My feet bring me rapidly through the tunnel of midnight stone, lit only by the light of the blue lantern on my hip that guards my heart. The roars of Plagued, searching for any sign of life to spread their tainted light, constantly reach us through the echoic tunnels. The once-calming light of the lantern shakes as I breathe heavily from the short scuffle, casting shadows around us. The shifting shadows only make the situation seem more dire as we try to escape the chasing entities.

 

We no longer attempt to be quiet; instead, we rush forward, frantically sprinting toward where I heard the whispers long ago. But as we get closer, I start to wonder. Did those whispers come from that Groundswalker and not actually Abraham?

 

If that's the case, then we are fucked. So, so, so, so, so very fucked.

 

I can't bet on that. That chance that what I heard wasn't that Groundswalker. I need to make sure. If I'm leading us to a trap, we need to know. But there is no time to use Echo. The Plagued are catching up to us as I frequently check which way to go with my tumultuous mind. Ah! Dammit! Do I just bet on it!? No. I can't. We need to do this smartly. We cannot fight and survive against the horde; the Plagued are in the thousands. Only a Pillar could do something like that. Only someone like Kai could. Not me.

 

What can I do to buy time? What can we do to buy time?

 

Thoughts race through my mind as I twist around a corner, my hand acting as an anchor to shift my weight and speed as I continue sprinting down the next tunnel, everyone else on my heels. My eyes roam the walls, grasping toward the dark with their fragility. But nothing is coming to my mind, nothing that will help us. The chains on these stones are thick and far too sturdy to break as I did before in the pit.

 

But I don't have to break them on my own. Silas can bolster others with a coin, and Blake could give me a weapon with her ghosts.

 

I quickly stop at a narrow juncture in the tunnel, my boots skidding on the stone floor as I call for Silas and Blake.

 

"I need to use Echo again! Silas! Blake! Do what you can to strengthen me! The rest get behind me! I'm going to collapse the tunnel!"

 

The group quickly moves behind me as I push them past me, Johnny nodding at me as he turns and watches the tunnel we ran down just a moment. Skittering constantly resounds from that direction and grows louder with every passing second.

 

I take a deep breath, Ether opening paths in my body to facilitate the burst of power needed to break the stone and make it collapse. We just need enough time for me to sit and Echo. As for the way back up, we must figure it out anyway. This changes nothing. Beside me, Silas pulls out one of his few remaining coins and flips it toward me, the head of the coin landing on my back before disappearing. The best part about Silas' Sigil is that all his Sigil skills can be applied to other people, an aspect of the Hawker Sigil. Even most of his self-made ones can as well. The Ether is slow to dissipate once it leaves him.

 

Blake also helps, manipulating ghosts to create something for me. In just a few seconds, she forges a block of see-through ghost material with a grip using her remaining souls, Ghost-Steel, as she called it when she made Johnny's blade. Mine is likely to be far less enduring than the Gunfighters, however. Blake needs to be able to use her own Sigil skill on herself. If we take up all her ghosts, she can't test them to learn new ways to manipulate them.

 

So, just as a Plagued enters the dark tunnel beyond us where we just came from, I stand tall with a makeshift brass knuckle and with as much Ether as I can handle flowing through me. Release, Strugglers Gasp, Strugglers Defiance, Daydream, and finally, Adrenaline Surge combine for this strike against the hard stone wall.

 

The roars of several more Plagued, the tainted Bado scrambling to reach me, only distract me briefly as I twist and throw my fist out toward the corner of the wall, Explosion coming out in full force.

 

Everything goes white, a bang deafening my ears and an impact to the back of my head shaking my mind. I wonder for a second if I just killed myself before my vision returns, Blake slapping me awake as she is covered in the dark dust of the stone around us. Her voice is panicked, repeating the exact same phrase with every slap.

 

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

 

Awoken, I push her away and look around. I feel a bit bad as the woman seems hurt by my reaction. She recovers quickly, though, going to help the others, and I check the situation. The first thing I notice is the tunnel completely shut, tons of rocks blocking the entrance from the Plagued and the Motherbound likely right behind them.

 

The second thing I notice is how my leg is stuck underneath a rock segment.

 

Ooh... That's not good.

 

I look back to Blake, who is now checking on everyone else. Lennox and Bonfire are perfectly fine, the former is made of stone, and the latter was the furthest from the point I punched. Johnny and Silas are roughed up, the living one holding a bleeding head and the undead one shambling as he pulls Skychaser to his feet. The Bado doesn't seem injured or Dakota next to him, but they seem to be a bit banged up.

 

Seeing that everyone is mostly okay, I turn my attention to the rock and shimmy my leg from underneath it. Spikes of pain come, but I smile at them as it means I'm not all that hurt. But, of course, they could be far, far worse. Or, not there at all.

 

The weakness of using most of my skills at once makes it hard to get my leg out from underneath, but with an innovative Ironbound to push the rock up a bit, I get out without too much struggle. I check on my leg, a gash running from the calf to the top of my ankle makes me wince. Blood dribbles out as my body slowly realizes the injury.

 

Bad. But not that bad. Heath isn't that far, either.

 

At least I bought some time. As I scoot away from the rock and stand with a bit of a test for my leg, I hear clawing and scratching on the other side of the collapsed rock wall. They're already trying to break their way through.

 

I shake my head and put weight on my foot, a much smaller stab of pain than I'm used to meeting my action. Not too bad. Am I getting tougher? Maybe. Or maybe all the Ether running through my body protected me a bit. The block of Ghost-Steel Blake made for me is utterly gone, reduced to nothing in the impact. The ghosts she put into it are gone, and she cannot reuse them. It seems as though the storm of Ether dissipated the ghosts somehow. At the very least, it protected my hand; the Bloody Palm's injury is light, with only a few cuts on the knuckles.

 

While everyone else takes a few minutes to recover, I force myself back into action. Johnny moves over to me as I start up Echo, the Gunfighter sitting beside me as I do to protect me.

 

My vision disappears as I go through the motions of Echo, the skill slowly replacing everything with only sound. Then, gradually, my mind spreads out with the waves of sound that come out to me, even the tiniest pieces of noise picked up by my enhanced ears. The sound of scratching rock and heavy breathing becomes so loud that it is jarring to the ears as I try to tune them out. It takes a few seconds, but it works, the nearby noises being replaced by ones further away.

 

I can hear the dripping of water and the reflection of the scratches rolling down the tunnel as it breaks into many more branches that continue downward. These Spires seem almost endless. What lies at the depths of this one?

 

Let's find out. We aren't that far from it, right? Almost a quarter mile down, we've traveled. How much further is there to go?

 

My mind follows the sound of my ears to find the answer to this question. Dripping water, tightening rock, and the occasional animal meet my hearing and guide me deeper into the rock as I concentrate harder, blocking everything else out.

 

This is why I need to collapse the tunnel. No way I can fixate on something like this under such stress. But without that stress breathing down my neck and a moment of calm in the eye of a storm, I can.

 

Deeper and deeper, my mind goes with the open tunnels of the spire until something changes. I hit a wall. One that seems solid at first, but with a bit of a push, as I am sure this can't be the end, I break through. And when I break through, I hear dozens of people talking. Several conversations go on at once, and it takes me a few moments to focus on the most important one—a conversation between Sacate and some Bado.

 

The Bado is evident due to his scratchy voice, which must be typical of the birdmen, and his accusatory wording.

 

"Are you sure your people are coming? We've been waiting months, Woodsman."

 

Sacate replies calmly, his voice unshaken and bereft of any noticeable emotion.

 

"Yes. Johnny will be here. The man does not break a promise. And while he may be prone to goofing off, Bonfire is also powerful, his flames reminiscent of the fifth Prime. He will ignite himself for your man to escape if worst comes to worst. So the man, along with Skychaser, will find them. We must only wait. Abraham can cover the entrance from any who walk past, and Virgil can guard us against scrying."

 

A harrumph comes from the Bado as it ends the conversation frustrated.

 

"If something happens to 'Chaser, then you'll pay. My mate would never have gone had you not spoken your prophecies to him."

 

The ending of the conversation puts the realization that the Bado is a female—apparently, Bado, male or female sound male with their baritone voices. I can hear the Bado walking away as I pull myself out of Echo, a final sentence from Sacate reaching me before I do so.

 

"Skyswain, I do not speak prophecies. I only repeat what nature offers."

 

Coming out of Echo, my vision returning to me, I wipe the blood from my nose that is becoming typical of the skill. I need to use it for shorter periods. I was in it for almost five minutes just now. That can't be good for me.

 

I shake the dizziness away from using the skill as I nod to Johnny beside me.

 

"Found them. All of them. They seem to be safe, just hiding."

 

He pats me on the shoulder and pulls me to my feet.

 

"Good. Let's get moving before the accursed figure out how to dig faster. I am really starting to hate these caves."

 

Skychaser agrees with Johnny as he shakes his wings of dust and rock.

 

"Indeed. Imagine if this was the only place you could live. Everywhere else claimed by another. And yet, they still wanted what you have."

 

The Bado's words make us silent as we move through the tunnel with me in the lead. Then, finally, I ask Skychaser a question about what happened. Why were so many Bado willing to defy the rules of Sigils?

 

"Skychaser? What lead to this? You say people wanted what you had, but I thought we had an alliance, even if fragile, because of Blightraven. What happened?"

 

He replies with a voice tinged with sadness, the Bado obviously recalling unpleasant memories.

 

"The alliance only was held among the strongest. So, many low-level Hunters came for our wings, the steel fashionable and worthwhile for armor. But it's not just humans. Demons and Nahullo wished for our territory. Our homes. The former is insatiable, always lusting for more. While the latter needs the extra land to fight against the demons."

 

Damn.

 

I go silent again as we walk, feeling the sorrow in these dark tunnels. How many Bado have hidden down here to survive? Ripped away from their high towers and life of flying to stay in the endless stone halls of the depths.

 

It must be in the tens of thousands. Maybe even the hundreds of thousands. Fuck. That... I want to help in some way. That deal between Johnny and Skychaser is slowly gaining ground in my mind. I want to meet the rest of the Bado first, however. Unfortunately, most humanoids I've met have tried to kill me. The only two exceptions, quite literally, are Aniwye and Skychaser. I'm not counting Lennox, though, as he was once human.

 

So, I hurry us through the tunnels, rushing to reach the cavern where Abraham keeps the others hidden before the Plagued break through the rock.

 

***********************

 

Wheezing for breath from the perpetual dash, I look around this small cavern for where the opening must be. The thing is, no entrance or exit is visible. Far behind us, the horde Plagued is coming. There is a chance they have already broken through the rock.

 

But I can't find it. Before I start to panic and use Echo again to be sure it's here, Johnny taps my shoulder.

 

"You've done well. We just need to check every side manually. Rest a bit, Wyatt."

 

I smile at the acknowledgment and almost hit myself at the obvious answer. Abraham can make illusions, but they are incredibly fragile and break to the touch, unlike Alexos' illusions that can trick even the ablest mind. But on the other end, Abraham can turn some illusions real, specifically, those of his nightmares.

 

Johnny, Blake, Silas, and Skychaser walk around the cavern, skimming the rock walls to find the fake one. While they do so, I stand with Dakota, Lennox, and Bonfire. The pyro ignites a diminutive flame on his hand as he waves it in front of Lennox, the gentle gesture making the Stoneclad's eyes widen with awe.

 

My attention slowly moves to the two goofballs instead of those looking for our way out. It's hard to concentrate on anything else when Bonfire is making a horse out of a fire in the palm of his hand. Now, he's making it fly with a cloak.

 

How did he ever make it to 5th Sigil? I swear, half of what I see him do is messing around. He's only ever serious in a fight, and even then, it needs to be dangerous for him to honestly care. Oh, that's not true. He's deadly serious when messing with Abraham. I wonder where that rivalry comes from.

 

However, the fiery person he has dancing in his hand gives no indication of my thoughts. Before he can finish whatever he's doing, Silas finds the entrance.

 

And the moment he does, a sword flies out to stab him in the heart. Silas is skewered for a split second before a flash of gold in Johnny's eye returns the undead to normal.

 

Silas steps back, putting his hands up as yells surround us.

 

"Chill out! Chill! I'm with Johnny!"

 

A short yet unfathomably long moment of silence stretches before a man in dark clothing walks through a solid wall.

 

A hood covers his head as a machete tinged in dark, tangible Ether meets my gaze. For a split second, I worry about who this is, but that worry disappears as I see the man's eyes gaze around the cavern, the orbs of light focusing on me.

 

Then, the man disappears into a stream of shadow along the stone floor lit by a lantern's light before appearing in front of me, wrapping me in a tight hug before I can even react.

 

"Good to see you, buddy. Been a while."

 

I push off him as I realize who it is. A strong jaw and a tense gaze welcome me underneath that hood.

 

"Good to see you too, Virgil. How have you been doing? Did you get your family?"

 

He nods at my question, speaking again before being cut off by Silas.

 

"Yeah, I'll introduce---"

 

"So, no questions? You're being hunted down by Motherbound, that can fake being other people, and you're not going to test us?"

 

Virgil shakes his head in the negative as another man steps through the fake wall, this one a bit of an older man with a blade of metal and stone that replaces his left arm.

 

"There is no point. Should you guys get taken over or impersonated, we're dead anyway. There is nowhere to run, and only a few of us can fight. So I might as well say hi. And who are these people? Are you a zombie? Is that a rock?"

 

I laugh as I look at Silas, who admittedly does look similar to a zombie. He has gray skin and dark veins from being undead and shambling feet due to his recent injury. The only difference is the pair of flames that replace his eyes.

 

Lennox either doesn't notice being called a rock or doesn't care, the kid still looking at the fire in Bonfire's hand.

 

Silas immediately fumes as the man is a bit insecure about being dead even years later. Though, I do get it. Who wants to be compared to a zombie?

 

"I'm not a zombie; I am an Undead, given the Gift Of Undeath by Her Majesty."

 

Virgil raises an eyebrow and shrugs, walking back toward the fake wall as Sacate waves us in.

 

"Righty. Come in. Stop arguing. Glad to have you all here. Things can get started now."

 

Hmm? Things can get started now? What were they waiting to do?

 

I follow Sacate and Virgil through the fake wall and find Abraham lying against the rock wall on the other side, the man almost dozing off. Deep bags sit under his eyes that directly contrast with his pale skin. His eyes open slightly at seeing me and then return to the floor.

 

Sacate waves at Abraham as we walk past him toward a group of dozens of people, both human and Bado, who have set up tents in this enormous cavern hidden away within the depths of the spire. It seems they've been here for about a week or so, considering how set up it is, with tents, pots, and campfires placed here or there.

 

"Abraham has been keeping the entrance hidden. Whenever he sleeps, Virgil and I guard the entrance. Every time we have, we've gotten hurt from stray Bado, so we try and let the insomniac stay up. Come meet everyone else; they've been dying to see you."