Chapter 298: The Light Sanctuary

For several seconds, nobody moved. They simply stood and stared at the enormous space that Phanetium and the Light Mirror had carved out of the Darkness.

The purple Miasma had been pushed back far enough that they could finally see the land beneath it. It was still corrupted, and still dangerous. But for the first time since entering the Darkness Region, they weren’t surrounded by suffocating purple fog.

Arthur lowered Phanetium and looked around. "So... we can actually rest here."

Luna nodded. "The Light Mirror is stable." She glanced at the hammer. "And with Phanetium reinforcing it, the sanctuary should stay protected for a while."

"How long?"

"At least thirty minutes."

Arthur blinked. "Only thirty?"

Luna smiled faintly. "It’s enough."

Arthur looked at the rest of the group, and at the state they were in. Everyone was exhausted. Their clothes were torn from battle after battle, several of them were wounded, and every face showed how long they had gone without real rest.

Arthur sighed. "Yeah." He set Phanetium carefully on the ground. "Thirty minutes sounds pretty good right now."

Nobody argued. They had been fighting, running, and exploring for hours without a single break, and this was the first real chance any of them had to breathe.

Mithra opened her storage bag right away. "Food first."

Sun’s eyes lit up. "Finally."

Athena glanced at him. "You’ve been complaining about being hungry for the last hour."

"Because I was hungry."

"You were fighting."

"I can do both."

Mithra laughed as she started pulling out ingredients, and Athena helped her while the others settled around the Light Mirror. Soon a small fire was burning, and the smell of cooking food drifted through the sanctuary.

Kong appeared beside Mithra almost instantly and stared at the food.

Mithra looked down at him. "You want some?"

Kong nodded vigorously.

"You haven’t even cooked it yet."

Kong pointed at the ingredients.

Mithra laughed. "Fine. Give me a minute."

Kong sat down to wait. He lasted about five seconds before he started crawling closer.

Mithra shook her head. "You really are hungry."

Kong nodded.

Across the fire, Eden had recovered enough energy to get playful again. The little Time Fairy flew circles around Star, slowing down just enough for Star to almost catch her before zipping away again. Star wiggled furiously.

Eden giggled. "Almost!"

Star bounced higher, and Eden vanished. Star landed on the ground, confused, and then Eden reappeared directly above her.

Star froze.

Eden smiled. "Got you."

Star launched herself upward, and Eden flew off laughing.

Arthur smiled as he watched them. "They’re having fun."

Vedas sat nearby with his eyes fixed on Phanetium. Arthur walked over. "You like it?"

Vedas looked up. "It’s powerful."

"That’s all?"

Vedas reached toward the hammer, then stopped just short of touching it. "I can feel something from it."

Arthur sat down beside him. "Something familiar?"

Vedas tilted his head. "Not exactly." He studied the markings on the hammer. "It feels old."

Arthur smiled. "That’s because it probably is."

"How old?"

Arthur shrugged. "Very."

Vedas laughed. "Very helpful."

"I try."

For a moment, they just sat there. Then Vedas glanced at him. "You really carried that thing out of there. Most people would have left it behind."

Arthur looked offended. "After going through all that?"

Vedas laughed. "Fair."

Arthur leaned back. "I wasn’t leaving empty-handed."

Vedas smiled. "That’s definitely you."

A little farther away, Mithra was moving from person to person, checking their injuries. "Arthur."

"I’m fine."

"Sit down."

"I’m sitting."

"Good." She examined his arm. "You’ve got bruises everywhere."

Arthur looked down. "Doesn’t feel that bad."

"That’s because you’re used to getting hurt."

"Exactly!" Sun called from behind them.

Arthur looked over. "Why are you agreeing with her?"

"Because she’s right." Sun leaned back against a stone. "This whole trip has been ridiculous."

Arthur laughed. "You’ve said that before."

"I mean it more now." Sun started counting on his fingers. "We started in the Everglades. Then we got separated, found a secret realm, fought Chief Beasts, discovered ancient ruins, dealt with Miasma, found Halburn’s weapons, fought an ancient Guardian, watched a forest disappear, and now we’re sitting inside a giant Light barrier while Arthur carries around a hammer that pushes the Darkness away." He stared at Arthur. "And somehow I’m supposed to believe this is normal."

Arthur considered it. "Maybe for us."

Sun groaned. "That’s exactly the problem."

Everyone laughed.

Athena sat down beside them with a bowl of food. "It has been quite a journey."

Mithra nodded. "We’ve been in the Everglades so long that it feels strange to think about everything outside."

That quieted the group a little.

Arthur looked toward the edge of the sanctuary. "Yeah."

"Do you think the Agents are still in the northern region?" Athena asked.

Arthur thought about it. "They should be, if they haven’t left."

Sun frowned. "We haven’t heard anything from them."

"And the professors?" Mithra asked.

Athena shook her head. "We don’t know where they are."

"Or the other students," Sun added.

Arthur nodded. "We’ve been completely cut off."

For a moment, nobody spoke. They had pushed so deep into the Everglades that the rest of the expedition almost felt like another world.

Mithra sighed. "I hope they’re okay."

"They probably are," Athena said. "The Agents are experienced, and the professors know the Everglades better than we do."

Sun scratched his head. "I hope so."

Arthur looked down at his food, and then something occurred to him. "Wait."

Everyone looked at him.

"Have any of you noticed something?"

Sun blinked. "Besides the giant hammer?"

"We haven’t seen Jaku in a while."

The mood shifted, and Mithra’s expression turned serious.

"You’re right," Athena said.

Sun looked around, frowning. "Actually, we haven’t seen him since..."

"Before the northern region," Athena finished.

"And the other enemies haven’t shown up either," Arthur said.

Vedas looked out at the dark landscape beyond the sanctuary. "That’s strange."

"They were following us before," Arthur said. "Not anymore."

Sun frowned. "Maybe they gave up."

Arthur shook his head. "I don’t think so. Jaku doesn’t seem like someone who gives up."

Nobody argued with that.

Mithra sighed. "So they’re out there somewhere."

"Probably." Arthur looked across the protected ground around them. "And if they’re still in here..."

He didn’t finish, and he didn’t need to. None of them liked the idea that they weren’t the only ones trapped in this place.

Before anyone could dwell on it, Kong squeaked, and everyone turned. The little monkey was sitting beside the food with his cheeks completely stuffed.

Mithra stared. "Kong!"

Kong froze.

Mithra put her hands on her hips. "Slow down!"

Kong swallowed, then pointed at the food.

Mithra sighed. "There’s plenty."

Kong immediately grabbed another piece.

Sun laughed. "At least someone’s enjoying this trip."

Kong nodded happily, and the tension melted away.

They ate, talked, complained, and laughed, and for thirty minutes, the Darkness Region didn’t matter. For once, they weren’t Hunters or explorers trapped inside a secret realm. They were just a group of people sharing a meal after surviving something impossible.

Arthur looked around at all of them. Vedas was quietly studying Phanetium, Star was still bouncing after Eden, and Kong hadn’t stopped eating. Mithra was treating wounds while Athena talked with Athy, Sun complained about the food even though he was eating the most, and Luna sat beside Melo, studying her compass.

Somewhere along the way, this had become more than an expedition team. They had become something closer than that.

Arthur leaned back. "Not bad."

Vedas glanced at him. "What?"

Arthur smiled. "This."

Vedas looked around, then smiled too. "Yeah."

The thirty minutes passed quickly, and eventually Luna stood up. "We should go."

Everyone slowly started getting ready, and Sun groaned. "We’re really doing this again?"

Athena picked up her gear. "Unless you’d rather stay here forever."

Sun looked around. "...Maybe."

Mithra laughed.

Arthur picked up Phanetium, and the hammer gave off a faint golden glow. The Light Mirror answered it, and the whole sanctuary brightened.

Luna raised her compass. The needle turned, then pointed deeper into the Darkness Region.

Arthur looked ahead. "That’s our direction."

"Then that’s where we’re going," Luna said.

Everyone gathered together. Melo lowered herself so Luna could climb onto her back, Star bounced beside Arthur, and Eden flew overhead as Vedas picked up King Maker. Arthur tightened his grip on Phanetium.

The group stepped past the center of the sanctuary, and the Light moved with them. The darkness waited ahead.

Luna checked the compass one more time. The needle still pointed forward.

"We’re moving," she said.

Arthur looked into the purple mist beyond the edge of their Light, and he smiled. "Let’s see what’s waiting for us."