Cracking the shell

"What are we even searching for?"

Four more times did Theo stop to wave his hand and magically create a perfectly straight and comfortably wide tunnel. And for all four of those times, every new stretch of the tunnel would align perfectly with the last.

And with over a minute needed to cross from one end of the stretch to the other, Callane finally lost her patience and asked.

Only for Theo to put on a mysterious smile.

"Black gold."

Was his answer, spoken both like the greatest secret but also casually as if it was the most common knowledge in the world.

And yet…

Despite her immense roots in trading and goods processing, this was Callane's first time hearing of such a thing.

Still, while his answer couldn't be any less satisfactory, that smile…?

'For a moment, he looked like Theo again,' Callane thought, gritting her teeth as sharp pain struck her across the chest, prompting the girl to slightly massage her heart.