I was once again in an ethereal dream, much like the one I had previously experienced. It was a fragile place that seemed like it would vanish if I made any sudden movements. It felt like I no longer possessed a physical body, instead, I was floating like the beasts of the skies. Noticing that I had not immediately been dragged out of this dream, I decided that I would explore this mysterious place. Various colors became entangled around me and formed new unique colors. I was lost in a trance when I heard the voice of that young human girl once again, however, this time her voice was loud and clear in my ears if I even had them in this weird world.

I propelled myself by simply moving in that direction like I would in reality. It was rather awkward at first because there was nothing to stand on or push against as if everything about the world I had come from was a complete lie. I thought I had drawn closer to the sound of her voice, but wherever I went, I was surrounded by the colors that were gradually turning darker as they continued to entangle themselves around each other and become one. I did not know how much time had passed and was at a loss at what to do about my situation. Then, the entire world turned black, as if the colors had been sucked up and I was woken from whatever that was. In the end, I had not found the girl or what that world was, only being left with more questions.

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Woken up from that ethereal world, I saw Nor sitting on his knees with his head hung in shame. Rosa was naturally scolding and the other miners, who had been getting ready to go to sleep, were giving looks of pity at Nor. I also started to feel bad for him so I slowly got up. I felt a twinge on the neck where Nor had likely struck me earlier. Realizing that I had gotten up, Rosa turned around to look at me and sighed in relief once again. Perhaps this was what it was like to have a mother - someone who was out there to look out for you no matter how you felt about it. I smiled at her to show that I was doing just fine and I also heard Nor sigh in relief. Naturally, if I had heard the sigh, Rosa had likely heard it too.

*loud shout* “And as for you Nor! You will sit there until I am satisfied with your damn punishment!”

“Yessm!" (*Yes ma'am)

Rosa rarely used such harsh words when talking to anyone because she was afraid of the bad influence it would have on me, although it was too late considering how much I was around Nor. I had effectively adapted to Nor’s extreme vocabulary as if it were my own and found it hard to stop myself. While they proceeded with the lecture, I decided that I would try to get some rest before the next day. Surprisingly, not much time had passed between me fainting and waking up again. I went to sleep thinking about that voice and the girl to whom the voice belonged. She had been asking for help, but there were many things that could mean.

I decided to store that thought away for now and chose to get as much sleep as I still could. Rosa and Nor quieted down after I laid down on the cold, hard ground, as I did every other day. Eventually, I felt the warmth of Rosa encompass me as she lay next to me. Nor on the other hand, was several cubits away and would not likely be sleeping close to me tonight.

“Sleep well, Sol”

I heard her voice and fell into a deep sleep in her comfort.

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Days continued to pass as nothing significant occurred. This was not a bad feeling and I welcomed the slow but strenuous life I was living. The life I had lived in the cold, deprived of human warmth, was slowly fading away as a distant memory that I looked back on rare occasions. Naturally, life in the mines wasn’t much better, but for some strange reason, constantly having people who cared about me made life living that much more. There were some days where we would all be on edge against each other because of a shortage of food and resources, sometimes even thoughts of stealing came to mind - perhaps even killing at the darkest times. But these times had all eventually passed and I began to look forward to each new day, regardless of the physical labor and the quotas we had to meet.

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Recently, I realized that my magic was not improving much and the biggest mark I could make was a whole the size of an adult fist. Therefore, I rarely used it when I was in the mines and instead it was only utilized in times of need - cave-ins and beasts for example. Even then, they were hardly useful and just served as a deterrent so I usually left the stone at the place I usually slept; the guards likely gave us the weakest stone to prevent any chance at rebellion. I relied on other people to be able to survive and I believed in the people I worked with to be able to make it out of any situation.

* * *

One day, my small group was working in our section of the mine after the first break. We had created a long tunnel that likely spread over thousands of cubits over the past several months we had been stuck down here. There were many branches and detours we had to take due to the obstacles we encountered, but in the end, all that mattered was that we reached the quota every day. We started on a new branch to go around an unstable obstacle that Sho had spotted - I didn’t realize because Sho looked so much like a human, but it turns out that he is a descendant of the Dwarven race.

I didn’t know any more about this race than the werewolf race. We progressed slowly through the passage we were creating and often took turns so that one group of us could rest while the others continued to dig at the wall of the tunnel. Our group had turned into a group of six with time and we went as pairs. I was visibly younger than the rest of the group, so I wasn’t expected to do as much work which I lamented. Most likely, I was nearing my 9th birthday, although I did not know for sure because I had been down here for so long and never knew when exactly I was born. Regardless, we headed deeper into the mines where we would find the stones that would be transformed into tools to be used. Deep inside, I was reminded that these “tools” would be used to kill others at the front lines, but that thought vanished as I was looking out for my own survival.

As we steadily dug our way through the surface of the wall, we set up wooden poles to prevent the collapse of the area we had already dug out as much as possible. As of recently, we had been provided staggeringly less material to meet our quotas and that often included our meals. We had grown to new levels of resentment towards the guards, but there still was not much a band of 20 odd people could do against armed guards around the entire cave system.

I felt something drip on my shoulders. Suddenly, I heard something creak above me, and as we turned around to look at what that ominous sound was, we realized we were damned. The wooden pole had started rotting and we had not noticed it when we put it up. It snapped, and I felt my blood pumping harder than ever before. There was silence and all I could hear was the force of blood throughout my body… then chaos ensued. The rocks and dirt above our heads started to pour down onto us and we began to push against each other in that tight space to be the first to get out. It had turned into a rush for survival. I felt a push behind me and I figured someone had tried to kick me down, but instead, it allowed me to get in front of everyone else to get the hell out of there.

Everything suddenly narrowed down and all I could see was the narrow path ahead of me that would lead to my escape. As I ran faster than ever, I utilized the little technique I had learned from Nor about footwork to gain as much of an advantage as I could. The screams of terror, hurried footsteps, and the sound of water rushing through the tunnel we had dug were all heard from behind me. However, I did not turn around and only continued to look straight ahead. At that moment I felt someone grab my ankle and I immediately reacted by firing a small flame behind me. I did not know if it had hit him or not, but the person grabbing on to me let go and I continued on my desperate run towards the end of the tunnel I had dug.

Eventually, I reached the end of the tunnel, and I sighed in relief at my safety. I turned around to look to assess the outcome of the cave-in, and to my horror, I saw that it had completely caved in. As I realized the reality of the situation I fell on my ass and the dismay I felt slowly turned into a feeling of fear.

*from whispering to screaming* “S, shit… they’re still alive right?... Yes, yes, they have to be alive god damn it! There’s no way in hell they died right?! ARGHHHHH”

I don’t know what I was screaming at, but I was mentally trying to deny the series of damning events that had occurred just now.

*whisper* “This is all a dream, just one giant, fucked up dream”

I just sat there as I heard people’s voices from far away, echoing throughout the cave that we had built but only I came out of.