Adaloun felt dizzy as he opened his eyes once again and was welcomed by the strange heat of a small flame. His ears weren't ringing anymore, but he still felt nauseous just by opening his eyes. He squinted his eyes to try and get rid of the woozy feeling he had.

"T…t—there…yooou…goooo…" An unfamiliar voice said.

He tried looking around, but his eyes hurt even in the slightest movement. Adaloun decided to close his eyes and gambled his fate to the charity of those who saved him. He knew it was the Orkamuus that saved him, but he's doubting that now. He could be wrong about his notion. That pesky sound those bat-like creatures produced still left him confused. He tried his best to silence his and a few moments later, he finally drifted to sleep.

Adaloun opened his eyes to the sound of squaking seagulls and smell of salt in the air. He looked around and saw his previous world. The world where he originally came from. The fine white sands that rubbed against his feet, the blue waters of the salty sea and the bright shinning sun that proudly placed itself in the sky was nostalgic to him.

However, in that dream, something was a little different. The sun seemed to be dimming as each moment passed. The sun's vibrant light slowly faded and was replaced with a weird dark glow. Was it an eclipse? It wasn't quite close to that.

Adaloun couldn't move away from where he was standing. His eyes fixed at the dimming sun while his body froze in horror at the sight of it. Dark tendrils began to pop-out from the bright ball of flames in the sky. It slowly wrapped its jet-black tentacles into the sun slowly squeezing its light out.

The light of day slowly turned into night in an instant. But there were no stars nor the moon to light the world. The sky broke and revealed tentacles devouring the heavens into the void.

The sky slowly cracked and as it did, its fragments fell to the ground and set the land aflame. Screams of agony echoed throughout the thinning faint light he saw from the distance the moment he turned around. The water retreated to earth as the dark tentacle pierced the sea. The ground shook as the Crawling Darkness penetrated its grotesque tentacles on it, leaving to spurt its hot lava to the surface.

The world was ending the same way it did before on the 364th world. The world he treasured and yet cannot remember. A deafening sound of a trumpet exploded from the sky and finally, the world as he knew turned into the void. The nothingness, a place of darkness where everything meshed into a place of insanity and anguish.

The screams became louder, and now it screamed his name.

"Arellin…failuurreee…" The voices chorused and laugh as it mocked him. "Yyyyoouuu…aree…noth—"

"Wake up my friend!" A familiar voice interjected.

He opened his eyes and saw the bright eyes of Corvinus. He held him in his arms and was shaking him.

"Are you alright, my friend?" The Orkamuu said.

"He looked around and saw the dark high ceiling. The bonfire was still there beside him. Corvinus' bright smile welcomed him along with Gravil and another Orkamuu who had bandages wrapped around the stump of where his left arm was supposed to be.

Corvinus helped him sit up and rested his back on the stony wall. Gravil offered him a bronze cup filled with steaming water.

"Drink, my friend." He gave the cup to him with a smile. "These leaves were plucked from the garden of Amophos. It should calm your nerves down and rid you off the poison in your blood."

Adaloun took the cup from Gravil and drank it carefully. The tea had a mint like flavor to it. It had mild sweetness from the honey and a bitter aftertaste from the dried herb. It immediately stimulated his senses. The drowsiness and nauseating feeling he felt earlier instantly vanished.

The tea energized him as soon as he drank it. He looked at the three Orkamuus with awe, "What is this…tea?"

"That is a gift from Apholak, my friend." Corvinus answered. "We call it Arawa-an. It has tremendous healing properties similar to that of a regeneration potion, only more potent.

Adaloun took the rest of the tea and thanked them before asking them what truly happened to the rest of the squad.

"We do not know as well, my friend." Corvinus scratched his head. "We woke up confused and bound by something…" He sighed.

It was exactly the same as what he had been bound with. Adaloun described it to them; the three agreed that it was.

"Could it be the work of those…bat-like creatures?" Adaloun looked around. "Could there still be…"

"In Apholak's name, I hope there aren't anymore of those filthy creatures." The third Orkamuu interjected. "Its kin bit my arm off and now, they shall face the wrath of my god!" The man said with conviction.

"And indeed, we shall kill them all and cleanse the world of their filthy existence." Gravil patted the third Orkamuu's back.

Adaloun looked at the third man. He hadn't seen him before, or if he did, he hadn't noticed him at all. He was smaller compared to Gravil and Corvinus and his skin was a shade lighter than the two, although the rest of their features are almost similar to that of Corvinus.

Corvinus noticed his curiosity towards the third man, "My apologies, my friend. This one is named Darayus. My twin brother." He smiled.

"Twin brother?" Adaloun said to himself and looked at both of them with confusion.

Corvinus smiled at him, "Some other time, my friend. For now, we must complete our task."

"Or get out of here alive." Darayus mumbled.

"That is enough, brother." Corvinus sighed. "We will come out alive and lay waste to those monster who took out your arm!"

Darayus stood up and took the hot kettle Gravil placed near his side and drank its contents. Adaloun watched in horror as the scalding water overflowed from his mouth. Surprisingly, it didn't even scathe his skin.

Adaloun looked at him with awe as he threw the kettle back to Gravil.

"Apholak's blessing. Isn't it a beauty?" Gravil asked Adaloun.

"Excuse me?" Adaloun wasn't able to hear what he said entirely.

Gravil smiled and cleared his throat, "Our god's blessing, isn't wonderful? His protection from the heat is what truly made us who we are." He said.

Adaloun had nothing else to say so he nodded and smiled back at him.

"Our Lord Apholak would understand if we shall cut his praises short for now." Corvinus said in serious tone. "This cave itself is a labyrinth filled with monstrosities only those swine gods from here could have made!" He gritted his teeth as he looked around the area.

"True." Darayus seconded. "This is needed a cleansing! That's why we are here, along with you…Ada…"

"Adaloun. It's Adaloun ser Darayus." He answered back.

"Adaloun? You mean like the—" Darayus' excitement was cut short by his brother who wanted to go straight to the point with their current status.

"We shall talk about it some other time." Corvinus sighed. "Right now, we must traverse this labyrinth altogether to finish our objectives..."

"Find those god-given stones and eradicate the monsters that lurk from within." Gravil immediately continued what Corvinus left.

"Do you have any objections, my friend?" He asked Adaloun directly.

"I have none." Adaloun shook his head. "At least this will increase our chances of survival." He added.

"Alright! May Apholak bless us all and deliver us to our victory!" Corvinus said.

"So, shall it be!" The other two Orkamuu chorused.

Adaloun nodded and they went on their way.

Their group went in deeper into the cave. Using the sparse light coming from their floating fire sprites, they were able to navigate easier with their hands free. They walked into tight cave channels and impossible spiky pathways until they reached another part of the so-called labyrinth.

"What is this place?" Gravil looked around and saw huge crumbled man-made pillars lying around a huge clearing inside the cave.

Corvinus used his fire sprite to hover around the big chunks of white marble and limestone lying around that area. The Apholak worshipper closed his eyes and controlled the sprite to reach every nook and cranny within the clearing.

"It looks like a city!" He exclaimed. "These big chunks of stones seemed to be pillars shaped by men.

"Oh! Really brother?!" Darayus asked while summoning a sprite of his own.

"Yes, please help me in surveying this place." Corvinus asked the other two Orkamuus who immediately did their part. "As for you, my friend. Just stay there and recover. I could still feel you need a little more rest." He smiled.

Adaloun wanted to object to what he just said, however, Corvinus was right. He hasn't recovered yet as much as he wanted to deny it, there was still a little bit of discomfort on his back. He sat down and let the Orkamuu do the task, after all, he doesn't have that same ability as theirs.

He tried to look for a comfortable place to sit on when suddenly he heard the agonizing screams coming from the Orkamuus. He immediately rushed to them and saw all three of them on the ground writhing in pain.

"MY EYES! MY EYES! ARRGGHHH!" Corvinus shouted as boiling blood flowing from his eyes. "Arrrgghhhh..NO…NOOO!!!!!" All three of them convulsed.

Adaloun was left confused with what was going on. He tried to look around only to find out that no one except for the four of them was there.

All of the sudden, he head a huge bang echoing through the cave. Adaloun grabbed the Orkamuus by their armors and dragged them to a safer place. He knew whatever it was, it was out to get them.

"Can't you give me a break?!" He tiredly said as he took Gravil's schmitar.