Crouched flat behind the cluster of rocks, Benji shivered in the damp, oppressive gloom, his heart hammering against his ribs. Every second that ticked by felt like an hour. He kept his eyes locked on the dark doorway ahead, waiting anxiously for Kairo to reappear.
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps crunched softly from the side, creeping up on him from the blind spot. Benji didn't even have time to turn his head before a voice broke the silence.
"Hey Benji."
Adrenaline spiked through Benji's veins. With a frantic, defensive yelp, he jerked backward, flailing his arms in a wild, panicked arc to ward off an attack.
"Whoa, hey! Relax!"
Benji blinked hard, his frantic eyes adjusting to the dim light. Stepping out of the shadows was Kairo, hands casually laced behind his head.
Benji dropped his arms, clutching his chest as he let out a shaky breath. "Oh... it's just you, Kairo. Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that."
Kairo glare at him in surprise with his stances. "What were you even trying to do?"
"I was merely maintaining a tactical defensive posture," Benji muttered defensively, quickly adjusting his glasses to regain his composure.
He started to stand up, but his gaze drifted past Kairo's shoulder into the deeper shadows of the corridor. Benji froze, his eyes widening in absolute shock.
"Izuno?!" Benji gasped, pointing a trembling finger. "Wait—You're aliv—?"
A sudden, suspicious wave of realization hit him. Benji's eyes narrowed behind his lenses as he glared at the newcomer. "Wait a minute. You set us up this whole time, didn't you?!"
Izuno flinched, stepping back with an awkward, defensive wave of his hands. "Oh, No! Please look... I can explain myself... to be honest, back at the cave tunnel, I didn't know if there was a trap or not! I've... it was actually my first time I swear!"
"Relax, Benji," Kairo cut in, stepping up to defend Izuno with a casual shrug. "I believe him.... Besides, he literally just saved my life back there a minute ago."
Benji pushed, the tension instantly draining out of his shoulders. Seeing Kairo so calm, he let out a long sigh, dropped his guard, and gave a slow, understanding nod.
Kairo’s expression softened, the momentary relief giving way to a deeper, lingering worry. He glanced back toward the dark labyrinth of tunnels behind them, his thoughts drifting.
Wondering if the rest of their team had to face the same obstacle they encountered... He murmured, staring into the dark. "I just hope Tera and the others are okay..."
........................................
Elsewhere....
Tera and Morri crouched low within the shadowy shelter of a steep talus slope, perfectly concealed near a hidden cave entrance as they kept a sharp eye on the perimeter for any signs of danger.
The silence stretched on, heavy and suffocating. Morri stared out at the jagged rocks, his jaw tightening as a low murmur slipped past his lips. "I just hope Kairo and the rest of the group are okay..."
Startled by the abrupt voice, Tera hesitated and turned her head toward him, her gaze piercing through the dim light. "Are you worried?"
Morri flinched for a second, caught off guard, before offering a tense, honest nod. "Yeah, of course. It's been hours since they went in there. We have no idea what they're facing right now, and all we're doing is sitting here hiding, while they're in there taking all the risks..."
Tera watched him speak, her expression unreadable as she remained silent for a long, heavy moment. Then, her eyes shifting back to the dark mouth of the cave, she broke the quiet.
"Wanna go check?"
Morri’s breath caught in his throat. He whipped his head around, his voice cracking in absolute disbelief. "What?"
Tera didn't blink, staring steadily into the gloom before asking him again, her tone dead serious as she questioned whether they should leave their post to check if the rest of the group was actually okay. "Should we go check it out?"
Morri swallowed hard, dropping his gaze back to the dusty ground as his mind raced to rationalize. "B-but... we gave Kairo and Toka our word. We promised them we would safeguard and hold this route for them... they trusted us..."
A shadow of deep concern crossed Tera’s face. "Yeah, that's true. But right now? We don't know what's happening in there. For all we know..." She paused, her voice dropping lower. "...we don't even know if they're okay."
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
She started to finish the thought, her eyes darkening. "They might even be—"
Morri’s eyes widened as the grim reality hit him before she could even say the word aloud. "You don't mean..."
Tera slowly nodded, her expression heavy with shared dread.
Morri stared at the stone floor, his hands trembling slightly before his expression hardened into a grim, resolute mask. He took a slow breath, and gave a sharp, definitive nod.
..............................
A few minutes later.... Tera and Morri stepped inside the dark maw of the cave entrance.
The talus slope rose in a massive mound of broken boulders beneath the towering cliff, piled high from centuries of collapse. Loose gravel shifted beneath every boot-step with a sharp crunch, and a biting, cold draft seeped from the pitch-black interior, carrying the stale, damp scent of ancient stone and deep earth.
At first, the passage was wide enough, though treacherous. They scrambled over piles of fallen rocks and loose stones, their footing unstable across wide gaps between towering boulders. But as they pressed deeper into the mountain, the space began to choke inward.
The gaps between the collapsed walls narrowed into a suffocating maze. Tera and Morri had to weave, twist, and hunch over just to squeeze through, their breathing echoing sharply against the stone.
Morri let out a heavy gasp, ducking under a jagged rock overhang. "Can't believe this the safest route... what were we even planning?"
Up ahead, Tera kept her eyes locked on the twisting path, navigating a particularly tight fissure. "That's the information Izuno gave us."
"But it doesn't make any sense," Morri muttered, his frustration flaring as he had to turn completely sideways just to shimmy past a protruding slab of granite. "How is this the safest option for an escape?"
"We don't have a choice," Tera called back over her shoulder, her voice strained. "Not while Harumachi and his guys owns every route in the West Territory..."
....................................
Soon, the tight, narrow tunnel opened up.
They stepped out onto a high stone ledge overlooking a massive underground cavern. The ceiling was lost in the dark with giant icicle-like rocks hanging down, and the floor far below was a maze of deep cracks and boulders.
The tension instantly spiked. Right past the narrow ledge was a clear path leading back to the main tunnel, but getting to it meant making a dangerous jump across a wide, deep drop.
Tera stood at the edge, looking across to measure the distance.
Morri hurried up behind her, his eyes widening when he saw how big the drop was. "Tera, be careful"
She took a deep breath to steady herself, planted her feet firmly, and jumped across the open space.
Thud.
Tera launched across the terrifying void, her boots slamming onto the opposite ledge. She stumbled hard, her momentum nearly carrying her over before she clawed her balance back, letting out a sharp, trembling sigh of relief.
Neither of them noticed the tiny, hairline fracture her boots left behind. Her landing had left the cracked on the edge of the stone.
"Your turn," Tera called back, turning to watch.
Morri tossed his flashlight to Tera and tried to jump.
He lunged forward, entirely oblivious to the cracked edge waiting for him. But mid-air, his physical momentum fell short. Instead of clearing the distance like Tera, his chest slammed hard against the opposite ledge, his legs missing the mark entirely and dangling helplessly over the black, roaring abyss.
A panic-stricken scream tore from his throat as he clawed desperately at the stone.
"Morri!" Tera dropped to her knees, lunging forward to grab the collar of his shirt and haul him upward with all her might.
With a frantic heave, she dragged him over the edge. Morri collapsed onto the safe stone, wiping the dust from his clothes as a breathless, hysterical laugh broke out of him—the sheer, trembling sound of a man who thought he was dead.
Tera smiled, letting out a shaky breath of relief herself.
Suddenly, the stone beneath Morri’s boot groaned.
A sharp snap echoed through the cavern. The ground shuddered violently.
Morri’s heart seized. Realizing the shelf beneath him was splitting apart, he scrambled to reposition his feet. Tera’s eyes widened in sudden horror.
"Morri!" Tera screamed, lunging forward.
Morri threw himself forward, stretching his hands out toward the safe ground where Tera stood, but the moment his back foot left the crumbling rock, the entire ledge sheared off into the void.
Gravity claimed him instantly.
Morri plunged into the darkness below, snapping his eyes open just in time to see Tera leaning over the edge, holding her hands out to catch him. A sudden, surge of hope flared in Morri's chest. "Tera!" he cried out, his voice cracking with absolute terror as the dark, bottomless emptiness yawned beneath his heels. "Tera, please! Pull me up!"
begging for his life as he stared down into the terrifying dark abyss.
But when he looked back up at Tera, his hope turned to absolute shock. Her face was completely cold and unreadable.
"Hey, Tera... pull me up," Morri pleaded, tears welling in his eyes.
Tera’s expression had completely shifted. The sweet, familiar warmth that Morri had always known was entirely gone, replaced by a cold, blank stare that made her look like a completely different person—a stranger wearing her face.
"Tera...?" Morri choked out, his voice trembling on the verge of tears as he stared up into her eyes. "What are you doing.... please, pull me up!"
Tera didn't say a single word. She stood frozen at the edge, her fingers still locked around his.
"Tera!" Morri screamed, panic clawing at his chest as he saw the terrifying change in her eyes. "Don't! You can't— please!"
Slowly, deliberately, Tera began to peel her fingers open, breaking his grip one agonizing digit at a time.
"NO! TERA—!"
Then... She let go.
Her fingers slipped away, breaking the final tether.
In that heartbeat, the illusion shattered, and the bitter, suffocating weight of betrayal settled over him. As the ground vanished and the cold air rushed up to meet him, Morri stopped fighting the fall.
His eyes drifted upward through the swirling dust, catching one last glimpse of the ledge above. Then, his thoughts drifted away from the dark abyss—stretching back toward Kairo, Toka, and the others, wondering if they were safe, wishing he could warn them.
He realized with a quiet, devastating ache that this was where it ended. His journey in the survival test, his ambitions, his life—snuffed out in the forgotten depths of the earth.
As he plummeted deeper into the freezing dark, tears broke free, streaming horizontally past his face like falling stars.