Delving deeper into the cave, I felt it before I heard it. A deep vibration, steady and unnatural, running through the walls like a second pulse. It wasn't the usual groans of shifting rock or the distant clang of pickaxes—it was controlled, rhythmic, alive. I turned my head, focusing on the sensation, letting it guide me. The blindfold over my eyes didn't matter. I had never needed sight to find my way. But this… this was something new.
I stepped forward, slow and deliberate, my fingers trailing along the damp, uneven stone. The air grew heavier the closer I got, charged with something electric, something potent. The hum grew stronger, pressing against my skin, thrumming in my bones.
Then, I felt it—a source, a pulse, distinct from everything else in the mines. The Wave Generator. It had to be.
"So this is what it feels like up close," I murmured, barely recognizing my own voice.
I had never been this close to Wave before. Not like this. Not pure, unfiltered power. The slums only got scraps, enough to see light, but never this concentrated into one spot before. The mines ran on whatever the Length District allowed, their control absolute. But this… this was something else. It filled the air, seeping into the rock, into me. I could feel it in every breath, in every step. It was overwhelming.
And I needed to get closer.
I reached out instinctively, drawn toward it like a moth to a dying flame.
Then—silence.
The hum vanished. The air that had felt so charged only a second ago went still.
I stopped short, my heart pounding against my ribs.
"What—?"
Before I could finish the thought, a low, ominous groan rolled through the cave. The floor trembled beneath me. Then, all at once, the world turned to chaos.
A deafening crack split the air, followed by an explosion of sound as the rock above began to break apart. The vibrations I relied on to navigate twisted violently, warping my sense of direction. The walls rippled, the ground pitched beneath my feet like an unsteady sea. My breath caught as I staggered, reaching for something—anything—solid.
"Damn it!" I hissed, my fingers scraping against the stone as I tried to steady myself.
Everything was wrong. The cave system, once mapped in my mind like a familiar pattern of veins, had become an unpredictable mess. The tremors distorted everything, twisting my perception until I couldn't tell what was solid, what was open, what was about to collapse.
Another violent shudder tore through the tunnel, followed by the unmistakable crunch of rock giving way. Was this a defense mechanism? Had the generator shut down on purpose to trap me? Or had I triggered something just by being too close?
It didn't matter. If I didn't move now, I'd be buried alive.
I pushed forward, but every step was a battle. The tremors made the ground ripple beneath my feet, warping my sense of direction. I tried to rely on the vibrations, to map out the collapsing cave like I always did—but everything was wrong.
I stumbled, my shoulder slamming into a wall that hadn't been there before. No—it had been there. I just couldn't tell anymore. The way the tremors distorted my senses, the shifting rock, the chaos—I was blind in more ways than one.
"Damn it!" I cursed, shoving myself forward.
Another tremor rocked the tunnel, and I tripped over loose debris, barely catching myself before hitting the ground. My breath came fast, my heart hammering. Walls that had once been familiar now felt foreign, twisted, as if the mine itself had turned against me.
I had to get out. Fast.
But as I ran, crashing into unseen walls, stumbling over jagged rock, I realized something terrifying.
I wasn't sure where out was anymore.
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stop. Panicking would only make things worse. I needed to focus—regain control. The cave was collapsing, but I had navigated these tunnels for years. I knew them. I just had to cut through the distortion.
I steadied my breathing, trying to listen past the rumbling rock, past the debris crashing down around me. Then, through the chaos, I heard it—faint, rhythmic strikes against stone. Pickaxes.
The workers.
They were still ahead, still working, unaware of the tunnel crumbling behind me. Or maybe they were aware and just didn't care. Down here, survival meant keeping your head down and your hands moving. No one was coming to help.
"Damn it..." I muttered under my breath, forcing my feet forward.
The tremors made everything shift in my vision, turning the tunnels into a warped, wavy mess. I stumbled, crashing into a wall I hadn't expected, my hands scraping against jagged rock. I shoved off and kept moving.
Then it happened.
A deep, violent crack split the air, louder than anything else—the final warning before everything gave way. The cave was fully collapsing.
I barely had time to react before I felt it—a massive rock breaking loose above me. The weight of it, the sheer force, I could feel it cutting through the air, coming down fast. Too fast.
Move. MOVE.
But my body wouldn't listen. The tremors had already stolen my footing, and all I could do was brace for the impact.
Then—
A rupture. A force bursting from deep inside me.
It surged out, raw and uncontrolled, like something inside had finally snapped. The instant it did, the rock never reached me. It shattered—obliterated into dust and fragments that scattered in every direction.
I didn't stop to think. Didn't stop to breathe. My legs moved on their own, stumbling, pushing forward, arms scraping against stone as I forced my way out.
Then—air. Open space.
I barely registered hitting the ground outside, sliding forward as the mouth of the cave collapsed behind me. Dust and rock came crashing down in a deafening roar, sealing off everything inside.
Silence followed.
I lay there, panting, my body trembling from more than just exhaustion. My hands curled into the dirt, mind spinning.
What the hell had just happened?
I pushed myself up, my breath still ragged, dust clinging to my skin, and scratches from the rough ground and rock. The weight of what just happened pressed on me, but I shoved it aside. I couldn't stay here.
Without a word, I turned and started moving. Fast.
The other workers must have noticed me—how could they not? I could feel their gazes, the faint pause in the rhythmic strikes of their pickaxes as I rushed past. But I didn't care. Let them stare. Let them wonder. I wasn't about to explain myself.
I made for the exit, ignoring everything around me. The manager called out—I heard his voice, sharp and laced with irritation—but I didn't stop.
I'd done my portion for the day. That was all that mattered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You are not supposed to be here."
Eda felt the weight of his gaze crush her like a boulder. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to run, but her legs refused to move.
"I-I was just—"
"Spying?" His voice dripped with quiet fury. His hand flexed slightly, and for a moment, the blue light in the air flickered dangerously.
The Master was a daunting figure—tall, broad-shouldered, his presence heavy enough to make the very room feel smaller. His thick grey beard framed a sharp face, but it was his eyes—piercing blue, cold as ice—that locked everything in place. He stood with authority, one hand slightly raised, fingers twitching as tendrils of light coiled in the air before him.
The young master was smaller, leaner, his posture still poised but not nearly as rigid. He was no older than 15, but carried himself in the manor of an older gentleman. His light blue hair caught the glow of the energy between them, almost shimmering. His eyes, the same striking blue as his father's, held a quiet intensity, but unlike the elder Lemmings, his gaze wasn't harsh—it was thoughtful, calculating, as if he was carefully measuring each movement.
The young master stiffened, his focus shifting from their training to her. His blue eyes widened in alarm, but not anger.
"She wasn't spying," he said quickly, stepping forward slightly. "She's just a worker. She probably didn't even realize what this room was." His voice was smooth but firm, a stark contrast to the sharpness in his father's tone.
Eda nodded rapidly. "I swear—I was just cleaning! The door was open, and I—I didn't mean to—"
"A temporary worker should know her place," Master Lemmings interrupted coldly. His eyes bore into her, unyielding, and his presence alone felt suffocating. The air in the room became increasingly colder.
Eda barely noticed that she had started trembling.
The young master, however, turned fully to his father, his expression shifting from alarm to quiet insistence. "She didn't mean any harm," he said again. "She's not even supposed to be near Wave training. If she had known, she would have stayed away, right?" His eyes flicked toward her briefly, giving her an opening.
"Yes! Of course!" she blurted out.
Master Lemmings' gaze lingered for what felt like an eternity, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, his fingers relaxed, and the coldness of the room retreated.
"Get out," he said, his voice eerily calm. "Before I reconsider."
Eda didn't need to be told twice. She spun on her heel and bolted from the room, barely stopping herself from slamming the door shut behind her. Her pulse pounded in her ears, drowning out everything else.
But just as she turned the corner, she swore she heard the young master murmur something to his father—something low, careful. A plea, perhaps.
But she wasn't about to stick around to find out.
Eda wasn't sure if she had been discharged because of the incident or if her temporary job had simply ended. Either way, she was out of the Length District before she could even process it. Maybe it was for the best—Master Lemmings' piercing blue eyes had made her feel like prey under the gaze of a predator. But one thing was certain: she needed to find Samael.
She stepped into the transport vehicle, sinking into the seat as the door shut behind her with a firm click. The driver, a man who had barely spoken a word to her since she arrived, gave a bored grunt before setting the vehicle into motion.
As they pulled away, the dazzling glow of the Length District illuminated the streets in almost painful brightness. Here, Wave was abundant, casting everything in crisp, sharp clarity. Towering structures shimmered under the artificial light, spotless and grand, a stark contrast to the slums. People walked the streets with a sense of purpose, their faces unbothered, their clothes untouched by dust or wear. Even the air felt different—clean, regulated.
But soon, that light began to fade.
The closer they got to the outskirts, the more the brightness flickered, struggling against the encroaching dullness. Then came the massive gates, looming and rusted, standing like an unspoken barrier between two different worlds. As the vehicle passed through, the difference was immediate.
The Wave light here was weak, stretched thin, barely enough to fight off the consuming darkness. The buildings were hunched over like weary souls, their surfaces cracked and stained. The streets were lined with debris, the people moving slower, their faces hardened by exhaustion. Here, the air was thick with dust, clinging to skin and settling in throats.
Eda exhaled, leaning her forehead against the window as the vehicle rumbled along the uneven roads. The glittering world of the Length District was already a distant memory.
Now, she was home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found my way back to the shack, my steps steady despite the lingering disorientation. The slums were always the same—cramped, suffocating, thick with the scent of metal and smoke. But something was different.
I could feel it.
Wave.
Not in the way others saw it, in bursts of color and light, but in something else entirely. A weight, a presence pressing against the air itself. The Length District had been blinding in its concentration—almost suffocating. But here, in the slums, it was faint, barely there. Like a candle flickering in a storm.
I didn't know when I had started noticing it, only that it had begun after the generator incident. It wasn't sight, wasn't anything I could truly grasp, but it was there. The way it gathered, where it thinned, the places where it was nearly snuffed out.
The shack groaned as I pushed the door open, the familiar scent of rust and oil greeting me before I heard my uncle's voice.
"Samael—you're late."
His tone was its usual gruffness, but I could hear the underlying edge. The unspoken question.
I pulled the blindfold from my face, not that it mattered. The world remained as it always was—black and white, shifting with every vibration I felt underfoot. But there was something else now. The air inside the shack was thinner, almost empty of Wave. A stark contrast to the way it had flooded my senses earlier.
I sat down on my cot, the old frame creaking under me. My muscles ached, my head still clouded with the remnants of that overwhelming sensation.
My uncle sighed, the sound heavy in the quiet. "Something happen?"
I didn't answer right away. Because, for the first time in a long while, I didn't know how to explain what I was feeling.
The exhaustion clung to me, heavier than ever, settling deep in my limbs like lead. I had come back from the mines worn out before, but this… this was different.
Was it because of what I did back there?
The rock. The way it twisted, bent unnaturally, and then—shattered. I hadn't moved. I hadn't even thought. One moment, it was falling, ready to crush me. The next, it was… gone. Broken apart like it had been swallowed by something else.
A dull ache pounded in my skull. My whole body felt drained, like something had been pulled from me. My breaths came slow, heavy. I barely had the strength to kick off my boots before I slumped onto the cot.
I didn't even lie down properly.
My uncle's voice faded into background noise, probably nagging me about something or other. That old man never let anything go.
"Shut up—annoying old man...."
Sleep overtook me sitting up, dragging me into darkness before I could even begin to understand what I had done.
(Hello everyone! Sorry for the shorter chapter. I'm writing this on my phone and it has not been kind to me whatsoever. BUT if nothing comes up, I will try to write another or maybe TWO other chapters today. Who knows! But I love you all, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.)