Confidence.
That single feeling filled You Xia's heart, as she led her five friends inside the cave. It was merely another day of success.
You Xia was a woman born with everything, a silver spoon in her mouth, angelical face, devilish body, a siren's voice, astonishing intelligence, incredible luck, you name it. Whatever quality one might dream to have, she had, as if the heavens themselves took upon them the duty to raise that child.
And she knew it. She knew about her own qualities and learned to use them in her favour, acting as the perfect innocent girl, she lived as if no misfortune could ever come in her way, as it never did. Until now.
After her group stepped inside the cave, it was expected that the stone gates would remain open, they were one person under the limit, a security measure so that the Preachers could enter and rescue the contenders in case of something unexpected happening inside. Yet, there laid the stone gates, impenetrable, imponent, coldly sealing their way back.
"Seems like we can only push on, then"
You Xia said with a half joking tone, albeit unexpected, it wasn't this measly detail that would throw her out of her horse. Listening to her, the party, composed of two other girls and three boys, were pulled back into reality, as they were also shocked with the gates closing behind them.
"Say... Miss You, is it possible that the heavens have changed their rules?"
With a deep voice, it was Alexandros who asked. Alexandros, whose face was covered by a white, smooth and plain mask, a stark contrast to his well built body, held his sword in hands. He was one of You Xia's many acquaintaces and admirers.
"I... don't think that is possible, but now we should focus our minds in reaching the Meridian Stone"
As everyone nodded, they soon turned their backs to the gate and began marching, each step echoed ever so slightly, denouncing that the cave extended for hundreds of meters to go, while the ceiling over their heads wasn't particularly high, it still was located about three meters high, while the sidewalls were ten meters apart.
The tortuous path drawn by the cave lured them inside, slightly changing from the well carved entrance into something more ancient, more primal. Soon they could spot occasional veins of ores and small crystals sprouting from the crude rocks.
You Xia walked at the very front, followed by Alexandros and other swordsman guy she had never seen. The three on the back held their bows, always ready to strike.
"Hey, do you guys think that's valuable?"
As one voice of the back suddenly broke the silence, everybody turned to see one of the archers reaching for a black crystal embedded on the wall.
Instantly, only one thought sprouted in You Xia's mind 'That thing wasn't there'
"Wait! Don't touch th..."
Too late
Since the archer had grabbed the stone and turned to her, he could not see the two mandibles of a giant centipede closing on his hand.
A strident howl of pain echoed as the man almost lost his hand to the trap that vicious insect had laid to him, his blood flowing as a small stream, that sometimes had its strength enhanced, causing the blood to dance a macabre choreography.
The centipede ran to the ceiling, and back to the ground, trying to encircle its prey. The party reacted quickly, the archers shot at the beast, always missing it by a hairsbreadth.
"Everyone! In formation! It is only a lower one-star monster!" You Xia made her voice clear, bringing order back to the party
"Someone take care of him! The others, form a circle around him! We must not fall"
The party moved around each other as if they had been training together for years only for this single moment. Since the adequate formation provides safety for the wounded and the archers, they could focus solely on shooting, making their precision soar, while the swordsman kept a fixed distance from each other and faced different directions, to avoid an ambush.
As the arrows flew from the bow, raining down the foe that couldn't keet up with its speed, green blood was drained from it, each time an arrowhead pierced its exoskeleton with a crunchy sound.
In despair, the beast ran away before it could have been finished off, leaving a trail with its dripped fluids.
Still tense, You Xia once again took the initiative, talking to the injured
"How are you? Do you believe you can fight?"
A desolated and suffering semblant formed in him. Only to be broken with a tilted smile as the man forced himself to stand up on his own feet. Brave eyes, his spirit wasn't broken.
"I can still fight" As he tightened the knot over his wound. "And if my hands can no longer draw a bow, I shall hold a sword, if my hands can no longer swing a sword, I shall fight with my feet"
"Good to know that the fire inside you wasn't out out. Onward we go, then!"
Thus, the party resumed their march, under the unspoken agreement to not touch anything on the walls ever again.
After a few breaths under this tension, as they had already lost the perception of time, the group found a point where the green trail simply stopped. There was no vestige that could hint about what happened to the centipede, nor where it could be.
They looked around, confused, wondering if they should advance of not. The silence seemed suffocating.
"I am hearing something" whispered Alexandros. "Down the hall, I believe there is water running there"
As they all concentrated, hightening their senses to the limit, one by one they also started to detect the refreshing gurgling sound of water running over the ground.
"What do we do now?" Asked the other swordsman
"We advance. If we can find water, we will also find a place to rest." Said Alexandros.
Then, You Xia bent down and picked a pebble e threw it, making it bounce on the ground repeatedly making sounds each time weaker, when, suddenly, the echoes of the impact changed their tone, as they found more space to resonate.
"There is an open chamber not too far, maybe that's where our stream is"
As the team prepared to advance once again, their march was halted, as the ground trembled under their feet, as if the earth was shifting itself to better accommodate a change in its weight.
"What in heavens is this?" Asked the wounded archer as the group tried to maintain their balance.
Next, they could heard the sound of thousands of chitin points beating over the stone, sounding like a strong rain over a metallic roof, getting louder and louder at each passing second.
This time, before they could even gather the breath to ask what could be causing this phenomenon, the answer presented itself before them. Innumerable giant centipedes ran in a stampede, covering every inch of the cave, from the ground to the roof, similar to a dark blanked that came with the unrelenting force of the tempestuous ocean, ready to submit any obstacle that dared to stand in its way.
"I shouldn't have asked"
Confronted with a terrible fate, even the most resilient heart would falter. None would move, frozen in fear and despair, when a shy female voice spoke, looking for hope amidst the darkness
"What.... what do we do now?"
You Xia didn't look back to answer, she couldn't show such an unsightly face
"We can either die by turning our backs to them, or die facing them"
Once again, she withdrew her sword, this time trembling in fear
"We cannot face our forefathers by dying like cowards. Whenever I draw my sword, my ancestors smile at me. Can you say the same?"
Although she spoke firmly, it was more to convince herself than to rally the hearts of her party.
They didn't react.
Or so she believed. But Alexandros took a step forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with her
"Let those ancestors smile for a longer time, our death is not happening today"
The sound of arrows flying was already being heard, which surprised both of the swordsmen that stood at the front.
The soft voice that was despairing a second ago, now said with bravery
"Then it would be an honor to fight to my last breath along with such upstanding souls"
Each arrow sung lowly in the air, lodging right in the middle of the beasts eyes. One shot. One kill. But it did little to slow the wave, as they merely climbed over the corpses.
All the party was then again in position, ready to die together or live together. Engaged in a battle of life and death, each one of those six were pushed to their limits, their bodies trembling in exhaustion as their souls grew more and more excited.
They moved with quick reflexes, resembling a school of carps swimming amidst black waters, in a whirlpool of stings and antennae, as the enemy bled, so did they, green and red mixed on the ground to create a bizarre watercolour.
The rhythmic sound of limbs splashing on the ground formed the symphony of the battlefield, as You Xia's blade traced silver arcs on the battlefield, each strike going shallower, even if by a millimeter than the previous, was proof that both her mind and blade were reaching their limits.
Never did they lived such a thrill, turning on the battleground, dancing as moths over the flame, in a glorious last stand, they could learn more about themselves and each other with brief looks, more than they could ever hope to learn in a hundred years of mere talking.
As quivers were emptied and bows broke, archers drew daggers and short swords to join the fray. As swords bent and broke, swordsmen used spare swords, knives, spears, rocks, centipede limbs or anything that their hands could hold in order to kill even one more of those beasts.
Moreover, the wounded archer stuck to his words. When his hands could no longer draw the bow nor swing the sword, his kick started to send enemies flying. The surprise was that his shoes were lined with iron, allowing him to exert a surprising power and exhibit his battle prowess.
As the stampede waned, so did their armor and bodies, some lost more than they could hope to recover, their armor left in scraps, their skins thorn apart, poison running in whatever little blood they still held inside their vessels. Who knows how long did they fight for?
As the last centipede started to turn away and flee, a dim hope shone in their hearts. They could only push on, crawling, pulling those whose body already gave in, limping in search for a safe haven to rest.
When finally did they reach the greater chamber, what awaited for them was a room big enough to hold thousands of people. The ceiling was supported by huge stone pillars, that extended for more than fifty meters, making one almost forget they were even underground.
Right in through the middle ran a stream of clear water, which sounded as an invitation to those tired spirits and bodies. They could not concentrate enough to notice anything else on the room, they had to be alive first.
You Xia led the way, even if not for a big margin, when her eyes caught sight of a figure, a body laid in an chamber inside one of those pillars. A boy whose body was covered with white streaks and pulsating purple scars, as if there was a lighting harnessed in his veins.
Walking towards the chamber, she noticed the body move, it was still alive.
"You are...!"