Few moments ago on the surface
Dense jungle shadows loomed over Captain Colins and his squad as they combed through the undergrowth. Their mission had stretched into its second hour without result. Every step they took rustled with tension.
Captain Colins' brows furrowed. Something in the air felt wrong. Too quiet. Too still.
"Sir?" Kiro asked, his voice cutting through the silence. The A-rank Postknight's gold ingot armor gleamed faintly under the canopy light. "Are you sure we're on the right trail?"
Colins opened his mouth to answer when the ground beneath them gave a sudden jolt. It felt like a mini earthquake.
A low thud, subtle but deep, vibrated through the soil.
Selvine another A rank Postknight of the squad, stepped back, instantly alert. "Did you feel that?"
Everyone did. The tremor echoed through their boots, sending birds scattering into the treetops.
"That... it's not natural," Colins said, his tone grim. "Something is happening below us."
He turned sharply. "Bronn. Can you open a path down?"
Bronn — a stocky B-rank knight with a square jaw and an easygoing demeanor, specializes in spatial magic, considered a reliable asset for any team — nodded. "On it, Captain."
He stepped forward and traced a quick sigil in the air with his gloved fingers. The space before them shimmered, distorted, then split open. A glowing portal spiraled into existence, humming with latent energy.
The squad moved with practiced precision. One by one, they descended into the unknown.
---
The portal led into the heart of chaos.
Magic exploded in every direction — fiery arcs of destruction, glacial spikes, winds that slashed like blades, and bolts of lightning so bright they split the darkness.
The cave echoed with the sounds of fierce ongoing war.
Colins' eyes scanned the scene, sharp and calculating. In the distance, through the madness, he spotted a group of younger fighters.
Postknights.
His jaw tightened. Yeah it's them. Solis and his group. "I warned them not to meddle into this matter." He thinks with frustration.
They were holding ground, barely. Among them, a bloodied boy tied to a splintered pole.
Phill.
There was no need to confirm it — everything aligned. He was their target.
"We need to move in! NOW!" Colins barked. "Protect the injured Postknights! Prioritize the safety of that boy!"
---
Solis coughed as dust settled over his face. Pain throbbed through his legs, a fierce and burning ache. He tried to move, but his left leg refused.
Around him, the cave was crumbling. Fires still crackled where Hamad's Fireblast had landed. It had been powerful — too powerful.
He turned his head. Two cult factions are still fighting even though most person got in that attack. Some who managed to get out are still fighting... for their leaders... for the ideologies they have faith on.
On the other hand Karina is finally facing Hamad face-to-face. Solis has just seen what level of power Leader Hamad has. Karina is his student, so there's no telling how strong she could be. If they fight head on... Eloin knows what catastrophe may come upon them.
As Solis looks around he spots Ada who was on the ground... nearby, her breathing was shallow. Vaidya, bleeding from his shoulder, was dragging her away from falling debris.
"Raz... Razille...?" he called out, his voice breaking.
No answer.
He looked down at Phill. The boy's body was limp in his arms, his pulse weak and flickering.
"No... Not again."
Solis clenched his jaw. His hands trembled. Memories of Instructor Tedric's lifeless torso flashed before his eyes. Then that moment during the Omega Wolf attack — when he was too late, too weak. That was point when he decided to change himself. He trained hard for next six months in order to get his upper half of body as strong as his legs, on which he relied too much before.
But is he again going to be too weak now?
He gritted his teeth, rage and despair building inside him.
"I'm not letting you die," he whispered to Phill. "I won't lose you too."
He tried to stand, but his left leg crumpled beneath him. Useless.
Frustration swelled in his chest. What was the point of getting strong if he couldn't save anyone?
The world blurred as exhaustion tugged at the edges of his mind.
"I failed," he thought. "Again".
But then —
A pulse.
A warm, blinding light erupted from Phill's chest.
Solis gasped, the force of it throwing him backward slightly. The glow wrapped around Phill's broken body, washing over his wounds, seeping into his skin.
"Wha...?"
Solis tried to focus, but the brilliance was overwhelming. His eyelids drooped.
The last thing he saw was Phill's body beginning to rise slowly in the air, wrapped in a cocoon of light.
And then — complete darkness. He felt unconscious.