Chapter 70: Made it out!
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Kai collected them, figuring they might help him. He also needs to give some star crystal to Princess Mia. The rest was lost to the rubble. Suddenly, In a rush, his mind changed and he got very angry. He cursed Darius with quiet rage. "Bastard!!! You did this. You left us to die. But I’ll live, and when I do, I’ll kill you with my own hands." Each piece of star crystal in his storage felt like a potential stepping stone to vengeance.
An entire day passed in darkness, punctuated by the flicker of Kai’s torch. He used skill after skill to stay alert, but mostly he needed to rest. Vexor remained in a feverish half-coma state, sometimes stirring but not speaking. Renna’s breathing was thin, and he had lost two legs. Kai worried that the ant might never fully regain consciousness.
Yet he kept faith, carefully cleaning Renna’s wounds again and changing bandages. The sense of isolation hung heavily. Kai found their scraps of rations in tattered packs, rationing them so the invalid ants might survive if they woke hungry.
By the end of the second day, the gloom weighed on him. "Should I try to carve a path out alone? But leaving them... no, I refuse." The darkness around them pulsed with an oppressive heaviness, the memory of Lomar’s death, and the predator’s roars fresh in his mind. Kai also buried Lomar’s body in the corner of the collapsed mine. After that...
Kai fought off despair by focusing on small tasks: reorganizing the star crystals, sorting out herbs, and reviewing the system’s stats. Thanks to Lomar’s essence, his stats soared by an extra +30. The sense of power gave him hope of revenge.
Finally, on the dawn of the third day in that tomb, Vexor groaned, eyes fluttering open. Kai rushed over, helping him sit up. "You’re alive," he said quietly, relief flooding his voice. Vexor’s wounds had scabbed over, though the cracks in his exoskeleton left him weak.
"Where... is everyone?" Vexor rasped, voice dry. "We... fought the predator. Then... everything collapsed. After that I don’t remember anything." He sees Renna beside unconscious. He already knew Thren self sacrifice. Then he asked, "Where is Lomar?""
Tears rimmed Kai’s eyes as he replied with a low voice. "Lomar is gone. He didn’t make it." Vexor closed his own eyes in grief. "And Captain Darius? Did he come back to help us?" he asked in a trembling voice.
Kai’s antennae bristled with anger. "He left us to die. Why would that bastard come back? The mine entrance is sealed. We are stuck."
Vexor’s shoulders sagged. "So he abandoned us. A traitor. But... maybe we can still escape. If we work together." Kai offered him some water, helping him drink. Then they both turned to see if Renna stirred. He was still in a deep coma, but he was alive and breathing faintly. "He’s missing two legs," Kai murmured, feeling a sharp sorrow. "But I refuse to give up on him. We all will leave together. I don’t want to leave anyone behind."