14 – Under a False Sky

The party moved through a labyrinth of tunnels. Paco sniffed at every junction where neither path gave anything away. He paused, considered, and each time chose a path without hesitation.

The creatures populating the upper level had learned their lesson. Glowing eyes watched them from a safe distance, but none came closer.

“Everything seems quiet after that first fight. Praise be to… uh, Celestine,” Simon muttered. He stumbled over the unfamiliar shape of his own prayer, a habit too deeply ingrained to die, older than his time with this company.

“Yes. My lady Celestine has a certain effect on monsters,” Aury noted, his wings folded neatly as he glided just above the frozen floor. “They must be quite brave, or perhaps just foolish, for anything under [Rank-C] to attack her after she’s shown what she can do.”

Usually, [Rank-B] creatures and above are left stunned. They have a difficult time figuring out how such a delicate frame can contain so much raw power.”

The tunnel opened into an enormous expanse.

The cavern was vast, the ceiling lost somewhere in a lightless vault far above. At the center of the floor, a chasm split the rock. As they moved toward the edge, the ice beneath their boots grew thin. It gave way to polished black stone threaded with blue veins that pulsed with a slow, faint light.

Around the rim, thick green moss had claimed every available surface. Long, fleshy lianas climbed out of the abyss, swaying in a breeze that seemed to rise from the pit itself.

The four of them stood at the edge and looked down into the depths.

“This seems off for a volcano,” Ashley remarked.

“A frozen one at that,” Simon added. He reached out and grabbed a thick liana, pulling hard to test its strength. It held. He tugged a second time just to be sure. “At least we have a way to go down. Let’s get on with it.”

Paco glanced at the drop, then at the steep precipice. His eyes lowered, settling between mockery and compassion. Then he jumped. His comically small wings snapped open and churned with surprising force, carrying him on a wide, spiraling descent into the darkness.

Ashley smirked, stepping off the ledge into the open air.

“[Saint Wings].”

Radiant feathers of solid light spread from her back, casting a warm glow over the dark stone. The magical plumage caught the rising updraft, settling her into a slow, perfectly controlled glide.

“Come on!” Simon shouted from the rim above. “That is just not fair!”

The shout cut off abruptly as two hands closed tightly on his collar. He looked up to find Aury hanging in the air above him, gripping the fabric of his robe with the casual efficiency of a hawk snatching a mouse.

“Need a lift?” Aury asked.

He did not wait for an answer. He dove into the pit at reckless speed as Simon’s terrified screaming filled the shaft. The sound rang off the obsidian walls, reverberating against the rock long after they had vanished into the depths.

Of course he screams. Perfect way to announce us to whatever’s down here.

She glided down the vertical shaft.

The narrow opening eventually ended, spilling her out into a wide, open chamber.

Far below, Paco spiralled toward a lush green forest that stretched for miles in every direction.

She followed the young dragon, gliding through the open air and landing smoothly in a small clearing amidst the dense foliage.

She caressed the pup’s snout. “Good boy.”

The dragon wagged his tail, seemingly delighted by the praise.

Better not to lose you, she thought.

She silently channeled her mana to weave a tracking spell.

[Tracking Rune].

A faint, pulsing silver light shimmered around her fingertips before being transferred to the young dragon. The magic settled directly onto one of his small horns, leaving a permanent glowing dot on her map.

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Simon dropped unceremoniously onto the mossy ground at her side. He was still sighing loudly in obvious protest at his sudden flight.

“Thanks for nothing, Aury,” he said crossly. Then he peered upward. “What is this? A forest under a volcano? I wouldn’t have believed it even if the king himself told me.” His voice was swallowed by the immense space, returning in overlapping layers of echoes. “This chamber is huuuge.”

“There is more,” Ashley replied. She tilted her head back to look up through the dense canopy.

The ceiling was a deep, radiant blue that perfectly mimicked an open sky. That is, if it weren’t for the rampant plants climbing all the way up to the hole in the center. The shaft they had come through.

Up close, the blue effect was created by the same glowing network they had seen threaded through the obsidian above. Here, the web was dense enough to flood the entire underground vault with a wash of cold light.

“The temperature is wrong,” Ashley continued.

“What do you mean, mistress?” Aury asked, drifting down to hover just above the moss.

“To begin with, the air up there is colder, and…” She knelt, pressing her bare palm flat against the damp, mossy earth. An unexpected heat pushed back against her hand, steady and deep. “The ground is warm. Heat is coming from below us.”