Inside the warehouse alcove, Selena stared at the closed metal cabinet, her face a mask of worry.
Shortly after Byrne had entered the tunnel, the cabinet that had receded into the wall had somehow reset itself, sliding back into place. This had terrified Selena, who feared Byrne had stepped into a trap. She had frantically hammered the hidden button and tried to pry the metal casing open with her bare hands, but the cabinet remained as if welded to the floor.
Fortunately, Byrne's voice had drifted up from the depths in time to explain he had found a secondary release from the inside, temporarily easing her panic. But as the minutes ticked by into an hour, her anxiety flared again. Since that initial response, the tunnel had fallen into a tomb-like silence.
Did something happen to him?
The thought of him alone down there, facing an ambush or some ancient mechanical snare, made her stomach knot. Just as she was about to take her shovel and attempt to dig him out herself, the ground beneath her boots groaned.
At first, she thought it was a trick of her nerves. A second later, the vibration intensified into a violent shudder. Outside the alcove, the rusted shelves lining the warehouse walls began to rattle and clatter.
"What's happening? Did the tunnel collapse?"
The source was clearly subterranean—specifically, right beneath that metal cabinet. As the tremors escalated, spider-web cracks raced across the walls, shedding stone and dust. Selena's heart leapt into her throat.
Suddenly, a muffled boom echoed from behind the wall. The metal cabinet jerked back into its recess, revealing the yawning black mouth of the tunnel. Byrne's figure came charging out of the darkness.
"Selena, move! This whole place is coming down!"
Byrne didn't wait for an explanation. He grabbed her wrist and hauled her toward the exit. Selena barely had time to snatch up her rucksack before she was being dragged across the floor. They sprinted out of the warehouse and into the open air of the outpost just as the building behind them gave way with a thunderous roar, vanishing into a plume of choking dust.
Selena looked back at the ruins, her chest heaving. "Byrne, what happened down there? Why did it collapse?"
Byrne started to answer, "It was... I..." He stopped mid-sentence as he realized he was still gripping her hand. His face flushed a rare shade of red, and he quickly let go, rubbing his nose awkwardly. "Sorry. Emergency. I forgot I was holding on."
Selena shook her head, her eyes fixed on his face. "It's fine. Just tell me—what was in that tunnel?"
Byrne cleared his throat. "I followed the footprints to the end. I found a skeleton and a massive furnace. I tried to see if I could get it running, but I must have tripped a self-destruct sequence. The whole chamber started folding in on itself. I barely made it out."
He intentionally left out the part about the prophecy. Whether those words were a true warning or the ramblings of a long-dead madman was unclear; telling her now would only add an unnecessary burden to their survival.
Though he spoke of it lightly, only Byrne knew how close he had come to the end. Every step through that collapsing passage had felt like a coin toss with death.
Having scavenged what they could and survived the collapse, the two wasted no more time. They hurried to the depression where they had stashed the ore crate. To their relief, the area remained undisturbed. The crate sat exactly where they had left it, its hover-unit still humming with quiet potential.
Byrne checked the seals and the battery. "Whew. Still ours. Let's move. We need to reach the next waypoint as fast as possible."
The journey back to Blackstone City resumed.
Twelve days passed in a blur of sand and exhaustion.
At 10:00 AM, at the southern gate of Blackstone City, Marcus stood with a cigarette dangling from his lips, peering through a pair of binoculars toward the wasteland. Nearby, three ore crates sat in a neat row. Only three groups had completed the test so far.
Marcus exhaled a ring of smoke that was immediately torn apart by the wind. Seeing no new movement, he lowered the binoculars with a look of disappointment and kicked a loose stone.
"Dammit, what a bunch of useless whelps. It's only five hundred kilometers. Twelve days gone and only three groups? Did the rest of them just curl up and die in the sand?"
A black-armored soldier standing guard nearby offered a shrug of consolation. "Don't sweat it, Boss. Maybe a few will show up all at once today."
"Heh. Let's hope." Marcus raised the binoculars again, his eyes sharp as a hawk's as they scanned the horizon where the desert met the city's shadow.
Through the haze of swirling sand, two small figures appeared, struggling to push a hovering crate through the gale. As they drew closer, Marcus recognized them: Byrne and Selena.
The twelve-day journey had been far more brutal than they had anticipated. Gone was the composure they had possessed at the start of the trial. Their clothes were caked in grime and dried blood; their faces were hollowed by fatigue.
"Blackstone City... we're finally there." Selena's voice held a faint, uncontrollable tremor—part exhaustion, part the sheer relief of having survived.
Byrne simply nodded, his throat too parched to speak. Their water had run out days ago, and they had survived on brackish puddles found at waypoints. As for food, if it hadn't been for the supplies found in the first outpost and the desperate scuffles with other groups along the road, they never would have made it.
Fifteen minutes later, they reached the gates. Marcus met them halfway, his eyes scanning their battered forms before resting on the intact ore crate.
"Not bad. Not bad at all. Group four has arrived. The crate is in one piece; mission accomplished. Follow me."
Marcus turned toward a large military tent nearby. Without a word, Byrne and Selena followed.