Cold and shivering. He had sparse white hair and bushy white eyebrows. His lips trembled, visibly cracked and dry. Wrinkles mapped his weathered face, a testament to his age and the hardships he had endured.
He wore nothing but a pair of broken miner's pants, torn and tattered, leaving his upper body exposed. Like his face, his body bore the marks of a hard life. Aside from the aging of his skin, scars crisscrossed his arms, telling their own silent story.
Despite the cold that made him shake uncontrollably, his black eyes burned with the will to survive, just like his protruding belly, which jiggled slightly with each movement he made.
"W-who?" the old man asked, trying to shield his eyes from the intense flashlight beam with a trembling hand.
"You know me. Why don't you come out?" Kael said, stepping back a few paces to give him room.
The old man hesitated briefly before crawling out of the small cave. As soon as he stepped out, he cautiously scanned his surroundings, searching for any sign of Behemechs nearby. When he found none, he let out a long, relieved sigh.
"Thank God they're gone," the old man muttered.
"They're out juggling a ball," Kael said, his tone 'truthfully' playful.
"Juggling?" The old man repeated, confusion etched on his face as he squinted at Kael. "Can you dim the light? I… I don't recognize your voice."
After being in the dark for nearly a day, the sudden brightness from the flashlight made it hard for him to see Kael's face.
"Oh, my bad," Kael said, apologizing as he adjusted the flashlight. With a quick flick of his thumb, the light dimmed. "Here you go. Take a good look at this handsome man, Mr. Ponce."
At first, Milan's father was still confused. But after blinking a few times, his vision adjusted. Slowly, his eyes widened in recognition. "You… you're that guy I saved!"
Kael smiled.
…
"So, how did you end up in this place?" Kael asked as he walked out of the cave, the old man following close behind.
"As you might've heard, I got caught up when the Fissure formed, and one of those Behemechs dragged me into this cave," Mr. Ponce explained, his body shivering as the outside wind bit at his skin. He squinted against the light, glancing at the man who he had once saved, now returning the favor. "I'm confused... Did you actually enter this Fissure just to save me?"
"Sort of," Kael replied, making his way to the side of the cave. He pulled out a miner's jacket from Trey's bag, something he had grabbed at the last minute. Returning to Mr. Ponce, he handed it over. "Here, take your jacket back. It's tattered, and you might look like a beggar wearing it, but it'll keep the cold off your body."
Mr. Ponce nodded. The jacket wouldn't fully cover his upper body, leaving his chest and even a nipple exposed, but it was better than nothing. "I was just taking a gamble. I didn't know shredding my clothes along the way would work."
"It must've been one hell of a ride," Kael remarked, setting the pulse sniper rifle in front of him. "No one's coming to save you, though—except me, of course."
"Yeah," the old man chuckled, relief and lingering fear mixing in his voice. "I'm Bach Ponce."
"Kael Draven," Kael said, his sharp eyes scanning their surroundings for any potential danger.
"Kael Draven… the same name as the White Prime," Bach Ponce muttered, glancing at him curiously.
"I have questions," Kael said, his grip on the weapon relaxing as he turned to face Milan's father. "And I know you've got a few in mind, too."
"My daughter thinks you must be a criminal hiding from the authorities, and because of some unfortunate events, you passed out inside that mine," Bach said. "But I don't think so. I had this gut feeling that saving you would bring surprises. So I did. And looking at you here, I'd say it was worth the investment."
Seeing how quickly the old man managed to adapt to what had just happened made Kael think he was no ordinary man.
"You saved me because of a gut feeling?" Kael asked.
"More or less. But I couldn't just walk away after finding someone asleep inside a mine," Bach replied.
"I see..." Kael locked eyes with Bach and then smiled. "You're a good man."
"Haha, I've heard that a lot," Bach Ponce laughed, the fear inside him easing slightly. This was his first time inside a Fissure, and every second put him on edge. Fortunately, the person he saved seemed very experienced. Just the way Kael handled the pulse sniper rifle spoke volumes about his training.
This only deepened Bach's curiosity about the man. When he had found Kael unconscious in the mine, even without the gut feeling, he would have helped him. It was simply the right thing to do.
"So no one knows, aside from you and your daughter, that you snuck someone out of the mine?" Kael asked.
"If they ever found out, I'd be stuck in this cave for the rest of my life," Bach said with a shrug. "Like I said, gut feeling."
"Gut feeling, huh?" Kael muttered.
As they spoke, a rustling sound came from the bushes in the distance, abruptly halting their conversation.
"I'm afraid that's a monster," Bach said with a frown. Glancing at Kael, who didn't seem the least bit concerned, he asked, "Aren't you going to shoot?"
"I will if he decides to attack me."
"He?" Bach looked back at the bushes, startled, as a figure emerged. "Oh, a person."
"Do you really want me to die, huh?!" Trey shouted, glaring at the White Prime with visible anger. His body was covered in dirt, and a small tree branch was stuck in his hair. "I've been dragged through this forest by those f***ing RhinoFlocks, and here you are just having a casual conversation!"
"Ah, I know that feeling," Bach muttered with a sigh of relief. Hearing someone share his experience made him feel slightly more at ease.
"You ran back here?" Kael asked, his eyes scanning past the young man.
"Yes! As much as I didn't want to! The other Behemechs got agitated by the vibrations. Going out there alone now is way more dangerous than before!" Trey exclaimed, his chest heaving from exhaustion. "I swear, once we're out of here, I want nothing to do wi—"
"Shh," Kael interrupted, raising a finger to his lips before lifting the sniper's scope to his eyes.
"W-w-what a-are you d-doing?" Trey stammered, panicking as the sniper was pointed in his direction. "I… I'm just joking, haha. That's it. Yeah, a joke! You know, that's what friends do, right?"
Suddenly, a thudding sound echoed through the trees, accompanied by powerful vibrations. Bird-like Behemechs took to the skies, screeching as they fled.
"We have to run," Kael said, slinging the sniper onto his back. "Bach, can you run?"
"I may be a miner, but that doesn't mean I can't be runner!" Bach Ponce answered, his large stomach jiggling as he prepared to move.
"Then let's go!" Kael shouted, taking the lead. Behind him, Milan's father followed closely, his rescue being Kael's prize for this journey.
"Wait for me!" Trey yelled, stumbling as he tried to catch up.
As they left the area, RhinoFlocks began appearing one by one. Their massive forms, akin to bulldozers, thundered back toward the cave. Some collided with the cave's entrance, causing rocks to tumble and fall.