Yanael was worried it would take hours for Zach to wake up. Or that he would never come to. Fortunately, she was wrong. It only took Zach a single hour to stir before realizing his head was somewhere very comfy.
Yanael's thighs were soft, and her hand running through his hair was soothing. Zach almost fell asleep again.
"Master, I need you to wake up."
Yeah, there was no way Zach was going to ignore that plea.
"What's up?" Zach opened his eyes and met Yanael's gaze, pretending to be in a better state than he was.
"My legs are numb. Is it okay if I move you?"
"...Sure." Zach didn't think Yanael's legs could get numb from only the weight of his head, but the blow the request had dealt to him was enough to stop him from questioning it. With Zach's approval, Yanael put his head on a bag.
Yanael moved around without a problem and looked at Zach's wound before glancing toward the seam in the wall she had noticed earlier.
"Master…"
"I know. We can't stay here. But it's best if I don't move around unnecessarily. We have something to eat, right? I packed some snacks…"
"Here."
"Our best bet is for me to stay here in a barrier while you search the area. The only problem is you finding your way back."
Yanael met Zach's eyes with a gaze as clear as glass.
"I will always find my way back to you, Master."
Zach didn't know what to say to those heartfelt words, so he just nodded. Yanael returned the nod and got up after making sure Zach had his snacks and knew where everything he had was.
She left for the wall, only glancing back after slicing it open and revealing a corridor. She gave Zach a final nod before venturing into the dark Locale.
Zach glanced back. Now that Yanael's halo was gone, the only light he had was the few tendrils of light seeping through the cracks in the barricade against the arrows.
'Why's that room the only one with light?'
Zach was suspicious. Wouldn't the room filled to the brim with arrow traps be more effective if the ones who sprung the traps couldn't see the arrows?
Zach made sure his barrier was secure before eating some more snacks and dragging himself to a corner, where he fell asleep curled up as much as possible. He couldn't move his injured leg well, but his other knee was pressed against his chest.
Since he couldn't borrow Yanael's body warmth anymore, he had to settle for his own to battle the chill of losing blood and sleeping on a cold stone floor.
Zach was afraid.
He had started shivering and trembling uncontrollably. He could feel the sluggishness of his mind and body. His leg wasn't bleeding as much, but that wasn't necessarily a good sign. Even if Yanael had done a good job, there was still too little blood.
He hadn't gotten the major artery severed. But it was still bad.
If Zach didn't die from the blood loss, he might freeze to death instead.
He was alone in the darkness, deep underground, and inside an enemy base possibly full of beings out for his blood.
Zach didn't have any confidence in his barrier anymore. Entering head first with minor preparation, as they had done, had been a very rash decision.
They should have been more careful. They should have made multiple holes. They should have brought the fight to the surface. They should have tried to get ahold of something they could throw down the holes, like poison or smoke bombs.
There were a thousand things they could have done differently.
But no, Zach was eager to get some underworlder blood on his hands, and the other two were eager to follow him. They weren't even that eager. They had just gone along with it since they were his friends.
And now, they might be dead.
Zach sighed, his teeth clattering.
The darkness and solitude gave him more time to think than he liked. It was useless when there was nothing he could do about the past or the present.
'I miss N—'
Zach stopped his thought dead in its tracks. He frowned and closed his eyes as he turned his ear toward the door Yanael had made and left through.
He wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not, but he might have heard something.
He had no idea what it could have been since it didn't sound like Yanael's footsteps. It sounded more…violent.
'A roar maybe?'
Zach frowned. There was definitely something out there.
'That was a crash.'
Zach gulped. The sounds were few and quickly died down, but they had been ominous. He hoped it had just been Yanael beating the snot out of one or more underworlders.
Zach's hopes were dashed as footsteps too slow and long to be Yanael's approached the door. Yanael's steps were light and precise.
The ones coming closer to Zach right now weren't heavy. If anything, it was like the person barely touched the ground. The only reason Zach could hear anything was because the arrow rain had stopped and the place was as silent as the grave.
The steps were also further apart than Yanael's. The owner of those steps had longer legs than Yanael.
Zach frowned. He hadn't seen a single underworlder with long legs.
Initially, he was slightly curious about this new underworlder. But the closer it got, the more dread Zach felt.
It wasn't a wimpy underworlder like the tasker that was coming. It was a walking weapon.
Zach didn't know how he knew. He just did.
Whatever was on his way to him was a living disaster.
"Ah, there you are! I was looking for you all over the place."
The friendly voice didn't match the tall stature of the silhouette in the doorway.
Zach's eyes narrowed as he looked at the figure. He could barely make anything out, much less any detail.
Still, the little he could make out was enough to make him press himself against the wall behind him in fear.
The figure noticed Zach's eyes struggling to see anything.
"Right. Darkness is a thing."
The figure snapped its fingers and torches on the walls lit up and bathed the room in an easy brown glow.
Zach's eyes flashed over the figure's light green face before locking onto the limp body held up by the base of its head.
Zach froze.