Working together, they each pointed their flames toward the shadows, clearing a path that allowed them to escape deeper into the cavern’s darkness.

“Where do we go?” Eve asked, her breath quickening as they ran.

“Anywhere that’s not back there!” Sky replied.

They soon found themselves in a larger open area, in the oppressive darkness surrounding them. They stopped, uncertain of which way to go.

“What are you doing?” Eve asked, panic creeping into her voice as she heard the dreaded heavy footsteps drawing closer.

Sky hushed her, trying to concentrate. He took a few cautious steps, listening intently. The voices were faint but unmistakable.

Amidst the chaos of overlapping voices, Sky discerned a man crying out, “Men, over the bridge! This way!” Glancing over Eve’s shoulder, he saw the white, blurred ghosts of men running toward him, their bodies passing through the air. He turned, following their footsteps deeper into the cavern.

“This way,” Sky urged, running with purpose. Eve, perplexed, couldn’t understand what was happening with him, but she trusted him. With Kiran in her arms, she followed closely.

The darkness was terrifying. Guided by the apparitions, Sky aimed in their direction, hoping the ground would remain beneath him and not lead him to a deadly drop.

Eventually, they reached the top of a large ravine, the other side connected by a flimsy wooden bridge—planks of old wood joined by ropes, barely able to support the weight of one person. “This is not going to end well,” he muttered to himself, noting the inconvenience of the situation.

“You two go first,” Sky said.

“What?” Eve replied, surprised.

“If we go together, the bridge will collapse. You go first. I’ll be right behind you.” He placed a reassuring hand on Eve’s shoulder, urging her forward. The shadows were quick to follow, their forms emerging from the darkness with blades drawn and eager to kill.

“Okay, Kiran, we’re going to cross. Keep your eyes on me. We’re going to make it.” Eve held Kiran tightly and began the slow, treacherous journey across the bridge. Their hearts raced with every creaking plank. They could fall at any moment. The bridge shook beneath them, making it hard to move forward and forcing them to pause for deep breaths.

Eve inched forward, trying to keep her footing. A few planks had already broken, weakened by humidity and termites, forcing her to leap across gaps as she progressed.

Sky drew his blade in one hand and wielded the flames in the other, determined to fend off the shadows. The fire crackled as they pressed on, but it didn’t seem powerful enough to vanquish them. The dark figures advanced, weapons raised, eager to strike.

“Get back! Don’t come any closer!” he shouted, occasionally turning to check on Eve’s progress. One shadow got close enough to swing its sword, but the flame held it at bay. Suddenly, the shadow let out a scream of excruciating pain as its body seemed to explode. This wasn’t like before; the darkness that had once consumed it vanished, revealing pale, cold skin beneath. Openings in its body leaked black oil, as if it had cried and vomited black tar. It bellowed in a distorted voice, poised to attack again.

Eve, distracted by the commotion, lost her focus during the last few steps across the bridge. The plank she stepped on shattered, and she screamed, barely holding onto another plank. The bridge trembled beneath her, threatening to collapse.

“Kiran, go! Get off the bridge!” Eve cried, struggling to keep her grip.

Kiran refused to leave. Instead, she reached down, grabbing Eve’s hand and pulling her back onto the bridge.

Once across, Eve turned back to see Sky battling the shadows, the one charging directly at him. He held the flame forward, its glow intensifying and searing the shadow’s form. The creature took a desperate swing, but Sky dodged it, drawing his broken blade. He thrust it overhead, impaling the shadow from behind. It screamed like a tormented soul before erupting into a flurry of white sparks. Sky, Eve, and Kiran stood frozen, their eyes dazed as if caught in a dream.

However, Sky had dropped his guard long enough for another shadow to approach from behind, its blade raised high.

“Sky, watch out!” Eve yelled.

As he turned, the shadow cleaved his torch in two while he defended himself. He saw Eve had made it safely across; this was his chance.

He took it.

Dashing across the bridge; the ropes buckling under his weight as the wooden boards splintered. The shadows pursued him, cutting the ropes connecting the bridge entirely. Sky turned and realized what they were doing; he sprinted as fast as he could.

In a moment of distraction, the wooden plank he stepped on broke apart, shattering into dust and splinters. He fell, but caught onto the ropes. However, the shadows finally severed the last supports. Swinging like a pendulum, he hit face-first into the rock cliff edge; the impact causing him to drop his torch as he struggled to hold on.

“Eve! Help!” Sky yelled, desperately searching for a foothold, but he was kicking air, about to fall.

“Come on, you have to climb up to me!” Eve extended her arm toward him.

Sky pulled himself up, inching closer to reach her. Just then, the plank he was clinging to snapped. Panicked, he fell, but Eve snatched his hand at the last instant, struggling to pull him up with all her strength, with Kiran helping as well.

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Finding a foothold, he climbed back up, rolling onto solid ground as soon as he made it over the edge. Breathing heavily, he shook from the adrenaline. As he gazed across the vast chasm, the shadows stood ominously, unable to cross, and retreated into the darkness they had come from.

Kiran stood over him. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine,” he replied, feeling his wounds reopen, the clean white bandages now tinted red.

“I’m sorry for running. I was just really scared,” Kiran said, her shoulders slumping as she lowered her head, feeling guilty.

“I’m scared too, but that’s why we have to stay together.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and lifted her chin. “What’s important is that we’re here now, and there’s only one way through.” Eve held Kiran close, assuring them that, for now, they were safe but not out of danger yet.

They proceeded through the caverns together, taking their time as the adrenaline wore off.

“What were those things, those shades?” Eve asked.

“Monsters. They were what attacked me back in Elysian,” Sky explained.

Deep within the caves, a rumble echoed as if waking from a dreamless slumber. Voices erupted, a cacophony of conversations swirling around them—some spoke, while others shouted and screamed. A loud thud that sent shivers down his spine, vibrations coursing through the air abruptly halted the stream of voices.

His eyes darted back and forth, keenly watching for any detail. Then came another voice, distinct and clear, echoing in his mind. An elderly man’s voice rang out, filled with urgency. “Kill the emissary! Men forward!” Although he couldn’t see where the voice came from, he felt its proximity, as if it had just run past him.

Then came the wrong sound—spears impaling flesh.

At the end of the twisting corridor, they entered an open area bathed in moonlight. The cold, deathly frost, like the frost in the last place they had been, covered the ground. The echoes of pained screams lingered in the air as the mist revealed the bodies that lay beneath.

It was a cave piled high with corpses, all seemingly part of the same group, each one having died in horrific ways. Spears impaled some; others had twisted limbs and heads, grotesquely contorted. Most striking were the large rocks that had crushed some soldiers, as if thrown with deadly precision, standing like eerie monuments in this desolate tomb.

“There was a battle here. All these men were trying to kill someone,” Sky observed.

“All these against a single person?” Eve questioned.

“It certainly looks that way.”

A sharp headache suddenly struck Kiran, her ears ringing as she struggled to orient herself. Eve noticed her sweating and in pain and stroked the sides of Kiran’s head to console her. As the headache faded, a wave of memories surged through Kiran, prompting her to speak.

“I remember these men,” Kiran said, recognizing the clothing of the fallen.

“What?” Sky turned to her, confused and awestruck.

“These were the bad men?” Eve asked.

“Yes… it was them.”

“How do you know it was these men?” Sky pressed.

“Because I was running from them.”

Eve’s eyes flitted from one corpse to another, the disfigured nature of their deaths making her sick. She huddled behind Sky, shutting her eyes and looking away, paranoid that whatever dark spirit haunted these halls would awaken.

“This is terrible, such a waste of life,” Eve whispered to herself.

They tread carefully, not wanting to disturb the dead, having witnessed enough violence for one lifetime.

“Let’s not disturb them. Let the dead rest,” Sky whispered, and they continued together. Walking down the long, wide passageways, the bodies became fewer, and the surroundings shifted from natural rock formations to orderly shapes of refined gray stone. They ran their hands along the etched markings of old runes and passages in foreign tongues.

As they ventured further, the rock seemed to grow older, spanning several centuries before their time.

At the end of the path, an apparition stepped into view—a man in battle armor, holding a short spear. His body, made of fog, revealed his unreal nature, although his panting and exhaustion were obvious. He crouched around a stone corner, peeking out into the brightness beyond, his heart racing in fear of what might come if he stepped out. He called out to a friend, seeking assurance. A loud thud of stone crashed nearby.

“Where are you?” he called, but received no answer. Then something caught his attention; he appeared to be talking to a small child just around the corner from his hiding place.

“What? I’m not lost,” the man mumbled incoherently, as if in a daze or trance. He rose and walked out, breaking his behavior from moments before. Just as he exposed himself, something inside him triggered doubt, causing him to stop and question his actions. But it was too late. A large stone, propelled with impossible force, crushed him instantly.

The apparition faded, revealing the dead man lying where he had fallen, having never moved from his resting place. Only an arm remained, protruding from the stone, still clutching the spear, untouched and intact.

“Sorry, buddy. Hope you don’t mind,” Sky said as he carefully removed the spear from the corpse’s hand and continued on.

“What did you say about not disturbing the dead a minute ago?” Eve whispered.

“I think we need this more than he does,” Sky replied, turning to thank the soldier.

“If he wakes up, I’m going to have a heart attack.”

“It’ll be okay.”

As they turned the corner, expecting to see another small chamber similar to the ones they had passed through, their jaws dropped in disbelief at the sight before them.

Before them lay a massive underground metropolis, its grandeur stretching far beyond what they could comprehend. Elaborate structures rose from the cavern floor, their stone facades intricately carved with ancient runes and symbols that seemed to pulse with a faint glow. Pathways and bridges connected the towering buildings, while the air hummed with an energy that felt both foreign and familiar.

Eve’s eyes widened in awe, her breath catching in her throat.

“What is this place?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she took in the sprawling city that lay before them.