Chapter 25: (CH24)THE CAVE DESCENT
Day 11 of the Ascension Royale
The morning air was sharp, the kind that woke the lungs with each breath. Mist curled between the trees like it had nowhere else to be. Luis stood atop the creaking watchtower, staring at the forest’s edge. His eyes landed on a distant black patch carved into the earth—the Cave of the Forgotten.
[LEVEL: 4 (20%) ENGINEER][SOUL ESSENCE: 10,000]
He exhaled through his nose. "My progress is too slow. At this rate, I won’t last two weeks."
Zyx floated beside him, lounging in the air like he had nowhere better to be, sipping an invisible cup of tea. "Slow? Pfft. My longest-living host survived a whole month living in a sewer and didn’t even hit level three. That guy was a cockroach in a human suit."
Luis didn’t take the bait. "If I want to survive this Royale, hiding’s not going to cut it."
Zyx rolled lazily in the air. "What?! You mean you’re not planning to rot in a hole forever? Revolutionary thinking, truly."
"I’m going into that cave."
That stopped Zyx mid-spin. He righted himself and stared. "The Cave of the Forgotten? The red-glowy-death-hole? No offense, Luis, but your current setup screams ’hobo with a stick.’"
Luis’s jaw tightened. "This whole world is a death trap. Every step’s a gamble. But waiting around isn’t safety. It’s suicide."
Zyx was quiet for once. Then: "I don’t even know what’s in that cave. None of my previous hosts made it past the sign. One guy tripped before reaching it and bled out. Whole legacy, gone because of a root."