Daylight filtered through the mine entrance. Too bright after so long in darkness, he didn't exit, his eyes would need time to adjust to the harsh change.
He stopped several meters from the exit, keeping to the shadows. His beasts tensed, detecting something they couldn't fully identify.
The silence was unnatural. Not even the wind seemed to dare blow.
'Too easy,' his training screamed warnings. An academy doesn't evacuate its mines without reason. Doesn't leave its entrances unguarded for students to do foolish things.
The hydra's core weighed next to many others in his bag, a constant reminder of his partial failure.
The egg remained lost, stolen by some fortunate thief who had stumbled upon his experiment.
'Should go back,' he considered while studying the entrance. The mission was clear: find and secure specific beast cores. The egg was extra, and he could obtain it again.
But pride...
