Five minutes later, he was still inside the passageway. He pressed forward, but the passageway went on and on. Zachary could not help but wonder whether the temple was this large. A few minutes later, he figured it out. The passageway led deep underground. He was most likely many feet under by now.

Zachary paused in the damp passageway to reevaluate. He doubted Abyss Eye would have gone down there. Still, he had come so far to give up now. Gritting his teeth, he kept going. His hands had long since become used to the moistness of the earth underneath them, and his knees were wet and cold. Minutes later, he stopped again but eventually resumed his descent.

This went on; he would stop to reevaluate, conclude he had come too far to give up, and keep going. By now, he had settled into a rhythm. One hand went forward, then the opposite knee, followed by the other hand, then the other knee. Suddenly, his hand landed on the air, and he tumbled through an opening.

He was caught off guard but quickly righted himself and landed steadily on the ground. The fall was not long, and the air was humid and hot. He couldn't see anything. The sound of running water trickled into his ears. Slowly, he began to step forward, not bothering to light his path. He stumbled occasionally but kept going forward, enraptured by the sound of the water.

It was all-encompassing now—all around him and inside him. All he could hear was the water. His footsteps were gone. His breathing was silent. His thoughts were drowned.

All that existed in his mind was the water.

Something gripped his wrist. He slapped it, but it only coiled around him, trapping him. He tried to push it away, but it grabbed his ankles, then his waist. He struggled and scratched, fighting with all his might.

It was dragging him away from the water. The water! The sound was growing farther. No!

No matter how hard he struggled, it dragged him away until the water was gone, leaving him hollow. His struggles died down. What was there to struggle for? Nothing. The water was gone. It was gone, gone, gone, gone...

Slowly, Zachary came to himself. Sweaty arms gripped him tightly as he lay on the ground, suppressing his struggles.

What happened? He had been standing before the altar, and then... and then what?

The person gripping him spoke in between labored breathing. “Are you awake now? Huh? Fucking idiot!”

“Aiken?”

“Great. You’re awake. Good.” He disentangled himself from Zachary and rose to his feet. “I’m outta here.”

“What just happened?” Zachary was still groggy. His mind was a mess. “How did you get here?”

“I got here before you, dimwit. Just like before.” Aiken paused to speak. “As for what happened, you’re the fucking idiot who thought it was a good idea to investigate the haunted fucking temple!”

“Investigate what?” Zachary was still muddled, but slowly, a faint memory returned to him. It felt like a distant memory that happened long ago, but the more he recalled, the more he understood it was not a distant memory.

Right now, he was on the dusty floor of the temple, at the foot of the stairs that led to the altar. He had previously been unconcerned about the temple, maybe a bit curious, but with little other emotion toward it. However, as he looked around him, a creeping shiver seeped through him.

The weathered and mutilated beasts now seemed sinister. The empty altar seemed like a taunt, a mocking sneer from some unknown personage.

“W-wait for me!”

Zachary pushed himself up and followed Aiken out of the temple hall as quickly as his sore legs would allow.

Zachary and Aiken collapsed exhaustedly as soon as they passed the boundary defined by the pillars, their limbs splaying in every direction on the ground.

The silence stretched on as Zachary and Aiken caught their breath. Zachary broke it, gulping, “I remember now. I went down that passageway because... for some reason I can't remember... and I kept going down. I was there for a long time, and then... the running water. The running water I couldn't see.”

The memory surfaced in Zachary's mind, and an intense desire followed along with it.

Come to me, it said. Come to me.

Panicked, Zachary blocked it from his conscious mind. Thankfully, he was successful, and it receded, leaving him with that gaping hollow inside him again.

Aiken coughed. “Thank your lucky stars that I was there to pull you out, or you’d have ended up just like all the other self-proclaimed investigators—vanished into who-knows-where.”

Zachary closed his eyes. The empty feeling was slowly going away.

Mind manipulation was one of the scariest abilities to face. One could be courageous in physical confrontation because one had confidence in one's strength, but not in a confrontation involving minds. Where most people had no defenses, manipulators had ultimate attacking power. There was no courage when facing such monsters, only fear.

Such manipulation depended on cracks in the victim's mental state. It exploited these cracks to the caster’s favor, manipulating the victim in ways that could be as subtle as a push towards a train of thought or as intense as mind control.

But Aiken was unharmed. Aiken, who was as vain as anyone could be, had not been affected by the manipulator. Does this mean I'm weaker than him mentally?

"Aiken," Zachary said, frowning. "You say you saved me from whatever was down there. Weren't you also attacked? How did you have the time to help me?"

"I'm special," Aiken said matter-of-factly. "Don't compare yourself to me."

Aiken's Seeker lit up, its light glaring in the darkness. To check it, Aiken raised it to his face, and just for an instant, Zachary saw Aiken's expression freeze. After that moment, it disappeared without a trace. Aiken casually put his hand back down.

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

“Now you owe me one,” Aiken said, getting up. He stretched casually. “Well, I’ll be—"

Zachary’s Seeker lit up, too.

Aiken stiffened.

So suspicious, Zachary thought. Aiken's reaction was ringing bells in Zachary's head.

Quickly, Zachary opened the new message.

The past hour went by without Eldon or Galen saying a word. Eldon was focused on watching for Abyss Eye, so he didn't know exactly when Galen's behavior grew strange.

Galen, whose back was previously straight and steady against the wind, was now slouching. Where he once exuded stoicism, he now emanated tension. It was cold up there, and Eldon had to rely on his abnormality to ward it off, but despite the cold, Galen was sweating profusely.

Eldon was going to ask him what was wrong, but then he saw something that sent a lightning bolt running through him. However, he remained calm, not showing anything outwardly. Blending his movements, he made it look like he was scratching his back. Then he sat silently, staring down with the same intensity as before.

It was a message from Eldon with only four words.

“Heading to the gate!”

Only four words, but Zachary’s eyes widened. He stared at them, reading and rereading them to be sure he was correct.

“Yeah, Zachary, I just remembered. I have some urgent things I should have done long ago, so I'll leave first. See you around!"

Aiken hurriedly left, leaving Zachary there staring foolishly.

Damn it! Zachary struggled to his feet, ignoring his body’s protests. He could rest later. This was the chance he'd been waiting for.

He roared, feeling strength within him again, and charged towards the distant gates, each step leaving burned earth behind him.

“It’s getting late,” Eldon remarked, twirling a lock of hair in his fingers. He couldn't sit still.

“Y-yes,” Galen said, wiping his face for the ninth time. “Y-you should probably go to sleep.”

Eldon turned to Galen. “Is something wrong?”

“N-no, of course not. Why would anything be wrong... ” He chuckled nervously. “You go ahead. I-I’ll keep watching. Sleep tight, okay?”

What’s wrong with him? Galen was completely different from before. It was alarming, but while Eldon wanted to be concerned, this was a good excuse to leave, and he was unwilling to let it go.

“Alright,” he said, standing up. “You keep watch. Good night.”

“G-good night.”

It took massive restraint to refrain from leaping down from the roof, but Eldon managed to avoid a foolish death. He patiently climbed down, trying not to alarm Galen, and once he was close enough to the ground to survive the fall, he activated his abnormality and leaped straight down.

The ground cracked and shattered around him, and where he fell turned into a crater. His golden hair grew longer until it reached his waist, changing into a deep crimson color as it billowed in the cool night wind. His skin grew redder, darker, and tougher. Long curved claws extended from his fingers, and all five senses reached their maximum potential.

A vicious aura of blood extended from him as his entire demeanor changed. He had gone from a human to a demon in moments.

Using his newly enhanced vision, he stared far into the distance, through walls and other obstructions, until the fear-inducing vital energy appeared on the edge of his vision.

He burst forward with a stomp, covering meters with that single leap. Energy gushed through him. His heart beat loudly as it pumped vital energy to every part of his body, fueling his expenditures. He ran faster, pushing harder, but the energy signature in the distance only grew dimmer.

No! He pushed harder. He covered meters with every step. He scaled buildings, bounding from bar to ledge, each leap exerting every muscle in his body.

However, the vital energy signature grew dimmer and dimmer until he could no longer sense it. He didn't want to give up. He couldn't give up. So he kept going, straining his eyes until they hurt, hoping to catch another glimpse of the signature.

A figure engulfed by earth, mud, and stones charged past Eldon. Without so much as a glance at him, the figure accelerated, disappearing within two seconds.

That was Aiken. Eldon's enhanced vision had seen every contour of the boy's face. He thought of Galen’s weird behavior. Is that why...?

Another figure approached. This one, wreathed in fire, slowed down until it moved at the same speed as Eldon.

“Where?!” Zachary yelled urgently. “Which way did he go?”

“I don’t know!” Eldon yelled back. His hands twitched, but he fought the urge to grab his hair. "I lost track of him! I can't see him anymore! I can't see him!"

“Fucking hell! He can’t have gone too far. There's no way he's gone far. I'm not stopping. I’ll keep this up until morning if I have to!”

He shot away with a burst of speed. Eldon gritted his teeth. Then, with a determined expression, he summoned more power from his heart. A slight pain warned him; he had reached his limit.

He had used up all his stored energy. If he kept going, he would be tapping into his vital energy, burning his life force until it was like a candle nearing its end.

I’ll die anyway. Eldon decided, his grip tightening. I’ll die if I don’t join Abyss Eye’s team. To survive, I will do whatever is needed.

His heart constricted as he pushed past its defenses, draining its strength. Intense pain wracked his body, an overwhelming sensation that threatened to drive him mad. But with the overpowering pain came a flood of new strength.

He charged forward with a bellow that resounded through the night sky, traveling far and wide.

The surge in strength momentarily helped him close the distance between him and the two B-ranks. Then it flickered out. His heart was fighting back, trying to hold onto its vitality.

Again!

He shattered its feeble defenses and summoned more energy. Again, he burst ahead. Again, he slowed down. Again, he overloaded his heart.

Yet, the B-ranks soon left his vision. He couldn’t catch up. His breathing turned ragged. The blood flowing through him slowed down. His vision turned hazy.

More... More...

He tried to draw more energy, but his abused heart had no more to lend him, and soon it began to fail him. His strength left him, allowing a weakness that reached his bones to settle in.

He tripped and fell, tumbled once or twice, then came to a halt, burning with pain. He couldn’t breathe. His back was wet with blood. His chest was wet with blood. A familiar metallic taste filled his mouth.

“No... No... No...”

His eyelids grew heavy, drooping against his will. He wrestled his exhaustion, but it was no use. He didn’t want to sleep; he wanted to get back on the road and run until he caught up with Abyss Eye, but he couldn’t. He was too weak. All he could do was lay here and wait. What was there to wait for? Death?

Death was acceptable.

Eldon's eyes closed slowly.

The night grew calm. For the next period, there was only stillness until light footsteps approached. They came steadily closer until someone stepped up to the unconscious Eldon, staring down at him with deep, black eyes.

“Interesting." Surrounded by dense undergrowth, with leafy branches overhead, a man in a black suit stood before a cavern from which a stream surged. He rubbed his chin in thought, staring into the cave's depths. "An intruder? How did they escape?”

Silence.

“I see. In other words, you have no clue how it occurred. All you know is he was under your control, and then he was not. Interesting, very interesting. For this to happen the instant I turned my attention to other, more pressing things..." The man's gaze sharpened. "Who is poking their nose into my business?”

Silence.

The man laughed, easing his demeanor. “You’re right. It could be anybody. Those who lust after my death are innumerable. Maybe one of them merely got lucky.”

Silence.

“It's not them,” the man said solemnly. When they were mentioned, he found it difficult to keep his calm. “I personally cast the obscuring formation here, using the best materials available. I made modifications, countering the many detection and deciphering methods I know. If they will know, then they already do. With their methods, they either know everything or nothing at all.

“But I won't get anxious over a mere possibility. Tighten your guard, and don't let this happen again. This time was also a fault on my part, so I won't be hard on you, but you won't get another chance."

He swiveled and turned to leave. His voice rose higher than the trees. "This is the final step. Nothing can go wrong, even if they know.”