Bloodlines of Archaea I. Afira
As we Wind these Halls

We fell slowly and gracefully through the many layers, descending farther and farther into the darkness, landing gently onto the silt ground. The inside of the volcano was surprisingly well lit, as it appeared on the outside to be completely dark. Instead, torches which cried for help to be freed from their perch adorned the cobblestone walls. I looked down, realizing that I was still holding Akuma’s hand in my own. I watched Akuma’s line of sight trace mine, falling on our clasped hands. We hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do next, then quickly dropped the other’s hand. I looked up, watching the top of the volcano slam shut. “We forgot to think of a way to get out,” I said, pointing up at our only known contact to the outside world.

“We’ll have to improvise, then,” he whispered, creeping slowly along the walls in the direction we faced.

I nodded, following his movements, trying to blend into the shadows. We seemed to be in some sort of main hall, although its emptiness made me wary, all I could do was hope that we weren’t walking into a trap. I kept one hand on the handle on the sword which stayed in the holster, beating my leg as I walked on through the dimly lit hall. Passing paintings and large rooms carved into the hollow mountain. After a while, Akuma began to follow me. I had no idea why until I realized that I felt as though I were being pulled towards the crystal, as if it called out to me, begging me to find it. We wound through the halls, passing large rooms filled with ancient treasures, all the while keeping focused on our goal. I recalled the words Maktu had spoken the day we left the island. He had said that the fire can guide us. I wondered if this is what he meant, or if something else may be the key to our quest.

The halls eventually began to look the same, but the feeling I had grew stronger as we prevailed through the passages, only spotting a creature of the shadows once in a while, as they swooped along the halls like ghosts. We avoided having to kill as many as possible, as not to alarm anyone of our presence, but as soon as any of them showed any sign of knowing of our presence, we did the only thing we could to keep them from spreading the news of our arrival, we killed them where they stood. One swift swipe of a sword and the job was done. A pain formed in my chest each time, but I bit my lip and moved on. I could see that it also had an effect on Akuma, as he wouldn’t speak for quite some time afterwards, he just continued to creep along the shadows, moving swiftly and coldly off through the hallway.

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