Light in the Dark (3)

Thunder rattled the ancient doors, the sound a primal roar echoing through the chamber. Moonlight waned, the numbers on the stone numerals flickering like dying embers. With every tick of the clock, the air in their bubbles thinned, a chilling reminder of their dwindling time.

Eydis mentally spoke up again, urging him, "Think fast, Adam, or the darkness will reclaim us."

Panic tightened in Adam's chest, his gaze darting across the identical gates. Eydis's words intertwined with the rhythmic sigh of the waves, creating a haunting melody foretelling the encroaching darkness. A familiar obsidian presence, haunting him since the revelation of his lack of magical talents, whispered doubts and fears throughout his life. Tonight, it loomed, threatening to consume him entirely, saved only by the solitary beacon of hope: Elias.

His eyes shifted to his friend, whose brows furrowed in concentration while studying the gates. Elias had forever been his guiding compass, navigating him through life's treacherous currents.

Hang on…compass?

The word jolted him, a spark striking through the tangled fog of his fear. Eight arms…decipher the course… nature presides. It was a compass! Pirates. Navigating the treacherous seas through the darkness. Of course! They relied on direction, on compasses that pointed them through endless blue expanse. Starting with eight, the gate before him… it HAD to be North! North, South, East, West… and then those elusive spaces in-between, the intercardinals!

Adrenaline surged through his veins, flooding him with a renewed sense of purpose. His eyes snapped open, burning like oil lamps rekindled in the gloom. He met Emma's gaze, a silent plea mirrored in her desperate eyes. With a trembling hand, he pointed, each gesture a desperate prayer: four, two, northeast, southeast, southwest…

Emma, her chestnut hair ablaze in the dying light, met his gaze with a flicker of hope. Trust. Her magic surged, a crackling orange energy. Each door groaned open, a testament to Adam's deduction.

And seven. 

With the creak of the last door, the inner wall crept open simultaneously, unveiling a passage bathed in ethereal blue. Relief pulsed through them, a tangible wave washing over their fear-clenched muscles. They surged through the entrance, clinging not just to their dwindling breath, but to each other, the echo of their shared journey clinging to their limbs. Awe warred with relief as their eyes met Adam's, his face illuminated by a newfound resolve. He was no longer the hesitant shadow, but the lighthouse in their storm, standing tall under the soft luminescence.

But it was Eydis who held Elias' gaze, a silent conversation echoing in their eyes. Adam, once a shadow, stood bathed in the glow of his own courage. And she, the enigma, the gentle nudge in the storm, had whispered the compass into his hand, letting him claim the spotlight as his own. Did Eydis see this path all along, etched in iron and starlight?

Salt-slicked and shivering, they clawed through the tunnel's final crawl. Moonlight, a spectral blade, pierced the gloom, revealing the heart of the lighthouse – a cavern carved from the sea's rib. Adam hissed, popping the air bubbles clinging to their skins, gulping in the ocean's salty breath. Eydis met Joseph's gaze, a silent exchange echoing in their eyes. With a flick of his wrist, a flame danced into life, illuminating their climb up the spiralling staircase.

Suddenly, a blinding glare exploded, washing over them in a wave of molten gold. Anna staggered back, shielding her eyes against the onslaught. "Is that…?" she breathed, her voice caught in her throat.

The answer lay before them, a dizzying array of treasure piled high – chests overflowing with jewels, weapons glinting with arcane runes, and stacks of gold coins singing a siren song of wealth. Joseph, with a whoop, dove into the glittering bounty, scooping up an emerald necklace with a cry of delight. "Quick! Grab everything we can!" he urged, eyes sparkling with greed.

Eydis, ever the pragmatist, scanned the heap with calculating eyes. Her gaze alighted on a small, unassuming chest, its weathered oak humming with a subtle power that resonated with the Ethereum nestled against her belt. Swiftly, she slipped it into her leather pouch, the movement smooth and unseen.

Eydis' fingers brushed against another glimmering crystal, its icy touch sending a shiver down her spine. A sudden, bone-jarring crack echoed through the lighthouse, closer than the storm's fury outside. Before she could react, rapid footsteps and ragged breaths filled the tower.

"Hold the kraken! Eydis! You beat us!" Natalia's boisterous voice boomed, followed by a whirlwind of crimson silk as she launched herself into a bear hug. They toppled onto the glittering heap of gold coins, a groan escaping Eydis' lips.

"Hey, I haven't seen you all day, and you're already calling me a bear." Natalia complained, perching on Eydis' laps, oblivious to the surprised looks from her own teammates.

"Hold on, Natalia," she laughed, her voice strained. "My back appreciates the sentiment, Lady Bear, but it might not survive another attack."

"Oops, my bad," Natalia stood up abruptly, then helped the taller brunette to her feet. 

Behind them, Astra stood unmoving, her face a mask of disapproval. Billie entered with Melissa unconscious on his back. Eydis met Natalia's gaze, her eyebrows raised.

Natalia, ever the charmer, winked. "Right, where were we? Blue passing out, as per usual. You wouldn't believe what happened..."

Eydis' frown deepened, her gaze flitting from Natalia's sparkling eyes to Melissa's pale face. Concern wasn't for the unconscious mage, but for the precarious situation. "Let me guess," she said, her voice clipped as she stuffed more loot into Natalia's bulging bag. "Blue, in her usual flair, overexerted herself parting the ocean floor, leading you on a wild goose chase to a fake gate before diving into the depths to find the real one—this one."

Natalia's playful facade faltered, replaced by a flicker of genuine surprise. Billie's jaw slackened, and Astra was just being Astra, remained silent, though her eyes glittered with silent agreement.

"And then," Eydis, her voice hardening as she brushed past Astra guarding the entrance, continued, "Tried parting the ocean again? Fainted, of course. No moon, no puzzle, and this one," her gaze pinned the Terravale mage, who suddenly found the floor fascinating, "decided brute force was the answer to riddles. Got it all?"

Natalia gulped, almost applauding the brutal accuracy. But Eydis, her annoyance etched on her beautiful face, pressed on. "Then I suggest we run, NOW! Because if I were a pirate, this tower would be fish food by now."

As if on cue, the tower shuddered violently, dust cascading from the cracked ceiling. Eydis's eyes, sharp as ice shards, remained focused. With a curt nod, she gestured to the students, her voice hard but not unkind. "Up," she commanded.

Anna's heart hammered against her ribs. Down was safety, the familiar passage back to the ocean. But Eydis's gaze, cold and unwavering, held the promise of something worse. With a shuddering breath, Anna followed, as did the comrades and Astra's team, their hurried footsteps echoing in the hollow tower.

Astra's violet eyes flickered to the cracked wall, her mind racing. But before she could react, Eydis's voice sliced through the air, a whip crack in the dying darkness. "Don't even think about it. If I were a pirate," she stressed, her eyes flashing with a feral glint, "these stones would be rigged with explosives."

The climb was a frantic scramble, a fight for survival. And when they finally reached the top, a wind like a hungry beast whipped their hair, carrying the salty tang of the storm and the distant rumble of its fury. 

Eydis turned, her eyes burning with a fire that mirrored the approaching dawn. "JUMP!" she commanded, her voice a beacon in the fading darkness.

Without a second thought, or perhaps with a thousand doubts swallowed whole, they leaped. The wind tore at Eydis's clothes, the icy water embraced her with a chilling kiss. The lighthouse tilted, its broken wall spewing a shower of debris.

Then, with a thunderclap that shook the very ocean floor, the tower detonated. Flames erupted, painting the sky with streaks of crimson, and a shockwave rolled through the water, tossing them like pebbles in a raging torrent. They swam, limbs burning, lungs screaming, driven by the primal urge to escape the wrath they had unleashed.

After the shockwave calmed, Natalia, sputtering seawater, spun to Eydis. "You're a legend!" she cried, her voice echoing across the shattered sky. But her triumphant grin faltered. 

Eydis was gone. 

Nothing but churning waves and the distant wail of the storm marked the spot where she'd vanished.