The tunnel narrowed the farther they went, the stone walls pressing in from both sides, jagged and damp, like the cave itself was slowly closing around them. The air felt thick in Aryn's lungs. Warm, stale, and heavy enough that every breath had to be pulled in deliberately. Even the sound of their footsteps felt wrong, stretching farther than they should have, lingering too long before fading.
Aryn slowed down, the rim of his shield scraping softly against the wall. Too loud, though. His sudden stop making everyone freeze behind him. The warmth in his left arm, what little remained of it was already fading. Not gone, but retreating, like a fire that refused to stay lit. He didn't fully understand what it meant, but his muscles felt heavier than they should have, each step demanding more effort than the last.
'You're already getting tired,' he thought. 'Already slowing down.'
Jaxon moved behind him with steady steps, his rusted sword held low but ready. The blade was ugly, nicked and unbalanced, but his grip was confident. Kaia walked close, shield strapped tight to her arm, her posture instinctively defensive, placing herself where she could protect without thinking about it. Gregk glided at the rear, bow drawn, eyes sharp and unreadable.
"This place drinks strength," Gregk murmured. "Slowly."
Aryn swallowed. "How long have we been in here?"
Gregk didn't answer right away. "Longer than it feels."
'That didn't help.' Aryn tilted his head slightly, and continued forward.
A faint clatter echoed ahead. Not from their group. Kaia's head snapped up, her ears ringing faintly as pressure spiked behind them like a warning she didn't yet understand. Her stomach twisted. "Something's wrong," she whispered.
Aryn hadn't heard anything new, but Gregk had. He raised his hand. "Too loud."
The cave fell silent, and then shapes moved. Yellow eyes blinked into existence between stalagmites, then vanished again. A low growl rolled through the tunnel, not aggressive, but curious.
"They're not attacking," Jaxon whispered.
"They're watching," Gregk replied. "Counting."
Aryn tightened his grip on the shield. 'This is on me,' he thought. 'If I mess this up—' He reached inward, trying to call on that earlier strength. The warmth answered, but weakly. His tattoo heated for barely a heartbeat before cooling again, leaving behind a hollow ache. 'This isn't a switch,' he realized. 'It's a reservoir.'
He knew whatever he was tapping into had been drained, down to his last reserves.
They backed into a shallow alcove, the stone pressing against their backs. No room to retreat. No room to hesitate.
Movement exploded from above.
A gnoll dropped from the ceiling. Aryn reacted, but a fraction too slow as claws raked across his shield, the impact rattling his arm numb as pain flared immediately and sharp. Doubt sank in just as fast.
'Too slow.' he thought, gritting his teeth
Gregk moved to intercept, steel flashing as a blade cut across his side. Blood splashed against the stone. Gregk grunted and staggered, dropping to one knee.
Aryn's chest tightened. 'I failed.'
He surged forward, slamming into the Gnoll shield first. Bone cracked under the impact. He followed with an elbow, then another, driving the creature back until it collapsed beneath him. The echo rang too long and way too loud.
Aryn's heart hammered. 'That was sloppy. That was—'
Another shape lunged from the dark. Aryn froze for half a second, fear biting deep. 'What if I miss? What if I—'
Jaxon moved. The rusted sword flashed in a clean, controlled arc, biting into the gnoll's leg and stopping its charge cold. He pressed the advantage immediately, forcing the creature back without hesitation. Aryn snapped out of it and finished the gnoll with a downward strike.
All of the chaos and surprise from these Gnolls, had shaken Aryn's mental. He knew that they could all die, but he was forcefully placing it in the back of his mind. Yet this ambush was dragging it to the front of his mind, making him confront it, while dealing with the battle he just survived.
Silence slammed down around them.
Gregk dropped fully to one knee, blood soaking into his side. Aryn's stomach sank. 'This is my fault.'
Kaia was already moving, trying to be of some help. She dropped beside Gregk, her shield clattering to the stone as her hands pressed to the wound. "No," she whispered. "No—you'll be fine. None of us can die here, not now." Fear surged through her, raw and overwhelming. 'I won't let him die.'
Something answered.
Thin strands of pale light spilled from her palms, trembling and uneven, weaving instinctively across torn flesh, not healing, not fixing, but holding. The bleeding slowed. The cave hummed low and deep, angry. A distant roar answered from far below.
Gregk sucked in a sharp breath and stared at Kaia. "The Rift noticed you," he said quietly. "And the world must respond."
Kaia swayed, blood trickling from her nose. Aryn caught her before she fell. "I—I didn't know how," she whispered.
"You protected," Gregk said firmly. "That is enough."
Aryn stared at his shield, at the blood smeared along its rim. He'd hesitated. And someone had paid for it.
They moved on quickly, hunger gnawing at them, fatigue creeping deeper into their limbs. Every sound felt amplified. Every shadow felt closer than it should have been. The tunnel split ahead, one path smelling of blood and heat, the other damp, rotting, quiet.
Gregk pointed. "One goes deeper. One goes sideways."
Aryn swallowed. There was no out. Only through.
'Damn… we thought…' Aryn beat himself up mentally.
The rift didn't feel like a place anymore. It felt like a decision already made and a difficult one at that. One that paid in blood.