The Price of Freedom (Part 1).

Elena put her hand under her jacket slowly and grabbed the gun.

"Oh, I certainly didn't expect a warm welcome, but such coldness hurts, kitten," Rick gave the girl a charming smile, Elena confidently aimed at him directly in the head. "Bunny, I don't doubt your abilities, but obviously it's not in your interests to kill me." He bowed his head and looked at the girl playfully.

Only now Elena noticed that something was wrong in him. His usual brilliant appearance seemed a little dimmed, but he was still very attractive, it was obvious even to her.

The man was sitting on the ground, his back against the wall. His body was relaxed, his head was thrown back as if in this world nothing bothered him, and he was an ordinary traveler who decided to rest after a long journey.

"A beautiful little ring. Congratulations," he said quietly, without moving. Elena looked at her hand with which she was holding the gun. On one of her fingers was a wedding ring given her by David.

The girl realized that she was distracted, but the man in front of her did not make any attempts to approach or neutralize her. The more she looked at him, the more she understood that she did not feel threatened, and this was extremely strange.

Rick was looking at her, and at the same time it seemed that he was looking right through her, his hand rested on one raised knee, and the other hand was on his belly. His black silk shirt cast a strange color, reflecting the rays of light falling on it.

Stop. Where was the light coming from?

Elena turned around and what she saw before her eyes made the girl freeze on the spot. One of the walls looked like a huge mirror, but instead of a smooth surface, it shimmered like water sparkling in the sun. The waves went from the bottom up, like a waterfall, only in the opposite direction. There was not a single sound, the slight fluctuations of the liquid created the effect of sun glare over the entire surface of the cave.

Only now did Elena see where she was. The round arches of the grotto looked like a dome, in the center there was a small hollow from which the bright liquid was flowing towards the glittering wall. Thanks to the light emanating from this wall, the cave resembled the plot from the books of Jules Verne, lacking only plants and dinosaurs.

The girl shuddered, her thoughts carried her too far, that she had forgotten who she was with. Elena turned in the direction of Rick, but he did not even look at her. Once again she noted to herself that his behavior was extremely strange.

She began to look at the man more attentively, his lips were pale, and his eyes were slightly closed, his breathing was heavy. The girl frowned, "What's with you?"

Rick idly turned his head in her direction and looked up, "What's with me? It seems I am just as handsome, except I didn't get enough sleep." The man smiled, but that smile barely touched the corners of his lips.

"What are you doing here? Are you alone?" The girl looked around, but did not find any entrance, "How did you, no, how did we get here?"

"I think you know perfectly well how you got here. Let me guess, you followed David, and it wasn't he?" Elena didn't answer, but Rick realized from her tight lips that he had hit the bull's eye.

"Then whom did you follow?" she asked, her question as a sharp injection, hit the very essence.

Rick said nothing and turned away. From that night in the castle of Wewelsburg, his life has turned into one big monotonous day. He was absolutely indifferent to anything, nothing gave him pleasure. The goals he sought now seemed meaningless to him. And when, after another attempt to distract himself by the alcohol, one thought came to his mind, and he followed it, even this damn spirit refused to listen to him.

Elena looked at the thinking man. He was the person on whom their lives depended, but was there any point in asking for his help? The chance was close to zero, but somewhere deep down she believed that this chance could be realizable.

"Give up." Rick focused on the girl's words. Elena breathed in and continued, "Give up the bond that binds us together." Her heart beat like she was standing on top of a skyscraper. Even knowing that it was useless, she hoped for this man. But his indifferent look deprived her of the last, barely visible bits of this hope.

"And if I say I don't want to?"

Elena put her gun down. "David is dying. I beg you, help, please!" She did not feel humiliation or shame for her request, even if this request was meaningless.

"And what will I get in return? You know, I'm not a fan of romantic illusions," Rick bowed his head, waiting for the girl's response.

"If this will save David, I agree to any of your conditions." Elena's look was firm and resolute. Even if she could not do much, she was ready to do everything that was in her power.

She was waiting for an answer from him, but the man did not utter a sound and remained silent. This mute pause pressed on the girl as if she was under water, several hundred meters deep down.

"Okay. You are free."

"W-what?" the girl asked. She was not sure that she had heard the words of the man correctly.

"I am telling you, that you are free. Go home, have children, live happily ever after and die on the same day," Rick repeated his answer in a monotonous, indifferent voice.

"And... is that all?" Elena felt the rage begin to boil inside her. What was it all about now?! All the fears, all the experiences, all that they had to endure because of this man, he rejected so easily, as if they were unknown passers-by who disturbed his rest, and he waved his hand just to send them away quickly.

Rick looked at the girl with a tired look, his answer seemed to her an impish joke, an evil laugh at their lives which were dependent on him. She did not understand that he was completely serious.

"What I need... You can't give me that, so I'm not interested in your offer. As for the two of you, I'm already-" He froze in mid-sentence. The mirror wall behind the girl began to move, and the glittering silhouette began to appear smoothly, slowly stepping onto the surface.

"And I am interested in that."

Elena heard a male voice behind her and turned around.

"I am interested in your proposal." The blurred silhouette took on a more visible shape, and there was a second Rick in front of them. The only exception was his eyes; they were as black as the impenetrable darkness of this cold cave.

Rick got up from the ground, "Elena, get away from him." The girl was standing between an unknown creature and a person known to her, but the attitude towards both of them was the same - she did not trust any of them.

"Elena, come to me," the spirit bowed his head slightly and took a step towards her, gliding smoothly on the ground. "I can fulfill your wish. You came here to save your loved one. I can do this if you have something to give in return," he held out his hand and smiled. Outwardly, this smile seemed kind and friendly, but lifeless eyes leveled this effect, leaving only a feeling of cold from his gaze.

"It was I who awakened you, you must fulfill my wish. The girl is here accidentally," said Rick and turned the creature's attention to himself.

The spirit turned in his direction, zero emotion on his face, "Human, I spared your life because I can not fulfill your desire. But you disturbed my sleep, and I have not eaten for many years, so... get out of the way."

The last words of the creature sounded deep and furious as if they were at the epicenter of thunder peals. The spirit looked at the girl, "Nobody comes here accidentally."

His silhouette disappeared into the air, falling into hundreds of particles. Drops of silver fluid began to connect with one another, forming a single stream, which began moving quickly towards Elena. She instinctively took a step backwards but the stinging substance was too fast and had already reached her legs.

"Give me your hand!" Rick shouted, but before the girl could grab his outstretched hand, her body was half covered with a glowing liquid that was pulling her inside the wall.

He rushed to the wall, with all his might, but another stream of liquid separated from the surface and wrapped around his neck at high speed, pinching it like a tight rope. Rick held out his hand to grab the girl, but could only touch the tips of her fingers.

The silver substance completely absorbed Elena, the surface leveled, flashed, and it became dark in the cave. The man remained standing in front of the cold wall, which now was no different from ordinary stone. He leaned against the wall with his head and sighed. Even this stupid spirit refused to help him, so was there any reason to let this life go on?

Rick touched his stomach with his hand, because of the sudden movements hot liquid began to go even stronger. He could feel his shirt soaking almost completely with his blood and sticking to his body. It is good that the shirt was black, otherwise, he would look miserable. The man grinned, amazed at the irony of his situation. It was completely unlike him.

Click.

"Put your hands up and turn around slowly," a confident male voice commanded behind him. Rick executed the order and turned around. David was standing a few steps away, the gun in the hands of the man was aimed directly at his enemy.

"Hah, it looks like it runs in the family. You didn't have time to say hello, but you're already going to kill me," a man sighed with a scenical insult in his voice.

"Where is she?" David asked, his gaze like a wild beast, ready to break at any moment and crush the man standing opposite.

"Sorry, buddy, but it seems you are late again. And how is it that she gets in trouble when you're not around?" Rick raised his eyebrows and cast a sympathetic glance at David, frankly provoking the latter.

David looked at his opponent, his hands were red with blood, and realizing what this could mean, fury has overshadowed the man's mind. He rushed at Rick with rage, and the first blow threw the latter into the wall. David grabbed him and hit him several times, with all his strength, practically bringing his opponent to an unconscious condition.

"Where is she?! What did you do to her, you, bastard?!" If the life of his girlfriend didn't depend on this man, David would have killed him right here and now, without even blinking.

Rick spat out a drop of blood from his mouth and answered in a hoarse voice, "I am sorry to tell you that, but your girlfriend has just been devoured by the spirit of the cave. And I doubt that he will let her go just like that."

David threw the man away and looked around. He did not understand how he got here, but now it was obvious to him that Elena was here. He raised the torch to lit up the surface of the grotto. A small hollow in the floor caught his attention. 'That must be it,' David stood in the center of the cave, put the torch on the ground and took a knife out of his pocket. According to the notebook, that Elena showed, this place is a way to call the spirit.

The sharp blade slid across his palm, leaving a trail of blood behind it. The man didn't even frown as he didn't feel any pain. Physical suffering is nothing compared to the possibility of losing the girl who was the meaning of his life and who he was ready to die for if the situation demanded so.

Drops of blood began to roll down his palm slowly and fall into a hollow in the ground. As soon as the first drop touched the surface, it changed its color and began to shine with silver, inflaming brighter and brighter. Other drops joined it, and the hollow in the ground began to fill itself with a viscous liquid that flowed smoothly through a narrow chute toward the wall. Reaching the designated point, the wall flashed a bright fire, illuminating the entire cave, like a sun shimmer on the surface of the water.

David turned toward Rick. Even during the first kick, he noticed that the man showed no resistance as if he wanted to be beaten to death. And now it became clear to David why.

"What's the matter? Why are you bleeding so much? Are you hurt?" He walked over to Rick, the latter was sitting, his back pressed to the wall, he looked completely indifferent as if he was not worried about what was happening around him at all. David leaned over and pulled up his shirt. A deep cut, from the knife apparently, was on his skin.

"As you can see, even I can be stupid and inattentive," Rick grinned as if it were an ordinary scratch.

"Who did this?" Various thoughts began to appear in David's head. If Rick had come here with such a wound already, they would have noticed traces of blood even at the entrance. Then it turns out that he was wounded already inside the cave, which means that there was someone else here.

"Alan, damn him. That bastard followed me secretly. As you can see, even the most loyal people can betray at any moment." Rick noticed that this information had no special influence on David. "By the way, I hope you didn't take the Lee junior with you, just to let you know, this killer has it in for him, and he's very vindictive."

David tensed up, he knew that Jun was with Daniel, and although the latter was not a fan of the fights, he could match his strength with David himself. In addition, he and Mr. Lee have trained the guy well, and even if his path crosses with this Alan's, the latter will probably have to worry about the outcome of the meeting. Therefore, he decided not to delve into this topic, and besides, there was no time for that.

"If you don't treat the wound right now, then you will die of blood loss in an hour," David's face showed anxiety, the situation was becoming more disgusting every minute.

"Then you should hurry. Who knows, maybe I will kick the bucket before you get to your sweetheart." Rick looked at the guy defiantly, David responded to his provocation with a confident look,

"Don't you even worry about that. I won't give you that pleasure."

The men exchanged glances silently, they understood each other even without words.

Bang!

The walls of the cave trembled, a huge piece of stone fell off the ceiling and fell down with a crash, almost blocking the chute through which the bright liquid was flowing. The wall sparkled and the sparkle was almost gone, the cave began to sink into the darkness slowly.

"Aw, this bastard seems to have decided to resolve the issue radically. So Alan did not come alone," Rick said thoughtfully. If Alan preferred to kill quietly, then the second one loved to come up the stage on a grand scale. So, this is only the beginning.

"As far as I know, this explosion could make the main exit collapsed, but this man is not the one who gives cash for trash, so be prepared for the fact that soon the whole cave will be destroyed completely."

Rick's comment made it clear that there was no more time to think. But if the main entrance is swamped, then what about Daniel and Jun?

David closed his eyes and focused. Now he knew why he could exchange thoughts with his brother. If Daniel was energetically connected to him, then there is a possibility that David's abilities could work on him. If he can teleport him along with Jun, then the only thing remaining will be to rescue Elena. He just needs to have enough time.

. . .

He was out of his breath, his eyes darkened, his heart pounded so fast as if it was about to burst out. David got up from his knees slowly and staggered to the wall.

"Do you even understand what you just did?" Rick asked him in a serious voice. "If I have no more than an hour, now you have no more than half an hour. It was an extremely stupid decision, David."

The guy turned around and looked at the man who was once his friend, "You do not understand. You have never sacrificed for the sake of those you love. It's worth it."

Rick did not answer, because David was right. Even when he wanted to make this sacrifice, fate itself refused to accept it. So how could he know that it was worth it?

"You did feel this pain recently, right?" Rick asked another question.

Of course, such sensations do not pass without a trace. "I suppose this is because your body is dying, that's why it affected us, right?" David answered the question with a question.

"So this is how the bond is being broken. I felt sorry for your girlfriend, so you had to suffer consequences for both of you, but I think you do not mind." Rick grinned and narrowed his eyes.

"You want to say that-"

"She is now free. Your Elena. She is free just like you." From these words, David became a little relieved. But who would have thought that he would know about it only when he himself had no more than half an hour left.

The young man raised his hand and touched the wall. His hand, immersed in a silvery liquid, passed through the wall.

"You don't die here without me, okay? Or else I will have to get you from the other side so I can send you back there by myself again," David added at last.

"Hah, you think you're strong enough?" Rick grinned back.

The men looked at each other and said nothing more. David turned away and stepped forward, his body was completely hidden behind the glowing wall of the cave.

The grotto fell into complete silence.

They both knew that this was their last meeting.