Let us rewind time, a few moments before Ray's subsequent birth...
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A little girl was running away.
She ran and ran and ran.
As far as her little legs could take her.
"Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah."
Her breath came in panicked gasps, her small fists clenched at her sides as she sprinted down a twisting, endless path.
"No, I don't want this!"
Her heart hammered in her chest, each beat louder than the last.
Behind her, darkness, thick and reminiscent of hands, crept closer, swallowing everything into its path.
It moved silently and slowly with a horrible stillness that sent icy chills through her spine.
It was as if it was deliberately savoring the chase.
The girl stumbled, her knees scraping against the ground as she fell.
"H-help! Somebody, anybody, please help!"
She screamed out, hoping that someone would hear her cry for help, but alas, she was all alone.
In a tired effort, she forced herself back up.
Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision slightly as she ran.
This time stumbling about.
The unseen hands crept closer and closer as she felt its icy touch right behind her.
It wasn't cold; it was emptiness, a void that seemed to pull her in.
"Please, please, help!"
She screamed again, this time louder than before, as her voice broke out with desperation.
Still, no one answered.
Then the shadows stretched forward and—
"Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah."
Mel awoke with a start, breathing in ragged gasps. The dungeon walls seemed almost completely dark, and for a moment, she felt disoriented. She blinked and shook her head, banishing any remnants of the dream that clung to her like cobwebs.
A soft crackle of flames brought her back to the present.
Ahead, Audin stirred the fire, its warm embers casting a bright glow within the dungeon walls as he sat there in silence. His long blonde hair, which was tied together, glowed in the limelight, giving the man an almost priest-like appearance.
Apart from Audin, the others remained asleep. Their bodies rolled in blankets close to the dwindling fire as Audin watched over them.
Mel looked at Audin and then looked at her skin before regulating her breathing, allowing the remnants of that dream to fade into the depths of her mind.
"Another nightmare?" Audin quietly asked, not looking up from the flames.
Mel simply nodded, though Audin couldn't quite see her. "Yeah," she whispered weakly, her voice barely audible.
"Want to talk about it?" He offered his eyes, this time turning to face Mel.
She shook her head. "No, it's just… old memories."
She didn't further elaborate, and Audin didn't press her. He knew better than to pry into someone else's past, especially when they weren't comfortable sharing it. To him, everyone had their secrets and their burdens to bear.
Mel stood up and stretched, the ache of recent activities still lingering fresh in her muscles.
After the battle with that two-headed beast, the group took the moment to harvest its remains before quickly retreating away from the signs of battle. There they had found a small empty cavern and set up camp.
Walking towards the entrance of the dungeon walls, or to be more specific, the makeshift tunnel walls, Mel peered out into the main dim tunnel ahead.
The silence, in a way, was comforting. A stark contrast to the unpleasant fragments of her dream.
The past would do no good to anyone. Not her or anyone else accompanying her. Focusing on the present was all she needed to do. The group had come too far to be distracted by old ghosts.
Returning to the fire, Mel took a deep breath before smacking her face with both hands. "We've got a long trip ahead of us," she said, her voice stronger now. "Let's get everyone up and moving."
Audin nodded in understanding. "Right. Let's wake them up."
Together, they quietly approached their companions. Mel gently shook the shoulders of both her female companions, while Audin, in turn, gently nudged Moore awake. The group slowly stirred, stretching and yawning, their bodies stiff from lying on the cold, hard ground.
"It's time to get moving," Mel's voice rang, her tone gentle yet firm. "We've got a lot to do."
Miria, with her hair all ruffled up, slowly rubbed her eyes, looking around, all blurry. "Already? It feels like I barely closed my eyes for a breath."
Mel replied sympathetically, nodding with a smile. "I know, but we need to anticipate any possible threats to our security and act proactively. The faster we move, the further we advance."
"Fine." Miria yawed before stretching herself.
The group dismantled their encampment with deft strokes. Miria and Moore put out the fire and, with the help of an earth spell, buried the embers, leaving no traces of their presence behind.
Audin and Elara packed and carried their gathered resources, evenly distributing them among their packs. Mel made sure they had adequate provisions in terms of food and water that would take them through the next part of the expedition.
Once everything was packed and ready, Mel left the makeshift cavern and entered the tunnels with the others.
* * *
After leaving the makeshift cavern, the group set off to further advance down the tunnels. Cold and damp air surrounded them as they moved within the tunnel.
The group made soft echoes with each step as they moved forward. Eerie shadows were cast across the rough stone by the dim blue light from the tunnel veins.
"Keep your guards up," Mel cautioned. "We don't know what else might spring up on us like that two-headed beast."
Audin took the lead with his shield ready, leading the group in a loose formation as they moved.
Mel stayed close behind him, holding her sword and shield on high alert.
Miria and Moore followed, constantly watching the tunnel ahead for any signs of movement or change in mana activity; Elara walked last, grasping her bow and on high alert.
Deeper into the tunnels, the air grew colder and more oppressive.
The group made their way through narrow passageways and wide tunnels, the walls adorned with strange, luminescent plants that cast an otherworldly glow. With each step they took, the group made it a habit to record their progress before advancing again.
At one point, they came across a location where two different tunnels branched off from each other.
Mel paused, assessing the two tunnels that lay ahead of them. She then turned to look at her companions, mainly Elara, and questioned, "What are your?"
Elara kneeled down, examining the ground. "There are signs of recent activity on this path," she said, pointing to the left tunnel. "Paw prints and other tracks are present. A group of about three to four monsters passed in here not too long ago. There is also a good chance that they could still be in this tunnel right now."
"What about the right tunnel?" Miria asked.
Elara's focus shifted from the left to the right tunnel. After a solid ten to twenty minutes passed, Elara got up and responded to Miria's question. "There doesn't seem to be any signs of activity on this path. I can't be too sure unless we've explored it."
"Alright, we'll go right. Stay sharp." Mel ordered.
The group moved cautiously down the right tunnel. As they advanced, they soon came to a stop due to a strange silvery-thin thread stretched across the tunnel.
"Tch, webs," Mel cursed.
Elara soon stepped forward and began to investigate the web as to where it led.
Upon a thorough investigation, Elara determined that this web was perhaps utilized as a trap meant to notify the one who laid it that prey was nearby or even caught. The creature that laid out this meticulous spread of webs, however, was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it was hiding deep in the tunnel, waiting for prey to be caught by the web before coming out to devour it.
Regardless, to advance, the group needed to slay this creature, or else it would hinder their progress during their march through the tunnel.
What a cowardly beast, Mel thought before immediately assessing the situation.
"Audin, try and cause any sort of disturbance with this web," Mel ordered. "Elara, Miria, and Moore, I want you to be prepared the moment the creature rushes towards us. I want this battle to be completely aerial in battle, so prepare your spells and arrows in case of its sudden appearance."
Audin, upon responding to Mel's order, kneeled down and picked up some loose rocks from the ground. He slowly rose before getting into position and tossing the rocks at the web.
The stone impacts the strands, causing the entire web to shake.
Immediately, the group got into formation, prepared to attack the beast in the event that it did appear.
At first, there was no response, but soon legs emerged from the shadows as the arachnid began to slowly approach and inspect the prey that shook its web from the ceiling.
The arachnid in question moved from the ceiling onto the web itself, inspecting each strand individually with its long, segmented legs. The arachnid, with its eight legs, slowly made its way across the web, still trying to determine the cause of the disturbance.
Meanwhile, Elara raised her bow and nocked an arrow before aiming carefully at its obsidian-black, glistening body.
Then she released the arrow, and it flew straight and true, embedding itself in the arachnid's eye. The creature, flailing in agony, bared its fangs that dripped dark liquid as it moved its head, utilizing its many eyes as it attempted to locate the source of the attack.
With a guttural hiss, the arachnid turned its attention towards the group, its wounded eye oozing in dark ichor. The tunnel's oppressive aura further increased as the enraged shrieks of the arachnid reverberated through its stone walls.
"Now, everyone! Attack!" Mel shouted.
The arachnid reacted fast, aiming its rear region towards its attackers. In a sudden, sharp move, it expelled a thick, viscous spray of webbing, which flew out of its rear. The group jumped away, narrowly escaping the sticky strands, while Audin found himself with little room to move as his movements were restricted by the web.
With the creature's attention turned from the group to Audin, Miria lifted her staff and began to cast a spell.
"Strike, power of storm and sky, Condense and gather at my command, Swift and unerring, tear through the air, Unleash thy fury—[Lightning Bolt] !"
Bright blue arcs of lightning danced in the air before she sent them forward, sending a bolt of electricity streaking toward the arachnid. The bolt struck the arachnid, causing it to convulse, momentarily paralyzing it.
Standing slightly behind, Moore pointed his staff towards the arachnid and retaliated with an earth spell that sent out spikes of earth that scraped against its body.
The arachnid, wounded and enraged, lept forward in blind fury toward the scattered members, its fangs dripping with venom. The evercalm Elara quickly nocked yet another arrow and aimed for the arachnid's other eye, which flew and hit it. Deeply embedding itself in the arachnid's eye, eliciting another screech of pain.
Utilizing the arachnid's moment of weakness, Miria focused her mana once more, further compressing it to cast another lightning bolt spell, which she aimed at the arachnid. The bolt of electricity hit the arachnid's body, further paralyzing it.
Seeing an opportunity, Moore prepared another spell.
"From beneath, the ground awakens, Sharpen thy stone, pierce the heavens, Strike with fury and impale them all—[Earth Spike] !"
The ground below bent to his will as the earth beneath the arachnid erupted in jagged spikes, impaling its exoskeleton. The arachnid's body convulsed one last time before it lay still.
[You have slain a Rank 1 Beast: Fanged Spider.]
The tunnel fell silent except for the heavy breathing of Miria and Moore. Elara, her bow in hand, cautiously approached the arachnid's corpse while Audin wrestled himself out of the last bindings of the web. Miria slowly and ever so slightly lowered her staff, her hands trembling, as the adrenaline rush left her.
"Is everyone alright?" Elara's voice cut through the silence, her eyes scanning her comrades for any signs of injury.
"We're fine," Moore, Audin, and Miria responded in chorus.
"Alright, let's keep moving," Mel urged, quickly brushing off any dust from her armor before advancing.