Suri fell. Yet she made no sound, her eyes closed. Consciousness abandoned her, sparing her from the agony of both mental and physical torments. Her burial in the dead pit was accompanied by the rustle of crumbling earth and the snapping of breaking vegetation. The black hole greedily swallowed the blood mage, promising imminent death in the lair of underground creatures.

A foreign consciousness invaded the vision that had taken hold of Suri.

In the world of the unconscious, the girl fell downward, clutching tightly to a woman who looked like her. The wind battered their falling bodies, trying to separate them. Separation was inevitable. Fear of loss crept into Suri’s heart. But when the woman squeezed her hand, the anxiety turned into serenity. The beautiful woman released her soft palm and grasped Suri by the wrist.

[…wake up.] The woman’s lips did not move, and the voice did not belong to her. [The creature must wake up.] Suri winced. The initially pleasant warmth from the other being began to cause discomfort until it eventually turned into burning.

The woman’s lips formed a sad smile. She pushed the girl away and flew downward, as if governed by an entirely different gravitational force. The girl reached out to the woman, parting her glued lips: “No! Don’t leave me again!”

But Suri was no longer falling. She stood on the edge of a chasm. A strong wind, threatening to become a storm, whipped at her from all sides. She was alone. The feeling of loss tore her apart inside, and the knot in her heart tightened even more. How she hated reliving those bitter memories over and over. How she hated heights.

[Grrump,] Shug snorted, peeking at the mirages of someone else’s past. [Creatures look annoyingly alike, and its character is no better than Astarta’s.] His voice carried notes of irritation. He did not enjoy what he saw. [This is a ghost of the mind. And no matter how much it falls, death does not threaten it. Unlike this creature.]

“What are you talking about?” Suri recoiled from the edge of the chasm. She felt the wind become much more ruthless.

[This is a failed escape. But, now time has a different meaning. Shug will show the way out.]

Suri bit her lip. What Shug said was important. Despite his gruff demeanor, his cryptic guidance had saved her more than once, and she would not refuse this chance.

[True speech of Shug can save. The question is whether the creature can master a new essence when there is no time for comprehension, practice, or activation. That, Shug does not know.]

“What about the rune?”

[The creature does not have it.]

“Then can I speak it aloud?”

[By that time, the creature’s body will reach the ground.]

A thought flashed through Suri’s mind, bringing with it a subdued feeling of anxiety, but she did not focus on this idea. The anxiety about the rapidly passing moments was troubling. She had no idea where this feeling came from.

“You mean instant activation? It took me weeks to learn the ‘Shield.’”

[Shug will show it once. The creature cannot hesitate. It is capable of this, as that woman was.]

A sharp pain seized Suri’s wrist. She looked down; there was nothing on her fair skin. The burning sensation spread up her arm, reaching her elbow. The skin reddened, revealing an intricate pattern that seemed vaguely familiar. The rising wind blew sand into her eyes from nowhere. Something lashed her face and chest, making it hard to breathe. Her whole body ached. She spun around, losing her sense of direction. Nausea rose to her sore throat; she could not breathe. The scorching bracelet pulsed on her arm, and this pain brought her back to reality.

[“Elevation”], a velvet voice burst into the girl’s thoughts. An image of an entity timidly appeared before her eyes, only to vanish just as quickly. Suri had never encountered such a complex, tangled rune before. How could she understand or learn the essence of something she barely glimpsed, let alone summon it?

Shug was right; she could only try.

A blurred image formed in her mind. Suri immersed herself in the thrilling feeling of discovery she experienced with each encounter with true speech. The rune became clearer, no longer seeming as complex and incomprehensible.

At that moment, a yellow glint caught her eye. Suri tumbled out of the dead pit, falling freely into the lair.

Time was up.

Her wildly pounding heart stopped. Clinging to the elusive image of the mysterious rune, the girl breathed her remaining strength into it. The essence began to move. The air thickened, taking on a tangible form. A transparent entity woven from air and echoes of yellow crystal light enveloped her body, suspending her in the air. Then it vanished without a trace.

The landing was not soft. The girl crashed into the damp earth, hissing in pain. Although the essence hidden behind the true speech manifested only for a moment, it was enough to save her from death.

Stolen novel; please report.

Suri lay motionless on the ground. When the pain subsided, her eyes opened, adjusting to the dim light of the enormous underground cavern. The rotten, sweet smell suffocated her, clinging to her skin, hair, and clothes. A crackling sound came from somewhere nearby. There were hardly a few yellow crystals illuminating the underground lair, but Suri’s eyes widened in horror at what she saw. She struggled to her hands, slipping and sinking into the wet surface.

The ground in the cave began to move. But they were thin, brown bodies that wriggled and scratched, desperate to grab any part of the prey fallen from the dead pits. All of a sudden, the young needle-workers froze in anticipation as soon as Suri showed signs of life, surrounding her from all sides. Rows of sharp, small teeth appeared before her eyes, and impatient clicking sounds emanated from their foul mouths. Long tongues stretched out, their tips touching her legs and arms. But the needle-workers could do no more; the living prey was not theirs. The senior combat specimens had left the lair, following the call, and the young ones had to wait for the prey to perish on its own.

Breathing heavily, Suri got to her feet. Having spent a tremendous amount of inner strength to awaken the runes, she swayed from side to side, her legs sinking into the ground. The needle-workers clicked their tongues, scratching and biting each other in a hungry frenzy. They would not be as patient once the girl collapsed unconscious. Her vision blurred, and thinking became difficult.

“I can’t walk, let alone fight,” she thought, curling her lips. She scanned the lair without much hope of finding an exit or something that could help her. Darkness clouded her vision, and she staggered. The nearest creature clicked its jaws, anticipating an imminent feast.

Countless burrows of varying diameters gaped in the slime-covered walls of the stone cave. The needle-workers scurried from one burrow to another, occasionally rubbing their bodies against the walls, leaving a wet, slippery trail and scent. Someone else might still have hope of finding an exit in one of the burrows. However, Suri’s condition completely ruled out a positive outcome of such a decision. Her gaze swept over the shadowy underground lair, picking out an ocean of blue, shimmering lights in the darkness—the cores of the creatures. Their hunger no longer surprised her.

From a large burrow in the center of the lair, an enormous pale head emerged, crowned with twisted, sharp bony protrusions like a grotesque crown. The needle-workers pressed their narrow snouts to the ground, scattering in different directions before their undisputed ruler. A deep, guttural purr filled the lair, plunging it into eerie silence. The creature’s mouth opened, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth the size of human hands. A long tongue darted out, detecting the faintest scents. It stopped, pointing towards the blood mage, then retreated between the teeth with a click.

The beast lumbered forward, squeezing through the burrow. Its black, shiny hide contrasted with its pale head, as if it belonged to an entirely different creature—a bizarre anomaly of nature. The beast stretched out on its front paws, digging its powerful white claws into the ground. Reaching its lair, it lashed its long tail, leaving deep marks on the stone walls with its bony spikes.

Suri recoiled, and the creature immediately noticed. Its eyeless face turned towards her, as if it could see her among the writhing brown lower bodies. Clicking its tongue, the needle queen released a wave of internal energy. Immense pressure crushed Suri’s chest. Screeches and howls filled the lair as the thin brown bodies writhed in agony, biting anything in their path, including themselves. The needle-workers convulsed before their screeches fell silent, showing no signs of life.

Despite the suppression, Suri retained control. She kept her eyes on the creature, feverishly thinking of a way to escape the agile predator in its territory. In her weakened state, true speech would turn against her. What chance did she have against the higher needle if escaping the brown creatures had seemed unlikely in the first place?

The movement ceased. Among the many motionless brown carcasses, Suri stood out before the monster. The creature’s suppression eased, but cold sweat broke out on Suri’s back. The beast crouched, its hind legs tensed, and its tail hovered above the ground. A moment stretched into a minute, time slowing as if about to reverse. Oh, if only. The girl would have given anything to avoid this fateful encounter.

The beast attacked. For Suri, time sped up, catching up with the lost pace. Despite its enormous size, the beast moved with alarming speed. With other prey, it might have played, but it treated the blood mage differently. Suri had time to blink before razor-sharp claws swung to end her life.

Without a second thought, she dodged. A gust of wind brushed her face, followed by a spray of slime and dirt. Suri dared not stop. Leaping to her feet, she jumped just as the beast’s tail tore apart the dead carcass. Her heart pounded wildl. How much longer could she dodge at such a frantic pace?

The great beast did not rush to turn towards her. Why would it? The needle could sense the blood mage perfectly. Only one path remained—a narrow burrow in the wall meant for young needles. Suri frowned.

“There’s a better chance of survival here. I won’t fall for it.” She was sure the beast waited for her to run towards the burrow, ready to intercept her.

Suri moved in the opposite direction, closer to the center of the lair. The blue glow within the needle flared, and its tail whipped the ground close to her feet. She dodged the signal in time but stumbled and fell. She hadn’t even had time to cry out in frustration when the beast’s powerful tail descended upon her.

A flash of black steel crossed her vision. Two blades struck the powerful tail, altering its trajectory. Instead of the blood mage, the attack hit a thin needle, which ended up impaled on the spikes. The higher needle hissed, turning to face the suddenly appeared opponent. Hidden on its back under a dense row of bony ridges, a blue spark flickered and flared. The creature turned to suppression again, not hiding even a part of its own strength.

Maintaining such suppression required a colossal amount of energy. It would be madness for the beast to rush into an attack; otherwise, it risked losing control over its internal energy and damaging its core.

“A chance to escape!”

Suri looked up excitedly at her savior and met a pair of cold black eyes. Chills ran down her arms, and all words flew out of her head. She believed she wasn’t waiting for salvation. But deep inside, she hoped to see this person. The man whose mere presence instilled a fear stronger than death in people. And the only one she believed capable of the impossible. The Judge tore his gaze away from the blood mage’s face and lowered it to the torn parts of her gear, smeared with blood and dirt. His eyes narrowed at the pitiful sight, and golden flames flared in them, completely changing their color.

The needle clicked its tongue against its teeth, the pressure it emitted intensified. Only then did the Judge frown and turn his attention to the creature.