The sensation was of falling into a bottomless abyss, an eternity of viscous blackness enveloping them. The air was torn from their lungs, replaced by an icy dread. Then, the end was abrupt. A violent SPLASH! plunged them into frigid water, the impact rattling their bones and stealing their remaining breath.
Ari surfaced, coughing and spitting out the murky water, which tasted of earth and something else—something stale and unknown.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing strangely in the dark. "This tastes worse than church wine after a three-hour sermon! Thalassa! Vespera? Sound off if you haven't drowned in this pit of misery!"
His voice trembled slightly, an echo of panic he was trying to hide. A shaky reply reached him from the nearby blackness.
"Here! I'm okay, I think…! Ugh, disgusting! I can't see anything, Ari! It's like the darkness is solid, like it's crushing me!" It was Vespera, her voice thick with palpable fear.
Ari treaded the cold water, trying to get his bearings. He reached out a hand, fumbling in the void.
"Easy, Vespera. I'm here. Thalassa?" Silence answered his question, a silence that chilled his blood more than the water. "Thalassa!"
Finally, a voice, though muffled and distant, came through.
"I'm fine. Took a hit... but nothing broken, I think." It was Thalassa, her tone surprisingly calm, an island of composure in the rising panic.
On instinct, Ari tried to call on his magic. He focused his will, searching for the familiar warmth of the Light. A faint golden spark flickered in his palm for a split second, like a lonely firefly, before it was instantly devoured by the oppressive darkness. A shiver that wasn't purely physical ran down his spine. The Light… it doesn't work here.
"Calm," said Thalassa's voice, closer now, as firm as a command. "Both of you. Report your status. Injuries?" Her tone was once again the Captain's, taking command even in total blackness. "Ari, give me your hand. Vespera, follow my voice and come closer."
In the impenetrable darkness, Ari felt a hand find his. It wasn't a caress but a firm, almost painful grip, as if Thalassa were clinging to a lifeline. Despite the situation, he curled his fingers around hers. He felt her pull him until their bodies clumsily collided in the water. It was an intimate and desperate contact, a mutual need to confirm the other's presence in the nothingness.
"Are you together?" Vespera asked, her voice drawing nearer.
"Yes," Thalassa replied, her grip on Ari's hand not yielding an inch. "Stay close, Vespera."
After a few moments of fumbling, Thalassa spoke:
"I have a lightstone. It's not much, but it's something."
An instant later, a weak, sickly light pushed through. It wasn't the bright, pure radiance one would expect from a templar artifact; this light was murky, yellowish, and cast grotesque shadows that danced on the walls. The light revealed they were in a flooded cave, but the walls weren't rock. They were made of a pulsating, organic material, a dark red veined with blue, like the insides of a colossal beast. The air smelled of dampness, earth, and a sweet, metallic stench.
The light illuminated their faces. Fear was evident in Vespera's wide eyes, the pallor of her skin contrasting with the gloom. Thalassa's hand was still locked on Ari's with surprising strength, as if he were her anchor in this strange, terrifying place.
Vespera stared at the Captain's hand on Ari's, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Captain… are you alright? You're…"
Thalassa didn't let go of Ari's hand. Her gaze was fixed on the surrounding darkness, on the pulsating walls and murky water.
"Down here, there is no Captain, Vespera. I'm Thalassa. And Ari is our only healer. His life, right now, is the absolute priority. No one gets separated from him. Is that clear?"
The declaration was an order, delivered with her usual authority, but the way she protected him, the palpable need in her grip, was so personal it left Vespera speechless, a look of growing astonishment on her face.
Ari, feeling the intensity of the grip, leaned in slightly and whispered just for her to hear:
"Touching. If I survive this, I'm charging you extra for 'number one priority' services. And I won't be accepting excuses."
Thalassa squeezed his hand with a force that nearly broke his fingers.
"Shut up, priest. Don't give me a reason to regret my priorities."
But there was a slight tremor in her voice, and Ari would have sworn he saw a flicker of something like shame in her eyes in the dim light.
They climbed out of the water, splashing through a narrow passage that looked like a tunnel carved from living flesh. The ground underfoot was soft and slightly sticky. The sweet stench grew stronger. Suddenly, they heard a slithering sound just ahead. Vespera drew her sword instantly, placing herself between the threat and the others with fierce determination.
"Get back!" she hissed, her sword gleaming faintly. "I'll handle this!"
From a crevice in the organic wall, a translucent, gelatinous mass emerged. It was formless, but Ari could make out the bones of small animals floating inside it. A putrid pestilence emanated from the creature. It looked like a Slime, but larger and decidedly more disgusting.
"No, wait!" Thalassa exclaimed. "We don't know what it does!"
Just then, the Slime shot out a stream of viscous liquid. Vespera cried out and leaped back, narrowly dodging it. The liquid hit the wall, and Ari watched in horror as the substance corroded the organic matter, leaving a smoking mark. But the strangest part was what happened next: the wall around the mark began to tremble and heal, regenerating at an unnatural speed and closing the wound in seconds.
"Its purpose isn't to attack!" Ari shouted, the realization hitting him like a thunderbolt. "It's a… janitor! It's cleaning this place! Don't attack it, it's part of the system! Go around it!"
Vespera, though tense, obeyed, moving carefully to avoid the Slime. The creature, as if it hadn't noticed them, slid down the tunnel, cleaning the traces of their passage.
"A janitor?" Vespera repeated, incredulous, as they watched it move away. "Are we in some kind of… organic dungeon?"
"It seems so," Thalassa answered, her hand still clamped firmly on Ari's. "An organized place, not a wild cave."
The conclusion was unsettling. If this place was organized, someone—or something—was organizing it.
At the end of the tunnel, a pulsating light, a deep black veined with purple, began to emanate from an opening. The energy they had felt intensified into an almost physical pull, an irresistible attraction that tugged Thalassa forward. Her face, illuminated by the ominous glow, was pale and tense, her eyes fixed on the light with a mixture of fear and fascination.
"What is that?" Vespera asked, stopping with her hand on her sword, reluctant to approach.
Thalassa didn't answer. Her grip on Ari's hand tightened, her knuckles white. Her eyes were locked on the dark, throbbing light, an unreadable expression on her face. The call was strong, personal, and it seemed to be coming from the very depths of this strange, living place.