We're lost, I thought, looking around the vast wasteland that appeared almost endless even beneath the gloomy light of the Underworld's dead sky.
We had been walking for what I counted to be approximately twelve cycles, though what that meant in terms of time, I couldn't tell. Irun didn't seem to know either, so that didn't really help either of us newcomers very much. The only reason I knew it had been so long was that each time a cycle passed, violet tendrils of mana would pulse through the sky like a lightning storm.
At least, that's what I think it means, anyway, I thought, taking a small bite of dried meat from my pouch to stave off the hunger as I'd been doing the past few cycles.
As we made our way over yet another ridge, I did everything in my power to avoid being disrespectful and staring at Ysevel's backside. Irun was leading the way, and I suppose Ysevel had taken it upon herself to walk between us. If I'm being honest, it was probably to keep me from killing him on a whim.
I don't even think I could right now, especially since I haven't been able to draw from the Ethereal, and I don't know what dark mana would do to me if I used it, I remember thinking.
"Are you alright back there? You've been awfully quiet since we got here," she asked quietly, turning to look at me as she was already slowing her pace enough to walk beside me.
For which I was very grateful.
"I'm alright," I began in a similar tone of voice. "Just trying not to make too much noise if that bird-like beast is still flying around," I said, trying to hide whatever it was that was actually going through my head. "Ah, I see," she replied, lifting her chin up as if to feign her belief.
She knows, I thought, recognizing the attitude I'd come to know over the past year and a half, mentally sucking air through my teeth in embarrassment.
"I was just trying to be respectful," I said with a defeated sigh. "I know, but you get so flustered if I call you out directly," she said playfully as if the fact that we were stuck in the Underworld didn't bother her. It made me realize, however, that it really didn't bother her and that there was clearly something she wasn't telling me. "Ysevel?" I began to ask shyly after a pensive pause. "Yes, Thoma?" she asked, her violet eyes piercing my very soul.
It's hard to think when she does that, I stammered mentally as I struggled to shield that thought.
"H-how did you do that to us earlier?" I asked, not knowing exactly what I'd hoped to hear as a response. "Are you going to use this information to try to kill Irun again?" she asked just as bluntly, to which I shook my head. "I promise I won't. I'm just… confused," I said, my eyes darting back and forth from hers to the ground.
She chuckled softly before holding out her hand to ask me for help to get around one of the boulders that stuck out of the ashen ground. "I've been able to draw from the Underworld for as long as I've been able to draw from the Ethereal," she said, catching me off-guard with her candid response. "How is that even possible?" I asked, not bothering to hide my surprise.
She placed a single finger on her chin pensively for a few moments before swinging outward toward the lifeless sphere in the sky. "From my understanding, all mana holds similar principles, whether it's from this realm or another. My mother, for example, can draw from two realms simultaneously, but even among elves, she's always been a bit of an outlier with her abilities," she said, looking back at me.
"Really? I thought most elves would've been welcoming of her abilities. I'm truly shocked to hear that she was viewed that way," I said, genuinely surprised to hear this. I wasn't as close to Aurae as my mother was, but I still held her in very high regard. "You'd think that, but that wasn't really the case for her growing up. Just like it wasn't for me," she said, her tone lowering a little.
"I'm so sorry. Even after spending all this time with you, I had no idea," I said, trying my best to be empathetic and not pry for information that she wasn't willing to share on her own. "I can't blame you for not knowing things you've never asked about. I'm being honest when I say that I've never thought I'd need to bring it up, but here we are," she replied with a shrug. "But here we are," I said, muttering the same words in understanding.
"Nevertheless, she was the one who taught me how to use mana from both the Underworld and the Ethereal, though she never did tell me the reason why," she said, not lingering on the topic much longer. "Maybe she saw this coming?" I said, gesturing to the world around us as I tried to lighten the mood.
I got a chuckle out of her, I thought happily, hearing her exhale a few times through her nostrils.
"She's good, but not that good," Ysevel said playfully, the sadness easing in her voice. We walked in silence for a few pensive moments as we both contemplated our situation within the privacy of our thoughts. "What does it feel like? Pulling from the dark mana, I mean," I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
It was the first time since arriving that I'd felt comfortable enough to speak at such lengths. I hadn't fully come to trust Irun again, but he hadn't shown any signs of aggression towards either of us since Ysevel broke up our fight.
"Like all the rage you've ever felt in your lifetime has been let loose at once," she said without even a moment to think about my question. "You know, I wasn't sure what kind of answer to expect, but that sums it up nicely," I said with a shrug.
I don't know if I'd be able to hold back against Irun if I drew from it. As long as he's guiding us, I should take Ysevel's word for it and trust him to be doing the right thing, I thought momentarily.
"We're almost there. It'll be just over this ridge and through the forest," Irun called out to us in a hoarse whisper. Ysevel and I nodded our understanding and finished working our way up the mountain in silence.
As we reached the top, we could see a lot more of the Underworld than I realized. It was gloomy, sure, but the distance I could see, even without augmenting my eyes with mana, was surprising. "Look, it's down there, just beyond the Draukar forest," Irun said, gesturing to someplace off just beyond the limits of the forest that lined the base of the mountain we were on.
I wonder what this place would have looked like if it weren't so dreary, I thought, gazing at the forest below. Probably about the same, but with more leaves, I'd assume, Ysevel sent back with a wry smirk.
After looking beyond the dead trees, I could finally see what Irun was pointing at. There was a village off in the distance, dimly lit by what I could only guess to be some kind of torchlight, but it was too far away to confirm any details.
"We've got about a cycle and a half left to go. Think you two can make it?" Irun asked. Whether he was feigning his concern or not, I could only care about making it to the village in one piece. "We'll be fine," Ysevel said, playing the mediator again because I was too distracted looking around to see if I could find anything else.
And so I did.
Far off near the foot of a distant mountain, there was a sickly green aura emanating from just behind a ridge in a valley. While I couldn't tell exactly what was causing the glow, my instincts told me that it probably wasn't anything good.
"What is that?" I asked, starting my first conversation with him since arriving. "That is Pyrdredd, home of the Undergod," he said almost breathlessly. "The Undergod?" I asked bluntly. "The ruler of this land and probably the whole reason monsters are still spawning in the Between," Irun replied, finally turning to look at me.
"You mean your leader?" I asked derisively. Irun sighed and shook his head. "Listen, I'm trying to…" his words cut off as we all felt an immense amount of mana being pushed through the air, shaking the ground beneath us. As if instinctually, the three of us cowered and stumbled, but all looked simultaneously in the direction of the blast.