They hurried toward a nondescript building, where Calvar opened the door and ushered them inside. The two other men from the welcome group went their separate ways back to whatever they were doing before Lloyd and his friends arrived.

  Before the group sat an old man with long grey hair. There were only three empty seats, and Calvar directed them to sit while he remained standing. Two older men sat at the table, both with graying hair. The long-haired man wore a blue short-sleeved shirt underneath a grey set of suspenders. The fabric bore the marks of time, its surface scratched and worn from years of labor. His dark brown eyes were sharp and alert, belying his age.

  “Welcome, welcome,” said the old man with long hair. “I would like to get right to the chase. It seems we are quite fortunate to have you three come along when you did.”

  “Us five,” Lloyd and Colette said in unison.

  The old man crinkled his brow, tilting his head as he glanced at Calvar.

  “There was a woman with a blue-eyed companion. I told her that she would not be permitted to enter the town,” Calvar explained, as the old man nodded in recognition.

  The old man took a moment to compose himself before turning back to Lloyd’s group. “I’m afraid Calvar’s decision was correct. Let me explain why. My name is Edison, and I created the dome that protects this city. There is a small cave nearby that houses a series of Manarite crystals. I have found a way to harvest the energy within and create a barrier,” Edison said.

  Lloyd shifted in his chair, his attention sharpening. A barrier powered by crystals? He wondered what his mother would think of such a thing. Her power had always felt limitless compared to this delicate, artificial solution.

  “Well, I suppose the proper way to explain it is that the energy from the crystals pulses outward into a steady stream of energy that prevents living objects from entering or leaving the field,” Edison explained.

  “Is that why it flickers when you open and close the door?” Lloyd asked.

  “Wait,” Regal said, holding up a hand. “Anything alive? Is that what happened to the trees? I noticed that the dome seemed to have cut them off.”

  “Precisely,” Edison replied, nodding. “The barrier doesn’t discriminate. It’s why we rely so heavily on the door system. It temporarily disrupts the field, allowing safe passage.”

  “Disrupts the field?” Colette frowned, her arms crossing over her chest. “That sounds dangerous. What happens if the disruption spreads?”

  Edison sighed, his fingers lacing together as he rested his hands on the table. “It’s a calculated risk. The field flickers briefly but re-stabilizes after the door closes. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work.” He paused, looking at each of them in turn. “Lately, it hasn’t been functioning as well as it should.”

  “Why not?” Lloyd asked, unable to suppress his curiosity.

  Edison leaned back, his expression grim. “Every six months, we harvest new crystals from a cave nearby to keep the dome stable. Without them, the dome weakens, its pulse falters, and the barrier becomes unreliable. During our last harvest, we encountered a problem.”

  Lloyd’s stomach tightened. The way Edison said “problem” left little room for optimism.

  “The Corrupted,” Edison said, his voice barely above a whisper. “One of those beasts attacked the harvesting team. Out of twenty men, only two made it back alive. The rest were... slaughtered.”

  The room fell into a heavy silence. Lloyd felt the weight of Edison’s words press against his chest. He tried to picture the scene—men scrambling to escape a beast they couldn’t hope to fight—but his mind refused to conjure the details.

  Edison’s voice softened. “Those who survived brought back only fragments of crystals, barely enough to keep the dome operational. But now, that supply is running out. If we don’t eliminate the Corrupted and gather more Manarite soon, the dome will fail completely.”

  Lloyd glanced at Colette, who looked down at her hands, her lips pressed into a thin line. Regal leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. For a moment, no one spoke.

  Finally, Colette broke the silence. “So, what happens if the dome falls?” Her voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.

  Edison’s eyes locked onto hers, unflinching. “If the dome falls, this town will be overrun within hours. The beasts outside—Corrupted and otherwise—won’t hesitate. We won’t stand a chance.”

  Lloyd’s thoughts drifted to the villagers of Breakwater, to the comfort of his mother’s presence and the safety she’d always provided. Here, these people didn’t have a protector and provider like her. They had a dome, a fragile, failing dome.

  Edison cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “I understand if this is too much to ask, but we need your help. Without the crystals, without someone to deal with the Corrupted, this town won’t survive. I apologize, but that is why we could not allow your friend and her companion to enter. The pure terror that would ensue in this town, I believe, would be enough to break us completely. I know her companion’s blue eyes signal peace and friendliness, but we simply can’t take that risk.”

  Lloyd’s chest tightened as he pictured two dozen villagers from Breakwater sent into a random cave, never to return. Lloyd supposed his village had been far more fortunate to have his mother than they’d ever realized. The ability to quickly grow food and defenses seems like the ultimate gift of power. His initial reaction was to help this town, but there was a weird itch in the back of his brain that he couldn’t quite put a finger on. Lloyd and Regal remained silent. Colette was the first to clear her throat.

  “We’ll help you,” Colette said.

  “Well, thank you very much, dear. The cave system is two miles west, with a road leading right to it—it should be easy to spot,” Edison said.

  “All right, we’ll head out and handle the problem for you. Is there anything we should know beforehand?” Regal asked.

  “Unfortunately, we only have fragments of information about the creature. Those who made it out alive were usually at the back of the group. They reported loud roars and said the ground and cave seemed to shift on their own,” Eddison said.

  Lloyd, Regal, and Colette exchanged glances and raised eyebrows.

  “Earth powers, maybe?” Lloyd suggested.

  “Sounds likely,” Colette said.

  “All right, let’s head out and grab Sheena,” Regal said.

  The group stood and shook hands with Edison before heading out. Calvar silently walked them back to the entrance where they had first arrived. Calvar motioned to Colette. She pressed the button on the device on her wrist, and the doorway opened. They stepped through and closed the door, the dome shuddering yet again. Once outside, the group quickly found Sheena and Milla and filled her in on the mission.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “There’s an entire cave of Manarite crystals? We’re definitely looting the hell out of that before we leave. Do you know how much those things are worth?” Sheena said, a sly grin sliding across her face.

  Lloyd laughed, meeting Sheena’s gaze. “I was thinking the exact same thing,” he said.

  After an hour of trekking through rocky, hilly terrain, the group finally reached what must have been the cave.

  “First of all, that was definitely more than two miles,” Sheena said.

  “Agreed. What’s the second?” Regal asked, catching his breath.

  “Secondly, those guys are full of shit.”

  “Sheena,” Colette said in a motherly tone. She tilted her head and looked at Sheena with soft eyes.

  “What? They’re the ones acting like assholes, and I’m the bad guy now?” Sheena said, leading the group toward the cave’s mouth.

  “You know we don’t think you’re the bad guy. But, they’ve lost a lot of people just trying to defend their town. The least we can do is try to make their lives a little easier,” Colette said

  The group stood before the cave’s jagged opening. Its ceiling towered at least twice Regal’s height and was equally wide.

  “Nothing to it but to do it, I guess. Milla and I will take the lead. Lloyd and Sheena can follow me. Colette, I want you to take the rear. If I call for a retreat, we head straight for the opening,” Regal said.

  As the group stepped into the cave, it became obvious that little light reached its depths.

  “How are we supposed to go deeper into the cave? I can barely see ten feet ahead,” Colette asked.

  “Didn’t they tell you how to handle the darkness? Seems like a pretty big hindrance to completing their mission,” Sheena said, shaking her head and rubbing her temples.

  “What’s this?” Lloyd asked, stepping ahead of the group. On the cavern wall to his left, he spotted a metal device.

  The rest of the group joined Lloyd at the edge of the faint light. A metal bar jutted from the smooth cavern wall, angled toward the ground. Lloyd placed his hand on it and, after fumbling for a moment, realized he could swivel it upward.

  “Should I do it?” Lloyd asked, a part of him silently hoping they’d say no. If this device was anything like the wrist controls for the town’s bubble, he feared what it might trigger.

  “Sure. Colette, get ready,” Regal said, unsheathing his sword.

  Sheena followed suit, drawing her daggers. Lloyd took a deep breath, then shoved the stick upward. A static crackle emanated from the stick as blue lights began glowing, one by one, down the length of the cavern walls. The pale blue lights flickered faintly, casting a ghostly glow that softened the edges of the relatively smooth walls. The strange lights reminded Lloyd of torches, though their blue glow mirrored the town’s protective bubble instead of the usual orange flame. Lloyd summoned his staff. The Manarite crystal atop it began to hum, pulsing in tandem with the cave’s blue lights.

  “Are those Manarite crystals on the walls?” Lloyd asked, narrowing his eyes.

  Colette stepped closer, running her fingers along the crystal’s edges. “I don’t think so. These seem like regular crystals, probably infused with power from the Manarite ones. It’s likely the same technology Edison’s town uses for their defenses. It makes sense to use the same magic if they come here often to harvest.”

  “Do you think the lights are pulsing on purpose, or are they running out of power like the bubbles?”

  “Not sure. If it’s the latter, we’d better hurry—if those lights go out at the wrong time, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

  “Agreed,” Regal said.

  With the path illuminated, Lloyd noticed the cave walls were much smoother than he had expected. The walls, ceilings, and floors weren’t perfectly carved, but they lacked sharp edges or deep grooves. The path sloped gently downward, vanishing into the depths of the hillside. Lloyd wondered just how far it went. The thought of being trapped deep in the cave, with the lights flickering out for good, quickened his heartbeat.

  “All right, let’s give it a whirl,” Regal said, stepping into the lead position.

  The group moved forward cautiously, frequently checking with Sheena and Milla to see if they sensed anything ahead. Each question was answered with a shake of the head, so they pressed onward. The cave remained unchanged as they ventured deeper.

  After several minutes, the slope leveled out, opening into a sprawling cavern. A faint echo of their footsteps bounced off the distant walls, and the cool air seemed to cling to their skin. The same blue lights from the hallway now illuminated the cavern, although arranged more sporadically along the walls and floor. The uneven spacing allowed for pockets of the space to be shrouded in shadows. Massive stone columns stretched from the cavern floor to the towering ceiling. The floor bristled with stalagmites, while the ceiling was adorned with jagged stalactites.

  The group turned to Sheena and Milla, who once again responded with a shrug and a shake of the head.

  “We’re not sensing anything here either. I do feel better in this larger space, though. Let’s look around and see if we can find the animal,” Sheena said in a hushed tone.

  Sheena, Colette, and Milla moved to the left side of the circular room while Lloyd and Regal took the right. The glowing crystals traced the room’s perimeter and crisscrossed the floor as the lines converged on a central location. While Regal hugged the cavern walls, Lloyd ventured into the room’s center, his eyes darting for clues. He spotted something metallic in the center of the room but continued his search for big blue crystals or the Corrupted that supposedly called this place home.

  The men and women converged at the room’s far edge. When they were within ten feet of each other, Sheena shook her head, and Lloyd mirrored the gesture. After inspecting the outer wall for a few moments, Sheena glanced back at the group.

  “Where’s the Manarite? And where’s the beast? This just doesn’t add up,” Sheena muttered, frustration in her voice.

  “Yeah, so much for our payday,” Regal said with a sigh.

  “Let’s check whatever that is in the center of the room,” Sheena said.

  At the room’s center sat a large, cauldron-shaped metal object. The device spanned as wide as Lloyd’s arms and rose to his waist. An opaque glass dome sat on top of the metal base. Although hazy, Lloyd saw a pure blue crystal inside. His gaze shifted from the glowing crystal in the glass to the Manarite on his staff. They were unmistakably the same, his being much smaller. This must be the Manarite that is powering the lights on the walls.

  “One crystal? That’s it? And we can’t even take it because it’ll kill the lights? Yeah, let’s just go,” Sheena muttered, already heading for the ramp.

  “Well, we tried, didn’t we?” Colette said, looking from Lloyd to Regal.

  “I guess,” Lloyd muttered, disappointment creeping into his voice. He’d been hoping for a proper fight.

  He was also eager to take some of the crystal—if it was as powerful and valuable as Colette claimed. Though his eyes were likely bigger than his stomach, he was eager to upgrade his gear and enhance his abilities as fast as he could.

  The group gathered near Sheena, about a dozen feet from the tunnel, when Milla’s behavior changed abruptly. Her growl deepened, and her fur blazed from soft orange to brilliant red.

  “Fuck. We’ve got incoming,” Sheena muttered, though Milla’s reaction said it all.

  Moments later, Lloyd felt the ground begin to tremble. The slope’s angle hid whatever was coming, but the unmistakable sound of stone grinding against stone reached his ears. They retreated slowly, unwilling to look away from the tunnel ahead.

  “What’s the plan? Do we fight here or take it outside?” Regal asked.

  “We’re fighting here. Milla’s only picking up one enemy, but it’s huge,” Sheena said.

  A deep, guttural roar erupted from the tunnel, its echoes bouncing off the walls like thunder. Lloyd felt the roar resonate in his bones, its sheer power unmistakable. It seemed he was about to get the fight he had been hoping for.

  Lloyd scanned the room for anything he could use as a projectile. The walls, unnervingly smooth, offered no chunks of stone for him to rip away and use. The jagged rocks jutting out from the floors and ceiling were much too dense and large for Lloyd to use without burning through his Mana immediately. Aside from the glowing lights along the walls, nothing else seemed useful. Tearing the crystals free seemed risky, and he wasn’t sure what consequences it might bring. He realized he needed a better strategy for using his telekinesis, instead of relying solely on nearby objects. Though he’d improved significantly over the past month, especially in recent weeks, this moment underscored how much more he needed to master for combat.

  At last, the Corrupted appeared, emerging from the bottom of the ramp. The creature’s four limbs struck the floor with a resounding impact. A hulking grizzly bear emerged. Its fur had been replaced by smooth, unyielding stone, grinding together with every movement. Its shoulders rubbed against the tunnel walls, turning stone to dust. The scraping of its claws against the stone floor and the grinding of its rocky skin against itself created a noise that chipped away at Lloyd’s sanity.

  For all its size—towering twice as tall as Regal—the bear’s most peculiar trait was something else entirely. The bear stood at the tunnel entrance, its massive frame almost perfectly matching the tunnel’s width and height. Was the tunnel’s smoothness caused by the bear’s bulk, its stone body grinding against the walls every time it passed through? Lloyd couldn’t help but think so.

  A shiver ran through Lloyd as he realized the sheer power required to shape stone walls by simply walking past them. The true source of his dread, though, lay in its eyes. By now, Milla’s glowing blue eyes were a calming sight to Lloyd. The red glow of Corrupted beasts’ had become familiar to him as well. These eyes were like neither of those. Slotted into the bear’s eye sockets were glowing amethyst gems, radiating pure power.

  “It’s got to be like the snake, look for weak spots in between the stone!” Lloyd yelled, his shout prompting the bear to charge.