It was an endless array of dank, musty, warped, and clustered pathways. That’s all that filled the land referred to as the Hollows. Tunnels laid the groundwork for the foundation of the Night’s Sea. This desolate place was a home for the beasts of the deep. Their nesting grounds.

Intricate caverns and systems inhabited by stalkers and other forgone creatures. Lurkers of the night that nourished themselves off the water that ran into their pits and any unfortunate creature that made its presence known. A place that birthed fear itself. Most of the monsters of the deep were still unknown, isolated from the eyes of man, sequestered from the light of day.

Those known besides the cave stalker included walobats, starmanders, olm, blind fish, and other abysmal-dwelling creatures. All adapted to live and thrive within the darkness cursed upon them, a waking hellscape dominated by the blind.

Walobats evolved from modern bats that had no eyes or feet. These leathery tough flying beasts with razor-sharp and venomous tails had a sharp-tipped stinger. Using sound waves and smell to move about the caves, they clutched to the walls in anticipation for prey to cross their path. Deadly creatures that weren’t to be taken lightly in the dark. Traveling in groups, one wrong step and a whole camp could descend upon you from the shadows.

Starmanders were the only touch of the light from the surface world, a sinking star in the Night’s Sea. Salamanders blessed with the gift of life, these creatures were able to flash and overstimulate any threat in the area with a bright lustrous light. Sturdy-bodied and nimble, they maneuvered through crevices and gaps in the limestone walls. While no bigger than the size of a banana, in numbers they could tear apart and decimate their prey. Only territorial to do so in their waters, quite shy out on the rocky landscape.

Here these species found prosperity.

Sitting in vicious silence as five pairs of feet scampered their way

Nothing but absolute darkness dwelled within the open space from wall to wall beside the solemn glimmer of five blue lights traversing the ragged rocky halls. Seemingly endless avenues stretched on for miles on end. A single pen drop was enough to send a ravenous echo through the system, one’s presence made aware to every living creature in the area within seconds. 

The tunnels were similar in their composure to those seen in the holy temple adjacent to Nippon. Obscure and randomly arranged cluttered paths that lacked any clear markers, just free-roaming grounds. Littered with jagged crystals and drop-off water holes, puddles that were deeper than the muddied surface led travelers to believe. Some deep enough to submerge an entire full-grown man.

Splooosh. Splooosh. Splooosh.

Kiyo followed the stream to its very end, now just a weak trickle of water dribbling off the last stone in the funneled pathway. Solemn little drops dampened the bleak gray crumbled floors within the tunnel. Each plummeted onto the worn earth and rippled off the walls back into the boys’ ears. Beyond the bittersweet ambiance lay the inevitable; silence.

Skkrsh. Krsh—krsh—ksh—sh.

Eiko slipped forward, feet skidding against a loose divot in the ragged rock wall, a slight echo of his stumble sent through the halls. Nothing distinguishable or noticeable enough to be set apart from other organisms, but it was a sound nonetheless. Here a noise was all it took to lose your life. And Eiko’s clumsiness could bring it all to an end.

Kiyo, Kono, and Daisuke turned around to shine their glowstones toward a sprawled-out Eiko slumped against the wall. Slow to lift himself back up and dust off his trainers' gear, Eiko searched for their sympathy with a joky smile. But there was none to be found.  Shoma could only shake his head, having seen it all from behind, embarrassment nipped away at his nerves. The possibility they died from his stupidity grew higher exponentially by the second. Shoma knew it all too well, if there was a time Eiko would mess up it’d be here. Hundreds of feet below the surface in the home of their greatest enemy. What luck.

“We’re all gonna die,” Shoma muttered under his breath.

Through low whispers, speaking into closed palms around their mouths, the boys tried to keep talking to a minimum. Muffled by the cloth brushing against their lips, speaking in scruffy tones. All high pitches cut off, gargling their voices to stay quiet.

“Shush,” Kiyo called out cautiously.

Eiko slowly shifted himself back up alongside the wall, face marked with a plastered annoyance. Hiding the inner fear that left him trembling in his step. Forced to shuffle forward at a snail's pace alongside the others.

“Okay, okay. I’m quiet. . .see?” Eiko said stingily as he crept forward.

One foot after another behind Kiyo, an exaggerated effort brought on by his pettiness. The others dragged their attention away from him and continued down the extensive dusky cave. Their blue light scraped away at the darkness in front of them. Inching deeper into the abyss.

But with every step forward the darkness flooded in behind them. The unknown in their midst.

A predator. 

…

Through narrow caverns and small open stretches of crystal halls, they ventured beyond them into the cluttered slanted coarse earth. Not a single crawler in sight. Yet it was hard to even notice as Daisuke remained captivated by every interesting speck they came across, stuffing some minerals and gemstones into his sling. Small enough to not be considered contraband, just bits and pieces of the environment beneath their world. Nuggets of memories.

New rock environments confronted the group at every turn through the system. Quietly splashing their way through a shallow water cave, their palms grazed the smoothed walls for support. Surfaces that had been eroded over generations of time. They weaved between the blocky jagged rectangular-like pillars of degraded gray stone that held up the roof of other sections of the cave. All of it was interrupted by the occasional drop-off pit, a hole large enough to swallow a child that would lead them to certain death; no floor in sight.

Coming to multiple forks in the road, Kiyo paused to dissect the sounds that barreled back toward them. His ears latching onto any sound within the murky air. Something to lead them to their prey in wait. But in the dead silence of the eternal night, it’s hard enough to hear past one’s thoughts.

…

Another day came and went as they endured this process, bodies worn down and supplies dwindling the further they pushed on. Their rations were reduced to crumbs and droplets as day three seeped in. Eiko hurriedly munched away at his coar meat, famished as his mind went to work trying to reason with staying sane. That they’ll find a stalker eventually and escape this hell, or would they?

Fed up with the current situation Eiko groaned between his pursed lips and stared down at the ground as he filled in line behind Kono. Sluggish anger coiled around his legs, dragging his body onward with such little regard for their situation. While he was a nuisance, he was quiet enough to not be a threat. Well, for a couple of minutes at least.

“I’m borrrrrr—”

“Just shut up,” Kono spat out in a hushed tone.

“You trying to kill us all?” He added on with a wild gesture.

Eiko sighed and shook his head at the abrupt motion. Mumbling to himself, he tried to restrain the next anxious thought that swirled around in his head. Only able to do so for a few seconds.

“Right, quiet. Cause that’s working.”

“We’re alive aren’t we?” Daisuke piped in.

“Yeah, and soon I’ll be bored to death,” Eiko murmured as he kicked at a few pebbles.

Shuffle-shuffle. Kiyo’s ears perk up at the distant sound.

“We’ll all be dead if you keep doing that.” Kono shot back.

“Might be exciting though,” Eiko waned.

“Exci—how is dying—”

knlock.

Kiyo signaled back to the rest of the group with a fist raised. Within seconds silence swept over their voice, all petty remarks and conversations brought to a standstill. Waiting for what the next word was. Nerves gulped down as they ramped up the radiance inside them. An internal riveting warmth that shook the boys to their very core, energy blessed to them by the Sun. Lights in the dark lands smiled upon by the Moon.

With an open palm held high toward the rest of the group, Kiyo leaned around the corner ahead. Shifting to the very edge of the jagged stone, he slid out just enough for his left eye to peer down the hall. Aglow from his radiance as he searched for the cause, but a vague outline was all he could make out.

“There’s something there,” Kiyo called out with a wave forward.

Rustle-rustle.

Daisuke scooted past Kono and Eiko, cramming himself onto the right side of Kiyo. His sudden rushed movement forward shuffled the rocks he had collected in his bag, the noise damped by the air-tight seal on the pouch. An excited yet anxious glare painted the boy’s face, Daisuke unable to hide his joy beneath the shimmering blue light. Hoping to get in on whatever had brought them to a stop.

“What is it?” Daisuke muttered as he tapped out his nerves against the floor.

“It’s not big. There’s only one.” Kiyo replied as he shifted further into the hall.

Everyone took a moment to compose themselves, the battle was now right on the cusp. Their ticket out of the trial and into Takeo’s favor, with it a long road of recovery to become the idle five he set his sights on. To become Sun Kissed Warriors.

Shoma sucked in a strenuous deep breath and took a second to check their surroundings. Their backside cleared, Shoma passed an affirmative nod to Kiyo and refocused on the next steps ahead. But he couldn’t. Waves of anxiety pricked at his focus, mind forced to deal with a childish fear for this cramped space was one he wasn’t used to. His nerves crushed in the grit of his fists, yet he couldn’t ignore the alarms blaring in his head, an instinctual call to get out back into the light. To survive.

“Let’s—make a move before it does.” Shoma spat out through the waves of stress swarming his mind.

“Right,” Daisuke agreed with a sincere smirk drawn across his face.

Kiyo gave his approval, right hand raised with a single pinky up, a simple motion to check the front on his own. Depending on his reaction, their backup was necessary if only requested, so they waited at the corner. Standing there, watching Kiyo as he scaled down the tunnel toward the vessel out of sight. Kono pressed up against the wall for a second of rest, legs sore from the tireless walking they had endured. This moment was a chance to relax, breathe, and prepare for the next step of their plan.

“Do you think—”

“Gah!” Kono spazzed as he turned to find Eiko inches away from his ear.

“Shh.” Eiko mouthed with a raised pointer finger to his lips.

Kono could only glare at his friend, the very reason for his outburst, with the most dead-eyed judgment. Eiko quickly took the hint and threw up his arms with a repugnant sigh.

“Can a man not ask a question?

“Ask?” Kono repeated with a gesture around at the obvious that surrounded them.

“Ah. . .right,” Eiko murmured with a haphazard grin strewn across his face remembering where they were. 

Kiyo bobbed his head and clutched onto the glowstone in his left hand. Stepping slowly out into the center of the cluttered narrow hall, he eased his way toward the lump on the floor at the far end of the hall. Breathing quelled down to a muted whistle.

A couple of feet from the collapsed mass, Kiyo shined his light ahead of him to get a better view of the source. Shallow puddles of putrid water and shards of gemstones all littered across the craggy degraded stone floor gleamed back in the lights wake.

Kiyo anticipated the whispers to rip through the air, to find a stalker waiting for him ever so patiently. But it never came.

Instead, a tepid mumbling, muffled behind the body clinging onto the wall for dear life. Concealed in the shadows, Kiyo settled his nerves and shone his light over the shuddering mass. The blue glimmer instantly mixed with the creature nestled against the cold stone wall, clinging to dear life.

Squish.

But something layered the earth around him. Turning his attention down, Kiyo took notice of the mush beneath his shoes, a metallic stench simmering up with every step. Something their people uplifted as the holder of the Sun’s radiance, a forgone sin to spill on your own will, punishable by expulsion from the clan.

But this was different. This was pain.

It was blood, a thick pasty pool collected beneath the body in front of him.

Kiyo stared in awe, mind scrambled by the sight of the child's lacerated back. His training gear nearly ripped to shreds. Just a single slash that tore into his spine, flesh split apart and leaking all over the floor, a scarlet waterfall.

But he was alive.

“They're everywhere. . .everywhere. Everywhere. Sun. Please, help. . .please.” He spat, words intermixed with the liquid of life.

Pivoting back around, Kiyo shifted his attention to the cluster of confused and hesitant faces of the rest of his group. Eager to figure out what he had seen, to move forward with the plan in motion. Now about to truly see what these creatures were capable of. This place is home to a different breed.

“There’s—he’s . . .,” Kiyo muttered aimlessly through cupped hands.

Daisuke propelled off the stone and rushed forward to investigate Kiyo’s blabbered speech. But it only took a second to recognize what happened, taken aback by the boy curled up on the ground bleeding out. Easily able to tell what creature could have made those marks.

A cave stalker.

“Please, please, please. . .help us.” The boy cried out.

Squatting down, Daisuke pulled the boy back upright away from the slick rock wall. A sudden surge of pain blasted through the kid’s body, teeth gritted as he tried to brace himself against the sweltering anguish. Smart enough to know what would happen if he yelled. What would come for him once more.

His low-cut buzzed white hair was dotted with specks of his blood, a contrast from his faded tea-green eyes. Black freckles were randomly dotted on his face, a marking of the ashes they were born from. Yet now all that could be seen as a hurting child, bleeding in misery. Crying out for help.

Eiko and Kono charged forward to only come to a sudden halt. Uncertainty encompassed their minds, only told in stories and by direct instructions what the right ways to go about an injury like this were. Yet they both only froze up at the moment. Eiko gagged on the slivers of coar meat whirling around in his stomach while Kono trembled at the waves of sympathetic pain that riveted his mind.

Daisuke was the only one more focused on the boy than his disgust at the sight of blood seeping out of his torn flesh. A forsaken loss to their culture. Central to their blessing.

“You’re okay, you’re okay. Just—calm down.” Daisuke insisted, waving Kono over to help with the boy’s back.

Kono snapped out of the petrified trance and dove toward the call for help. 

“What’s your name?” Daisuke asked sincerely, trying his best to get the boy to calm down.

“Mamoru. . .it’s Mamoru.” Mamoru muttered shakily, teeth unable to keep still.

Daisuke nodded and gestured to Kono to wash off the grime on Mamoru’s back. Retrieving his satchel, Kono poured the remnants of his fresh water over the boy’s wounds. Bits of dirt and pebbles rushed out onto the ground below. Mamoru cringed at the sudden frigid touch that greeted his tainted scars, a muddied blood overflow spilling out all over his back.

Tearing a bit of cloth off his left sleeve, Daisuke attempted to stop the bleeding, handing it off to Kono who applied pressure to the two-inch deep wounds. Kiyo watched them continue to apply aid, stunned by the event entirely. Yet he couldn’t help them, too restricted by sheer shock in the moment. But then the thought clicked within him, what this situation meant. Snapping his focus ahead, he peered into the shadows for the possible entity lingering within them. Their prize was close.

Eiko grasped onto the wall for support, a mix of queasy fear enveloping his spirit. Seeing firsthand what these creatures were capable of only washed out all sense of confidence within him. What was left was nothing more than deathly panic.

“There. . .everywhere,” Mamoru muttered helplessly over and over.

Tears drizzled out of the corners of his eyes, mentally vacant as distress crowded out all thoughts of reason. Permanently altered by the trauma that had torn through him, and physically pushed him to the brink of survival. His body was just able to hold on as the radiance pumped through him, sustaining the dying flame within his chest.

“Where?” Daisuke questioned as he leaned in closer, inches from his face.

“Deeper. . so far.” Mamoru groaned, his words descending into a bitter hushed cry. Biting his bottom lip, he fended off the agony and tried to compose himself, to not on the door of total despair. But he was already at the doorstep.

Yet he gave a hint, a verbal possibility of prey in their midst. Off to the side, Eiko bumbled forward through the group right to Mamoru’s side. He grasped onto the scruff of the injured boy’s chest and gritted his teeth, mind right there at the doorstep with him. And Eiko had his fist raised to knock.

“You’re—not making sense. So speak like a big boy, and speak clearly. What happened to—” Eiko butted in capriciously, his tone slightly raised enough to echo off the wall.

Too loud.

“Shh—shhh—shhh!” Mamoru panicked as he lunged forward and clamped his hands over Eiko’s mouth. Batting away Mamoru’s hands, Eiko cleaned his lips with his sleeve, the boy grasping onto what loose fragments of Eiko’s armor he could.

“Get off! What are you—”

“I need the Sun, please, take me out, take us out, please!” Mamoru whimpered, face twitching as the experience cycled back through his mind. The horror of the dark was too much to bear any longer.

Releasing Eiko, Mamoru collapsed onto the ground and hyperventilated, reliving the trying encounter within the recesses of his mind. His hands clutched at his sides as he shook all over, his body riddled with tense spasms. He cried out for the Sun, for relief from this hell, mind on the verge of a total meltdown. Of them all being found out.

“Daisuke, he’s—what do we do?” Kono pleaded, struggling to stop the bleeding. Cloth after cloth soaked in a scarlet warm mush.

“I-I-I don’t—”

“Eiko, Kono. Take off the clothes and mend his back. Shoma, go check if anything’s coming.” Kiyo commanded from ahead as he tried to regain control of the situation.

“Take off the—” It clicked, Kono unable to finish his sentence of thought as he gazed down at the bleeding body at his knees and remembered what they’d been taught. Their savior was one of healing, a gift blessed to them as well.

“Wait, take off his what?”

“Just help dumbass.” Kono shot back as he ripped off Mamoru’s shirt. Eiko brushed off the comment and lunged forward to help as he could.

Shoma took his instructions in stride and scaled back up the tunnel to secure their exit. Disappearing around the corner of the tunnel behind, his footsteps faded into the background, another noise echoing endlessly in the tunnels.

Daisuke rose to his feet but couldn’t remove his focus from Mamoru, still hunched over trembling from head to toe. He wanted to help, to save his fellow Paladinian, to be someone like Kiyo in such a situation. But in all his efforts, he found himself useless once again. His will at the helm of another.

“Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, leave me alone!” Mamoru wailed between Eiko’s hands as he hushed the boy.

As Daisuke reached down toward the urge to help, yet was yanked back by another force. Kiyo. Redirecting Daisuke’s focus, Kiyo pointed off ahead with a glowstone in hand toward the dark pit of the tunnel. Where Mamoru came from, a bloody trail all that was left to follow.

“Wait, are we—”

“Daisuke, we got this,” Kiyo assured with a smile, a glimmer of confidence.

That’s all Daisuke needed to believe. Without another word, the two charged on ahead, following the grisly trickle of blood that spanned off into the depths of the Hollows.

Racing against time, the duo silently paced themselves down the hall. Lead only by the iridescent blue glow and the borderline of the path in front of them, they ventured on toward the cause of Mamoru’s agony. Hopeful to find the cave stalker responsible. Their earned ticket to the end of the trial.

The trail soon grew cold, blood nowhere to be seen as they came to a narrow opening in the wall. From within it, a flash of blue light darted around, the presence of another candidate, the possible rest of Mamoru’s group. Yet all Kiyo saw was an opportunity, a chance to find prey.

“Okay, let’s first check—”

WHOOOOOSH! BANG!

Daisuke’s words fell flat, eardrums spliced by the sheer impact that echoed through the hall. Crippled to their knees, the duo clung to the walls for support as the dust settled. It had only lasted a second. A flash of darkness blocked out all of the light as it flew through the air. Another bloodied body hurled right toward the opening of the den, right in front of Daisuke and Kiyo.

BAM! Thump.

“gggGGGGETERRROOOUGGGHHH!”

Kiyo and Daisuke froze at the sound of the dismal cry. They couldn’t move an inch, held down by the tumultuous fear from the past. Movement slowed to a crawl, they crept forward toward the ensuing fight. All it took was a glimpse inside to grasp the situation, to know what awaited them.

Monterio, Isao, and the other two members of their group duked it out with the feral beast. One of the two boys barreled back away from the entrance and scavenged for a stone along the floor. His arms were littered with cuts, his skin caked in blood, yet only determination masked his face. Blessed with long blonde hair and an assortment of scars across his temple, the sunny yellow-eyed Yori stood his ground. Prepared to go at the beast once more.

The other boy was more squeamish and paler than any other children. Kichi somehow remained unscathed, most likely more focused on dodging than striking. Hopeful his position in Monterio’s group would carry him through the trial, his phthalo eyes a dark composure against his pure white braided hair intertwined by a few loose golden strands. A child seen to hold great promise, smart but not athletically gifted with the Sun’s grace. Apparent as he dashed out of the stalker’s impending path like a toddler chased by a bulldog.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh! Slash!

“Wait-wait-wait-wait!” Kichi muttered as he ran, barely faster than the beast. But not fast enough.

Fwoosh!

“EEE!” Kichi cried.

Diving toward him, the stalker spread out its talons to grasp the boy yet found itself stopped. Movement halted by a sudden boulder that shattered against its ribs.

Bang!

Collapsing to the ground, it shook off the blow and reared its fangs. Its body was battered and bleeding, steps lopsided as it struggled to gain a proper footing. This fight the children’s to win.

“Nice, keep distracting it!” Monterio commanded as he raced across the room.

“What do you think I’m doing?!” Kichi yelled back, already back on his heels running from the beast.

“Just keep at it! You’re doing great!” Isao joked with a maniacal laugh.

“Yeah, right! Why don’t you try it?!” Kichi shouted back.

“Eh, you’re just better for it,” Isao replied, right hand grasping at his chin as they pincer maneuvered around the creature.

“What’s that supposed—”

But Kichi could only run for so long.

eeerrroroOUOUGHGHOHGHGHGGGRRR!

The stalker had become enraged. Slashing and charging at anything that moved, much less made a sound. Its white bug eyes were squandered by the blue glow stones, attempting to crush every single one in sight. Monterio’s group the ones at risk for pushing such a beast to its limits, taking the fight to the creature's home. It’s den.

Monterio circled the room, the others moving in sync with him for the plan they had contrived prior. Kichi was the bait for the other three, originally four, to batter the beast to death from all sides. Yet during his rotations, with a split-second glance toward the entrance, he spotted Daisuke and Kiyo standing there, watching. Monterio couldn’t help but feel joy boil within. A cocky smile cracked his focus, chuckling aloud at the two as he waved them off.

“We’re—handling this!” Monterio asserted.

Slash—whoosh!

He dodged another lash thrown his way by the frightened beast defending its grounds, yet it could only do so much as the boys continued to wail upon it. Rocks, punches, and kicks jabbed at the stalker’s composure, weakened second by second.

“Isao! The hook stone!” Monterio yelled with a loose gesture toward the satchel.

“Got it!” Isao called out as he ripped the stone out of his bag.

Too loud. At the sound of his voice, Isao went pale as the beast spun back and pinned its focus back on him. A death lane. Scrambling out of its path, he dodged its talons slashes, inches away from death. One leap into the open all he needed to hurl the stone in the air toward Montario. This toss their last ditch effort of survival, everything riding its landing.

Whoosh—clench!

Nabbed right out of the air, Monterio plunged the stone into the beast’s spine, all of his strength delivered in a single blow. 

Shhhunk!

“ARRRRROOOOGH!”

It stumbled around for a second slumping back into the cave wall. Monterio leaped away, body riddled with exhaustion as he panted relentlessly, yet he smiled. They’d won.

“Wwrrrgggrrgrggraaa. . .”

Or so they thought.

Back on its feet like it rose from the dead, the stalker’s eyes turned a ravenous rufous, a darker red than any child could imagine. A color that many would say never existed, one bent off pure rage. Its jaws split open and revealed the vast array of razor-sharp teeth beneath its skullular head. Saliva oozed out of its mouth and dripped onto the floor as if it was smiling. But then it started to shake and quiver as it clacked its teeth together, gnashing at the air.

It was unhinged, it was ballistic, it was strange. Different than from before. Daisuke quickly noticed the signs, how this stalker reacted was unlike any other. It wasn’t normal, it was something new. A behavior that only was displayed in the direst of situations, instincts lost for blood lust.

It reverted.

“Monterio!”