The darkness inside the pit was absolute. For any normal person, stepping into that hole would have been a death sentence. But Lena was not a normal person.
As she fell, she didn't scream. She didn't even flail. She tilted her body, catching the side of the tunnel with her black, clawed hands.
The stone and gray roots hissed as her nails tore through them, slowing her descent. She kicked off a protruding root and began to run down the vertical wall, her Demonic Grace keeping her feet stuck to the surface.
The air grew hotter and thicker the deeper she went.
Lena activated Life Sense.
The tunnel was a maze, branching off in a dozen different directions. But to Lena's eyes, there was only one path. The Worm Mother was a blinding sun of energy moving through the dark. She was retreating toward a massive pocket of mana deep beneath the earth.
Behind her, the sounds of the surface faded. The clashing of swords and the roars of the soldiers became a dull, distant vibration.
