The darkness in the cavern was so absolute it felt as if they were walking through Murat itself.
Only a single glimmer of light stood out in the distance – a faint, eerie blue, unnaturally vivid against the cave's oppressive blackness. The trio exchanged uneasy glances, uncertain whether they should follow it.
They stepped down from the platform they had arrived on. Unlike the rest of the cavern, it was clearly mortal-made, constructed from brick, though time had not been kind to it. Thick layers of festering vegetation and fungi had overtaken the surface, creeping over the remnants of the now-extinguished portal.
'There's no way back,' Niann murmured, eyeing the inactive gateway. 'We can only move forward.'
'I agree…' Riniock muttered. The thought of re-entering that portal was one he never wished to entertain again.
Siegmun gave a curt nod, and they set off. With a swift motion, he clasped his hands together, conjuring a ball of light. Unlike conventional illumination spells, his was different – it did not float beside him but instead clung to his robes, glowing from the centre of his chest.
He summoned two more, pressing them against the chests of his companions. The magickal orbs adhered to their clothing, shedding a dim, flickering radiance around them.
The path ahead became somewhat clearer, though the stone surrounding them seemed to devour the light, absorbing most of its glow and weakening its reach.
'Better than nothing,' Siegmun muttered, stepping forward cautiously, mindful of unseen pitfalls and whatever other dangers lurked in this forsaken place.
With nought but their thoughts to accompany them in the oppressive darkness, Riniock's mind spiralled into grim possibilities.
He replayed their encounter with the entity within the portal, considering what might have happened had they not escaped so easily. What if they had been wounded – or worse, killed? What if they had been trapped, unable to reach the other side? More troubling still was the thought that other portals could be connected to similar horrors. His concern deepened when he considered Linry – if her portal was anything like theirs and she had managed to dispose of her companion, she would be facing whatever lay within it alone.
The uncertainty gnawed at him, and time blurred as they pressed forward, until at last, they neared the source of the distant glow.
'It's there,' Niann pointed ahead, shielding his eyes with one hand against the intensifying brightness.
As they drew closer, the light became fiercer, almost blinding. Yet when they finally fixed their eyes on its origin, what they saw stunned them.
'What…is that?' Siegmun tilted his head, struggling to make sense of it. 'I've never seen anything like it before…not even in books.'
'Me neither,' Riniock added, equally perplexed.
But Niann's eyes glowed with unrestrained excitement, as if he had been waiting for a moment like this. Dropping to one knee, he rummaged through his belongings with hurried hands.
'Found it!' he exclaimed, pulling out a tattered old journal. 'I came across this in my family's study. It details an entire habitat – its creatures, flora, even geological elements. I read it years ago but thought it was just literature, not an actual field study.'
Siegmun leaned over his shoulder. 'You found this back home?'
Niann nodded, flipping feverishly through the pages.
'I knew I recognised this creature the moment I saw it,' he muttered. 'I've had this journal for four years, but I never imagined it contained real discoveries…'
'So what is it?' Siegmun pressed.
'He named it a Tertei,' Niann tapped on a crude sketch. 'One of our ancestors – Jirash Nodahr – apparently explored this place and recorded his findings.'
Before them, the strange creature glided gracefully from one side of the tunnel to the other.
It appeared almost celestial, a manifestation of radiant energy rather than a living being. Its form shimmered, woven from intricate, glowing filaments that pulsed with an ethereal luminescence. It resembled a butterfly in shape, yet its wings were an exquisite lattice of gossamer light, swirling with currents of pure energy. Unlike the artificial glow of their spells, its radiance did not fade against the cavern walls but bathed the stone in a soft, ambient glow.
Its sleek, almost incorporeal body seemed to be composed of the very essence of the cosmos. Delicate tendrils trailed behind it, undulating like wisps of celestial silk, leaving behind faint traces of stardust in their wake.
'Amazing…' Riniock breathed, flipping through the journal's pages, taking in the various illustrations. 'Are you saying this place is completely uncharted? Aside from this journal?'
Niann shrugged. 'I can't say for certain. But I've never found another mention of it. I checked the local libraries and even the college archives, at least on the first floor. Nothing.'
'That's concerning…' Siegmun murmured.
'It probably is,' Riniock admitted. 'This journal is the only source of information we have, but we can't treat it as fact until we confirm it ourselves.'
'Riniock's right,' Siegmun agreed. 'We have to assume that some of Jirash's accounts might be unreliable.'
Niann nodded, flipping through the aged pages before they decided to press on.
'What's this place called, anyway?' Riniock asked, still admiring the tertei from where they stood.
'I think Jirash called it the Yawning Tunnel…'
'The Yawning Tunnel?' Riniock repeated. 'Not the most creative name. But then again, who am I to discredit his discovery?'
Carefully, they manoeuvred around the celestial insect, ensuring they did not disturb its graceful flight.
As its final traces of light vanished behind the curve of the tunnel, Riniock shifted his focus forward. Jirash's chosen name for this place, the Yawning Tunnel, now felt more fitting than ever.
Endless stretches of stone corridors sprawled before them, each passage seemingly longer than the last.
For the most part, their surroundings were barren. Now and then, they spotted another tertei or, to their surprise, an unfamiliar creature – clusters of bright orange orbs hovering near the high ceilings. According to the journal, Jirash called these Saphores.
Thus far, there was little flora to be found. The only plant-like growths they encountered resembled thin filaments protruding from the rock, each tipped with a softly glowing bulb.
'Jirash classified these as fungi,' Niann remarked, studying them closely.
'Are they edible?' his cousin inquired.
'The journal doesn't say,' Niann admitted, shaking his head. 'Jirash probably didn't want to risk poisoning himself by eating some random fungus he found down here.'
A reasonable caution. And with their supplies still intact, none of them felt inclined to experiment and confirm.
They pressed on, their journey proving relatively easy thus far.
Unlike the treacherous terrain of the Crimson Glades, the Yawning Tunnel was nothing more than a vast network of interconnected caves. No hills to scale, no forests to navigate – just a seemingly endless stretch of tunnels, winding ever onward.
The path remained linear, requiring no navigation beyond simply following it. Siegmun took the lead, guiding their way.
'There's a structure ahead,' he announced after catching sight of it in the dim light. 'Mortal-made. Stay alert.'
At the end of this tunnel section, the cavern widened into a space clearly altered by intelligent hands. A tower – fashioned directly into the rock – stood before them, its walls seamlessly fused with the stone. It had windows, doors, and every indication that it had once been inhabited.
'This must have taken years to carve,' one of them noted as they approached.
'Unless they were a maegi,' Riniock countered.
'Right. Unless they were a maegi,' Siegmun repeated, his tone thoughtful. 'Still…why would anyone want to live down here?'
No one had an answer.
'Should we search it?' Riniock and Niann asked in unison.
Siegmun studied the tower's exterior, weighing their options. After a moment of silent contemplation, he gave a firm nod and gestured for them to follow.
'I don't see why not. There might be something valuable inside. We'll split the loot, of course.'