Page 9 of World of the Forgotten (World of the Forgotten #1)

The Cave

“ W ell?!” Kuro barked. “What the fuck do we do now?” He walked over to the wall, kicking one of the loose stones before he slumped down onto the ground. “Dammit…”

Mira, who was trembling as she held her wand aloft, spoke next. “I’m g-gonna run out of mana,” she whispered.

No sooner had the words left her lips than the spell burned out, plunging us all into darkness. I heard Mira whimper, but I knew Rhia was right next to her. Kai wasn’t far from me, and Kuro was only a few feet away. As long as we stayed close to the wall and nobody went wandering, we’d be fine.

“Too bad I didn’t pack a flashlight,” Kai said, the tone of a smile in his voice. But then he paused, whispering to himself, “Flashlight?”

Using words from our past lives was happening less and less the longer we were in Cindersea, but the feeling of forgetfulness never lost its bite.

The word sounded so familiar to me too, but the more I thought about it, the more its meaning slipped away until I was left with nothing more than a hollow echo inside my head.

I’d asked Kai and the others about it as well and they all had the same reaction. It was so irritating.

I heard Kai shuffling closer to me, his hand brushing against my arm as he found his way in the darkness. “Listen,” he said softly, his voice carrying a calm that seemed to settle over our group like a warm blanket. “We’re going to be okay. We just need to think this through.”

Kuro scoffed, but I could hear the fear beneath his bravado. “Think what through? We’re trapped in a pitch-black dungeon with no light and no way out.”

“There’s always a way out,” Kai replied, his tone gentle but firm. “We just haven’t found it yet.”

I felt Kai’s hand on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Mira,” he called out, “how long until you can cast another light spell?”

“I-I don’t know,” Mira’s voice quavered in the darkness. “I need to eat and rest for a while to recover my mana.”

“How about you, Oliver?”

“Same thing,” I replied. “And I can’t make light. I can only heal.”

“Fat lot of help you are,” Kuro scoffed.

“I didn’t hear you complaining when I was healing your wounds.”

“You call that healing? You barely helped at all!”

“I don’t see you bleeding anymore!”

“None of us can see shit, smartass!”

“Enough,” Kai said, cutting us both off. “It’s not Oliver’s fault. We’re all new at this and clerics only get one spell to start. Mages get three, so we’ll have to lean on you Mira, if that’s alright.”

“O-okay,” Mira stammered, her voice small in the darkness. “I’ll do my best.”

I heard Rhia’s soft footsteps as she moved closer to Mira. “It’s alright,” she murmured. “We believe in you.”

The tension in the air was palpable, but Kai’s calm presence seemed to anchor us all. “For now,” he said, “let’s focus on what we can do. We need to conserve our energy and stay together. Rhia, there should be some rations in our bag for Mira. Oliver, can you sense anything with your abilities?”

I closed my eyes, though it made little difference in the pitch black.

Concentrating, I tried to reach out with my newfound cleric powers.

One of the gifts initiates were granted was the ability to sense life.

It was less of a spell and more of an innate ability.

“I... I think I can feel everyone’s life force,” I said slowly.

“It’s faint, but it’s there. Like little flames in the darkness. ”

“Good,” Kai replied, “Do you feel any other life forms in the cavern with us?”

It was an odd request and not one that I’d tried before.

My initial training taught me how to feel a person’s life force and mold it for healing.

It never mentioned anything about expanding my awareness in a perceptive capacity.

But then again, that wasn’t that different, right?

If I could sense a party member, why not a monster ?

I took a deep breath, focusing on expanding my awareness beyond our small group. At first, there was nothing but the void of darkness, but then... a flicker.

“Wait,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I think I feel something. It’s... different from us. Colder. Less aware.”

Kai’s grip on my shoulder tightened slightly. “Where?”

I turned my head, trying to pinpoint the source. “To the left, I think. Maybe... thirty feet away? It’s hard to tell.”

“Good work, Oliver,” Kai said, his voice low but encouraging. “Everyone, stay quiet and still. We don’t know what it is or if it’s aware of us.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

I could hear the rapid beating of my own heart, the shallow breathing of my companions.

The cold stone beneath us seemed to leech away any warmth, and I shivered involuntarily.

Kai’s hand squeezed my shoulder again, a silent reminder that we weren’t alone in this darkness.

“Okay,” Kai whispered after what felt like an eternity. “We need a plan. Oliver, can you still sense that... thing?”

I focused again, reaching out with my senses. “Yes,” I murmured. “It hasn’t moved. It feels... dormant, maybe?”

“That’s good,” Kai replied. “At least it’s not actively hunting us. Mira, how are you doing? Think you can manage a small light spell soon?”

I heard Mira swallow hard before answering. “I-I think so. Just give me a few more minutes.”

“Take your time,” Kai assured her. “We don’t want you to overexert yourself.”

As we waited in tense silence, I felt a sudden chill run down my spine. The dormant presence I had sensed earlier was stirring.

“Guys,” I whispered urgently, “something’s happening. The thing I sensed - it’s waking up.”

I heard Kuro curse under his breath, and Mira let out a small whimper.

Kai’s voice remained steady, though I could detect a hint of concern. “Oliver, can you tell us more? Is it moving?”

I concentrated harder, pushing my newfound ability to its limits. “It’s... it’s getting stronger. More aware. And yes, I think it’s starting to move. Slowly, but... it’s coming this way.”

“Shit,” Kuro hissed. “We’re sitting ducks here!”

“Everyone, stay calm,” Kai whispered firmly. “Panicking won’t help us. Oliver, keep tracking it. Mira, we need that light spell as soon as you can manage it.”

I felt Kai shift beside me, his hand moving from my shoulder to grip my arm. “Oliver, I need you to guide us. Can you lead us away from that thing without running into any walls?”

My heart was pounding, but I nodded before remembering he couldn’t see me. “I-I think I can lead us away, but I can’t sense the walls. And what if it hears us moving?”

“We’ll have to risk it,” Kai replied. “Better than waiting here for it to find us.”

Slowly, carefully, we began to move. I led the way, one hand on the wall, the other held out behind me for Kai to hold on to.

I could sense the others forming a chain behind us, moving as quietly as possible in the darkness.

The presence I had sensed was growing stronger, more defined.

It felt alien and cold, sending shivers down my spine with each passing moment.

I’d never felt anything like it, and I had no idea what it might be.

“It’s moving faster now,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “We need to hurry.”

We picked up our pace, shuffling along the wall as quickly as we dared. The rough stone scraped against my palm, but I didn’t dare let go. It was our only guide in the lightless maze.

Suddenly, Mira’s voice came from behind us, trembling but determined. “I-I think I can manage a small light now. Should I try?”

Kai hesitated for a moment before responding. “Do it. We need to see where we’re going.”

I heard Mira take a deep breath, then whisper a few arcane words. A soft, pale blue light bloomed from her wand, casting long shadows across the cavern walls. The sudden illumination was almost painful after the absolute darkness, and I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust.

As my eyes focused, I saw the relief on my companions’ faces. But that relief quickly turned to horror as we all realized what the light had revealed.

The cavern stretched out before us, its walls glistening with moisture. And there, not twenty feet away, was the source of the presence I’d been sensing. I cried out and backed away, leaning against Kai.

But then we all stopped and took a second look as it got closer.

What we thought was some terrifying monster turned out to be nothing but a tiny gelatinous form slowly moving our way.

Floating in the jelly were the half-dissolved remains of what looked to be rats or insects, but nothing terribly large.

“That’s it?” Kuro scoffed. “That’s what we’re running from? A fucking slime? ”

I felt my face flush with embarrassment. “I... I guess so. It felt so much bigger and scarier in the dark.”

Kai chuckled softly, patting my shoulder. “It’s alright, Oliver. Better safe than sorry. And your ability to sense it was still incredibly useful.”

Mira giggled nervously, her wand still glowing softly. “It is kind of cute, in a gross sort of way.”

Rhia stepped forward, peering at the small creature. “I’ve read about these during my training. They’re called Lesser Slimes. They’re not very dangerous unless you’re asleep or incapacitated.”

Kuro snorted, kicking a small stone towards the gelatinous blob. It jiggled slightly as the stone bounced off its surface. “Well, that was anticlimactic. So much for our big dungeon adventure.” He pulled out his sword and with one swift movement, cut the slime in half.

Everyone gasped as the other half plopped onto the ground with a splat.

For a moment I thought it was going to melt into the stone and trickle away like a puddle of water.

But then the two halves began to quake and roil.

A second later they both pulled themselves back into the slime’s original shape.

Except this time, they were half the size, but both moving independently of one another.