No one spoke.
They were too tired, too focused on simply moving forward.
The passage twisted and turned, sometimes widening enough that they could walk upright, sometimes narrowing so much that they had to turn sideways and squeeze through gaps barely wide enough for their bodies.
Kaya's arms were scraped raw from brushing against rough stone. Her knees ached from where she'd banged them climbing over jutting rocks. Her fingers were numb from gripping cold, wet surfaces.
But she kept moving.
Because the alternative was going back. And that wasn't an option.
---
## The Light
After what felt like an eternity—though it was probably closer to forty-five minutes—Kaya saw it.
Light.
Real, actual, 'natural' light.
Not the pale phosphorescent glow of cave moss or the eerie luminescence of drake eyes. This was sunlight. Filtered and faint, coming from somewhere above, but unmistakably real.
"There," she gasped, pointing ahead.
