Kaelan plummeted into the darkness, his screams fading into the void—
Thud!
His fall broke with a sudden impact. Lying on the cold ground, wide-eyed, Kaelan blinked at the dim light above. Slowly, he sat up and ran his hands across his arms, legs, chest, and face.
"I'm… alive?" he said, half in disbelief.
Then it hit him.
"I'm alive! I'm alive!" he shouted, laughing uncontrollably.
Thud.
A sound echoed nearby. Kaelan froze and looked around.
He was in a narrow corridor—tall black-grey stone walls stretched high into an abyss above, barely lit by a strange, dim yellow light. The floor beneath him was smooth and cold. Just ahead, two figures lay sprawled out, stunned.
It was Rina and Meika.
Meika sat up first, eyes still wide, and looked at Rina, who had frozen mid-scream on the floor.
"I think we're alive…?" Meika said uncertainly.
