Chapter 28: Two vs. One

  The day ended faster than expected. Barely had they finished the stew when the first day in the dream already began to draw to a close.

  Votaria threw herself down to sleep on Ursula’s soft, fluffy belly, where there was more than enough space for her. Darek sat down on an improvised bed made of roots and leaves, roughly assembled into something resembling a field cot.

  Darek yawned as he watched the two of them snoring deeply and peacefully.

  “Uaah.” His stretch echoed faintly through the cave.

  Iris looked at him in confusion. “You shouldn’t need to sleep at all, Darek. You’re already inside a dream — and only a visitor. Let alone eat.” Iris shook her head. “This isn’t Inception, Darek.”

  Darek glanced over at Iris, half asleep. “I think it’s more of a rhythm thing. Once it gets dark outside, my body just reacts. I’m not living a hundred and fifty years in a dream — this is only my second time.” His expression grew slightly annoyed. “And even though the food smelled incredible and looked fantastic, I couldn’t taste a thing. Sigh.”

  “I’m lying down anyway. I’m not in the mood to sit here watching them sleep like some psychopath. You keep watch, Iris.”

  Seraphis slithered over to Darek and used him like a long bolster pillow. It looked surprisingly comfortable.

  Chirp, chirp, chirp.

  Birdsong echoed as beams of light slipped through the holes in the cave ceiling. Votaria and Ursula slowly stirred awake, blinking sleepily and looking around in a dazed haze.

  Fine droplets gathered along the rough cave ceiling and fell at irregular intervals. Each one struck the stone floor with a dull, hollow sound, forming small ripples in the shallow pools below. The air was cool and carried the heavy scent of wet stone and earth, thick with the breath of night.

  Votaria walked to a raised stone that resembled a lectern. Its surface was hollowed out like a basin. She collected the droplets that ran down the walls from the ceiling openings and washed her face, as she did every morning.

  A few damp strands of hair clung to her cheek while individual drops slid from her chin onto the stone. She blinked repeatedly against the incoming light, as though even the brightness were challenging her personally today.

  “Good morning, Aria. You’re up earlier than I expected. We’re lucky — the flood seems to have passed. I haven’t heard anything splashing outside for hours.”

  Votaria still looked deeply tired and groggy. Her expression was hard to read. Darek wasn’t sure whether she was exhausted or irritated. Maybe both.

  “How can someone talk so much this early in the morning?” Votaria said flatly.

  Even Iris couldn’t believe his own eye. She looks completely different. Yesterday she was so lively, cheerful, full of energy — and look at her now, Darek.

  “You really know nothing about two-eyes, Iris. That’s what we call a morning grouch.”

  Morning grouch, Iris repeated thoughtfully.

  You owe me one, Darek told him.

  Fine, Iris replied weakly in his thoughts.

  Ursula, still rubbing sleep from her eyes, made her way toward the entrance. With each breath, visible mist rose from her mouth. Her warm breath mingled with the cool morning air of the cave, hanging like delicate smoke for a moment before slowly dissolving. Reaching the entrance, she pushed the massive boulder — their makeshift door — aside with tired ease.

  Sunlight forced its way past the rolling stone, and Darek had to adjust to the brightness.

  Outside, there was no sign of a flood, no wave, no catastrophe. Only a few broken branches hinted that something had happened. The sun shone brightly, evaporating the remaining moisture bit by bit.

  Darek, still shielding his face with his elbow, stepped out of the cave. Pfft, pfft. The grass beneath his first steps still held dampness. The air carried a faint trace of rain-soaked forest, and individual droplets dripped from the wet branches of the tall conifer trees surrounding them.

  The rest of the group followed.

  “So we just have to walk about three and a half to four hours in that direction until we’re near the city,” Votaria said, pointing east.

  “Mhh.” She suddenly frowned and looked around awkwardly. “Something feels different here, but I honestly have no idea what it could be.”

  “That one up ahead wasn’t here before the flood. Looks like it was washed out of some grotto,” Iris explained.

  “Oh, right — you’re right. That boulder wasn’t there before. How did I miss that?” Votaria said, and even Ursula nodded in agreement.

  “Boulder. Ha. Are all two-eyes this blind?”

  Suddenly, the entire mass moved — as if it were unfolding. The crouched shape stretched, and gradually two pairs of legs emerged, followed by its full form.

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  A six-meter-long cave salamander revealed itself.

  Its body ranged from gray to dark gray, long and slender. It almost resembled a snake with front and hind legs, though its salamander-like head marked the clear difference. Two fan-shaped feelers hovered above its inconspicuous eyes, and its overall bulk was immense. Its skin did not look like flesh, but like wet stone — smooth in places, cracked in others, as though water had shaped it over decades. Where sunlight touched it, it gleamed dully like freshly polished slate.

  Its feelers twitched slightly, and one could tell it perceived everything around it — even the smallest movement. Abruptly, its head snapped toward the group, and it let out a rasping cry — exactly what one would expect from a creature of that size.

  Beneath its head, fine, almost invisible gill slits opened and closed in steady rhythm. With each breath, its skin vibrated subtly, as if reacting to the slightest shift in the air.

  The group stared in shock — but there was no fear in their eyes. Only the shock of the unexpected.

  “That’s a cave wyrm,” Votaria said in amazement.

  Darek swallowed. Seraphis’ heightened senses should have been sharpened even further by the moisture — and yet he hadn’t detected it at all. How is that possible?

  Ursula’s and Seraphis’ sharp gazes met at the same time.

  Their thoughts were obvious.

  The rematch they had both been waiting for. Now it would be decided which of them was better. Both looked to their masters, waiting for the signal.

  Ursula bared her teeth slightly, a low growl vibrating in her chest.

  Seraphis raised himself higher, his scales tightening as a soft hiss escaped him.

  There was no hostility between them — only pride. And the unshakable will to be better than the other.

  “What are you waiting for? Crush him!” Votaria shouted.

  Ursula burned with anticipation, and Seraphis looked to Darek, waiting for his command. To win and then be dismissed because one had an unfair advantage — even the slightest head start — would be worse than defeat for a Silvarian bear.

  Darek swallowed, clenched his fist, and said, “Alright. Then this officially marks the beginning of my training. Let’s go, Seraphis.”

  Seraphis and Darek charged forward.

  The three of them stormed ahead, directly toward the cave salamander, now less than fifteen meters away.

  “Darek, you should reconsider,” Iris said in a rather indifferent tone, as if he already knew they wouldn’t listen.

  Iris, you know humans do the most foolish, reckless things once they’ve set their minds on something.

  Iris sighed. “Yes, of course. But fine.”

  “Iris — Vision,” Darek called. “You don’t need to guide me verbally here. Lend me your sight.”

  “That consumes far more energy than simply telling you. But fine. Our bond should be strong enough by now. Try it.”

  The moment Iris released the connection, Darek’s perception tipped.

  Not like a simple shift in perspective.

  But like falling through his own field of vision.

  The world did not spin.

  It opened.

  His sight multiplied, layered over itself. Outlines blurred — only to rearrange themselves in sharper clarity. Colors lost their meaning for a moment, replaced by lines, patterns, currents.

  The air was no longer empty.

  It was in motion.

  Fine, barely visible currents formed around the salamander. Invisible tensions stretched through space and body like drawn threads. Every muscle contraction announced itself as a flickering compression in the air before it became visible.

  Darek no longer saw only the enemy.

  He saw the intention.

  A sharp pressure shot behind his forehead. His eyes burned as if they were absorbing too much. He grabbed his head and staggered half a step to the side.

  For a moment, up and down lost their meaning.

  But somewhere deep within him, something stirred.

  The compass.

  And its passive ability.

  No thought.

  No feeling.

  Only direction.

  He stabilized his perception, held onto it, forced it into paths his mind could grasp.

  The storm became a current.

  “Wow, Iris,” he gasped. “This isn’t just sight. This is… more.”

  His gaze locked onto the salamander.

  “I’m not just seeing with my eyes. I see what you see. And I see what’s about to happen.”

  He inhaled sharply.

  “The air around it compresses before it moves. Its muscles tense fractions of a second beforehand. I can see exactly where it’s going to strike.”

  A grin flickered across his face.

  “This is insanely powerful, Iris.”

  Iris startled at the sudden compliment and appreciation of his ability. He hadn’t expected such a reaction — it felt too normal, too natural coming from Darek.

  “Ursula, you’re up. Breakthrough.”

  Ursula dropped to all fours mid-stride and accelerated explosively. In the blink of an eye, she surged to the front of the trio, leaving them behind in a cloud of dust.

  “What is this supposed to be — some kind of monster collector duel?”

  The cave salamander saw the charging bear and braced itself. It lifted its head arrogantly, preparing for the collision. Its posture radiated hardened confidence. The part of its body it presented to them visibly tightened, as though bracing like stone.

  Deep, irregular scars crossed its body — some old and pale, others darker and still clearly defined. Each one told the story of a battle it had survived. No creature bore such marks without having learned how to win.

  Ursula kept accelerating, growing more aggressive and showy with every meter. It almost seemed as though the air around her might ignite.

  “Tail swing from the left! Careful, Ursula!” Darek shouted mid-run, pushing into a full sprint to catch up.

  But Ursula did not hear him.

  Why would she?

  Votaria was the only one she trusted.

  In that very instant, the salamander’s tail shattered countless trees to its left as it whipped around with enormous force toward Ursula.

  For a fraction of a second, the world seemed to freeze.

  Darek saw the tail tense.

  Saw the muscles twitch beneath the stone-like skin.

  Saw Ursula’s paws take one final step.

  Then came the impact.

  POOOM.

  Darek’s heart slammed so hard against his chest that it roared in his ears. For a split second, he heard nothing else — no forest, no salamander, no voices. Only that dull, panicked rhythm.

  Ursula had already built up so much speed that dodging was impossible. She was hurled dozens of meters to the right with unimaginable force.

  Everything in her path shattered.

  Trees splintered like matchsticks.

  Rocks burst apart under the impact.

  Earth tore upward in violent arcs.

  Her crash made the ground tremble as if lightning had struck, and in the distance, a massive cloud of dust rose where she finally came to a halt.

  “URSULA!” Votaria cried in panic and ran toward the dust cloud.

  For a moment, it felt as if the ground had been pulled from beneath Darek’s feet.

  Not training.

  Not rivalry.

  This had suddenly become real.

  Damn it. Should I let her go alone? Who knows if Ursula even survived that. Alright, she has thick fur — but she’s definitely out of commission. Damn it.

  Iris, follow her. I don’t want her going alone. If Ursula is unconscious, who knows what else the flood washed in.

  “You’ll only see her, then. You understand that, right? You only see what I see when I use my ability. Don’t forget that.”

  I know. Just do it.

  “Mmh. Alright,” Iris said, understanding.

  The cave salamander slowly lowered its head and released a deep, vibrating sound that was felt more than heard.

  It had not hesitated.

  For it, this had not even been an effort — merely a reaction.

  Great Oracle. Nothing ever happens. Completely harmless, Aria said, if I remember correctly.

  Looks like we’re down to two now, Seraphis.

  Both of them fixed their gaze on the cave wyrm with unwavering determination.

  Go.