Crash Landing

The stone beneath their feet was slick with droplets of condensation, soft echoes of their footsteps reverberating against the ancient cavern walls. The air had cooled the deeper they ventured, shifting from warm and sun-kissed near the lagoon's edge to a calm, mineral-scented stillness.

Neither Peroncerea nor Eldrigan had bothered putting their tunics back on, not because of laziness, but because it felt unnecessary. They had stored them in their inventory before stepping foot inside the cavern, choosing the freedom of their swimsuits. Eldrigan walked ahead at first, the soft flex of his back muscles catching her eye now and then, not that she'd ever admit how often she glanced.

It was quiet. Not uncomfortably so, but peaceful. The further they went, the more Peroncerea found herself drawn to the twisting walls and the curious little veins of glittering crystal embedded in the stone. She reached out, brushing her fingers over the surface. The dampness clung to her skin, cool and surprisingly calming.

That was when Eldrigan paused.

"…Huh."

He turned his head back toward her with a raised brow and a smirk forming at the corner of his lips.

"You're glowing."

"What?"

"No, seriously," he laughed, pointing upward. "Your horns. They're glowing."

Peroncerea blinked, then touched her own head and sure enough, her curved black ram horns were softly alight with a white glow. The cave had triggered something in her, a passive tether maybe, something her body decided to do instinctively in low-light environments.

"Are you a torch now?" Eldrigan teased, walking backward to face her, his eyes shining with amusement. "Is that your secret battle tether? Light them to death?"

"Oh shut up," she scoffed, rolling her eyes, but she didn't hide the smile curling at her lips. "I didn't even know I could do this…"

"Looks good on you," he said casually, turning back around, his voice softer now. "It suits you. You should glow more often."

Peroncerea looked down at the slick path under her feet, trying to disguise the rising heat in her cheeks. He always did that. He would toss compliments at her like pebbles into a pond, never knowing how deep the ripples went.

They kept walking, the glow from her horns gently illuminating their path now, casting pale light on the narrow tunnels and the shallow rivulets of water that threaded through the stone.

It was in that silence, in the rhythm of their steps, that she finally said it.

"Hey, Eldrigan."

He glanced over his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"…Back at the lagoon." She kept her eyes ahead. "What you said. About holding back. What… did you really mean by that?"

There was a beat of silence. Then, a long breath escaped him, almost like he'd been expecting the question but wasn't quite ready for it. He admitted as they turned down a narrower path, his voice echoing softly off the cave walls.

"I meant exactly what I said. I've been interested in you for a while now. Since we started leading on the island. Maybe even before that, I don't know. It kind of… snuck up on me."

Peroncerea didn't interrupt. She just listened, her horns glowing quietly in the dark, their footsteps the only background sound.

"But the thing is, you feel the same. I know you do. I've seen the way you look at me when you think I'm not paying attention. And I get it. You don't want to admit it. But… Peron, you can't lie to me. Not about this."

She tensed slightly but didn't argue. Because he was right. As irritating as his insight was, it was accurate.

"I want to be with you, but not now. Not when we're all still in the First Epoch Cycle. Anyone could die at any moment, me, or you. I've seen too many people fall without warning. If we started something now, if I let myself fall all the way into you, then I'd be asking for pain if anything happens. And I wouldn't be able to handle it. I'd be destroyed. And I don't want to do that to you either."

Peroncerea swallowed. Her feet moved on instinct now, following his path even though her heart was tightening with every word.

"I know it sounds cold but it's the right thing to do. We wait. We survive. And then… maybe we see what we're really meant to be."

"…Yeah," she whispered after a long pause. "It sounds cruel, but… you're right."

Eldrigan smiled faintly, glancing back at her.

"That's what I like about you. You get it."

She exhaled hard through her nose, shaking her head.

"Still hurts though."

"Of course it does. But we've endured worse, haven't we?"

Peroncerea didn't answer. But she smiled. Just a little.

They walked in silence for a while longer, the light from her horns flickering across walls that had never known human or Ascendant footsteps. Somewhere deeper in the cave, water was dripping in steady rhythm, like a heartbeat.

Then Eldrigan said, almost too casually.

"Oh, and by the way? You're not the weakest in the Enlightenment."

She frowned. "Yes, I am. Come on, don't try to butter me up."

"Nope. That title goes to Vastarael Richinaria."

"What?! You're kidding. That man gets winded running to breakfast."

"He's not a flashy fighter, yeah. But Peron… he's dangerous."

She narrowed her eyes.

"He's a handsome prince."

"That prince is as powerful as the top three, and I am number three. I've seen him fight and I never want to go against him again without preparation. That kind of power? It's scary because he doesn't flaunt it. You have no idea what he's capable of."

Peroncerea fell quiet, chewing on that thought.

She still didn't believe it. But if Eldrigan said it, there was probably something to it. Vastarael did have that strange stillness sometimes… like he was aware of more than what was in front of him.

They kept walking. The glow from her horns lit their way, not too bright, just enough to keep them close to each other. And though nothing more was said between them for a while, Peroncerea knew something had shifted.

The tremor came without warning.

Dust rained down from the jagged ceiling above them and the walls suddenly shuddered with a raw violence that made the air hum.

"What the—"

Eldrigan's hand instinctively snapped out to grip Peroncerea's wrist.

The next second, the ceiling cracked open with a deafening roar. Chunks of rock tumbled from above. Peroncerea barely had a second to gasp, to look up at the horror and then she was pulled into Eldrigan's arms, his body twisting as he wrapped around her, one arm behind her head, the other flaring with raw energy.

A dome-like shimmer, semi-transparent but with a swirling crimson hue, expanded instantly around them. It screamed against the impact as debris of collapsing cavern exploded against it. But even with the protective barrier, the ground beneath them cracked like a fragile dish, the stone giving way to something far below.

They fell.

Gravity took hold, and the floor crumbled like paper beneath them. Rocks, dust, and the remnants of the Tether's defensive shell scattered as they plummeted into the darkness below.

The descent was brutal. Peroncerea could feel the wind rushing against her ears, her body twisting midair, Eldrigan's arm still half-wrapped around her until he was pulled away by the chaos of freefall.

The crash echoed like thunder in a coffin. The sound of flesh and bone slammed against stone. For what felt like hours, there was only blackness.

°°°°°°

Peroncerea gasped and stirred, the air rattling in her lungs like it had just returned from another realm. Every inch of her ached; her back, her ribs, her skull most of all. Her temple throbbed in pulsing waves like she'd fallen from one of Minafallen Academy's towers and somehow lived through the splatter.

She coughed, groaned, and slowly turned her head, blinking away the dizziness. Light shimmered from her horns.

Then she saw it.

"…Eldrigan?"

He was lying several feet away from her, sprawled against the smooth, dark stone of whatever chamber they had fallen into. And around him was blood. A lot of it.

Her heart stuttered. Panic surged.

"Eldrigan!"

She ran forward with knees that barely held her up. Her hands pressed to the smooth floor, slipping slightly in the blood trailing from his side.

He groaned. She almost cried in relief.

"Don't move! Oh gods, don't... don't you dare—"

But even as she hovered over him, trembling, she noticed something.

His wounds… were closing.

The long gash along his shoulder began to stitch itself together, muscle knitting and sealing, his skin slowly returning to an unmarred state with a faint reddish shimmer. Another cut along his side sealed shut with a hiss of glowing steam, as if time itself had been pressed into fast-forward. The blood flow stopped, and his breathing evened, but he was alive.

"…What the hell…"

Fast healing wasn't unheard of. Among Ascenders and certain bloodlines, accelerated recovery was a mark of strength. But this wasn't just fast. This was the kind of regeneration that whispered of something ancient moving under his skin.

Still, he was pale. Strong as he was, even he wasn't invincible.

His eyes fluttered open. He looked at her and smirked weakly.

"Told you I was number three."

"Shut up," she snapped, blinking through the mess of tears threatening to fall. "You idiot. I thought you were... I thought you were—"

"If I hadn't used my Tether, we'd be shards right now."

"What do you mean?"

"That rocks that fell?" he muttered, wincing as he sat up slightly. "It wasn't ordinary. It had… Letian Diamond in it."

Peroncerea froze.

Letian Diamond. A cursed mineral found only in the deepest rifts of dead zones across the world. A substance so volatile that even minor exposure could crystalize flesh, blood and soul. It turns living beings into fragile glass statues that were forever dead.

"I took the hit. Used the Tether as a buffer. But if I hadn't—"

"You saved me," she whispered.

He looked at her softly despite the pain.

"Of course I did."

Her arms moved before her mind did. She wrapped herself around him, burying her face against his neck, her breath warm against his skin.

"Thank you. Thank you…"

Eldrigan grunted softly, his arms rising to return the hug, one hand pressed gently to her back, the other settling near her shoulder, fingers brushing the strands of her wet hair.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then he looked up. He pulled back slightly.

"Peron."

"What?"

"Your horns…"

She glanced up instinctively and realized they were glowing brighter than before. The soft white glow was reflecting across the stone around them and suddenly, the darkness began to recede.

They were in a hall.

It was a massive, forgotten place buried beneath the earth. Columns carved with runes spiraled up into unseen heights. The floor, though cracked and worn with time, was smooth and reflective, almost like onyx. Arches curved above them like the ribs of a fallen beast. Peroncerea blinked in wonder.

"…What is this place?"

Eldrigan leaned slightly on her for balance as he stood. He gazed around slowly, eyes narrowed in shock.

"Looks like we just found something we weren't supposed to."