"Naissaich…"
Rosa murmurs softly. The pitch-black veil around her begins to fade as her eyes glow with a faint layer of bluish hue. The dug walls of the cave slowly sharpen into view — packed dirt and stone, uneven, the air still thick with drifting dust. The narrow passage ahead looks almost suffocating.
"Naissaich," Lilia echoes. Her green eyes shimmer with the same light.
"You don't have to use it too," Rosa says flatly.
Lilia opens her mouth, but stops when she sees Rosa crouch down. The glow fades from Lilia's eyes as she cancels her spell.
Rosa rummages through her bag. Metal clasps and glass clink softly until her hand closes around a small lantern with a single glyph inside of the glass chamber. She takes a mana stone from her pouch — its surface pulsing with a dull blue glow — and slots it into the lantern's base.
A soft hum fills the air as the glyphs come alive, blooming with white-blue light that spills across the cave. Shadows stretch, retreating into the corners.
Rosa squints forward, following the faint footprints leading deeper into the tunnel. With the lantern lit, she releases her spell — the brightness remains steady.
"Sharvessaich…" she whispers, her pupils sharpening as the world gains crisp focus again.
Lilia steps up beside her. "Sooo, still planning to look for them?" she asks, leaning into Rosa's line of sight with that teasing grin of hers.
Rosa shakes her head. "As much as I want to, if we don't know where the exit is, then we're as lost as they are. Even if we find them, we'll still be trapped down here looking for a way out." Her voice drops, quiet but pointed. "Worse, if all we find are their remains."
Lilia groans, throwing her arms up. "You don't have to say it like that!" She turns away, glaring at the rubble sealing the entrance.
"If you're so worried about the exit," she says, brightening again, "why don't I just blow the rubble like before? Problem solved!"
Rosa's expression flattens. Lilia's grin widens, her hands already curling into eager fists — like a child waiting for approval.
Rosa exhales sharply. "How about you think for a second? If you blow it up and open the entrance again, what happens next?"
Lilia tilts her head, humming as she taps her chin. "Uh… we can go in and out freely?"
"I wish," Rosa says dryly. She points to the wooden support beam half-buried in the dirt. "That pillar would collapse — and the ceiling with it. We'd be buried alive."
Lilia follows her finger, freezing as realization sets in. A bead of sweat forms at her temple. "Ahh… ahahaha… I guess that slipped my mind."
"Glad you get it. But next time, try suggesting something that doesn't kill us." Rosa softens her tone slightly. "Still — good that you didn't act on it immediately."
Lilia looks away, pouting. "I wasn't gonna—"
Rosa narrows her eyes, her suspicion clear. "…You were about to, weren't you?"
"N-no I wasn't!" Lilia blurts, voice cracking slightly.
Rosa sighs, rubbing her forehead. "Lilia. If you plan something, tell me first. We'll check it together, make sure it's not reckless. Deal?"
She offers her hand. After a brief pause, Lilia nods and takes it.
"Just to be clear," Rosa adds, "no explosions while we're in the cave. That glove of yours is off-limits."
Lilia pouts again. "You don't have to tell m—" she stops, her voice softening. "Actually… yeah. Remind me again later. Thanks."
She exhales a long breath, pressing her gloved hands against her chest. Rosa's expression eases a little in the pale glow of the lantern.
"Don't worry," she says quietly. "You'll get to use it — once we're out of here."
Lilia's expression brightens again, her usual grin returning.
"Well, guess I'll save the fireworks for the celebration then! As for the plan—how about we draw a map? We can mark the walls with scratches, or tie something to the support pillars so we don't get lost. What do you think?"
Rosa exhales, more in relief than amusement. Lilia's back to her usual self — and, for once, she's thinking clearly.
"That's… actually a decent idea. Then for the route, we follow the footprints."
Lilia arches a brow. "Didn't you just say we should find the exit first?"
Rosa nods. "I did."
She briefly glances toward the jade staff she picked up earlier, now etched on her back.
"If they were strong enough to deal with the hermits, then the path they took is probably clear. It'll save us time."
Lilia smirks, the kind of look that always spells trouble.
"Hmmm… that's a funny way to say you actually care about them. You don't have to hide it, you know?"
"I—That's not— I mean…" Rosa stammers, words tangling as heat rises in her face. She yanks her hood lower, hiding the flush that betrays her.
"I'm just thinking of the most efficient route…"
Lilia's grin widens. "To save them?" she teases, tone lilting.
"We're moving on," Rosa declares abruptly, stepping ahead with brisk precision.
"H-hey! Wait!" Lilia hurries after her, laughing under her breath.
They keep to the path marked with footprints, their steps echoing faintly through the cave. Before long, they come across more shattered ore hermit shells — the same as those they saw near the entrance.
Then, a faint sensation prickles across Rosa's skin. Cold. Subtle. She freezes mid-step as her body feels lighter — no, emptier. Her mana flows toward her feet, siphoned away into the ground before vanishing into nothing.
"Lilia…" Her voice trembles, quickened breath catching in her chest.
Lilia's face hardens instantly, all playfulness gone. "Yeah. I feel it too."
She kneels, brushing the dirt with her gloved fingers. "No mistaking it — it's void element. And it's everywhere. I thought that stuff only showed up inside ore veins."
Rosa stares down, her expression tightening. The slow, constant drain gnaws at her composure.
"That's what I thought too. But it feels like the ground itself is eating our mana."
Lilia stands, scanning the branching tunnel ahead. "So what now? This is the only way forward."
Rosa sighs, turning to face the crossroads. Her eyes narrow; frustration simmers beneath the exhaustion. She curses under her breath — not at Lilia, not even at the cave, but at the chain of choices that has cornered her since setting foot on this mountain.
"Let's say we go back. Then what?" she mutters. "We don't have any other option…"
Lilia gulps, her voice soft when she finally speaks.
"Treat your mana like gold," she whispers, repeating Helgen's words as if reminding herself.
Rosa nods faintly. Both of them need the warning — and the courage that comes with it.
Rosa doesn't move yet. Her eyes, sharpened by Sharvessaich, trace the dirt.
The right path is littered with scuttle marks — claw grooves and shallow drags overlapping each other, a messy web of tracks.
The left side has fewer, though still plenty. Human footprints cut through the dust there, and she notices the faint grooves of claws brushing across them.
Someone was being followed.
She exhales quietly. Please tell me they made it out.
"Lilia, we're taking the le—"
Before she finishes, a dry clatter echoes from the right tunnel, like metal scraping rock.
"Something's coming!" Lilia warns, immediately dropping into stance.
Rosa snaps her head toward the sound. From the darkness, a single shape crawls out — a hulking ore hermit, its shell black and jagged, the sheen of jet black shell catching the lantern light. The edges of its pincers gleam with full metal, sharpened like forged blades. The rest is living chitin, wet and dark, pulsing faintly with movement beneath the armored plates.
It scuttles closer, each step clattering like nails on stone.
"Just one," Rosa mutters, steadying her breath. "Stay back."
Lilia nods, wordless, grabbing the lantern and retreating to the wall — practiced and precise. The cold blue light pools around her as Rosa steps forward.
Rosa draws a breath and cuts off Sharvessaich. The world dulls slightly, her focus narrowing to the creature before her.
One strike. Lowest cost possible.
Her mind races through every spell she knows.
The hermit clacks its pincers, hissing through its mouthparts. One of the metal-tipped claws gouges a line through the dirt as it lunges.
Rosa raises her staff. Lightning crackles from her wrist to the amber crystal at the tip, webbing through the air. The glyph lantern light warps around the charge, bending shadows across the cave wall.
Then she feels it — resistance.
The mana doesn't flow cleanly. The charge takes far longer than it should. Her teeth grit.
The hermit rushes in, faster now, its claws snapping for her midsection.
She sidesteps, the pincer carving through the air beside her hip. Dust bursts up around her boots as she pivots and thrusts her staff forward.
"Keugelvlitz!"
A sphere of lightning explodes from the crystal, slamming into the hermit's shell at point-blank range.
The blast fills the cave with white-blue light. The air stinks of ozone and scorched flesh. The creature convulses, steam rising from gaps in its shell. The glow of electricity dances along its armor — and vanish way too soon, as if swallowed.
For a moment, the ore hermit goes still.
"Haaah… haaah…"
Rosa plants her staff in the dirt, breathing hard. That one spell took far more than it should have. Her hands tremble. The edges of her vision pulse.
The stillness breaks.
A scrape. Then another. The burned shell shifts, the claws twitch.
It stands again.
The jagged metal glistens wetly, smoke still rising off its back. But it moves. The thing screeches, lunging.
Rosa's blood runs cold. She raises her staff again on instinct, forcing another charge.
A mistake.
The voice cuts through her mind — hers, yet not. A calm, older tone buried in the static.
The thought stutters as the charge surges. Her mana drains in a violent pull, her knees buckling. The staff hums wildly.
The hermit crashes into her.
One claw clamps down on her staff with a loud crack and pulls it. The wood splinters. She stumbles forward as the second claw shoots toward her face. She closes her eyes, preparing for the worst.
CRAAACK!
Lilia's shout snaps Rosa's eyes open.
The pincers hang frozen, a hair's breadth from her face.
"Vrandefaust!"
Lilia's burning fist already planted into the ore hermit's head. The air ripples with the aftershock of the impact; heat flashes against Rosa's skin. The chitin blackens and shatters, the sound sharp and wet. Clear fluid spills from the crack as the beast lets out a distorted shriek, its claws trembling before they finally go limp.
The light from Lilia's gauntlet fades. The only glow left comes from the lantern, swaying in her other hand — pale, unsteady.
Rosa's knees give out. Her body folds forward, caught between breath and collapse. She braces on her staff, but her strength bleeds away faster than she can hold it.
The lantern flickers once.
Then again.
And again.
Within seconds, the cave dims into a suffocating gray. The last shimmer of blue light fades from the glyph as it dies too soon.
A faint ringing hum builds in Rosa's ears — thin, sharp, as if it comes from inside her skull.
I failed… again. If it wasn't for Lilia… I'd be...
Darkness swallows the world. Yet in her mind's eye, she sees it clearly — that familiar silhouette, framed in quiet judgment.
A woman stands tall, regal and distant. Black hair. Crimson eyes. Every line of her posture carved from confidence.
Everything Rosa tries to be — and isn't.
The image drifts backward, receding into shadow no matter how far Rosa reaches.
"Rosa!"
The voice cuts through the void.
Footsteps close in fast, quick splashes of echoing sound.
Then — a faint bluish shimmer flickers before her. Lilia's eyes, glowing softly as she mutters, "Naissaich…" The faint light catches Rosa's pale face as Lilia slides beside her and grabs her shoulders.
"Here, drink this!"
A glass touches her lips before she can respond. The taste hits instantly — cold and minty. Warmth trickles through her chest, far too weak even compared to her last chug.
"Give me… more…" Rosa gasps, voice rough.
Her hands fumble forward, searching blindly — and land on something soft, smooth, and pliant. She squeezes, trying to steady herself.
"Hyah—! Rosa!"
Lilia's startled yelp bounces off the cave walls, half laughter, half scolding. "Geez! I'll give you more, just stay still!"
Rosa feels her wrist gently pushed aside. Another vial presses to her lips, and she drinks again. The heat flows in sluggishly, not nearly enough.
"Lilia," she rasps. "Give me the whole batch…"
"Rosa… should we… you know?" Lilia's voice trembles. "The green one? I don't think the normal stuff's helping…"
The batches of the scammy potion she bought just yesterday didn't even register on Rosa's mind until Lilia pointed it out just now.
The realization hits harder than the exhaustion. For someone who prided herself on preparation, forgetting something so obvious cuts deeper than any wound.
She grits her teeth, writing another line on her internal list of failures.
"…We don't have a choice," she says at last, voice hoarse.
Every word feels like dragging weight through her throat.
"I'm pouring. Say 'aaah.'"
Rosa exhales, resigned. She parts her lips as the rim touches them again.
The bitter taste hits like a slap on her taste bud. Her eyes squeeze shut. She notices the tear streak on her cheeks, not sure it was there before or after the potion pours into her throat.
She swallows until it's gone. Not a drop left.
Cough! Cough!
Then warmth spreads again. Weak, but there — like embers barely holding on. Despite how subtle it is, her mana gradually recovers.
She shifts, trying to stand, and Lilia's arm slips around her waist to steady her.
"Lilia…"
"What is it?"
Lilia's answer comes fast, instinctive.
Rosa opens her mouth, but the words refuse to form. Something stirs in her chest — a strange, weightless flutter that makes her heart skip. Whatever she meant to say dissolves before reaching her tongue.
Warmth creeps into her cheeks instead.
"...It's nothing."
"Sure!" Lilia replies, cheerful as ever. Rosa can't see her face, but that bright, smile is easy to imagine in the dark.
The darkness begins to press in again, heavier and colder.
"Lilia, it's better to drop Naissaich for now. Can you relight the lantern?"
"Right… treat your mana like gold. On it."
Soft rustles follow as she walks a few steps away. The faint clink of glass, the slide of stone into metal.
Then — a sharp click.
Followed by silence.
"…Rosa?" Lilia's voice wavers. "Bad news… The mana stones died."
Rosa's breath catches.
Her eyes widen.
Every thread connects at once — the weakening mana potions, the lantern's early death, her spells not working as supposed to.
Her thoughts collapse inward, spinning out of control as if the ground just disappeared.