The ground cracked violently beneath their feet, the tremors escalating to a deafening crescendo. James barely had time to register the seismic scanner’s shrieking alarm before the earth gave way.
The volcanic terrain crumbled in an avalanche of glowing rock, and the group was hurled downward into a yawning chasm.
"Hold on!" Sylvia shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos as her wings flared with light. A radiant shield formed overhead, deflecting falling debris and molten rock, but the sudden collapse left no time for planning. They slid down a jagged slope of obsidian, the intense heat licking at their skin despite the runestones’ protection.
James gritted his teeth as sharp shards tore into his gloves, his hands desperately clawing for purchase. Kael growled beside him, his claws gouging into the volcanic surface to slow his descent, while Thrain bellowed curses, his hammer clutched tightly.
"Not like this!" Kael snarled, his voice echoing in the cavernous abyss.
The slide ended abruptly as the group was flung onto a precarious ledge overlooking a molten river. The air was suffocating, the heat rippling with every bubble of lava below. James’s chest heaved as he coughed out ash, his satchel miraculously still strapped to his side.
Sylvia landed gracefully beside him, her glowing shield flickering. "Everyone accounted for?" she asked, though her strained tone betrayed her own fatigue.
"Barely," Thrain grumbled, rising to his knees. He slammed his hammer into the ground, sending a ripple of energy through the obsidian. The ledge beneath them shuddered but held firm. "This blasted place is trying to kill us at every turn."
Kael flexed his claws, the fur on his arms singed. "Tell me something I don’t know."
James struggled to his feet, his eyes darting across the cavern. The glowing rivers of lava illuminated towering walls of jagged obsidian, their surfaces slick with heat. "How deep are we?" he muttered, his voice barely audible over the bubbling magma.
Sylvia scanned their surroundings, her wings dimmed but still glowing faintly. "Too deep. We need to get out of here before the heat overwhelms us."
Their resistant runestones pulsed faintly, but the oppressive heat of the cavern was testing their limits. Sweat poured down James’s face, and even Kael’s toughened form showed signs of strain.
"Everyone, stay close," Sylvia commanded, her tone sharp but steady. "We’ll climb back to the surface together."
A sudden pulse of energy rippled through the cavern, faint but unmistakable. Sylvia stiffened, her eyes narrowing. "Spirits," she whispered.
The air shimmered, and ghostly figures emerged from the walls, their translucent forms flickering like flames. Elyndor’s trap wasn’t over.
The spirits lunged.
Kael reacted instinctively, his claws igniting with a faint glow as he swiped through one of the spectral attackers. The spirit dissipated with a hiss, but more took its place. "They’re endless!" he growled, his amber eyes darting for an opening.
Thrain swung his hammer in a wide arc, the molten earth responding to his command. A barrier of rock surged upward, blocking a group of spirits from advancing. "Keep moving!" he barked. "I’ll hold them off!"
Sylvia’s wings flared, and beams of light sliced through the spirits, their forms disintegrating in flashes of brilliance. She turned to James, her expression resolute. "Stay close to me."
James nodded, fumbling with his satchel as he activated a small device—a palm-sized orb etched with intricate runes. He tossed it into the air, and it emitted a pulsing wave of energy. The spirits nearest to them recoiled, their forms flickering.
"It won’t hold them for long," James warned, his voice shaky.
The spirits adapted quickly, their movements growing more erratic. One lunged for Kael, its clawed hand phasing through his shoulder. Kael roared in pain, his movements becoming more frantic.
"Enough of this!" Thrain shouted, his hammer slamming into the ground. The molten river surged in response, a controlled wave of lava crashing into the spirits. They shrieked as the heat consumed them, but the effort left Thrain visibly drained.
Sylvia stepped forward, her eyes glowing with intensity. "Push forward! We can’t fight them all here."
James scanned the cavern, his seismic scanner flickering with faint energy signatures. His heart skipped a beat as he detected something deeper in the chasm—a psychic residue unlike anything he’d ever seen.
"This way!" he shouted, pointing toward a narrow path leading deeper into the cavern.
Kael snarled. "You want to go deeper? Are you insane?"
James hesitated, his pulse pounding in his ears. "It’s a trail. Residual energy from whatever we’re chasing. It’s strong—stronger than anything I’ve ever picked up."
Sylvia stepped between them, her wings dimming slightly. "If we’re going to survive, we need to stay together. If James thinks this trail will lead us to answers, we follow it. But we move carefully."
Thrain grumbled but nodded, his hammer resting on his shoulder. "Better than sitting here waiting to get roasted."
Kael glared at James but relented, his claws flexing. "Fine. But if this gets us killed, I’m haunting you."
The group pressed forward, their movements cautious as the heat intensified. The narrow path wound through the cavern, flanked by streams of molten lava that cast eerie shadows on the obsidian walls.
Elyndor watched from a hidden crevice, his form half-shrouded by the spirits surrounding him. His injuries throbbed with each breath, but his eyes burned with determination.
"Follow the trail, fools," he whispered, his voice tinged with malice. "You’ll only find despair."
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As the group ventured deeper, the cavern grew darker, the oppressive heat pressing down on them. James’s seismic scanner pulsed faintly, the trail of psychic residue growing stronger. Each step felt heavier, the weight of the unknown dragging at their resolve.
The air grew still, the bubbling lava giving way to an eerie silence. James’s breath hitched as his scanner emitted a single, steady pulse. They had reached the edge of something immense.
Sylvia’s wings glimmered faintly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Stay close. We don’t know what’s ahead and to be fair, if I had a choice, I really wouldn’t want to find out."
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