Waves of energy reflected back and forth between the two cultivators and the walls around them, seeming to grow stronger. In a desperate attempt to absorb some of the energy, John let himself be pushed along by it, moving in such a way that would soften the damage as much as possible. He found that his instincts seemed to have done him some good, but he didn’t move as he expected. His body remained where it was, but his soul flew off into the sea of spiritual totems. He hadn’t planned to immediately pick a spiritual totem… but the process would help him absorb more energy. If he didn’t, he would likely die. If he was too slow… the same. However, he had already taken the time to peruse his options. There was one he particularly liked. The Cave had been his choice, an earth elemental totem that also had ties to darkness.

As he was moving towards his chosen totem, he felt something tugging at him. The darkness treasure. It lead him towards… a pile of dirt. It smelled foul, like rotting things. But of course, that was what it was. A moment later, his impression of it changed. It smelled like fresh soil. Had it transformed into a different totem? Not at all. That was merely what it was. Dirt. This particular visage of it was the aspects of it that involved the decay of life into particularly nutrient rich soil. That is to say… compost.

The world around John trembled, threatening to break. He knew his body was in a precarious state as well. Earth element with ties to darkness? Check. Second tier? Check. Able to grow? Probably. With the prompting of the treasure with him, he really couldn’t second guess things. Maybe this was fate, or maybe it was just good enough for him to not die.

His ‘hand’ stretched out, forming a connection between himself and the spiritual totem. There was endless abundant energy to make use of, and he needed to do so to not be torn apart. He fused with the totem and it formed a representation of itself inside his dantian.

He found himself back in his body, a whirlpool of energy. Foundation Phase was a bigger change inside of himself than he’d thought it would be. He didn’t have time to take a full stock of things, but the single step he’d taken was more than just the doubling in power he’d thought it would be.

Next to him, Renato had also broken through. Energy continued to reverberate from them to the walls and back, but as the two of them manipulated it it slowly fell into a pattern of destructive interference. In short, it slowed and stopped gradually.

John coughed up a mouthful of black liquid. Blood? There was certainly some of that in it. His bones were creaking and his skin torn apart, and his internal organs were a mess. But… he felt great. That was probably just the high of adrenaline.

Renato was sitting as still as a statue. Actually, it was more than that. His skin had taken on a greyish pallor. John still felt some life from him, but it was faint. Then there were cracking sounds. It was awful to listen to… but when he finally saw a layer of stone fall off Renato like peeling skin, John was relieved. The other man blinked as he was finally able to move his body. “Well. It does seem that we haven’t died. I appreciate your assistance. I wasn’t able to handle the energy as well as I thought.”

John shrugged, “Me neither.” He looked up above them. The tube that had been lined with myriad sharp crystals was now worn smooth, which explained the few pieces sticking into his head, and the layer of dust all around them. He was glad that he’d unconsciously filtered the breath going into his lungs… though he supposed he might not have as much trouble breathing earth as he might have thought.

Renato narrowed his eyes. “Earth? Were you… unable to properly connect to a darkness totem?”

“This is… intentional.” More or less, anyway. He didn’t want to explain the whole thing to someone he’d known for an hour or two… or however long it had taken them. Even if they had gone through life and death together. “So, Renato… how about we try to climb out of here?”

Renato looked up. “Smooth walls. That’s more troublesome. We are in danger if we summon enough energy to pierce the walls… but together it should not be a problem. It is not such a wide pit, after all.” He stood up and held out his hand, “Shall we continue to work together for our survival, Fortkran Tenebach?”

John took his hand and pulled himself up, trying not to show the full extent of pain his body was in. “Gladly.” He looked around. “I seem to have misplaced my treasure.”

Renato sighed, “Me as well. Perhaps they were destroyed. I certainly wouldn’t be able to find those specific shards of crystal among the rest here. Now then, despite the heaviness of this place… we can just walk out.”

“Walk?” John raised an eyebrow.

Renato turned, finding the narrowest part of the tunnel heading up, then placed a foot against the wall, his back to the middle. “Walk. Just stand back to back, and we can move ourselves without relying on external uses of energy.”

John did as he suggested, pressing his foot against the other wall. Their backs pressed into each other, feeling much more stable than the actual configuration truly was. Then he pulled up his other leg, and he was in the air.

Coordinating with Renatos movements wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, but they moved slowly. If they had merely been in a normal tunnel of the size they were in, it would have been trivial for them to get out. A relatively fit person could move up a chimney like they were in without too much trouble. Theirs happened to be smooth with occasional razor-sharp crystals… and in a cave full of energy that resisted their movements and taunted them to try to use their own energy, at which points it would reverberate through them and potentially break them apart.

They moved one step at a time. The fall probably wouldn’t kill them, though they couldn’t be sure that they wouldn’t hit the ground harder than the first time, falling without the luxury of scraping against the walls… and with higher cultivations, the chamber below might react poorly to their landing. But they were able to keep all their use of energy just to their bodies until they reached the top. “I’m going to be honest,” John admitted. “I’m not looking forward to how we stop being like this.”

“We’ll just have to push off. Ready?”

John sighed. “As much as I’ll ever be. On the count of three?”

And it was as simple as that. The two of them ended up on opposite sides of the pit, but they were out. “I do believe I shall be leaving this way,” Renato said. “I believe there were some minor treasures I passed by. You know your way back out?”

“I do. Be careful.”

“Of course. I will not forget to control my energy to below a certain level until we leave.” That was also a reminder for John.

He found that moving through the tunnels was like walking through mud. The dense energy pushed on him harder, and he wanted to push harder back… which would have been a mistake. He was barely able to keep on his feet, despite the energy he found swirling inside himself. When was the last time he ate? He wasn’t sure about that. His bag had been fully destroyed, so he didn’t exactly have anything munch on. He started finding his way towards the exit. Hopefully, his memory wouldn’t fail him. Fortunately, the energy didn’t decide to crush him for being a Foundation Phase cultivator, though he kept his energy well under wraps, using it as little as he could. He just hoped he didn’t have to fight.

As he walked along, John felt slightly more at home… yet more intimidated. He now had an earth elemental spiritual totem, but that just made him more aware of the danger of the Crystal Caverns.

He passed through the room where he’d parted with Aydan. The pinkish crystals were mostly removed, whatever power they had taken away. He didn’t see any bodies, but he wasn’t sure that they wouldn't have been absorbed by the place itself. The damage to all parts of the walls, floors, and ceilings indicated there had been a significant amount of combat in the area.

John would have liked to stay to seek more opportunities, but he was at the end of his stamina, and without a method to recover it. It was said that high tier cultivators could sustain themselves on the power of the universe… but maybe they just had bags full of food and didn’t like to admit to a little snacking. His stomach grumbled as he found his way towards the real exit of the Crystal Caverns, using his memories and his vague sense of the outside world to guide him. He didn’t spot anyone on the way out, nor any creatures. He supposed he’d already traversed the path once, but it was still strangely empty.

As he stepped outside the caverns into the setting sun, he saw a mere handful of people. Among them, he recognized Johannes Dalen. Were they so free as to wait outside?

“Young fellow,” Johannes spoke first, “You are quite tight on the timing. We were about to seal this place.”

“Seal it? But isn’t it open for… weeks?”

“How long do you think it has been?”

He didn’t actually know. It was quite easy to lose track of time while cultivating… especially in strange places and exceptional circumstances. He wasn’t even really sure how long he’d been down in the Crystal Caverns before everything happened. It could have been half a day, or two days.

“Now then, move aside so we can begin the sealing.”

“Wait!” John said, catching himself, “Please, Sect Master. Has Renato come out? He was in there with me… a few hours ago.”

“Renato?” Johannes narrowed his eyes. “I have not seen him.”

“Can the sealing wait a few more hours? He was taking a different path out, one with which he was familiar.”

Johannes burrowed into John with his gaze. “You certainly know the right things to say. He is one of our most prized students. However, what I overheard… indicates that he might not return. If you are asking us to wait for the sake of someone else…”

John clapped his hands together and bowed his head, “I swear that I was with Renato not long ago. I know no others I care for who went into the tunnels, except my uncle Aydan Tenebach. I… assume he is already out?”

The sect master of the Order of the Amber Heart shook his head, “I did not keep track of him in particular, but I can say all of those who will leave… are already out. As for you… we will have you wait here. If Renato is really on his way out… we will owe you some sort of favor for delaying us. Otherwise… well, we’re not interested in starting conflict. We’ll merely forbid you from returning at the next opportunities the caverns open. But the sealing should begin as soon as possible…”

John moved over out of their way and sat. He knew his words were true… hopefully, Renato had a better sense of time and would hurry to the exit. He didn’t have any more supplies than John himself. To take his mind off of the subject he started to gingerly cultivate. As the two energies he now possessed flowed through his meridians they entered his body, repairing his wounds. His mind eventually found its way to his dantian, where he found his two spiritual totems… though they appeared much like one. The Seed of Darkness had become a sapling, and now it sat in a pile of compost. Plants go in dirt. John grinned tiredly to himself and hoped Renato made it out… for several reasons. He didn’t exactly have many friends, and he’d quite like the chance to come back to the Crystal Caverns.