Page 27

I awoke with a start, my head pounding and my mouth dry as sand. Blinking rapidly, I tried to focus on my surroundings. The oppressive darkness of the Whispering Woods was gone, replaced by dappled sunlight filtering through a canopy of normal-looking leaves.

“He’s awake,” I heard Kai’s relieved voice nearby.

Groaning, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. My whole body ached, as if I’d been thrown from a cliff. The others were gathered around me, their faces a mix of concern and exhaustion.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Kuro quipped, though his usual sarcasm was subdued.

“How... how long was I out?” I croaked, my throat raw.

“A few hours,” Rhia answered, her strong hands helping me sit up fully. “We made it to the clearing just as your spell gave out. You’ve been unconscious ever since.”

I looked around, taking in our new surroundings. We were indeed in a small clearing, the twisted trees of the Whispering Woods visible at its edges but not encroaching on the space. The air felt lighter here, easier to breathe.

“The shadows?” I asked, a note of panic in my voice.

“Gone, for now,” Sky growled, his blue eyes fixed on the treeline. “They can’t enter this clearing. Some kind of old magic keeps them at bay.”

Kai knelt beside me, offering a waterskin. “Here, drink this. You need to regain your strength.”

I took it gratefully, gulping down the cool water. As the fog in my mind began to clear, I realized just how close we had come to disaster. The memory of those shadowy figures and their insidious whispers sent a shiver down my spine.

“That was some spell, Oliver,” Kai said softly, his warm brown eyes meeting mine. “You saved us all.”

I felt a flush of embarrassment at his praise. “I... It didn’t even work fully,” I mumbled, looking down at my quaking hands.

Sky approached, his tail swishing behind him.

“It more than worked,” he said gruffly. “Without that barrier, we wouldn’t have made it out of there.

” His blue eyes softened slightly as he pulled a dull blue potion from his pocket and handed it to me.

I knew it on sight as a mana recovery potion. “You did good, Oliver. Really good.”

Coming from Sky, that was high praise indeed.

I felt my heart leap to my throat as his words settled on my ears.

Turning away as the heat flushed to my cheeks, I uncapped the potion and tipped it back, swallowing it in one go.

I felt a sudden warmth spread through my chest, one that had nothing to do with my recovering magic.

Something about the softness in Sky’s eyes as I turned back to him made my stomach flutter in all the right ways.

I was surprised I had the strength to even feel such things at the moment.

Mira timidly approached, her blue hair disheveled and her eyes wide. “T-thank you, Oliver,” she said softly. “I... I don’t know what I would have done if...”

I gave her a weak smile. “We all did our part.”

Rhia nodded in agreement, her dark eyes scanning the clearing. “We’re a good team. But we’re not out of danger yet.”

She was right. Though the immediate threat had passed, we were still deep in the Whispering Woods. The twisted trees at the edge of the clearing seemed to loom closer, their branches skeletal and threatening.

“We need to keep moving,” Sky said, his ears twitching. “This clearing won’t protect us forever.”

Kai helped me to my feet, his hand lingering on my arm. “Are you sure we shouldn’t go back?” he asked, looking to Sky. “We can’t avoid the whispers for long. Where are we even going?”

“There are ruins at the center of the woods,” Sky explained, his body tense as he looked through the trees. “The whispers don’t go there.”

“Why not?” I asked, getting my feet under me at last.

“I don’t know,” Sky said, shaking his head. “I just know they don’t go there. Sometimes there are strong monsters there, but they can be avoided. However, there is an entrance to a dungeon of some sort.” He was quiet for a moment, looking at each of us in turn. “One no one has ever come out of.”

The weight of Sky’s words hung heavily in the air.

I felt a chill run down my spine at the thought of a dungeon so dangerous that it consumed all who entered.

Then again, a powerful monster lurking in the ruins could take us out just as easily.

The others exchanged uneasy glances, the gravity of our situation sinking in.

We didn’t have time to question Sky about where he got that knowledge, but I knew, when we did, it wouldn’t be a happy story.

“A dungeon no one’s survived?” Kuro broke the silence, his usual bravado faltering. “Maybe we should reconsider this whole mission.”

“We can’t turn back now,” Kai said firmly, though I could see the concern in his eyes. “The RSB has given us a mission. I have a feeling that if we don’t at least bring something back from the ruins, they won’t believe we actually made it there in the first place.”

Sky nodded, his blue eyes hard. “It’s our only option. The whispers will drive us mad if we try to go back the way we came. At least in the ruins, we’ll have a chance to think and recover. But we will not be going in that dungeon under any circumstances.”

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the fear rising in my throat.

The thought of facing more of those shadow creatures made my skin crawl, but the alternative - succumbing to the maddening whispers - was even worse.

Then again, we had no choice but to enter the ruins.

Captain Boromia had been clear, the skill books were there, buried within them.

I had no doubt that they were probably in the dungeon itself.

“How far are the ruins?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.

Sky’s ears twitched as he considered. “A few hours’ walk, if we’re lucky. But we need to move quickly. The shadows will regroup soon.”

Kai nodded, his jaw set with determination. “Then we’d better get moving. Oliver, are you up for this?”

I took a deep breath, assessing my strength. The rest had helped, but I still felt drained from the powerful spell. The potion recovered my mana, but it didn’t heal the ache filling me from head to toe. Still, I knew I had to push through. “I’ll manage,” I said, forcing a smile.

Rhia stepped closer, her muscular frame imposing yet reassuring. “I’ll help you if you need it,” she said, her voice soft but firm.

I nodded gratefully, touched by her offer.

Despite her threatening visage, she was always the first to offer help.

As we prepared to leave the relative safety of the clearing, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of dread and determination.

The twisted trees at the edge seemed to loom closer, waiting for us to enter.

Sky took point once again, his keen senses on high alert. Kai stayed close to me, ready to offer support if I faltered. Mira clutched her wand tightly, her eyes darting nervously from tree to tree. Kuro brought up the rear, his hand never leaving the hilt of his sword.

As we stepped back into the shadows of the Whispering Woods, the air immediately grew thick and oppressive. The whispers started again, and I felt myself clutch my staff harder, muttering another prayer to the god of the Twilight.

I hoped I’d live to see an end to this darkness.