The alcove provided little solace; the jagged walls barely kept out the biting chill of the Abyssal mist. Nobody dared relax fully, yet all were exhausted to the point of numbness. Aris leaned against the rocky wall, his chest heaving as he clutched a half-empty vial of stamina potion.
That was brutal," he muttered, his voice laced with both awe and frustration. "If those wraiths were just the welcoming party, what's waiting for us up there?"
Kaelith shot him a pointed look as she crouched beside Ryu. "Keep your focus, Aris. Doubt will only get you killed.
Aris sighed, grumbling under his breath, but didn't say another word. Draven took to checking his weapon, a great battle axe scarred with cracks from the fight.
"This won't hold if we're walking into something worse," Draven said grimly. "I'll make do, but if we're walking into a nest of Abyssal energy, we'll need every advantage we can get.