The forest beneath the drop zone was quiet.
The air moved, brushing against leaves with a sound like distant whispers.
Sorrin crouched near a fallen branch, cutting through a mass of moss that had grown into a dense mat. The tool in his hand hummed softly until it suddenly made a steady, blaring noise. He scraped slowly, revealing pieces of buried metal underneath. Relic pieces, overgrown. Nothing valuable yet.
Behind him, Renn moved with careful steps. His eyes were open, but they didn't track anything in front of him. His blessing did the seeing for him. Flow, to him, was more than color or light. It was movement and temperature. It was shape.
"Flow is heavier to the south," Renn said. "About twenty meters. There seems to be something large under the ground over there."
"Living?"
"No, thankfully. Or if it is, it isn't moving."
Sorrin stood and adjusted the revolver at his hip. He hadn't needed to use it, but habit made him keep it ready. The metal was worn in places from constant use, though the mechanism was smooth and finely made. It was a gift from his parents long ago.
"How close can we get?"
"Close enough."
They walked side by side through the brush. Ferns curled around their boots, leaving dark streaks of pollen on the leather. Insects watched from the bark, quiet and waiting.
"I don't feel anything," Sorrin said.
"You wouldn't," Renn replied.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sorrin fired back with an intense glare.
"I've said this before, and I'll say it again, but as much as I hate to say it, I simply sense no flow within you, and that's completely alright. Some of the greatest outlaws didn't even ha-"
"Oh, don't give me that crap. It must be so easy for you to say that with your blessing to literally see and detect miniscule amounts of flow."
"You're forgetting that I'm quite literally blind. Haven't you heard the saying 'Power comes with a price' before? In fact, you're lucky in the sense that you don't get a curse."
"Bu-"
Suddenly, a subtle noise of static emerged, then a not-so-subtle earful from Calda.
"What the hell are you guys yapping about?! Get a move on already!"
"Sorry, Calda," Renn said with a sheepish look on his face.
Sorrin scoffed.
They reached a clearing. In the center was a stone shape, half-swallowed by tree roots. It might have been a statue once, or a marker. There were lines carved into the face, most of them worn smooth by age.
Renn turned his head toward it.
"Oh-ho, look what we have here. I can tell this wasn't supposed to be found."
Sorrin stepped closer. "But we're here anyways."
He reached out and touched the stone. It felt warm.
Renn knelt beside the overgrown base, his fingers running across the moss.
"There's a lattice of flow channels beneath it. Feels like someone put this here to control something."
"A seal?"
"Possibly."
They stayed like that for a moment, neither speaking. The sky overhead was partly visible through the canopy, lit by the faint reddish glow of the sun as it traced the outer curve of the World Tree. Its massive trunk loomed far in the distance, so wide that it touched the horizon. Even here, its presence could be felt. Leaves the size of ships drifted through the upper atmosphere.
Sorrin turned his eyes toward it. He had been born in its shadow, like most. But the tree was not just a background. It was the source of power, of history, of conflict. Flow seemingly came from it. Every known path led back to it. And yet, it remained untouched, unscathed.
Renn stood again.
"This place has to be the entry point for the dungeon we must enter."
"Then let's mark it and find a way to undo the seal."
"Alright, send our coordinates to Calda, and I'll try to figure this little guy out."
Calda's voice boomed on the intercoms once more, startling Sorrin and Ren.
"Already got it sorted out, just focus on reverse engineering that seal and we should be good to go."
Sorrin frowned.
If only I had even just a tiny bit of flow...
Renn gently placed his hand on the statue.
Within a few seconds, the statue started de-materializing and eventually faded away. Gone, as it vanished into thin air.
Renn sighed in relief. He brought out his radio and reported the progress to Calda.
"Alright, seal has been broken. We are now proceeding to enter the dungeon."
A cheery voice responded.
"Alright! Great going. Your blessing truly can be so useful sometimes."
"Ah, yeah, it's whatever," Renn replied, looking a bit embarrassed.
And he says I'm lucky for not having a blessing. A seal like that could easily take hours to undo. It's like a person trying to brute force a maze by going down every path possible until they reach the right one, compared to somebody who can see the entirety of the maze itself. Sorrin enviously thought.
Normally, anybody who possesses any amount of flow in the slightest gains the ability to both emit it, sense it, and also circulate it throughout their body, with the circulation speed depending on their mastery and talent. These three abilities, grouped together, are known as Flow Affinity. What they also could gain, though, and what Flow users are mainly known for, are blessings and curses.
When flow users have a high enough affinity, they could gain access to these abilities as well. The apparent rule, though, is that if you have a blessing, you must also have a curse. The severity of the curse depending on the power of the blessing.
Sorrin let out a sigh and proceeded to follow Renn into the now-opened entrance directly on the ground. There was a set of stone stairs leading into what appeared to be complete darkness.
"Alright then! I can't wait to explore this place and get the hell out of here!" Renn said with a playful expression on his face.
"I think you are lucky to be blind for a different reason this time," Sorrin said, slightly tense.
Step after step, they took, and before long, they were covered in pure darkness.
"Renn, hold on, I can't see anymore. Let me get out my torches."
"Alright, just don't take too long."
Sorrin finally touched something in his bag that felt like the torches he packed and lit them. The flame erupted with a brilliant sparkle, lighting the corridor they were in.
"Well, isn't that something?" Sorrin said with awe.
Renn looked at him with a confused expression on his face.
"Huh?"