AUTHOR'S POV
"Shoot," Caelynn said despairingly. "They're all in the Temple."
Her voice cut through the silence of the corridor.
Nivara, who had been assessing their surroundings, turned and gave her a curious look.
"What are you talking about?" she asked Caelynn.
"I'm talking about them," Caelynn said with annoyance. "Mia, Lyrian, Reone—and the rest of their little squad. I've started to sense their energies in the Temple with us. They're here."
"Damn," Nivara muttered. "As if going up against Damon and our so-called sister didn't make getting to this Trident hard enough."
Caelynn exhaled loudly at this, her demeanor growing more serious. She looked at Nivara grimly.
"You know what this means, right? We need to move quicker and ensure that we get to that Trident first and hide it before any of them can reach it—or, failing that, we find a way to take it for ourselves."
Nivara nodded. "You're right. We can't let anyone else get that Trident. We just can't."
Despite her nonchalant attitude, Nivara understood the stakes.She knew that If anyone besides them got their hands on the Trident first, they would be in big trouble.
At that moment, an insistent sound echoed from another corridor.
Both of them went still.
"What was that?" Nivara asked, her voice edged with fear.
"Footsteps?" Caelynn wondered out loud.
At that moment, a shriek rang out.
"It's the Temple ghosts, isn't it?" Nivara said, glancing around the corridors in a terrified manner.
Caelynn just shook her head.
"No, I don't think so. That sounded human—and it came from that adjoining corridor," she said, already moving in that direction.
"Well, don't follow it, Caelynn," Nivara warned quickly.
Caelynn ignored her and kept going.
With a reluctant sigh, Nivara followed—partly due to curiosity but mostly because she was too scared to be by herself.
As they reached the adjoining corridor, Caelynn cautiously craned her head, searching—then gasped.
"What is it?" Nivara asked, scared, hiding behind her. "Is it ghosts? It's ghosts, isn't it?"
"It's Mia," Caelynn announced, a note of excitement in her voice.
Nivara slowly lowered her hands from her face. "Mia? Wait… what?"
"Come see for yourself."
Nivara stepped forward and peered ahead.
Her eyes widened as she saw the other Sylph walking slowly, looking more than a little terrified.
"It really is her," she said, surprised. Then her tone shifted, growing excited. "And it looks like she's alone."
Caelynn's expression turned thoughtful.
It looked like Nivara's read on the situation was correct, but something about it still felt off to yer. There was an energy in the air she didn't like—and it wasn't emanating entirely from Mia.
"Nivara, something's not right here," she murmured. "I'm... sensing another presence."
"I only see Mia," Nivara said dismissively, then smiled eagerly. "Let's go get her."
She was about to move when Caelynn suddenly gasped and grabbed her shoulder.
"Don't,"
"What?" Nivara asked her in frustration.
"I've just upped my sensing spell and confirmed my suspicions. There is another presence moving close to Mia. Something… malignant."
"It's the Temple ghosts," Nivara is
"Maybe," Caelynn replied in an unsure tone. "But whatever it is, we don't want any part of it."
Nivara nodded before moving back from the corridor, relaxing slightly.
"Well, at least that takes care of Mia," she said brightly. Then, "Hey… this Temple isn't so bad after all."
Caelynn gave her a small smile—then sighed in a concerned way.
"What?" Nivara asked.
"I can't help but worry if Damon and Veyra are having better luck than us."
"Let's hope not," Nivara said seriously.
---
DAMON & VEYRA
Damon and Veyra moved through one of the Temple's many rooms, searching for the Trident of Axis.
Like Caelynn and Nivara, they had worked their way up from the lower levels and were now checking the rooms along one of the many corridors.
Strange symbols covered the floors and walls. Tall pillars and statues stood in the rooms.
But there was no Trident.
With every empty room, Veyra noticed that Damon was growing frustrated.
"Find anything?" he called moodily from across the room.
"Nope," Veyra said. "Looks like this one's empty too."
Veyra's voice was heavy with disappointment. She was momentarily discouraged. Then, determined not to find that Trident, Veyra shook off the feeling and continued her search.
"Let's check the next one. It's the last room on this corridor."
Damon groaned at this, but still followed her.
"Ugh," he exclaimed. "We've been at this for half an hour. Why the hell haven't we found it yet?"
"You didn't really think it would be this easy, did you?" Veyra replied.
"I was hoping the universe would be gracious,for once after all even everyone deserves a break once in a while—but as usual…" he sighs, kicking a nearby statue aside. "…I'm being defied at every step."
Veyra stopped and gave him a cool, assessing look.
" You know you sound so impatient to find a Trident that you will only wield for as long as it takes to assemble it."
Damon frowned a bit at this, then promptly rolled his eyes.
"I just want us to leave this creepy place—and I'm eager for you to get me the Kingdom of Echian."
Veyra studied him carefully, thinking about how inconsistent his explanations were with what she knew about him.
"See? That's exactly what I have trouble believing,Damon," she said to him plainly. "You keep saying you'll be satisfied with just Echian… when in reality, I know an ambitious guy like you would rather have the whole world."
Damon pursed his lips.
"You're unbelievably paranoid, Veyra. And believe it or not, I'm not that greedy."
Veyra said nothing, but her eyes flashed coldly.
"Stop looking at me like that," Damon added, sighing. "You know you can't act on those murderous instincts. You still need me."
Outwardly, Veyra didn't react to Damon's accurate words.
Inside, she burned with frustration and rage. More than ever, she wanted this guy gone.
But she knew this could not happen. At least not yet.
"Let's check the last room," she said in an even tone.
"Now you're talking sense."
Veyra didn't react to the disrespectful remark, just walked ahead, jaw tight.
Damon followed, noticing the tension in her—and smiling slightly at it.
Then—
A voice whispered in his ear.
"The Trident is back here, Damon."
He stopped abruptly, exhaling sharply.
"Who said that?"
"What is it?" Veyra asked.
Damon glanced at her, confused.
"I… I thought I heard something."
Veyra rolled her eyes.
"You probably imagined it. Ugh, you're just as much of a scaredy cat as Nivara and Caelynn."
"It was real, Veyra," Damon insisted.
She sighed impatiently.
"Look, we don't have time for this. Let's check the room."
Damon didn't argue again, figuring she was right and that he had to be mistaken—but just as he moved—
The voice came again.
"It's over here, Damon… let us lead you to it."
Damon turned sharply, pulling out his knife.
"Okay, that was definitely not my imagination. Who's there?"
Veyra looked at him in annoyance. "What is it now?"
Damon ignored her, listening for the voice.
"Don't be alarmed, Damon," it whispered again. "We only want to help you. Come."
Against all logic, Damon relaxed and believed the voice,stepping toward it and putting his knife back in its sheath.
Damon! where do you think you're going?" Veyra demanded.
He didn't answer.
Veyra frowned, confused and angry.
Nevertheless, she flew after him, sighing in annoyance. Landing in front of him, she grabbed his shoulder.
"Stop it, Damon. What are you doing?"
"The voice says the Trident is this way," he said without looking directly st her.
"What voice? What are you talking about?"
"This way, Damon," the voicce whispered again.
"There its is." Damon said, yanking his hand free from Veyra's and followed the voice's direction.
Then—
Click.
He and Veyra froze at the sound. It came from below them. They both looked down at their feet.
The tile beneath Damon's foot had sunk slightly, glowing with an ominous symbol.
Shoot, Veyra thought.
The next moment, the floor vanished and the ground gave way.
Both Damon and Veyra screamed as they suddenly plunged into darkness—
Then slid down roughly into an unknown place.
*****
The two hit the hard ground with pained groans.
"Ouch," Veyra exclaimed, touching a sore buttock.
Damon recovered first, breathing heavily, his eyes darting around.
"Where are we?"
"Don't know," Veyra shot back. "I do, however, know that it's all your doing and all your fault."
Damon still as her annoyed words clicks. It occurs to him how the voices must've fooled him into activating a trap. His jaw tightened.
"Of course…the voices, they were the Temple's echoes. They tricked me."
"No kidding, stupid," Veyra muttered, pushing herself up from the cold floor.
Damon ignored her.
"We need to get out of here," he said, getting to his feet.
"Sure," she said dryly. "But first, you might want to locate an exit for us."
Damon frowned, confused by her words until he finally took a proper look around the small space they were in.
No doors. No windows. No openings of any kind.
It was just walls all around. The room was completely sealed.
"There's no way out of here… Wait—are we trapped?"
"We are, Damon," Veyra said flatly. "And welcome to the conversation."
He shot her an annoyed look, then turned away, needing to focus on coming up with an escape plan and continuing the search for the Trident.
He ran his hands along the wall in front of him.
"What are you doing now?" Veyra asked, in a weary voice.
"Looking for a weakness in the wall. A hidden door, maybe. There has to be a way out."
"But then it wouldn't be much of a trap if there was,would it?" Veyra said, doubtful. .
Damon continued ignoring her, still examining the walls.
She lets out a sigh. "Ugh. Being trapped is bad enough. Being trapped with you? Nightmare."
"Funny," Damon muttered. "I was thinking the same thing."
At that moment, his palm pressed against a slightly uneven tile.
Click.
Damon jerked his hand back, not expecting it.
"What was that?" Veyra asked him in a high, alarmed tone.
A slow grin spread across Damon's face.
"I think I just triggered an escape mechanism. Who's stupid now, Veyra?"
A loud, continuous hissing sound suddenly filled the room.
Veyra's expression dropped instantly.
"That doesn't sound like anything good," she said slowly. "What did you do, you idiot?"
Damon was looking up at the ceiling, where the sound was coming from and gulped.
Blue gas seeped through thin, nearly invisible vents in the ceiling, drifting downward.
"What is that?" he said.
"Judging by the color and smell?" Veyra said. "Graphine gas."
Damon's stomach dropped.
"Wait—isn't that one of the most lethal gases in Rumini?"
"It is," she said calmly. Then she smiled. "Whew. Good thing I'm immune."
Damon stared at her.
"You're what? How?"
"My wind affinity," she said smugly. "I can filter toxic gases out of my body."
"Can you do that for me?" Damon asked quickly.
"Nope," Veyra shook her head.
"Shoot," Damon muttered to himself. "I'm dead."
"I'd say so," Veyra nodded. "There goes Trident I guess."
Damon starts panicking at her acceptance of his death. He couldn't bear the idea.
"No," Damon said, shaking his head at this. "It can't end like this."
He spun and slammed himself into the nearest wall.
"Come on—break!"
Nothing.
He hit it again.
Still nothing.
At the same time, the gas kept descending.
Veyra watched, shocked at first… before becoming extremely amused.
Laughter started bubbling out of her, loud and continuous.
"Wow, Dead meat has never looked so ridiculous," she said between laughs.
Damon ignored her, focusing on trying to stay alive. He reached for his blade in a desperate attempt to pierce the wall, only to freeze as he saw the gas hovering above him now.
A choked sound escaped him as his legs gave out, instinctively trying to make himself small.
He curled in on himself, arms over his head, face buried in his knees.
But he knew it was pointless. It wasn't nearly enough to stop him from inhaling the gas.
Despair started creeping in—
Then—
A sharp crackling sound tore through the room, making Damon flinch.
At first Damon hesitated… but slowly lifted his head, curious.
Veyra stood in the center of the room, completely still, her power making her eyes glow.
The gas started moving away from him and gathered toward Veyra.
Twisting violently into a swirling blue vortex.
"Veyra…?" Damon breathed.
She glanced at him—and smirked.
Then she moved her arms.
The vortex shot forward—
—and slammed into the nearby wall.
The impact exploded stone into shards and debris. The entire room shook—maybe the entire Temple.
Damon buried his face again instinctively, jaw tight.
When the dust settled, it took him a moment to gather his courage and look around.
Debris littered the ground.
And there stood Veyra, calm as ever, beside a jagged hole blasted through the wall.
"Ta-da," she said lightly, gesturing to it. "Exit."
Damon stared, stunned.
He then pushed himself to his feet and slowly staggered toward her.
"Wait… you could've done that the whole time?"
Veyra smiled.
"Its fun to see you squirm," she said. Then, quieter and sharper: "And I wanted to make sure you understand something."
She met his eyes.
"I need you but you need me as well."
Damon stared for a moment, then let out a breath, half annoyed, half impressed.
"You're a total menace,Veyra."
"Remember that when you try to cross me," she replied.
Veyra then turned toward the opening.
"Now come on. Let's get back to searching for the Trident,"she says." I suggest we continue from where we stopped."
She stepped through the broken wall, feeling his gaze on her back.
That's right, Damon, she thought.
You don't stand a chance against me.
Not you. Or Reone. Or Lyrian.Or anyone.