Verdamona stirred awake to the muted crackle of the burning mushroom in front of her. Her eyes fluttered open and for a moment she didn't know where she was. The air was warmer than before. The ground not as cold.
She pushed herself up, brushing stray strands of hair off her face. Thales was asleep, his back against a smooth boulder. She looked at him for a moment. It was strange how relaxed he seemed even in a place that could swallow them whole. Not that she was any different...
Her gaze dropped to the pile of rations they'd eaten earlier, wrappers neatly tucked into one corner. Her waterproof backpack was beside it. When she stood, she realized her shirt had dried up. The heat from the burning mushrooms had done its job well. Her pants were still damp, spread on a rock not far from the fire. So, she slipped on only her T-shirt and decided to walk around. The cavern was enormous, the ceiling lost somewhere in the gloom above.
It didn't feel dangerous and that was what bothered her. Her instincts, the ones that usually screamed when something was wrong for a Combat Fluxer, were silent. She tilted her head, looking around at the glowing mushrooms that dotted the ground and the walls. She noticed something strange. The mushrooms weren't scattered randomly. They formed a path deeper into the cavern.
"That's… weird."
Her hand brushed against her hip and the whip materialized in a faint shimmer. It always felt better having it there. With slow steps, she followed the glowing trail.
Minutes passed, maybe ten. She couldn't tell time down here, same as the desert. The path opened up. It was a clearing, almost circular. In the center, a was a shallow clear pond. Floating above it was a sword.
The blade glowed faintly azure. The hilt was sculpted like intertwined vines of gold, forming what seemed to be an intricate crown around the pommel. It radiated beauty and dread at the same time.
"The Azure Sword…"
It was as mythical as she had heard but seeing it was not quite what she expected. It was longer than a longsword and the blade looked broader. It was more like something that didn't belong in mortal hands.
Her steps drew closer to the pond when a voice spoke behind her.
"It's a trap."
Verdamona spun so fast she nearly tripped, her whip snapping forward before she realized who it was.
"Thales! You scared the shit out of me!"
He was standing just a few steps behind her, barefoot, shirtless and his platinum hair damp and tousled.
"Didn't mean to. But you were about to walk into a death sentence."
She pointed the whip at him in annoyance. "What do you mean a death sentence? That's the Azure Sword! We're supposed to retrieve it!"
"Yeah, but you do that, and the entire ceiling's gonna come down on us."
"How would you even know that?"
"You don't know how to sense Xana signatures and frequencies?"
Her silence was answer enough.
"Thought so. Alright, come here. I'll show you."
She hesitated, but curiosity won over. When she stepped beside him, he crouched and tapped two fingers under his eyes. "Infuse Xana here. Don't overdo it, or you'll burn your corneas."
"That's not exactly comforting."
"It's fine. You'll only go blind for a few hours if you mess up."
"Thales!"
He chuckled, the sound echoing faintly off the cavern walls.
"Relax. You're not going to mess up. Just focus. Channel it the same way you do for your whip, but direct it to your sight instead."
It took her several tries. Her hands trembled, her focus slipping more than once. Then suddenly, everything shifted. The air seemed to shimmer. The pond glowed. Around the Azure Sword were hundreds of threads made of luminous blue and gold energy, spreading outward like spider webs.
"What… is that?"
"That's the trap. The entire cavern's wired with Xana. Look closer."
Verdamona did and saw it clearly now. Threads of Xana connected everything to the sword.
"It's… connected to the whole cave."
"Exactly. If we pull that sword out, the network collapses. All those threads will snap at once and the cavern will fall with it. We are going to be crushed under about a thousand tons of rock of we take it."
Verdamona's shoulders sank. "So we can't take it?"
"Oh we're taking it. We just have to figure out how to do it without dying."
Verdamona shot him a look. "That's your idea of a plan? 'Figure it out before dying'?"
"It's worked so far. Too bad the stars aren't here to show us."
She groaned, rubbing her temples. The Xana threads continued to pulse in her sight. She looked at the sword again.
"It's beautiful though. Even if it might kills us."
"Yeah it is. You ever notice how traps like this always hide beauty behind danger?"
She smirked faintly. "Maybe because danger makes beauty look more real."
"That's poetic. You write that down somewhere?"
"I'll whip you with it if you keep talking."
He stepped past her, walking slowly toward the edge of the pond, his bare feet making no sound.
"Alright. Let's test something. If this thing's alive, maybe we can trick it."
Verdamona followed him, still uneasy but strangely drawn in. She didn't know whether she should trust the calm in his voice or the chaos in her gut but either way, she knew that this was his trial. Hers was waiting for her above.
Thales lowered himself slowly to the damp stone floor, right by the edge of the glowing pond. He sat cross-legged, his spine straight and hands resting loosely on his knees. He was in a lotus position so natural it was almost ritualistic. For a second, she thought he was meditating but saw Xana around them being drawn toward him.
"Thales… what are you doing?"
He didn't answer at first. The threads kept moving toward him, faintly vibrating, until the glow around the Azure Sword dimmed slightly.
"Absorbing it."
"Absorbing it? You're absorbing Xana? From the sword?"
"Not from it. Around it. It's different."
Verdamona crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one leg. "That doesn't explain anything, you know."
"The Azure Sword is emitting its own signature. The entire cavern's reacting to that signature. It's like a heartbeat that keeps this whole place alive. The mushrooms, the walls, even the air itself, they're all tuned to it. If I can sync my Xana with that signature, then maybe I can become an extension of it. I can be the anchor that replaces the sword when it's removed."
Verdamona blinked. "Wait wait, you're saying you're going to become one with it? You?"
"It's worth a try. Someone has to hold the structure together. Might as well be me."
"You can't just... Thales, that's not how energy works! You can't replace an ancient artifact with your body and hope for the best!"
"You'd be surprised of how many House techniques we have that we don't show the world."
Verdamona groaned, dragging a hand down her face. "You're unbelievable."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
He shrugged slightly, still perfectly centered, still drawing in threads of Xana that swirled gently toward him.
"So what, you're just going to sit there and do that?"
"For a few days, yeah."
"A few days?"
"Absorbing Xana this dense takes time. If I rush it, it'll tear me apart. But if I take it slow, I can resonate with it."
"You make it sound like tuning an instrument."
"That's not too far off. The sword's singing, and I'm learning the melody. This is the only way we can touch that thing without dying."
Verdamona crouched beside him, peering at his still form.
"You're seriously not worried? There could be… I don't know, cave creatures, poisonous spores, glowing... whatever those mushrooms are."
"Not to worry. There are no creatures or danger. The mushrooms are harmless unless you eat them. They release a mild tranquilizer if chewed, nothing lethal."
"You tried one?"
He smiled. "Curiosity. Besides, this place is peaceful. You feel it too, don't you?"
Verdamona hesitated. The cavern didn't feel threatening. If anything, it felt oddly alive.
"Yeah… but it's weird. Too peaceful, actually."
"Then let it wait. We'll figure it out when the time comes."
She looked at him for a long moment. The air shimmered faintly around him. He looked detached from the world. She didn't know whether to admire it or punch him for it.
"So, what am I supposed to do while you're here being a mystical statue?"
"Look around. There's always more to a trial than what's shown. This sword isn't the only piece of the puzzle. There'll be sigils, or maybe even inscriptions hidden under the fungi. Find them."
"Any hint where to start?"
"Follow the mushrooms. They don't grow randomly."
"That's your grand wisdom?"
"Works better than yours usually does."
"Oh, so you're calling my dumb now?"
He didn't answer this time. His breathing slowed further. The Xana threads moved in rhythm now, spiraling toward him in soft, glowing rings. His focus was absolute. His consciousness was somewhere else entirely. For a moment, she considered shaking him, yelling something sarcastic just to see if he'd break his focus but she didn't. Instead, she stood there a while longer, watching.
"Fine. Be the anchor, then."
Her bare feet made soft splashes as she turned and walked back down the mushroom-lit path. She could still feel the Xana vibrating faintly under her skin, echoing with Thales's rhythm. When she reached the campsite, she dropped onto her pack with a sigh, staring into the faint flicker of the mushroom fire. The warmth brushed her face. She glanced back once toward the tunnel she had come from.
"Don't die, you idiot. You still owe me a real plan. My trial is above me and I can't survive it alone."