The silence in the tunnel was more terrifying than any noise. Only their tired, panting breaths cut through the darkness. Elara's final words—"this is a game"—still echoed in Aarav's mind, piercing him like a poisoned arrow.
"A game?" Mara said, leaning against the wall, her voice a mix of anger and exhaustion. "She took down Kael and Grak in a single blow. How can this be a game for her?"
"Because she could have killed us if she wanted to," Aarav said, his gaze fixed on some distant point in the darkness. "She let us run. She wants to see how far we can go, how long we can survive. Like a cat with a mouse."
"So what are we now? Mice?" Grak said, slumping to the ground. For the first time, there was a sense of helplessness in the giant's voice. "We're fighting a woman who can read our memories, see our fears, and bend metal with her will. How do we win this war?"
No one had an answer to that question.
Kael, who had been silent until now, was cleaning his sword. He glanced at the blade now in Aarav's hand. "You did well, Aarav. You stood your ground against her."
"I didn't stand my ground, Kael," Aarav said with a bitter tone. "I just stood there. Like a child in front of her. The Blade Sigil helped a little, but it wasn't enough. She's... so far beyond all of us."
He offered the sword back to Kael. "This is yours."
Kael didn't take it. "I told you, you earned it. A warrior does not return his honor." He looked into Aarav's eyes. "Your power doesn't come from the Tide, Aarav. Elara felt it too. It comes from within you. The more you fear it, the weaker it will become. Learn to embrace it."
"Embrace it?" Aarav laughed, a tired, hopeless laugh. "I don't even know what 'it' is! I'm just... a boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Wrong place, or the right one?"
That was Liora's voice. She slowly came over to Aarav. She was still weak, but her eyes held their old wisdom.
"Liora, you should be resting," Aarav said with concern.
"I'm alright," she said and sat down on the ground beside him. "Aarav, when Elara attacked me, I felt the same thing you did. She used my greatest fear against me."
She took a deep breath. "She showed me all of you dying because of me. That I was weak. That I wasn't a good enough healer." She looked at Aarav. "But then I saw you, challenging her. And I understood... fear's greatest strength isn't that it makes us weak. Its greatest strength is that it makes us feel alone."
"So you're saying we should defeat a woman who can blow us away with a single breath with 'teamwork'?" Mara scoffed.
"No," Liora said calmly. "I'm saying we can only defeat her if we trust each other. Not just as a team, but... as more than that. Elara attacked us all individually. Grak's strength, Kael's skill, my magic, and Aarav's fear. She broke us apart. Now we have to put ourselves back together."
In the middle of their conversation, Grak noticed something odd. "My lantern... its light is fading."
Everyone looked. The crystal, which had been giving off a dim yellow light, was now even dimmer, as if it were gasping for breath.
"The Aether energy inside it is running out," Grak said. "If this goes out, we'll be lost in this darkness forever."
A new, even more terrifying problem had presented itself.
"Wait," Aarav said, remembering Liora's words. "Liora, you said Elara blocked your magic. But you fought back against her. How?"
"I... I focused all my power on one thing," Liora said, thinking. "I didn't attack her dark magic itself, but the power behind it. I tried to disrupt the flow of her Aether."
Aarav looked at the red, throbbing Tide Compass in his hand. It was still the same, like a sick heart. "This... this is also bound by her magic. It's a part of her power."
"What are you thinking?" Kael asked, his eyes on Aarav.
"I'm thinking we've been fighting the wrong enemy," Aarav said, a new, dangerous idea forming in his mind. "We can't fight Elara directly. But maybe... maybe we can attack the source of her power."
He took the compass in his hands. "This thing is connected to her. When she was talking to us, its pulse grew stronger. This isn't just a corrupted map. It's a... a connection. A link."
"So you're saying we should break the compass?" Grak asked. "It might be our only way out of here."
"Not break it," Aarav said. "Cleanse it. Liora, you cleansed the console. Can you... can you cleanse this?"
Liora looked at the red, throbbing compass. Fear was clear on her face. "I... I don't know, Aarav. Elara's power is inside it. If I touch it..."
"You won't be alone," Aarav said, placing his hand over hers. "We're all with you."
Liora looked into his eyes. There was trust in them.
"Alright," she said, mustering her courage. "I'll try. But I'll need complete silence. And... protection."
"We'll provide the protection," Mara said, getting to her feet, a new resolve in her voice. "Kael, you and I will scout the path ahead. Grak, you stay here and watch over these two. If any Crawler or guard comes this way..."
"...they'll taste Grak's hammer," Grak finished for her, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
Mara and Kael moved ahead into the darkness.
Now, only Aarav, Liora, and Grak were left in the small cavern. Grak stood guard like a silent mountain.
Liora took a deep breath and sat on the ground. Aarav sat in front of her, placing the compass between them.
"Okay," Liora said, closing her eyes. "I'm going to try to break her web of power. But she will fight back. Aarav... I want you to stay with me. Inside my mind. Be my shield."
"How... how do I do that?" Aarav asked nervously.
"The Blade Sigil doesn't just teach you how to cut," Liora said, echoing Kael's words with a faint smile. "It also teaches you to focus. Close your eyes. Listen to my voice. And just... be with me."
Aarav did as she said. He closed his eyes. Darkness.
"Now, focus on your breath," Liora's voice was like a guide in that darkness. "And then, focus on the compass. Don't look at it. Feel it. The poison inside it. The hatred."
Aarav tried. He felt the red pulse of the compass, like an angry heart.
Liora placed her trembling hands on the compass. "I'm going in."
The moment she touched it, a jolt went through her body. "Agh!"
"Liora!" Aarav said with concern.
"I'm okay! Just... stay with me!"
Aarav focused all his attention on Liora. He could feel her fear. He could hear Elara's cold, venomous voice inside her mind.
"...you will fail... you are weak..."
"No," Aarav whispered. "You're not weak, Liora. You're the strongest person I know."
A sense of peace washed over Liora's face.
"Good, Aarav," she said in a weak voice. "Now... watch. I'll show you something."
And Aarav saw. With his closed eyes.
He saw how Liora's green, life-giving Aether was fighting against the black, smoke-like threads that had infested the compass. It was a war. Green light clashed with black darkness, creating sparks.
"See...?" Liora panted. "She's so... strong..."
The black threads were overwhelming Liora's green energy.
Aarav didn't know what to do. He could only watch. Helpless.
But then, he felt that same warmth in the palm of his hand. The Blade Sigil.
'It doesn't just teach you how to cut.' Kael's words echoed in his mind.
He thought, if Liora's power is like a river, then Elara's power is like a dam blocking it. But every dam has a weak point. A crack.
He tried to feel the black web. Not to cut it with his sword, but to understand its structure.
And he saw it.
A small, a very tiny point, where all the black threads converged. Their center. Their 'keystone'.
"Liora," Aarav said urgently. "Don't break everything. Just one thing. Attack one spot. Their center. I'll show you."
He placed his hand on Liora's. He sent the full power of the Blade Sigil, the image of that one point, into Liora's mind.
Liora saw it. For a moment, her breath hitched.
"Yes..." she said.
She gathered all her remaining strength. Her green light was no longer a spreading river. It became focused like a laser, aimed at a single point.
And she struck the 'keystone'.
For a moment, nothing happened.
And then, inside the compass, a sound like shattering glass was heard. *CRACK!*
A puff of black smoke erupted from the compass and dissolved into the air.
The red pulsing of the compass stopped.
In its place, a soft, calm, golden light began to emanate from within. Its needle, which had been lifeless, twitched. And then, it slowly turned and came to a stop, pointing in a clear, steady direction.
Upwards.
They had done it.
But this victory had a price. Liora, having used up the last of her strength, fell unconscious into Aarav's lap.
And Grak's lantern... its light flickered, and then... went out.
Now there was only the golden light of the cleansed compass, and complete darkness.