The next thing I knew was that I was no longer in that strange form, nor was I in the void. Instead I was in some dark, cramped place, unable to move, my limbs not listening to me.

Wait a second - I actually had a body. Not the strange, fluid and almost imaginary one like before, but the one that was aching and itching all over - most definitely a material one. As for what it was made of… Well that was a different story.

I was barely able to move my head and it was so dark it was hard to see, but one thing I was sure of - the crystallization has progressed. While before, I was almost half way turned into a crystal, now it was about three quarters. That was probably why I was not able to move my limbs at all - they were completely made out of crystal. Even in the dark I was able to see the faint outline of the rough shape poking through my clothes, or rather the remains of them.

As my eyes finally became accustomed to the dark, I could assess my situation better.

I was buried in the avalanche of rock - most likely still in the cave where the explosion happened. My limbs were not refusing to move just because of fatigue or damage - they were trapped under various rocks, and even my head was in between some. The only reason I was not brutally crushed into a paste was thanks to the crystallization of my limbs - even though they got caught up in the rockslide, the crystal was a lot more durable than just some random boulder.

As I was praising the first accident and the Origin Crystal, I slowly started regaining feeling in my limbs and in what remained of my fleshy body, I noticed that I was lying in something wet and warm.

That was what made me realize my mistake.

It was not like I managed to avoid damage thanks to the sudden crystallization. Quite the opposite. That was exactly why it happened.

The liquid I was lying in was a large pool of blood. My own blood, squeezed nice and fresh from my own body - how in the hell did I not bleed out?

The crystal did not protect me. The crystal remade me. Or at least remade the parts that got sent through the mulcher, a.k.a. the cave-in.

That brought up another very important question. Where did the power to do that come from?

The crystal presence.

Is that what it meant by dangerous? It didn’t mean that it was dangerous for me… it was dangerous for it?

I instantly tried using my magic sense.

There was no mistake - I could not feel any presence anywhere. Even though I was very weak - I barely was able to reach about ten meters from me - there was no doubt that if I were still in the same cave where the explosion happened, if it was still there, I would’ve felt it.

What was more intriguing though, that was not the only thing my surroundings were lacking.

The whole area was also absolutely devoid of mana.

That was unthinkable. Not so long ago when we walked through the tunnels, the density was so high that the sheer amount of energy turned two of my companions into mostly useless drunkards, the walls were glowing from the excess power and you could even taste the mana in the air. If that was not enough, there was also the explosion - even if it wasn’t comparable to the one that happened back in the MIRE, it was still powerful. No matter if the epicenter was the Origin Crystal or not, it definitely had to release a lot of mana and probably partially damage a leyline. Also, by the way: was the presence trapped in another Origin Crystal? Also, how could I even be sure if I didn’t lie there for, I don’t know, a year? Or if it was the same place, for that matter. Last time something similar to this happened, I ended up in essentially another world and or timeline.

There were a ton of questions with not a lot of answers, and definitely none would be answered for me if I was just to lie there pretending to be a part of the rubble. But that also did not change the fact that I was indeed trapped.

Even though I was stuck, there was a bright side - I was still alive. And was slowly regaining feeling in my limbs. Groaning loudly I tried moving my arms a bit, but the boulders trapping me did not even budge. Same with my legs. As I tried moving my head I had to stop immediately, because that was one of the last pieces I still had some fleshy bits, as I could see and feel it being squished between some pieces of stone, with a small streak of blood now trickling down my forehead. Good thing that the initial impact hit me in the more resistant, crystal part.

As I definitely did not have enough physical strength to dig myself out, I tried using magic.

But alas, for the first time since I arrived in this place, I did not have any mana to speak of.

While, considering the circumstances, it was not surprising, it still startled me.

-Fucking great - I groaned to myself.

I tried a couple times more, just to be sure, trying smaller and smaller spells. I was still alive and conscious, so I had to have at least SOME mana. The most I was able to do though, was just to move a palm-sized stone, which I was pretty sure I was just straight up able to pick up by hand.

Talk about irony. Until now I was constantly being annoyed and laughed at everyone because of their lack of mana, and now I had even less reserves than a regular peasant.

I couldn’t exactly just lie there and wait for my mana to recover. I couldn’t really count on my crystal to sustain me any more either - after all, it was always getting mana from environment, thanks to that I was able to get away with not eating or sleeping - but now with that barren surroundings, it was only a matter of time before I would again have my basic needs back. The most inconvenient timing, of course.

But what about my bag?

Well, the thing was, that I still had it on me. Its enchantment was completely gone at this point, probably because of damage it took or just straight up because it was flawed. It also meant that the contents were no longer protected, that is the remaining supplies and potions that I might’ve had on me had a very tiny chance of surviving.

I wanted to check up on those anyway, but that also was proving hard, since my arms were still stuck.

Without much of a choice, I started the painful and long process of slowly wiggling out one of my arms out of the avalanche.

If there was anyone out there that did not get buried under the rocks, the noise I was making would either bait them here in an instant or scare them away so hard that they’d end up on the coast.

And it was not just me groaning in pain. Although every time I made progress, the rocks and dirt shifted, either crushing me even more or just showering me with gravel and soil, so I involuntarily had to scream a couple of times, sometimes in pain, sometimes in frustration, that was not what made the most noise.

What was worse was the sound my crystal made every time it was grinding on the raw rock. When I first heard it I almost had a heart attack - it was as someone was scratching a blackboard with their fingernails. Magnified by a small space and a silence I was in, every time I heard it it made my blood freeze.

The second effect was somewhat more useful, although still as annoying. Whenever that horrible noise happened, the crystal also was producing a rather copious amount of sparks, just like some very powerful flint. While that was giving me a non-negligible amount of light and somewhat was helping me with my progress, it also was a fire hazard.

So much, in fact, that a few times my clothes, or rather what remained of them, actually caught on fire.

First time it happened it startled me like you couldn’t imagine. My hands were still stuck, so I couldn’t even pat myself out and was forced to try and smother the flames by hugging the rock as hard as I could. It did work, although I produced even more sparks in the process, igniting myself again.

It took me about four tries to finally be able to kill the flames without starting another fire, and even that only because I managed to create a small amount of water to douse them.

As you can imagine, that only slowed down my progress, and the minimal amounts of mana that I managed to regain were again gone.

The further attempts at trying myself were even slower. I also changed my mind about trying to free my hands, instead moving to legs, hoping that even if I was to create more sparks, I would not set myself on fire.

That went better. Although it took me maybe half an hour - it was hard to keep track of time in complete isolation like that - I managed to free one of my legs. Even though it still did not give me much more maneuverability, it boosted my morale quite a bit and I doubled my efforts.

That was a mistake. With my renewed energy, I started moving a bit too vigorously and produced more sparks, this time igniting what remained of my pants.

Even with increased mobility, I couldn't kill the flames. Instead, while trying to awkwardly pat myself out with my freshly freed leg, thanks to my flailing, I managed to shift a bunch of rocks in a way that caused a small avalanche.

Good news was that it actually freed my right hand. On the other hand, during my wild exercises I managed to spread a fire to my freshly freed arm.

Reflexively I groaned in pain when the flames licked my skin, just to realize that I was not feeling any pain.

Right, I did not have any skin to begin with. Mostly.

After quickly killing the flames, thanks to my freed hand, I managed to confirm what parts of me were still flesh. That is besides what was obvious at first sight.

Besides my arms and legs, most of my head and my back was actually already covered in crystal, or rather turned into one. As far as I was aware, the only fleshy bit remaining was just my chest, including the area of the heart, forehead, belly and a piece of my thigh on the opposite side where it all started. A bit more than what I estimated in the darkness before.

It was not that bad of news. Besides the obvious negative sides, like for example complete baldness, or, more importantly, starting to feel weaker and weaker thanks to mana starvation, it actually meant that I did not have to be that careful any more.

At first I was scared to try and force my way out of here, fearing the landslide would crush my head and lungs, now, with one free hand, I could now protect myself better.

With double efforts and a lot more sparks, after a bit of flailing, some small fires and a lot of scrapes I managed to free myself completely. Or at least, as completely as it got. I was still stuck in a fetal position, in between a bunch of rubble. But this time I could actually move my arms and legs. Progress.

What was next, though? I still had not a lot of mana to work with, of any for that matter, because I was not even sure if I got any back. The physical exhaustion, for the first time in a long while, started to take its toll and was definitely not helping in getting out.

Shifting in this uncomfortable position I suddenly felt something poke me in my belly. Something very sharp, not just a piece of rock.

Feeling around with my hand, I stumbled upon something I never expected to see - a dagger. It had to be buried somewhere in the landslide and my recent shifting had to free it somehow.

When I grabbed it, I suddenly felt a surge of mana, as it, along with my arm, started glowing, lighting up the surroundings.

In the glow, I managed to recognize the weapon. It was one belonging to the pair I saw in Melle’s bag. I guess she dropped it sometime during either when she got kidnapped or lost it when the cave collapsed.

That was a stroke of good luck. It was obviously magical and still had mana in it, actually more than it should. That instantly brought a question - why the hell didn’t I notice it sooner? I did check my surroundings before and I felt literally nothing with mana. I held the knife for a good fifteen seconds and it still had not run out of mana, meaning it should’ve been easily detectable.

With this sudden injection of energy I scanned my surroundings again, and sure enough, the dagger was now painfully visible, glowing in my hand like a beacon, both with regular light and in my mind’s eye.

Just as I was happy that I found myself a nice source of energy, it disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. Not like it ran out of mana, no. In that case, its light would’ve slowly started dimming, representing the remaining power it had, but in its case it just went out like a burned out lightbulb.

I thought it was too good to last for long. In any case, it gave me quite a boost that I desperately needed, and, as a secondary effect, gave me a nice light source for a while - even though the dagger was already dark, my arm was still not. I stowed the dagger behind my belt, thinking it might be useful later.

The light was not very powerful and just was giving barely anything, but after the complete darkness it was more than enough. In comparison to the sudden bursts of sparks that I accidentally was making every now and again, a directable and stable source of light was infinitely better. It also gave me a better idea about how exactly my situation was looking.

I was not buried alive as I was fearing. Yeah, sure, I was still under a large rubble of rocks, barely able to move, but thanks to my impromptu flashlight, I managed to shine the light a bit further away, through the gaps between the rocks, seeing that I was still in a cave. Probably the same one if I was to guess. I couldn’t see anything above me, the layer of rocks was too densely packed, but if I was to go about three, maybe four meters to the side I would end up outside of this landslide, hopefully free.

The only question was, how would I do it without making the whole thing collapse on top of me. Or at least without getting trapped again.

I already realized that I cannot be crushed, the crystal was too strong for the rocks to destroy. I already tried hitting the stones a couple of times to check if I might be able to chip some of them - that only led to another small fire and an explosion of sparks. Even though my crystal was infinitely harder, I still was lacking strength and I had to come to terms that I will need to use magic to get out.

I was not very excited about that. If you’d ask me yesterday what I would do in this situation I’d without hesitation tell you that moving those rocks would be a piece of cake, having basically infinite amounts of mana and all. I’d probably even try my hand at melding the rocks - like the tunnels near Melle’s home. That sounded like a fun time.

But I did not have the luxury any more and now had to use a method that did not burn through the mana like mad.

Ice magic.

First things first though. For starters, I had to make sure that while I work on making my way out, the ceiling will not cave onto me.

-Elwu etos hmedou lek gmyo.

I directed my magic above my head. Taking inspiration from the spell I’ve seen on waterskins we’ve had on our journey, I started condensing the water still present in the air and freezing the gaps in between the rocks that were directly above me.

The spell was working quite fast, probably because since I was underground, the environment was pretty damp. Ice was forming nice and without issue, gluing the rocks together, forming a nice and sturdy roof above my head. I slowly was moving downwards, also creating support for my “structure”, making sure it won't collapse.

Basically, I formed a strange, three-walled igloo.

After that was done, I shifted a bit towards the direction where I saw the glimpses of the open cave.

The next step was not going to be that easy,

-Elwu etos usc.

First off, I started gathering water, as much as I could, still from the environment, but this time I did not freeze it just yet, instead I was just collecting it in an orb right in front of me. Almost instantly I ran out of space, so I moved the orb towards the open cave, wedging it between the rocks, controlling the way it was moving.

That was a bit more complicated. Commanding the water to fill the gaps between the stones with that little light was a challenge. I did slip up a bit and spill out a bunch, both on me and somewhere further in the cave I think, since I’ve started hearing the water splash around. Luckily, I had plenty of it, or rather the cave was pretty damp, so I did not have to worry about that.

After a good couple of minutes I felt like that should be enough. I stopped gathering water and instead took a deep breath.

-Elwu etos hmedou.

What I intended to do was to flash-freeze the water that I kept in front of me, hoping that its sudden expansion would move the rocks aside, giving me a way out.

Too bad it did not go as well as I expected. While the water froze alright and it did shuffle around some loose stone,it was not even remotely enough, after which it just glued the rock together exactly as the ones above my head. Annoyed, I dropped the freezing spell, and instead started the long process of melting the ice with fire magic.

It took longer than expected. While dumping more mana into the ice magic was a good way to speed things up, with fire I needed to be a bit more careful. Besides it consuming a lot more mana, I needed to be wary to not melt the ceiling I created by accident. It proved a lot harder than it sounds, because of where I was. By freezing my surroundings I accidentally created a sealed pocket in the rock, where even air could not escape, which meant that heat stayed as well. Whenever I boosted my flame, the temperature of the whole pocket was rising, and while the wall I was working on was definitely melting faster, soon the water also started dropping on my head from the ceiling. Not ideal. I considered dumping a good chunk of mana into a fire spell to melt all of it at once, but stopped myself half way, remembering that I do not have infinite mana any more, nor I had any way of recovering it.

The process of me sweating and getting wet from all the ice melting took a good half an hour, I think, during which I had to stop twice to remake the roof of my pocket. And to take a breather from the heat of the spell. Even though I was almost entirely made of crystal now, I still was feeling the heat, especially because I essentially was in a sauna.

You can imagine my relief when I finally burned through all the ice and the cold air from the cave blew right in my face.

The relief was quite short-lived, because along with the air, while preoccupied with my task I also invited something else in.