Chapter 580 - 580 - Better Together Than Alone

"Whe.. Wh- What in the…" Suddenly finding her entire environment turning upside down, and twisting beyond recognition, Drake found himself confused as he appeared in the underground damp cell. 

The bright, scorching sun was nowhere to be found, replaced by damp, obscure darkness. The large, endless space has turned into barely more than the cell he was invited to during his 'stay' in the Orc's Tower.

Yet, before he could finish looking around, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"B-brother?"

—

"S-sis? Where are…" Caught off guard by the sudden voice coming from behind the darkness of the tunnel outside the cave Drake found himself in, he raised his head staring into the looming void ahead.

Just as his nervousness was about to reach new heights, and he could ask, a slender, yet familiar silhouette emerged from the side, taking the shape and form of his dear sister just a blink of a time later. 

Scarlet rushed back into the empty and damp cave as soon as she saw the strange light show coming from inside, and jumped into her brother's embrace in the next moment.

"Brother! You came!" She exclaimed happily. 

Even though it was probably just some minutes she had spent in this unknown place so far, it already felt like forever for her. Being separated for even a single minute was too much for her to bear.

Even if they were thrown into the darkest pits of hell, to the realm of demons and devils, she wouldn't mind, she would not even bat an eye as long as her dear brother would be beside her. Well, and maybe a black-haired boy…

"Sis! What… No." Drake shook his head, forcing some calmness and clarity back into his startled mind. "Where are we? What is this place?" He asked instead.

"I… We were looking for you as you just vanished. We came to where you stood, and just as I felt I stepped on some strange device, the space around me suddenly distorted, warped. Next thing I know the burning, scorching sunlight was gone, replaced by this cool, damp cave." Summarizing the last few minutes' events, Drake analyzed their situation.

While keeping their hug, as Scarlet just refused to let go, Drake slowly looked around, taking his time to scan every inch of his mysterious new environment. He also listened to the constant hums coming from Mort, his treasured sword at his side.

"I see…" He nodded after listening to an exceptionally long-winded series of long and short hums, whispers from Mort. "So that's it…"

"Hmm? What is it, brother? Did you find out something? Where are we?" Hearing her brother speak, Scarlet raised her head, momentarily leaving her brother's comforting chest, and asked. 

"Well… We are still at the same location as we were…" Drake sighed, revealing a wry smile as he slowly gazed towards the rocky terrain and stalagmites looming above them. "Just… we seemed to be traversed deep below the surface." 

"Hmm… How deep? Can't we just… You know, work our way back to the others then?" Scarlet asked, looking thoughtful and somewhat skeptical. How did they get below the ground? Was that strange sensation a portal? A gateway? But if that was the case, where was the gate itself? Why didn't they see magic in action?

No, that was not right. It couldn't be! There was no effect, no sound at all. One moment, she was cursing, grumbling atop the plateau, questioning this whole excursion they were forced to take, then in the next… she was suddenly in a cave.

"No, we can't." Drake shook his head at her sister's question. "According to Mort, we should be quite deep."

"Huh? How deep?" Scarlet asked, still looking doubtful of this whole thing, even though it was indeed the only explanation they could come up with currently. Instantaneous teleport, without the use of magic? That was still way too far-fetched, even for children's stories!

"Deep enough, that manually we couldn't work our way back. Even if you and would go all out, it would take days to get back." Drake responded with a frown, turning his gaze slowly from them towards the dark tunnel instead. "Our best course of action now would be to explore what place we found ourselves in, rather than standing here and waiting for a miracle."

"Y-yeah. I was about to do that when y-you... When you came." Scarlet nodded, slowly, begrudgingly pushing herself away from the soothing, calming embrace of her brother. Knowing that time could indeed be of the essence, as they still had absolutely no clue where they were, she forced some clarity back into her head and gripped the handles of her daggers as she slowly unsheathed both blades from the sides of her waist.

"We should get going… and find a way back to the others…" Drake sighed, walking towards the entrance. Carefully, he stepped out, whilst keeping his sword-wielding right hand over Mort's handle, ready to strike in a fraction of a second if needed.

However, thankfully or perhaps just adding more to their growing anxiety and tension, they could not sense a single soul, a single presence even as they stepped out of their natural-looking small and modest chamber and into the looming dark and endless slithering tunnel section.

Squinting his eyes, Drake could make out several similar-looking dark spots, entrances to side chambers, caves ahead of them, sparsely placed along the route they seemingly needed to take.

There was a faint trapezoid cast along the way, coming from a series of half-burnt candlesticks plastered on both sides of the wall as they went along. It was impossible to tell, when or by whom it was placed, but it did make one thing certain: Wherever they were, it was far from being deserted. 

Someone or multiple creatures, -perhaps other humans-, have cared and attended to this place. 

"Just what is this place?" Drake muttered to himself, his gaze turning stern and somber by the second as he slowly understood their situation.

No matter what was the truth, he couldn't see a positive outcome at all. If this place was owned by a group from another Pillar, then they were opponents, hiding and scheming just beneath their camp.

If they were to stumble upon more of those monstrous, abominable creatures that they captured with such effort… That may be even worse. If that creature was anything to go by, they learned that these strange species were extremely aggressive, hostile to their kind. 

Yet, they weren't mindless beasts, even if they were seemingly created through some unholy fusion of them. No, they were cunning, deceptive, scheming, and exceptionally cruel. 

If they have happened on a one-way entrance to the rest of that monster's kin… Drake wasn't sure what they would do…

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