[Cass]
The second descent began in silence.
No Warble songs followed him this time. No children clapping from the stone ledges. Only Eshna pressed a vial into his palm before he left - a bitter tincture she swore would slow spore-burn. Her hand lingered a breath longer than needed. Then she let him go.
Cass slung a coil of rope across his shoulder and lifted the lantern. The flame sputtered, then steadied. Weak light against endless black.
Behind him, the Warble elder raised his staff in farewell.
"Child of Propervy," he murmured. "Remember: the caverns listen. Speak carefully."
Cass nodded once and stepped into the dark. Rootwater swallowed him whole.
The tunnels narrowed, then split, then dropped. Cass marked each fork with chalk, careful and methodical. One mistake here and he'd vanish like so many others.
[System]: Entering Rootwater Depths - Hazard Tier Increased.
[Effect: Visibility −60%. Spores thickening. Monster aggression heightened.]
He pulled the cloth mask tighter. The air already tasted wrong - iron and mildew. His tongue tingled.
Hours later the tunnel spat him into a chamber bigger than any he'd seen before.
Pools of black water stretched across the floor, disturbed by faint ripples though no wind blew. In the center stood a column of stone veined with glowing fungus. It pulsed faintly like a heartbeat.
Cass edged closer. For a moment it felt as though the rhythm matched his own.
[System]: Hazard Discovery - Spore Heart (Rare).
[Effect: Area-wide infection intensity increased. Destruction may trigger backlash.]
He stepped back. Too dangerous. Not yet.
At the pool's edge, silverfish flickered beneath the surface. Their bodies already spotted with blue. Even here, the infection spread.
The first attack came fast.
Something lashed from the water, coiling around his leg. Cass slammed the lantern down, flame flaring. A creature dragged itself up - half fish, half leech, spines of crystal along its back.
It hissed, blue spores leaking from its gills.
Cass ripped his spear free and stabbed into its belly. The eel-chitin cracked through soft tissue. The beast screeched, splashing water that burned on contact. He shoved it back until it slid beneath the surface.
[System]: Monster Defeated - Crystal Gill Horror (Uncommon).
Drops: Spore-stained Gill, Vein Crystal Shard.
Cass pocketed the shard. Everything had use. If not now, later.
The tunnels grew stranger as he pushed on.
One was lined with mushrooms shaped like ears, folds twitching as though listening. Another opened into a hall of stalactites that absorbed lantern light and released it in short flashes.
Cass memorized each place. For most, they were death traps. For him, they were resources waiting to be claimed.
But exhaustion caught up. He sat on a ledge above a stream, rations dry in his mouth. The silence pressed.
Then the whispers came.
At first it was water. Then words. Dozens of voices at once.
"…hunger…"
"…closer… deeper…"
"…child of light…"
Cass froze, hand on the spear.
[System]: Warning - Exposure to Rootwater Echo. Prolonged listening may cause Confusion.
He shut his eyes and whispered, "Not real."
When he opened them, the stream was quiet again.
[Forum - Global Noise]
[DeltaScout]: "Outbreak spreading! Blue Bloom in the Highlands too."
[IronFist88]: "Surface collapsing fast. Guilds hoarding food."
[GhostLordRumors]: "No way he's alive in Rootwater. Even guild teams won't go there."
[StreamerLink]: "BloodPrince mocks the 'Ghost Lord' myth. Chat exploding."
[MetaWatcher]: "Whoever cracks the infection cure wins the shard. Period."
[Cass]
Cass crawled through a passage barely wide enough to move. Lantern scraped stone until the tunnel widened into another cavern.
The air shifted - cooler, fresher. A faint draft tugged at his mask.
He looked up. Cracks veined the ceiling. Far above, faint shimmer. Surface light. A hidden Dawn Hole.
He froze, staring. Proof the world above still touched even here.
Movement pulled him back.
A shape detached from the wall. Taller than a man, body wrapped in fungus, eyes burning faint blue. It carried no weapon. It didn't need one.
[System]: Elite Encounter - Spore Guardian.
[Effect: Immune to poison. Attacks spread Infection.
The creature stepped forward, spores trailing in its wake.
Cass lifted his spear. Lantern light caught on the chitin point.
"Then let's see whose light holds."