"Alright, you two," Lyra’s sweet, teasing voice rang from outside the tent. "Enough snuggling."

I groaned. "Ugh, Lyra, I miss it when you were shy."

"We’re friends now. No need to be shy!" she chirped back. "Come on, we’re all waiting out here."

I sighed and shook Thea lightly.

"Mmm," she grumbled, burrowing deeper into the blankets.

"Get up." I nudged her more firmly.

"You get up," she muttered, pushing me half-heartedly.

I laughed. "Alright." With some effort, I wriggled out from under the sleeping bag and blankets. "Sleep okay?"

She shifted halfway out, still dragging most of the blankets with her. "You move a lot."

"I do not!" I gasped in mock offense. "At least I don’t drool."

She scoffed and lobbed a pillow at me. It hit my side with all the force of a lazy morning.

I chuckled as I pulled on my boots and stepped outside.

The morning light filtered through the dense tree canopy, casting patches of golden warmth over our small clearing. The air was crisp, cool, and carried the faint scent of damp earth.

"Thea?" Sia turned to me as she stretched.

"She’ll be out… I think," I replied, heading toward the cave entrance.

The others had gathered there, staring at the perfect, circular hole carved into the mountainside.

"So…anyone got any ideas on why this exists?" I asked, pointing at the unnatural-looking cave.

"So all we know is what Miss Star told us?" I clarified.

Nods all around.

"Should we head in?" Thea asked, emerging from the tent while rubbing her eyes.

"Let’s pack up first," Lyra suggested. "Who knows how deep it goes? Last thing we want is to get trapped in there with no food."

Good point.

We all moved quickly, our hands working on autopilot as we packed up camp. At this point, we were getting pretty efficient at setting up and taking down our modest setup.

I stepped up to the cave entrance, glancing around, the pitch black innards almost seeming to move.

…Wait. Why am I in the front?

I cleared my throat and side-eyed Sia. She met my gaze with a perfectly blank expression.

She’s gonna make me say it, isn’t she?

A sigh came from beside me.

"Sia, can you lead the way?" Thea asked, saving me from my own awkwardness.

I stepped aside and gave an exaggerated bow. "After you, oh great flame mage. Walking Torch, bring us light."

Thea rolled her eyes so hard, I swear I could feel it. I may not have seen it, but trust me…she did.

Sia ignored me and chanted something I couldn’t understand, summoning then sending three small but bright balls of fire ahead. They floated forward, illuminating the passage just beyond the entrance.

The opening itself was unnaturally smooth, like something had cut it rather than formed it naturally. But past that…

Honestly? It looked like a regular cave. Damp walls, uneven ground, and jagged formations hanging from above, glistening in the flickering firelight.

It was eerily silent. Only the soft echo of our footsteps filled the cavern. But before we moved any deeper, a thought struck me.

Caves were extremely dangerous. Even a few steps in, we already faced two identical branching paths. The last thing we needed was to get lost in some unnatural abyss.

“Soooo uh, maybe we should use some rope?” I suggested.

Thankfully, instead of getting a blank stare or regretful silence, Lyra immediately moved to the pack Elric was carrying and pulled out a long coil of rope.

“Sia and I bought some before we left.”

I let out a relieved sigh. Smart. At least someone was prepared. I know I wasn’t.

Lyra grabbed one end and tied it to a stalagmite. The sturdy rock formation anchored the rope securely, ensuring we had a way back.

Seeing the flames ahead of us, I offered, “Since you can send those things ahead, I’ll take the lead. Thea and I should have the highest endurance anyway.”

Sia nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep the way lit.”

I took the first step down the left path, moving cautiously as the others followed behind, Elric now holding the extending rope.

It took a while of careful walking, but then…light.

Which made no sense.

We were heading deeper underground, not up or toward an opening. The moment I stepped through, I gasped.

“What is it?” Thea jogged forward, concern lacing her voice.

I could only breathe out one word. “Amazing.”

We stood at the edge of a cliff, gazing down at something I could only describe as… a hidden world.

A landscape, untouched, untouched by time, by people, by anything.

The air hummed with life, thick with some unseen energy. Everything here felt vibrant, like it had been preserved in an eternal moment of existence.

Sparse trees with pink and golden leaves dotted the landscape, their branches swaying.. Beneath them, fields of impossibly blue grass danced in gentle waves, responding to some unseen current that moved through the cavern.

At the heart of it all lay a pool of emerald liquid, perfectly clear. Untouched, undisturbed, like it had been waiting for something.

The air shimmered faintly around it. Almost glowing.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I kept scanning the space, taking it all in. Until I suddenly noticed something.

Wait.

I looked around.

A perfectly smooth roof.

Or more like…a dome? No, a half-sphere. Yeah, a half-sphere. Whatever, the point is that it was weird.

And adding to the oddity of structure, it was silent. I mean, dead silent. Other than the sound of the wind brushing the grass and trees, it was void.

Even with my enhanced hearing, I picked up nothing, no distant rustling, no chirping of underground creatures, not even the usual trickle of water seeping through stone.

The only sounds came from us.

Our footsteps. Our breaths.

The loudest thing here… was us.

"Well," Sia spoke from behind me, her voice almost hesitant, "I wouldn’t necessarily call this dangerous… but we could head back."

"Your mom was pretty worried about this," Lyra added.

But even with their words of caution, Sia herself didn’t seem convinced. Her gaze stayed locked onto the impossibly serene landscape before us, completely transfixed.

"Let’s do as she said," she finally decided. "First sign of danger, we turn back."

"You sure?" Elric asked.

She nodded.

I looked down. The drop wasn’t far. We could easily climb down to the grass below. But then I glanced behind us… and something felt off.

"Hey, look." I pointed at the way we came from.

What had once been a normal cave entrance… was another perfect, round circle.

Lyra and Elric, who had been standing just behind it, looked confused. Maybe from that side it just looked like rock. The rest of us had moved forward without realizing just how perfectly shaped it was from this side.

"Strange," Thea commented.

Elric and Lyra exchanged a glance before stepping forward to inspect it.

Then.

Click.

Something slammed shut.

Fast.

I mean, seriously, instantaneous.

From one side of the circular entrance, no, the door, a massive stone slab shot across the opening and locked us inside.

No cracks. No seams. Nothing to pry open.

We were trapped.

For a few long seconds, no one moved.

We all just stood there, staring at the place where our exit used to be.

I blinked. Then again. Nope, still there.

Elric took a slow, deep breath. "Let’s not panic…" His voice was steady, but I could tell his mind was racing. Probably mirroring my own tangled thoughts.

Then, I looked down at the rope.

Severed.

Cleanly. As if whatever door had shut wasn’t just meant to trap us, but to cut off all options for escape.

Elric continued, his voice quieter now, "We have to be extra careful. We still have food, water, and the rest of our supplies."

We all took a few moments to mentally recover, swallowing down the creeping panic before Thea finally broke the silence.

"So… we head down?"

I glanced back toward the still, unnaturally quiet biome below us.

"I—I guess so. Nowhere else to go."

"I… I’m so sorry." Sia’s voice wavered. Her eyes shined with tears that hadn’t yet fallen.

Thea turned to her, calm but firm. "We were already past the door before we even decided to move forward. Even if we wanted to go back, we might've all stepped through.”

Lyra gave Sia’s back a reassuring pat. "How could this be your fault? Let’s just focus on getting out, okay?"

Sia nodded, though her shoulders still sagged slightly. But just from those few words, I could tell she felt at least a little better. Or at the very least, more focused.

I took the lead again, carefully climbing down the rocky slope until I reached a flat stone ledge, just before the grass.

Then, I stopped.

Something felt wrong.

A deep, instinctive feeling. Not quite fear, but more like a warning.

Call it animal instincts. Or maybe more likely…

I still heard nothing.

No distant insects. No rustling in the grass.

Not even the faintest sound of something digging beneath the earth.

Nothing.

The rest of the group landed around me, one by one.

But no one took another step forward.

I leaned down slowly and reached out a hand.

I had to admit, I felt pretty ridiculous being so cautious about grass.

Blue grass, sure, but still... grass.

“Peter.” Elric said urgently, “Maybe we should—”

Before he could finish, I let out a high-pitched…uh, manly shout.

The grass pulsed just as my hand moved toward it, shimmering with silver-blue iridescence before scattering away, leaving nothing but dirt behind.

Yeah… the grass moved away.

I looked back at my friends.

They were smirking.

Thea’s shoulders were shaking. Sia, who had been upset moments ago, now looked far too entertained at my expense.

“Really, Thea?” Sia said with a teasing grin. “I think you can do better.”

“Glad I cheered everyone up,” I grumbled.

That was all it took.

Thea tried to hold back. She really did.

But then she snorted.

And that was it. She completely lost it.

Her light chuckles spiraled into full-on laughter, shoulders shaking harder, breath hitching between giggles.

“Oh, come on,” she gasped between laughs. “Don’t be mad. I think it was cute.”

“Adorable,” Elric added, because apparently, my pride hadn’t suffered enough.

I ignored them and poked at the dirt.

Nothing happened.

I grabbed a handful.

“…Dirt.”

My voice may have sounded a little too astonished, because this time, Thea nearly fell.

She doubled over, clutching her sides, gasping for air between fits of laughter.

“What?” I asked, incredulous.

She could barely breathe. “Nothing—” she wheezed. “You just sounded so amazed.”

That only made her laugh harder.

“It reminded me of when you asked me how to breathe.”

And just like that, she was gone again, using me as support before she could fall over entirely.

Silence fell.

“You asked her what?”

Lyra’s voice was a mix of concern and amusement. Like someone who just saw a small child make a harmless, but ridiculous mistake. Except she was looking at me, at eighteen years old, like that.

She was biting the inside of her cheek, clearly trying not to laugh.

“I did not!” I protested immediately.

“He did.” Thea, having somehow regained her composure, stated it flatly.

No hesitation. No mercy.

Sia held up her hands, as if trying to diffuse the situation. My foolish assumption.

“Okay, okay. I was joking before, but really, Thea… you can do better.”

Elric sputtered, then let out a low chuckle at my expense.

I turned to Thea, utterly defeated, only for her to lean in and whisper with a smirk.

“Don’t worry. No one is better. No one else asks me questions that make me laugh this much.”

For just a second, I felt… warmer.

Her words made my face heat up, but more than that, they made me happy.

But of course, I couldn’t get a break.

“Ugh,” Elric recoiled dramatically. “Dude, that smile does NOT work for you.”

Lyra and Sia nodded in unison.

I ignored them and got up, dragging Thea with me.

Then, I turned back to the grass, which had already returned to its original position. Like nothing had happened.

This time, I stretched out a careful foot, watching as the blades gently parted, shifting away just before I placed my weight down.

“Yeah… I don’t wanna know what happens if we step on them.” I said, stepping forward again. “Let’s be careful.”

It took time and patience, but we all made it across without crushing a single blade of shifting blue grass.

Step by step, we moved forward, passing next to a golden-leaved tree.

Then…I froze.

A split second later, everyone else did too.

My eyes locked onto something.

Small. Spherical.

It could fit in the palm of my hand easily.

And I recognized it instantly.

Before I could even react, the grass pulsed violently, scattering even further away, leaving behind nothing but barren earth.

The tree shuddered.

And there, lying at its base.

Someone’s orb.

Faint glowing lines of text and numbers shimmered across its surface.