his bushy brows. Knowing it was a hard decision to make, Lucian decided not to hurry the two up.
Instead of staring at the pair in question, he tilted his neck and shot a glance over his shoulder, intending to check on the circular thing’s progress…
Only to be welcomed by a slightly glossy sheen, one usually boasted by metals of any sort – something which, unfortunately, held true in this particular instance.
Appearing out of the purple-tinged fog was a small portion of a large, metal, spoked wheel; a waterfall of rainwater pouring down from its curved surface, only to thunder back into the water underneath.
Lucian finally understood the reason for the trembling earth and loud splashes.
Even as that thought percolated in his mind, the raven-haired man was opening his mouth, going back on his original intentions not to hurry them up.
“Boris, Julia. One of you needs to choose. Now.”
The panic in his tone must have alerted them to the danger, as Julia immediately took a step away from the clearing’s entrance, wordlessly indicating for Boris to go ahead.
Acknowledging her sacrifice with a grateful incline of his head, the cloaked giant didn’t waste any more time and squeezed his way through the narrow entrance; softly shining barrier of opaque white light shimmering into place in his wake.
Seeing this, Lucian turned away and instantly started running – though not before warning the white-haired waif and buxom blonde beauty to do likewise.
“It’s time for us to get out of here, Cardinal, Julia! The thing chasing us is finally catching up, and it’s a huge, motherfucking wheel!”