Lucian trudged through the dark tunnel, his boots scuffing against the uneven stone floor as he moved further into the abyss. The deeper he went, the more suffocating the air became, as if the very weight of the cavern was pressing down on him.
Each breath felt heavier, and he could feel a thick, oppressive energy seeping into his bones. He paused for a moment, running a hand through his now unkempt blond hair, his gaze narrowing as the faint glow of something ahead caught his attention.
'What the hell is that?'
Squinting, Lucian saw a small light flickering in the distance, barely noticeable in the dimness of the cave. His first thought was one of hope, though he quickly pushed it down. "Could it be an exit?" he muttered to himself, quickening his pace. His pulse quickened at the idea of fresh air, of finally escaping this nightmarish pit.
As he approached the light, he instinctively raised his arm, shielding his eyes from the sudden brightness. The contrast with the suffocating darkness he'd been trudging through was blinding. His hand lowered slowly, and what he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.
He wasn't outside. No. He was still deep underground, but the sight before him was nothing short of surreal.
The floor beneath his feet wasn't stone anymore. It was grass—lush, green, and impossibly soft underfoot. Ahead, a majestic waterfall cascaded down into a pristine, crystal-clear lake, the sound of water filling the air with an almost calming presence. The water shimmered like diamonds under the sunlight that filtered in from—wait, sunlight?
Lucian tilted his head back, eyes widening. Far above him, the cavern ceiling stretched for what seemed like miles, but instead of jagged rocks, it ended in a clear blue sky. Not a single cloud in sight, and the warmth of the sun bathed the entire area.
He blinked in disbelief.
'What the hell is this place?' Lucian's sharp eyes scanned the scene before him, the impossible serenity gnawing at his instincts. None of this made sense—how could a place like this exist beneath the ground? He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, a sense of unease creeping in.
To his left, a narrow path snaked its way around the lake, weaving between rocks and foliage before vanishing behind the waterfall. "Well, this isn't suspicious at all," he muttered sarcastically. He rubbed his temples in frustration, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.
Still, curiosity—or maybe desperation—pulled him forward. Whatever this place was, it didn't belong here.
Lucian froze as another agonized moan echoed through the cavern, this time much closer, and unmistakably coming from the direction of the waterfall. He clenched his jaw, exhaling sharply through his nose.
"Again? Really?" he muttered, rolling his eyes. Whoever—or whatever—was in pain clearly wasn't giving up.
With an annoyed sigh, he trudged forward, the grass beneath his boots giving way to slick, wet stone as he reached the edge of the waterfall. The roar of water grew louder, and without hesitation, Lucian stepped into the cascading torrent.
"Ah, crap, that's cold!" he cursed, shivering as the frigid water drenched him in seconds. The cold pierced through his skin, and he grit his teeth, quickly stepping through the falls and into a hidden passageway behind it.
Dripping wet, he glared at the path ahead. His clothes clung to him uncomfortably, and the cold had already settled deep into his bones, making him wish for a fire—or at least something warm. But of course, the universe wasn't going to give him that luxury.
"Let's just get this over with," he grumbled, shaking the water from his hair as he moved deeper into the narrow corridor. The air was still and oppressive, much like the rest of the cave, but this time it had an added weight—a strange chill that wasn't from the cold water.
He walked for a few minutes more before the tunnel suddenly opened up into a massive chamber. At the far end, the floor gave way to a giant hole, dark and seemingly endless. A spiral staircase clung to the wall, leading downward into the depths.
Lucian approached the edge cautiously, peering into the abyss below. The stairs looked ancient, crumbling in places, and a faint breeze drifted up from the darkness.
"Not ominous at all," he muttered dryly, bending down to pick up a small rock. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it into the hole, waiting for the sound of impact.
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One second... two... three... four... five...
He stopped counting.
No sound came. No echo of stone hitting the bottom.
Lucian narrowed his eyes, stepping back from the edge. "Of course, it's bottomless," he scoffed.
Lucian stood at the edge of the abyss, staring down into the infinite blackness. He tilted his head slightly, considering his options—or lack thereof.
"Do I really want to do this?" he muttered to himself.
The thought of slipping and taking a fast, one-way trip to the bottom—wherever that was—crossed his mind, and his stomach twisted uncomfortably at the idea. He imagined himself plummeting, limbs flailing, before splattering like a bug on a wall.
Shaking his head, he slapped his cheeks with both hands, forcing himself to focus. "Snap out of it. You've come this far. No turning back now."
With a deep breath, he stepped onto the first of the narrow stone stairs. They were old, crumbling, and barely wide enough for his boots, but he started the descent anyway. One foot after the other, he kept a firm grip on the jagged wall beside him, using it to steady himself as the path spiraled downward into the dark.
After a few minutes, his legs started to burn, the muscles protesting with every step. The air grew colder and heavier the further he went, pressing on his chest like a weight, making it harder to breathe.
Suddenly, his foot slipped on a loose stone, and part of the staircase crumbled beneath him with a sharp crack. Lucian's heart jumped into his throat as the stone plummeted into the abyss, disappearing into the void below without a sound.
"Shit!" he cursed, his fingers scrambling to hold onto the wall as he fought to steady himself. For a moment, he stood frozen, panting, adrenaline coursing through his veins. His knuckles were white, gripping the rock for dear life.
After a few tense seconds, he regained his balance, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.
"Great. This is exactly how people die," he muttered, though his voice was quieter now, more cautious. He took another tentative step, testing the stability of the stairs ahead.
The descent seemed endless. With each step, his breathing grew more labored, his legs felt like lead, and a dull ache spread through his entire body. Sweat dripped down his forehead despite the cold, and his vision blurred from exhaustion.
Still, he pressed on, though every part of him screamed to stop. He had to keep moving—there was no going back. But with every spiral, it seemed like the bottom was still far, far below.
"How long is this damned staircase?" Lucian groaned, his voice hoarse. The air felt heavier than ever, and his chest tightened with every breath.
Lucian finally reached the bottom of the seemingly endless staircase, his legs trembling and his breath ragged. He could hardly believe it—he had made it. The bottom was shrouded in darkness, only faintly illuminated by a dim, blue glow from the bioluminescent mushrooms scattered around the cavern floor. Their eerie light cast long shadows, making the scene in front of him look even more surreal.
He stood for a moment, catching his breath, his body aching from the relentless descent. Ahead of him stretched another corridor, just as dark and foreboding as the one he had just escaped.
"Of course," he muttered under his breath, his voice echoing faintly in the silence. "Always another goddamn tunnel."
With no other choice, Lucian pushed forward, his footsteps barely making a sound on the cool stone floor. As he ventured deeper, something caught his eye. Along the cave walls, barely illuminated by the blue glow, were faint carvings. They seemed old, ancient even, and as he squinted to make them out, he could see they depicted... figures.
People, kneeling in reverence, heads bowed toward five towering beings radiating a celestial light, their auras stretching out like wings. Lucian's brow furrowed as he traced the outline of the figures with his eyes.
"Angels?" he muttered, the word slipping from his lips almost involuntarily. It was the only thing he could think of to describe the beings depicted in the carvings, their ethereal forms so different from the humans kneeling before them. The further he walked, the more of these strange images appeared on the walls, telling some kind of story.
One carving showed a celestial figure blessing a field, with humans celebrating a bountiful harvest beneath its glowing presence. Another depicted one of the beings healing a child, its radiant hands hovering above the boy's head. The scene was tender, almost peaceful. A third showed the same figures aiding humans in a hunt, their divine forms guiding the hunters as they brought down a great beast.
The images, while beautiful, were often cracked, damaged by time. Some were incomplete, the details lost to erosion or large gashes in the stone. Whatever ancient civilization had carved these murals was long gone, leaving only these mysterious fragments of their reverence behind.
Lucian continued walking, his curiosity piqued despite himself. The scenes seemed to blur together, one after another, until finally, they stopped. At the end of the corridor, one final carving remained.
This one was different from the others. The four celestial figures hovered above, their auras as bright as ever, but the fifth... the fifth figure stood below, on the ground, watching. The figure's posture was different, almost detached. While the others soared above, this one seemed to remain grounded, observing from a distance.
Lucian stepped closer, squinting at the carving. There was something unsettling about the lone figure, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His mind raced with possibilities.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Lucian whispered, staring at the image.
Lucian stepped out of the corridor, the darkness behind him giving way to a surreal vision ahead. For a moment, he wondered if he was still dreaming—or if he had finally lost it completely.
He blinked hard, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But when he looked again, it was still there.
A tree.
"A fucking tree..." he muttered in disbelief. But this was no ordinary tree.
The trunk was massive—larger than anything Lucian had ever seen, towering over him like a titan from another world. Its bark shimmered with a faint, golden light, casting an ethereal glow across the cavern. The leaves were impossibly green, almost unnaturally so, and among its branches were tiny orbs of light, flickering like fireflies. A soft wind blew through the cavern, carrying with it a sense of serenity as a few leaves drifted down, gently floating to the ground.
But that wasn't what had Lucian frozen in place.
No, it was what—or rather who—was embedded in the trunk.
Lucian's gaze lowered slowly, his breath catching in his throat as his eyes widened. There, bound to the massive tree by enormous, glowing purple chains, was a figure—someone, no, something—trapped against the trunk. Their body was wrapped in the heavy chains that seemed to wind around both the tree and their figure, their arms and legs pinned mercilessly. But the most horrifying part of it all was the spike of ice that pierced their chest, directly through the heart.
Lucian's breath hitched, his skin crawling at the sight. But the figure's face was hidden—a black cloth wrapped tightly over their eyes, their head slumped forward, obscuring their features. They hung there, lifeless except for the faintest movement—an occasional shudder of breath.
The being was alive. Barely.
It was him. He was the one who had been groaning, pleading for help.
Lucian's heart raced as he took a step forward, his mind unable to fully grasp what he was seeing. This... thing... this person... was the source of that faint voice he'd been hearing since entering the cave. The agonized cries, the whispers of help—it had been him all along.
"What the hell...?" Lucian whispered, his voice barely audible, eyes wide with disbelief. He had seen many strange things since becoming Lucian Ardent, but this... this was on a whole different level.