Sky Sovereign's corpse (II)

Cain continued pretending that his recovery was taking far longer than usual. Initially, Elrick and the others had kept quiet, watching and waiting with mild impatience. Yet as more hours dragged by, deep frowns creased their brows, revealing their growing annoyance. Even though the oppressive radiation no longer plagued them, they still did not wish to remain in the tomb a moment longer than necessary.

The truth was that Cain found the delay frustrating as well. He felt trapped, waiting for a signal that stubbornly refused to arrive. As time passed, Cain's mind spun with possibilities, most of them unpleasant, and one of them became more and more feasible.

"Could they have perished?" Cain wondered.