Ethan picked up the glass of water. "So, when are we going to hear the good news?"
"Hey, give him a break. It'll be quick, right?" Matteo grinned, stuffing his mouth with bread.
"Don't talk like that. People without a girlfriend shouldn't comment on this stuff." Luka threw an arm around Matteo's shoulders.
"Hey, guys, are we going to plan our goal? I think it's time... right?" Sebastian said, taking a sip from his bottle of juice.
"You're right. We should focus on what we came here for." Nicolas arrived, carrying ice cream for everyone.
The ice cream was pink. He handed one to each of them.
As Nitin held his ice cream, his arm began to shake. Suddenly, a white flash flickered in his vision, and the ice cream slipped from his hands.
"Hey, Nitin, are you okay, man?" Viktor asked with concern.
"Yeah... I'm fine." Nitin forced a smile, slowly covering his face with his palm.
"Hey, Eero, aren't you going to drink?" Luka approached him, holding a large glass of beer.
"Nah.... I'm planning to quit all my bad habits so I can be a good example for my kid," Eero said, pushing Luka's face away.
"You still have time before the baby arrives, right?" Alaric appeared behind him.
"So what? I can't just undo a bad habit overnight. It'll take time...." Eero leaned back, looking up at Alaric.
"Then I guess... you can manage." Alaric grabbed him tightly from behind.
"Hey, let go, you bastard!" Eero struggled.
"Here, enjoy!" Luka smirked, tilting the glass of beer to Eero's mouth.
Eero, unable to resist, ended up drinking it.
"That's the spirit! Go for it!" Nicolas cheered.
"Hey, I think you shouldn't do that," Nitin warned, stepping forward, but Tomasz caught his arm.
"Come on, don't be a goody-goody all the time. Or else we'll never have fun," Ethan said, bringing another glass of beer.
"Wait...don't. I've never had alcohol before!" Ethan moved closer.
Meanwhile, Matteo and Livio were engaged in a playful pinning fight until Viktor stepped in and pinned Livio down.
"Let's get wild—!" Viktor shouted just as a fountain of alcohol sprayed into the air.
"Nooo! I don't want to drink—!"
Eero's eyes snapped open. He was in Livio's arms, panting heavily. His entire body trembled, his mouth hung open, and his face was pale...like a war veteran suffering from PTSD.
"Hey, Eero woke up! Everyone, gather here!" Sebastian shouted.
All his friends immediately stopped what they were doing and dropped their shovels. They had been digging up glowing stones.
"Eero, are you okay?" Nicolas rushed to his side, holding his body up.
The dim light flickered. As Eero's vision adjusted, he realized they were inside a cave.
"Thank God... I thought you wouldn't wake up...." Sebastian wrapped an arm around him, his face streaked with tears.
"What happened? Where am I?" Eero asked weakly, attempting to sit up, only to stumble from the pain.
"Careful!" Nitin caught him.
Eero noticed that Nitin's eyes were closed.
"We're inside a cave, mining these glowing stones," Matteo said, leaning on his pickaxe for support.
"What is this stench...?" Eero gagged, then suddenly started vomiting.
As he turned his head, his breath caught in his throat. A massive creature—at least 18 feet long—lay nearby. Its body resembled a crocodile's, its legs were as muscular as a jaguar's, but its face was that of an owl.
"No... nooo!" Eero scrambled backward in terror.
"Calm down, Eero. Snap out of it! They're dead!" Alaric and Tomasz rushed toward him to keep him from panicking.
As he crawled back, his hand landed on something sticky. Reflexively, he lifted it in front of his face. A thick, viscous red substance dripped from his fingers.
Slowly, he turned his head—only to be met with pitch-black darkness.
"Don't look! Everything is fine. Just calm down," Alaric ordered, closing Eero's eyes while Tomasz held him tightly.
"Haaa..... haaa... Fuck this. I know this is a dream! I just have to wake up! That's right..." Eero suddenly burst into laughter, his voice shaky and unhinged.
"I think he's lost it. Do you have any more healing potions?" Nitin asked Livio.
"No, that was the only one Ethan gave me. I made sure Eero drank all of it," Livio said, his eyes widening as he watched Eero spiral.
"I know... It's just a dream..... Ha ha ha..." Eero muttered. His voice softened. "Elena will wake me up soon... I'll see her again..... Man, I can't wait..... Elena....." His laughter turned into whispers.
"Hey, enough! I said enough!" Alaric shouted, his voice filled with frustration.
"What? You bastards are just jealous because I have Elena! On top of that, she's pregnant! I won't let any of you lay a hand on her! Never!" Eero kicked Alaric and fought against Tomasz's grip.
"Don't you remember? Elena and the others are missing!" Tomasz shouted.
"Missing..... Missing?" Eero froze.
Nitin, Livio, and Sebastian surrounded him, ready to stop him if he made a wrong move.
"What...?" His voice cracked. "You liar!" Eero screamed, his agony raw and unbearable.
The pain in his voice made Tomasz momentarily loosen his grip.
"Eero, the truth is—"
Sebastian stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened as he turned toward the entrance of the cave.
Viktor was running, a bright light shining behind him. "That bastard Wolfsbane is coming!"
Eero blinked slowly, still dazed—
Then, suddenly, a sharp slap landed on his cheek.
"What are you looking at?"
Elena stared at him with piercing eagle-like eyes.