Chapter 79: The Other Side of the Hill

Chapter 79: The Other Side of the Hill

The labyrinth stretched before Sky.

It was an endless snarl of jagged stone, all appearing the same. It felt like he was just going around and around.

He couldn’t tell if he was making any proper progress or simply running in place, trapped in a crypt-like chamber at the bottom of the world.

The pain in his leg from the fight with the Savage Beast had dulled, but the feeling of death still lingered in his veins, burned into his lungs.

With every swift motion he made, the deep, twisting pain in his left leg shot up towards his hip, threatening to buckle his knee. A trickle of sweat ran from his temple and stung his eye, but he wiped it away with the back of his mud-smeared hand.

The hill still stood somewhere above him, if he could make out the vague shape of it’s slope through the labyrinth’s ceiling.

Through the fractures, Sky could see the pale, twilight sky. As long as he could make to the other side of that ridge before nightfall, he’d have a chance at finding his way out. Once the night came, the labyrinth would swallow him whole and he’d be no use to anyone in tracking the strange, shifting paths of this place.

Sky adjusted the loose straps of his makeshift rucksack, taking another step forward through the narrow passage.

The coarse fibers of the canvas bit into his bruised skin as the bags weight dragged against his side.

Inside the bag, he had a few strips of meat from the Savage Beast, along with some of the more useful gear he had salvaged from it, plus the radiant crystal shard that he had pried from its core.

A Gem.

He had tried to absorb it, earlier that day, while crouched alone in a cavern.

Holding the warm object in the small recess of his palms, he had closed his eyes in an effort to feel that familiar tingle of energy that told him when a new object could be added to his collection.

Nothing. Nothing happened again.

Even now, the swirling energy in the crystalline core resisted being pulled from by his own life force, keeping it’s secrets locked tight inside.

Whatever difference had formed in his soul, it clearly didn’t take kindly to the energy within the crystal. It was irritating, but Sky didn’t let himself dwell on it. If nothing else, that crystal would be worth something. Something worth trading for a vial or two of that potent recovery medicine that could only be found in the safe zones.

Sky trudged onward, wincing as his foot fell into a new puddle of the thick, stagnant water that filled many of the labyrinth’s crevices with each step. The Soul Clone hovered in front of him.

It occasionally phased through the walls of the passageways to find a clearer path, and thus far it had done an excellent job of keeping Sky from doubling back or walking blindly into dead ends. It would sometimes fine a path and let ajy decided whether to go that way or not.

It would drift through the air above the ground, it’s transparent form barely able to be seen at all as it watched over the shifting tunnels.

Sky kept his fingers curled around the strap of his rucksack as he walked. The Soul Clone’s presence meant he could afford to be a little careless of his footing, and so he let the wound on his leg burn in the back of his mind in favor of focusing on the strange, twisting path ahead.

It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. Sky’s pace faltered as he spotted a faint light filtering out from the far end of the narrow passage. His muscles tensed, and he instinctively reached for the hilt of his Blood Blade, his hand hovering just above the worn leather grip. His eyes narrowed down the length of the corridor, searching for the source of the illumination.

It wasn’t the sickly green glow of bioluminescent fungus, nor the angry tinge of magic that most monsters gave off when they were near.

Beyond the shifting mass of stone and mud, Sky could see the warm glow of something entirely different. An amber light spilled out onto the high walls of the passage, casting long shadows that snaked along the ground.

The hill.

He almost laughed in relief, the tension in his chest ebbing away with the realization of what he saw.

"Finally."

Sky’s pace quickened despite the throbbing pain in his leg as he stumbled forward almost falling down, his fingers flexing against the sweat-slicked strap of his rucksack.

The walls of the passage grew farther apart as he neared the end, and the large slabs of stone that formed the roof receded into isolated pillars of the same material. The narrow corridor opened into a wide expanse, cool air brushing past Sky’s skin and washing away the stuffy, dusty scent of the labyrinth.

Sky stepped out onto the lower slope of the hill, the broad mass of land rising before him to meet the sky line.

The clouds above were tinged a deep shade of purple, bled into streaks of fire by the dimming sun.

Smoke.

Sky sucked in a sharp breath as he spotted the curling tendril of it that rose from the other side of the hill. The hazy plume hung in the air for a few moments before it was swallowed by the night.

Camp Fire.

Sky’s calloused palm curled around the hilt of his blade. His [Danger Sense] gave no indication of a threat, but it took little effort to recall that more often than not, an enemy could wait until you were distracted enough to let your guard down before wasting a breath taking your life.

Sky kept to the shadows as he climbed the hill, his heavy boots careful not to kick up any loose stones that might alert anyone that he was here

When he reached the crest, Sky’s breath caught in his throat. A woman stood on the other side, her slender frame silhouetted againt the backdrop of the smoldering fire.

White Robes, the fabric frayed at the edges from wear and dryness, hung from her waist in neat folds.

A sword rested against her hip. And next to her stood a girl, her short hair tied back loosely and her eyes gleaming with mischief behind a cracked visor. A purple tunic and a heavy belt of metal spools, spanners, and odd mechanical trinkets completed the ensemble.

Vesper.

Chloe.

Sky exhaled, the air rushing past his lips in a relieved huff as he loosened his grip on the Blood Blade.

"You weren’t the only one to make it, it seems."

Chloe’s head turned at the sound of his voice.

Her cracked visor flared with a sudden burst of cerulean light as her tracking systems zeroed in on his location

When her purple eyes met his, Chloe’s smile stretched from ear to ear.

"Sky?!" She called out, her voice cutting through the thick night air with surprising cheerfulness.

Sky raised a hand in response, a tired wave.

"Hey."

Chloe’s grin widened and she began to bounce on her heels, fiddling a small gear in her fingers.

Vesper turned her head at the sound of Sky’s voice, her expression one of impassive curiosity.

Her gaze swept over him before settling on the bandage wrapped tightly around his thigh and the way his stance favored his right leg.

Sky waited another long moment, but she gave no other reaction.

__

"Where the hell do you go?"

"You just disappeared."

Sky sighed.

Even after having fought off a wild Savage Beast, running into Vesper again was proving to be unexpectedly exhausting.

Chloe rushed to Sky’s aid almost immediately.

Her cracked visor flashed rapidly, scanning over his body from head to toe, the blue light highlighting the wide, worried eyes of hers. She didn’t even allow him to sit properly before circling like a hawk around her prey.

"Stay still," she ordered, pulling a small, brass rimmed diagnostic rod from her tool belt.

"I’m fine," Sky grunted, though the pain evident in his stance as he attempted to shift his good leg sent a sharp jab of pain through his side.

"You are absolutely not fine," Chloe scoffed, her voice adopting that clinical, analytically detached tone she always did when a person attempted to cover up an injury.

Sky glanced down at his body with a grim expression on his face.

His leather armor was scratched, and caked with filth. One side of his clothing was stained with the dark, foul smelling blood of the beast that had ambushed him, and on his left leg was a dull bruise, wrapped in a makeshift bandage that he fashioned hours prior. The fabric over his ribs was torn, exposing the blackened, purple bruises formed from the monster slamming into his side with bone breaking force.