Val clambered to unsteady feet, blood rushing to her head and setting her senses in disarray. Stumbling through inky, near-viscous darkness, she headed over to the closed-off entrance and pounded on it with clenched fists. “I can’t be stuck, not now of all times.”

A low rumble crashed against the barrier of boulders and she jumped backwards, away from the ongoing scuffle outside. A damp object stabbed her back. Val whirled around, heart rate at unhealthy heights as she stretched a probing hand, hitting nothing except the stone walls of the cave. Crouching and sinking her head into her arms, she took a lungful of air. Get a grip, she told herself. You’re fine, just breathe.

In. Hold. Out.

Her jitters slowed to nerves and her nerves to desperate questions. Were all rift dives a long string of uncomfortable endeavours and hours of worry, needing to glance backwards for aether creatures and humans alike? And Dad did this for months on end.

Just how?

He had always grinned like a fool before he went off to meet up with teammates, as if the occurrence was a rare treat. Mom had—no. Thinking about her mother in the past tense tied a bow on a closed chapter, a chapter not finished on Val's terms by any means.

The tightly closed bottle of Dad seemed to push mercilessly, however, harder than the first day of the third trial, splurging longing, hurt, and reminders of what could never be in the mix of her trepidation. One memory rushed to the forefront of her mind, back when real darkness was the equivalent of the scariest of aether creatures.

A bright bulb had to be brightening every lick of her bedroom, eradicating all the shadows that often formed into monsters in her imagination. She remembered Dad leaning on the doorframe, sighing as he looked at her. He would glance around, almost wistfully, the glowing tattoo of a phoenix contorting as his neck twisted. His eyes would trace the room, taking in the dark lavender paint and the stick-on animals.

Then, he'd flicked the lights off.

"Dad!" Eleven-year-old Val tugged her bedsheets above her and curled into a ball, where the shadow monsters couldn’t get her. The bed leaned towards one end as her father sat, the creak sending a shiver of fright down her spine. As he attempted to pull the covers down, she tightened her grip, her knuckles white.

"Valpal, let me in," Dad begged. "I'm right here."

Val hesitated, a sliver of her head peeking out. She stared, doe-eyed, at Dad and he smiled, prying her clamp-like fingers one by one. . Relenting and letting go, the blankets went down the next second, warmth and protection stripped at once.

A car passed their house outside, headlights affecting the curtain’s shadows, stretching it into limbs lurking for prey. Val scooched backwards and pointed. "Dad, the shadows, the dark it—"

“It’s okay,” he cooed gently, his head leaning against an open palm as his golden eyes focused on her. “The dark’s not so scary. In fact, in a way, it protects you. Keeps you from seeing the monsters beneath your nose." He tickled her with a finger, and she gave into giggles. "However, sometimes, you need to see the problems lying before you. Like all those times you've been stumbling through the dark to grab the last cookies in the fridge."

"Er..." Val got out. She’d been super sneaky!

"Oh yeah." Dad grinned. "Caught red-handed."

While Val was stuttering an excuse out about her cookie dilemma, he ruffled her hair, resting his head on the pillow next to hers. "Occasionally we find ourselves stuck where there are no outs. A dark place. For me, that place is a rift teeming with aether creatures. For you,” he planted a finger on her guitar-patterned bedsheets. “It’s this room. For now, you can flip a light and bam! Problem solved. But it won’t always be that way.”

Val sulked, a small frown forming on her lips. “How do you fix that?”

“Well, you don’t try to fix it, you try to adapt—accustom.”

“Ah-cos-tum?” she tried to echo.

“Yes,” Dad smiled, “and while it might be hard now, you’ll find it easier if you think of what’s twinkling above you.”

Her eyes slid to her lightbulb and he chuckled. “Not literally, Val.”

“Uh…” she turned to face the other side. “I knew that.”

With a strained grunt, Dad got up and moved to the nearby outlet, flicking a nightlight on. It was tiny. Small. Insignificant. Yet it made all the difference.

"Remember," he murmured, leaning in to give a forehead kiss."When it’s dark out, look for stars.”

"Look for stars," Val muttered, now tethered in the present.

She inhaled sharply and raised her head, giving her arm a pinch. Snap out of it, she berated herself. She was fine. Alone in the dark, yes, but for now she was out of harm's way. It wouldn't stay that way, though. There was no telling how deep the cave ran.

On the flip side, it also meant that there had to be a way out somewhere.

Val patted her left where the pack should have been, her fingers grabbing air. She reached further, yet something within her told her she wouldn't find it. The voices guiding her actions, the trail of water, a pack left in the perfect place—it was all connected.

When a sensation not unlike wearing a pair of wrongly prescribed glasses overcame her eyes, it all became clear. She experienced an identical feeling after the second trial, albeit in a different location. Still, phantom pains originated from the same thing.

A mind trap.

Val cursed under her breath. I was an idiot following that trail of water. All for nothing too.

Pushing herself upright, Val's brain clocked into overtime. She had no food, no water, and for the better part of the day, no help. Either she was rescued by Tripartite Trial admin—which would kick her out—or she escaped.

"Stars," Val muttered again, the memory flashing by. That was right, she needed light of some kind if she planned on doing anything. Think, Val thought, anything. Something.

The pond outside held a hallucinatory effect on those near and far, but the wall of rocks seemed to be doing an excellent job of shutting it out. Which was great, honestly. Having her thoughts controlled... a shiver ran through her body at the idea.

Then there was the Lushgreen. If she assumed this section of the cave belonged to the green aether creature, she could use it as a beacon. Val focused, going through what knowledge she recalled from the CAU's guidebook.

They kept the tier, stars, and habits of aether creatures within the Novice Edition—the only edition allowed outside the Laws of Secrecy. Lushgreen snakes routinely picked habitats where it was dim, nearby water, and some form of sparklet bushes to leave their eggs in.

With the former two checked off the list, chances were, sparklet bushes were near. Sparklet leaves, true to their name, emit a short burst of light when torn. Val cracked a smile. That's it!

Picking up her sword in a rush, Val started feeling for low shrubs. She worked her way around the cavern boundaries, using her sword and the walls to keep her steady in the darkness.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Val swore when something jabbed her finger. Attempting to rub the wounded spot, she came in contact with something else. It was jagged—sharp even—and there were multiple. Could it be?

She picked up one of them, hoping with all her strength she was right, and tore it. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought a radiance spell was cast as the leaf blazed a pale yellow.

“Heavens!” As if it were a lump of hot coal, she dropped the sparklet leaf and massaged her eyes with the heels of her hands. Her lips, torn between a smile and a wince, formed a wobble of a line. Found you.

Snatching the branch full of sparklet leaves, she paced across the grotto. Marking her path with a scratch of her sword and focusing on the faint breeze that flowed in every other minute, Val journeyed through the caves.

Riddled with knee-deep holes, she wouldn’t have made it three steps without snapping her ankle in some kind of way. In a short matter of fifteen minutes, Val seemed to have turned the right corner.

A stream of light poured in, and she couldn't help the grin that spread wide across her face. I'm out.

The exit led her right back to the stone forest, and it was thankfully a part they’d already marked. Following the directions made, it wasn’t long until she reached Blue Cave, teal veins thrumming rhythmically, casting a blue sheen throughout the underground chamber.

“Oh hey.” Caro yawned, sitting in her previous spot outside the cave entrance. “Came out fifteen minutes ago hoping to give you some company, where’d you go?”

Val could only sigh. “On a long stroll.”

----------------------------------------

Magic and all it pertained to, Val found in the past couple of days, was pretty abnormal.

Eyes unblinking, Val’s gaze fastened onto an evanescent brook burbling over a bed of rock and algae, travelling upstream as if gravity didn’t exist.

It swirled by protruding roots and snuck under the tightest of places, determined in its climb up the forested mountain. Once finished with that, it crawled to the ridge Val sat at, legs dangling without care, and leapt off into the pond below.

The weirdness didn't stop there.

The crystalline body of water rose in tandem, swallowing the trickle of water before it even had a chance to fall into its grasp naturally. She'd watch the process relentlessly and could only guess an obscured aether creature to be the cause, the amount of energy in the air making it hard to discern which was what.

After all, she'd seen birds of stone and swatted one too many bugs that carried a nasty zap in its stinger. What's one more bizarre creature to add to the list?

"That's absurd!"

A shout of frustration dragged Val out of her thoughts. Retracting her idle hands now clean thanks to the water, she lent an ear.

"We're trading you ten days' worth of rations for three people in exchange for a quiver half full with arrows and you're calling that absurd? I'll show you absurd you mother—"

"As Carielle has reiterated," Jerel smoothly interrupted, "the deal is vastly in your favour. So, our offer stands. No change."

"You can always hunt for more food.” Isik’s voice was little more than a growl, his tone drowned in impatience. The Kidraan had gathered thirty people to follow his lead, some forced with threats, others coerced with promises, requiring more food than what could be found in the supply bag. “The same can't be said for arrows."

"No change," Jerel repeated.

"You know," Isik drawled. "With how many supplies you've been giving away, I'm starting to believe that there might not be much of a group besides the five I’ve seen."

Jerel sighed. "I don't have time for this."

"No, I'm certain," Isik pushed, "and if that's so, why bargain when I could just take it from you."

Through the fir trees scantily seen, Val slid onto an upland, grateful for the flat field of greens after descending through a mountainous forest in deteriorating boots. The ends of her grey slacks were shredded after days of scuffing sharp shrubs and her sleeves were non-existent.

“You don’t wanna do that,” Jerel suggested, arm up on his lance as the eleven on the field brandished varying weapons. Resting a hand on her weapon, she passed by the extensive gathering of participants behind Isik, her group appearing fun-sized in comparison.

Isik laughed, head tilted upwards, eyes boring down on those in front. “And why wouldn’t I? Without that scout of yours, it’s our seven to your four.”

“Captain!”

As Val greeted her teammates, an Auricean participant scuttled across the field, loose brown curls plastered onto his brow and eyes bulging out of his sockets. “Captain,” he panted. “We’ve found a gold mine!”

“Then keep it down, you idiot!” Isik berated, continuing the conversation in a hushed tone. Val took the time to sheath her shortsword.

“Any idea what they’re talking about? Edible food? Lost weapons from eliminated participants?” Jerel mused.

“Look at their eyes,” Laura said. “Only thing it could be is a massive amount of points.”

“Worth more than ten days' worth of rations for three people?” Caro repeated.

“We’re moving out!”

Almost like an answer to Caro’s question, Isik announced the departure of their group. The clink and clank of metal went unnatural to the chirps and crickets of the surrounding animals. And just like that, their source of arrows filed out the plateau, heading down in a direction Val didn’t recognize.

“A rift core, possibly?” Jerel continued to ponder. “Or even an aether creature horde? Only something as big as those two things can rile them up to that extent.”

Moments later, branches rustled and Williams slid through the tree line. He looked around, head swivelling in every possible direction on the plateau, and shook his head. “That other guy got here first, didn’t he?”

Caro took a step forward. “I’m assuming you found something.”

“Points ripe for the picking,” he answered, sifting a hand through his black hair. “Simple ones.”

Caro gave her axe harness a little tug, ensuring it was tightly fixed onto her back, likely—by the excited grin on her face—for the sprint after Isik’s crew. “What are we standing around here for, then?”

…

Taking cover in an undergrowth of obscuring tall greens, Val and her group waited for Isik. Beneath them, an enrapturing cove-esque abode was tucked into the feet of the mountain they’d climb up to have the deal, holding nearly a hundred colourless rocks in its waters.

Upon looking closer, a slit ran straight through the rocks' lower middle. A mouth. Not rocks, stone slimes.

Caro grunted as she rose from her crouched position. “We rushed here like a fire was lit under our asses and now we’re gonna let them take the first go?”

Val latched onto her shoulder, tugging her back down in the shrubbery. “Doesn’t it seem too easy for you?”

“Well duh.” Caro jerked a thumb towards Williams. “He did say ripe for the picking.”

“Nothing is as it seems here,” Val answered, her long stroll coming to mind. “Nothing.”

“Now’s the time to be quiet, you two,” Jerel whispered. “They’re here.”

Around thirty sauntered in, marvelling at the number of stone slimes there were. They racked up twenty points in a matter of seconds, killing and reaping a part of the dim-witted aether creatures.

One person paused, however, slowing down his eager hunt to survey his slain enemy. Ears blind to the faint rustle of moving shrubbery, Val recognized him as the messenger, his eyes widening. Hers did the same as she noticed that, unlike normal slimes, it didn’t scatter into smaller pieces of itself.

Instead, it bled, crimson staining the clear waters.

“Check this slime out,” another commented. “It’s got horns! Sick!”

Horns? Her mortal eyes couldn't detect any from way up in their cover, but if she trusted the words... Horns, rock-like bodies, near water, motionless, Val listed. Heavens. These weren’t slimes. “Guys,” she said, “I don’t think we should stay here any longer.”

“I concur,” Williams whispered. “I didn’t notice before. Those are Stormcrawler’s infants down there, not stone slimes."

“Isn’t that aether creature three-starred? ” Laura asked.

“And they just spent the last minute killing its children.” Jerel gave a gleeful chuckle. “Serves them right.”

“We should move,” Williams ordered.

“Hold on,” Val hesitated, dread sinking in her gut. “Where’s Caro?”

The satisfied expressions every one of them wore dimmed as they glanced around and Williams let loose a sigh. “She didn’t.”

Val rose to her feet and peeked over the ridge, cursing as she spotted Caro’s signature red hair. Hiding behind a set of dwarf-sized boulders, she was busy gauging which Stormcrawler infant to steal.

A surge of water splattered against the busy participants as a lizard the size of Val’s apartment lumbered out of its cavern, its vertical pupils swishing side to side as it took in its uninvited guests. A dark horn protruded out of its head, body coated in blue and purple scales. With a stomp of its trunk-like legs, a wave of arcing teal lightning raced through the waters, many dropping into the waters below, lights out.

The Stormcrawler’s hiss sent ripples across the waters and those in the vicinity stumbled backwards at the challenge.

Val was wrong. Magic wasn’t abnormal.

It was awe-inspiringly frightening.