All three dropped to the ground, panting.
Trisha clutched her ribs. "I never… want to do that… again."
Alex collapsed beside her. "You say that every time."
Callum dragged himself over, grimacing. "Tell me someone brought snacks."
Alex laughed. "No snacks, but you're alive."
Trisha chuckled. "Barely. That was a boss-level fight if I've ever seen one."
Callum chuckled beside Alex, shaking his head. "That was actually easier than I thought it would be. Are they really so weak—or have we just become really strong?"
"Maybe," Trisha said. "But not strong enough."
"She's right," Alex added, wiping soot from his brow. "We have to get stronger. I think these creatures are weak because, like us, they live inside the dome. The energy here is limited—it stunted their evolution. They've deteriorated, living like this for thousands of years."
"So… all creatures we face inside the dome will be weaker than us?" Callum asked.
"That's what I think," said Alex. "According to the Guardians, the dome has kept us from developing our true potential. Outside the dome, where energy flows freely, beings might have evolved into something… far more dangerous."
Trisha frowned. "So how do we fight them if we're still limited by the dome?"
"We'll find out," Alex replied. "The Sentients gifted us with skills and abilities we can train and master, but what if that's not enough to protect us from what's coming?"
Callum nodded solemnly. "Then we do what we must: train and improve endlessly."
Alex looked around. "We've still got time. Let's wrap things up. Go ahead—I'll burn the corpses just to be safe, in case they've got any nasty resurrection tricks."
"Wait!" Trisha said, her eyes suddenly gleaming. "Before we torch everything, shouldn't we check for… I don't know… loot? Treasures? They've been raiding humans for centuries. They must've kept something."
Callum's face lit up. "Yes! This is their home base. They've got to have a hoard."
Alex sighed. "Alright, we'll split up. Big place. Let's save time."
Trisha darted toward the pit the boss emerged from, while Alex and Callum headed in the opposite direction. Using heightened perception, they swept every cranny and crack, their senses tuned to detect the slightest abnormality.
In one shadowy corner, Alex felt it.
A subtle vibration—faint but unnatural.
With his hand flat against the wall, Alex pressed slightly. Something shifted. There was a soft, mechanical click—completely out of place in this organic, hellish cavern. A hidden panel gave way, revealing a narrow passage shrouded in complete darkness.
A foul stench rolled out of the hidden chamber, so potent it made Callum stagger.
"Ugh! That's not treasure. That's rotting treasure. Bloody brilliant," Callum muttered, his face scrunching behind the collar of his shirt.
Moments later, Trisha rejoined them, a dagger already in her hand. "You found something?"
Alex stepped aside, waving her in with mock courtesy. "Ladies first."
"This is definitely their storage," Callum gagged. "Unfortunately… it's food storage or leftovers."
Bones and half-decayed bodies lay piled in corners like macabre trophies. But Trisha was undeterred.
"Wait, I see something," she said, stepping over the remains.
Alex chuckled. "Treasure hunting now, are we?"
"What? You think you're the only one who gets lucky?" she shot back, recalling Alex's tale of a diamond and katana he'd found in Quezon.
"Light it up, Captain Pyro," Trisha said with a smirk.
"Maybe I'll light you up," Alex deadpanned, though he raised his hand to conjure a flame.
Trisha pointed to a small hole in the stone wall.
"You found it. You reach inside," Alex teased.
Trisha scowled.
Callum stepped forward with a sigh. "Fine. I'll do it, but if something bites, I'm holding both of you responsible."
He reached in, fingers brushing against what felt like leather—or perhaps dried bark. He pulled out a sack made of what looked disturbingly like stitched skin.
"Oh, that's not creepy at all," he muttered.
Without hesitation, Trisha took her dagger and sliced it open. A clatter followed as objects spilled onto the ground—jagged rocks of various colors, some glittering faintly in the firelight.
"Diamonds?" she asked hopefully.
Callum shook his head. "Just rocks."
"Or maybe more," Alex said, kneeling to examine one.
"Artifact detected. Unknown elemental composition. Analysis complete. Metal is similar to artifact weapon stored in spatial ring. Pre-Dome era. High potential energy density." His sentient confirmed it
"It's the same metal my katana's made of," he said softly.
"So… treasure?" Trisha asked.
Alex nodded. "More valuable than diamonds."
"Can we sell it?" Callum asked.
"Probably not, but I have a feeling… we'll need it later," Alex replied while looking at the two.
They both nodded. Alex placed the sack into his storage ring.
"Let's get out of this filthy place," Callum said with his hand covering his nose.
"You read my mind," Trisha added, stepping around a pile of decomposed limbs.
As they made their way toward the exit, Alex turned one last time. His fingers flicked upward, and fire bloomed in a sweeping arc. The corpses—both monster and minion alike—erupted into flame. The heat hissed off the walls as the putrid remnants were reduced to ash.
"Just in case," he muttered.
Then he paused—his senses tingling.
Behind them, from the depths of the cave, a low screech echoed.
They turned just in time to see a handful of remaining minions trying to crawl or limp their way out of the inferno. Misshapen, half-burnt things, desperate to flee.
"Oh no you don't," Trisha growled, twirling her dagger.
"Let's finish this," Alex said, stepping forward and summoning a wind blade with a flick of his wrist.
One charged toward Callum, who responded with a burst of rapid arrows that sent it flying back into the fire.
Another tried to leap for the wall, but Trisha moved with blinding speed, her dagger slicing through its neck in a graceful arc.
Alex unleashed another wind blade, slicing two in half as they stumbled through the smoke.
Within seconds, it was over.
The last scream faded into the flames.
"Now we're done," Alex said, brushing dust from his hands.
They reached the cave mouth just as the first pink streaks of dawn painted the sky. A cool breeze greeted them, along with the distant chatter of birds and the gentle rustle of the awakening forest.
Trisha raised her arms in the air with a stretch and a yawn. "Let's find a river or a waterfall. I need a bath."