Darkness, true and utter darkness.

If there were walls around us, we wouldn’t know. If there were a boulder in our way, we would stumble on it.

I couldn’t help but think we were delving into the Abyss.

That was what descending into those tunnels felt like to me.

We could only count on Roana as we walked, but even she could not have her eyes everywhere at the same time.

Every once in a while, I could see something when Synesthesia triggered. The sound of our steps gifted me the equivalent of echolocation. It showed me how the road ahead of us and around us looked, but it was not constant; it was not something we could rely upon.

Other than that, I felt dark smells and saw images that were barely distinguishable given their shared background.

Even Aisha could not manifest Flow for the entire duration of our trip.

According to her, she had barely recovered enough for a single casting of her most potent attack; and we might need it in case of surprises.

"Damn, sorry. I did not see it," Roana said for the umpteenth time when Alistar stumbled on a rock.

"No biggies," was his answer. But it was clear that we couldn't continue like that.

Her abilities to see things that could not be seen weren't exactly adapted for such a situation. In fact, it failed her.

"Let's take a break," she said after barely a couple of hours.

We had been descending, then going uphill for a while. Yet we kept silent. We wanted to keep any creatures, asleep, whether they were there or not because there were surely things that didn’t have to be woken inside these dark tunnels.

So we whispered.

"My head is killing me," Ro said.

"I'm getting cold; there's only Shade in here. Not even a trickle of Flow," Aisha joined in her lament. I could feel her hands rubbing her own arms for warmth.

On the other side, I felt wonderfully healthy; it was actually warm for me there, while Alistar said it was a regular temperature for him.

"How long do you think we have to walk before we reach an exit?" Aisha whispered.

"I can't tell," answered Roana. Thanks to her rubbing her temples, Synesthesia showed me an image of her state. She was developing bags under her eyes. Probably for overusing her powers.

I brushed her hand, "You should take a rest."

She grabbed it tightly, "I can't; if I rest, we stay stuck here."

I took a breath then slowly let it out. I would have to solve the mess myself, "Let's do this then; I have a good feeling that I can develop an ability to see in the darkness if I use this Dark Crystal. Of course, I'll be owing you one if I use it, and I'll be certain to procure it for you. But I want your permission before I use it."

"Loke," Alistar said, "you guys already gave me one that I shouldn't have used. That Dark Crystal is yours, and no one can say anything about it. Not one of us would have found it; we would have left without it if it hadn't been for you, well, for Loki, actually. So go ahead."

"Go ahead, Loke. I could care less about a Dark Crystal right now; I just want my head to explode so I can rest…" Roana said.

"Do you really need my opinion too?" Aisha asked.

"Yes."

She did not respond right away, "Well, I think that not only it does belong to you by right, but if you can really develop a Passive to help us out, then please do so."

I couldn't help but smile.

"Then I hope this works."

"We all do, Loke," Alistar answered.

Bringing the Dark Crystal still in my pocket to my face, I was ready to travel to that world made of darkness.

But it didn't happen.

Skill points for Animal Instincts Promotion:

- Animal Instincts Major Perk: 0/2000

- Animal Instincts Minor Perk: 0/1000

- Animal Instincts Passive Perk: 0/500

I just felt a swelling in my thorax region; then I knew I could start Promoting my Skill.

"I guess it's going to need some time to increase the Passive; we can rest in the meanwhile," I said.

It wasn't even four hours since we had taken our break that a gurgling broke the torpor of our rest.

I had been awake the entire time, and I literally saw, although, in shades of grey, Roana jump up for the fright.

"What was that!?" she whispered.

"It's the regeneration..." Alistar said, "I've got to eat to regenerate my arm, or it'll come out all shriveled up, like a flaccid-"

“Star!” I whispered a bit too loudly.

"Damn, you're scaring me, guys…" Ro answered.

"Oh, I saw you jump for the scare, by the way. But, I see that the nap has made you recover a bit, as well, which is nice. You haven't even got those bags under your eyes anymore. You look stunning." I said, with a smirk she likely wouldn't see.

"Really? Why thank- wait? You saw me? Did you Upgrade your Skill already?" She asked.

I smiled, wishing to Trace my Animal Instinct Skill.

Skill points for Animal Instincts Promotion:

- Animal Instincts Major Perk: 0/2000

- Animal Instincts Minor Perk: 27/1000

- Animal Instincts Passive Perk: 231/500

"I guess we could say that it's going smoothly. But it's halfway through; also, the sight comes and goes."

"It's adapting to your needs while it makes you feel the various Perks you might receive," Aisha explained. "Anyway, I really don't feel that good. I think I've come up with a fever. I should have had at least my full Flow reserves stored. I'm freezing…"

"I guess you can take what's left of my shirt," As I said so, the world got back into full darkness, "I don't really need it. Not here."

"Well, I guess it's better than nothing," she answered as her teeth chattered.

"You can have mine too, but I guess it would just hinder you. It's woven in the armor," Alistar said.

"No, thank you, Alistar. It's made of MoonSteel; it would just attract even more Shade," she curled up on the ground.

I ordered Loki to warm her up; he moved from his place between Roana and me and sat near her.

A couple of hours later, still waiting for the Passive to unlock, we noticed that Aisha was sleeping, yet she was feverish.

I knew what I had to do.

"Don't you guys tell her or Harlow about this, okay!?" I taunted them as I undressed.

Alistar chuckled, understanding what I was about to do, even though he could not see me at all.

Roana did not answer, but she helped me undress Aisha. Then I lay near her to warm her up with my body heat while Loki did the same. We had practically cushioned her, and we spent the next several hours like that. She was likely asleep the whole time. Then at some point, I fell asleep too.

What woke me up several hours later were the whispers.

Animal Instinct Passive Perk will be promoted. Perception x 2. Choose one of the following Perks to be added to it:

Natural Hound:

Understand the world around you through your nose.

Night Sight:

See everything around you, even while in full darkness.

Ultrasonic Hearing:

Hear frequencies too low for your regular hearing.

So, Natural Hound was a no-go. I already had a strong Perception; topping that with the particular senses of which my previous pet, Ronda, had been endowed with was not something I would welcome in my daily life.

Ultrasonic hearing, I had no idea why it was called as such; but I knew what frequencies were. Venk had taught me about it. I had no idea how he had got to know, but it indeed was not an urgent Perk to unlock.

Night Sight was what I was looking for.

I chose it right away, content that there could have been likely dozens of possible Perks, and thankfully I had been given the choice of Night Sight.

When I made the choice, the world lit up with shades of grey.

I could clearly see Aisha's neck curvature from where I lay, and although I had not chosen Natural Hound, and we had been walking for days, I could feel the natural fragrance of her skin. It was delightful.

Synesthesia chose that moment to act up, showing me a field of Sunflowers.

It was a peaceful image...

Luckily Aisha had gotten stabler, I placed the palm of my hand on her forehead, and she was not burning anymore; her teeth did not chatter, and she was not shivering. She was peacefully sleeping.

"Loki," I whispered, "stay here. I'm going to dress up."

The others had fallen asleep, as well, and it almost broke my heart having to wake them up.

Roana had fallen asleep on Alistar's arm once again, but we had to depart. The sooner we did, the better the chances of coming out of this place before we finished our water reserves.

When I woke them up, the only one that felt out of place was Aisha.

"For the love of the Sun, why am I naked!?"

"Loki and I warmed you up," Roana lied.

"How are you feeling?" I asked once she had dressed up.

"Way better…" she said, a little surprised, "still a little faint, but we need to start walking again."

"Let's go then, I can see in the darkness now, and this place looks like a labyrinth."

"Man, it's starting to smell in here!" Alistar said, "Do you feel that as well?"

"Sadly, I do."

"We all do, Alistar. And I'm blaming you!" Said Roana, jokingly.

"Not this time, little Ro. And by the way, mine are far worse..."

But we got soon used to the new smell; at least the presence of it, whatever it was, didn't make us grow any hungrier.

It took the better part of the day to get through the place, and we even managed to calm down Aisha's panic attack once we thought we had ended up in an impasse; but then, finally, my sight started gaining a few darker colors.

"Guys," I called. "I believe I'm starting to see some light."

"Sun be praised…" Aisha said emphatically.

"Yeah, now please just let's catch something to eat… or I might really start considering Loki as a source of food here," added Alistar.

Loki growled meekly in response, almost as if he had understood something of it.

"I don't know, Loke," said Roana, "Are you sure you are starting to see regular light? There's something weird about this light, but I just can't tell what."

"Really? It might be because we've been too long without it. Let's just keep going and see what's what."

The light coming from a not too steep ramp in front of us grew in intensity until finally peeking with my head out from the wall, I saw the second weirdest thing I had ever seen in my life after the Netherbeasts cave.

"I don't understand," was all I managed to convey. And no one knew how to answer me because nobody but me noticed anything unusual until Roana did.

"I do…Loke. I believe we are looking at souls… Cyclopses' ghosts..."

Below the exit tunnel from which we were coming out of, in an enormous cavern that received its light from a hole in the ceiling, dozens upon dozens, if not hundreds of see-through Cyclopses, lazily wandered the place.

They did indeed look dead; their eyes had nothing that gave out the sparkling acumen of life. The phantasms looked like hollowed-out Cyclopses which joy had been siphoned out.

"Wait, if those are ghosts… Why do I see them? I don't have any Perks of the like."

Roana turned to study me, "You said you were borrowing Loki's perception. He's a Netherbeing, an Ethereal; he can see them. Maybe that's your answer."

It did indeed make sense, as I recalled the Ability I had chosen for him, Ghostly Senses, but then again, what was going on with these ghosts?

"Guys? What are you looking at? Is it food?" it was Alistar, of course.

"You are talking about ghosts? Like ghosts of the departed? Or Ghosts of the Night?" Aisha asked.

"You know about Ghosts of the Night?"

"Why wouldn't I? They are one of the most dangerous creatures in the world. How couldn't I know about them? They always said not to stay out at night alone, at school, and not to make too much noise because Ghosts of the Night are attracted by the noise and easy prey.”

"Anyway, no," Roana said, "what we are looking at are not Ghosts of the Night, but Cyclopses souls. I don't know why they are here, but they don't look happy at all."

"What's funny is that I don't see corpses," she added after a while.

Indeed, there were no corpses; there was just a massive pile of sh-

"For all the Moon walkers!" I exclaimed.

I pointed my finger to the huge pile… "That's shit!"

"That is a massive pile of excrement! Something huge must reside in this place…” Ro conveyed.

Somehow we all made the connections right away.

Those Cyclopses that died had been eaten and shut inside of the cave.

"Loke, I think we should leave…" Roana said. "I'm starting to feel… vibrations coming from the ground."

"Yes, damn…" I felt them as well.

I had to formulate a plan, and I had to do it fast.

The only real way out was above, and I was the only one equipped to get there.

"Get as many pebbles as you can, now!"

We started a couple of minutes-long hunt for pebbles; they were for me to bring my companions out of that place.

The plan was one and one only: go up toward the day's light.

"Loke, are these enough!?" Roana asked.

"It'll have to do, and you are the first, come on! Grab on, fast!"

"What, why-" She tried to say, but she grabbed me all the same. I did not give her time to speak because I started throwing.

It took me four throws to get up and out of the cavern.

We found ourselves in full daylight.

The landscape had changed from the jungle region back to our Wastelands. The mountains were at our back, but we had traveled far enough for the desert to take most of our view.

"Don't do anything stupid, stay here," I said, "My damn Sixth Sense is acting up!"

I threw another pebble, waiting for it to reach its full end, then I transferred back into the cavern, rolling amid the Cyclopses.

"Star, grab on," I said to the next victim of my reckless transportation style.

"As you want, pal-"

Then I was flying again. However, even in mid-air, I could feel, whatever was coming at us, getting closer.

It felt like a low humming sound.

"If that's what I think it is, and definitely not the creature that was excavating the mountains, then we're in it for a load of trouble," I said after Alistar, and I rolled on the ground to recover from our last jump.

"What should it-" Roana tried to say to me, but I didn’t give her time. I had already transferred back again.

"It's your turn," I said to Aisha.

"No, get Loki first; the Flow is weirdly strong here. I'm trying to absorb as much as I can," Aisha answered.

So I did. Loki enjoyed the trip, although he was quite a little weirded out and unstable on his legs after that.

"Is that a Sand-" Roana once again tried to say, but I was back inside the cave.

I had transferred back to the tunnel entrance, ready to get Aisha out of that place, when finally, we felt a massive rumbling, like a slithering, the crawling sound of a landslide. Not that I had seen many landslides, probably just once.

Then a massive thing sprouted from the tunnel going back down into the earth.

"Damn, I hate being right…"

Sand-Wyrm, (Titan) Level 122 (56.775.897.027/122.000.000.000)

Health: 100%

Stamina: 96%

Agility: 85

Constitution: 421

Strength: 379

Focus: 223

Perception: 412

Willpower: 289

Strength: Acid, Constitution, Strength, Senses, Size

Weakness: None

Abilities: Acid Spit, Sandquake, Fear, Fulminating Stare, Sand Shift, Recover, Sand Dive, Taunt

If given time, this massive Flow creature, classified as Titan, could reshape a region by itself.

The Wyrms are subspecies of the Dragons, but by no means must they be undervalued; they are capable of unleashing the same damage a flying Dragon could, but instead of doing it from above the ground, they do it from below.

The presence of one Sand-Wyrm in a region is enough to consider the possibility of abandoning camps, household, and stubborn friends and leaving for a more secure abode.

Given their mass, their Strength cannot absolutely be underestimated, even in the presence of fortifications. However, the bigger these creatures are, the lower their Agility gets; as long as they are out of their element, that's a given, but there's nothing that can stop them if they are in their element.

Crystals weight: 0.500kg x 1000

Dark Crystals weight: 1kg x 100

Evercrystals weight: 10kg x 10

Eternal Dark Crystal weight: 100kg

"Loke… how fucked are we?"

"From a lot to utterly fucked?" I found myself asking while looking at the massive creature with a beak made of what looked like pure SolarTitanium, but might have instead been hard as diamond bones.

"Yeah…"

"Then I guess I need a bigger scale… Or maybe just grab onto me and hope it doesn't melt us with an acid attack."

Then we went flying through the cave.

However, at my third pebble throw, I felt the massive weight of my new Sixth Sense shouting at me to dodge in whatever way necessary. At the same time, through a burst of echolocation, my Synesthesia showed me a giant wave of a dense liquid flying at us.

"Flare! Left!" I shouted without even having to think about it for a second.

And Aisha obeyed. She was instantaneous.

Her left hand left my neck, while she still held onto me with her right, then a wave of fire exploded forth, washing over the acid.

If only I had known it was explosive acid, I would have never asked her to shoot her fire at it.