THE... REALITY?

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Vvh asks, following the child in front of her. He turns to her, nervous, and nods. "There's a place where there are more dust and mushrooms, and—some of us usually come here, but it's mostly me because there's a pit," he explains, wringing his hands together anxiously.

"Where—where is the other lady? She looks really sick… like, um… like my mother," he mumbles meekly, his head lowered. 

Vvh moves forward without sparing him a glance. "There's the pit! Be careful!" he warns, almost tipping over the edge. He lets out a small shout until Vvh pulls the back of his shirt and yanks him back.

"I think you should be the one that is careful," Vvh retorts, watching the child blush furiously, his face red with embarrassment. "How do we go down the pit? It's likely she took a tumble down, with the blood leading here," Vvh asks, trying to suppress her growing worry.

Sponge's flashlight barely pierces through the darkness, and the axe she holds in her other hand feels heavy. What had she done? Why is there blood?

Vvh swallows heavily, resisting the urge to sigh. She turns to the child, who is carefully moving to the side, reaching over the wall to tug at a dirty rope. 

"We— we use the rope to climb down. Be careful, it's really high, and if your friend fell here, it's most likely she's—um…" He hesitates.

"Dead?" Vvh asks, and the child flinches, shaking his head.

"Injured! Not—not dead… hopefully," he corrects, his voice weakening as Vvh grabs the rope from his hands. "Th-there were stairs back then, but it was broken when the miners realized the cave was creating the dust," the child mumbles, twirling his finger as he watches Vvh wrap the rope around her hand. She turns toward him.

"I need you down there, climb my back," she instructed. The child hastily nodded, stepping closer as Vvh bent her knees, allowing him to wrap his arms around her neck before they dropped down into the pit.

The pit was dark. The light could barely pierce through the shadows, and that worried Vvh. If Sponge was alive and awake, would she be around here? Had she tried to leave the pit?

"Aside from the rope, are there any tunnels to escape this pit?" Vvh asked, swinging the flashlight left to right. She wished Sponge had bought a better one than this flimsy clip-on light. 

Behind her, the child clung to her pants, slightly afraid. Vvh wondered if he really frequented this place, given how scared he seemed.

"I thought you wouldn't be afraid by now; haven't you come here often?" Vvh inquired, watching as the child nodded.

"Y-Yes, but I'm afraid your friend might be under the influence of the dust. What if she goes crazy? I—I don't want to die!" he whimpered, sniffing pitifully. Vvh stifled a sigh.

"I doubt that," Vvh replied, shaking her head. "How would you know? I don't think you understand the effects of the dust... You won't know what's real or what's not. It's—it's like being in a dream," he murmured as she continued walking.

They came to a stop when Vvh spotted a familiar axe. She paused for a moment before rushing over to pick it up. 

Now she had found the weapon, yet the owner was still missing. 

"Have you met anyone who went crazy because of the dust?" Vvh asked, hoping her question would distract the trembling child behind her, who was so focused on clenching her pants that she feared he might rip them by accident.

"Y-Yes, some get so addicted that they ask for more; they're terrifying," he said, swallowing hard as Vvh aimed the light at the walls, shaking her head when it barely pierced through the darkness.

How does the child even see in here?

"Is she really here?" the child asked, looking around. He let out a small noise when he noticed a weird lump in the dark, almost like a stone—or perhaps human. "There!" he yelled, pointing in that direction. Vvh snapped her head toward it and directed the light where he was pointing.

It was Sponge, curled up on her side, her back facing them.

Vvh barely had time to think; in a split second, she was beside her student, kneeling and flipping her onto her back. Vvh slid her arm under Sponge's back and aimed the light at her face.

"May God help her," the child whimpered as they were met with Sponge's pale face, her eyes open yet glazed. Vvh bit her lip, placing a hand over Sponge's neck, then let out a small, shaky breath when she felt a weak pulse.

"There's so much blood! Is she dead?" the child whimpered, noticing the dried blood on the ground. He swallowed hard when he saw her crooked leg. "Her leg is broken," he added unhelpfully as Vvh lowered Sponge back down and handed the child her light.

"Hold this, now. I need to see her wounds," Vvh ordered. The child nodded, grabbing the flashlight from her hands as Vvh quickly slipped off Sponge's hoodie, tossing it aside.

Her eyes narrowed at the suspicious slice on Sponge's stomach—the blood had not yet dried, but it had stopped flowing. It looked disturbingly like someone had used a sword on her. But who? Vvh racked her brain; she had only seen the child and Sponge. Who would hurt her?

Without hesitation, Vvh ripped Sponge's hoodie, wrapping it around her stomach. Sponge let out a whimper, her body shaking as Vvh tightened the fabric, eliciting a loud pained groan from her.

Next, Vvh moved to assess Sponge's leg. Thankfully, there was no bone protruding. 

The leg was crooked, but it appeared only to be at an odd angle. Slowly, she pulled up Sponge's pants to reveal a large dark bruise marring her thigh down to her ankle.

Behind her, the child let out a small whimper. "It's not broken, but it's extremely bruised. She must have hit her leg when she fell," Vvh informed him, unsure why she was explaining it to him; the child didn't know Sponge. Perhaps she was just trying to reassure herself. If she hadn't left Sponge alone, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

"We'll have to get her to a doctor," Vvh said, glancing back at the child. "The next town is miles away."

"The-there is a doctor who lives nearby… She—she's been trying to cleanse this cave for a while because of… um, the dark magic that was used," the child said meekly.

Vvh turned back to Sponge, whose eyes remained glazed, staring blankly. She could barely hear her breath, and her fingers twitched every few seconds. "Lead me to her, now," Vvh ordered, and the child nodded.

—

The doctor was a woman named Sarnai; her hair was white as snow, and her eyes looked dark, as if she had seen the worst of the world.

"Will she be okay?" Vvh asked, hovering beside the bed. Sponge's eyes were now closed. Vvh watched Sarnai, who muttered chants under her breath, her hand resting on Sponge's head.

"Shhh, don't bother her for now," the child said, tugging at Vvh's sleeve to pull her away.

Vvh stared at Sarnai, then at Sponge. Something tugged at her heart as she looked at her. Vvh averted her gaze—somehow, it felt like a sin to do so.

She followed the child, who led her to a chair outside the room. "Sarnai is not your typical doctor… she's a witch… that heals!" the child exclaimed.

"A mage," Vvh murmured, turning to stare at the doorway, hearing Sarnai's chanting.

"So that's what you call them? Mage does sound cooler," the child replied.

Vvh didn't respond; her hands were clasped together as she focused on the door. Somehow, this scene felt familiar. She remembered her heart beating loudly—she could barely hear her surroundings, and the cries of pain as they tried to heal his wounds.

"Mask lady? Can I ask you your name? You can call me Mun," he says, pointing at himself. Vvh doesn't spare him a glance. Mun pouts, wringing his hands nervously and swinging his legs. 

His height is small for his age, and sitting on the chair, he can barely reach the ground.

"I guess you're not much of a talker if it's not about your friend," Mun murmurs. "I wonder who could have hurt her? There was no one else in the cave."

Vvh tilts her head down, pondering the same question. She should have seen them; she was the first one in the cave before she eventually got out.

 The problem is, she doesn't even remember going out. The dust must have made her memory hazy. It's strange for her to be the only one outside while Sponge continued on.

Unless, of course, Sponge was being reckless again, which wouldn't surprise Vvh. Even sick, Sponge could still win a fight; she was strong enough. Vvh made sure of that.

She feels Mun's gaze on her. "Do you think—" he starts, but then Sarnai exits the room, wiping her bloodied hands. She turns to Vvh and gives her a nod.

"The dust no longer affects her; her wounds are now properly cleaned and wrapped. Unfortunately, I'm quite old, and I can't heal anything other than her wound on her arm. Her leg stays splinted, and her stomach is wrapped," she says.

Vvh stands, giving a thankful nod. She would have preferred Sponge to be fully healed, but this is an improvement.

 "Her fever still rages on. The combination of the dark magic and the mushroom from that cave does exactly that. Mun, you should never let your sister eat it," she says, turning to Mun, who wilts under her gaze.

"We don't exactly have any food to eat," he mumbles, looking guilty as Sarnai sighs and shakes her head softly. "You people—depending on such magic for happiness, I don't know what to do with you all," she clicks her tongue before turning to Vvh.

"When will she wake up?" Vvh asks. Sanria only sighs, shrugging. 

"It's hard to know. The dark magic is no longer at work, but she could still be trapped in her own mind. I've healed many people from this condition; some don't wake up, while others take at least a few weeks. All we can do is talk to her and hope she comes back," Sanria says, turning to Mun.

"And you, let's talk. Miss Outsider, you can take the couch in your friend's room and rest. Mun and I need to talk for a moment."

Vvh nods in response.