Crackling flames filled the tunnels, smoke drifting along the ceiling. Along with the flames came the wonderful smell of cooked meat. It didn’t matter what meat it was. Just that it was cooked. It looked juicy and succulent and… totally inaccessible.

Melanthina’s stomach grumbled, but she pushed down the feeling. She ate a bunch of squid just… yesterday. Or something like that. It was totally fine and had been satisfying and not a chore to eat, with its rubbery texture.

She would have just left, but she had to keep watching. Zoubida was a threat she couldn’t ignore, a member of the Righteous Flame League. It seemed she was colluding with Nik, and thus the Combining Luster Sect. It was important to be cautious, and to keep track of them. If the Combining Luster Sect was trying to play both sides of the field, the Tenebach clan couldn’t afford to work with them anymore.

“Hmmnn…” Nik grumbled. “It’s not… great.”

“Oh yeah?” Zoubida harrumphed, “I’d like to see you cook something better with the stuff down here.”

“I’m sure that could be arranged.” Nik stood up, leaving a half-eaten hunk of meat on the ground next to the fire- an eternal flame, it seemed. Melanthina should have had one of those. Though it did require special storage. “We don’t want to remain in one place too long. Some… thing could be watching.”

“You’re right about that, at least,” Zoubida took another bite of the mysterious creature, tossing the remains over her shoulder into a pool of water nearby as she picked up the cooking fire with her bare hands, compressing it and placing it in a box. “Let’s get moving then.”

As the two left, Melanthina slunk after them, stopping only to pick up the hunk of meat. It didn’t seem any worse off for its time on the ground, but Melanthina cut off one side anyway. Nik was right, of course. It wasn’t great. It was gamey and kind of burnt. It was so bad that a few tears were streaming down her face, with no other reason. But it was a crime to waste food, so she finished it.

-----

Two of the floating islands collided, with one of their opponents between them. It would be a sorry day when a Consolidated Soul Phase earth cultivator perished from being crushed between two rocks, but the man did not get away unscathed. John saw at least a broken arm and perhaps a twisted ankle.

Realizing his own position, the man retreated instantly, jumping into the swirling winds in the cavern. John would have chased after him, but the woman fighting alongside him held back both John and Matayal for a moment, before she too fled.

At around the same time, the ever present feeling of discomfort in the room faded away as the great power of the spirit lightning sphere was fully dismantled. The leading woman appeared to have taken the larger portion, but Harta had claimed some for himself.

With the state the battle was in, wrestling what remained out of the other side’s hands would likely lead to death on both sides. The individuals from the sky islands had most of what they came for, and with their injured members they chose to retreat. John and Matayal only gave chase to the edge of the chamber. Running after them alone- or at all- was far too risky.

Once they were certain that the immediate danger was past, they went to reconvene with Harta and the rest of the Mulyani clan. The man himself held a metal rod, inside of which John could feel the crackling of lightning. His chest had a wicked wound, his armor having exploded off leaving it bare. Black veins from fresh burns spread over his chest. Even so, the man had a smile on his face.

“You alright?” John asked. “Got enough to make use of, at least?”

“Oh this?” Harta shook his head as he held up the stored power. “This is for Asih. I got more air element than I needed already,” he gestured to his injuries.

It wasn’t just bravado, either. John could already feel the man’s energy straining against the limits of the Soul Expansion Phase. “Take care of yourself, then. We should be turning towards the center soon. We’ll continue harvesting anything of note along the way, of course.”

-----

Claws of darkness attempted to gouge out Ursel’s eyes, and her only defense was to shut them. It hurt still, with damage on the edge of bleeding- but it could have been worse. Diamond Defense combined with her recent breakthrough to the Soul Expansion Phase made her more confident in her ability.

As she punched her fist into the wall of the tunnel, however, she grimaced. “How am I supposed to kill that thing? It’s like it’s not even there!”

“It is an incorporeal creature of darkness,” Tirto pointed out. “Earth is probably one of the worst ways to deal with such things. Though I’m sure there’s a way.”

Tirto didn’t find himself all that much better off, though surrounding himself with a sphere of water meant such a creature’s claws wouldn’t strike him. And as the two of them quickly learned, nothing could strike them without being vulnerable itself. When they attacked, there was a moment of vulnerability. Tirto stabbed his spear to attempt to damage the claws themselves, while Ursel’s ultimate response was more direct.

When claws came to rend her flesh, she grabbed back at them, interlacing her fingers with the claws. Then she yanked, peeling the shadow from its safety on the wall. One would have expected the thing to slip from her grasp easily, but earth element spiritual energy didn’t just deal with rocks and plants. It also dealt with solidity in all forms, including making things solid. Of course, it was much harder to do with another element- but she managed to solidify enough of the creature that it couldn’t pull away without ripping off parts of itself. Once away from the wall, it carried sensible elements of three-dimensionality, and Tirto stabbed it through with his spear. It took several thrusts before enough of the creature broke apart, then it discorporated into a misty remains.

“Do you think we should store this?” Ursel asked. “For Melanthina.”

“She’s the one with all of the containers that can hold spirit darkness,” Tirto pointed out. “Best we just convert as much of it as we can to our elements to replenish ourselves. Don’t want to get caught in a weakened state.”

“Right,” Ursel nodded, well aware of how not having her weapon hindered her. “Then we’ll continue after the trail.”

-----

A clump of bones slammed down in the form of an enormous hand, nearly crushing Zoubida. Unfortunately, the woman dodged between the ‘fingers’, slicing through the base of one with her glaive, searing the surrounding bones and causing the disconnected bones to collapse into a pile.

On the other side of the creature- though it did not have a front or rear- Nik prodded with his staff, sending beams of light into the creature’s midsection as it grew various appendages to counterattack.

Melanthina hung back, taking in the whole picture. The creature was dangerous, obviously. Whatever it actually was, it had slain many denizens of the area- and seemingly some humans, or things with very humanlike skulls based on how the jaws attempted to bite down on its surrounding prey. But though it seemed an ephemeral creature like the shadows, Melanthina detected that it had a solid form somewhere beneath the bones it wore as weapon and armor.

“What are you even doing?” Zoubida shouted. “You have to do more damage than that! Destroy it!”

“I’m sorry that my talents lay in other areas,” Nik replied, creating a flash of light that momentarily stunned the creature. “I’m not an expert at direct damage and severing limbs.”

As the thing flowed about like the world’s most unpleasant river, it crawled over the dislocated bones, happily picking them back up into its form, rendering much of Zoubida’s efforts useless.

Once she noticed that she became enraged, spinning her glaive wildly and chopping a path deeper into the creature. With a final thrust the tip of her weapon, coated in light element, burst apart the actual creature inside- though from Melanthina’s perspective that looked like an accident.

-----

Only rarely was a hallway not filled with flames or at least dripping with molten rock, which meant the Milanovic clan members had to pair up with Amber Heart members to keep them from overheating. It was not particularly burdensome, but instead just chose where they happened to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy. The earth cultivators had already had their time, and now the group was continuing its counterclockwise journey along the outer ring of the Prismatic Chambers.

Soon enough they would be reaching the light element portions, which the Golden Tomb Guardians were looking forward to. Despite the dangers and some further run-ins with sects from the Molten Sea and the rare others with the power to challenge them, the venture had been quite profitable so far. Cultivations were advancing steadily, and the experience would allow that to continue long after they had to leave. But despite their gains, the risks would eventually outweigh them if they stayed too long and allowed themselves to become fatigued. That was why they continued directly towards their furthest goal. If they found themselves in a good state on their return path, they could explore further.

-----

“We’re getting close,” Tirto commented. “We’ll soon catch up to Uncle Aydan, then we’ll be able to help him find our sister.”

“That’s great,” Ursel said. “I really hope he has my club… my backup weapons are not good.” Honestly, she preferred her fists except for the reach they could provide.

“Just a bit further,” Tirto said as they carefully moved through a cavern that had far too many toothy stalactites and stalagmites. It was as if it would swallow them whole- but they weren’t in an area with high earth element, and they were simply rocks. Though their presence along with varying heights of overhangs could allow many things to hide nearby.

Both were on alert, but sensed nothing. Ursel continued forward, eager but wary. She couldn’t help squinting. “I think I feel Uncle Aydan, finally. But… is it getting darker?”

Tirto looked down at the stone dangling from his belt. “It seems like it. These should still be fresh, though.”

Unlike their sister, they could not see perfectly in the dark- and she didn’t even have the blessing of Ciaritzal yet. Just a natural affinity. The two of them could get by with less light, as they were attuned to allied elements, but they still needed some.

They continued further, but the oppressive darkness only grew. “I don’t like this,” Tirto said.

“... Is this not where Uncle Aydan went?” Ursel asked. “Shouldn’t it be safe?”

Even as she asked that question, she was becoming aware of the muting of their voices. Along with light, sound was fading. No, not just that. They should be even closer to Aydan, but their sense of him had shrunken.

Something fell from the ceiling, first only a few then a constant rain. Small, wriggling things only about as long as a forearm. Though given the ring of teeth they had, they certainly didn’t appear small.

The two siblings ran ahead, shaking the things off them- but there were so many, sharp teeth biting through their spiritual energy and latching on. And, everywhere they ran there were more of the creatures. Leeches, planning to devour them. The worst part was that they could barely even feel them, as even tactile sensations were fading away with the light.

Ursel crushed them in her hands while Tirto tried to protect them with a dome of water above, but they coated the walls, ready to spring on their prey from all angles. The only mitigating factor that kept the two from being immediately swarmed and devoured was that some of the leeches latched onto others, happy enough to eat their own brethren.

Ursel grimaced as one bit into her shoulder- she knew that Tirto must have had it much worse, without Diamond Defense bolstering his skin. She recalled a technique from the Viridia Wildlands, and began growing facsimiles of flowers on herself and Tirto. They wafted a foul scent and a poison that should have been fatally potent- but there was only so much she could do with an unpracticed technique. Instead, they were simply deterred for a moment.

Tirto was covered with bloody wounds, while Ursel was relatively unscathed. Around them was a swarm of creatures barely held back by their distaste and uncertainty. Unfortunately, Ursel didn’t think she could hold on long. Perhaps they should have stayed behind after all- but it was too late to regret that now.