Progress

"...Three!" Marquis Gomon shouted, the creature in the lake rose into the air, along with it the entirety of the water within.

It became an extension of its body, the outermost surface looked like the scales of a dragon, and its head resembled that of a massive snake, the jaw opened wide, four pointy fangs, two at the top of its mouth and two at the bottom, were ready to dig into their target.

The heart's pace showed no change, the purple stars around the edge of the lake however now sucked in the light around themselves, visually distorting the air.

One star after the other began to move in an arc around the orange heart, their speed increased with each lap, soon they could no longer be identified, in their stead now was a ring of distortion that circled above the group's head.

The water monster managed to close the distance unobstructed, Marquis Gomon's eyes were glued to the heart, full of anticipation.

Its jaw snapped shut!

The fangs struck the heart; a single deafening bang assaulted everyone's ears; their eyes closed from the wincing pain.

They reacted quickly, covering their ears with their hands, then looked up at where the heart used to be...

And still was.

Marquis Gomon's smile turned into a frown, the aquatic monster was still biting down on the heart, trying its darndest to puncture the material, but the most it managed to do was push the areas the fangs hit slightly into the heart.

"Come on!" Marquis Gomon ordered his spell's creation.

Meanwhile the distortion in the air became worse, the circular motion of the stars now also made a whirring sound, pulling in a lot more light from much more distant sources, specifically: the heart.

They could observe with their eyes, as the orange hue was slowly getting pulled out from the heart, like a vortex the distortion gobbled up the colour.

"Nice lightshow! But what about an attack?!" Marquis Gomon complained, his words only half audible due to the lingering pain from the loud noise of the strike on the heart.

Plamus' eyes were nearly closed, his hands still tightly covered his eardrums, his ring of distortion began to shrink, the circle started closing in on the heart, the pull on the light turned even stronger.

Even the blue of the water became affected by it, but before Marquis Gomon managed to voice another complaint, the remaining space between the circle and the heart rippled, then shattered!

Pure darkness, a space that absorbed everything, wrapped around the heart, it disappeared from the group's view.

They had to avert their gazes, lest they get swallowed up too.

As this continued, and everyone's hearing returned, they noticed the ever same beating of the heart, the rhythmic thumping was still there, but for some reason it was getting louder, getting quicker...

For the first time the beating became irregular, like a drummer playing off-beat.

Marquis Gomon's chest tightened; he could feel just how close they were to destroying it now!

He shot a fervent gaze over to Winny, who could barely make it out through the darkness, "Tch. Fine." she mumbled to herself.

At the base of the lake a new colour appeared, a sparking yellow, it spread out through the water like veins in a human's body.

Winny quickly motioned upwards with her fingers, and the yellow electricity that was aimlessly spreading obeyed.

It rushed to the ceiling like lightning, using the aquatic creature's body as a conduit to travel through, swiftly reaching the jaw of the beast, and the heart itself.

The yellow now too disappeared off into the distorted darkness, and the heart's beating quickened again.

Each beat bore into the group's mind, they gnawed at their sanity, a feeling much worse than just their eardrums being punctured.

Marv and Hadrian began to cough, blood was running out of their noses and ears as they fell to their knees.

The rest managed to stand strong... until the final beat.

One last thump escaped the heart, the three spells that assaulted it shattered into nothingness, everything returned to normalcy for but a moment, before the resulting shockwave spread out.

A wave of air visibly spread out and shot the entire group far off into the walls of the cave!

Debris fell and dust rose where they landed.

The first to struggle and successfully rise to their feet was Winny, followed by Plamus, then Marquis Gomon, Reyna, and then the rest.

The turquoise water fell back down into the lake's mould, once again illuminating the ceiling, its hue however was tainted by a lot of orange, and where the roots used to hold the heart, there was now empty air.

All of them watched as the roots began to wither and wilt, starting from their tips, they curled up and shrank inwards into the earth above them.

At the same time the earth began to quake, a fierce rumbling knocked Marv and Hadrian to their knees again, their orifices were still bleeding from the earlier damage, and their thoroughly disturbed sense of balance.

The heart was no more, yet silence did not ensue, instead, several unsettling screeches appeared all around the cave...

"They woke up!" Plamus shouted and looked for the exit, destroying the heart had taken a toll on everyone, they were in no condition to fight the locals now, especially the rank three.

Winny helped up Marv, then turned to the rest, "Let's go!"

Plamus, Reyna and Marquis Gomon looked at Hadrian, then one another.

Marquis Gomon simply shrugged, then went after Winny and Marv.

"Reyna, you take-" Plamus was about to order her around, but he was stunned to see her turn her back on him and leave with the rest.

"Help me please!" Hadrian looked up at the only remaining person that could help him.

Plamus frowned and clicked his tongue... should he really risk his own life to try and save the one in front of him?

... ...

"I really hope I am getting closer to an exit…" Frey sighed, he was still walking up one of the branching paths, his hand never once left the walls of the tunnel, trying to feel for any sudden vibrations that would warn him of his malicious followers.

This was one of his first spells, but until now there wasn't any real need for it.

However, connecting his consciousness with the particles around him and learning all about his surroundings really proved to be a severe advantage over the other participants, at least in this situation where there was just one path he needed to scan.

His hand trailed along the wall, it was unnaturally smooth, but any attempts at guessing what could have created them was simply a shot in the dark… a huge worm perhaps?

"Huh?" he blurted out as the wall suddenly changed to a rough shape that slightly protruded from the wall.

"A light would be really handy." he grumbled, he traced the lines of this part of the wall, trying to identify whatever he was touching.

"Meh, can't be that important." Frey shrugged his shoulders and decided to move on, but the vibrations he had been expecting finally arrived.

Not just vibrations though, what followed were intense quakes, small pieces of rocks and earth audibly fell from the ceiling, too small to hurt, but enough to raise Frey's pulse, "What?! Is the cave collapsing?!" he worried.

The quake did not last for long, and soon died down again.

Frey exhaled loudly, then wiped some sweat off his forehead, but all of the muscles on his body suddenly clenched as a low screeching came from the walls all around him.

He stood still, hoping that his mind was playing tricks on him, but he heard several somethings dislodging themselves from the earth, and his feet reacted quicker than him, "NOO!!!" he shouted and ran, pillar after pillar of rocks shot from one side of the tunnel to the other, "Please slow them down, please slow them down!"

Just as quickly as he created them, he also heard the sound of rocks breaking apart.

Each splintering sound caused his speed to increase, his forehead that he just wiped was already full of sweat-beads again.

This was no time to check, but he was sure that all of his clothes were soaked with sweat too.

Frey looked ahead, luckily for him though, he was about to reach the surface again, since there was a light at the end of the tunnel… "Wait!" he remembered a crucial detail that had escaped his judgment for a moment!

The orange light source unleashed a painful shriek as Frey closed in on it, a rocky spike rose behind Frey, just barely in time to block what sounded like the lashing of a whip.

"Just let me leave!!" he cried out, the scuttling of Treemen now also came from behind him, he was desperately holding back tears, afraid that they would block his vision when he needed it the most.

His hand pressed against his pocket, against the ominous dagger his master had give him, but he shook his head immediately; even if he managed to escape, the dagger would definitely do him in.

But just reminding himself of the dagger's existence somewhat reassured him, at least he would go down on his own terms.

Yet the chilling feeling on his spine wouldn't disappear, what else could there possibly be on his tail?!

He was just a simple rank one mage, there was no need for so many locals to chase him!

The light source, the Flyer was just in front of him, with no time to plan ahead, or to hesitate, he pulled another spike out of the walls, targeting the orange blob he knew was their weak point.

He successfully hit his mark, and pierced through the sack of fluid, but failed to consider the aftermath.

His back arched, and his arms instinctively covered his head; the orange fluid splashed onto him, onto his exposed back and arms.

At first it felt no different than water, a cool sensation, but very soon the liquid burned itself through his only layer of protection: his clothes, and his skin felt like it was sizzling!

"Argh!" he flinched but gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue running, "Lu!" he desperately called out.

The remainder of the tunnel was a blur to Frey, the next thing he knew was that he re-entered the fog, but even then, he did not stop running.

The only thought on his mind was to get as far away from this place as he possibly could, for fear of the locals catching up, but also for fear of the trio that wanted him dead.

For some reason though it seemed that the locals had given up on the chase.

Frey's back and arms were killing him!

The pain was horrible, he could feel his very bones aching, but he did not dare to look down and check.

His vision started to spin, his knees grew weak, and he collapsed mid sprint.

Frey's breathing was loud and hurried, he was shaking all over his body.

The tears he tried to hold back were now flowing, he looked down at the back of his arms, where the liquid had hit him, an act he immediately regretted, as the orange acid had burned itself rather deeply into his flesh.

Frey gagged, and puked on the spot, he didn't want to imagine what his back must have looked like.

"He- Help… I need help!" his thoughts were scattered, panic took control of his mind, he tried to push himself to his feet, but he kept tumbling back down on his own.

He crawled his way to the nearest tree, it became harder to breathe, his vision grew darker, red and blue shapes creeped their way over his vision, he was passing out.

His hand pressed against the tree, in a final attempt to prop himself up, but that only served to make him shudder… the tree and its connection to those around it, the method he had made use of to navigate through the fog and the swamp, they were dead, or well, dying.

Frey's heart was beating insanely fast, but this realisation grounded him to reality, his vision slowly returned to the way it was, he managed to stay awake; if he passed out then he would not get treated, he would probably die in his unconscious state… he shivered at the thought.

He lied down on the uncomfortable ground, face first to keep his wounded back from touching the dirt, then he closed his eyes and attempted to calm down.

Only if he was calm did he have any chance of figuring out a way out of this mess, a way back to camp, or perhaps an alternative.

With his eyes closed his remaining senses heightened, but most of all, his awareness of the particles around him grew stronger.

Ever since his defeat at the hands of Hodwan did he become aware of his connection to the many earth particles around him in his life, and even though he had been putting the entirety of his focus on deciphering the nature inheritance this Prince Dalton had sent his way, Frey didn't actively think of using the nature particles in any other way than to plan his path ahead.

"Healing magic… blood magic… Marv? No. I don't need him. I can do this on my own. I don't need that liar! I'm sorry Agnes… I'm sorry Lu… you were both right." he teared up again, but wiped them away with his shaky hands, they were slowly going numb from the pain.

"Nature magic can create toxins, what about a cure? Anything is fine…" his voice had gotten quiet.

Frey willed it, and some of the nature particles around him obeyed, carefully approaching him and his sizzling flesh.

He lowered them into his wounds, his fingernails dug into the ground, his mouth opened wide, and his face scrounged up.

"Ah! Oh gods! Please work!" he sharply inhaled, praying in between his pained grunts.

One particle after the other landed in the crevices that had formed on his back and arms, each one accompanied by a painful sting.

"Heal me! Heal me! Heal me!" Frey chanted through his closed teeth, though he had to focus on controlling the particles, he did his best to distract himself from the pain.

His body kept on twitching, shivers were sent up and down his spine, but the nature particles began to emit a low heat, unlike the sizzling from the acid, the warmth was comfortable, and slowly overshadowed the aching.

Frey opened his eyes and turned his head to observe his arms.

Green particles were snuggly nestled into his wounds, filling out the space where flesh and skin used to be.

His mind finally calmed down, only time could tell whether his spell worked, but at least he didn't have to look at the disgusting sight anymore.

After several minutes he once again attempted to get up, his hands and feet were wobbly, but by utilizing the tree next to him, he managed to rise to his feet.

Frey took small steps, he was leaning on the massive trunk of the tree, but he stopped walking and simply gawked off ahead of him, "…What?"

… …

"Alright, slow steps now." Winny said to Marv, the two and the rest of the group were bleeding all over, Marquis Gomon was even covered in green goop, "Gah! I hope they'll let me go back to Astafor and have a long shower."

"Anyways, well done kid." Marquis Gomon slapped Plamus on his back.

Plamus grimaced, his muscles were aching from all the fighting, but he knew just how great a feat they had just accomplished, "Thank you, Marquis Gomon."

He then looked to his left, Reyna was limping along the wall, her flame still served as the only source of light to them, then Plamus looked down, to check up on Hadrian, who he was pulling behind himself, dragging him by his collar.

"What the hell?!" Marv shouted, causing Plamus' attention to shoot ahead, "What? More locals?"

"No! Uh, look for yourselves!" Marv gestured at the end of the tunnel.

Plamus let go of Hadrian, causing him to abruptly hit the floor, "Let me see." he spoke as he rushed up to Winny and Marv.

He stopped next to the two and gasped, "Where is the fog?!"

The remainder of the group now also caught up with them, especially Reyna, her flame illuminated their surroundings, allowing them to see the brown grass, the dead bushes and trees, and like Plamus said, the lack of fog to block their vision.

"What happened here?" Reyna's brows wrinkled.

Marquis Gomon nodded, "Because we destroyed the heart! That thing was keeping the ecosystem alive…"

Winny turned to him, "So, we just destroyed some of the local's territory? Is that what you are saying?"

"Probably. I am just making guesses, but if that is the case, then we have found out how to conquer this plane!" Marquis Gomon laughed loudly.

"What good is a plane devoid of life?" Marv chimed in, would there be anything left if they swept through the Sunless Mire and destroyed everything like this?

Didn't the expedition want to create an environment for humans to spread out to and develop?

"Good point…" Marquis Gomon grumbled, "Let's head back to the camp. We need to report this immediately. Navigating should be a piece of cake without the fog around. Perhaps we can even expand the camp!"