’Why does this always happen to me?’

Alden cursed, an aggrieved expression flashing across his face.

The Keeper’s Apprentice quickly righted himself - or at least, tried to. Unfortunately, he discovered that as a consequence of pushing himself too hard against the Djinn, his body now lacked the energy to move, especially since he had just given it his all a few moments prior to survive against the Salamander’s augmented infernal beam.

With the pool of hot, scorching magma beneath Alden growing larger and larger in his vision, he was moments away from being devoured by the bright, orange pool.

He could sense it.

...The lake of fire was eagerly awaiting his arrival.

It bubbled loudly as if it couldn’t wait for its long-awaited meal. Alden ignored the irony of his current circumstances - he was on the verge of being devoured rather than the devourer - and flared his Mana Sense, feeling it encompass the underground cavern.

And there, at the edge of his perception...

Alden’s figure disappeared, drawing on most of his remaining reserves to teleport away from the scorching pool.

He materialised on a strip of bare rock just wide enough to serve as a narrow ledge.

Alden collapsed to the ground.

He coughed, blood escaping his lips. His awareness flickered, his entire body itching as if a swarm of insects had descended on it and pierced his flesh.

The Keeper’s Apprentice panted silently, Ignia’s worried cry a world away in the back of his mind. Hazily, he sensed the underground chamber shudder. The fierce clash between the Stonewardens and the Salamander must have intensified, the pressure growing on the rest of the Provisional Paladin Squad now that Alden was not around to distract the Djinn.

He wanted to get up and return to the fight... but, he was so, so tired.

Aside from the physical exertion of participating in such a strenuous fight, there was also the mental one. Resisting the maddening urge took a lot out of Alden - almost too much.

He grimaced as he sent his reeling mind into his Dimensional Bracelet, searching for something too soothe his pain. Eventually, Alden dragged his upper body up a little, leaning on the cavern wall behind him for help. Then, he swallowed the healing potion, the itching sensation encompassing him growing stronger.

He gritted his teeth, sensing his addled mind slowly clear.

A while later, Alden raised his head.

His expression turned dark, a sombre dimness veiling the blood-red of his sole, crimson eye.

’...Too high.’

The breach where he had entered into the vast underground chamber was too far up.

As of this moment, Alden couldn’t teleport. He would have to wait until he replenished some of his mana reserves before attempting to do that again, and even then, he wasn’t that confident, because it required several carefully controlled jumps through space all in quick succession.

All in all, he had to find another way.

Alden shifted his gaze, scanning what was most likely the Djinn’s den. It was a vast space with stone pillars interspersed here and there, bathed in a molten, fiery glow and deep shadows. Every so often, the fiery lake hissed, releasing an angry burp, sparks of fire travelling through the air like magical fireflies.

Eventually, Alden’s gaze paused on a small tunnel, not too far from him.

’Seems... doable.’

If Alden kept to the cavern wall, almost hugging it, then he would be able to reach the mouth of the small tunnel without having to wade through the bright orange, bubbling, magma pool.

He sighed.

Then, after taking some time to muster the meager remains of his strength, the Keeper’s Apprentice slowly rose his to feet.

He had to hurry.

There was no time to waste.

***

A while later, Alden entered the tunnel. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

He summoned a torch from his Dimensional Bracelet, snapping his finger to summon a small, modest abyssal flame above the wooden branch. The dark fire consumed the enchanted oil cloth affixed to its tip, creating a bright, steady flame which banished the darkness, illuminating the tunnel in greater detail.

Two jagged, roughly hewn walls surrounded Alden on both sides. As he limped, making his way across the stone floor, his feet rang rang off the tunnel walls.

A distant, occassional gurgle streamed into his ears, courtesy of the fiery lake. The golden web in Alden’s vision gleamed, and for a heart-stopping moment, the Keeper’s Apprentice feared that another squall of motion would suddenly seize the mystical web.

However, thankfully, nothing of that sort occured.

Allowing himself to relax slightly - not to enough to lower his guard, but enough to drain some of the tension accumulating in his muscles - Alden continued forward. He raised the torch in his hand higher, channeling one of the last few drops of mana to his sole eye.

The flickering torchlight cast scurrying shadows that danced with every sudden movement. Alden shifted his gaze towards the ceiling, taking note of several fiery veins snaking through the rock which glowed softly.

’It feels like I’m inside one of the Pyre Peaks.’

He shuddered.

Of course, Alden knew that couldn’t possibly be the case.

But even so...

’...I have a bad feeling about this.’

The Keeper’s Apprentice briefly mulled over the idea of returning to the Salamander’s Den, but Alden couldn’t afford to wait around while the rest of his squad engaged a Defiled Djinn.

Swallowing his apprehension, the young man continued his careful march. So far, nothing had come to meet him and nothing had revealed itself further down the tunnel.

All was silent, apart from his quiet breathing and shuffling feet.

However, once or twice, Alden almost tripped over a scattering of loose rocks, a startled curse just barely dying in his throat. As his racing heartbeat slowed down and his fright settled, he inhaled a deep, warm breath.

Alden found it slightly odd how he hadn’t come across any other branching tunnels, but he didn’t question it.

...At first, at least.

The more time he spent traversing the small tunnel, the more Alden’s intuition trembled like a fine string. Suddenly, he came to a halt, snuffing out the light of his torch.

As darkness returned to the tunnel, save for the veins of fire flowing above, Alden spied an opening into the distance. Steeling himself, the Keeper’s Apprentice slowly resumed his careful march, his heart thumping loudly in his ears.

For a brief moment, Alden wavered.

However, in the next moment, he forced himself into the opening.

And what he saw...

Made him completely freeze, ice-cold terror flooding his heart.