"Follow me… or just keep your eyes on me!" Kai shouted. "We need to get you back to the cavern before—before you lose it."
He moved quickly, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds, barking gentle commands just to keep her focused. He didn't dare stop—didn't dare let her fall too far behind.
Part of him feared she'd pounce at any moment.
"C-Can… move," the girl growled, "but it hurts…"
Kai looked back—and his breath caught.
Her skin was peeling away in patches, revealing bones and sinew underneath. It wasn't decomposition—it was like if something was consuming her.
Her own body was devouring itself just to stay animate. The semblance of life was crumbling fast.
"We're almost there!" Kai cried, panic rising. "Just hold it together a bit longer!"
She stumbled, dragging herself forward with sheer force of will. Kai clenched his fists.
She's probably the strongest unit I have right now. If she dies here…
He couldn't even finish the thought.
They reached the summoning chamber—the room they'd fled from earlier. The ground was still littered with corpses, victims of the ritual, just like him most likely.
Kai didn't know why he'd even left this place if he was going to return right away. He had a strong urge to strangle Ysaria. She'd should have known what was going to happen, he began thinking about her teasing nature, one he would need to punish when he finished doing what needed to be done here.
"I know it's disgusting…" Kai muttered, turning toward her. "But eat. Eat whatever you need to… Just—just get back to normal!"
The girl was trembling beside him, breathing hard. Her glowing eyes burned with madness as they locked onto the nearest body. Half her skin was already gone, leaving her teetering on the brink of collapse.
And yet, some fragile shred of restraint still held.
But not for long.
Not wanting to witness what the girl was about to do with the corpses scattered across the floor, Kai turned away. He didn't want to hear it. Didn't want to see it.
He quietly left the summoning chamber and headed back toward the exit, where the two towering skeletons still stood motionless.
As he approached, they shifted slightly, returning to their original positions—as if unsure what to do without commands.
"You two," Kai said, trying to sound authoritative. "Can you tell me where we are?"
The skeletons clattered their jaws in response, but nothing coherent followed.
Kai let out a tired sigh. "So… you can't talk. Great, just great."
He scanned the area beyond the narrow tunnel. Three new paths branched ahead—right, left, and straight.
"Is there a path with danger?" he asked, testing if they could at least understand simple instructions.
One of the skeletons slowly raised a bony hand and pointed to the tunnel leading right. It had a subtle incline—like it was leading upward.
Kai stared. "Fantastic. It's like I'm stuck in a dungeon crawl with no save points. Just one bad move and game over…"
He crossed his arms, glancing back toward the chamber. "I'll wait for the girl to finish before I move on. I don't trust you guys… or at least your ability to think for now."
With time to spare, he decided to check the other two paths. He peeked into the tunnel that led left—and found a room.
It looked like a bedroom of sorts. Bare bones. Just a bed and a desk.
Kai stepped inside, hoping to find something useful—maybe spare clothing, gear, anything.
He rummaged through the bed and overturned cushions, pulled at the sheets—but it was all pointless.
"Figures," he muttered. "No robe, no coat, not even a pair of boots…"
"Well, there's still the other room…" Kai muttered, turning to leave the spartan bedroom.
Just as he stepped toward the exit, something caught his eye—a rug.
It was oddly placed, set near the bed in a position that suggested it wasn't for decoration. It looked more like a meditation mat. That alone felt strange. Who in this grim place would take the time to meditate?
Shaking his head, he left the room and moved toward the tunnel to the left.
This one sloped lower than the others, and unlike the smooth passageways before, it looked rougher—hastily carved. That's when it clicked. These tunnels weren't natural.
The walls were gouged and claw-marked. Someone—or something—had dug these out. Maybe skeletons, or perhaps something like the girl… a wight capable of burrowing.
"Just how long did they work on this…" Kai began to say—when he stumbled into a new chamber.
This one was clearly a storage room.
Shelves lined the walls, crates scattered here and there. And to his relief—finally—he spotted a pair of pants, a shirt, and shoes.
"Yes! Finally," he grinned.
Without hesitation, he started changing, peeling off the grimy rags he'd been wearing since waking in this nightmare.
He had just pulled his pants halfway up when—
"Hey!" he yelped.
The girl was standing behind him.
"W-What the hell are you doing there?! Did you finish… whatever it was you were doing?" Kai asked, flustered.
Her glowing green eyes stared at him, calm yet heavy with unspoken emotion while looking like she belongs to a horror movie, blood all over her hoodie and mouth.
"Yes… I finished," she said softly. "It helped. I feel normal again. I can move fine now. But… I also remembered... things."
She paused. Her voice faltered.
Kai swallowed. He didn't need to hear the rest to understand. The haunted look in her eyes said enough. Whatever fragment of memory had returned—whatever she'd had to do to survive—it left its mark.
"I… I hope you understand," Kai said, awkwardly. "It had to be done. There wasn't another option."
The girl didn't cry. She couldn't. But her expression betrayed the weight of her feelings.
"Right, well—just… wait outside, okay?" Kai said and waited a few seconds before quickly put on the rest of his clothes.
"I'll be out in a second and we can talk more." He yelled thinking he needed to say something to keep her from possibly killing herself.
He then grabbed a spare shirt from a nearby crate as he recalled her hoodie was shredded, barely hanging together. As for pants… hers were still ripped, but honestly, they looked kind of stylish they would at least look like the ripped jeans that some people wore.
Stepping out of the room, he was just about to hand her the shirt.
He paused as he saw her hunched over, cupping her face in her hands.
"Do you… remember much?" he asked quietly.
"Yes…" she replied, her voice barely a whisper.
"Here, put this on," Kai said while tossing the shirt lightly.
Her arms were trembling before she moved them briskly as if following his words as a command, she began tugging off her ruined hoodie.
"Wait—wait, relax!" Kai held up his hands. "Do it slowly. These clothes won't survive if you use too much strength."
She froze, mid-motion. The hoodie—already half torn—had stretched awkwardly, threatening to tear further. Her thin figure was already exposed in parts, and Kai quickly looked away.
"Well… at least you got your skin back," he said, holding out the shirt more carefully now.
The girl took it with both hands, slowly regaining her composure. A flicker of embarrassment crossed her face.
"Sorry… your words—they carry some kind of power," she murmured. "So don't make them sound like orders unless you mean it!"
She stepped into the room, doing her best to cover herself with the remains of the hoodie while changing.
"Yeah… got it," Kai muttered, still a bit flustered.
He caught a glimpse of her back—smooth, pale, completely healed. It looked human. Normal.
He gulped. Well, I guess I'm still a man after all.
"She feels shame… and emotions," Kai thought. "So not everything is lost."
He turned his attention to the last unexplored tunnel. It still bothered him—not knowing where they were. The two skeletons would have to come with them; this wasn't a place he wanted to linger. What if someone came searching for the corpses? Or worse, their killers only to find them both there and a couple of skeletons.
And then there was her. He didn't know how long those corpses would keep feeding her. He needed a solution. Soon.
"Sorry about that," the girl said, stepping out. The shirt hung loosely on her, but it worked well enough. "It's a bit big, but it'll do for now."
Kai nodded, then glanced toward the tunnel.
"That should be the exit," he said. "But before we go—are you really okay? Still feel any hunger?"
She hesitated.
"I… I think I can hold out for a while," she answered slowly. "Back when you first turned me into… this, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. It wasn't just hunger—it was something deeper. Like… something inside me broke."
Her hands trembled again as she spoke. She was trying to stay calm, but fear still clung to her like a second skin.
Kai stepped closer but kept a little distance.
"Don't worry," he said gently. "We'll figure it out."
"But after eating… I feel more stable," the girl said softly. "I think I'm actually better now than when you gave me that weird energy."
Her voice trembled, but there was more focus in her eyes now—more clarity.
"And… some of my memories came back," she added, lowering her gaze. "My name is Alison. Alison Barry. I was with friends… I remembered who I was when I ate… some of them."
Kai stiffened.
"I didn't mean to," she rushed to explain. "It was like… I saw someone's memories while feeding. Someone who knew me. And then everything came rushing back… flashbacks, images. Faces I began to recognize and others I did not know."
Her voice weakened again, heavy with guilt.
"We were in the forest," she said. "Just messing around like we always did. Then… these zombie-like creatures showed up. They dragged us here. I remember screaming. All of us did."
Kai felt a pit forming in his stomach.
"What about me?" he asked carefully. "Did you see anything about me? How I ended up here?"
Alison nodded slowly. "Yes… but I didn't know you. I saw you—unconscious, just lying there. We were at least twenty people, all caged in the same room. Then… they started taking us away, one by one. For experiments."
She paused, her hands curling tightly at her sides.
"I was scared. The man who looked like a necromancer… I think he left me behind because…" She stopped herself, voice catching in her throat.
Kai didn't push.
"So… we're both victims here," he said quietly. "Sorry for making you remember all of that. I think I was just lucky—lucky the ritual was interrupted. I must've been closest when it happened and somehow… I stole that bastard's power."
"Yes," Alison said hoarsely. "I think that's exactly what happened."
"Well, let's try to get out," Kai said, glancing toward the tunnel. "We need to move. I keep getting the feeling that if we stay here any longer… something bad's going to happen."
He turned to the two skeletons.
"You two—take the lead. Go up the right path."
The towering skeletons didn't speak, of course—but they obeyed without hesitation, starting up the tunnel with slow, steady steps.
Kai noticed Alison twitch slightly, as if she were about to follow the command as well, but she caught herself.
"Let's get out of here," he said quickly, trying to downplay the order. He didn't want her to feel like a servant.
"Yes…" she nodded. "I'll follow behind. If anything jumps us, I'll handle it." She shrugged. It was clear she knew she was stronger than Kai—and that she could easily pull him to safety if needed.
The four of them made their way up the spiral tunnel.
The path was carved into rough, uneven steps, slowly sloping upward. At times, they could hear the faint sound of water running through the walls—maybe a nearby stream or underground river.
Then, the smell changed.
Pine. Grass. Wet soil.
"I think we're close to the surface," Kai said, breathing in deeply.
"But I still don't get it… why did the skeletons point this out as the dangerous path?" he muttered, recalling the earlier warning.
Moments later, they reached the exit.
A cool breeze brushed past them, and Kai stepped outside, stretching instinctively.
It was night.
The stars hung low over a mountainous landscape, trees swaying gently in the wind. The scent of the forest was stronger now—fresh, alive, and definitely clean.
"I don't feel danger," Alison said softly, scanning the surroundings. Her glowing eyes darted across the landscape. The skeletons stepped out as well, weapons drawn but relaxed.
Then she stopped.
"…I know this place," she whispered. "It's near the woods we used to play in. This mountain—it's close by."
They moved in silence—only the faint rustle of leaves and the soft crunch of dirt beneath their feet accompanied them.
Then Alison froze.
"I hear… metal," she whispered. "Metal clanking."
Her glowing eyes narrowed as she turned her head toward the sound.
Kai tensed.
"Everyone stop," he ordered quickly but as low as he could. "Let's wait. No sudden moves until we know what's out there."
The skeletons halted immediately, still as statues. Alison crouched low, her fingers twitching like claws, ready to act at a moment's notice.
The group stood in silence, listening.
In the distance, the faint metallic rattling continued.
Kai swallowed hard.
So the path really was dangerous… but not because of monsters. Someone's here.