The cave was silent, save for the soft rustling of pages as Elijah slowly flipped through the diary he had found. The flickering light of the small fire cast shadows across his face, illuminating only parts of his expression—faint curiosity, maybe even amusement. But to the others, there was something unsettling about the way he held the book, the way he seemed so at ease in this place, so… fine, while they were all still struggling with the weight of their own weakness.
Lumien, standing closest to him, leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the pages. "What's it say?" he asked, his voice low but tense with anticipation.
Elijah didn't answer immediately. He paused, as though savoring the moment, before finally looking up, his eyes gleaming in the firelight. "It's a diary," he said simply, "written by someone who was here before."
The group gathered around, and for a moment, the only sound in the cave was the crackling of the fire. They all waited for Elijah to continue.
After a beat, Lumien spoke again. "Who's it by?"
Elijah's fingers hovered over the fragile pages. The name was brushed out, scribbled hastily in what looked like an attempt to erase it—an odd and unsettling detail. "Whoever wrote this wanted to stay anonymous," he said, his voice carrying a note of amusement.
The others exchanged glances, but no one spoke. They had too many questions, too many uncertainties, and the air felt thick with tension.
Mia, standing near Lumien, stepped forward and gently nudged Elijah's arm. "Well, what does it say? We need to know what happened here."
Elijah flipped the page, and then began reading aloud:
"Day 1: I never thought that a pencil and a notebook could save my life. It's been maybe three days since I could finally move, I'm not really sure, it's too dark in here with no light source, it's strange that I could even see. I literally hatched out of a freaking crystal egg, and before you ask my dear readers yes I do feel like a reptile and I suppose you would too once you wake up as well so hurry up and fell it. I couldn't move for around three days, I felt too weak to left a finger, I thought I would die from thirst and hunger, but at some point I felt nothing, it's like my body changed"
Lumien exchanged a look with Chris, his stomach tightening. He knew what Elijah was about to read—he knew it would be a long time before they could understand what this all meant. But the words were becoming real now, and the feeling of dread only grew heavier with each passing second.
Elijah continued reading, his voice steady:
"Day 3: I strangely didn't fell much hunger but thirst was still there, thankfully I found water close by. My friends in eggs are still asleep, I guess I woke up to early, I feel like one of those transmigration protagonist, but where is my System, I don't even have any food to try the luck enhancement ritual."
There was a pause as Elijah flipped another page. The tension in the group was palpable. Despite the humor in the diary they could feel his loneliness.
"Day whatever: I'm losing track of time. I've been here for what feels like days. Maybe weeks. The others haven't woken up. I'm the only one. The air is thick with something—I don't know if it's the cocoons or this place, but it's like I'm suffocating. I'm weaker than I was before, but I'm still awake. Still alone. And now I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get out. I'm going to explore the surroundings and try to find a way out, See you dear readers."
Lumien swallowed hard. He could feel the weight of the words settling on him, heavy and suffocating. Everyone stood around him in silence, each person feeling the same sense of dread creeping into their hearts. How much longer had they been here, really? How long had they been trapped?
Elijah's voice faltered as he finished the last entry. The room was still, deathly so.
It was clear to Lumien now, clear to everyone who had been listening, that this person, whoever they were, had been trapped here far longer than they had. And if the entries were accurate, they had been in this cave for far more than a few days. The weeks—months, perhaps—of isolation and fear seemed to drag out in the writer's words, making their own sense of time here seem meaningless.
"Does it—does it say anything else?" Merry asked, her voice hoarse, barely above a whisper. "Anything about how to get out of here?"
Elijah shook his head, his lips tight. "No. That's it. The rest of the pages are blank."
"Blank?" Isla repeated, her voice cracking. "Why would they leave it blank? There's nothing more? Nothing useful?"
Elijah's eyes flickered to the group, but his expression was unreadable. "Seems like they couldn't figure it out either."
The fire crackled loudly, a stark contrast to the oppressive silence that now filled the cavern.
A deep, uncomfortable tension settled over the group, the weight of the diary's words hanging heavily in the air. The realization began to sink in—that they weren't just trapped here, they were part of something larger. Something far beyond their understanding.
Lumien looked around at his classmates—his friends—and saw the same fear in their eyes. They were all thinking the same thing: How long have we been here? How long will it take for us to break?
He opened his mouth, about to speak, but then everything went quiet. They were all standing still, caught in their own thoughts, their minds spiraling down into dark places. After a few moments, Lumien's voice broke through the stillness. "Alright, no more wondering. We need to figure out a way out of here. We can't just sit and wait for answers. We need to act."
The group nodded slowly, the heaviness of the situation still pressing in, but Lumien's words gave them something to focus on. They had to do something, or they'd lose themselves to the fear and uncertainty.
"Let's move," Lumien continued, his voice steady. "let's start exploring. See if there's a way out of this place."
The group nodded, and with grim determination, they turned to leave .
They were still tense and uncertain, but now there was something resembling a plan.