His wanderings dragged on so long that every step was difficult. "How long have I been walking? Hours? Days? Everything around seems the same... or am I just going crazy?" Finn's thoughts raced in his head as he stumbled over stones he had easily noticed before. The tulwar, which he held almost to the ground, illuminated the path with a dim light, picking out the unevenness of the floor from the darkness.
The endless passages merged into one endless labyrinth. "I need to concentrate... but I'm so tired. Which turn is this already? The hundredth? The thousandth?" each new corridor seemed familiar, as if he had been walking in circles in this stone labyrinth.
When a hall with shimmering crystals opened before him again, his heart skipped a beat. "No, no, this is impossible... I've been here... How many hours ago? Where did I go wrong? At that turn? Or even earlier?" their dim glow seemed to mock him, confirming his terrible guess – he had returned to where he started his journey.
His legs gave out, and Finn sank heavily against the wall. "I can't anymore... I just can't... At least a little rest... Just a couple of minutes..." The tulwar, still warm, glowed reassuringly in his hands. He pressed it to his chest, wrapping the blade with his fingers – the warmth of the metal was the only comfort in this cold darkness.
Fatigue washed over him in waves, further clouding his consciousness. "I can't sleep... It's dangerous here... But I'm so tired..." somewhere at the edge of his consciousness, an anxious thought about the need to find a safer place flickered, but his exhausted body refused to obey.
The last thing he remembered was trying to concentrate on the sounds of the cave. "One... two... I need to count the drops... three... don't fall asleep..." but the numbers got mixed up, dissolving into the approaching drowsiness. The tulwar in his hands continued to glow, its warmth lulling him, promising a short rest.
Consciousness slowly drifted away, dissolving into darkness. "Maybe when I wake up, I'll remember something... Who am I? Where am I from? Why am I here?" these questions, which had haunted him since he woke up in the caves, now seemed distant and unreal.
The sounds of the cave – dripping water, rustling stones, distant echoes – merged into a strange lullaby. "How long has it been since I heard real music? Was it in my life before the cave? Why do I remember what music is, but not remember anything about myself?"
Finn squeezed the warm blade of the tulwar tighter, feeling sleep wash over him in waves. "I hope I don't have nightmares... I hope not those creatures from the river... How many were there? Why didn't they chase me further?" but even the fear of nightmares could not withstand absolute exhaustion.
In the last moments before falling asleep, a thought flashed through his mind: "I wonder if anyone was looking for me? Is there anyone to look for? Does anyone remember me up there?" but this thought, like all the others, dissolved into the approaching darkness.
"Just a few minutes... I'll just close my eyes for a minute... Just a short rest..." with these fading thoughts, he finally plunged into sleep, hugging the warm blade to himself.
Consciousness returned suddenly, as if someone had sharply pulled him out of the darkness. "How long have I slept? Why am I so thirsty?" Finn woke up in a cold sweat, feeling his mouth dry. Something disturbing flickered at the edge of his memory, fragments of a dream that were rapidly fading.
Gathering his remaining strength, he slowly got to his feet. "There was a spring somewhere here... I remember the sound of water..." his body ached from the uncomfortable position, but thirst drove him forward. The tulwar in his hands glowed with a steady light, picking out the familiar outlines of the tunnel from the darkness.
Every step was difficult, but his memory led him to the water. "The main thing is not to make noise... Who knows who else is wandering around here?" he tried to tread carefully, remembering the creatures that inhabited these caves. The light of the tulwar slid along the walls, searching for the slightest sign of danger.
The sound of dripping water became clearer. Finn moved slowly, listening to every rustle. The small spring, seeping from a crack in the wall, now seemed like the greatest treasure.
After quenching his thirst, he sank back against the wall, trying to collect his thoughts. "My ears are starting to rot..." his hand automatically reached for his backpack, where the bag with the severed monster ears was stored. The nauseating smell confirmed his fears.
His thoughts involuntarily returned to the underground river. "There was a current there... With a current, I won't get lost...?" the memory of the hunchbacked monster with an unnaturally wide mouth made him shudder. But there was no other choice – either find a new path by the river, or wander in these tunnels until complete exhaustion.
The decision was not easy. "I need to be careful... Check every step..." he understood that he was taking a huge risk, but there were simply no other options.
Gathering his courage, Finn checked the tulwar – the blade responded with its usual warmth. One last sip of water, and it was time to move. "The river was in that direction... I remember this turn." his memory helpfully suggested the way, although every step in that direction made his heart beat faster.
The sound of water became louder, echoing in his ears with a sinister roar. Finn practically flattened himself against the wall, trying to blend in with the stone. The tulwar in his hands glowed very weakly, as if understanding the need for camouflage.
The light of the tulwar treacherously picked out the figure of a hunchbacked monster around the bend from the darkness. "No... No... Not this..." the creature stood motionless, its head bowed to the ground, its massive hump almost touching the cave vault. Finn felt nausea rise to his throat at the mere sight of this creature.
The boy froze, unable to move, his muscles seemingly petrified by terror. The yellowish glow of the sword attracted the creature's attention, and it slowly, unnaturally jerkily raised its head. Bulging eyes, like two cloudy spheres, stared directly at Finn. Unnaturally long, needle-like claws scraped against the stone, creating a sound that made his hair stand on end. "Why didn't I check... Why..." cold sweat ran down his back as he saw dried blue blood on the creature's almost bald skull, where only sparse greasy strands of hair hung like seaweed.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment – the boy and the monster looked at each other, separated by only a few meters of space. Finn felt his knees tremble, sweat pouring into his eyes, his heart ready to leap out of his chest. The creature, however, remained frighteningly still, only its chest slowly rising and falling under its gray, scabby skin.
And then the creature screamed. This scream seemed to fill the entire cave – a piercing, vibrating sound, like a howl and the screech of metal at the same time. Finn instinctively covered his ears, but it didn't help – the scream seemed to penetrate directly into his brain. In the distant corridors, answering screams began to be heard, echoing through the underground labyrinth, and the realization that there were many of these creatures brought a new wave of nausea to his throat.
The monster opened its mouth unnaturally wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth covered in the same blue blood. Its neck elongated, stretching like a snake's, and its claws scraped the stone with triple force, striking sparks. In the creature's eyes, Finn saw something that completely paralyzed him with horror – intelligence. This creature was not just an animal; it possessed a mind, a terrifying and alien one to human understanding.
"Run... I have to run..." but his body refused to obey, frozen by primal terror before this spawn of darkness. The screams multiplied, grew closer, and Finn understood that there was less and less time before the other creatures reached here. His heart pounded so hard that it seemed its beat echoed off the cave walls, and his mouth was so dry that his tongue felt like sandpaper.