The Heavens Shall Fall

“Everyone check your equipment,” Seloryn said when the group arrived at the mouth of the abandoned mine.

Without thinking, Siu placed one foot against a low rock as he moved his toes, still feeling weird walking around barefoot. Well, at least it felt like that while wearing these weird, muffling socks that stuck to his feet perfectly. He felt every uneven part of the ground, and although it didn't hurt when he stepped on something sharp like a pebble or a splinter tried to stab into his feet, failing to penetrate, it was still very weird. And uncomfortable. He was too used to wearing his usual sandals or boots, so it took time to get used to walking without them. Unlike him, Arya was unbothered by it at all, very much used to walking around like this while she was a fox. As for the others, they performed the same inspection, mostly moving their feet around while Seloryn continued speaking.

“We will follow the exact route we used before. Get ready your glasses because we will use the lowest amount of light possible from our stones once we are in. Let's make sure we do this clean and quick...” She added with a deep breath, taking the lead and entering the mine first.

The group’s new footwear made their steps unnaturally quiet, and the absence of the ordinary noise of footsteps made the other sounds accompanying them feel much louder, like when their cloth shifted as their hands moved or when their equipment occasionally brushed against their bodies. After they disappeared into the dark, they began putting on their glasses when the much cooler air hit them. The moment they did so, the darkness became blue instead of black, contrasting it perfectly. While the brightness wasn't anything like standing under the summer sun, the visibility was surprisingly good. Especially after Seloryn activated one of the stones they brought along, spewing a very, very dim light in a wide, diffused cone. Looking around then, Siu had a feeling as if they were under a bright moon now, which suddenly got reflected in Arya's eyes. When the two's gazes met, her eyes, looking at him through the glasses, were like two tiny, reflective discs, giving her an unnatural, glassy gaze.

“What?” She asked, noticing the change in her Master's expression.

“Your eyes,” Siu whispered, starting to smile.

“Beautiful?” She grinned at once, giving him a wink.

“I'd say unsettling... It makes you look evil.”

“Oi! Master!” She pouted, acting hurt all of a sudden.

"Sssh!" Ruben turned to them, but he also added after reprimanding the two and noticing Arya's new 'look,' “Shit... She does look possessed.”

“You look dead anyway,” Arya answered in a flat tone, making Ruben touch his face in an exaggerated shock and shake his head.

“You are just jealous.”

“No,” Arya answered without hesitation as they continued descending, only stopping because Siu was warning her through their link.

When they passed the two massive doors that luckily still didn't fall on them, the passage opened back onto the great balcony once again. This time, they could see even farther than before, thanks to their new equipment. Looking up, the darkness still swallowed the ceiling, but every tiny source of mineral glow became visible on the other side, allowing them to see it. When Siu looked down, carefully leaning over the railing, the bottom of the shaft was also just as obscured as the ceiling, ending in a black hole. It told him that it went maybe a bit too deep... And whatever falls down from here will never reamarge. Shaking his head, following Seloryn, he began examining the walls, and now he could notice the regenerating CC veins all over the mine's walls, almost glowing thanks to their glasses' effects.

Walking without talking much, they followed the same route as before, passing the empty offices and storage buildings until they reached the bridge, just as Cho’Wa stopped. The bridge looked exactly as before, but Siu also noticed the difference that made the wolf halt his steps.

"There is no clicking," Nokoh whispered, making them all nod and try to glance towards where the swarm of beetles had been.

“Where are the rock bugs?” Arya asked, "Not in the bridge... Are they?"

“Cho'Wa would have picked up on that," Nokoh answered, still surveying the bridge, as Joren also crouched down, touching it.

"Nobody said they lived beneath this bridge permanently,” Ruben whispered, also looking around, "Could have moved on already."

“They were eating, so the bridge may be their favorite snack.” Arya argued, “They may have finished with it, and when we step on it, it goes... carsh!” She almost clapped while mimicking the whole thing, only failing to do so because Siu grabbed onto her hand at the last moment.

“That is worse...” Ruben grimaced, realizing that Arya may be joking, but... it was not funny at all, because the punchline was too real.

“It is still hollow,” Joren whispered after finishing his examination. “The tunnels inside are empty, and they are not here. And I don't think it will fall.”

“He smells them.” Nokoh translated suddenly when Cho'Wa made a snorting sound with his snout.

“Fresh?” Siu asked, looking around.

“Their scent is everywhere," Nokoh shook his head, "So he cannot tell.”

"Ugh..." Arya looked down into the dark, trying to find them. “Maybe they are sleeping, and while taking a nap, they just look like rocks.”

“Maybe,” Seloryn said, already taking a step forward, testing the bridge.

“Maybe the glass pig ate them,” Marly offered, hiding in Siu's hair, holding onto his head like she was a weird cap.

"Let's move in a file, and take it easy," Siu offered as they began crossing the bridge, watching out for any shifts or sounds of possible collapse.

Somewhere halfway across, a tiny pebble rolled over when Ruben stepped on it, and because their steps were muted, it made enough noise to make everyone freeze and think the bridge was about to fall apart. When nothing happened, they only gave him a look afterward, saying nothing, but that was enough to make Ruben smile sheepishly, acting as if nothing had happened, right until they arrived at their chosen spot fifteen minutes later.

“Nothing changes from the plan,” Siu whispered as they surveyed the unchanged chamber. “We have time, so let's prepare everything smoothly and with as little noise as possible. We don't want to attract it or anything else before we have to.”

As everyone began doing their part, Joren started with the floor. He walked to the center of the chamber and, touching the ground, he began examining it, slowly reinforcing it, making it much, much harder and more resistant to being broken up or dug into.

"There are a dozen tunnels below us," He said suddenly. "I can feel them, and I don't think they were made by us. They are very narrow... probably dug by the creatures living in here."

“How far are they?” Siu asked.

“A good amount, but... If the Burrower wants to come here from underground, and not an already made route, it could.”

“Let's hope they wouldn't want to do that and burst out from under us,” Ruben whispered, voicing everyone's thoughts. "That would throw all our plans into disarray."

"Just... let's work, okay?" Siu shrugged, beginning to put down part of the harness he was carrying on his back.

While Joren was working on reinforcement, the rest quickly marked the chosen containment area between four of the largest pillars. When done with the reinforcing, Joren also altered the floor by a few degrees, changing the angles so subtly that a running creature might not recognize the danger until its footing began failing and it slipped or tripped itself up. At the same time, Ruben began working near the water channel, lowering the tip of his umbrella into the stream as water rose around it. Then, as if the tiny stream became a ball of yarn, thin lines followed him wherever he was pointing, covering the possible escape routes in a filament of water, making it look like they were wholly flooded from where they stood. For someone with proper sentience, it wouldn't make sense, allowing them to see through the absurdity, but for a beast? It would be enough to play on their instincts.

"I wouldn't fall for this..." Arya muttered, touching the water-made sheen covering the mouths of the different cave entrances.

“Naturally.” Ruben chuckled while answering, "But our beast will, especially if I make it vibrate. That way, he won't be able to distinguish the difference, not to mention he was going to be fighting for his life. Thinking won't be its strong suit."

At the same time, Siu and Seloryn were working on their trap. The main restraint harnesses were too large to throw over the Prismhide from the ground, so their solution was to drop them onto it. Using the remaining furniture, pillars, and carvings, they climbed up and down on them until all three primary lines hung above the marked area, ready to drop down when needed. Their plan required precision, but they were confident in making it work.

They would still need to fight it, make it waste strength, and bind it only after it wouldn't have enough strength to tear itself free from the restraints. The point of dropping them down would fall onto Marly, as she would be hiding above with Arya and release the trap when the time was right, and Siu gave the order. As the group secured the release knots beside the upper pillars, Marly practiced reaching each one, rehearsing her job by touching the first knot, then gliding toward the second and third, until she felt like she could do it without looking.

After half an hour of getting ready, there was nothing else to practice or do. It was now or never, doing it right before Joren would run out of energy and his changes would revert to normal. Feeling that there was nothing any of the others could do either, everyone looked toward Siu, who scanned the chamber one final time and nodded. Taking their spots, with Joren settled at the far back, right where they entered the room, crouching and focusing on keeping the cavern as penetrable as possible. Because of it, he was pretty much unable to partake in the coming battle.

The main attacking group was agreed to be Seloryn, Nokoh, and Siu, the latter ready to try and copy Seloryn's affinity as soon as possible. At the same time, Nokoh would wait for his opportunity to touch the creature, invading it with his affinity and blocking it from exploding. As for Ruben, he would make sure the creature wouldn't try to escape, while Cho'Wa stayed around Joren, protecting him. Although Arya wanted to be with Siu, she surprisingly didn't argue against the arrangement to stay up high, clinging to one of the pillars with Marly and overseeing the battle from above, feeding him information about what they were seeing.

Taking a deep breath, Siu felt his body tense up, watching as Seloryn took out one of the Ping Slips from inside her robe. Touching his waist, he made sure the Blocking Tags were accessible, along with the Scatter ones, then reached down and pressed the grip tabs beneath his feet. Soon, there was no more sneaking around, and he felt them snap into place, making it feel like he was wearing wooden sandals once again.

Meanwhile, Seloryn placed the paper against the stone floor in the middle, activating it before retreating, slipping the grips on her feet herself. Just then, the paper sparked for a moment, being super bright through their glasses, causing them to avert their gaze for a brief moment, until it died down. The moment Seloryn's essence had activated it, the formation ignited, and the paper itself got stuck to the floor. Next, an actual pulse left it, repeating endlessly, over and over again, making the dust vibrate all around the cavern's floor. The thumping noise it made was constant, and they could feel it travel much farther than they anticipated, making their feet tingle.

"I hope only one comes..." Siu muttered suddenly, making Seloryn look at him, grimacing, making Siu avoid eye contact.

However, before she could say anything, heavy, uneven impacts raced through the stone, perfectly imitating the noise the tag was releasing. It made everyone flinch, as it was soon accompanied by loud, scraping noises and the approach of a very angry, and very territorial, tunneling beast coming towards them at full speed... right from underground.

"Shit!" Siu yelled, only having enough time to dodge, as two curved, rock-like tusks blasted through the reinforced floor where he was standing, and a roaring, trashing Prismhide Burrower clambered out from the new hole, clearly enraged beyond reason.

Even while Joren was doing his best to seal the hole... the sudden emergence, breaking through his reinforcement, made him swallow the blood that was coming up in his throat, forcing him to try and focus... Even when the beast was rearing up on its hind legs, ready to stomp down directly on their seal, the origin of the thrums.