Mercifully, nothing else happened that night, and everyone was able to get their share of Pressure sleep.

However, sleeping meant nothing.

His muscles grew heavier.

His eyes were always sore and gritty.

His bones felt as though they belonged in someone else’s body.

Nothing in him was right anymore.

HP or no HP, the Pressure was slowly sapping the life from him.

He croaked, wordlessly, as he got back up on his feet, and leaned against the wall, waiting for the corridor, that damned endless corridor, to stop spinning.

Please, let me sleep, oh Great Crystal. I don’t know how much more I can take.

He didn’t ask for food. Or a toilet. Or a blaster. Or new clothes.

Just sleep. A real, proper sleep.

Please, I just want to sleep.

Pressure, corridor, and maybe now, a stream of guardians. He almost burst out laughing. It was hard not to, but he feared what that laughter would have come out sounding like.

“Watch out!” Jul shouted, making him look up

A guardian rolled towards them, though not too fast.

A quick glance told him that Gad was still seated, and his battered mind triggered before he even realized what was happening.

He and the guardian clashed.

Now, at least, he was fully awake.

Nar was forced back, a hand against the flat of the blade. The guardian, still rolling, forced him backwards, step by step, its blades raising sparks against the floor and his sword. The noise was an attack of its own, a high-pitched scream of metal on metal on floor.

I’m too weak!

His back bumped against something hard and solid, and he finally held.

“Good job!” Gad said, above his head. “I’ll taunt it!”

The guardian unraveled itself, his rolling attack having lost all momentum.

Nar stepped aside, ducking under her right arm, and let Gad taunt it.

“Move!” Mul shouted, from behind him.

Nar flinched out of the way and the brawler bumped against his leg, almost sending him careening to the floor.

Ah, you fuc…

“Nar, get back!” Kur called him.

Fuming, Nar stepped back from the frontline.

“That was amazing, man!” Kur said, slapping his shoulder. “You saved us!”

Nar nodded, his chest raising up and down. His sight blurred in and out of focus in tandem with his heartbeat.

“Ranged!” Kur shouted, then he patted his shoulder again. “Nar, get back behind us.”

Nar stumbled back to his spot, letting the others handle the guardian.

The fight proved uneventful.

You have defeated one Guardian Defender 1. 201 experience points have been awarded.

“No levels again,” Kur said.

Mul glared at the broken enemy, but otherwise, kept his mouth shut. It was something for which Nar, and everyone else for that matter, was grateful.

“I think something’s wrong,” Gad said, wiping the sweat from her eyes and forehead. “We definitely have enough experience by now. More than enough.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Kur nodded, rubbing his chin. “I think we’re not being allowed to level.”

Nar lowered his sword to the floor and leaned on it.

“So, what do we do?” Mul asked. “Just stay here and take it?”

Kur glared at him.

“As opposed to what?” he asked.

“There has to be something we can do!” Mul shouted. “Why don’t you send her to look for a way out? She’s our scout, isn’t she?”

“She has a name. It’s Jul, and no, I’m not sending anyone to die out there.”

Mul scoffed. “Fucking cowards… All of you. I’ll go then!”

“No! You can’t!” Jul shouted.

“Watch me!”

Ah, just let him, Nar thought. Doubt he’s going far.

“Mul, stop!” Cen said. “Let’s just talk about this!”

It was almost strange hearing her speaking again.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

The tone, and the look on Mul’s face, startled Nar. There was no bravado. No arrogance. It was… Whatever it was, it was not the face of a man in control.

“Mul, it will be alright,” Tuk said. “We’ve gotten through everything so far. We can do this, man, alright?”

Mul’s breathing was coming up shallow and quick, and his eyes shifted from one person to another.

Nar straightened up. Is he… Getting a panic attack?

“Mul, it will be alright,” Kur said, half raising his hands. “Everything is going to be alright, okay?”

Mul licked his lips and shook his head. “No… You don’t understand! I have to…”

He turned and sprinted towards the darkness.

“Mul, no!” Cen screamed, taking off after him.

Before any of them could take a step, Jul stopped them. “No! It won’t work. He can’t go.”

“What?” Kur asked. “Why?”

“Just wait,” Jul said, defeated. “You’ll see.”

The twins ran towards the darkness ahead of them. Cen shouted after her brother, but Mul, sprinting like a mad man, as if his life depended on it, ignored her

Then, he came to a screeching halt.

Two seconds later, so did Cen.

The two of them stood at the edge of the impenetrable darkness, as though unable to take another step.

“What happened?” Tuk whispered.

Nar stared in shock. “The path didn’t move.”

“What in the pile… Did you know about this?” Kur asked the scout.

She squirmed, shifting from foot to foot. “Yes… The path will only follow you.”

“It… What?”

“Walk,” Jul said, pointing forward.

Stunned, Kur took a few steps forward.

Ahead of them, arrows sprung into being, just like they always did.

Behind him, out of the corner of his eyes, Nar noticed the darkness encroaching upon him.

“My Crystal,” Kur whispered. “It follows me?”

“Yes. But only forward,” Jul whispered. “We can’t go back…”

“But…”

“The party leader,” Gad said, nodding gravely. “It makes sense.”

Nar clenched the sword’s grip.

If he still held any thoughts of leaving this party behind, he could let go of them now. This tied him to Kur, and Kur would never leave the others. He was stuck with them, for better or for worse, till the very end.

Crystal damn it…

Crystal damn it all. This made it all so much worse. It effectively tied them all to Kur… And to each other.

“So, without you, we can’t Climb?” Tuk asked, reaching the same conclusion as Nar.

Kur looked as though he had been punched.

“I-I didn’t know!” he stammered. “I didn’t do anything! I swear!”

“Relax,” Gad said. “No one here suspects you of anything. It’s just the way things are. And the plan was always for us to Climb together anyway, so what does it matter?”

It matters because if he dies, we all die! Nar thought, just barely holding his tongue.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea,” Kur said.

Beyond them, Mul stared back at Kur with a drained expression. Defeated.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Kur asked Jul.

She looked down. “I didn’t know if it was a bad thing…”

“It didn’t matter, Jul! It was something we had to know!” Kur said. “You have to tell us everything from now on, okay? Let us decide, all of us, together!”

“I’m sorry… I will.”

Kur held his forehead. “What do we do now?”

“We have to keep going,” Jul said. “Or else something bad will happen to us.”

“What do you mean?” Tuk asked.

Jul pressed her lips, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. “I can… Feel things. Bad things. Before they happen.”

“No way…” Tuk said, his jaw drooping.

“Really?” Gad asked.

Jul nodded. “It was weak at first, and I thought it was just in my head. But it's stronger now. I think it’s one of my unknown attributes. There’s a lot of points in it…”

She took a deep breath, having almost ran out by the end of her sentence. It was probably the longest she had spoken so far.

So, she has those unknown attributes too? It’s not just me? Nar thought, caught between relief and incredulity at her revelation.

“Could be a scout thing,” Kur said. “Whatever it is, it’s amazing. And something else you should’ve told us.”

She bowed her head, hiding her face behind her hair.

Kur sighed. “It’s fine, as long as you don’t do it again. And Mul, Cen, get back over here, or are you trying to get yourselves killed?”

Mutely, the two lengos walked back to the party.

Kur stared at them until they came to a halt before him.

“I know it’s rough,” he said, waving at the Pressure that hung over them. “But neither panicking nor rushing is going to get us out of here any faster. We need to be patient, we need to keep our pace and our stamina, and we need to win the fights the Crystal sets for us. That is the only way. You need to be patient. You need to take it. Do you understand?”

The twins nodded. Mul only barely so. Begrudgingly.

“Good. So, if everyone’s status is okay, we will continue. If anyone is tired, depleted or hurt, we will stop and rest. It will take as long as it needs to. Is that clear to everyone?”

Nar nodded alongside the others, staring down at his sword.

“We don’t know how long this Climb is meant to be. The Nexus is supposed to be infinite. It could take us months. It could take us years. We could be walking in circles. Shit, we could even be going down. It doesn’t matter. The Crystal’s Will be done, and we’ll endure It. Is that clear? Good, now let’s walk for another bit. Calmly, and patiently, so we don’t spend too much stamina.”

Silently, the chastised party fell back into formation, and stepped forward.

Nar lifted his sword and leaned it against his shoulder.

He had to change his plan. He needed Kur. He wasn’t disposable after all. None of them were.

Being left to slowly die in that forever darkness was not an option.

Maybe if Kur died, another one amongst them would be chosen to continue the path. However, was that a risk he was willing to take? Who amongst them could lead them as effectively as Kur had, being a manager brat? Maybe Gad… But all the same, he didn’t want to see it happen.

Which meant that, from now on, Nar would have to do his damnedest to make sure the party leader stayed alive.

Else, bye-bye path, and bye-bye light.