The tension between them lingered like smoke. Renn's sharp gaze pinned Sorrin where he stood, his hand still pressed against his abdomen as if the phantom wound might open again. The silence stretched until the faint sound of dripping water filled it.
"Is that really you, Sorrin?" Renn repeated, his tone low and unsteady.
Sorrin forced a shaky laugh, somewhat confused. "Who else would I be? I am standing right here."
Renn did not laugh. He moved closer, eyes narrowing as though he were studying something invisible. His irises shimmered faintly.
Renn exhaled slowly. "This is not possible. Your life flow… it is circulating as if it were pure flow."
Sorrin frowned. "You're going to have to explain that in smaller words. What are you even talking about?"
Renn's expression twisted between awe and unease. He hesitated, but finally spoke. "There are three primary types of flows. Every living creature carries them. Pure flow, curse flow, and life flow. Pure flow is a congenital energy; it's what the people who are lucky enough to be born with train. The force they manipulate for power. Curse flow twists in the abominations we fight; it spreads like rot, turning life into mockery, but we humans possess very little of it, too, and then there is life flow. It is the current that keeps blood moving and hearts beating. It is untouchable. It cannot be manipulated in any way. It only exists so long as you live."
"Alright. So what does that have to do with me?" Sorrin asked, though a cold shiver was already crawling up his spine.
Renn's eyes fixed on him with an intensity that made him want to look away. "Your life flow is circulating. It is moving like pure flow, but it should not. That is why I asked if you were still you. No one should be able to circulate life flow. Not even a little."
Sorrin blinked at him, his lips parting without a word. His body felt no different; his pulse beat in his veins, his lungs filled with air. Yet Renn spoke with the absolute certainty of someone who had never once lied about what his blessing allowed him to see.
"So what you're saying," Sorrin began slowly, "is that because I touched that cursed branch, my insides are now doing something they shouldn't be able to do."
"Yes," Renn said, clipped and sharp. "And that means you may have gained something… dangerous. Or something priceless. I cannot tell. But either way, it is unnatural."
Sorrin dropped onto a lavish-looking chair and buried his face in his hands. "Wonderful. Just what I needed. First, the drowning, then the tree that tried to impale me, and now I am apparently breaking the rules of life itself. Anything else you want to add?"
Renn crossed his arms, unimpressed. "Only that if you cannot control it, it may destroy you. Faster circulation means more strain. If your body is not built for it, you could burn yourself out from the inside."
"That is supposed to make me feel better?"
"It is supposed to make you cautious."
The air between them thickened until the silence became unbearable. Sorrin pushed himself up again. "Well, whether or not my blood wants to boil, we still need to leave this dungeon. I don't see any doors back to the surface."
"Yeah, I guess so. Either way, I think it's safe to start moving again. For a second, I was worried your life flow would keep circulating faster and faster, but it seems to be slowing down to normal again."
"Well, that's a relief, isn't it?"
Renn tilted his head, listening to the faint currents of sound in the cavern beyond. "There is always a way out. But it will not be easy. This is the third layer. Escaping from here will be harder than breaking through from the first."
Sorrin groaned. "Of course it will."
They set out from the relic chamber, careful not to touch the branch again. The cavern swallowed them in damp shadows. Stalactites loomed above like the teeth of a vast creature, and pools of water reflected ghostly patterns of light along the stone. The path wound in unpredictable curves, some passages narrowing to the width of their shoulders before opening into spaces large enough to hold entire towers.
As they walked, Renn kept glancing at Sorrin, his eyes flickering faintly with the mark of his blessing, or it might have just been a trick of the light. "It seems your life flow is back to normal, but something still seems off... about it."
"I am glad my flow is interesting enough to keep you entertained," Sorrin muttered.
"This is not a joke. You should be in pain, or something else. Anything but 'fine'. That means the branch has given you something more than circulation. But I cannot see what."
Sorrin shrugged, trying to mask his unease with nonchalance. "Then let us pretend it gave me luck and hope we find an exit before we starve."
Renn's lips pressed into a thin line, but he did not argue.
The cavern stretched onward until the sound of rushing water reached them. They followed it and came upon an underground river, its current violent and swift, cutting a jagged line through the stone. The only path forward was across.
Sorrin stared at the frothing water. "I am not eager to nearly drown again."
Renn scanned the walls. "We cannot go around. If this is the third layer, then the river is likely one of its barriers. Crossing it is the only option."
They tried to construct a plan. Leaping across was impossible; the distance was too wide. Swimming would risk being torn apart by the current. Finally, Sorrin spotted a cluster of stalagmites rising from the river like jagged stepping stones.
"Hey, Renn, there are a couple of rocks over there that kind of form some resemblance to a path... You think we can cross using it?"
Renn thought for a second. "Is there any moss on it, by chance?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Ohh, I see what you mean. Hmmm, if we move carefully, we can cross there." Renn said.
"Carefully is not one of my strong suits."
"Then learn quickly. Oh, and by the way, can you go first?"
The crossing was brutal. The stones were slick with moss, and the current threatened to drag them in with every step. Sorrin's boots slipped more than once, and only Renn's steady grip kept him from plunging into the water again. By the time they reached the far side, their legs shook from the strain.
Beyond the river, the cavern walls began to change. Strange veins of gold and silver shimmered in the rock, pulsing faintly as if alive. The air grew warmer, almost metallic in taste.
Sorrin glanced at Renn. "That doesn't look promising."
Renn looked towards the cavern walls. "I sense flow within these walls, similar to the ones we saw before falling into the pit. I don't think it would be unnecessary to expect an unwelcome fellow beyond those walls, either."
Sorrin sighed and drew the revolver from his holster. "Figured, nothing is really ever that simple, is it?."