Chapter 249: Sorrow

It has been six hours, and Ned couldn't find a way out. The walls were adorned with cracks from the blast, to just lines like a scar of a veteran warrior.

Ned tried to climb the tunnel that brought them to the lake. But to no avail, the tunnel was completely shut with rocks the size of Ned's head.

Shattered crystals of different colors: yellow, green, violet, and blue, and texture: smooth, rough, sleek, and glossy scattered on the ground from Ned's relentless use of fireballs.

Still, the walls were intact. No matter how Ned tried. He had used Egnious. The blast was massive that it bore a hole like a blast from a massive fireball. Yet, the wall remained.

Ned was at his limit. Even with the lake mana available anytime he needed, his body couldn't keep up. Soon, his mind would fare the same. His breathing was heavy, his hands were hanging on both his sides. He had conjured many fireballs, so much he couldn't lift a finger anymore.

Tired, he threw himself on the ground with his knees hitting first the crystals that were scattered.

[Ned. You must resist the urge to give up.]

Even ICE's soft voice wasn't enough to soothe him anymore.

"I," Ned said under his steaming breath. The warmth, that was supposed to help them battle the coldness, wasn't helping anymore. Sweat formed like beads over his forehead. "I've done more than enough."

As he speaks, his eyes swept across the other side of the lake. Katolin was lying on her back, and lying about her emotions. Ned knew she was at her limits. Ned ignored how her shoulders shuddered in despair.

[Seems like it was not enough Ned.]

[From the chamber of the massive beast down here at the lake. You two were almost 150 meters deep underground.]

"So... " Ned stood. Be it dust, shards of crystals, or simply his sweat, he doesn't care anymore if it gets trapped in his clothes. His mind was focus only on one thing. To leave the once paradise turned to prison cave. "What do you suggest?" Ned doesn't care also if he was heard by Katolin talking to himself. "I couldn't find a vent for the air. Not even cracks from the walls were letting out air."

[Why not try the source of water from the lake?]

Ned wondered if he could find something underwater. Focusing once again, Ned assumed that the lake has a depth of around 40 to 50 feet. Which was enough for him to hold his breath for ten to fifteen minutes. If he could swim a meter every second, plus the exert of his muscles, then he could safely assume that he could swim 50 feet or 15 meters would take him 20 to 30 seconds. A minute back and forth, 2 minutes if he wanted to be slow. Which was more than enough underwater to survey the 30 meters wide lake.

Ned had used to Detect before on the lake. But due to the skill's limit of 15 meters, Ned wasn't aware of what was at the bottom.

Ned stepped at the edge of the lake. It was warm, as to how the surrounding would be. It was clear blue with sparkles of light from the crystals above the ceiling.

Leaving Katolin alone, Ned dove underwater.

As if it was meant to dive underwater, the lights were helping Ned see through the liquid. Ned noticed lights attached to the walls as he went deeper, crystals of the same feature were also abundant underwater. Holding his breath, Ned swam. It was silent and warm, and mysterious.

Ten, 15, 20, 30. At 40 meters Ned saw a light at the bottom. They were like fireflies dancing in the darkness. Seeing the fireflies, Ned could only smile remembering the Grieving Woods at O'rriadt where he and his master used to train.

Aside from the light below him, Ned noticed the balloons of tiny air leaving his lips. At first, the bubbles were ascending, then as he dove deeper as if gravity was playing off his senses, the bubbles departed from his lips going to his right, then ascend, then right, and right, until Ned could feel the water moved on its own.

It was an underwater current. This current was like a river under the lake and has a force of its own.

Ned smiled, he knew, somewhere at the bottom, there will be a passage that connects to the exit.

Suddenly, Ned's smile turned to surprise as the current pulled him underwater. Like a rope tied over his ankles, Ned struggled to pull himself upward.

At first, the silence went hush-hush. Then followed by a hong-hong as Ned went deeper and closer to the current. At the bottom, Ned saw the lights dancing in delight as if they were eager to see Ned devoured by the current.

Ned was also losing air. The more he exerts a force, the more he needed air, all the while, his energy was rapidly decreasing with all the strength he was using.

For the current to release him, Ned must exert force equivalent, if not more than, to the current. Disrupting its force, Ned would have a chance to leave its grasp.

With all his strength, Ned swam like a butterfly, trying to break himself from the current. But it wasn't enough, instead, he turned around, he focused with his arm aiming at the current.

Distortion came into play at the flat of his hand, then followed by light from an orb that was slowly gaining size. Ned conjured Egnious with sufficient mana. Gritting his teeth, he threw Egnious.

The orb of hot flame sizzled and gargled hovering toward the current. Reaching its destination, it exploded with a silent boom.

Underwater, the Egnious's blast formed a fissure that cut off the current from its path.

Even though the recoil from the Egnious spell was painful on his right arm, Ned rapidly spun to swim upward. He tried to hold his breath with every flutter he made.

With a gap of seconds, the current resumed its path. But Ned was already far away from the current to pull him back.

That was close, Ned thought after seeing the first light that shone above the ceiling of the cave.

Ned inhaled deeply after he emerged underwater and smiled as he thought of him almost dying from the force of the current. But his smile worn off after he saw a figure hanging on the ceiling. Near to where Katolin used to rest.

The figure was Katolin with thread wrapped around her neck.

Ned saw her feet and arm twitched. Her back was facing Ned, but he could feel depression wrapping her face.

Without much of a thought, Ned flicked his wrists, called Butterfly, and threw the sword that hangs Katolin by her neck.

She fell like a puppet cut off of strings.

"No," Ned bellowed after Katolin's body fell with a thud.