He chewed on a piece of dried meat he had prepared for himself, they were tough and salty. Usually he would be grateful but now, his mind flashed to the gum she had given him. The sweetness was a memory now, but it lingered, a sharp contrast to things he used to fill his stomach.
Eventually, the oppressive red began to fade. The black cornea receded, pulling back like a curtain.
White cornea. Blue iris. Black pupil.
The shift was violent in its silence. The temperature spiked instantly. The suspended ice crystals that had filled the air during the Red Light phase didn't just melt; they sublimated, turning instantly into thick, white steam that rolled across the plains.
"Wake up," Myrhhl said, nudging her with his foot. "It's Blue Light."
She groaned, stretching her limbs, but was up in seconds. The lassitude of sleep vanished, replaced by the sharp focus of a hunter. "How long?"
"Not very. There'll steam will cover our approach."
They gathered their gear and stepped out. The world had transformed. The red hellscape was now a steaming, humid bog. The rocks that had been dangerously cold were now slick with condensation.
The rules of Occulas made moving anywhere during the night a problem not only for humans but for the abominable creatures that dwelled within them, the "Forsaken". Most of these creatures thus adopted the tendency to stay either underground or in other places free from the eye's gaze, therefore there were only two possibilities for a Forsaken to come to the surface.
Either they were incredibly powerful like the one's responsible for creating all the trees in this otherwise desolate wasteland, or they were incredibly weak and thus had to flee the underground or be hunted.
This created a problem for Myrhhl because by their nature Mage beasts were incredibly esoteric and powerful when compared to Mutant and Mentalist beasts, even worse was the fact that while Mutant beasts fed on flesh, blood, bone and the like the Mentalist and Mage beasts fed on Mind and Spirit respectively and besides certain places there was sure to be a greater amount of creatures like that underground than above ground.
Still, while the possibility of finding a Mage beast was slim it wasn't zero, after all he was able to find a Mentalist beast. However, it seemed close enough to zero for him to find nothing for a total of three years, so he took the advantage of having a companion to constantly head underground in order to find himself a Mage beast for his ascension.
There had been no luck so far.
They moved in silence for nearly an hour, using the steam as cover. Myrhhl read the land instinctively, avoiding areas where condensation pooled too deeply or where the ground sagged from hollow spaces below.
Then he raised a fist and pointed in front of him, ahead of them, partially obscured by steam, something moved.
Creatures with oil-black, leathery skin emerged one by one from a fissure carved into the side of a cliff. Each had three rows of legs ending in jagged, deformed claws that scraped against the stone. A coiled stinger rose from their backs, twitching as if tasting the air.
There were dozens of them.
They climbed downward at an almost vertical angle, clinging to the rock with unnatural ease, their movements synchronized.
"Their fleeing," he murmured in amazement giddy with anticipation.
"You never know, It could just be a Mutant or even Mentalist beast of higher rank. Remember you need a Mage beast, even somehow killing a beast of higher rank wont do anything as long as it isn't a Mage," she pointed out.
"I know that, but a Mutant or Mentalist beast that strong will have a strong spirit. Which will definitely attract a Mage beast," he commented.
"Well, that's all well and good. But how long until we can get in,"
"They should be gone soon, calm down," he said not taking his eyes of the Mutant beasts as he waited.
Minutes passed, as the last of the creatures disappeared into the steam below the cliffside fell silent.
Once the last of the skittering legs vanished into the mist, Myrhhl didn't hesitate. He wiped the moisture from his face and signaled for her to follow.
"Watch your step," he warned, his voice barely a whisper.
Grabbing onto the cliffside, he hurled himself up one handhold at a time as fast as he could. She followed suit, easily catching up and showcasing the stark difference in physical strength, her status as a Pilgrim granting her effortless agility.
Before long they both made it to the fissure, the cave entrance yawned open like a wound in the cliff face.
Unlike previous days of entering caves, the fissure was big enough to accommodate them so they didn't have to squeeze themselves into the cave.
As they crossed the threshold, the oppressive humidity of the Blue Light faded, heat rolled out from within, thick and damp, carrying with it a stench that made Myrhhl wrinkle his nose. Rot, minerals, and something metallic that clung to the back of his throat. The steam here was denser, rising from unseen depths below.
She activated a faint glow along the seams of her armor, runes flickering softly to life. "Once we're in, no sudden movements. Mage beasts don't always see with their eyes."
"I know," he said. "Some of them don't see at all." he said with a slight edge to his tone.
They stepped inside.
The stone beneath their feet shifted from ice-slick to gritty and warm. The walls were ribbed, carved by claws and bodies over centuries. Occasional holes dotted the rock, leading into smaller tunnels that disappeared into darkness.
The deeper they went, the quieter the world became.
The sound of the eye's wind vanished, replaced by a low, omnipresent hum that vibrated through bone rather than air. Myrhhl felt it settle in his chest, an uncomfortable resonance that made his heart beat out of rhythm.
"This is," she whispered her voice laced with incredulity.
In front of them were the bodies of Forsaken creatures, dozens upon dozens of them neatly arranged in piles, each and every one of them completely intact without a single gash on their bodies.
She swallowed. "Well," she said finally, breaking the silence, "it's definitely a Mage beast."