Darkness swayed like shadow against the light, curling up against the narrowing tunnels. Some were shaped like people, still, but fewer and fewer were; most were beasts, but not the kind Zi Tai had ever seen before. Amalgamations and abominations, twisted creatures that went against the nature of everything.
She flicked her fingers as fire erupted underneath one of them, consuming it whole. A frown deepened on her face, eyes wearily staring at the fading ashes.
"We should leave, Senior Sister," a youthful voice came out from her side. "Elder clearly lied and set us up; there is no way this is the work of some minor, nameless Sage. All signs point--"
"--enough," she interrupted, feeling the weight in her heart.
She wasn't blind. Rather, she was probably the first one to notice it, all the way to how the tunnels entrances were arranged. No, even the mere existence of the tunnels was as big of a sign as any. They'd been tracking the Sages for countless years now, and though many eluded them still, one they--and she--were intimately familiar with: Sage of Dread.
If it truly was him... they stood no chance. Though that man was not officially an Emperor, he was likely that way by choice rather than the lack of ability.
However, the reason why she stuck around was quite simple: Sage of Dread hadn't been sighted in over ten thousand years at this point, and practically nobody in her Order would believe him to be here, in this lesser realm. There was a greater chance that somebody was merely emulating his methods than it was his doing.
... and yet, the deeper they went, the more certain she became it was him.
The ease of entry.
The escalating difficulty of progress.
Barriers they had to overcome by working together.
He called himself 'The Storyteller', and this was what he did: curated places and used the living and breathing to write some twisted, macabre tales of heroism and sacrifice. Not that those heroes could ever win--they'd all end up dead, in the end.
"Do you really think Elder Na betrayed us?" another voice joined. There were six of them on the expedition, though most were Juniors half her age, and this was practically their first real outing. The one who asked, though, was her trusted friend and a second-in-command that had been with her since she was first elected to be the part of the Order.
"I wouldn't put it past him," she said, shrugging her shoulders. She certainly didn't make too many friends in the Order, least of all with a man who'd asked to bed her just shy of a thousand times now, never getting a positive response.
"Bastard," Hou Qing spat. "Once we get back, you need to clean house, Tai. Once and for all. For that to happen, though, we have to leave. Now. Going any deeper is too dangerous."
It was, she knew it--but she hesitated because she could feel it, the vine. It was so close, perhaps just a couple of hundred yards more. It has been ages since anyone in the Order managed to track down the vine, let alone destroyed one, and if she could do it, finally do something that even her Masters could not, she'd be able to immediately stamp her way to the very top of the Order. They'd have no choice but to let her Walk, even if they didn't want to.
But the rational parts of her knew that she would never able to do anything to the vine; Sage of Dread did not garner the reputation he did by allowing others to stop his plans. All of this was merely theatrics, a play he was writing, and though the story could have its small twists and turns, the ending was always the same: she would die, as would everyone who came with her.
"Let's go back," she ordered. "Maintain the formation; Chen, switch with Qiu and hold the lantern. Swap every thirty minutes on the dot; if you feel your mind slipping, let me know. Qing, take the rear. If the shadows start chasing us, we'll start swapping. Once we start retreating, we cannot stop. Are you ready?"
"Ready."
"We're ready, Senior."
"Let us--"
"--why the hurry, little ones?" a voice echoed throughout the tunnel that caused chills to run down her spine. It was a hiss, twisted and eerie, low and chilling. "Since you are already here, why do you wish to leave?"
"RUN!!" she ordered without a second thought, but they barely made it back forty feet before reaching the collapsed end--it was covered in shadows, from top to bottom, but not of creatures. Rather, they were the nefarious calling of the Dread, Ashen Shadows. The texts said that merely standing too close to them for longer than a minute meant certain death for anyone below the Imperial Realm.
"He he, it has been a long while since such delicious lambs have come. I would make a rude host if I were to not welcome you properly. Please, continue your journey; I am waiting. Ha ha ha~." laughter burst forth like a song of mockery, like a hammer to her bones. She stood frozen for good half a minute before unclenching her jaw and turning to face the others.
They were terrified. Even Hou Qing was barely maintaining his expression.
Just as she was about to order them to move forward as there was no other choice, she paused, barely catching the sound of some voices. She wasn't certain where they were coming from or even what they were saying, and it was entirely possible that the certainty of death had made her lose her mind, but she waited. Slowly, they grew louder--soon loud and clear enough that she could just barely make out the words.
"Are you sure it's here?" a somewhat aged voice asked.
"No, it is on the other side; I just thought Master could use some exercise so I have us going around in circles," a youthful voice responded.
"Stop blabbering, you two; just because only the Sage's Avatar is here doesn't mean we can afford to be careless," another slightly aged voice joined.
"Master, these shadows are funny," a youthful girl's voice said.
"How so, Light?"
"They tickle."
"Really?"
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you, Master," the first youthful voice said.
"Huh? Why?"
"Because you will die."
"... right. Makes sense."
"We should also probably stop yapping."
"Why?" another unfamiliar voice joined in.
"Because we are being quite loud and the little lambs are listening in on us."
Just then, the wall that had been preventing them from escaping suddenly eroded, revealing a burst of light on the other side. From it, Zi Tai saw quite a few figures emerge--she though there'd only be five, but there were... a whole lot more than that. Leading them was a middle-aged seeming man with a somewhat unkempt beard and a tired look in his eyes.
"Hey there," he said, putting on a smile. "We come in peace." silence fell as nobody seemed to know how to respond to that. "I can't believe I actually said that. Sheesh. My entire body convulsed. Sorry. Uh, don't freak out; my name is Qi, this is my family, and we're here for the same reason as you, I imagine. To destroy the vine before it infects the array."