Chapter 61: Flaws
This time, they drank quickly.
There was no lingering by the lake, no marveling at how the water restored their mana or soothed their aching muscles. The pain in their limbs faded, their strength returned but one thing remained untouched.
Their stomachs howled with hunger.
"What are we going to eat now?" Taria groaned as they hurried away from the lake. "We haven’t eaten since last night. Or... was it two nights ago?"
Kaedros frowned. "It was morning when we entered the castle, but inside it’s always dark. Outside was even worse. By my guess, it should be night now."
"To me," Rauk muttered, "it feels like five days have passed. From Vexa’s sudden betrayal to the Celestial Order and the bounty hunter’s Association’s not-so-surprising backstab... to the deaths of nearly everyone on this raid but us."
He ran a hand through his dusty hair. "I’ve lost count of how many times I almost died. And something tells me... this is just the beginning."
Taria nodded, picking her way carefully over twisted roots as they followed Chef and Thalso. "I couldn’t see any sun when we entered. Not outside, not inside. And yet everything’s so bright... so warm. It’s strange."
"Yeah," Kaedros agreed. "Even outside Throne of Ruinlight was oddly lit, even through the darkness."
"I wonder how this place was built," Taria mused. "A castle this small on the outside, yet so massive and open inside? A lot of spatial magic must’ve gone into it. Dozens of hidden dimensions, maybe."
"Don’t worry. You’ll be doing that in a few days," she added teasingly to Rauk. "Weaving such grand spells."
"In my dreams," Rauk snorted. "Would be nice, though. If I had a ridiculously high mana."