Chapter 4: Dark Passages

“I am Yusciel Navaris, an Investigator of Ancient Human History,” she declared, a rare smile gracing her features as she placed a hand over her heart.

Her boot slid behind another as her body leaned forward, exuding an unfamiliar but bold demeanor that made Leo flinch back unconsciously, his brow cramping in confusion.

“Investigator? Like the ones in the city?” He asked, his eyes reflecting his lack of understanding.

Yusciel’s eyes widened in surprise at his question. ‘A human with surprisingly low intellect.’ She mused silently. ‘I won’t need to come up with an elaborate lie after all.’

She replied monotonously, “Simply put—Someone who investigates ancient ruins,” before resuming her pace.

Leo quietly repeated her words as she walked away. Yusciel paid him no mind, swiftly moving past and venturing deeper into the cave. The rocky walls and ceiling gradually narrowed, forming a small circular pathway. Suddenly, she halted, sensing something amiss ahead.

‘Odd,’ she thought, scrutinizing the darkness before her. It was a pure void, devoid of any discernible objects. Despite her light bulb brightly illuminating the surroundings, this darkness seemed to devour all light. The phenomenon felt strangely familiar; Yusciel had encountered similar anomalies before, each vastly different from the others. This particular one, however, seemed more tame.

Reaching for the light bulb on her belt, she raised it high and cautiously inched closer to the impenetrable darkness. ‘A dark passage?’ She wondered.

“Miss?” Leo’s voice rang out behind her, sounding confused. “Is there something wrong?”

Yusciel ignored him, focusing on studying the phenomenon before her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something might emerge from the darkness and pull her in—she had heard of such occurrences before. Swallowing nervously, she continued to observe. Despite the light in her hands, the darkness remained unchanged, its boundaries and size clearly defined.

Around the edges framing the void, roots grew through the cracks in the earth, intertwining unnaturally towards the darkness. Just before it, Yusciel noticed an oddly smooth stone surface, more akin to a pavement or a wall than a natural cave floor. Its texture was marked with unfamiliar scribbles or characters.

Yusciel flicked her fingers, sending the grappling hook flying towards the ceiling where it locked it a click. She swiftly secured the light bulb back to her belt before retrieving a contilepass from her shoulder bag. At first, the device behaved normally, but as she neared her hand toward the dark entrance, its four arrows began blinking erratically, cycling through various colors as they swirled without pause. ‘That confirms it,’ she thought.

Swallowing hard, Yusciel realized as she stored the contilepass back, ‘To think I would find one of the dark passages—they’re never predictable—Changed plans then.’

“Miss?” Leo’s voice broke through her concentration, his footsteps beginning to echo.

“Stay right there,” Yusciel instructed sharply, not daring to look away as she took a careful step back from the darkness. “You can die around these things.”

After stepping several meters back, Yusciel abruptly pivoted towards her backpack. She retrieved her equipment: goggles and an elaborate air mask designed to cover both nose and mouth. The mask’s two large chambers stood out, one adorned with several dangling rubber tubes. She deftly hung the gear on her shoulder strap before taking five small, fist-sized canisters from the bag and placing them beside it.

“Um, miss?” Leo’s voice quavered. “Is… is there something wrong?”

Yusciel turned to the child, her eyes catching the worry etched across his cramped brow. She hesitated, teeth grazing her lower lip as she weighed her next words. “Leo,” she began softly, “Would you be alright staying here alone? I can give y—.”

“No!” Leo cried out, panic flooding his pale face. “I want to go with you!”

Yusciel’s worried expression hardened into a glare. “For someone who snuck into the expedition, you’re certainly demanding,” she said dryly, turning to attach three canisters to her shoulder strap and two to her waist belt. She loosened her black sleeves, securing them with armor plates, then tightened her gauntlet’s belt with a sharp tug.

“Please, miss! I’ll do anything!” He persisted, rushing to her side.

As Yusciel methodically returned the scattered items to her bag, she explained firmly, “The place I’m going is far more dangerous than anything you’ll ever encounter in life. If you wait here, someone will eventually find you.”

“Bu-but—”

“No buts!” Yusciel snapped, her voice sharp. She tightened the strings of her bag and secured the main compartment with its flapping cover. She stood up and dusted off her legs from knee to waist. She then hoisted the bag onto her back, snugged it tight, and locked it in place with dangling cords.

“Are you really just going to leave me here?” Leo’s voice cracked with despair. “I could still die if I’m left here alone! Please, just let me join you!”

Yusciel turned, catching sight of Leo’s face—his eyes brimming with unshed tears. Her gaze dropped to the canisters attached to her shoulder strap. She hesitated, her mind racing: ‘50 minutes per canister—I have a total of 400 minutes. 200 minutes if I split the supply. I need to find the exit before the fourth canister empties. It’s plausible, but there’s no telling what happens inside those passages.’

“Wait a moment,” Yusciel said, approaching where the gray roots met the odd, smooth stone at the cave’s uneven edge. She picked up a nearby rock and threw it straight ahead. Unlike the engulfing void inside, the rock remained oddly visible, moving through the dark space before suddenly plummeting into the abyss, disappearing from sight.

‘So, this passage is descending? But how deep is it?’ Yusciel focused, straining to hear any impact. She gulped, ‘I can’t hear anything—Is it really that deep? It might be impossible to use this as an exit then. Am I using the correct head? I might need to switch to a longer string for this one.’

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Yusciel brought her grappling gear in front of her, examining the head hook protruding from the metallic device. The hook appeared sharper and longer than the previous. At its base, four metal beams jutted out to a circular frame. Several rough spikes ringed the frame’s edge. Yusciel nodded in confirmation. ‘I am using the right one.’

Satisfied, Yusciel flicked her right fingers towards the ground. The hook flew out, piercing the earth with a dry click—it embedded itself to the base, where parts began moving with a ticking sound. She turned to the boy, “Don’t follow me. I could mistake you for a monster down there, and I might not be able to discern in time.”

“B-but! Is there any other way?” he insisted.

“Remember this, boy—you snuck into the ship. No one knows you’re with us. if you disappear here, no one will ever know about you,” Yusciel stated. “Use the light bulb—someone will find you eventually. Trust me. You’re not the only person I’ve saved in the past,” she reassured.

“Then what about you?! If I can die, you can too!” Leo yelled. “Isn’t it unfair? Just bring me—it won’t make any difference, right?”

Yusciel glared, but she let out a heavy sigh. “Fine—let’s have it your way. The things that you will see on the other si—”

Hearing her words, Leo’s expression beamed joyfully, making Yusciel halt mid-sentence. She snapped her fingers in front of Leo. “Boy, focus on my words.”

Leo hurriedly nodded. “I am, I am.”

“The things that you will see on the other side are different from the real World—”

“Wait, wait, where are we going?” Leo interjected, waving his hands frantically, a wavering smile on his face.

Yusciel’s eyes twitched, ‘Is this truly a good idea?’ she thought. She hesitated—never before had she been paired with someone so ignorant of these peculiarities of the World.

“Listen carefully,” she said, turning to face forward. “That thing you can’t see ahead—that darkness devoid of any light. Do you notice it?”

“Yeah?” Leo murmured, tinged with doubt. “Kind of?”

“That thing—we call those Dark passages,” Yusciel explained. “We don’t know where they came from or how they came to be, and everything inside them is a deadly mystery. Hardly anyone has come out alive from them.”

“Eh?” Leo muttered, his voice confused. “Then why are we going there? Isn’t it suicide?”

Yusciel raised an eyebrow and gave him a steady look. “Indeed, it is. Do you still want to come with me?”

Leo remained silent, his head lowered, hands squeezed together as if seeking comfort. “You’re going there, so there must be a way to come out alive. And I have nothing to lose… So I might as well?” He forced a nervous laugh.

Yusciel turned and shrugged. “I have my reasons—” she stopped abruptly, clearing her throat before continuing, “We believed that Dark passages are entrances to the Roots of the World, and entering one means exiting to the other entrances, like a portal.” Yusciel explained.

Leo, intrigued, asked, “Portal? What does that mean?”

“It’s nothing—don’t worry about it,” Yusciel replied with a smile. “There are two important things to remember when entering these passages. First, don’t reject what you see—no matter how difficult it may be. Second, forget what you see—don’t let it linger in your thoughts.”

Leo nodded nervously and asked, “And what if I don’t?”

“If you don’t, and somehow manage to exit alive, expect your remaining days to be haunted by what you’ve seen—you’ll never find peace,” Yusciel emphasized, her voice low and ominous. “So don’t overthink it. Just focus on getting back home in one piece. Think about what you’ll eat when you return, count the days you have left to live—anything but this.”

Leo audibly swallowed, causing the corners of Yusciel’s lips to turn up slightly. She unhooked the goggles from her shoulder strap and offered them to Leo. “Do you know how to wear these?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Leo replied, taking the goggles by the band. “I did a day task in a factory once.”

“Wear them and pass me the can of biscuits,” Yusciel instructed, sliding the backpack off her shoulder and setting it on the ground in front of her. “I’ll pack them in the bag,” she added as she began untying the strings.

Seeing this, Leo quickly crouched down to grab the thin metal can and its cover, handing them to Yusciel. She took out three more canisters, transferring them to her shoulder bag before securing the metal thin can inside. Once finished, she tightened the strings and closed the main compartment before slinging the bag onto her back. Meanwhile, Leo had equipped the goggles, adjusting the dangling rubber straps tightly behind his ears.

Yusciel nodded approvingly. Mirroring Leo’s actions, she covered her mouth and nose with the black mask, tightening the rubber straps around her face and securing them behind her ears. Her breathing was slow but deep, each breath producing a whining sound as it passed through the air chamber. She briefly contemplated moving the mask down to free her hair but thought better of it, glancing at Leo instead.

Yusciel eyed Leo’s attire with concern. ‘His clothing isn’t ideal, but there aren’t many options anyway. I hope the mask and canister could suffice,’ she thought, bringing the two tubes hanging from her mask closely to fish out one with a mask on the end. She traced it back before plucking it out, cold air rushing in as she removed from its sealed compartment.

“Do you know how to use this one?” Yusciel asked, her voice slightly muffled as she handed the smaller mask to Leo.

“Yep. They taught us this back at the factory too.” Leo replied confidently.

“Good. Put it on,” Yusciel instructed, “You’re aware that using this means we’re entering an area of high mana density, right?”

Leo nodded, securing the mask over his face.

“Alright. I have three canisters of Mana stabilizers, each lasting 20 minutes,” Yusciel explained. “When they’re depleted, make sure to exchange them and pass me the empty ones. I can refill with Gen Crystals if necessary, but that’s our last resort. we need to exit the passage before our time runs out.”

‘I don’t have that much money, after all.’ Yusciel thought quietly before unzipping her shoulder bag. She asked Leo, “Do you have a belt where we can hook the canisters?”

Leo, still busy adjusting his mask, couldn’t reply verbally. Instead, he lifted his shirt, revealing his waist. His pants were held up by a long thread woven in and out around the waistband.

“Two will do,” Yusciel observed, retrieving two canisters from her shoulder bag and offering them to Leo. While he took them, she fiddled with the rubber of her own mask, ensuring it tightly filled the newly formed gap.

Once Leo had secured the canisters, Yusciel pulled the dangling tube and examined the locking device. It consisted of several metallic frames shaped into a circle with a hole in the middle and rubber lining around it. She removed one of the caps from the canisters and locked them tightly into place. Only when she felt the cool, breathable air flowing did Yusciel check her air chamber. Pressing her fingers around the circular chamber on the outside, she made sure the device was set to automatic.

“Ready?” Yusciel looked down at Leo, whose fingers were fiddling with his mask’s air chamber.

He nodded, replying with a simple, “Yep.” His arms raised, gesturing for Yusciel to carry him.

Recognizing it as the best option, Yusciel responded to his initiative. She hugged him, securing his small frame in her large arms before turning around. She took a slow step inside, hearing strings click with each foot of progress. Her feet navigated the tangled roots before stepping onto the darkness—a surface without texture, simply felt hard and flat.

She proceeded cautiously: one step, one meter, two meters—until suddenly, her body shifted. Her feet slipped from beneath her as her body swung, leaving her legs dangling in the air. The ground had become the wall at her back.

“Woah!” Leo exclaimed, his fingers tightened their grip. “That’s so weird!”

Twisting her body, Yusciel planted her feet against what was now a vertical surface. She looked up where the wall met the ceiling—from her new perspective, she could see the outside cave; the horizon had become the sky.

Gulping. Yusciel began her descent into the darkness, further outside their own World.