Wise Feather: "Just as every sword has a unique story to tell, so too does every person have a unique journey to walk. Don't compare yourself to others, and embrace your own path."

A few moments later after cutting through the horde, they reached the entrance to the dark hole. They were immediately met by a handful of Centzors rising out of the hole.

“Out of my way!”Hao already saw them coming up beforehand, so he sidestepped those creatures and leapt inside the eerie hole without hesitation, closely followed by Mentos and the beasts.

“Holy shit!” Yelled Mentos at the top of his lungs. He never thought that spending a day with Hao would go so awry.

While they were descending, the Centzors on the walls who were climbing up noticed the intruders and started lunging at them in droves.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

"They're still coming after us! Damn, those persistent buggers!" Mentos shouted once more while twisting in mid-air to avoid the consecutive launches. “Get off my ass!”

Hao and Mentos used their Blade Edges to cut through the pursuing Centzors, but Mentos couldn't help but regret their decision to dive into the hole. They’ve been falling for a while now and still, he couldn’t see the bottom.

However, Hao, with his Vibe Sense, could see the approaching ground and knew what to do. "Brace yourselves, I'm about to increase the volume!" As he said this, the speakers on Vibe Edge began to hum and churn.

<Volume Raiser Activating>

BOOM! A widespread vibrational sheet emanated from Vibe Edge and blanketed the members of Hao’s crew. The effects of this powerful technique slowed their descent, moreover, created a musical cushion that safeguard their landing.

Thud!

"I survived!" Mentos was elated to find himself alive, he was patting his body to make sure it was true. However, his relief was short-lived because they found themselves in complete darkness, surrounded by scary screeching noises.

Hao's Vibe Sense allowed him to see in the dark, so he wasn’t as scared as Mentos who was blind and was also complaining about their predicament.

“What the hell have you gotten us into, Vee, out of one hell and into another? This place is so dark, my eyes are beginning to grow bigger and what the heck is that smell?”

Perceiving Mentos’s frustration, the Sword Fishes came closer to him then began to glow brighter, their bioluminescent bodies were illuminating the area around them. Mentos got what he asked for, but the eerie light revealed that they were not alone; more Centzors were lurking nearby at the very edge of the light, waiting to strike.

The dark cavern was echoing with their menacing hisses and chittering as they swarmed around Hao, Mentos, Maelstrom and the glowing Sword Fishes. The creatures' obsidian-black scales absorbed the scarce light that found its way into the darkness; also, their unblinking eyes was boring into the group with an unsettling intensity.

“We’re in deep shit now, Vee.” Mentos’s grip on Shark Skimmer became tighter with the passing seconds. “Look at them, we’re completely surrounded! Our situation is no different than how it was up top. We should have never come down here.”  

Listening to Mentos' unceasing complaints, Hao motioned his sight upwards where he observed that the cavern ceiling was swarming with ferocious enemies, their spindly legs were crawling over one another in their eagerness to descend upon their prey.

Mentos' voice shook vigorously while clenching his Shark Skimmer tighter in preparation for the unavoidable battle ahead. "Oh damn! Vee, what have you gotten us into? We're trapped like rats!"

“I’m not going to die down here.” Hao's resolve to survive and unsheathe Judgment Day overpowered his fear. His Vibe Edge also brandished a resilient sharpness. "Follow me. I think I've found a way to lose them if we go deeper."

“Deeper where?” Mentos looked around frantically while yelling, “I don’t see anywhere to go. All I’m seeing are these freaking savage creatures.”

Hearing his friend’s worry, Hao conveyed, “There’s a tunnel behind that group behind us. That’s where we’re going. Do keep up.” Finished explaining the plan, he teleported above the horde that was blocking the path and twirled around in the air a little before stamping his sword into the ground.

<Volume Raiser>

The sonic noise that was produced created a strong shockwave that blew away the Centzors in multiple directions. “The path is clear now. Let’s hurry and go through the tunnel.”

“I’m right behind you.” Mentos dashed ahead. Looking back, he shouted, “Come on you damn beasts, move your asses if you want to survive!” The beast increased their speed, following behind the two humans. They had no choice if survival was their end game.

The group was sprinting through the cavern, trying their hardest to outrun their pursuers. Out of everyone in the group, Maelstrom was falling way behind. To counteract this from prolonging, the Sword Fishes acted on their own to assist in pulling along Maelstrom with their tether, this only served to deplete their water supply some more, which meant less altitude and less strength.

“I see a way out.”Hao's keen sight caught a glimpse of a narrow passage up ahead, hidden between the jagged rocks. The passage was small enough that the Centzors would have difficulty following them. This also meant that Maelstrom wouldn’t be able to fit.

Mentos brought this issue to his friend’s attention, “Vee, I don’t think the big fella can go through there. We mustn’t leave him behind.”

“I am well aware of that. I have a plan but we all need to move fast. Keep up with me.” Hao increased his speed to gain more distance from the incoming Centzors. As he was coming up on the narrow passageway, he unleashed the destructive rhythm of his Vibe Edge.

<Quick Draw-Drive>

Whoosh!

He sent forth a dreadful vertical slash that crashed into the passageway and blast it open. BOOM! The impact caused the loose sediments holding the ceiling intact to also falter. Hence, Hao had to prevent this from happening by using Volume Raiser to hold them in place.

“Quickly, go through!” He waited until Maelstrom crossed over successfully before he withdrew his Volume Raiser skill, bringing the rocky entrance crashing down behind them. The sound of rocks crumbling reverberated through the passage, followed by a disheartening silence.

"That will only slow them down for a while. They're expert diggers," Hao commented grimly.

Mentos’s eyes were darting from shadow to shadow as if expecting a Centzor to appear at any moment. "So, what's your brilliant plan now?"

Hao took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. He had to admit that he wasn't sure what to do next.

Mentos nudged him gently then spoke in a soft tone. "We've made it this far, Vee. We can't give up now."

“You’re right.” Hao appreciated his friend's support. He held out his Vibe Edge and released the seeking vibrations that were brought back to him in blue beat tones. "Let's keep moving. There has to be a way out of here."

“I absolutely agree.” Mentos tried to sound positive.

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