Falling... falling in darkness is a sensation that stretches time. For a moment, Aarav felt as if he were falling into that pond all over again, but this time, there wasn't cold, but a searing heat. He held the unconscious Liora even tighter against his chest, using his body as a shield.
But this wasn't a straight drop. A few moments later, his back hit a smooth, sloping surface. He was sliding down a giant, metallic slide. *KRRSSSHHHHH!* The ear-splitting sound of metal grinding on metal echoed through the dark tunnel. He was moving fast, spinning round and round as he descended.
Right behind him, Grak, Mara, and Kael were on the same slide.
"Keep your arms and legs inside!" Mara's voice was clear even over the noise. "This is an emergency escape, not a child's playground!"
The angle of the slide suddenly became steeper. Their speed increased. Aarav felt as if everything in his stomach had turned upside down. Hot air slapped against his face.
And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over.
The slide ended, and they were all thrown into the air, landing in a pool of dirty, lukewarm water. SPLASH!
The water wasn't too deep, only up to their waists. But the smell... it was like rust and decay mixed together.
"Is everyone okay?" Grak's deep voice boomed in the darkness. He shook his lantern. The crystal flickered for a moment and then began to glow with a dim, sickly light.
Kael emerged from the water, his swords still in his hands. "We're alive. For now, that's enough."
Mara came out of the water, clutching her injured hand. "How's Liora?"
Aarav carried Liora to the edge and set her down. "She's still unconscious. But she's breathing." He brushed the wet hair from Liora's forehead. Her face was perfectly calm, as if she were having a pleasant dream even in this hell.
"She used up all her Aether," Grak said, surveying their surroundings. "It will take time for her to recover. And time is something we don't have."
They were in a vast, cave-like area. This was the lowest level of the steam tunnels—a place that had been forgotten for centuries. There were no large pipes here, but rather old, broken machinery. The walls were no longer lit by red emergency crystals, but by a strange, glowing fungus, whose blue-green light made the environment even more eerie.
"I don't know this place," Grak said, a note of defeat in his voice for the first time. "These tunnels are older than the Heart-Forge itself. We have to find a way up from here."
"And the Syndicate will be looking for us," Mara added. She tore a piece of her shirt and tied it tightly around her injured hand. "They know we fell down here. They'll block every exit."
Just then, Liora slowly opened her eyes. "Aarav...?" her voice was very weak.
"I'm right here," Aarav said, leaning closer to her. "Are you okay?"
Liora tried to sit up, but she had no strength. "I'm... so tired. It feels like... everything inside me is empty."
"Rest," Aarav said softly. He took out his water bottle and helped Liora drink a little.
Liora drank the water, and a little life returned to her eyes. She looked at Aarav—his clothes were wet and dirty, his face was tired, but in his eyes... that old helplessness was gone. There was a new spark. "You... you fought," she said with a faint smile.
"We all fought," Aarav corrected her.
Their quiet moment was broken by Kael's voice. "We have to move. Standing here is an invitation to death."
Grak looked around. In front of them were three different tunnels, all disappearing into blackness. "The question is... where?"
"Pick any path," Mara said. "Just don't stand still."
"Wait," Aarav said. Everyone looked at him.
"What is it, boy? You're going to show us the way now?" Grak taunted, but his taunt lacked its earlier bite. In the control room, Aarav had saved all of them.
Aarav ignored his taunt. He closed his eyes. He tried to focus on the sensation he had felt during the fight. That warmth. That power to feel.
'Blade Sigil… show me the way…'
He calmed his breathing. He didn't feel swords, or fights, or enemies. He felt something else. Metal. Stone. Air.
He focused on the first tunnel. He got a closed, heavy feeling from it. 'Blocked path.'
He focused on the second tunnel. He felt a strange vibration from it, as if some heavy machinery was running. 'Danger.'
Then he focused on the third tunnel. From there... he felt a faint draft of air. A freshness. And a strange weakness in the walls.
He opened his eyes.
"The third one," he said without hesitation.
"How do you know?" Mara asked skeptically.
"I can just... feel it," Aarav said. "There's air. That means it leads upwards somewhere. And its walls are weaker than the other two. Even if the path is blocked, Grak can break through."
Kael looked at Aarav intently. His face was emotionless, but his eyes seemed to be peering right into Aarav. "The Blade Sigil doesn't just teach you how to cut," he said softly. "It also teaches you to feel the 'structure' of things. Let's go."
Kael's trust was enough for Grak and Mara.
Grak helped Liora up. She could walk a little now. And they all entered the third tunnel.
This tunnel was older and more dilapidated than the others. Water was seeping from the walls. After walking a few hundred paces, Aarav realized he had chosen the right path. They found a slope leading upwards.
"Well done, boy," Grak said, and this time, there was genuine praise in his voice.
They all relaxed a little. Maybe their luck wasn't so bad after all.
And that's when they heard the sound.
It wasn't the sound of dripping water. It wasn't the hiss of steam. It wasn't even the sound of human footsteps.
It was a scraping sound.
Scrape... Scrape... Scraaaape...
As if someone was dragging long, metallic nails across stone.
Everyone froze. Grak raised his lantern higher. The light pierced a little further into the darkness ahead, but revealed nothing.
The sound stopped.
"What... what was that?" Liora whispered in fear.
"Be quiet," Kael said, his swords perfectly still in his hands.
They waited for a few moments. There was no movement.
"Probably just a falling rock," Mara said, but she didn't sound convinced herself.
They moved forward, their steps even slower and more cautious this time.
They reached a bend. As Grak moved his lantern around the corner...
The light fell on something just twenty paces away from them.
It wasn't a Syndicate guard.
It was a creature that looked like a horrific mix of an insect and a human. Its body was thin and long, its skin a pale, slick white, like fungus. Its limbs were bent at unnatural angles, and in place of fingers, it had long, sharp claws like swords. Its face... it had no face. There was just a large, round mouth, which looked like a black pit in the darkness.
It was clinging to the wall, scraping the stone with its sharp claws.
It sensed their light.
It slowly turned its head. From the center of its round, black mouth, a clicking sound emerged. *Click-click-click.
"Gods..." Grak breathed. "Tunnel Crawlers. I thought they were just stories."
"Is it... alone?" Mara asked, her voice trembling.
The creature let out a strange, high-pitched screech. Kreeeeee!
And in response to its call, from the darkness ahead and behind them in the tunnel, dozens of similar screeches answered.
Kreee! Kreee! Kreeeeee!
In the darkness, all around them, dozens of small, glowing eyes began to open.
They were not alone. They were not alone at all.
They had walked right into the nest.