From his hiding spot, Kairav's hazel eyes followed the creature's movements as it fell into the trap, its figure gradually shrinking in the distance as it chased the flare's light. Before long, its shadow completely disappeared from view, leading Kairav to assume that the Asu Baung had finally stepped outside the cave, just as he had planned to forcefully drive the creature away.
He let out a relieved sigh, and an expression of calm slowly appeared on his face as he removed his infrared goggles. Turning his body toward the pool, he switched on the flashlight in his hand, signaling to those hiding there that the threat had been dealt with.
The tense atmosphere began to fade, and one by one, the frightened people emerged from their hiding spots, their faces more relaxed as their heartbeats gradually slowed.
"Whoa! Finally, I can breathe easy!" shouted Dion, the coward, in glee, without a hint of guilt over almost causing a major catastrophe earlier.
Gavin, who had been annoyed with him the entire time, immediately smacked him on the back of the head in frustration. "You idiot! Is your brain the size of a shrimp? I almost became a snack for that monster dog because of you!" he snapped angrily.
Dion rubbed his head, wincing in pain, only to get another hit from Kairav, who kicked his leg in frustration. "If it weren't for saving my friend, I'd have let that monster turn your insides into snacks!" Kairav growled, glaring angrily at him.
Kairav took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger. He turned away from Dion's sulking expression and joined the others, who were checking their surroundings.
Under the light beams from the flashlights sweeping in all directions, the area resembled a slaughterhouse. Blood splattered the cave walls, and the bodies of coyotes lay scattered in pools of their own blood.
The stench of blood quickly filled the air, making everyone there visibly uncomfortable.
Grimacing at the uneasy atmosphere, Gavin glanced at the watch on his wrist. "We've got more than two hours before it gets completely dark. We need to reach the forest before nightfall," Gavin said to his two friends.
"Wouldn't it be better if we just left them and kept moving? I'm sure the creature is far away by now, and it's still raining outside, so it won't be able to track us," he suggested.
Baron agreed, "We just have to follow the path through the cave to get to the forest. So, as long as the creature doesn't come back in, I think it's safer to move on rather than waiting here until dark," he said, trying to convince Kairav, though his face was still twisted with discomfort.
The young man sighed wearily before adding, "Honestly, I wouldn't mind being stuck here until dark—if it were just the three of us… Tsk! But if I have to stay with these idiots, my sanity will break before we even reach the Forest of Lost Souls!"
With a disgusted expression, he pointed his flashlight toward the treasure-hunting group, who were still busy checking the area, completely unaware of the intense hatred directed at them.
Kairav, on the other hand, showed a different expression when he looked at the group. A question filled his mind as he stared at them. "What treasure are they really after?" he wondered in confusion. But before he could dwell on it, Dion suddenly screamed.
"Miss! Look at that!"
Everyone turned spontaneously, responding to the shout with confused expressions.
Kairav's eyes filled with shock and curiosity as the flashlights in the cave swept toward a distant part near the edge of the mineral pool. It was a mysterious dark tunnel they'd have to pass through to reach the Forest of Lost Souls.
At first glance, there was nothing particularly strange about the tunnel. It seemed like any other dark, quiet cave passage. But what stood out was the appearance of hundreds of tiny golden lights flickering at the far end.
The tiny specks of light floated in the air, their numbers growing as they moved out of the tunnel. Slowly, they began to drift and hover across the pool, mesmerizing everyone as their soft golden glow gradually illuminated the cave with a warm, gentle light.
Some of the creatures approached and danced around the people, revealing their forms more clearly. "Fireflies?"
***
Gray clouds still hung heavily across the sky, and the rustling sound of leaves blown by the wind continued to fill the empty air. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle, falling softly without the roar of thunder. On that late afternoon, two young men with full hiking gear were making their way along a mountain trail.
A burly young man in a bright red rain jacket walked while gripping a massive hammer made of gray stone, intricately carved with silver designs.
"Casildo, can you stop playing with that thing?! My head will crack open if that stone slips from your hands!" Arkana scolded him.
But Casildo didn't care. He only grinned widely and kept swinging his prized weapon. "So, who's soul the nameless young man is looking for on this mountain? Don't tell me you don't know either."
As they walked steadily forward, Arkana answered, "About a year ago, during the rainy season, a group of young men from Dusk Ridge Village climbed this mountain. But one of them returned with an empty soul."
"His condition is similar to what happened to Kairav's biological father. That's why the nameless young man thinks he might find something here that could restore Kairav's father. Especially since this mountain used to be part of the Darkconian Empire's territory," Arkana continued.
Casildo nodded along, understanding but not particularly interested in continuing the conversation. They kept walking, their footsteps creating tracks in the wet, muddy ground.
They had no idea how far they had come until they suddenly stopped at something that caught their attention.
Both young men crouched down, noticing strange footprints in the soft, rain-soaked ground.
The young prince immediately focused his gaze on a set of four-legged animal tracks in front of him, frowning as he recognized the 'hunting tools.' It made him recall one of the monsters from the Deepshadow Realm that led the coyotes.
"Depths Abominations again?" he muttered with frustration, his expression growing darker as he realized it was one of the underground creatures that had been bothering him lately with their increasing appearances.
"Well, looks like the mad dog's out of its cage too?" Casildo grumbled as he moved forward, following the small tracks. His eyes then landed on a much larger set of four-legged footprints, which were much deeper in the ground than the others.
Arkana moved closer to his friend, observing the same thing. But his attention was quickly diverted when his brown eyes caught sight of several human footprints a few feet ahead of him. "There are human tracks here," he said, stepping closer to the footprints.
Casildo raised an eyebrow, confused. "Huh? Someone else is hiking besides us?" he asked in surprise.
The burly young man stood up and walked over to where his friend was, eyeing the different shoe prints left behind. "It can't be the nameless silencer, can it? The nameless young man wouldn't bring anyone else on an adventure."
Arkana let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "We'll find out soon enough. But I really hope we don't find a dead body ahead," he said, glancing back at the monster tracks. "Because it's clear that the Asu Baung is tracking whoever left these footprints."
Casildo rolled his eyes and sighed wearily. "Well, we'll see if we find some human remains or not. But first, we need to find that cave."
Prince Arkana scanned the surroundings with his sharp brown eyes. "Once we pass the ruins of the stepped pyramid, we shouldn't be far from the cave," he replied.
He slowly tilted his head back and gazed at the sky, opening his hand to check the raindrops, which were now barely falling. A grim line formed on his face as he realized this, a gut feeling telling him something bad was about to happen. "The rain has stopped…"