The following morning, Jake ate his food in silence as his Auntie prepared for her day. There were no chores to do nor did Jake have any training tasks he informed his Auntie about. From her perspective, Jake would be spending his day quietly in the village. A far cry from the true events that would happen throughout the day. He wasn’t quite sure what to tell her or even how to tell her what he was about to do. Just thinking about returning to the Ravine made him uneasy. But, he also knew it was inevitable.

The Ravine was a landmark location. Its dark maw was largely unexplored and Jake doubted such a place was truly barren and void of anything but rock. To discover there was quite a lot to it did not surprise him in the least. He just wished that his return could have been a little later on. He wouldn’t complain nor would he ignore and push it off, though. He had made his decision knowing full well the potential hardships that would come with it. This was just the first of those.

“Take care today, Jake. I shall be back for lunch. Will you be eating?” His Auntie finished gathering her items for the day and stopped beside the tent flap to put on her sandals. Jake silently shook his head. She frowned. “I see. Then I will see you for dinner.”

The tent flap whipped in the wind as she stepped through it and the sun flashed for a moment before the dark shade of the tent returned. Jake curled his fingers and bit down on the inside of his cheek, swallowing the pain he felt from remaining silent. It hurt to not be so forward with her, but he knew it would only worry her more if he had said something. This was for the best.

“Speak, boy.” Chul must have sensed something off with him. If Chul had, then his Auntie definitely did.

Jake let out a huff of air, releasing some of the tension in his shoulders. It was too late to go back now. He had made his choice. He needed to stick with it. He had to. Please.

“We have to go back to the Ravine.” Jake stared down at his cup of tea as he spoke, his eyes glued to his reflection in the liquid. Chul approached the side of the table, stopping a few paces off.

“I see. What is the reason?” To Jake’s surprise, Chul didn’t seem disturbed. The Arachkin didn’t flinch, shake, or quiver. Instead, his eyes seemed… eager.

Jake smirked, finding comfort in the stalwart attitude of his friend. Chul truly was fearless but what could he expect? The Arachkin dominated that place for hundreds of years.

“The Dragon Vein. Do you know of it?” Jake rose to his feet and picked up the cup and pot from the table. He downed the bottom half of his cup and carried them to the kitchen area to be cleaned.

“I do. I spent much of my resting within the cave it lies in.” Chul’s fangs chittered for a moment. “Are you going to use it for something?”

Keen as always. “I’m going to cultivate near it.”

“Such a thing is dangerous for humans, boy. Are you certain?” Chul finally showed a bit of hesitation, but not for himself. It seemed there was more risk looming around this Dragon Vein thing than the fairies let on.

“I am,” Jake affirmed his feelings not just to Chul, but to himself as well. “Besides, you’ll be there to help me. What’s there to worry about?” Jake flashed his companion a wide, toothy grin. Chul wasn’t swayed.

“We shall see.” He rumbled. “I will take you on one condition.”

Jake wiped off his wet hands as he stared at Chul. “And that is?”

Chul’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You must never leave my back. Ever. Understand?”

The tone in Chul’s voice shifted, hardened. The two stared at one another for a long time as Jake hovered over whether to ask why or not. Chul was serious, for whatever reason, and Jake could tell he would not budge on the issue. Whatever it was Jake figured it was for good reason.

“Fine.” Jake agreed without pushing the issue. He would trust his partner.

“Good. Make your preparations. Assume we will be gone overnight. The trip will be… difficult.” Chul turned away and scurried out of the tent, vanishing beneath the side of it as he slipped into the shadows. Jake found that sight to be even more unsettling. Chul seemed on edge. If that were the case then Jake would make sure to take his warnings seriously.

Two hours later, Jake stepped out of the gates and bid the Guards farewell. Elana was stationed at the guard hut for the day and she was suspicious of him from the moment she spotted him. The pack he carried was heavier than usual and he had far more supplies than he typically carried when he left to hunt Dunebeasts. Not only that, but he was leaving far too early than usual. She had badgered him and threatened to block him, but the boy persisted until she finally relented. He had told her he would return in the morning and had said he would be careful, but even then she wasn’t happy.

With Chul hidden in the side pouch of his pack, the boy stepped off and moved at a quick clip into the sands. He adjusted his course, walking parallel with the sun as he moved in the direction of the Ravine. After cresting and stepping down onto the backside of a dune, Chul emerged from the pouch and triggered his size-adjustment spell. The Arachkin assumed his towering, adult size once more and Jake climbed onto his back. Once the boy was settled onto Chul’s abdomen, they were off.

The Arachkin, a massive creature of dark armor and viciously sharp fangs made easy work of the desolate golden landscape. His eight legs moved in a broad stride, skittering over the dunes with ease as they cut a direct path towards the Ravine. They passed several Dunebeast pits and sandworm holes but none of them dared emerge from their cowering positions. The powerful presence of the Guardian was far too much of a challenge for any of them, and the Arachkin made sure to utilize his far superior mana to keep them in place. Just the feeling of his mana made Jake’s skin crawl.

“When we arrive, I assure you that the previous occupants will be there. Remain within the shield and do not move. Understand?” Chul shouted over the sound of his heavy steps. The sand was scattering in the air in a storm of dust, clouding the view behind them.

“Yes. I’ll stay put. You sure you won’t need help?” Jake shouted in response, clinging to the Arachkin’s carapace.

“As you are now, you will only get in the way.” Chul remained curt and didn’t dare butter up the facts. Something Jake appreciated. It certainly hurt his pride but Chul had always been fair and truthful. After watching and evaluating Jake for the last few months, Chul knew what Jake was capable of and what he wasn’t. It seemed whatever foe they were going to meet was well out of his league for the moment.

During this trip, Jake would need to change that.

After mere minutes of the start of their sprint, Chul’s pace steadied as he caught his stride. Jake could feel the Arachkin getting anxious. The mana in the air was thickening and Chul was silent. There was no banter nor any more coddling. The Arachkin moved with purpose and focused entirely on what was to come. Jake could feel it. Chul wasn’t preparing for a short battle. He was preparing for war.

Dead trees began to poke out of the hungry sands, totems to show that life had once thrived here. Holes in the glittering yellow landscape pocketed where the strong ground had grown brittle and given way. Three dried-up lakes acted like basins of mud and quicksand. Bones of the dead who found themselves trapped in those murky sands jutted skyward, now living as warning signs for those traveling by. The sun had hardly budged in the sky when the sand began to give way to rock and stone, and Jake was thankful. Chul’s pace was intense and Jake held on firmly while the Arachkin moved, which had tired him to some extent.

Jake gripped onto the thick armor of his friend, his heart racing in his chest as finally, the Ravine came into view. The rocky border around the massive black cut in the earth was the final sign of their approach. They ran atop one more dune, a massive hill that gave them a wide view of their destination as they reached its peak. Chul stopped at the top, his legs slamming into the coarse sand. His powerful fangs chittered. His armor crackled as it hardened. Mana pulsed through his body as he stared at the dark pit. Without so much as a word, a sigil appeared beneath where Jake was seated. Slowly, a thick pink dome formed over the top of the boy, and a pair of cylindrical tubes formed around his legs to hold him in place.

Before Chul began to move again, the wind carried with it a chilling warning. The sound of an angry, ear-splitting war cry thundered upwards from the depths of the Ravine. A deep-throated, billowing gurgle burped forth swiftly followed by a high-pitched scream. Mysterious sounds that Jake hadn’t heard during his first trip to the Ravine. Sounds that sent chills down Jake’s back and made him even more fearful of what was about to happen. For a brief moment, he doubted their trip. Cultivating in safety near a fire wasn’t sounding too bad anymore.

“It seems I was right to be careful.” He rumbled, his body crackling as it glowed a faint purple. The magical carvings across Chul’s body radiated with purple mana. His hard carapace cracked and split as it seemed to thicken even further. The Arachkin’s preparations told Jake everything he needed to know about their enemy. Chul wasn’t messing around.

“Are those…?” Jake choked on the word, the name. The creatures the fairies had warned him about. Chul descended from the overwatch position, crossing the remaining distance to the very edge of the Ravine itself. The howls within became even more distinguishable. Jake peered over the ledge and Chul’s back. For off in the distance, within the shadows, he could see dozens of thick silhouettes moving around.

“Your kind calls them Monsters. The appropriate name for them is Maedra. They are beings that feast off mana. They lack intelligence and live only to consume mana, as much as they can. The more they eat, the stronger they become. Gluttonous and desperate, but powerful in a horde or if left alone to fester.” Chul’s upper two eyes glistened and changed color- flashing a bright red as the Arachkin glared toward the Ravine. He hissed as the purple glow changed colors to a bloody red. Chul’s legs twitched, and then large spikes began to protrude from the hard shell.

“I am surprised, however. So many have returned in such a short period, something I did not expect. It seems we have quite the trek ahead of us.” As Chul prepared himself for battle, Jake did his best to control his emotions. The fear, the hesitation, the wavering of his mind. He breathed and did his best to control all of it. But none of it was helping. Even with Chul beneath him, ready as ever to retake his territory, Jake felt unsettled.

“Maybe we shouldn’t.” Jake looked down into the Ravine and listened to the distant howls. The sounds of nightmares rang from the belly of the Ravine, and there were a lot of those sounds. All different kinds, and from every direction.

“Do you doubt me?” Chul chuckled and his eyes turned towards Jake. The boy didn’t meet the gaze- instead only thinking of the potential of what may happen if something were to get Chul.

“No, but what if there’s something bigger than you?” Jake clenched his teeth and gripped his fists. Chul paused, staring at the child in silence. Jake clenched his teeth and froze. There was bloodthirst in Chul’s eyes.

“How dare you insult me.” With that, Chul jumped. The two plunged into the ravine, air whistling into Jake’s ears as the sun vanished from his eyes. His stomach flipped, weightlessness wrapped around him. He couldn’t even scream before there was the large thunderclap of Chul slamming into the bottom. Like a hammer meeting an anvil- the Arachkin returned to his den.

His domain.

“Here, I am King.” Chul hissed, his fangs chittering excitedly as his eyes glowed in the veil of darkness. The cloud of dust began to disperse, and the shaking of the ground ceased. Moments later, Jake could feel the cold air of the Ravine touch his skin. He felt a chill other than the low temperature touch his spine. All around them, bright red orbs flickered to life.

They were surrounded.

In every direction, Jake saw nothing other than a sea of red. Some were brighter than others. Some were larger. Some were smaller. The shapes varied, as did the numbers clustered together. However, they all remained still, peering towards the massive black and red outline of Chul as the Arachkin rose from his crouched position, his legs stretching out as he asserted his dominance to all that dared set their eyes on him. The Arachkin gathered mana into his body, coiling it through his carapace, and the runes etched into his armored shell flooded the space around them with a red aura. The monsters closest were illuminated, and Jake’s eyes widened at the view of their grotesque bodies.

Unlike the monsters above ground, these creatures were far more sinister. There was no “natural flow” to their bodies, no symmetry. No beauty. They were just globs of flesh and meat and bone, all clumped together to create creatures of various shapes and sizes each with differently numbered limbs. Some had massive heads atop scaly lower bodies, some had no head but only a pair of eyes on top of massive rolls of skin and sizzling meat that just seemed to slough off. There were no “races” or “species” here. It was strictly a mangled mess of whatever these creatures could glue into the shape of a living body.

And it reeked of rot and decay.

“Chul…?”

“Quiet, Child. It is time to enlighten you to the Realm of the Dark.”

Chul stomped forward, his sharp leg cutting through a blob of flesh, causing it to split and gush. Purple fluid spilled out of the body and it let out a gurgle before its body sizzled out of existence. The Arachkin followed its first step with a thunderous roar, the sound clapping off the walls and echoing outwards in both directions. The howl was followed by the screams of the Maedra, the horrifying cries scratching Jake’s eardrums as the creatures collapsed onto Chul’s position. Jake clapped his hands over his ears, trying to drown out the noise as Chul began to move. While Jake was practically paralyzed, Chul was envigorated.

The Arachkin’s eight limbs roared to life, the tips radiating with power and light as Chul enchanted them with a mixture of a strengthening spell, a sharpening spell, and a hardening spell. Layers of runes wrapped around his carapace densely as he prepared his arsenal and with them, he cut through the gurgling flesh and meat with ease as he met the wave of the Maedra without a single stutter. The bodies collided with the glowing Arachkin and his fangs rattled together with excitement as he let loose. There was a familiarity to his movements, and Chul practically danced through their melting corpses.

Sensing a gathering of Mana, Chul jumped upwards and spiraled around. In the distance, he sighted several Maedra collecting into a singular mass of power. The melded flesh began to glow. Chul clung to the edge of the Ravine, dug his rear four legs into the stone, and rose onto them. His other four gathered together, the tips touching as a mass of mana collected between them. The mass of Maedra flared a bright blue, and Chul’s tips spread, a large purple sphere exploding outwards to fill the space. Just as the Maedra was about to fire off its spell, Chul shot first- the massive purple ball cutting through the air, erasing from existence all that dared get in its way. The ball illuminated the ravine as it soared through the space, giving Jake a view of every single body that was racing towards him and Chul.

A countless number. Truly, a sea of living dead.

The massive formation of Maedra was struck, causing a massive explosion of Mana which filled the space and erupted outwards. Chul slammed his feet into the Ravine’s wall and cast a barrier around himself. He lowered his body to the wall and added several layers to the barrier before letting out an annoyed grunt.

“Hold firm, boy.”

Jake could only do as he was told. He held on tight as the wave of mana hit them. The first few layers of the barrier cracked and shattered away almost instantly from the pressure. In response, Chul added to the inner layers and hardened them to withstand the constant battering. Dying screeches the Maedra rang out as the explosion scorched the Ravine. The barrier thumped and the wall quaked, cracking all around them. Loose rocks and boulders fell from above, striking the barrier as the upper levels of the Ravine broke apart. Jake could hear the howls of agony, along with the splattering of flesh as the heavy rocks impacted the unprotected bodies below.

When the wave of mana finally passed, the Maedra in the direct vicinity of the initial explosion had evaporated. Those that had been touched by the mana burned, their bodies smoldering. Further away from the blast, a number still clung to existence. Their meek cries only gave them away as Chul returned to the floor. He made swift work of the wounded and dying, but was even quicker to meet those who had survived to fight and were capable of lashing out. The Arachkin’s bloody-tipped legs were like razors, carving through the weak and undeveloped flesh of the small Maedra. Limbs were torn apart with ease, bodies split and pierced without effort. In a dance of genocide- the Guardian retook his place at the top.

Even against the obviously superior foe, the Maedra would not be defeated so easily. While the cannon fodder was being made short work of, Chul remained alert, his vision looking beyond those directly in front of him. In a moment of clarity, Jake noticed Chul had remained largely in one place- letting the Maedra come to him rather than moving to meet the horde. They came from both directions and the edge of the Ravine was well beyond where Chul could reach in a short time, so moving would have been a waste of energy. However, something else was keeping him in place. It was as though he were waiting for something.

“They’ve come.” Chul hissed, planting his foot firmly into the body of another Maedra. The creature gushed and splattered, its moist interior exploding outward like a fresh grape.

As the smaller Maedra thinned, their weak bodies causing the walls to grow sticky and wet with their insides being splattered all over the place- a new foe began to make their presence felt. In the distance, large balls of mana began to collect and were quickly fired in Chul’s direction. The Arachkin expanded a barrier around himself, catching the balls of mana and deflecting them out of harm’s way. After either impacting the barrier or hitting the Ravine depending on their stability- the balls of mana exploded brightly.

“They can cast spells?!” Jake shouted, and Chul huffed.

“Only minor ones, but they are still dangerous.”

“Are they Maedra?” Jake grit his teeth, flinching as the barrier flickered and thundered.

“Maudraga. An advanced form of Maedra.” Chul spoke quickly and calmly, showing his comfort in fighting the familiar foe.

The Maudraga maintained a short distance from Chul and fired off their spells as the lower rank and file raced to their deaths at the Arachkin’s feet. Chul maintained a barrier around the air above him, blocking the rain of spells and protecting himself from their indirect fire. The shots which came low he deflected with his legs, almost nonchalantly slapping them out of the way. Or, he dodged them entirely- using the walls of the Ravine as a foothold to elevate himself out of the spell’s path. In the worst case, he used the Maedra as flesh shields, slapping them up into the air to take the impacts for him. Though the Maudraga were plentiful, Chul wasn’t perturbed by their presence.

Jake, however, eyed the new creatures. He watched them cast their unsettling, unending wave of spells. Until something happened that he wasn’t ready to see. When the Maudraga ran out of mana, the glowing lights would dim and their bodies would collapse into nothing more than mounds of gore. Having spent their life source, they had nothing left to keep them together. As if knowing that it was either fight or die, the Maudraga cast their spells until the very end in hopes that they might at least be able to harm the enemy.

However, when one light would go out, two more would fill its place. Lights blinked out, only to be reinforced by numerous more which further filled the air with bright blue orbs. The air above Chul began to fill with blue lights and the Arachkin was finding it difficult to maintain the barrier overhead as the Maudraga began to adjust the variables making up their spells. More and more, the spells would impact and explode rather than bounce off harmlessly. The chorus of thumps and cracks turned into constant dull drumming.

They were learning.

Chul hissed and his carapace began to glow once more. Another set of runes flared to life and he sliced his feet deep into the ground. He carved out the stone floor, cutting it to pieces, and then slammed his body into the earth to elevate the fresh ammunition skyward. In a brilliant show of power, he cleared the space around him, firing the floating rocks in every direction. The mixture of sharp and blunt objects splattered the mounds of flesh caught in the path of the meteorites, cutting into the numbers of Maedra and Maudraga. Dozens of blue lights evaporated, giving Chul the opening he needed.

In a swift motion, he dashed towards the magic casters, dragging the barrier behind him and adjusting it to cover his rear. Before the Maudraga could recover their lines- Chul sliced into them. That was when Jake saw another disgusting detail. The blue lights weren’t orbs of mana- they were the Maudraga’s “hands” glowing. The Maudraga had developed spherical arms that they used as staffs, and the mana they used to cast their spells was being collected in the large base of that arm. Chul used those glowing arms as beacons and his reddened feet snuffed them out like insects.

The blue lights flickered and blinked out as Chul pillaged his way through the mass. They fired their spells at his body from point blank to no avail. The Arachkin only snarled and covered his carapace in another hardening spell that would lessen the effect of magic strikes. Their desperate spells barely scratched his thick armor. As a result, their rotting flesh was gouged open like putty with no way for them to respond or protect themselves. Truly, a massacre. Once all of the lights on one side were dealt with, Chul turned around and dug in his rear legs.

His front two limbs extended outwards and then curled inwards together. A small red orb formed where they met, and then several large sigils spiraled to life in front of it. A range of red and orange lit up as Chul’s fangs chittered. Words of Power in a foreign language poured out into the air, causing Jake’s hair to stand on end. When he finished casting in the tongue of his kin, the red orb flared brightly like a mini-sun. Then, it fired. A beam of blood-red blew through the sigils, the beam strengthening with each sigil it passed through. As the beam hit the last, the thick line scattered into multiple lines before carving through the black of the Ravine. The thin beams cut through the stone walls like butter. The distant blue lights were sliced into pieces. Chul adjusted the targeting of his spell and then began to spin the outer sigil. As it rotated slowly, the beams spun with it. The rotating beams eviscerated the Maedra and Maudraga at the other end of the Ravine. The blue lights blinked out without a sound.

Chul slowly lifted the beam, making sure to slaughter those attached to the walls, and then he focused once more on those on the ground. Once all of the blue lights were gone, his attack finally came to a stop. He cut the spell and lowered his feet to the ground. His aura calmed, receding as he took a moment to breathe and recover some mana.

Silence returned to the ravine.

Only for a moment.

Again, as if never-ending, the wails of distant Maedra and Maudraga met Jake’s ears. He shivered as he heard them. Chul had just dealt with an astoundingly large number in such a relatively small space. He could only imagine how many more might be scattered through the entirety of the Ravine. While Jake felt his stomach churn, Chul didn’t seem bothered. The hairs on the Arachkin’s back rose with excitement. However, rather than indulge in the feast of death- Chul turned and headed in the direction of the Gate of the Gods where he had led Jake originally.

In their moment of reprieve, Jake found it perfect to ask the question he had been worried about asking. “You kept these things at bay for the entire time you were down here, Chul?” Jake shouted over the whistling of the air. As Chul raced forward, the Arachkin made sure to slice through any Maedra or Maudraga he passed. They were thin in number but he made sure to not let a single one live.

“When I first came, it was much worse. But over the years their numbers thinned. I sapped up much of the mana on purpose and this place became barren of rampant mana. It was hard for them to survive, then. Now that the mana is once more flowing freely, their numbers have returned. Somewhat.” Chul spoke with ease and confidence as he worked his way through the waving stone walls. Jake clenched his teeth and held on tightly to Chul’s back, terrified of what may happen if he were to fall off.

Somewhat?

After a short time, Chul once more came to a halt. Jake felt his stomach drop and cold sweat dripped down his back.

“Ah, so that much time has passed…” Chul mumbled. Jake looked ahead at what was waiting for them. A massive body with two centered red eyes glared back at them, its legs clinging to the wall as it loomed in the dark. Waiting for its prey. “And you’ve copied me? I’m flattered.” Chul let out a laugh before suddenly lunging forward without a warning. The Arachkin let out another howl as it smashed into the mass of curdling flesh.

The other mass was shoved backward, but it only stumbled for a couple of steps before catching its balance. Chul fired off a swift purple ball of mana that illuminated the mass for a brief moment before exploding against its pale body.

It was a six-limbed beast. Large enough in size to almost compete with Chul’s. Flesh barely latched onto the thin, bone-like frame and a mess of unprotected gore dangled all over. But, even as its construction was haphazard and rough, its shape was undeniable. The six limbs were thin, sharp, and partially armored. Its body was split into two pieces, one head, and one abdomen. Its head bore a drooling mouth with two pairs of fangs jutting out from its jaw, and two massive red eyes glimmered atop the mouth. What looked to be a strange, sticky liquid dripped from the mouth and caused the ground to sizzle where it landed.

It was the familiar shape of a spider. While it certainly lacked some aspects and details, it was hard to deny what Jake was looking at. The sight seemed to fire Chul up even further.

Chul hissed and leaped forward once more, excited to face such an enemy. The creature’s mouth gurgled and spit, hurling a mass of the acidic liquid toward Chul. The Arachkin jumped to the side to avoid the green mess and bounded off the edge of the Ravine. When he landed, he dug his limb into the head of the creature and smashed it into the ground. Even from the harsh impact, the skull didn’t break. Instead, the red eyes twisted upwards and a ball of blue formed at its mouth. Chul’s fangs clicked before he jumped backward, avoiding the mana beam as it cut through where he had stood. The creature regained its footing and then spit more acid at Chul.

As Chul stepped nimbly out of the way, the creature lunged and swung. Chul met the limb and then sliced at the base of it. The armor deflected Chul’s strike and the Arachkin recoiled from the impact. He was not deterred and reacted quickly.

“Interesting,” Chul reloaded for a second strike but was forced to move out of the way as another glob of acid was spit at him. He swiftly swung upwards, striking the creature at the base of its head, and knocked it back. Another blow kept it off balance, and then Chul swept out its front limbs. Using a projectile of his own, Chul tucked his abdomen into the face of the creature. A large glob of webbing spat out at the creature’s mouth, sealing it shut. The foe began to drool heavily, trying to melt away the webbing but the acid failed to melt it away. The stringy mass glowed a bright green, the resistance taking effect.

Thinking fast, Chul used more webbing to trap the creature’s front two limbs and then spiraled his body around to land on the creature’s back. He used his weight on the joints to pin the creature in place. Reinforcing his limbs once more, he again sliced at the armored limbs. This time, his legs made easy work of them as he utilized a higher level enchantment. The creature hissed and struggled, still trying to find a way to fight but it wasn’t going anywhere. Not anymore.

“This is a Maudrake, a higher level Maedra and it is quite the pest. They come in a multitude of shapes, much like their smaller kin. They are somewhat intelligent and can be very dangerous so if you come across one, fight smart and be careful. They tend to copy other large creatures that may be around in the area. This one just so happens to have tried to copy me. A poor choice.” As he finished, Chul plunged his front two legs into the base of the creature’s head, severing the head from the abdomen. It let out a final, quiet whimper before the body went limp. “I am the only Arachkin allowed to flourish in this place.”

“Gross…” Jake mumbled as he watched the body breakdown and slowly dissolve. Chul let out a little laugh before turning and continuing through the ravine. “Is the Ravine the only place these Maedra live?”

“Of course not. Wherever there is excess, uncapped, and unmanaged mana, there is Maedra. While Maudraga and Maudrakes are rare in most locations, it does not take a whole lot for Maedra to spawn. However, they are weak to fire and light. So they tend to remain within the depths of wherever they are living.” Chul paused for a moment to scoop up and hurl a Maedra upwards, likely out of the Ravine. It did not come back down.

“Why can’t they live in the light?” Jake stared upwards for a moment, looking for any sign of the Maedra. When Chul began to rush forward again, he returned to his low posture.

“The light is like a purifier to their mana. These creatures feed on mana which is unclean and raw. If they could live outside of these places, no other life could exist, as they would eat and destroy that as well.”

Indeed, they were creatures of the dark in every sense of the word. These deformed and hardly-living corpses weren’t anything like the majestic creations that lived on the surface. These things were like viruses, fungi sucking off the land and leeching off the essence of life like cancer. The Ravine was barren and black, and the Maedra insured their haven remained so.

The number of Maedra and Maudraga thickened after a short time of traveling, but Chul wasted no time slicing through their numbers. No other Maudrake’s appeared. To reinforce Chul’s on-the-fly teaching, it seemed only a small number of higher-level creatures could exist in a single space and they only grew so large after eating up hundreds of their kin. While the Ravine was rich in the Maedra resource, they had only recently returned. They hadn’t had enough time to grow any larger. The one Arachkin-like Maudrake was either a fluke or a Maudraga that let its hunger get the best of it. It wasn’t even finished in terms of its creation process either, thankfully. If it was a completed Maudrake, Chul would have had more trouble.

Aside from the one Maudrake, however, the rest of the enemies were far too insignificant to be called a problem. Jake’s fears finally eased and his grip on Chul’s back loosened a bit as the stress weighing on his shoulders slid away. He watched quietly, observing Chul’s movements and learning all he could from the fighting. If Jake wanted to utilize the Ravine, there would come a point he too would need to fight the Maedra. For now, while he could, he did his best to take in the tactics of his comrade.

Reaching the Gate of the Gods was a slow but methodical grind through the flesh. When they finally reached it, Chul let out a huff of satisfaction. He slammed his feet into the ground, splitting the last two Maedra in half as he asserted his dominance over the Ravine once more. The sigil at the base of the door, the two large statues guarding the path forward, and the massive door blocking the way, greeted the two in an eerie way. Though there was no trace of any mana in the air here anymore, Jake got this eerie feeling of something watching him. Even so, Jake doubted that door would open again.

“Is this it?” Jake asked, looking around for where they might go next.

“No, but the Vein is nearby.” Chul took one last sidelong glance towards the door before he slowly walked around it. The Ravine continued beyond the door. A short distance beyond the Gates, another cutaway in the stone wall came into view. Chul cast a spell to shrink himself partly so that he could fit through the smaller circle but he maintained a powerful, looming size as he entered the cave. The floor angled downward and Jake could feel the air become heavy, thick, the moment they entered through the threshold.

Mana poured out of the depths of the cave and Jake coughed as he felt it flow into his body. Chul hesitated for a second at the sound of the cough, but Jake waved him off. They had come this far.

“I’m okay. Just surprised.” He lied, encouraging his friend to push forward. In reality, the mana was squeezing down on him. It was hard to breathe here and Jake struggled to keep his mana flow in check. As if noticing this, Chul paused for another few breathes. Reluctantly, he finally decided to continue. A few Maedra met them during their descent. Chul swiftly dispatched them and crawled over their lifeless, vanishing bodies. The cave in front of them twisted and turned, continuing to angle down into the depths of the rock. After a long walk, a faint glow finally appeared at the other end. The density of the mana had steadily increased as they proceeded deeper and it had become even worse as they neared the end of the tunnel. Jake was practically choking on it now.

Compared to when they had entered, the Maedra were coming now with more frequency. Their bodies were tougher and Chul needed to expend more time killing them. Just a simple slash wouldn’t do the job anymore. He needed to cut off limbs and sever heads from their bodies before crushing their torsos. Their arms became more dangerous weapons and their bodies were far more put together. In some cases, they mimicked creatures from the surface. Some took bipedal forms with multiple arms or attacked on four limbs with large, fanged mouths. The Maedra no longer took up random, unsightly forms. Not only that, but these Maedra were smarter. They dodged and evaded attacks, came in groups of three to five, and there was always at least one Maudraga looming behind at the rear.

Chul took more hits as they neared the entrance of the tunnel and it was clear he was injured, but the Arachkin only paused to let his wounds stop bleeding before he carried on. Minor scratches. Annoyances. Nothing more.

When they finally reached the end of the tunnel, the space in front of them opened up. A massive cavern filled their view, illuminated by a massive green glowing pool of liquid off to the left. Maedra were scattered all across the rocky space, basking in the dense air. When Chul emerged out of the dark, they all turned at once to look at him.

“Uh, Chul?” Jake swallowed, but the Arachkin didn’t answer. Chul’s entire body began to glow again and he quickly put up a barrier as the Maudraga in the cavern fired off a swift barrage of spells. Chul retreated into the tunnel, covering the entrance to it in several layers of barriers to shield them from the incoming fire.

“How troublesome.” Chul anchored his rear legs and lowered his body. Maintaining the barriers, he stabbed his front legs into the ground and dumped mana into the stone. The Maedra which rushed the barrier found themselves speared from below as he caused the stone to jut upwards- creating dozens of sharp spikes to impale them all on. Those at the back jumped over the spikes and slammed into the outermost barrier. As they did, Chul triggered the barrier and sigils appeared all over it. In a flash, it exploded outwards, disintegrating the Maedra that had slammed into it.

The Maudraga at the back continued to fire off their spells. Two died as they ran out of mana, but their numbers were large enough to cover for the loss. Chul adjusted his tactic and the color of the outer barrier switched from orange to a dark purple. The spells which slammed into it were absorbed instead of being deflected. As if hitting a wall of mud- the bright blue balls slammed and sunk into the barrier. It thickened, strengthening in color as more and more mana was sapped up from the Maudraga’s spells. Realizing what was happening, the Maudraga ceased their casting spree. Sadly for them, it was too late. Chul had gathered more than enough fuel.

Large sigils appeared on the barrier, sliding into place as Chul adjusted the angles on them. As the mana within the barrier reacted, they began to spin and Chul’s fangs chittered loudly. In a flurry, Chul returned the mana they’d shot at him with mana blasts of his own. The Maudraga quickly scattered throughout the cavern, running for any form of cover that they could find. The large balls of mana filled the air, blowing apart the cavern floor as Chul’s spell rained down on the helpless creatures below. Their numbers were decimated as they largely had nowhere to run. Those that could shield themselves used the bodies of the dead or small rocky outcroppings, but even those weren’t enough.

As the mana pool ran out and the barrier blinked out, Chul surged forward and quickly targeted the remaining Maudraga before they could recover. A few were able to fire off a spell or two, but Chul could deal with the scattered force without much issue. Silence settled over the cavern as the last Maudraga was put to rest.

Chul took a moment to look around the cavern for any stragglers, his eyes sweeping over the barren rock as he tried to detect any movement. Not seeing anything, he cast a Sensing spell to check the room and the tunnel for any signs of mana. The air was empty and clear- they were safe. To ensure they would not be disturbed, he put up a thick barrier at the entrance of the cavern before he was satisfied.

“It is done.” Chul huffed, moving towards the back side of the cavern before he settled down onto the floor. He let out a heavy sigh, grumbling a bit from how exhausted the fight had made him.

“So, this is the Dragon Vein?” Jake asked, looking towards the large green pool.

Beneath the high stone ceiling, and stretching outwards like a small ocean, the liquid gathered was thick enough to look like water. It looked as dense as jelly but strangely it was as clear as the sky. It was just as deep as the sky, too. Jake couldn’t see the bottom as it grew too dark. What made the view even more beautiful was the collection of small sprites that fluttered and twinkled around near the surface of the pool. The little orbs of light drifted around lazily without a care in the world. They had no bodies and when they fizzled out of existence, they dropped down into the mana pool, only to be replaced by another sprite elsewhere.

“The pool of liquid you see is the excess mana leaking out from the Vein.” Chul raised a limb and pointed off into the distance. “The Vein is there.”

There, just off-center and to the right, a small island of rock jutted from the mana pool. The floor was cracked, and what looked like green ooze spilled from the rock and into the pool. It pulsed faintly, glowing and dimming in its steady rhythm. The number of sprites was higher near the Vein and Jake could make out very small glowing objects on the rock itself.

“Can we go there?” Jake questioned, but Chul slowly shook his head.

“It’s dangerous. The mana there is far too dense.” Chul stepped up to the very edge of the mana pool, but that was as far as he went. When Chul stopped, Jake noticed something- Chul was shaking.

“How close can you get?” Jake looked around for another place for them to stand, maybe another island or an outcropping, but the only next platform of some kind was the Vein’s itself.

“I would have to climb. Even after decades of living near it, touching the mana pool directly would poison me.”

Now Jake knew why the Arachkin seemed uneasy about being so close to this place. Mana was certainly an essence of life, but too much and it was effectively a poison. If they fell into that pool, Jake assumed that they’d both die. At the worst, they might lose their minds and become something like Maedra. Jake hadn’t considered that outcome originally but now he could see it happening. Along with the poisonous amount of mana, there was also the point of the air being full of the stuff. Even at their current distance, Jake could feel the pressure of the mana wrenching down on his lungs. Each breath was difficult.

“Then, I guess this will have to do.” Jake nodded and lightly knocked on Chul’s carapace. “Think it is safe for me to get off your back here?” He asked.

Chul didn’t answer at first. He looked around the cavern slowly, listened carefully, and peered over towards the barrier. While he didn’t feel entirely comfortable just yet, he figured it wouldn’t hurt. Chul stepped away from the pool’s edge, moving a safe distance back towards a small indent within the rocky floor. The barrier around Jake vanished as did the shackles holding him in place.

“Do not stray far, boy,” Chul warned. Jake grinned and tapped on the Arachkin’s carapace.

“I’ll stay in leg’s reach!” Jake carefully popped up to his feet before crawling over to one of Chul’s legs. The reinforced armor was much easier to climb on, with all of the spikes and rough gaps to grab onto. He descended with ease and lowered himself to the floor. Rather than climb all the way, however, he readied himself and hopped down the last few feet.

The instant he hit the stone, he felt the mana from the floor rush into his legs. Jake blinked at the realization of what was happening. His eyes shot open and the boy choked on a shout. Before he could even call for help, the mana reached his chest. His consciousness slipped and he collapsed as the lights in his mind went out.