The entire cave came alive with shimmering lights as the pieces of crystal descended to the floor. Hal looked on, amazed by what he saw, as time seemed to slow down for a bit.
He fell and sat down, using his elbow to protect himself from the falling debris. The beautiful chaos was short-lived, and when it was done, a new thought entered his mind.
'Is Tailow okay?' he ran to the edge and looked down at the crystal-covered floor. The abomination was long dead, having been skewered by the falling stalactites.
He searched the floor until he saw Tailow escape from a pile of crystals. He was generally okay, but looked exhausted from all that had just happened. He raised his hand and gave Hal a thumbs-up before saying.
"There is a rope in the bag, please toss it down" Hal didn't hesitate with the offer, and soon the two boys were lying side by side, looking up at the glowing ceiling.
"Are you okay, Tailow?" Hal needed this guy in fit condition if he was to make it out of here, and soon after the boy answered "Tai", Hal seemed confused for a bit as the boy continued
"Tai, call me Tai, that is what all my friends call me" Friends, when that happened, and the guy didn't even answer the question he actually asked,
Hal let out a sigh as he stood up and looked at his bleeding hand "Here, use this cloth to cover your wound" The swordsman's voice was full of concern as he handed a black cloth to Hal.
Hal took it from the swordsman and dressed his wound while examining the beaten swordsman. Tailow himself was not in a good condition; his left ear was bleeding, and his body was filled with wounds caused by the abomination in their fight.
"It must have been a gruesome battle for you to end up like that", Hal tried to speak with as little concern as he could master since there was no reason for him to actually Tailow or Tai as a friend for now.
Tai's voice soon came and flowed into his ears, "A little banged up and I can't hear anything from my left ear, but it's nothing Nanny Leya can't fix"
'Nanny Leya, I wonder who that could be' Tai didn't take long to finally get up as he placed back the rope into his bag and faced the new route in front of him with a smile.
"From what I can tell, we are at the highest point in the caverns, meaning that if we follow this route, we will surely make it out of here. So, are you ready to continue?"
There was no reason to stay in this cave any longer, so if this route could really take them out of this hell's cape, then Hal was more than ready to follow Tai.
He gave Tai a brief nod as the two of them set off again to find their way out of the cave, though along the way, a question now surfaced in Hal's mind.
"If I may ask, what were you doing in this cave in the first place? I find it weird that you would come here and then not be able to find your own way out?"
Tai turned back with a cautious gaze before suddenly switching to a more joyful one and saying, "I came to train here, but…then got lost"
Hal didn't know if he should be proud of the guy for coming to such a dangerous place or be disappointed in his horrible sense of direction.
He could personally find his way throughout all the places they had visited in the cave; maybe he had a better sense of direction than most, but for now, his respect for the guy just kept on dropping.
Rays of sunshine finally fell on Hal's face as the two boys found themselves outside the cave.
The opening they had come out of now left them in a plain overflowing with tall grass that towered over the two boys.
Tai seemed to know the way, so he led Hal through the grass, pushing it to one side as they walked through the thick bushes.
Everything was peaceful until Hal felt his body freeze for just a moment. Tai turned back to him and spoke, but Hal couldn't hear a thing. The only thing he felt at the current moment was terror.
The grass swayed as Hal finally discerned what was happening "There is something else here, and it's coming"
Tai's eyes widened as the entire field of grass grew into a frenzy, as something seemed to move through the grass.
The Hal didn't need to say anything as the two boys set off running, but the grass was restricting their movements; it tilted back, slowing them down as they forced their way through
Tai drew his blade with one quick sword draw that severed the patch of grass in front of him, and as soon as he did, the entire field trembled as an indiscernible screech pierced their ears.
'Is the entire field alive?' The mere thought was enough to make Hal tremble, but not enough to stop him running for his life
The entity now moved quickly and, as the slowest one of the two, he found himself lagging. Tai turned back and called out, "Hal, behind you"
Hal turned around and saw the grass a moment away from engulfing him, but then he froze, not out of fear but because there was something else, another known being had cast its gaze upon him.
Hal trembled as he found himself in the field once again, but this time the sun had set, and the night had kicked in.
The entire place was silent and extremely cold as Hal found himself confused by his current surroundings "Where am I?"
That seemed to have become a common statement for Hal lately, and this did not make him happy in the slightest.
He felt a strange presence and turned around to face it, only to find himself face to face with a glowing white tree that blew in the wind, sending a shiver down his spine.
Hal tried to guess what kind of tree it was, but found himself unable to comprehend its existence. In fact, the mere sight of it was causing him to experience a head-splitting headache.
But he couldn't bring himself to turn away from it. What kind of tree was this? Why did it confuse him so much, and why did its presence seem more confusing the more he stared at it
He began to walk toward the obscured tree whose presence he could not comprehend, and as he did, his head throbbed, but something inside did not care; instead, it urged him on further.
And then a whistling sound blew over the world, and Hal froze his lips, which trembled from the cold as he turned to look at the star-filled sky above.
The urge to move towards the tree was gone, but something still felt off. He still felt like he wasn't in control.
He looked more intently at the sky, but he didn't know why. Yet he did not have the urge to resist his body's current movements as his eyes spotted something odd about the sky.
He looked more intently until he finally saw it, "The sky it…..moved" and as soon as his eyes made that realisation, the sky shifted as part of it took on the shape of a draconic beast.
The stars and nebulae decorated its body, and the moon was its heart. Its wings moved, creating a rift in space-time itself, and its roar shook reality itself.
The beast looked down at him before bending its head down to meet him. Hal felt helpless as he reached out his hand to touch the fantastic entity.
He tried to resist the urge, but it was to no avail, as finally his hand touched the sky like a being, and his mind went blank.